For a long time our English-only version of Tirukural, called Weaver’s Wisdom, has only been available in black and white. Our editors decided to upgrade to full-color, using artwork by the late S. Rajam for each chapter, and new art created through AI to begin each section of the book.
This second edition is in hardcover for durability. The photos above show a “proof” copy we received from Amazon to check for any final issues to fix. We found several mistakes, fixed those and the book will shortly be available at amazon.com and our minimela.com website.
The final [bonus] photo shows one of our new hybrid hibiscus harvests.
Satguru arrives in India and is greeted by the Rajasankara and Madan Ganesh Sumathi families
Satguru arrives at the event
Recently Satguru was asked to attend the first Bhārateeya Santa Mahaa Parishshad event which brings together hundreds of Hindu leaders in Bengaluru. An estimated 800 saints were in attendance plus 500 other attendees and several hundred volunteers.
A bronze Ganesha peers through a giant anthurium leaf
That’s our Bandit sitting on his throne mocking the rain
That’s Yali our guardian, protecting us from the inner planes
Jai Ganesha!
The last few weeks at the Aadheenam we’ve been getting light rains and rainbows. This morning we were walking around our lush, dew-gemmed gardens and thought of all of you! We didn’t want to be the only one’s to enjoy these beautiful plants today. Those on the other side of the world and elsewhere should enjoy them, too! Aum!
“The flower has a stalk. There always has to be something that sustains you. If everything were perfect, there would be no reason for this birth. The moon makes no attempt to dispel the darkness that covers one portion of it; it gives light to the earth and dispels darkness there.” – Yogaswami
The drone hovering above and bathing one of the towers.
A close shot of the top of the flagpole, a rare view.
This is Timo, the Maui-born pilot, landing his drone, named Kaimalu which means “Sea Breeze”
The gold right after it was applied, so pristine.
Deva Rajan and Jill, a gilder, at work.
A close look at this image reveals the drone half way up the flagpole.
Yes, that really was a five-foot-wide agricultural drone hovering above Iraivan Temple—no, your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you! And no, it wasn’t lost on its way to a pineapple farm. Let us explain.
In our lush, tropical paradise, even gold needs a little TLC. Though it’s famously resistant to rust, tarnish and decay, the tropics are home to some very determined microscopic critters that just love humidity. They don’t care if it’s 23-karat gold—they’ll settle in anyway!
To keep them at bay, we’ve been applying an anti-mold treatment a few times a year. In the past, this meant renting a huge cherry-picker to reach the soaring towers and golden flagpoles. Effective? Sometimes. Expensive and finicky? Always.
Enter: the drone.
Thanks to the Aloha Aina Drone company from Maui, we’ve found a high-tech solution. Their team brought in a specially outfitted agricultural drone and treated Iraivan’s five gilded towers and two stunning gold flagpoles with two gentle, gleaming coats of protective liquid. Think of it as an airborne abhishekam—but instead of milk and rosewater, it’s mold-defense magic from above.
The best part? It worked beautifully—and instantly. The towers glistened. The flagpoles gleamed. And we all breathed a sigh of relief (and maybe a bit of awe).
With this drone-powered approach, we now have a fast, affordable, and frankly cool way to care for the temple’s golden features. Expect to see our airborne helper buzzing by every few months, keeping Iraivan as radiant as ever.
Who says tradition and technology can’t work together in perfect harmony?
We are running low on copies of the Good Thoughts book of Yogaswami’s songs, so it’s time for a reprint. These days we are using Amazon’s printing service for more books because of the flexibility to print only a few copies at a time (at the same price as many copies).
This third edition will be in hardcover for durability (especially for carrying it around to satsangs and temples), 220 pages and features several new graphics. The photos above show a “proof” copy we received from Amazon to check for any final issues to fix. Soon the book will be available at amazon.com and our minimela.com website.
The third [bonus] photo is of Lord Murugan at the end of Vaikasi Visakham puja the other day.
Recently, Archarya Kumarnathaswami and Sadhaka Shankaranatha have been working on with the new fish tank base for the aquarium in the Siddhidata Kulam’s recently completed office. Today, we found Sadhaka working in the wood shop, getting the pieces ready to assemble. Sadhaka also explained to us what is a jointer and how to work on with it. Sadhaka is always happy to share his knowledge with everyone of us. Aum.
