India is a land of mystics and seers. World teachers and religious reforms down the ages strode the land and preached the eternal verities of life.

The messages of Buddha, Mahavira, Shankaracharya , Basaveshwara and Guru Nanak in the days of old, and Ramakrishna Paramabamsa, Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi in recent times, were intended for the benefit of humanity in order that the World might be a happier place to live, free from strife and discord.

The land has been hallowed, time and again, by the yogis who scorned earthly comforts and subjected themselves to physical rigours to attain a life of spiritual perfection. They, thus, became the living examples of the ultimate triumph of spirit over matter. They showed the divine path to the distraught man. One such yogi was shri Yerriswamy of Chellaguriki.

The great sage, Shri Yerriswamy was no ordinary mortal. That he was something out of the ordinary or a super-human soul, there could-hardly, be two opinions. At least those who came into contact with him during his life-time testify that shri Yerriswamy was a great soul. Shuch swamijis are born once in ages. We must certainly consider those who met him and served him as singularly fortunate.

The District of Bellary, celebrated in many ways, was sanctified by his presence. Bellary itself is a place where several sages and swamijis had their being. Shri Mariswami Shivayogi, the reputed saint and his great disciple, Sakkari Karadeppa, lived in Bellary and by their super-human deeds, attracted a large following.

There was another great sage in Bellary namely Gadige Parasappa. Even in the surrounding regions of Bellary, several Yogis lived and made the area holy by their very existence. We may mention several in this connection, Lakshamma of Adoni, Jedappa Thatha of Yemmiganur, Gadilingappa of Gulya, Yerrithatha of Chellagurki, Lingappa of Kokkarchedu, Mariswamy of Balaganoor, Guddada Gavisiddheswara, Chidananda vadhootha of Ayodhya, Shivramavadhoota of Hemakoota and Venkavadhoota. They were all sages who will be remembered by posterity.

Chellaguriki is a hamlet on the Bellary –anantpur Road, There is nothing spectacular about ist excepting the Mutt of shri yerrithatha. It is just an ordinary road-side village. All eyes turned o n it only when the swamiji stepped on its soil. The place became thrice-blessed when he settled there. Could we afford to ignore the unusual sanctify of this little village? Nay, we cannot afford to do so. Here is a story.

Shri Mariswamy of Balaganoor, himself a dedicated soulused to prophesy that to the village of Chellagurki would be coming one day the great yerriswamy. Before he came, it is said that shri Mariswamy visited the village frequently and built a toy-like hut where the present Mutt is built. To the people who asked him what is signified, Shri Mariswami used to answer “This is a Mutt. Here would be arriving a great soul, a ‘Shiva-yogi’. For him, I am building this Mutt. A beautiful edifice is about to be constructed here, and this place will become a famous centre of pilgrimage in future”.

True to this prophecy within a short time, the great Yerriswamy arrived. It is learnt that he came to the place in the year 1897. Not much of his early life is known. Nobody asked he swamiji about is and to nobody, did he reveal anything. To those who asked him for details of his early life, he used to ask for paper and pencil and address a note to the Tahsildar of Hiriyur and then stop writing. So the silence regarding his early life continued.

Early life:

From the reports we have been able to gather, the Swamiji appears to have been a Veerashaiva Aradhya. His name appears to have been either Nanjudiah or Nanjaish. We do not know anything clearly about his parentage. It is said that he lived for some time with his wife and children, became a graduate, held high office and gave up wordly life to become a sage. One report is that his ancestors were form the Nizam`s territories and that he came and settled with his relatives in Mysore for educational facilities. After completing his education, he must have become either a Magistrate or a Deputy Commissioner. In the year of Raudri, Sarabaiah of Meenahalli, Kallappa of Joladarasi and Virupakshappa of Chellagurki(father of the present Shri Doddabasavana Gowda) were working as masteries when famine relief work was going on. The Collector of Bellary, the Collector of Anantpur and the Revenue Officer of Rayadurga once met at Chellagurki to enquire into the complaint that people were getting low wages. The Revenue Officer on seeing the Mustt enquired what it was, to which the masteries replied that it was Shri Yerrithatht’s that he was a great Yogi and that thousands of people were visiting the place from all corners of the country and that Swamiji’s greatness was truly indescribable. Not being satisfied, the Revenue Officer ventured into the Mustt followed by the three masteries. On seeing the Swamiji, he prostrated before him and broke into conversation with him in English. The surprise of the around knew no bounds on observing the Swamiji and he had studied together, and that he was form Kolar, that he was from an Aradhya family, that he had formerly worked as Deputy Collector and later resigned the post. It was a mystery to him as to how the Swamiji came to be a “Siddhapurusha”. The officer prayed the Swamiji t Swamiji to bess him with a son but the latter said that knowledge alone was the offspring and therein, lay the salvation.

