Yogaswami Explores Sri Lanka. Chellappa's Mahasamadhi
S. Rajam
a. Chellappaswami invited people to his hut in 1915, telling them that “a miracle will happen tonight.” That miracle turned out to be his Grand Departure. His body was cremated the following day.
b. Yoga swami visited Polonnaruwa, 140 kilometers north of Kandy, where the famed 46-foot-long reclining Buddha rests. It is said the carving depicts the moment Buddha entered nirvana.
b. Just as Swami Vivekananda explored his beloved India, Yogaswami’s 1910 adventure took him throughout the island, where he saw and celebrated the spirit of the people, the places of pilgrimage and the daily rhythms of life in Lanka’s villages and fields.
d. Yoganathan’s aunt, Muthupillai, was shocked when Chellappaswami told the family he was dead. They held his funeral rites, only to later discover he was in fact alive.
e. For years Yogaswami followed the difficult sadhana of meditating for three days at the base of an illupai tree in Columbuthurai. On the fourth day he would rest and move about, before returning for another round. In 1921, devotees cajoled him into taking up residence in a nearby thatched hermitage.