Chapter Seventeen
Prescriptions for Sadhana
Swami spoke forcefully, artfully, but in everyday terms. Indeed, his language was incisively simple, and even his profound Natchintanai were couched in common vocabulary, unlike the classical verses of Tirumurai and earlier saints. Natchintanai is a personal diary of sorts, recording Swami’s experiences, his realizations, his anguish and his hopes. The language and style are straightforward. His poems on Murugan and Siva have such a feel of familiarity that you could reach across the page and touch them. He talks to the lizard and the peacock with the confidence that they, too, can help his quest. He uses folk songs and dances, indicating that he was communing with the common man. He goads us on to the feet of the guru on the San Marga, reminding us often that is what a human birth is for. §
Once a man highly educated in Siddhanta lore and philosophy came to him anticipating a philosophical discussion, hoping to employ all the pedantry at his disposal. At the same time, a simple man arrived. They both offered fruits and flowers, then prostrated. §
Swami addressed the simple man who now sat before him next to the philosopher: “How have you been?” he asked. “I’ve been all right, Swami. Everything is coming along in a good way for myself and my family.” “It’s good to hear that your family is all right too. How many children do you have now?” “Three, Swami. Two boys and a girl.” “And how much money do you make?” “Two hundred rupees a month, Swami.” “Oh, that’s not very much money for what you do, is it?” “No, Swami, but we get along all right. We have two cows, and we grow our own food.” “That’s fine, but you should get more money for your work.” “I know, Swami, but what can I do?” “A man who works as hard as you do, and as well as you do, should receive more money. You should do something about it.” “Yes, Swami.” §
Growing more and more impatient, the philosopher wondered, “When is Swami going to finish this tedious chatter and talk with me about things more in his realm?” Swami turned to him and rejoined sharply, “You should be paying attention to what we are saying. We’re discussing profound spiritual matters.” §
In Swami’s presence, such ordinary events seemed full of import and splendor, and little miracles seemed ordinary and natural. Usually someone would bring food each day, generally enough to feed six or seven people. Swami would ask that food be given to everyone, even if twenty or thirty were present. It would always reach around adequately without anyone asking how food prepared for a few could feed so many. §
The Sivathondan Nilayam was built under Yogaswami’s careful guidance as a center for meditation and service, though he entered it only rarely. From here, his monthly publication, The Sivathondan, was issued, and here devotees gathered to celebrate festivals and perform puja to their guru, as they do to this day.
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“Mother Earth Is Hungry”
Swami took great joy in feeding people. Often he would not allow a person to leave without taking a meal in his presence. Sometimes he would set about cooking large quantities of food in the middle of the day, sending out for fresh vegetables and asking for the big cooking vessels to be brought in from all over the neighborhood. He would build large fires in front of his hut and start cooking. §
Some people thought he was crazy. It was no special occasion, and no one had been invited. What was he planning to do with so much food? But Swami went right on cooking, being careful that everything was tasty and well prepared. He would say, “There are so many hungry people. We must make sure they are fed. That is our duty.” “But Swami,” one would plead, “how will they know to come? After all, it is a rather odd time for a feast.” “Don’t worry,” he said, “they will come.” §
Sure enough, when the food was ready, many people were there. Swami would sing and sing, then serve them all. Sometimes they would come for his yagam and stay until late in the evening. §
Swami also gave food to the temple. He would buy huge sacks of rice and have devotees take them to Nallur Temple and distribute them—one measure of rice for each person. He also saw that each was given a handful of vegetables and a few coins. He said he could foresee a time when there would be little food on the Earth, and he wanted to do his part to alleviate the problem, if only in the microcosm. §
Huge feedings for the less fortunate were held regularly, usually at temples, and regarded as especially meritorious, a good way to earn punya, or good merit. Yogaswami not only arranged these himself but urged his devotees to follow his example. §
Fires were built in the sand, and heavy metal pots, one meter high and 1.5 meters wide, were set upon strategically placed rocks to boil rice and dal. All would sing Natchintanai as the eager guests, including indigent holy men and women, slowly gathered for what would be their one hearty meal in a week, or more. §
When the food was ready, men with four-foot-long wooden shovels moved the rice onto large mats, swiftly making a soft, white mound as tall as a man. Thousands of sadhus and needy folks sat cross-legged on woven cadjan mats. There would be dozens of rows, with up to fifty in each—long, paired lines a couple meters apart facing one another. Those gathered would be served en masse with stunning efficiency—20 to 30 men rushing down the aisles, deftly dolloping steaming rice, dal and curry with big spoons onto the open banana leaves. Within minutes, thousands of meals were served. And as soon as the first sitting had finished, a second would take its place. §