Some say that Shri yerrithatha lived for some time at Kalyanadurga and that Swamiji’s wife and others came from Chikkanayaknahalli to take him back. But on realising that it was futile to change the mind of the Swamiji, she returned.

One report is the Shri Yerrithatha was from Chikkanayakanahalli and taht his name was Nanjappa Sastry. This is based on the version of a merchant from Tumkur who when he accosted the Swswamiji at Chellagurki put the question, “Nanjappa Sastry, why are you here? Do you not wish to return to your place?” Shri Yerrithatha beckoned to him with his fingers to keep quiet.

Several persons from Chikkanayakanahalli came to him and implored him to return, but the Swamiji would not.

Before coming to Chellaguriki, Shri Yerrithatha used to wander about at places like Kalyanadurga, Belaguppa, Musturu, Uruvukonda, Velugonde and Cheekalaguriki.

He is credited with having performed many miracles while at Uruvukonda. He used to dive in the tank and swim at will in the wells. He would eat only when somebody offered him. But again he would go down the water and come out whenever it pleased him. It once happened that a Muslim vagabond jumped right on Shri Yerrithatha when he was in water. As a result, the Swamiji went deep down the water. The nervous Mohanmedan began a frantic search for the Swamiji in the well but unable to find him, was tracing his steps back into the town when he was perplexed beyond measure to find him worshipping Basavanna at the local basaveshswara temple. He had a twinge in this conscience that his family would be ruined. The event happened. In no time, he was completely ruined.

The bad characters of Uruvukonda used to throw stones at Shri Yerrithatha. Unmindful of this, Shri thatha used to go about in the Bazzar. He would be either found at the basvveswara temple or at the Kanyakaparameswari temple. Sometimes he used to be in the house of Gurramu Sanjeevamma or in that of Hebbavasathi Jeejamma alias Mallamma. The latter was very poor, and by her devoted service became prosperous. The Swamiji’s daily programme used to be to take bath and food at his pleasure in Jeejamma’s house and go to the Patel’s well or tank and have a swim to his heart’s content. Utterly oblivious of his surroundings, he used to sing in the bazaar taking as his refrain, “The beauty of Rangayya’s Feet’” and then would go to the Verandah of some temple and sit there. That is how he used to spend his time. Before Jeejamma met Shri Thatha, one Allaswamy used to come to her place. Being a devotional lady, she extended her utmost hospitality to the saints and sages who visited her. Allaswamy once said to Jeejamma that a Swamiji greater than himself would be coming to her house and asked her to serve him and become prosperous. So saying he left. It is not known to which place he went. It was left to Jeejamma to serve the Swamiji, when he came to her house.

To those mothers who asked him for a remedy for their children’s fever, he would ask for a piece of jaggery to stop it. When that was done, the fever would abate. When some others asked him, he used to utter “Jaya Namah Parvatipathe Hara Mahadev”. If he uttered these words, it meant that those children had no chance of survival.

It so happened that a well at Karur Konakondla was full of weeds and emitting bad smell. He was living near there, Gattu Mallesappa Baruguntla Mallappa and Chennammallappa came to the Swamiji to invite him to the village when he said, “Let us go and drink water”. The visitors approached the well with suspicion, but when they drank the water, they found it sweet.

Some highway robbers approached him for blessings when he was asleep at Basaveswara temple at Jambunath. The Swamiji was silent. The brutes that they were, struck a coconut on the swamiji’s head. Still he kept quiet and would not move as external injuries had no effect on his paychic body. It is the thieves who met with trouble when they committed theft at one Rangiah’s house. Some were caught and sent to jail and others died fighting among themselves.

