Taka Archives

Satguru continued with activities in Malaysia. He writes about this noteworthy event-- "We attended the Friday religious class at Siddhi Vinayaga Temple in Brickfields. It is one of three temples involved in a pilot program to create a nationwide activity on Fridays. The lunch break is quite long on Friday to give Muslims time to go to and from a mosque. This applies to schools as well as offices. This program gives Hindus an option for what to do with that time. The program we attended consisted of singing of Thevarams, explanations of Thevarams in Tamil, my talk on Gurudeva's idea of Hindu education for youths and a summary of my talk in Tamil."

A rudraksha gift for longtime Hinduism Today supporter, Arjunan Subramaniam

One of many individual family darshan meetings

Friday religious class at Siddhi Vinayaga Temple in Brickfields.

Friday religious class at Siddhi Vinayaga Temple in Brickfields.

Friday religious class at Siddhi Vinayaga Temple in Brickfields.

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As many know, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami (who is in Malaysia today) has been working in the early hours before dawn for many months on a new edition of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It is historic because it is an interpretation of the classical 195 sutras from a Saiva Siddhanta point of view. Most editions follow the Advaita Vedanta take, so this one is unique in that it gives monistic theism exposition. We share here below a verse from the third canto, so you can enjoy the progress and the style. You will note we are including Gurudeva's writings on the topic at hand. In the slideshow we share one of the ten works of art done in Kerala for the book, which will be highly illustrated, as is our style.

vyutthna-nirodha-saskrayor-abhibhava-prdur-bhvau nirodha-kaa-cittnvayo nirodha-parima .. 3.9..

nirodha-parima = the development of/transformation toward (parima) restraint (nirodha) | abhibhava-prdurbhvau = is both the manifesting (prdurbhvau) and subjugating (abhibhava) | vyutthna-nirodha-saskrayo = of the subtle impressions (saskrayo) of restraint (nirodha) and going out (vyutthna) | nirodha-kaa-citta-anvaya = connected with/following (anvaya) the mind (citta) at the moment (kaa) of restraint (nirodha) |

Sutra: Restraint develops when the externalizing samskaras are subdued by the restraint samskaras, which appear in the mind at the moment of restraint.

Bhashya: The yogi through his inner work and discipline develops new samskaras which neutralize and subdue the worldly samskaras which are the common man's lot. These yogic impressions are brought to bear and further strengthened each time he strives to control the mind, to quiet the mental noise. Slowly his controlling impressions become stronger than the instinctive impressions that normally dominate and he is able to use the one to be rid of the other. This subtle interaction between the control and the controlled is a major discussion in the sutras, to be understood through practice and more practice.

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
As you sit to meditate, awareness may wander into past memories or future happenings. It may be distracted by the senses, by a sound or by a feeling of discomfort in the body. This is natural in the early stages. Gently bring awareness back to your point of concentration. Don't criticize awareness for wandering, for that is yet another distraction. Distractions will disappear if you become intensely interested and involved in your meditation.

This art is a depiction of eight of the 25 siddhis, mystical powers, which are awakened by the advanced yogi, and which he is advised to abjure. The art is by Suresh Mutthukulam and intimates the balance of inbreath and outbreath, ida and pingala, air and fire, sun and moon, and more pairs of opposites.

From bottom to top: The first siddi is invisibility. Notice the clothing can be seen, but the yogi\

s face, hands and feet are invisible. Knowledge of past and future, with an old bullock cart for the past and a flying car for the future, with the yogi looking both ways. Physical strength is cleverly shown by the flying yogi who is holding up an entire mountain range with his little finger! '

4) seeing and hearing at a great distance, called \"remote viewing;\" 5) ability to control nature (rain, animals and people). Left to right: Here we have the power to see and hear at great distances (remote viewing is one term for this). The ability to control the forces of nature is shown by the yogi\

s hand holding a lightening bolt. This siddhi is not well known.'