Afterwards, the banana leaves were fed to the cows, with families of crows snatching their lot between bovine bites. In this discipline of feeding, many of Swami’s devotees recognized a sadhana he was developing for them. In the decades after his mahasamadhi they fed tens of thousands of hungry people at Nallur Temple and at other places around Jaffna, which they continued to do down the years. §
On one occasion such a meal was planned by Swami at his compound. Devotees came early in the morning to start cooking. Others came to sit with Swami and sing with him. Lunchtime came, and he was still heartily singing, so deeply absorbed that no one wanted to disturb him. They all just sang. Others sat outside and listened. Everyone was satisfied. They were drinking in his darshan and no one wanted to disrupt that flow with matters so mundane as eating. §
Hours after lunch should have been served, Yogaswami stopped singing and fell quiet for awhile. Just as one or two people were thinking of breaking that silence to suggest that Swami might wish to eat now, he asked several devotees to chant from the Upanishads in sonorous Sanskrit. They chanted and chanted and chanted, intoning the timeless teachings of the Self. Swami sat in silence, blissfully enjoying the fervor and serenity of the chanting—transported to the times of the rishis, he would say. Everyone felt his enstasy and, turning inward, touched into those sweet realms themselves. §
At about four in the afternoon, the chanters paused, sensing that people were growing anxious about lunch. Not wanting to disrupt Swami’s mood, they asked softly if perhaps they should stop chanting since many present did not understand Sanskrit. Swami decreed that it was not important for everyone to understand the words. The tones of the words and the consciousness of the chant would carry the teachings to all, whether they understood with their intellect or not. The mantras continued. §
Finally, at about 5pm, he said, “Before we can partake of our prasadam, I shall ask eleven strong men here to dig a deep, square hole in the ground.” They stepped forward and he indicated the spot where they should dig. Shovels were obtained from homes nearby, and the digging commenced. All waited patiently for his will to be fulfilled, the stomachs growling, the mouths watering at the luscious fragrances of the hot rasam and the freshly-boiled rice, five perfectly spiced curries, chutneys, kulambu, yogurt and delicious sweet payasam. It was a real feast. §
Finally, just before dusk, the pit was completed, and the great saint indicated that it was time to serve the food. “Come, children, surround this pit,” he said. Two or three hundred people stepped forward and surrounded the ten-by-ten-foot hole. Women and children were sitting in the front and the men standing in the back, all wondering what he was going to say and hoping he would not delay any longer with the feast. §
He announced, “Now we shall serve our prasadam.” He called forward two of the huskiest of the eleven men, the strongest and biggest, and commanded, “Serve the rice. Bring the entire pot.” It was a huge brass pot containing nearly 400 pounds of rice. By this time, many had left, as they had been cooking all morning and singing all afternoon. Only the most devout had remained to see the outcome. When the day began, 1,000 had come. The preparations were for a very big crowd. §
Now he said, “Pour the rice in the middle of the pit.” Banana leaves had been laid carefully at the bottom of the pit to form a giant serving plate. The crowd was aghast. “Pour it into the pit?” “Don’t hesitate,” he commanded. Though stunned, the men obeyed Yogaswami without question, dropping the huge mass of steaming rice onto the middle of the banana leaves. He told one man, “Bring the eggplant curry!” To another he said, “Go get the potato curry! We must make this is a full and auspicious offering.” §
As all the curries were neatly placed around the rice, everyone was wondering, “Are we to all eat together out of the pit? Is this what the guru has in mind?” Then the kulambu sauce was poured over the middle of the rice. Five pounds of salt was added on the side. Sweet mango and ginger chutneys were placed in the proper way. One by one, each of the mouthwatering preparations was placed in the pit, much to the dismay of those gathered. §
After all the food had been served, the satguru stood up and declared, “People, all of you, participate. Come forward.” They immediately thought, finishing his sentence in their minds, “to eat together this delicious meal you have been waiting for all day as a family of shishyas.” But he had something else in mind, and directed, “Pick up the eleven shovels, shovel some dirt over this delicious meal and then pass your shovel on to the next person. We have fed our Mother Earth, who has given so generously of her abundance all these many years to this large Saivite community. Now we are sacrificing our prasadam as a precious, heartfelt gift. Mother Earth is hungry. She gets little back; we take all. Let this be a symbol to the world and to each of us that we must sacrifice what we want most.” §
In this way, Satguru Yogaswami began the first Earth worship ceremony in northern Ceylon. He taught a lesson of tapas and sacrifice, of fasting and giving, and giving and fasting. By now the hour was late, very late. After touching his feet and receiving the mark of Siva from him in the form of vibhuti, holy ash, on their forehead, the devotees returned to their homes. It was too late to cook a hot meal, lest the neighbors smell the smoke and know that mischief was afoot. We are sure that a few, if not many, satisfied themselves with a few ripe bananas, while pondering the singular lesson the satguru had taught. §
