The next morning, when the priest opened the door, the Shiva Linga inside was wearing the garland. Priest was shocked and surprised. He called the attendants and showed them the garland. Everyone was confused and started guessing who would have done this finally they decided to go to Vandipalayam and check with the couple who make garland for the deities. When enquired the little boy (Siddhananda Swamigal) told them that he only asked the lord to wear the garland himself as the door was locked. Everyone was spell bound listening to him. They all went back to temple.

Meeting Muthukumaraswamy Pillai

As the years went by, Sithananda Swamigal was known to more people as a healer. Many people came to him seeking blessings and cures for their illnesses. He was getting known in the towns nearby.

At that time, a wealthy man named Muthukumaraswamy Pillai lived in Muthialpet. His wife Annammal suffered from a severe stomach illness that no doctor could cure.

Muthukumaraswamy and his brother went to meet the saint. Surprisingly, Sithananda Swamigal immediately asked him about his journey from Pondicherry, even though nobody had told him where they came from.

The Swamigal advised him to worship Lord Shiva at the Padaleeswarar temple first. After the darshan, he agreed to come to Muthialpet. As soon as he arrived there, Annammal was completely cured of her illness. She had no traces of the previous illness and she no longer went through the pain she was going through. This surprised people, as the whole area was familiar with the health issue she was facing.

On the request of Muthukumaraswamy and Annammal, Sithananda Swamigal agreed to stay in their house. From that day, people began to visit Sithananda Swamigal to get rid of their health issues and to get his blessings. Sometimes, Sithananda Swamigal visited families on request. He became known as a healer. 

Miracles and Compassion of  Sithananda Swamigal

Residents of Muthialpet like Muthaiah Mudaliyar and Sokkalinga Mudaliyar were ardent devotees of Sithananda Swamigal. Once, Muthaiah Mudaliyar’s pregnant wife was going through severe labor pain; helpless Muthaiah Mudaliyar ran to see the guruji. Sithananda Swamigal understood what was going on through his siddhis and told him, “Don’t worry, your son is born now. Go home and see him! Name him ‘Anandan’!’. Happy Muthaiah Mudaliyar ran home to see both the mom and the newborn son; he named the boy ‘Anandan’ as per the instructions of the Swamigal.

As per another interesting anecdote, once Sithananda Swamigal was returning after visiting a devotee in Kuyavarpalayam, Pondicherry. There was a liquor shop on the way. A drunkard having a drink there said to Sithananda Swamigal, “Why don’t you have a drink? You can talk a lot of spiritual stuff once this goes inside.” Swamiji ignored him and continued walking. But the drunkard kept insisting him to have a drink. Swamiji then agreed and started drinking the liquor, emptying a huge barrel. While Sithananda Swamigal looked normal, the drunkard actually got high because of the huge volume of liquor drunk by Sithananda Swamigal. His pulse rate began to go down.

The shopkeeper fell at Swamiji’s feet, asking for forgiveness. Swamiji started to walk at this point. Seeing what happened to the drunkard, the shopkeeper sent information to his family. Before his family and relatives came there, the drunkard’s situation got worse. They carried the drunkard to Sithananda Swamigal and his wife fell at his feet, begging him to heal her husband; Swamiji healed him and restored his condition. Then he made the drunkard promise that he wouldn’t drink again, before sending the couple home. 

Love for children and spiritual power

Sithananda Swamigal was fond of little kids. He used to play with them a lot. There is a village called Mailam near Tindivanam which is famous for its Murugan temple and the festivals conducted there. According to the anecdotes, Sithananda Swamigal had the power to show the festival in Mailam to the children while being in Pondicherry; Once the children fell asleep, everyone would have a vision of what was happening in Mailam temple.

The prediction of His Samadhi

One day, Muthukumaraswamy took Sithananda Swamigal to his farm in Muthialpet. While they were taking a walk inside, Sithananda Swamigal started looking at a place inside the farm for a long time. Then he revealed a secret. He said to Muthukumaraswamy, showing his own body, that it was going to stay there. He said it thrice. He was implying that he was going to be buried there.

Sithananda Swamigal’s final years and Jeeva Samadhi

During his final years, Sithananda Swamigal lost much of his body consciousness; he wouldn’t eat or drink for months unless someone compelled him to eat something.

There was a potter who always used to visit Sithananda Swamigal. He had been inviting Sithananda Swamigal to his home. He also made a statue of Sithananda Swamigal in clay. Once Swamiji agreed to come and visit him. Then the potter showed him the statue he made. Sithananda Swamigal looked at him for a long time and said, “This body is a shell made of skin; and this statue is a shell made of clay. The statue will soon take the place of the body”.

Ten days before the Jeevasamadhi day of Sithananda Swamigal, he told Muthukumaraswamy that his Prarabdha Karma was going to be over on May 28th that year (1837). He asked him to let everyone know about this. He said that he would go deep into meditation and his life in the body would end; then he could be buried in a cross-legged position, which is known as Jeeva samadhi. 

It is said that Sithananda Swamigal came to the present temple, where his tomb is built, on the day before he attained Jeeva Samadhi. Devotees expressed their concern about a muni, a disembodied being which was bothering people there, as it was a secluded spot by then. They were worried that they might not be able to visit his tomb regularly because of the fear. Sithananda Swamigal started staring at the sky in silence for a while; then a huge branch from a tree broke and fell down. Then Sithananda Swamigal told them, “the muni is gone now; so you don’t have to worry anymore!” 

Jeeva Samadhi

On May 28th, 1837, Sithananda Swamigal came to Muthukumaraswamy’s house. He closed his eyes for the last time and sat in a cross-legged position (Padmasana) in front of the devotees. They conducted a Puja for his body before conducting the burial. 

There is an anecdote about another miracle which is said to have occurred while Sithananda Swamigal’s body was carried for burial; he came to life for a moment just to tell people that the instructions for Jeeva Samadhi were not correctly followed. He gave proper instructions and went to samadhi again, never coming back to life. His body was then taken to Muthukumaraswamy’s garden in Karuvadikuppam, Pondicherry, and he was buried in the same place that was mentioned by him earlier.  A Linga was constructed over his tomb, which is the main shrine of the current Sithananda Swamigal Devasthanam (Temple) in Pondicherry.

The Temple Today:

Today, the Sithananda Swamigal Temple stands over his Jeeva Samadhi. The temple has two three-tiered Raja Gopurams facing west and south. The peaceful surroundings include a temple pond, trees, and meditation spaces.

Important shrines in the temple include:

• Guru Dakshinamurthy shrine
• Ayyappan shrine with 18 steps
• Naga (serpent) statues under sacred trees
• Meditation hall with the statue of the saint

Special celebrations include Maha Shivaratri, Guru Puja, and rituals during the Tamil month of Karthikai. Thursdays are particularly important for worship.

Devotees visit the temple seeking blessings, healing, and spiritual peace, remembering the life and miracles of the great saint Sithananda Swamigal.