Before he came to Uruvaknda, Shri Yerrithatha stayed on a stone pillar at Belaguppa Hill, lived for some time at Yenue-hole and thereafter went to Mustruru. On seeing the stone image of basavanna, he said “Move on, Basavanna”. This stone image actually walked. He also told the Patel of the place that the latter’s end was nearing.

When he came to musturu, he was staying at Ramalamma’s temple and would not talk if anybody talked to him and if only anybody brought something to eat like ‘Puri’ and gram he would eat. Thereafter he left the place for Uruvakonda. For some time, he stayed on the banks of stream between Budhagavi and Cheekalagurki. Dasarayya, the owner of the land, attempted to communicate with the Swamiji but there was no response. A big storm arose and the sky was heavily over-cast. Dasarayya said to Shri Yerrithatha “ there si likely to be heavy rain; let us go”. But the Swamiii would not speak, nor did he show any inclination to move out. In the meanwhile, there was a heavy downpour. Dasarayya ran from the place and took shelter. The stream overflowed the banks and completely had been sept away. When the stream subsided. Dasarayya could not believe his eyes when he saw the Swamiji sitting on the bank unperturbed. Then he realised that the Swamiji was not a mad man but a great soul. On hearing this, Gururaappa of Chekalagurki went to see the Swamiji with “bondas” freshly prepared. He offered the “Bondas” to the Sawamiji but the Swamiji only sniffed at them and refused to eat. Gururayappa asked the swamiji what would happen to him if he did not eat. Quick came the reply ‘Hell’. Gururayappa was enraged and exclaimed “What about your fate?”. The Swamiji said “Heaven”. Gururayappa realised the situation and implored the Swamiji for mercy. Sri Yerrithatha took pity and said to him “Workship Iswara. What is mine is mine and yours is yours”. The significance is that if one wanted to attainsalvation, it was only through worship of Shiva and that he had nothing to offer. His sniffing at ‘bondas’ indicated his disdain for earthly desires.

When he was staying near Kuruvanahalla Mallappa’s Hill one Lakshmamma and Yelagonde Basappa used to take food to him. A big wooden plank had been given to the Swamiji by a devotee. He offered is as a blessing to Basappa. His position improved. This is what Basappa himself has said. Great men are like that and we need not go to the Whys and Wherefores now.

It was the monsoon season. Shri Yerrithatha was moving aobut in that area. Even when his body was covered with straws and other rubbish after a big storm, the Swamiji used to be unmindful. On one occasion, it so happened that a cobra coiled ifself round his body, raised its bood and appeared as been out of the ordinary just as the Swamiji was.

Not being aware of anything in particular, the Swamiji used to feed on anything and everything. The street-dogs and crows used to swarm around and join him. He share his food with them and felt supremely happy in their company. There is nothing intrinsically mean or small when the whole world is enveloped with the effulgence of Shiva. When one himself is an incarnation n of Shiva, there are no obstacles.

One report is that Shri Yerrithatha was from Tumkur and that he was Magistrate and that while in service, he used to go into a trance. After a time he left the job. He would climb to the top of a coconut tree and sit there in yogic contemplation. He had understood the tenets of Veerashaivism and the worship of Linga and became a “Siddhapurasha”.

It is also said that Shri Yerrithatha’s original name was Nanjundappa, and that he came from Linganahalli and athat he was given to simple living and that he learnt much from Nagappa, a Lingayat scholor of Linganahalli. When Nagappa realised that Shri Yrrithatha was greater than himself, he told him that there ws nothing to learn from him and that he would do well to approach Ganganarya of Doddaballapur.

Accordingly Shri Thatha proceeded to Doddaballapur to meet Gaganrya and waited for two or three days to seek his “Darshan” and blessings. Gaganrya commanded him to go round the town thrice in a naked state. Shri Thatha obeyed the Guru and received his benediction. Thereafter the Swamiji did‘not go back to Linganahalli but stayed at Doddaballapur in the service of his Guru. Gaganarya named this Nanjundappa as “Niranjana”.

There is an interesting story of how this Nanjundappa became “ Niranjana”.