Where All Words Are Silence
In May of 1953, Mr. A. Thillyampalam of Sangarathai Vaddukoddai gave his youngest daughter in marriage. Having completed his familial obligations, he submitted papers for early retirement from government service four days later. The following day, Swami visited his residence and thundered, “Thillyampalam! You are not to retire yet; you still have a vital task to perform! Go tomorrow to Jaffna and start the building planning and supervision of the Sivathondan Nilayam, with a proper meditation hall upstairs.” §
Earlier in the year, Swami had established a formal religious body, called the Sivathondan Society, holding the first general meeting to form a managing committee, nominated by Yogaswami, to manage the affairs of the Nilayam. Many of Swami’s “council of rogues” were present. As became the pattern each month, puja and bhajan were held, then a meeting, followed by dinner served to all present. §
In 1954, the facility was completed and ceremoniously inaugurated. Yogaswami’s sandalwood tiruvadi, which he kept at his hut for two weeks for blessings, were installed in the Meditation Hall. Author S. Ampikaipaakan wrote: §
It is apt that Sivathondan Foundation was located in Vannarpannai, the hub of many Saiva religious activities. We will understand the object for the Foundation if we look at the plot plan of the building. In the Sivathondan Foundation plan we see the Puranam Mandapam, Meditation Mandapam, rest rooms for the followers, kitchen and washroom facilities. In the Puranam Mandapam, Puranam story and music discourses, recitation of Tirumurai and memorization of Natchintanai were conducted. In the upstairs, in Meditation Mandapam, puja for tiruvadi [holy sandals] is done. Silence is always observed there. At the time of Holy Feet Puja, the bell rings, camphor light showing and flower submission is done, and complete silence was observed throughout this time. §
Swami strictly designated the Nilayam as a place of meditation and worship. Swami had three sayings posted on the wall, to be read as one climbed the steps to the Meditation Hall: §
Sol ellam maunam. (All words are in silence.)
Seyal yavum maunam. (All doing is in silence. )
Ellam nann mauna niraive. (Everything is perfect within silence.) §
And he posted (in Tamil) five rules of conduct:§
1. Devotees should wash their mouth, hands and feet well at the inner entrance and apply vibhuti on the forehead before stepping into the prayer halls of the Nilayam. §
2. Devotees should strictly confine themselves to their assigned duties in the Nilayam, without interfering with other devotees. §
3. Devotees should maintain absolute purity physically, as well as wholehearted spiritual purity within themselves. §
4. Devotees should maintain high discipline while the chanting of Tirumurai and Puranam is in progress at the Nilayam, without any form of disturbance to other fellow devotees. §
5. Sivathondan Nilayam’s main observances are Sivadhyana [meditation] and chanting, with discussions related to Saivism and Natchintanai only. Discussion of nonreligious and any other worldly matters is strictly prohibited. §
Inthumathy Amma writes:§
Swami was adamant that the rules be followed without fail to maintain the sanctity of the Centre. “If this Centre does not provide these blessings and deteriorates, then break it down; there is no loss by that action.” He explained that the puja and chanting of religious songs in the Purana Hall creates the mood for meditation: “Singing and chanting are done because one cannot just be.” §
T. Sivayogapathy shares the following narrative about Yogaswami’s hands-on management. §
Yogaswami had enormous stamina and could walk all day in the scorching heat of summer. Jaffna residents knew him and feared him, perhaps knowing he knew the contents of their heart. He would rise early to avoid devotees and walk with an umbrella to keep the sun at bay.
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When Sandaswami resided in the Sivathondan Centre, Germanswami and another European swami stayed with him for a few days. The conduct of the latter two was not in accordance with the rules of the Centre. Further, their association was detrimental to Sandaswami’s religious practices. Hence, Yogaswami was boldly strict about getting rid of them from the Centre. Swami referred to himself as the watchdog of the Sivathondan Centre. Its meaning is clear in this and also many other instances.§
To manage the Nilayam, Yogaswami assigned Mr. Chellathurai, the headmaster of the Madya Maha Vidyalaya in Navatkuli, Jaffna. One day in 1956, Swami stopped his car at the school and summoned Chellathurai to come and get in the car. Then he announced, “I am going to station you at the Sivathondan Nilayam. You are to be in charge as the permanent resident there, with immediate effect.” §
From then onward, Chellathurai served Yogaswami in that way, managing not only this center, but also a second Sivathondan Nilayam that the society established in Batticaloa. Taking up monastic life, he became known as Chellathurai Swami. He passed away in 2006 at age 92. §
One day, when Swami was talking with Chellathurai, they were interrupted by a noise coming from the backyard. Realizing that it was a Sivathondan engaged in cleaning the toilet, Swami roared with laughter, saying, “Siva puja is going on there! He is the supreme Sivathondan who is washing the toilet for the comfort of the devotees of Sivathondan Nilayam!” §
