Ayyavu Swamikal

Biography

Ayyavu Swamikal was born in 1814 in Nakalapuram, Tamil Nadu. His original name was Subharayan. His parents were Mutthukumaran and Rugmini Ammal. His father and grandfather, Sri Hrishikesan, were scholars and experts in yoga and spiritual sciences. (Ayyaavu means "Father.")

At the age of twelve, Subharayan received spiritual initiation from two Tamil saints, Sachidananda Maharaj and Sri Chitti Paradeshi, who used to visit his father. They informed his family that he had a special assignment in life: he was destined to serve humanity in another place, and when the time was right, they would come to take him and prepare him to fulfill his duty. These avadhutas were said to be connected to great siddhas from Tamil Nadu living in the Himalayas who knew the science of immortality.

When he was sixteen, the two siddhas took him with them to Palani, where he learned advanced yoga. He traveled with them to Burma, Singapore, Penang, and Africa, meeting teachers of various religions and saints along the way. During his travels, Subharayan mastered English and acquired proficiency in Siddha medicine and alchemy.

At the age of nineteen, he was sent back home with instructions to look after his parents and family. At home, he continued his worship of the Goddess and yogic practices, often entering a state of Samadhi. His biographers and disciples state that by this time, he had acquired the Ashtasiddhis, or divine powers, including the ability of astral travel. Occasionally, he visited Pazhani, Chennai, and other religious sites as part of pilgrimages and to participate in scholarly discussions.

He also began writing and composed Brahmothara Khandam and Pazhani Vaibhavam. At the age of twenty-seven, following the advice of his gurus, he visited the Kodungalloor Devi Temple in Kerala. It is said that his devotion was so profound and his prayers so powerful that when he recited the keerthans, the temple bells rang by themselves, and the doors opened to give him darshan.

In a dream, the Goddess told him that she would appear before him in Trivandrum, so he traveled there during the reign of Swathi Tirunal Maharaja. The king learned of his scholarship and expertise in Sivaraja Yoga and invited him to the palace, from which he taught the king many things.

One day, while a family gathering related to a marriage was taking place at the house where he was staying, a very old, lean woman told him that someone from his village would come to meet him and advised him to go to the nearby traveler’s shed that night. The Goddess gave him darshan at that traveler’s shed that evening. Later, the Thycaud Devi Temple was constructed at this site. Before long, he returned to Tamil Nadu.

Within a few months, his father left for Kasi, and the entire responsibility for the family fell on his shoulders. He started a business to support them and, following his guru's advice, Subbarayan got married. He delivered spiritual discourses in Chennai and, as part of his business, supplied goods to a military camp in Chennai. There, he came into contact with a British official, Mr. McGregor. McGregor, who was interested in Indian religion, language, and culture, became fond of the English-speaking Tamil villager and established a friendship with him, eventually becoming his student.

During the reign of Maharaja Ayillyam Thirunal, McGregor was appointed as the Resident of Travancore. When the position of Manager for the Residency was available, he appointed Subbarayan as the Manager of the Residency in Thycaud in 1873. This post was one of the highest-ranking positions that the British allowed natives to hold, and people respectfully called him "Superintend Ayyavu." The term "Ayyavu" means a respectable or venerable person. As people came to recognize his yogic powers and scholarship, the name evolved from Superintend Ayyavu to Ayyavu Swami. Swami maintained strict discipline and was extremely punctual in his work.

Ayyavu used to deliver lectures on Bhakthi, Yoga and Vedanta in Jnanaprjagaram; where the leading literary, social and spiritual personalities in and around Trivandrum used assemble discuss and deliver lectures and discourses. He in association with <a rel="mw:WikiLink" href="./Manonmaniam_Sundaram_Pillai" title="Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai" id="mwIQ">Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai</a>, founded the Saiva Prakasha Sabha of Trivandrum.

He already knew that he had to permanently withdraw from the material world and enter into Samadhi on that day. When the King learned about his impending Samadhi, he wanted to provide a place for it near the palace and construct a temple there. However, Ayyavu insisted that his Samadhi should be at the Thycaud cremation ground and that it should be a very simple and small structure. Ayyavu Swami attained Samadhi on 20 July 1909. In 1943, a Shivalinga was installed over the Samadhi site of Ayyavu Swami in Thycaud. The temple was later improved under the patronage of Sri Chithira Thirunal Maharaja, the last king of Travancore. It is now known as Thycaud Siva Temple.