Some portions of the manuscript of a work written by Ganganarya had been destroyed by white ants. Ganganarya was worried over this and Nanjundappa asked Ganganarya as to why he was worried. He replied that his mind had been agitated as his literary work had been destroyed. The Swamiji assured him that he would restore the portion eaten away by white ants. Ganganarya was wondering how Nanjundappa could do it when he himself did not remember what he had written. So saying, he went out for a while. Before he came back, the Swamiji had prepared a new copy. Ganganarya was baffled and exclaimed to him, “You are not an ordinary soul. You are a Niranjanamurthy”. Thus he came to be known as ‘ Niranjana’. It is not known what the manuscript related to, but this incident should serve to throw a side-light on the extraordinary powers of the Swamiji.

Once when he away at Mysore, his Guru Ganganarya, was on his death bed at Doddaballapur. He was bewailing his fate that he would die without seeing his disciple. Sri Thatha by his sixth sense became aware of it and immediately appeared himself before his Guru at Doddaballapur. Ganganarya, on seeing his disciple, felt extremely happy and died a peaceful Hills.

According to some people, he had nothing on his body except a little cloth covering and a country rug. He had overgrown nails in his hands. He lived near one Thathayya’s tomb. While he lived at the Malleswara Hill, one Byrappaswami was looking after him. At Chikkanayankanhalli, he was not allowing anybody to come near him. He was a Veerashiva and came from the family of the Swamiji of Siddhaganga. They were also calling him by the name of Yogappaswamy or Yogayyaswamy, and the Swamiji who was an addict of Ganja had a separate pipe for himself and would not part with it to others.

Another report is that he was at the Rangaswamy hill and that his name was Nagendrayya or Nageshayya Yogi.

When Sri Thatha came to Belaguppe, he was roaming about in a completely naked condition. On seeing him, people used to flee out of fear or sense of shame but one young lady did not move out. The Swamiji came to her and touched her breast. As a result, the woman who had no issue delivered a male child. But this miracle is attributed to another Yerriswamy of Belaguppe by Sri Guru Sangameshwara Sastry.

Sri Yerrithatha of Chellaguriki and Yerriswamy of Belaguppe wre together for some time at Belaguppe. The Thatha had a small Linga around his neck. He used to plunge himself in one well and come out in another. At that time, he was 30 years old.

One day when Lakshamamma’s grandfather was journeying to this place. Sri Yerrithattha met him on the way and took him to an ant-hill. He asked him to spread the rug and shut his eyes. He did so and the Thatha filled the rug with snakes and asked him to carry it home. He was told the place it at the worshipping place and open the bundle after offering pooja. The old man was afraid but did as he was asked to do by the Swamiji. When he opened the bag, he saw lumps of gold and was overwhelmed with joy.

Sri Yerrithatha stayed for 15 days at Belaguppe and took food at one Veeramm’s house. One day, he happended to see a plan being prepared for Nagareswara temple. He rejected it and prepared a big plan himself.

He stayed at Musturu for 15 days at Thippareddy’s house and was watering the Mango plants in the garden.

Sri Yerrithatha went to attend the car-festival of Siddeswara. At the fair, a live coal fell on his head from a lighted torch. The matted locks on his head were burnt, but still he this was and whether he was really mad.

Probably on account of this reason,. Thippareddy took a fancy to have his head and beard shaved and gave him an oil bath. But the Thatha would not stand this any longer. He left the place for good.

He used to stay at the same time in three or four places and would talk with the people. Once he saw a dead vulture and asked it to go away. The dead vulture came back to life and flew away. At Uruvakonda, two women bad gone to invite him. The Swamiji dived into a well and brought out two snakes. To the utter surprise of the women, he said to them “You can take them”. One Woman ran away in fright and the other one taking courage in both her hand agreed to take it. It is this lady that became rich soon after.

When Sri Thatha went to Yelagonde, his body was covered with filth. Whether he had done it himself or whether he got the filth on his body by sleeping on a dirty place, it is not known. But in that condition he went and sat in the midst of people who got disgusted with hte sight and asked the local village official to evict him from the place. Talavara’as he is known, took him out and left him on the banks a brook. Two days later, the village cowherds saw a whiff of human hair amidst a heap of rubbish which had collected after a heavy rain. They removed the rubbish but were aghast on news to the village. The village corpse. They conveyed the news to the village. The village elders came to the place, cleared the rubbish and were astonished to know it was no man. This was nothing short of a miracle and the people of Yellagode took him back to the village. Sri Thatha stayed in the place for some time and went to Chellagurki.