Swami stopped by often to give orders. With an umbrella under his arm and a cloth wrapped around his head to protect him from the tropical sun, arriving unannounced, he would call Chellathurai or others to come out, “Build this. Fix that. Publish this. Prepare rooms for guests from India.” Having delivered his decrees, he turned and walked away, knowing all he had asked would be dutifully fulfilled. §
Swami rarely entered the Nilayam himself, but at certain times, when it was quiet, he did go inside, and once, after his accident in 1961, he stayed there for three weeks. The bed that he used is still kept there. §
He often advised people who visited him to go to the Nilayam and sing hymns or chant the Vedas, or to go upstairs to the meditation hall, the all-important Dhyana Mandapam where silence was, and still is, enforced. “Sit quietly,” he commanded, “Then what you have come to me for will come to you.” A plaque on the wall says it all: “Summa iru.” §
After the Sivathondan Centre was established, Swami often told devotees, “Why do you come to see me? Go to the Sivathondan Centre and meditate.” He immortalized this message in the song entitled “Accept the Assurance of These Words:” §
Go to the Sivathondan Home, and mukti win through meditation. Be at rest by keeping silent. Know this to be the mantra! Realize who is “this” and “that man;” know that the atma is eternal. Within you is bliss beyond compare. See that all that is is truth! Follow not the senses’ path, but bring them under your control. Rid yourself of cruel hatred. Vedanta and Siddhanta seek to learn. Know that there is not one wrong thing, and “Om Sivayanama” pray. With melting heart true bliss attain. Accept the assurance of these words!§
Swami insisted that pujas at the Nilayam be conducted in utter simplicity. In fact, they were done, and still are, in total silence, with no chanting whatsoever. Aside from tiruvadi puja held daily in a simple way, and elaborately on the first Sunday of each month, the only other events he allowed were Ardra Darshanam in December, when Lord Siva and the soul are seen to be one, and the annual festival of Mahasivaratri, when puja to the divine sandals is conducted in grand style. Swami admonished that no other days were to be observed. §
Once when a member of the Sivathondan board expressed a desire to celebrate another festival, Swami said, “See, man, there is no permission,” putting an end to the idea. After Swami’s mahasamadhi, tiruvadi puja was also held monthly on Aayilyam (Ashlesha) nakshatra at the two nilayams and at his Columbuthurai hut. That was the same nakshatra on which he installed Chellappaswami’s tiruvadi in his hut in the 1920s, and it was also the nakshatra of Yogaswami’s mahasamadhi.§
For special guests from outside Jaffna, Swami provided the Vannarpannai Nilayam as a place to stay. From Tamil Nadu, three renowned scholars in the fields of Tamil language, English language and Saiva Siddhanta philosophy—Dr. T.M.P. Mahadevan, Dr. T.P. Meenatchisundaram and Prof. A.S. Gnanasampanthan—used to visit Jaffna frequently, via the 30-minute Trichy-Palaly air route. They came mainly to discuss philosophy with Swami at his hut, while also giving public lectures in the schools of Jaffna peninsula. They always stayed at Sivathondan Nilayam in Jaffna as Swami’s guests, following his instructions.§
A few years before Swami attained mahasamadhi, he prognosticated, “Difficult times are coming. It is going to be hard to even get liquid food. Take care in cultivating food and give food to all.” Articles on the greatness of the gift of feeding appeared in many issues of The Sivathondan, and action was taken to procure good fields for cultivation to ensure that the project of giving food was successfully conducted. Swami indicated the need to distribute the produce of this cultivation to all, and to feed everyone. §
Inthumathy Amma provides a glimpse of how, under Swami’s direction, the Nilayam supported religious studies.§
Three years after the establishment of the Sivathondan Centre, two advertisements appeared in The Sivathondan journal. One was about the Sivathondan Educational Fund and the other was about those who obtained assistance from the fund. Those who obtained assistance from this fund (and went to Indian universities to study Devaram music, religious studies, etc.) were expected on the conclusion of their studies to spend five years in the Centre doing service—and if they so desired, to spend more time. This illustrates that the aim of the Sivathondan Centre was to direct people in the high ideals of religious knowledge. The Saiva Siddhanta taught by Swami, the lectures on the Periyapuranam conducted in the temples by his devotees, the translation of the introductory chapter of Sir John Woodroffe’s The Serpent Power by Advocate Suppiah, the publication of books like Vivekachudamani (the advaitic text by Adi Shankara) and In the Hours of Meditation all show the spiritual ideals of the Sivathondan Centre. §
T. Sivayogapathy provides details of Yogaswami’s influence on some of the spiritual heads of India’s mathas and renowned religious scholars of the day. §