Top to bottom: 6) entering another person\

s body; 7) understanding all languages, even animal sounds; 8) attaining cosmic knowledge. It\'s the ability to psychically enter the body of another person and be conscious in it. Suresh has creatively drawn the power to understand all languages, human and animal. Attaining to cosmic knowledge is shown by a galactic circle around a holy text containing the light of all knowing and realizations. '
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Aum Namah Sivaya

This afternoon, Kodiswara took a walk through the Aadheenam's jungled pathways, taking photos as he went. We have many flowers in bloom right now, including orchids, naga pu, hoya vines and more. Enjoy the photos, and the wise sayings included. Aum.

\"God waits to win back his own flowers as gifts from mans hands.\" - Rabindranath Tagore

Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot. Seek the path that demands your whole being. - Rumi

We cannot live better than in seeking to become better. Socrates

Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves. - Swami Vivekananda

A wise man fills his head before emptying his mouth. - Kenyan Proverb

Peace is your natural state. It is your mind that destroys it. -Sri Ramana Maharshi

The Self indeed is below. The Self is above. The Self is behind. The Self is in front. The Self is to the south. The Self is to the north. The Self, indeed, is all this. Chandogya Upanishad, 7.5

When we look at the world as providing our happiness, life is a constant series of emotional ups and down. When we derive our contentment from within, life is joyous, and we can share that joy with others. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami

Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world. - Ramana Maharshi

When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate. -Carl Jung

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. -Rumi

God can be discovered only by God. - Siva Yogaswami

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. - Albert Einstein

Important things are not things. - Swami Tejomayananda

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. -Aristotle

The devout seeker is he who mingles in his heart the double currents of love and detachment, like the mingling of the streams of Ganges and Yamuna. - Saint Kabir

United your resolve, united your hearts, may your spirits be at one, that you may long together dwell in unity and concord - The final mantra of the Rigveda

A tree is known by its fruit. - Zulu Proverb

The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. - Maya Angelou

Wisdom is knowing I am nothing, Love is knowing I am everything, and between the two my life moves. Nisargadatta Maharaj

Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what it is that remains. -Ramana Maharshi

Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have. - Epictetus

Human beings have to be dwellers of the Inner Cave so that the Supreme Being who resides within may be revealed. - Anandamayi Ma

In me alone originates the All, in me the All is established, in me all things come to rest. I am that Brahman without a second! - Kaivalya Upanishad 19

Every step is on the path. - Lao Tzu

So potent is the power acquired through disciplined self-denial that those who attain it may even delay the moment of death. - Tirukural 269

Asceticism doesnt lie in mere words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesnt lie in visiting burial places; it lies not in wandering about nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage. Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities. - Guru Nanak

He who tells the truth is never wrong. - Swahili Proverb

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use. - Loa Tzu

We are fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb

Joys and sorrows are time born and cannot last. Therefore, do not be perturbed by them. The greater the difficulties and obstructions, the more intense will be your endeavor to cling to His feet and the more will your prayer increase from within. -Anandamayi Ma

How can it remain so unknown? Simplicity is the answer. The Self is so simple, so uncomplicated, that the ramified external mind overlooks it. - Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

There is a voice that doesnt use words. Listen. - Rumi

One who loves God finds the object of his love everywhere. - Sri Aurobindo

Practice, not belief, is what causes spiritual progress. - Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami

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Satguru is currently in Malaysia and Singapore to visit sishyas, students, a HHE orphanage beneficiary and distribute Path to Siva books.

Greeted by devotees in Singapore

Satsang in Singapore

SSC sishya Purany Ponniah takes lifetime brahmacharini vow

Vivek Raja is a oduvar, temple singer, who is recording Saint Tayumanavar\

s songs for us'

Now visiting Sitiawan, Manjung orphange which is a beneficiary of HHE funds

Presenting Path to Siva book

Visiting home of sishya Shanta Devi who helps run the orphange

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Jai Gurudeva!

Yesterday we observed our monthly Chitra padapuja for Gurudeva. In the early evening, monks and local members gathered to honor Gurudeva and receive his blessings. Sannyasin Mayilnathaswami and Nirvani Tejadevanatha performed the abhishekam as other monks chanted Sri Rudram. Upon completion of the Rudram, the rest of the puja continued in silence. Aum Namah Sivaya.