This is the early history of the Swamiji. How much of this i true and how much of this is untrue, it is not clear . The veracity of the accounts is known only to the Swamiji. But this much can be sai; the incidents mentioned above have all been narrated by people who claimed to have witnessed them.

At Chellaguriki:

It was in the year 1897 that the news spread at Chellaguriki taht a strange person had come to the place and was staying at Mallapp’s dung-hill. On hearing this, Yalpi Bheemanagouda, Uluru Doddappa, Moke Karibasappa, Jayanoor Hampanna, Kolagallu Basalingappa and several other leading men of the village proceeded to the spot and saw the Swamiji sitting in a serene manner. They asked him his name and where abouts but the Swamiji did not break his silence. They invited him to the village but still there was no reply. It was getting dark. Neither darkness not the people distracted him. The people were getting ready to go back to their village. Sri Thatha murmured something but they dared not go near him. At last, they went back to their village. Sri Thatha murmured something but they dared not go near him. At last, they went back to their village.

When they visited the spot next day, Sri Thatha was seated there and except a small cloth over his body, there was nothing else to cover him. He was sitting quietly in the place unmindful of cold or rain. This phenomenon made the people of Chellaguriki develop fear as well as respect towards the Swamiji. They requested him to go to their village but Sri Thatha would not budge. He said ‘no’ but the people took him by his shoulders and escorted him to the village walking in spite of protest.

It so happened that in the village there was a small hut put up for supplying drinking water to the thirsty people as it was summer. Sri Thatha was made to sit on the veranda but he went inside the hut and sat there, Sri Thatha went to the Iswara temple and stayed there for some time. He spent some days in the houses of Yalpi Bheemanagowda and Megalamane Doddanagowda. In the mean while, Cholera attacked the village and took a toll of 300 lives.

As though it was a premonition of Cholera,Sri Thatha used to visit the burial ground hundreds of times daily which made the people wonder why this mad man was behaving like this. It was only eight or ten days after this, that Cholera broke out in a virulent form.

When Cholera was raging, Sri Thatha threw stones at some houses and at others he attempted to throw but held back his hand.

People were quite tired of his antics, let alone the ravages of Cholera, that they were hard put to stand the nuisance of stone-throwing by the Swamiji.

In the houses at which he had thrown stones one or two persons died and in those houses at which he did not throw stones, there were no deaths, but even though some persons wer attacked, they survived.

One Kolagallu Veeramma in whose house there were two attacks Cholera, approached the Swamiji in prayerful mood and asked for his blessings. He took her by her breasts and pressing her against the ground, told the lady to go back to her house. By the time she returned home the patients were free from the disease. He had forewarned the villagers of the approaching epidemic.

Sri Thatha was the first to be attacked by Cholera. He drank gruel with buttermilk in it and became free from the disease. But the disease attacked the people of the village.

When many deaths took place, the people became nervous. Gangadhariah, Bheemanagowda and others approached Sri Thatha and asked him when the Cholera would abate to which he replied that the accounts were not ready.

To some others like Matapathi Kumarayya and Karibasayya he said, that it would begin to abate the next day. Sri Thatha got hold of a he buffalo dedicated to the local deity and taking it by the ear, brought the animal to Ramanagowda’s house. The frightened people asked him what it was all about. Sri Thatha said to the people to whorship the animal and sent it away. The people accordingly worshipped the animal. Then Sri Thatha beckoned to the beast to take away its people. The dumb animal went away silently. The Cholera stopped the very next day.

One Bheemanna, a barder by profession, took sri Thatha to his field and built a worshipping place for the Swamiji to live in. Thinking that it would not be a proper abode for the Swamiji, the people brought him and settled him in one Hampayya’s place. A new house was soon built there for the Swamiji.

There is a story about why swamiji was asked to leave the field of Bheemanna.

One day, Bheemanna, brought a bottle of arrack and asked the Swamiji to give it back to him after taking a portion as him offering, Karibasayya and Ayyanogowda on seeing this, asked the barber as to what it was that was placed before the Swamiji. The barber replied that it was an arrack bottle. They asked him whether Sri Thatha who was drinking but himself. They immediately realised that the barber was not the proper company for the great Swamiji and took him back to the village in a cart to the accompaniment of music.