Deivasigamani Arunachala Desigar Adigal (Kundrakudi Adigalar) was the spiritual head of Tamil Nadu’s Kundrakudi Aadheenam, an ancient monastery-temple complex that is among the citadels of Saiva Siddhanta. He made numerous visits to Jaffna and Batticaloa in the 1950s and 1960s to give lectures on Saiva Siddhanta in Saiva temples and halls. One day in the late 1950s, when young Adigalar was in Jaffna, Mr. A. Thillyampalam, my father, and Mudaliyar Sinnathamby took him to Yogaswami’s ashram, where Adigalar enjoyed a valuable discussion with Swami. As a gift, Swami presented him a Natchintanai book. After leaving the hermitage, the young swami voraciously read it from cover to cover. From that day onward, in all his lectures, he praised Swami’s songs as the cream of monistic Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. §
Dr. A. Lakshmana Swami Mudaliyar, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras, upon visiting Swami in 1955, was enamored with his uncanny ability to express complex concepts in everyday language. The renowned educator told Thillyampalam that, even in India, he had never met a saint of Swami’s caliber, whom he revered as “a treasure for humanity in this world.” §
Swami developed a close affinity for the Ramakrishna Mission, a relationship that began with his 1897 encounter with Swami Vivekananda. Swami Asangananthar, of the Colombo Branch, made frequent visits to Jaffna for Yogaswami’s darshan. When the Ramakrishna Mission of Batticaloa was raising funds to establish a gurukulam at the Vannarpannai Vaitheeswaran Sivan Temple, Yogaswami made the first contribution. His blessed offering is still preserved by the Mission. Through the years, he encouraged men wishing to follow the monastic path to join the Mission, including scholar Pundit T. Mylvaganam and Swami Premathmananthar. While Yogaswami, for undisclosed reasons, disallowed anyone wearing the kavi robes to stay as a guest at his Sivathondan Nilayam, he made a standing exception for the swamis of the Ramakrishna Mission. §
Only One Work to Do
Yogaswami often said, “There is only one work to do: realize the Self yourself. In other words, find out who you are. Or know thyself. How do you do this? You can’t find the Truth in a thousand books or by listening to people talk. You must realize the Self by yourself. Go inside and remain there. Then you can come down and see the world.” Yogaswami told seekers: §
There is a chair at the top reserved for you. You must go and sit in that chair. From there you will see everything as one. You will know no second. That is a state unknown even by the saints and celestials. Buddha attained that state and came down to help others. Christ knew that state and also tried to bring others to it. Many others no one has heard of have known that state. That chair is there, reserved for you. It is your job to occupy it. If you don’t do it in this lifetime, you might do it in the next or in the next or in the next. It is the only work you have to do. There are those who can fly to the top like birds.§
Swami was a reflecting pond to anyone who came to see him. To a simple person, he talked simply and directly. He related to educated people in terms familiar to them, whether Hindu, Buddhist, Christian or Muslim. He spoke to each through the context and vocabulary of his religion. He had a perfect command of Tamil, Sinhala and English. §
When a Christian came, Swami might ask him to open the Bible at random and read aloud. Swami would interrupt to explain a passage, often relating it to the devotee’s life and astounding him with knowledge of his past and future. His favorite section was the beginning of the Gospel according to John: “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was God. And the Word was with God.” He would talk and talk about this teaching until he had completely unravelled it for his listener. §
To Buddhists he would quote the teachings of Buddha and explain them as if he were the Buddha unfolding the path to nirvana. And to Hindus, no matter what path they followed, he would ground them firmly in the tradition they were used to. But to say that he would usually do one thing or another is not accurate. There was no “usually” about Yogaswami. He had no prepared responses or stock answers to questions, problems or situations. §
Wisdom and divine sight were his guidelines and his tools. If he knew you one moment, he might ignore you the next or not even recognize you, not even know your name or face. Everyone who visited him got what he came for. Sometimes Yogaswami would just sit in silence, then after while announce, “Nothing is coming.” He meant there were no inner orders, no spiritual directions from within. §
One day around 1961 Yogaswami was alone in his hut when S. Shanmugasundaram, a close devotee, arrived from Colombo. Entering an empty room, the visitor wondered for a moment if Swami was away. Suddenly, Yogaswami came through the curtain, his long, white hair undone, not tied neatly as he always wore it. Without words, Yogaswami began to dance, his hair flying wildly with the vigorous movements of his body. Shanmugasundaram stood transfixed. He knew this was a special blessing. It was a blessing he never forgot, and when he spoke of it decades later, he surmised that Yogaswami was subtly guiding him toward Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the dancer, for Shanmugasundaram later became a devotee of Subramuniyaswami, traveling to America and Mauritius and sharing Yogaswami’s life and teachings there. §
With Yogaswami’s blessings, Markanduswami retired at age 60 to live a hermit’s life. Yogaswami built him a simple mud and thatch hut and placed him there to live in seclusion. Yogaswami’s love for his disciple was so great, he would prepare a meal for Markanduswami, carry it seven kilometers to Kaithadi and serve it with his own hands.
