Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Here it is: the long-awaited videocast of the Second Interfaith Dialogue of the Permian Basin, held on February 28, 2012, at the First Baptist Church of Midland, Texas. Emcee: Russell Meyers, CEO, Midland Memorial Hospital Speaking for First Baptist Church: Dr. Randel Everett Speaking for Temple Beth El, Odessa: Rabbi Holly Levin Cohn Speaking for Kauai's Hindu Monastery: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami Speaking for St. Stephens Catholic Church, Midland: Monsignor James Bridges Speaking for Masjid Al-Qur'an and Masjid Al-Islam, Houston: Imam Wazir Ali This year's panelists each spoke on the perspective of their faith on questions regarding the singular non-negotiable truth of their faith, the role of women in their faith, the practices that members of their faith perform in the home, their personal view on capital punishment and how their faith values diversity and looks at the idea that the whole world is one family.

When a Sivabhaktar in India recently received a gifted mala made of Kauai-grown Rudraksha seeds, she was moved to wonder, "Siva, why are you crying those fabled tears?" She wrote a poem we share today: Beads Wet, Beads Sweet "Why do You cry?" I asked Him "Why are there tears in Your eye?" The Lord of lords the Life of our lives the Word in sound the Dance in movement the Everything in nothing the All in all looked at me and in Silence said - "I gave you all everything all of you hold all of me and yet something makes you forget who you are where you come from and, where you are going. You choose to suffer when you could celebrate You choose to resent when you could rejoice You choose to resist when you could accept And then you complain incoherently beg and plead for liberation! Who ties you down? Where are your bonds? Who created the shackles that hold you back? I feel your pain even before you sense it It hurts me so I cry to see my gifts wasted and thrown away! My Third Eye flashes and I see your future misery should you hold to your habits of yore Open your eyes, awake Let your senses do what they were given to do Step away and stand aside, out of your own way Align your will with Mine All will be well, as it always is Let my tears wash away the debris collected from births before Stand fresh and clean in the moment and you will see the smile, the smile in my Other eye!" Aum Namah Sivaya Sivaya Namah Aum! Our March 2012 news video covers events in February 2012, including the festivals of Thai Pusam and Mahasivaratri, progress on Iraivan Temple carving in India, an interfaith event Bodhinatha spoke at in West Texas, and the translation of Lemurian Scrolls into Russian.

Since arriving earlier this week from Austin, Bodhinatha and Senthilnathaswami have criss-crossed the huge Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex several times, going from event to event, meeting to meeting.

First upon arriving on Tuesday evening was a meeting with the board of directors of the up and coming Hindu Temple of Greater Fort Worth. There are no temples west of Arlington, and this strong group is working hard to create one here on the outskirts of the west side of the metroplex because it can typically take an hour or more to get from here to any of the other temples. This dedicated group is our host, bringing Bodhinatha back to Fort Worth for the third time in three years. With each visit, as their temple project progresses, they ask Bodhinatha for more and more advice on topics ranging from how to situate the murtis in the temple, to what other kinds of facilities to build on their 17 acre parcel, to how to manage various aspects of the project and issues that arise in the process. They have officially asked Bodhinatha to be the temple's guiding guru, which he accepted. In his presence, the board officially signed over part of the land to the temple that they have been holding in a trust until now.

On Wednesday we drove to Plano for a live interview with Karishma Himatsinghani on her popular internet radio station, RadioKarishma. The interview covered a variety of interesting topics and will be replayed frequently in the coming weeks. Tune in to find out when. You can even download her station's free iOS app, called "Karishma," and listen on the go! Conversation with her and her husband afterward included an informative discussion about Internet radio and mobile apps, something the monastery may venture into with our vast library of audio content in the years ahead.

On Thursday evening we drove all the way out to Richardson to the beautiful, recently constructed University of Texas Dallas campus to meet with the branch of the Hindu Students Association there. In a discussion and advice-giving format, they asked Bodhinatha lots of questions about the four stages of life (ashramas), especially the brahmacharya ashram and how their duties and focus of life will change over time, as well as other topics, including details of reincarnation and karma. The group was especially engaged and truly enjoyed their time speaking with Bodhinatha directly about their concerns and questions.

During the first weekend in March, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Sannyasin Senthilnathaswami held a Senior Leadership Spiritual Weekend with the board of directors and national officers of the Hindu Students Association. The leaders of the HSA came from New York, Boston, Baltimore, Houston and Dallas to be a part of this special retreat.

Bodhinatha led classes on topics the HSA leaders themselves proposed: Hinduism and spiritual unfoldment, Hindu scriptures, God, Gods and the soul. In these sessions, our young leaders strove to gain a better understanding of their religion for their own personal spiritual unfoldment and to pass on to up and coming leaders in their branches at universities around the country.

Senthilnathaswami guided morning hatha yoga and meditation sessions and led classes on a variety of leadership topics proposed by the group: improving focus, clarity, direction and motivation; staying motivated when the going gets tough; effective communication on organizational and personal levels; listening and feedback; trust in a group dynamic; imparting leadership skills to new leaders; and more.

Thanks to this dedicated group, many Hindu college students in the US, many of whom have not learned much about Hinduism in their lives so far, are being educated about their religion and encouraged to put it into practice in their lives in practical, concrete ways that are sustainable. Bodhinatha's hope, and that of the Hindu Students Association senior leadership, is that Hindu students will grow up proud of their tradition and have the resources available to them to learn more as they progress through life.

(Thanks to Jiger Patel and Kushal Mehta for additional artistic photos.)