Today at Kauai Aadheenam

For decades we’ve had a lone teak tree in the far corner of the property, but it is shaded out by many nearby trees. Later we began a plantation across the Wailua River on the leased land we call Himalayan Acres. Then, one or two years ago the Siddhidata Kulam planted a row along the road near their new building. These, along with the adjacent banana trees will provide a noise and visual buffer between us and neighbors in the ensuing years. Many of these teak trees are now about 15 feet tall and growing fast.

Jai Ganesha!

Hope everyone is doing great! Today, we decided to take a peaceful stroll around the monastery to soak in the serene atmosphere and capture its beauty. As we walked through the sacred grounds, we couldn’t help but admire the tranquil surroundings, the lush greenery, and the timeless architecture. We took some beautiful photos of the Aadheenam, hoping to share a glimpse of this divine space with you all. May these images bring you a sense of peace and inspiration. Aum!

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“The emanation of the light that wells from within the lotus of the heart is always there, regardless of what you do. You may not be aware of the existence of it, but it does exist. You may not care to realize it, but it still exists. When man does not wish to look for the Self God, it is only because his awareness is busy in other areas of the mind, concerned with desires, and he is on the road to fulfill them. The fulfillment of desires causes reactionary conditions within the subconscious mind itself and clouds vision. This causes what is known as the darkness of the mind. When man wishes and desires to find his true Self, his external desires fall in line with basic religious codes for living, and he then is on the path. He is able to realize the essence of each desire on the path of enlightenment, and is able to sense Reality within himself.“

After coming down the concrete road between the huge palm trees before Rishi Valley, on the right side there is a side dirt path for accessing fruit trees, landscape maintenance and connecting to other roads. A stream runs right through this area next to a huge breadfruit tree. For a while the stream ran under the path naturally. It was damp, but we could usually drive over it without getting stuck. Over time the path became more water-logged and finally unusable. One of our employees just installed a culvert to properly channel the water at a certain depth, seen in the photos above. There is some more work to be done for solid stability.