Once,he approached a house and asked the old lady of the house to bring him some curds. It so happened that a a calf was dead in the house and we can understand the feelings of the woman who was asked for curds when the calf was dead. The Swamiji sensed the pangs of the old woman and gently kicked the dead calf commanding it to wake up. The dead calf at once came to life and went near its mother.

On another occasion, a boy approached the house of a rich man for buttermilk. But the people inside asked him to come later. The boy was walking back with the empty vessel which Sri Thatha happened to see. He touched the vessel with his hands and asked the boy to cover it with his upper cloth. When the boy reached the house he was surprised to see the vessel filled with butter-milk.

Such miracles were happening daily and many people were approaching him for blessings and for fulfilling their desires.

Among such people was one Thikkayya, a good-natured soul. He came to Sri Thatha in a self-less spirit. We do not know his real name or his parentage or his early life or his whereabouts. This man was just known a sThikkayya just as the Swamiji was known as Thikkayya just as the Swamiji was known nas Yerrithatha. To a disciple who was hankering after a great Guru, here was one i n Sri Yerrithatha. From that day onward. Thikkayya stayed on to seve his Guru. His job was to visit the houses for alms.

The mutt we are seeing today is the result of the supremedevotion of Thikkayya. It is said that he built it with effortless ease. Sri Yerrithatha lives there, but Thikkayya does not. Thikkayya did not stay there for long. It is difficult to divine the reason. Thikkayya effaced himself in the service of his Lord. In every object that he saw, he used to see the great Yerrithatha, who was no other than the personification of Shiva. Thikkayya had wandered far in search of a true Sadhu and had seen many before he met Sri Yerrithatha. He has sung a hymn full of feeling in praise of the Swamiji. He had seen many Sadhus before, some of them cheats in disguise, but a true Guru, he found only in Sri Yerrithatha. He had come across Swamis who were bereft of scruples and that is why he went into ecstasies on seeing Sri Yerrithatha.

One who has no aim does not deserve a Guru. One who has no Guru is not able to fathom his ultimate aim in life. It is a truism that the forest and youth are alike. Many get lost in the woods and a great many stumble in their youth. Therefore one should not lose sight of the aim. He should not forget this Guru. He can realise his Guru if he develops a single-mined devotion like Thikkayya.

Thikkayya has sung in praise of the Swamiji in several ways. The refrain of his song was that when he had lost his way and was not in sight of it, it is the Guru that came to his rescue by leading him on the right path. He was waiting for his Lord and as though to answer his humble call, the great Swamiji appeared before him. That is why when he saw the Swamiji at last, he danced with joy and burst into song in praise of his Guru. He says that he was a slave of the Swamiji and entreats to the Swamiji to do anything he liked for after all, was he not a great benefactor?

Some become Swamis drawn by the attraction of the earthly goods or the property of the Mutt. But they will stand exposed in no time. In the case of some, the Mutt builds itself by the devotion of its people. The Swamis who live in it it are not after any money.

Many people were coming for the “darshan’ of the great Swamiji from all parts. Soon it became necessary to buld a mutt for providing food and shelter to the growing number of pilgrims. The building in which Sri Yerrithatha was residing was found to be small. Should the Swamiji continue to live in a petty house? The devotees decided to erect a big mutt and the man who got the inspiration for it was no other than Thikkayya. He inspired others too.

What was once the spot indicated by Sri Mariswamy of Balaganoor came to be selected as the proper place for building a mutt.

Thikkayya was a man who was known for his sincerity, spirit of renunciation, honesty and also eloquence. It is his eloquence and the sweet songs that he rendered that came in good stead in persuading the people to help him in the construction of the Mutt.

The people of Chellaguriki also did their best for the con struction of the Mutt.

Sagar Eswarappa of Kokkaruchedu village donated Rs.3,000 bullocks costing Rs. 400 and a cart valued at several hundreds of rupees.

One Chavani Pakirappa, a rich Vysya, contributed Rs.3,000.

