The Tapas
Having paid his respects to Sri Amara Naraeyana, Sri Naraeyana headed to the Vaikuntha Guhe (also known as the Udbhava Yoga Narasimha Cave) to begin his tapas.
Sri Naraeyana’s tapas or meditation lasted nine whole months, and went through several stages of evolution. From the sagunaradhana (worship of the physical manifestation of the Almighty) stage to the Nirugunaradhana (worship of the Almighty without form) stage, and from the Bahirmukha (looking beyond the
self) stage to the antarmukha (looking within oneself) stage, Sri Naraeyana persevered all through.
After the rigorous tapas, Sri Naraeyana attained enlightenment or siddhi and discovered that he possessed the power to turn pebbles into cubes of sugar candy.
Miracles
Through his tapas, Sri Naraeyana achieved the status of Yoga Vibhooti, or one who is able to channel the power of yoga to control the elements and create what the common man perceives as miracles.
Some of these miracles include breathing life into a clay statue of a bird, speaking to – and controlling – tigers, restoring the sight of a man who was going blind, bringing to life dead bulls, ensuring rain in the town of
Vadigenahalli after two years of drought, imploring Goddess Ganga herself to bring water to the town of Kaiwara and traveling to Tirupathi for a darshan even as his physical body remained in Kaiwara.
Gathering Followers
Word of these miracles spread far and wide. Before long, devotees from across the country were making their way to Kaiwara to seek the blessings of the learned sage they fondly called Thataiya, or grandfather.
Having achieved enlightenment himself, Thataiya was determined to ensure the same was within the reach of the common man as well. He conducted discourses and sermons to not only help his devotees lead a morally rich life, but also to spread awareness about spiritual values as preached by ancient seers, and to nudge his followers onto the path of enlightenment. He cautioned against the evils of blind superstition and meaningless rituals. He also severely condemned discrimination on the basis of caste and religion.
On the request of his devotees, Thataiya began to travel to different villages and towns, where he continued to
use discourses, bhajan sessions and scholarly conclaves to quietly bring about the social transformation and spiritual upliftment of the masses.
Moved by the unquestionable truth of his teachings, and wishing to express their gratitude for all he had bestowed on them, the residents of Kaiwara built a small hut made of leaves and grass (called parnakuti) for Thataiya. They requested the learned sage to move into it and continue to guide Kaiwara’s residents in their quest for moksha.
This humble parnakuti evolved to the magnificent and awe-inspiring ashram that is today called the Sri Yogi Naraeyana Mutt.