"We're here to realize the Self, have that one dramatic experience where everything that we thought was things is turned upside down, and our whole perspective afterwards changes. That is the purpose for living on this Earth.
"
Gurudeva
Gurudeva, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Founder of Kauai's Hindu Monastery
[NOTE: large size images are available in this slideshow. use the pop-out and fullscreen tools on the lower right.]
Today was an auspicious one for the Kailasa Paramapara, Rudiren Carpanen Pillay and Uma Sivanathan. They both received their Samaya Diksha and the precious and magical gift of Panchakshara mantra was passed on from preceptor to sishya in the simple ancient initiation into mantra japa yoga given by Bodhinatha to each of them.
This is the first and foundational step onto the Saiva Neri, the Path to Siva. The daily contemplation on Lord Siva, Siva Dhyanam, begins with this practice and deepens through the years, as we repeat the Sacred Letters Five and let our hearts and minds melt in Divine Love for the One God of All.
Yogaswami sang:
"Thou who art non-pareil,
The consort of UmaDevi,
Whose temple is thy devotee's heart.
Hail Namasivaya.
'Ye art not the body', said he
And gave me strength divine
To purge me of my fearful bonds,
Oh Primal One, Namasivaya
That Tattvas ninety six are unreal,
I realised through thy grace,
And transcended their barriers,
Oh Siva, Namasivaya.
To those who have crossed
The six centres of consciousness,
Thou did'st grant thy Lotus Feet
Thou great God, Namasivaya
In the void of silence, that I may
Attain peace thou willeth.
Thou source of Vedas and God of Devas,
Thou sovereign ruler, Namasivaya.
Thou pursued me that I may turn to thee,
Thy beauteous form I saw,
In rapt synthesis I was thine for ever,
Oh Source of Grace and Power! Namasivaya.
Those who behold the sight
Of thy dance with raised legs-
Will they perish in this world
Full of toils? Namasivaya.
Art thou not the support
Of those who seek thee
In the temple of the body?
Oh Sankara, Namasivaya."
For Satguru Speaks fans the last upadesh for 2011 has been posted today. See the right side bar links.
~~~~~~~~~~~ END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming two-day retreat,
until Dasami Tithi, Sun One, Tuesday, January 17th.
Another short by powerful upadesha but Bodhinatha has been posted today. See the link on the side bar. Bodhinatha is making use of stories from the Guru Chronicles as a basis for some of his talks.
The practice of Pancha Ganapati is spreading world wide, far beyond the borders of Saiva Siddhanta Church missions.
Kaladevi Ambalawan sends us these photos from her family in Malaysia in Penang
Kaladevi writes: "Jai Jai Ganesha,
I am from Penang, Malaysia. The man in the last photo (in white t-shirt) is my father. His name is Ambalawan Suppiah. He is an Iraivan Temple Builder and subscribes to Hinduism Today. He has a lot of books from Satguru."
"We have been celebrating Pancha Ganapati Festival for the past five years. Few days before the start of the festival, my mother makes sure the house is dusted, cleaned and moped. On the 20th of December, we prepare His shrine in the living area. On the first day (21st December), the picture of Lord Ganesha is brought to the shrine and decorated with flowers. A sweet offering (Kesari) is offered and we do our first pooja. After the morning pooja, I read the family sadhana for the day. In the evening we do another pooja. We read the Sri Ganesa Upanisad and the Maha Ganesa Pancharatna Stotram as in the "Loving Ganesa" book. We repeat this for the next 4 days (Until the 24th of December)."
On the 25th of December, we have our first pooja with the offering of Kesari, the second pooja we offer a bowl of mixed nuts and rock sugar, the third offering is mixed vegetable rice, and the fourth pooja we offer fruits. For the final pooja, we invite our relatives who bring offerings to Lord Ganesha (Vadai, Modagam, sweet rice, green peas cake, flowers, sugar cane and coconut water). After the pooja, we sing a few songs in praise of Lord Ganesha and chant the "Aum Sri Ganesa Namaha" 108 times. Then we observe a few mins of silent After that, my father will explain to us about the Yamas and the Niyamas. He will ask us to reflect on the past year and apologies to the Lord for any wrong doings and pray for His guidance and blessings. Prasadam is given to all and food is served."
.
I hope to continue this tradition even when I start working. In my family we always look forward to December and the Pancha Ganapti Festival. This festival has brought our family very close together. Our heart felt thanks to Gurudeva for coming up with this festival.
Happy Pancha Ganapati to all living Beings in all Three Worlds!
Two years ago we solicited photos from devotees who celebrated Pancha Ganapati. Today we are making these an "Evergreen collection" using our new slideshow technology. Those who submitted them will enjoy a "blast from the past." The monks will be heading into a two-day retreat. Then on Sun One of next phase will have our own Pancha Ganapati Party! Until then, enjoy the slide show. Note, there are 80 plus photos and you can view large sized versions if you click the popout or full screen buttons on the lower right of the gallery stage. And don't forget to move your mouse up and down to view details in the portrait photos (or view all from the pop out window to see complete images throughout.)
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami reads his editorial from the Jan/Feb/Mar 2012 edition of Hinduism Today magazine. If we start at the beginning and work systematically, we can replace undesirable qualities with their opposites. Watch the video below.
To view in higher quality, after clicking the play button, select another option in the right side of the control bar above, such as 480p, 720p or 1080p.
As we proceed in the development of our new web site, we are preparing to present the various art collections that have been developed through the years. Here is a sneak preview of all of the art that was commissioned years ago for The Guru Chronicles book, and painted by S. Rajam. A note regarding our new slideshow method of presentation: We have upgraded the technology to allow us to send slideshows with many images and large detailed images to even those with slow internet connections. Only two images at a time are sent to you. Hopefully those of you who may have seen errors recently in some slideshows will see this problem go away. If you do see errors, please report them to "studyhall at hindu.org"
Normally images are horizontal which is the natural way to hold a camera. In some cases we may have "portrait" (vertical) images. For these we are leaving them large and they are "cropped" and only show the center of the image in the slideshow window. You can use your mouse to move up and down. This is also the case if you go to fullscreen (lower right button). This allows you to examine details in the image or photo. This is marvelous for looking at Rajam art in particular which has fascinating details here and there in the painting. In the case of some art collections, they may all be vertical. To view the paintings in their full, un-cropped view, select the "Popout image" button on the lower right (second one in from the fullscreen button). Enjoy.
"The Himalayan Academy is organising an overnight Youth Retreat for the youth of the Saiva Siddhanta Church Mauritius Mission on December 10th -11th at the Blue House, Trou D'eau Douce, on the east coast of the island. Children of Church members, of arulsishyas and youth of MC Level 3, who are attending secondary schools and university are invited to attend the event. The main focus of the retreat will be on empowering our youth to leadership through good character management as taught by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami in the new Character Building Workbook."
Inspired Talk: Title: Niyama Ten: Tapas
Category: Soul Duration: 15 min, 4 secs
Date Given: 2012-01-11
Given by: Bodhinatha
Description:
Tapas is to practice austerity, serious disciplines, penance and sacrifice which increases the speed at which we are moving forward on the spiritual path. Daily sadhanas and penance to atone for misdeeds are obligatory. Austerities, assigned and overseen by a guru, give a great sense of release from the past, a profounder understanding of the path and deepening of one's worship and meditation. Meditation on Ishana and Tatpurusha: veiling and revealing grace. All along we are Siva and finally that dawns on us.
.jpg)