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“Just Be”
“I went to Nallur looking for God,” explained Yogaswami. “I had only one desire: to know God. There I met my Chellappan, the man people called mad, the being who would not admit a second. Through his grace, I found out that he and I are one, and I, too, became one without a second.” §
He said that Chellappaguru took everything away from him—all desire, all attachments, all ego—and that he then came to a state Yogaswami called summa. In Tamil that word means being still, not having any concern, not knowing. Once he translated it into English as “active awareness.” Summa is the threshold of inner life. If there are desires and attachments, summa cannot be held for more than a few seconds, but once it has been touched, desires and attachments begin to dissolve and this state becomes easier and easier to hold: the mind’s awareness is actively poised in stillness. Finally, when summa is held long enough, higher experiences begin to come and refine themselves until the Self only remains. Yogaswami had another way of pointing to the same result: “Meditate ‘I am Siva,’ then the state of Siva without attributes will come.” §
Yogaswami had a vision for a spiritual center, not an ashram and not a monastery, but an agricultural community of young men who would follow the celibate life, work in the fields, in nature, growing food for pilgrims while following strict spiritual disciplines. The land was acquired during Swami’s lifetime, but the center manifested in 1965, just after his passing.
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Swami gave different people different sadhanas, spiritual disciplines, they could follow if they wanted to attain the state of summa. Gauribalaswami (Germanswami) sat on the veranda of Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s ashram in Alaveddy and told this story to young seekers from America visiting Jaffna in the early 1970s. A natural raconteur, the white-bearded, cigar-smoking elder sat cross-legged on the concrete floor and told of his struggles with the intellect, and Yogaswami’s constant efforts to get him to quiet his mind, to get him to reach into the depths of spiritual experience. But, he said, the mind has a way of its own. “I could not reach that thoughtless state my guru pointed to; I could not subdue the mental movements.” §
Saying that, he lifted his right arm, held it out at shoulder height for his young audience to see. There, on his forearm, was a one-inch high tattoo that read “Summa iru” in crudely drawn Tamil. “Summa iru” is what mothers say to silence their boisterous children, as English-speaking mothers plea, “Be still.” “I put this tattoo on my arm to remind myself everyday of my guru’s teachings, of my sadhana. Imagine the power of a master who can give you two words to follow, and you spend the rest of your life working to fulfill them. That was Yogaswami.” §
To one he gave the prescription: “The kingdom of God is within you. Meditate on that and go to the top.” To another he said, “Work without working. Worship without worshiping. Eat without eating. Wash without washing. Walk without walking. When you can do that, then you will know summa, and everything else will come to you.” §
He spoke often of the importance of doing all one’s work as an expression of service to God, which he called Sivathondu. “Let whatever work you do, my son, be an offering to the Lord.” He would often end darshan sessions with a devotee or family with the admonition, “Now go and do your work!” He wrote: §
We are the servants of Siva. We are lacking in nothing. Our work is to do Sivathondu. It is for that alone that we are living in this world. The moon is doing Sivathondu. The sun and all the planets are performing the same holy service. In like manner, the devas, asuras, kinnaras, kimpurushas and vihyadharas are all ever doing Sivathondu. §
Everything is the work of Siva. Without Him not an atom can move. We lose nothing, we gain nothing. We are as we have always been.There is no one equal to us or superior to us. For us there is no good or evil, no birth or death, no like or dislike. We are free of desires for land and gold and woman. The devilish mind is absent for us. We are not concerned with matters of time and place. We live as the witness of everything. Om Tat Sat Om.§
Sivathondu was one of two “medicines” he most frequently administered. Another was Sivadhyana, meditation on Siva. Yogaswami explains its importance in the following short upadesha called “Tapas.” §
The senses drag down to unlimited depths even those who have done great tapas. Consequently, to overcome them you must practice Sivadhyana. Only by that means can they be brought under control. Therefore, do this meditation uninterruptedly. §
Whenever one dwells on sense impressions, attachment arises. From attachment springs desire; from desire, anger; from anger, delusion; and delusion causes one’s downfall. Therefore, guard yourself by Sivadhyana. §
Because of our pettiness, our true nature is obscured and we stray from the path of dharma. To free oneself from error and to make oneself steadfast, Sivadhyana is the best means. Though we may possess great wealth in this world, and though we may have the power to make even celestial beings serve us, we still cannot control our senses. Therefore, invoking the grace of God, restrain the mind from wandering along the path of the senses. §
It is precisely this that great sages have called tapas. If this is neglected, even though you may perform ostentatious sacrifices and such things, you will never achieve firmness.§
Yogaswami gave no formal classes, lectures or seminars, but he taught every day, spontaneously—at his hut in the mornings and evenings, in the bazaar or the streets, or at a devotee’s home during a surprise visit. Usually his words were addressed to the needs and problems of one individual, but everyone present benefited. §
