Seshadri Swamigal - Mahasamadhi

Mahasamadhi

Having lived at Arunachala continuously for forty years and helping all kinds of people Sri Seshadri decided to finally shed his body. One day in 1928 during the month of Karthigai, he asked a devotee, 'Shall I build a new house and go away?' Meaning, 'I have completed my task, shall I now depart?' At first the devotee thought the question a prank but finally after many days and constant repetition of the question, she answered, that, 'He should construct a new house and practise yoga'. Sri Seshadri accepted Subbalakshmi's words as representative of Parasakthi's approval and satisfied he replied, 'Yes, yes, it shall be done!'.

Some days later his devotees, who wanted to photograph him, gave him an oil bath and then bathed, dressed, scented, garlanded and photographed him. Immediately Seshadri caught a fever. For forty days his condition worsened and on the forty-first day he found the strength to visit Arunachaleswara one last time. On returning from the temple he sat down in a puddle of water and refused to change his wet clothes when he got back to the house. Within days, on January 4, 1929, Sri Seshadri Swamigal left his body and Tiruvannamalai was engulfed in sorrow. After preparation his body was brought out in procession which is said to have been so splendid that the entire stock of camphor in the shops of Tiruvannamalai was exhausted and all incoming buses were full and over crowded. The streets were jammed with devotees and the night seemed like bright day as it was so brilliantly illuminated by the burning camphor. The air was filled with group-singing, devotional songs and the music of instrument players. It was at Agni Theertham that Sri Ramana Maharshi joined the procession. Further on a samadhi was constructed and Sri Swamigal's body interred. That samadhi tomb is now enshrined within the grounds of Sri Seshadri Ashram on Chengam Road, Tiruvannamalai. His body was not cremated but buried, as is the custom in the case of a saint. It is believed that Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi was present at the place silently observing the rituals till it was completed.