It was Sun Five today and Bodhinatha gave a talk in the temple.

After receiving comments from our TAKA readers, it seems that it is fine for us to post long audio. We will be doing this once or twice a phase. Today you may enjoy Bodhinatha’s wonderful 18-minute talk he gave on Sun One of this phase. We highly recommend that for these long talks that you use you Quicktime to play to the high quality MPG file or Real Audio to listen to the small Real Audio file. The WAV file is very long and the quality will not be the same as the above two options.

Cybertalk: Affectionate detachment. The two stages leading up to it are
unaffectionate attachment and unaffectionate detachment. When the mind is in
the past, not in the present, we need to clear subconscious of the negative
attachments. People add to the negative attachments by associates poorly.
This is living totally in the past. Maha Vasana Daha Tantra is the basic
clearing of the subconscious mind. Keeping up with it helps get rid of
unaffectionate attachments.

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

And click here for an Index to All Past CyberTalks.

Announcement: The software that gives you the ability to run Quicktime in a browser on a Windows machine with Internet Explorer is undergoing some changes. We are in the process of addressing these issues. Changes in the coding may effect other users as well. Feedback is important. If you are experiencing any problems listening to the audio, please send a message to studyHall@hindu.org with the details of your problem, your operating system, the browser you are using and what version it is. Thank you.

Bodhinatha 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 Sadhaka Mahadevan

One of the ground breaking works that Gurudeva undertook was the research and codification of conversion to Hinduism. He eventually document this in the wonderful book “How to Become a Hindu” which is not only a manual for would be Hindus, but also an eye-opener for born Hindus, for whom the book could be called “How to Become a Better Hindu.” Hindus do not proselytize, but also the door is open to anyone who wants to be a Hindu to become one. The book outlines the process. Here is Mrs. Sendan, formerly Linda, who went to the temple with her baby boy and together they had their Namakarana Samskara. (Name Giving Sacrament). She is now Miravadi and the boy is Chidambaram: a born American Hindu in a white body!

Excerpt from the chapter for this piece:

What Is the Fulfillment of a Marriage?
Sloka 81
Children are the greatest source of happiness in marriage. Householder life is made rich and complete when sons and daughters are born, at which time the marriage becomes a family and a new generation begins. Aum.

The Remarkable Vision

Iraivan Temple Progress Update

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Study Gurudeva’s teachings. Visit the Master Course site!

transcription begins


Date: December_31_1998
Title: Expressing Gratitude
Category:
Duration: 5 min., 59 seconds
Date Given: December 31, 1998

Today at Kauai Aadheenam. December 31st, New Year’s Eve. That is tonight on the western calendar. Here on the beautiful Garden Island of Kauai, fireworks and firecrackers will be booming off at twelve midnight.

Pilgrims are beginning to arrive here at Kauai Aadheenam for Jayanthi, my birthday, January 3rd. Chudikadevi and Gowri Nadason arrived from Malaysia. Both of them run a database for ‘Hinduism Today’ and distribute it on news-stands all throughout the country. We want to welcome Chudikadevi and Gowri. Their help is invaluable in the lovely country of Malaysia.

Easvan Param arrived from California to put lighting in the Kadavul Hindu Temple. This is the Temple at Kauai Aadheenam for the mathavasis, the monks. He is putting in lighting, in and among the 108 beautiful bronze statues of Lord Siva in various dance poses. 108 dance poses. We want to thank him for that.

Well, on January 5th, new sadhakas are getting ready to renew their vows. We have one flying in from Australia, another one flying in from Malaysia and we have two dynamic young men sitting at our wall, begging entrance into the monastery. That means they sit at a wall, in the rain. They take their food there. Other monastics go out and encourage them, tell them what a wonderful monastery it is. They are trying to blend their mind into the big mind flow. 25 seasoned mathavasis are living within the monastery doing wonderful work and they want to be a part of that work. They are sitting at the wall for one month, morning, noon, and night. They are invited in by somebody each time to come in and serve. They can walk away, get on a plane and fly off the island at any time. They have a chance to reconsider their dedication, reconsider their commitment. This is a tradition that the Japanese Buddhists hold and Hindu monks have matured through, for century after century. Our particular wall is called the ‘Wall of Rain’ because it rains at least two hours a day, if not more.

Well, tonight and tomorrow, at this New Year – which is the New Year for most of the World, but not for Hindus, of course – is a wonderful time to reconcile differences within yourself and count your blessings and show appreciation and express gratitude for all the good that has happened to you in 1998. That year is gone forever. It will never be repeated again. You can’t do anything about it, but you can bring up all the goodness that happened during that year. I know we’ve been making a lot of lists’, but this is list number three. List number three says to us, “Write down and try to remember all the goodness that has happened to you and the goodness that you have done for others. But most importantly, express appreciation and show your gratitude for everyone who has come toward you, who has helped you”. New Year’s day, pick up that telephone and make twenty-five calls, if you can get through. Lines are going to be crowded! But do it in your heart or write letters or postcards and say “I appreciate you. I am grateful for you. Thank you”.

This is a thanksgiving time. Can you do that? These are orders from Headquarters from our Cyberspace Ashram. You tuned in. It is in your Karma to hear these words. It is in your life pattern. Just do it. Show appreciation, show gratitude.

Tomorrow will be January 1, 1999. Only twelve months more for the big “We don’t know what is going to happen!” Everybody has their own ideas. We think we are going to be secure, because security is within the inner self. That is the only security. We are taking a retreat on January 1st, and January 2nd and then we begin our celebrations for 73rd Jayanthi. Can’t believe it! The physical body is 73 years old, in perfect health. Just as good as it was when it was forty or thirty, maybe a little bit better.

So, we will see you at our Cyberspace Ashram on January 3rd. We will be seeing you!
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MORE UPLIFTING THINGS		Innersearch postponed Due to the horrific tragedies of September 11th, Himalayan Academy has indefinitely postponed the Canadian Innersearch scheduled to leave next July. Please be assured, we will re-schedule the Innersearch, but only when the present insecurity around the world settles down. Until then, if you are planning to go on a future Innersearch program, continue to set aside a little income each month in a special fund. www.innersearch.org
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