The people of the surrounding villages also contributed their mite and helped Thikkayya in the construction of the Mutt. About one and a half acres of land were acquired and Thikkayya built a compound wall and a structure of 60 feet long, 40 feet broad and 16 feet high. No doubt, the Mutt was built. But it was not so easy to bring the Swamiji to the Muttas to erect it. The people of Chellaguriki did not evince much interest in getting the Swamiji to reside in the Mutt.The reasons were obvious. There were two parties in the village. The people divided among them elves. One party said that the Swamiji should live in the Mutt built for him. The other said that it was inconvenient to the people because who would go to a place so distant from the village and take the trouble of carrying food to the Swamiji? What an amount of trouble would it be for the children, women folk and old people to walk the distance?

One party went to the extent of giving a complaint to the Magistrate and to the police. If Sri Yerrithatha ere to leave the village, it would accentuate the party spirit and lead to bloodshed.

What was the use of building a Mutt if Sri Yerrithatha were not to live there? That was the argument put forward by Thikkayya and his people. Not finding a solution, they went to the Swamiji when he replied. “Let the Reserve Police come”.

Summons were issued to both the parties to present themselves before the Magistrate. Thikkayy’s, men said that they would not compel the Swamiji to come to the new building They would only be prepared to take him if he came. Elaborate preparation were made at the premises of the Mutt to receive SriYerrithatha. The appointed day arrived. About 30 armed police came there. Security precautions had been taken to see that no untoward incident took place. The Circle Inspector went with reverence to the Swamiji and asked him, “Do you, Swamiji, wish to stay here or come to the Mutt?” Hearing this, the Swamiji spontaneously said, “Let us go”. He got up immediately and went to the Mutt amidst scenes of rejoicings, grandeur and enthusiasm. The tussle between thje two parties thus ended on a happy note.

So it was, that the Swamiji had to be brought with some difficulty to the Mutt the construction of which had also entailed some difficulty. The construction of the Mutt was indeed a bigtask. But Thikkayya succeeded at last. Unable to contain his joy, he burst into a song in praise of the Swamiji. The whole theme of the song was that the Guru had at last arrived; the one who would not come before had at last come bringing eternal happiness to his devotees. It was just like bestowing eyesight to the blind and the power of walking to the lame. It was like Shiva descending fro his abode in ‘Moun Kailas’ and settling in the village of Chellaguriki.

True to expectations, the Mutt provided a good shelter to the pilgrims. Facilities to the extent possible were made available to the pilgrims. They began pouring into the place from several parts of the country. There were many who came and offered food grains to the Mutt. Many more came there and partook of the hospitality provided by the Mutt.

Thikkayya would go round the villages, beg people for food grains and bring them to the Mutt in order to provide food to the pilgrims.People were not wanting, who became jealous of the good work of Thikkayya and his reputation. They formed a party of their own and began to spread evil stories about Thikkayya casting reflection on his character. Such stories also reached the ears of the Swamiji. There were some who would not hesitate to do away with Thikkayya, but Thikkayya was unafraid.

Realising the danger to his nlife, Sri Yerrithatha said to him, “you had better go away”. Without a word, Thikkayya left the place, nor was it for him to ask the Swamiji the reason for his exit. About his character, he did not try to plead. It did not even surprise him that the Swamiji had lent his ears to the malicious words of scandalmongers. His duty was only to obey the behest of the Swamiji and not to question why.

It did not occur to his mind as to where he should go and what he should do next. For a man who believed that the Swamiji resided everywhere, such a question became irrelevant. It was his firm belief that wherever he lived he could render the same service to his Lord. Thikkayya was no doubt one who had given up everything in life. When Shri Thatha asked him, he came. He did whatever he was commanded by the Swamiji to do. When the Swamiji asked him to go, he left the place without a second thought. It was easy for him to leave the Mutt but it was not easy for him to forget the Lord for whom he had built the Mutt.After prostrating himself before the Swamiji, he left the Mutt for good with a song on his lips in praise of the great saint for whom he had dedicated his life.

After Thikkayya went away, one Siddalingappa looked after the affairs of the Mutt and did his work well. There is an episode about this Diddalingappa.

