Over the 110 years of his blessed existence, Thataiya transformed the lives of thousands of individuals by shining light on the morally and ethically superior path.
By the 1830s, though his spirit continued to inspire followers with its exuberance, his body became frail with old age. Around this time, Thataiya decided to depart from the world of the living on a date and time of his choosing.
The fateful day dawned and Thataiya’s followers from around the country flocked to his ashram. They watched in rapt attention as a bright-eyed Thataiya delivered his final sermon.
Thataiya began by counselling the devotees against getting trapped in the illusions of the material world and urged them to approach all joys, hardships and sorrows in life with the same equanimity.
To be born a human being, he said, is a great blessing. Yet the sole aim of life should be moksha or enlightenment. This can be achieved by developing a keen understanding of Brahmajnana or the Supreme Reality. This knowledge, Thataiya advised, could only be obtained through service and devotion to a guru. Under the guidance of the guru, and using the tool of meditation, an individual can achieve enlightenment.
Thus saying, at the stroke of midnight on the third day of the month of Jyeshta, in the lunar year of Sri Durmukhi (1836-1837), Thataiya left the mortal world.
Today, the inner sanctum of the temple at the Sri Yogi Naraeyana Mutt houses the final resting space of the learned saint.