Today at Kauai Aadheenam

On the 9th we visit Sri Balagangadharanatha Swami of Belur Mutt and Sri Jayendrapuri Swami of Kailash Ashram. Both are long-time friends of the Aadheenam who have been especially helpful in the Iraivan temple work which is done in Bangalore.

February 8 was dedicated to the Iraivan work site. We visited it in the morning, starting with a welcome and guru puja for Bodhinatha, then a tour of the work inspecting the Nandi Mandapam stones, the perimiter wall and being introduced to a new computerized carving machine that should speed certain aspects of the work.

On February 6th we visited Kapalishwara Temple in the morning, the most famous of all Siva temples in Chennai. Meetings occupied the rest of the day, especially a two hour session with Selvanathan Sthapati on Iraivan temple followed by another hour on our study of North Indian style temples.

February 7th was again a day for meetings, first with Srikanth, a Master Course student from Hyderabad who joined Bodhinatha last year for Girivalam at Tiruvannamalai. He is a professor of "strategic management." Next was Malathi, also a Master Course student and her parents. The major meeting of the day was with Dr. Sabharathanam, Dr. Abhiramasundaram and three of their students to discuss progress on the Saiva Agamas. Definitely been some challenges, but work is progressing in incorporating their study into the various Adisaiva Pathasalas in South India.

Saturday was an all-day seminar for Singapore members and students. Bodhinatha covered a wide range of topics including character development, practical mysticism and applying Gurudeva's teachings to your life. For one session Yoginathaswami gave a in-depth explanation of the Siva puja while Arumuganathaswami introduced our next story book for youth.

Back again at the Iraivan carving site in Bengaluru. Every corner of the expansive shed has one or another of our projects displayed.

In one corner the team has taken apart the Satguru statues and their massive Chola bases (each of the eight bases is of a different design). Turns out the carvers in Mahabalipluram were not so careful about the squareness of the pithams, and our team is eager to make them perfect, knowing they will be done only once and there is no option once they reach Kauai for improvements.

There are also changes to be made on the faces of the satgurus. Yogaswami's head was made oddly large, and much discussion surrounds how best to make it right. Bodhinatha's murthi was shipped back to the original carver, after it developed a crack that could not be repaired. Gurudeva's robes seem too well polished, giving them an almost metallic feel, so there will be some effort to soften that texture. Also, his beard is somewhat too square and will be fixed.

We spent a long time discussing the Perimeter Wall details. This is one of the major yet-to-be-done Iraivan projects and will take some 2 years or so to complete. This wall surrounds the temple, and is almost 500 feet long in all.

There will be 48 selections of text etched in white on polished black granite panels, telling of the story of Iraivan, of the visions that lead up to it, and some of the philosophy the monastery represents.

We examined the completed steps that take the pilgrim up to the iraivan floor level at the rajagopuram. We also had a chance to chat with Dr. Mohan, a marvelous writer whose trek to Mount Kailash was our Insight Section in the last magazine. He may be doing additional features for us in the future.

One of our great joys was to be with the Rajasankaran family, to talk informally, get to know the 18-month old Chinmayee. It was Svapna's mother's birthday, so we sang Happy Birthday and gave her some small gifts.

Also still on February 2, Bodhinatha visited Kulapati Dohadeva's home for satsang with the members which included guru puja, Sri Rudram chanting, Natchintinai singing and lunch.

On Feb 3, Bodhinatha went to Johor Baru, across the river in Malaysia, to launch the History of Hindu India at the Arulmigu Sithi Vinayagar Thirukkovil, Taman Johor Jaya. There was a decent crowd for a weekday night and a rather big sale of 59 books. The temple is strong Ganesha temple in Hoysala style with a rounded sanctum and with 32 Ganeshas around the main temple area. The book release was organized by the Kuala Lumpur and local members.