job and everything else to follow Chellappaswami for the next five years. His life became filled with intense spiritual discipline and severe austerity. Following Yogaswami's ordination (sannyas diksha), his guru sent him away and never received him again. Chellappaswami died in 1911. Yogaswami later spent years of intense tapas under the olive tree at Colombuthurai Road on the outskirts of Jaffna. His practice was to meditate for three days and nights in the open without moving or taking shelter from the weather. On the fourth day, he would walk long distances, returning to the olive tree to repeat the cycle. In his outward behavior, Yogaswami followed the example of his guru, for he would drive away those who tried to approach him. After some time, he finally allowed a few sincere seekers to approach. As more and more devotees gathered around him, his austere demeanor relaxed. He was eventually persuaded to occupy a small hut in the garden of a house near his olive tree. This remained his "base" for the rest of his life. Even here, he initially forbade devotees to revere or care for him. Devotees would come to him for help with all their problems, usually in the early mornings and in the evenings. Day and night, Yogaswami was absorbed in his inner worship. On one occasion, Yogaswami was seated in perfect stillness, like a stone. A crow flew down and rested for several minutes on his head, apparently thinking this was a statue. In January 1935, Yogaswami had his devotees begin his monthly journal, Sivathondan, meaning both "servant of Siva" and "service to Siva." As the years passed, his followers became more numerous. Swami relented a little, permitting them to express their devotion by cleaning and repairing his hut. Nearly all his devotees were householders and engaged in some form of employment or other. Apart from one or two exceptions, he rarely advised them to retire from their employment. For him, the whole of man's life had to be made a spiritual practice, and he would not admit any division of human activity into holy and unholy. In 1940, Yogaswami visited India on a pilgrimage to Banaras and Chidambaram. His letter from Banaras states, "After wandering far in an earnest quest, I came to Kasi and saw the Lord of the Universe – within myself." The herb that you seek is under your feet. " One