Many came to Yogaswami wanting to renounce the world and go into the jungle to meditate. He only gave blessings to one or two of them, ordering all others to fulfill their svadharma in the world, commanding that they do the best they knew how, with detachment. His attitude was that all of life must be regarded as spiritual, knowing it is foolhardy to divide one’s activities into sacred and secular. He would convey this strongly to the many souls who came seeking blessings to give up their jobs so they would have more time for spiritual life. §
One day a young man came to him, beseeching permission to renounce the world and strive for God Realization. Yogaswami did not speak. He just sat there. The man pleaded and pleaded, saying it was the only thing in the world that he wanted to do and he needed the blessings of his guru before undertaking this mission. Yogaswami remained silent. The man begged insistently, desperately imploring that he could not live without the satguru’s blessings. He would kill himself if Swami withheld his approval. He pleaded and begged for a long time. Swami did not respond, acting as if he were alone in the room. Finally, the man left. §
Yogaswami later explained to the devotees present that the man’s wife had just run off with another man, and he thought he could escape the humiliation he felt by retreating into the jungle. “If it had been his natural development, I could not have helped but give my blessing.” §
Whenever people were unduly hard on themselves, undertaking disciplines that were too severe, Swami would stop them. “The body is a temple, the mind is a sanctum. You must keep them pure and clear. You need them to do your work. Do not destroy them or harm them.” Turning to a devotee sitting at his feet, he said:§
As you walked into the room, it felt cool and fresh because you are on the path and have begun to feel the presence of the atma. Some people come and I feel hot, and there is no air in the room. That is because they are here to trick me and think they can cheat me out of something. You are searching and have no selfish motives. You come just to sit here. You can feel the same peace from me. That is why you come. It is good for people on the path to sit with one another. §
More often than not I feel I am in the presence of God. You must treat that feeling you have of the presence of God as you would a little child. Nurture it. Give it everything it needs. If you see it as a child, you become helpless. You must obey its every wish and do exactly as it bids you. Just as a mother knows in every instance what to do for her child, knows the meaning of its cries and gives it what it needs, so does the Presence make itself felt to the devotee. You must carefully nurture the awareness of God that is growing within you. If you do, it will grow and grow, and without your knowing it, you will have disappeared and only That will be.§
Time and again Yogaswami spoke of Siva, of worshiping the holy feet, of the path of spiritual discipline and love, as seen here in his song entitled “Worship the Feet of the Lord.”§
If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace. That will make you realize that all you see is transient. That will show the way to subdue the body. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
That will make you rule the mind that treads the senses’ path. That will daily repeat the letters five in your heart. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
That will surely, by degrees, extirpate all anger. That will accept all mistakes as blessings in disguise. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
That will remove and drive away all the three desires. That will reveal the holy feet, which neither come nor go. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
That will keep you ever in the state of being summa. That will make you realize compassion for the poor. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
That sets you in the open Void, and takes away all sorrow. That will see both Vedanta and Siddhanta as one. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
That will control the fickle mind, which cannot be controlled. That will give the vision, where there is no night or day. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
This song of Yoganathan will show the righteous path. It will nourish you with nectar for all the days you live. And to know “Aham Brahmasmi” is the crown that it will give. If you always offer worship to the Almighty’s holy feet, then you will have peace.§
Markanduswami, a close devotee of Yogaswami from the time they met in 1931, was a lifelong bachelor who wanted to renounce the world and take sannyasa in the middle of his career. Yogaswami told him to continue his profession as a surveyor. Finally, when Markanduswami’s retirement came at age 6o, Yogaswami surprised him by arranging for a kutir to be built among a small coconut grove in the village of Kaithadi, a hut with one room and an open porch, a concrete floor, with walls and roof of woven palm fronds. He settled his disciple there and looked after him for years. §
His foremost sadhana, a difficult one they say, was to speak only the words of his guru, so everyone who spent an hour with him would hear, again and again, “Yogaswami said....” “Yogaswami taught us....” He was amazingly faithful to this discipline of not giving out his own wisdom, though he was deeply endowed. Standing on his porch or perched on a raised neem seat with four posts and a canopy, he would explain excitedly that Yogaswami gave him the following sadhana, his indirect way of inviting seekers to control their own minds: §
Sit in one place. Do not move. Watch where your mind goes; watch the fellow. First, he’ll be in Kandy, then go to Colombo, then to Jaffna, all in a fraction of a second. Keep track of every place he goes. If he goes one hundred places and you have caught only ninety-nine, you fail. As you progress in this sadhana, you will begin to pick up things coming from within. When you get messages from inside, you must deliver them to those who need to know. It will be a great help to them. §
On one Mahasivaratri evening, Yogaswami paid a surprise visit to Markanduswami’s hut and told the old sadhu, “We shall observe this Mahasivaratri vrata with meditation only.” That night, for them, there were no pujas, no chanting of Natchintanai, Agamas or Puranas, only meditation in absolute silence. T. Sivayogapathy shared:§
