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Cybertalk: This is part seven of a radio interview conducted by Loni Petranek with Gurudeva. The interview gives an overview of Gurudeva's worldwide mission. Today Gurudeva talks with Loni about the location of the San Marga Iraivan Temple being on sacred land to the Hawaiians. Loni then asks Gurudeva about the magazine, Hinduism Today, that he and his monks produce.

Cybertalk Ends"
For more information about listening to Gurudeva's talks online and to hear them in other formats, click here.

Gurudeva will be happy to hold "Prasnottara Satsang" -- "Questions and Answers" over the telephone with any Hindu religious societies, Hindu youth groups, Radio talk show hosts etc. All you need is a phone with a speaker and an enthusiastic audience. Arrangements may be made in advance by sending email to Sivadevanathaswami

Click here if you have a question Gurudeva answers questions from CyberCadets, and welcomes your spiritual queries. However, he responds only to matters of general interest and not to personal or intimate matters.

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Date: March_04_2001
Title: Gurudeva Interviewed by Loni Petranek, Part 1
Category: The Guru
Duration: 3 min., 25 seconds
Date Given: August, 2000

Loni: Aloha and welcome to 'In Spirit'. It is my great pleasure to welcome my guest today and he is Gurudeva from the Hindu temple. His formal name is Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. I hope I did that correctly, Gurudeva?

Gurudeva: You pronounced it really, really nice. It is nice to be here, Loni. Thank you for inviting me.

Loni: Thank you, thank you. I was looking forward to it. As we mentioned before, we actually started the program, the first day that I met you. The first time that I actually met you at the temple, I was so taken with your beautiful, lovely hands and I said to myself, being a dancer, "He must have been a dancer." Can we speak about your past?

Gurudeva: Well, dancing ... led me to dancing with Siva.

Loni: Oh, perfect ... perfect metaphor!

Gurudeva: To learn the Asian or Hindu dancing of Siva took me to Sri Lanka. That took me to my Guru. That took me to sannyasin initiation and back to the United States, where I started the first writings 50 years ago. That is a long time to remember back. But, I have been taking Ginkgo Biloba. So, I can remember some things!

Loni: In fact, that was one of my questions. How do you keep so healthy? Share some secrets with us.

Gurudeva: We eat really well. We grow most of our own food at the monastery. All the natural things that are grown easily on Kauai - breadfruit, taro and cooking bananas. We also put our medicine right in the food, all those wonderful Indian spices. We actually have the best Indian restaurant on Kauai. Everyday, wonderful food. Everybody here is very, very healthy.

Loni: Does everybody cook?

Gurudeva: Most everybody can cook a little bit ... yes, indeed.

Loni: Oh, my goodness! So, you are vegetarian?

Gurudeva: We are all vegetarians.

Loni: I guess, you attribute also meditation and just the whole life style?

Gurudeva: We are up in the morning early at four o'clock, meditating in the temple after beautiful ceremonies, sometimes a fire ceremony and at other times, other kinds. Everybody, about 27 of us, sitting there without moving for about 45 minutes or an hour. Occasionally one nods off, but he is getting better.

Loni: He looked at you!

Gurudeva: Well, we have here today all of our young monastics. Our youngest one here, just arrived from Malaysia with his Daddy. He is going to be with us for a year. He is 13 years of age, going on 18.

Loni: Oh, I see.

Gurudeva: He is a little bit tall for his age.

Loni: He is. He is very tall.

Gurudeva: Very intelligent young man.

Loni: Yes. Is everyone from different countries or different areas of the United States?

Gurudeva: {pointing to each monastic} He was born in Malaysia, but educated in Australia. He is from America. He is from America. America and Malaysia.

Loni: Malaysia, oh my! So it is very international.