"We may say that love is the heart of the mind. Anything that comes before you in life can be conquered through universal love, a force which is a demonstration of the soul." Gurudeva

\"Life is a series of decisions also. One decision builds into another. To \"make a good decision, we have to again bring our total awareness to the eternity of the moment.\"- Gurudeva

\"Be That which never changes. Then what happens? When we become this spiritual body and grasp that infinite intelligence of it, we\

re just in a state of pure consciousness and we come into the clear white light.\"'

\"Send out your blessings to the world. Bless those that disturb you. Bless those that love you. Send out your blessings equally to all as the sun shines on all and all alike.\"

\"Deep inside we are perfect this very moment, and we have only to discover and live up to this perfection to be whole. Our energy and God\

s energy are the same, ever coming out of the void. We are all beautiful children of God.\"'

\"There is but one mind.\" - Gurudeva

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Stone bells are a rare artifact in Hindu temples. Such bells exist today in older temples like the Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchipuram, Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, and the famed Pashupatinatha Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. However, none are known in the Western world.

That changed yesterday when the monks formally installed a 510-pound granite bell. A small shrine was designed and built by the monks, with help from Taskforce. The structure was made of clear redwood donated by Thamby Kumaran and was felled years ago in the presence of the swamis at Thamby's home in California. A full puja was performed, as per the Agamas, to bless the felling of the two trees, complete with honey on the tree feller's chainsaw and prayers to the devas that the trees (removed due to their dangerous proximity to the home) would have a new destiny.

The Bell Tower is placed near the Silpi Bronze Pavilion to show pilgrims another remarkable creation of the silpi sculptors. The bell is rung with a hardwood mallet and produces a distinctly metallic sound. Keep in mind, this was sculpted from a 1,200-pound piece of granite which typically would not make any sound other than a muffled thud. Making the granite sing is making the impossible happen.

All present rang the bell, which is said to have several meaningful features, including invoking a divine presence (the devas are said to be pleased by the sound), warding off negative spirits, purifying the environment, helping to focus the mind and drive away distractions momentarily, and, of course, it serves as a call to worship. Some say it symbolizes the Pranava Om, the eternal and original sound, the primordial sound of cosmic creation that can be heard internally by the meditating yogi.

Jai to all who made this possible, including God Siva who created the granite mountains of India!

Click below to hear the bell ring.

[audio mp3="https://www.himalayanacademy.com/taka-archives/taka/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Stone-Bell-6-Rings.mp3"][/audio]

Here we see the completed bell tower near the Silpi Pavilion.

Close up of the finished work.

Group photo of all present for the event.

Saravanathaswami performs a puja for blessings.

The bell sits nearby on a pallet.

Mayuresh halps Kumarnathaswami guide the bell into position with the skidsteer.

Showing the proxmity to Iraivan Temple in the background.

It took months to design this special chain and support and have it crafted in Loveland, Colorado. The horizontal bolt goes through a hole in the sop of the bell and the two pieces are threaded together for firm structural support.

Mayuresh eases the bolts into position.

They are locked in place and we are ready to remove the skidsteer.

In place at last (we estimate the bell was carved in the late 90s) and has been here for decades waiting for this moment.

Showing a detail on the four structural posts.

Good job, everyone!

Thank you, Gurudeva, for the idea, now made manifest with your blessings.

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For those who are subscribed to the Master Course trilogy daily lessons, you'll notice that the first audio narration appeared in yesterday's Merging with Siva lesson. For a while it will be Gurudeva's digital voice clone narrating, then it will switch to his late 1990s personal narrations for some time.

After we finishing creating narration for Merging with Siva, we'll proceed to the other books.

To subscribe to the Master Course daily lessons and other inspiration on email, go here-- https://www.subscribepage.com/hinduism

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There are some 80 million souls who speak Telugu and so it was natural that we would create an edition of Path to Siva, our catechism for youth, for them and their children. It took most of a year to have a team in Madurai translate the 68 lessons, then a Kauai devotee, Voleti Chaudhari volunteered to proof it, then inputting the corrections and finally, yesterday we put the PDF on our site. You can download it here:
https://kauaishindumonastery.com/books/path-to-siva-telegu-2/

The book is a wonderful summary of Saiva Siddhanta, including philosophy, culture and spiritual practice.

This lesson asks \"Why are we vegetarians?\"

\"How do we treat the environment?\"

\"What Is Saiva Siddhanta?\"

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