The devotees who were visiting the Mutt were naturally falling at the feet of the Swamiji. They used to do so at the feet of Siddalingappa also. Siddalingappa by the way was not a jangam nor had he the fitness to become the Guru of a Mutt.Shri Yerrithatha had seen on several occasions the unusual scene of Siddalingappa receiving homage this way by his devotees. He said once or twice that Siddalingappa would lose his feet.

One day, Siddalingappa after bathing the Swamiji patted him on his abdomen and said that the Swamiji was growing fat. The Swamiji who had previously observed his growing insolence got enraged and said to him. “Do not make fun, you bastard, I will shoot you with a Gun”

　　　　
A few days after this episode, some revenue officials happened to be camping at the Mutt. They had kept a loaded gun in a corner. Somebody stumbled on it and the bullet, flew right into the foot of Siddalingappa who was in the company of people Siddalingappa lost his leg. So the Swamiji’s prophecy that Siddalingappa would be hit by a bullet came true.

It was been said earlier that the Swamiji was out of ordinary. He did not care for his outward appearance or was he mindful of the cloth he was wearing, though he radiated light on all that came near him.

His face, which was of unusual beauty, only reflected the inner charm which came to him as a result of deep meditation. Here was a perfected soul with excellences abounding. Of his physical features, to use the picturesque phraseology of Sri Joladarasi Doddanagowda himself reputed Kannada poet and writer,

“The Swamiji had a tall stature, a body of golden colour shining with a rare brightness, log locks of hair, pointed beards a large forehead, thickly-grown eyebrows, a penetrating sight which could captivate the hearts of the onlookers, a well shaped nose, lips of deep red, faintly visible from out of his moustaches and beards, an unblemished neck, a broad chest, long arms, coiled nails and in short, was a person of ineffable splendour in whichever posture he was seen, whether standing or walking or leaning or sleeping”.

As a lady described once, one could see a reflection of one’s own self on the face of the Swamiji; so transparent, clear and bright was the complexion of the Swamiji.

Though born in a Jangama’s family he had no Lingam on his body. Some people objected to this but he was above the stage of wearing a Lingam and showing himself to the outside World. Because he did not wear it, it did not mean that he had not the Lingam in himself. It is not that the body wore it, but his spirit was one with the Lingam. To say that he had not the Lingam on his body is to betray our own ignorance. The swamiji detested the idea of wearing any out own ignorance. The swamiji detested the idea of wearing any outwards symbols. It is only spiritual souls like himself who could see the Lingam alone was visible the ‘Mangalasuthra’ of Chandramathi. He was a true Shivayogi.

The Swamiji shuffled Off his moral coils at 10 O’clock in the morning on the fourth day of the month of Jyesta Suddha in the year of Dundhubhi corresponding to 1922 A.D. Thus ended the earthly life of the Swamiji, but he remains immortal in the hearts of his innumerable devotees. His spirit knows no death. At the time of his passing away, he asked the people near him to call the Daffedar to bring water. Here “ Daffedar” means Chakubande Karibasiah which was the name given to him by the Swamiji. When the Daffedar brought water, Sri Yerrithatha drank it uttering the words “SHIVA SHIVA” and became one with Shiva. He died suffering no pain or fatigue. His body lay in state for three days covered with robes, sacred beads, rosaries, flowers and incense.

People from all parts came to pay their last respects to him. Bhajans went on and the walls of the Mutt resounded with the holy words of “Jaya Namaha Parvatipathi Hara Hara Majadev” and “Nama Shivaya OM Nama Shivaya”.

People in their thousands came, broke coconuts, burnt camphor amidst the flourishing of trumpets, the beating of drums and the music of pipers.

Though the Swamiji lived for 100 years, there was not a wrinkle on his face. His appearance remained as radiant as when he was alive. His ‘darshan’ inspired the devotees to everlasting devotion. He was the very embodiment of Lord Shiva.

Shri Thikkayya with uncanny foresight had constructed a beautiful “Samadhi” for the Swamiji during his life-time. Amidst the chanting of hymns and music, the Swamiji’s body was taken to his final resting place which was filled with rosaries and sanctified ash tablest.

On the same day, ten thousand people were sumptuously fed in the Mutt. The last rites went on for a month.

Thus Shri Yerrithatha went away from us in the month of Jyesta Suddha in the year of Dundubhi. Though out of view physically, can we ever forget him?