Markanduswami was a man of few words and avoided involving himself in the public life. He knew the whole corpus of Natchintanai songs by heart and always quoted Natchintanai when talking about Hinduism and spiritualism. Yogaswami is said to have told devotees, “Markanduswami is my compass to you all; he shall show you all the spiritual directions,” this being an indirect reference to Markanduswami’s career as a surveyor. Markanduswami attained mahasamadhi on May 29, 1984.§
Yogaswami moved about as a beneficent sage, shopping for fresh food at the market, visiting devotees’ homes, sharing in their lives, uplifting them with his blessings. T. Sivayogapathy tells of his experience from the 1950s and 60s: §
Swami used to visit our residence, “Thillai Vasa” at Sangarathai, frequently and spend a full day there. He used to come early in the morning, after doing vegetable marketing, arriving at our place around 8am. Around 8:30, Swami, my beloved father and myself commonly took our Rover car to the nearest seashore, namely Tiruvadi Nilai, and all of us would enjoy bathing in the sea and return home. On arrival at home, we would have bath again, with well water. Later, we all assembled in our large prayer room. Swami was seated at the center of the room, as we all observed prayers while chanting from Sivapuranam, as per Swami’s instruction. In the meantime, my mother, Thaiyalnayaki, was preparing lunch for all of us, cooking all the fresh vegetables Swami had brought in the morning. Before the meal, Swami would chant the food blessing (bhojana) song, then we all sat with him and had lunch. After the meal, Swami would compliment my mother and bless her by saying, “Thaiyalnayaki Thaye! You have provided a full and tasty lunch for this beggar. Live well!”§
The devout went to great lengths to assure Swami’s visits. There was a famous V.S.S.K. Vegetarian Cafe situated just 200 yards from the start of K.K.S. Road. The owner, Mr. V.S.S. Kumarasamy, had been enamored of Swami, who frequented the cafe for coffee in the mornings or lunch at midday. Farther north on K.K.S. Road were the well-stocked herbal medical stalls, namely Subramaniyam Medical Shop (next to V.S.S.K. Cafe) and Nallathamby Medical Shop, where Yogaswami would stop frequently for casual chats. §
Just before reaching Vannarpannai Vaitheeswaran-Thaiyalnayaki Sivan Temple, on the same side of the road, stood the popular vegetarian cafe Thamothara Vilas. The founder, Thamothara Aiyer, encouraged Yogaswami to take his lunch here. He was clever in his approach. By the side of the cafe there stood a vacant shop owned by Mr. S.R. Kandiah, a devotee of Yogaswami who maintained the inside impeccably, complete with a simple bed, always ready for Yogaswami should he need to rest and relax during one of his daily treks, especially following a free midday meal at the cafe. §
Close to the Earth
In 1960, Yogaswami expressed his wish to have a second Sivathondan Nilayam established in Chenkaladi near Sittandy, in the Batticaloa district. In 1910, during his pilgrimage to Kataragama, he had stayed in the town for three days at the home of Mr. Veluppillai, so the place had special significance to him. Whenever he was in Batticaloa, Swami visited the Sittandy Murugan temple. In accordance with his wishes, the Society established a center there in 1965. On the inaugural day, devotees carried a pair of his sandals 300 kilometers from the KKS Road Centre by foot in a parade. T. Sivayogapathy gives a glimpse of activities at the Nilayam. §
When Swami decided to have a Nilayam at Chenkaladi, some devotees of Swami donated land for it. Later, after the Nilayam was built, paddy lands were also gifted so that rice could be cultivated. Sandaswami managed the Nilayam and worked the paddy fields. He used to drive the four-wheel tractor through the paddy fields for ploughing. In the year 1967, I had a great opportunity to visit the Nilayam with my beloved father, A. Thillyampalam, and observed how active Sandaswami was in his daily Sivathondu. It was Yogaswami’s intention that the Nilayam should cater food and provide shelter for pilgrims to Kataragama Temple, whom he held deep sympathy for, having suffered many hardships on his own journey to the remote jungle shrine in 1910. Srimath Sandaswami (Soulbury Swami) tried his best to implement Yogaswami’s vision, but could not succeed due to poor response from the public. However, paddy cultivation was done for some years, due to the good efforts of Sandaswami, who served there from 1965 to 1977. §
Like the Jaffna center, the Nilayam in Chenkaladi was established with the same strict rules of conduct as a place of meditation and prayer. But Yogaswami had specified for the Batticaloa center a stronger emphasis on service, and on cultivating food to feed those in need. Inthumathy Amma tells about Yogaswami’s unique vision of this place. §
Just as the Jaffna Sivathondan Centre is conducive to meditation, the Chenkaladi Sivathondan Centre is directed toward service. In the plan drawn up according to Yogaswami’s wishes there was another temple-like structure on the western side. This was to be used to house celibate students and recluses. Recluses who had religious knowledge and knowledge of other arts, who were well experienced and of good conduct, were to reside there and teach others like them. §
Fertile fields were obtained in which the acolytes were to work hard, cultivate food, and thus be useful to others. This Sivathondu would help in getting rid of their egoism, helping them to forget the “I” and live in unison with the “we.” §
Swami said that men who grow in this atmosphere will have bodies that exude good religious conduct and faces exuding the strength of mental peace. He visualized them meditating in the hall, under the trees, amidst the fields, guiding the world through their silence, while sitting, walking and working. The fulfillment of this idea of Yogaswami’s depends on those who are prepared to sacrifice themselves fully in the pursuit of Self Realization. Yogaswami expressed that it is not the aim of the Sivathondan to indulge in propaganda, to press people or to go about lecturing.§