Gurudeva: Very international. We also have, from Sri Lanka, and from the country of Mauritius.
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Sadhaka Mahadeva looks down at the river and across the valley. Today he was part of our film documentary. He performed the "Wailua Ganga Sadhana" which anyone can do near any flowing river. It is a purification tantra that is performed as follows:

1. Get a basket..
2. Pick some leaves, putting them on one side of the basket.

3. Pick some flowers, putting them on the other side of the basket.
4. Go to a river where the water is flowing swiftly by.
5. Sit on a rock close to the flowing waters.
6. Meditate on the perfection of the universe as you listen to the water whisper "Aum Namasivaya.
7. Tune in to pure "acceptance." The water is not complaining that it must flow around the rocks. The rocks are not complaining that they are being washed over by the water.
8. As soon as a thought from the past arises, take a leaf, put that thought into the leaf and offer it to the water and watch the water wash the thought down the river, on to the sea.
9. Take a flower, put the flower in the river and thank the river for taking away the thought.
10. Return to the meditation on the perfection of the universe.

On-going engineering research in "rudraksha cleaning technologies" has been an ever fascinating pursuit of the monastery here. The challenge is to clean off the thin laywer of blue fruit matter, completely and efficiently without damaging the beads. Here is the latest model, a slotted box with a wire grill ovet the top. Through this we will wash the beads off with a high pressure washer. Yes, it works!

San Marga IV.

We are the servitors of Siva;
Siva's servitors are we
We are Sivanadiyar;
Sivanadiyar are we.

This is Sariyai--moral excellence
This is Kriyai--service
This is Yoga--harmony
This is Jnana--wisdom.

This is the sacred mystery. In this Truth lies the soveriegn remedy. Steadfast contemplation leads to the bliss of serenity. A contemplative is not swayed by rules of conduct. An ascetic life of fasting and norms of discipline have no impact on these ardent servitors of
Siva.

These noble legion have so lived, and do live and shall continue to live ithe
world ever so spontaneously. No one can fathom their greatness. The
sweetness of sugar-candy can only be relished by those who have tasted
it.

1. Oru Pollappumillai--Intrinsic evil there is not.

2. Eppavo Mudintha Kaariyam--That is what it is--
Accomplished is His Will.
3. Naamariyom--We know not.
4. Muluvathum Unmai--All That IS, is Truth Abolute.

--Natchintanai. 371

Our 11-acre village in India is home to 75 Indian master craftsmen who live there and work each day on the carving of the sacred white granite Siva Temple which will soon be shipped soon to Kauai and assembled. See our latest February 2001 Building Fund Progress Report and join our family of contributors today!

These are the "Curls" that adorn various point so the temple.

The family of donors that are helping build the temple live in countries all over the world. Please read the current progress report and donate generously!

Gurudeva's other monastery in the island country of Mauritius
in the Indian Ocean near South Africa

Sadhaka Jothinatha talks with Mr and Mrs Thibaud in the shade of the newly trimmed Konrai trees. It is not often that tourists visit the Spiritual Park as we are not on any tourist map. Those who do come are rather special, as our guests today. The Thibauds are on two weeks holiday from Marseille in the south of France. A chance meeting with a Mauritian Hindu brought them here today. They were on their way to Grand Bassin but their new acquaintance said "Why don't you go to the Spiritual Park at La Pointe des Lascars instead?"

The Mrs. feels a close affinity with Ganesha as her mom had a statue of Him in their home while she was growing up. One clue that she could have had past lives in India is her reaction to a Spiritual Park newsletter which we gave them. It had the faint odor of vibhuti. "What's that wonderful smell?" she exclaimed with an ecstatic look. Even though they speak only a few words of English they took a copy of Merging with Siva home with them. Perhaps they'll use it as a pillow and absorb the knowledge from it while they sleep!

Sadhaka Jothinatha is phoning our friends in Mauritius--a few every day--to invite them on the next 12-day Innersearch cruise with Gurudeva. If you are having a birthday in mid-August you should treat yourself and your family and go on this once-in-a-lifetime type of adventure! Visualize yourself in this photo. Seen here is a shipboard birthday party for two participants of the last innersearch presided over by Gurudeva and Acharya Palaniswami. See below for more information about the cruise.

12 Glorious Days, 8 Enchanting Countries and One Chance in a Lifetime! Imagine spending 12 days with one of the greatest spiritual leaders of this century. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami will be leading this exotic educational and spiritual voyage himself combining the mystical path of Indian spirituality with a superlative retreat from it all. Take advantage of this one chance to be in close proximity with a living master. Come with us on an inner and outer voyage to Northern Europe and Russia. www.innersearch.org