All preparations for Sree Narayana Guru's Samadhi rituals were meticulously made in advance. The Samadhi ‘Peetham’ (altar) was prepared atop Sivagiri hill, precisely where the foundation stone for the Brahma Vidya Mandiram had been laid. Under the devoted guidance of Plavila Kesavan Mesthiri, the crypt was constructed according to the disciples' instructions.
The following day, after ritual anointment (‘Abhishekam’) and adorning a chariot with flowers from the Mutt, Guru's physical body was reverently placed within it. Accompanied by prayers and music, people carried the chariot in a procession to the Vanajakshi Memorial Pavilion, allowing devotees to pay their final respects.
At five o'clock, the chariot bearing Guru's physical remains proceeded towards the hilltop. There, amidst camphor planks filled with sacred ash, the monks carefully removed Guru's body. The crypt was then filled up to the neck with rock salt, camphor, and sandalwood. All rituals concluded by midnight. The next morning, after performing ‘Abhishekam’ and covering the head with sacred ash and camphor, the covering stone was placed on the Samadhi. Poignantly, Guru's successor, Bodhananda Swami, attained Samadhi just three days later.
His subsequent successor, Govindananda Swami, was then appointed as the head of the Mutt. It was decided to perform the Mandala Ritual on the forty-first day after Guru's Samadhi. This ritual aimed to pay respects to Guru, marked by extensive food offerings to the needy, Vedic fire rituals, and other ritualistic offerings. Important monks were invited, honoured with ‘Dakshina’ (offerings), clothes, gifts, and a special meal, then formally sent off in a ceremony called Yati Pooja. Yati Pooja served as a formal declaration that Guru embodied the tradition of spiritual knowledge, and that his successors were dedicated to continuing that same tradition. In another ritual, ‘Moksha Deepam’ (Lamp of Liberation), the entire surroundings were adorned with lamps lit from a large camphor lamp at the Samadhi site. This symbolized a prayer: that the Guru had completely merged and become all-pervading.
