day, he visited Ramana Maharshi at his Arunachalam Ashram. The two simply sat all afternoon, facing each other in silence. Not a word was spoken. Back in Jaffna he explained, "We said all that had to be said." In 1961, the 89-year-old Yogaswami broke his hip while feeding his cow, Valli. Swami spent months in the hospital, and once released, needed a wheelchair. He still meted out his wisdom and guidance throughout his final few years. At 3:30 am on a Wednesday in March 1964, Yogaswami passed away at age 91 in Colombuthurai. The whole nation of Sri Lanka stopped when the radio spread news of his Great Departure (mahasamadhi), and devotees thronged to Colombuthurai and Jaffna to bid him farewell. Today, a temple complex is being erected in Colombuthurai on the site of the hut where he lived for 50 years. Spiritual lineage He followed shaivism sect (Shaiva Siddhanta) of Hinduism. He belongs to Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara. Saiva siddhanta is prevalent in South India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. His Spiritual lineage: Maharishi Nandinath→ Tirumular→ → → nameless rishi from himalayas →Kadaitswami→ Chellapaswami→ Siva Yogaswami→Sivaya Subramuniyaswami→ Bodhinatha Veylanswami Natchintanai Yogaswami conveyed his teachings in over 3,000 poems and songs, called Natchintanai, "good thoughts," urging seekers to follow dharma and realise God within. These flowed spontaneously from him. Any devotee present would write them down, and he occasionally scribed them himself. Natchintanai teachings have been published in several books and through the primary outlet and archive of his teachings, the Sivathondan, a monthly journal he established in 1934 (see above). To this day, Yogaswami's devotees intone Natchintanai songs during their daily worship. Natchintanai is a profound tool for teaching Hinduism's core truths. Yogaswami's message Yogaswami's message to the world is "Know thy Self by thyself" (Thannai Ari-தன்னை அறி)and the path to realise the self is the "Sivathondu". The one who is doing Sivathondu is called Sivathondan (Servant of Siva). Four great sayings (maha-vakyas) in the Tamil language encapsulate his message: Oru Pollapum Illai: "There is not even one wrong thing." Muzhuthum Unmai: "All is truth." Eppavo mudintha kaariyam: "It was all accomplished long ago." Naam Arivom: "We will find out." Disciples Among the thousands of devotees of Sivayogaswamy, four disciples followed his path. One of the four was Markandu Swamy, who worked for the Department of Survey in Sri Lanka before moving to Kaithady Ashram. Yogaswamy remarked one day regarding