15. Mahasamadhi

THE STORY OF SRI ANNAMALAI SWAMI

Sri Annamalai Swami's Mahāsamādhi

Sri Annamalai Swami attained Mahāsamādhi, on November 9th, 1995 at 4:45 a.m. His caretaker Sundaram Swami  recalls those final days and moments.

A divine incident

This incident happened a few months before Sri Annamalai Swami’s samādhi. Swami rarely woke me up during the middle of the night.  But that night, I heard him call for me. It was around midnight. I got up and went to him. He was sitting upright on his bed.

He told me ‘Six celestial, luminous bodies have come to see me. They are standing here with garlands to bless me before my samādhi. They’ve been waiting for a few minutes now. I wanted you to see it.’

I looked around, I strained my eyes as much as I could but I did not see them. I asked Swami again, where they were?

‘They are right here. Three here and three on this side.’

I tried my best to focus but was unable to see them. Then Swami asked me to sit down. So I sat down, trying to still my mind. About 10 minutes passed this way. Sri Annamalai Swami then stood up and told me,

‘They have gone now. You can get up. I thought it would be good if my Sishya also had a darshan of them. It is okay. In your current state (pakkuvam) you could not see them. They were of Voli Udal (bodies of light) golden in colour. But the fact that when they came, you sat here is itself a great blessing. That is enough.’

Mahāsamādhi

For some time now, Swami had Asthma trouble which worsened during the winter months. His overall health was declining and the 89 year old body had become extremely weak. So we thought it would be good if we stayed awake at night by his side, in case he needed any assistance. Myself and another devotee Gabriel Baechler (he would later translate the book Living By the Words of Bhagavan into French) decided to take turns to stay awake at night by Swami’s side. Each would sleep for one hour and be awake for the next hour, while the other slept.

The previous evening (November 7th), Gabriel asked Swami a question. ‘For the last 25 days I’m seeing your body, undergoing tremendous pain. Is it bothering you? How does it feel inside?’ Sri Annamalai Swami had been lying down for a long time, but hearing this question, he got up and sat on the bed. He then replied by quoting a song by Sri Pattinathar, the translation of which is:

“A Jivan Mukta’s body when involved in any work, even though it is in any amount of suffering, his state will be ever in silence”. Swami sang that verse and gave us an explanation: “In an ocean you’ll see a lot of waves but deep down there is a constant peace. Like that there is no suffering inside.” Then he asked me to translate it to Gabriel.

The next day (November 8th, 1995) was passed mostly in silence. At night we took turns as usual. Early next morning, (November 9th) around 4:30 AM I went to sleep while Gabriel started his hour at Swami’s side. But soon he woke me up ‘Sundaram, Sundaram’. I got up and looked at Sri Annamalai Swami. He was pointing at something.  He was pointing at the chair next to him. He was indicating that he wanted to sit on the chair. We slowly helped him get up from the bed and sit on the chair. I stood behind the chair and was holding Swami’s head and chest, while Gabriel was in front of him. A few minutes passed in silence. Around 4:45 a.m. Sri Annamalai Swami attained mahāsamādhi, on November 9th, 1995. He had remained conscious till the last breath. A great Jivan Mukta had left this earthly body to merge with Brahman.

Dr. Azagappan was called. After getting his confirmation, telegrams were sent out to inform devotees. We performed the last rites, including an Abhishekam. I still remember how his open eyes were filled with light and grace. Devotees who came for darshan of Sri Annamalai Swami’s divine body, also felt that light and grace in his eyes. It was a great blessing to be at Swami’s side when he attained mahāsamādhi.

His body has been placed in rest in the samādhi temple already built by his devotees 10 years ago in 1985 in the ashram according to Sri Annamalai Swami’s instructions. Regular poojas are performed in the samādhi temple. Swamiji’s presence is always felt in Sri Annamalai Swami Ashram. The body was dropped, but He is everywhere.

My last request

Towards the final days of Sri Annamalai Swami, I had asked Swami what would happen to my spiritual journey. I asked him who would free this soul. Swami replied that there was nothing to worry.

‘Another Jnāni will come. He will take care of you’, he said.

After Sri Annamalai Swami’s Mahāsamādhi, I was grief stricken. Twenty-one years of service to my Guru had ended. At that time I was also managing the ‘Annamalai Swami Trust’ and all its activities. I continued these activities for another 8 years. It was then (year 2000) that we had published the book Final Talks. Despite these activities, there was no peace in me. After considerable thought, I decided to hand over everything to Sri Ramanasramam as an offering to Bhagavan and travel to the Himalayas. I left Tiruvannamalai. For six years I wandered across the Himalayan region. There as well, I was blessed to meet so many jnānis.

Yet after six years I realized that my heart was still in Tiruvannamalai. So I returned in the year 2006 and spent the next four years in solitude and doing Giri Pradakshina everyday around Arunachala. It was on that same Girivalam road in 2010, that I met Sri Mahaprabu, a jnāni and devotee of Bhagavan. Sri Mahaprabu compassionately took me in as his disciple and has been guiding me ever since, just as Sri Annamalai Swami had told me in his final days.

With his guidance I once again took up the work of serving Sri Annamalai Swami. In the year 2010, on December 23rd, the Jayanthi day of Sri Bhagavan, together with the original trustees, we formed the “Sri Satguru Annamalai Swamigal Memorial Trust” along with the former trustees of the Annamalai Swami Ashram Trust. A few months later, on June 15th 2011, we also formed the “Sri Satguru Annamalai Swamigal Spiritual Trust”. I have been serving as the president of both these trust till date.

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