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Gurudeva lands in Trinidad on the Caribbean Innersearch. It was a momentous occasion with 1000’s of people coming to see him. It was also a big surprise to some of the participants of the Himalayan Academy Travel Study program to discover that Gurudeva was so well known there.
Our Beloved and Revered Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Attained Maha Samadhi on November 12th, 2001
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Gurudeva’s statement on September 11th
Bodhinatha greeted a number of visitors today, giving insightful talks to guests who came to the island for darshan. Gurudeva has chosen a wise and wonderful successor. The Parampara lives on!
Cybertalk: Bodhinatha begins by talking about his recent visit to our Church mission in Northern California and the Palaniswami Siva-Murugan Temple in Concord. At the mission satsang, he introduced a new study for the new ritau: 9 Key Qualities to Cultivate in Children. He received a testimony by e-mail this morning from a budding shishya who describes how he began with a very poor self-concept and over the years Gurudeva helped him mold his self-concept into a very positive one. At the Siva-Murugan Temple in Concord, California, Bodhinatha was greeted in a traditional, grand, Hindu way with parade, banner, lots of shawls and garlands, sweet words from the temple trustees, etc. He also had evening darshan with Church members in the hotel where he stayed in Walnut Creek and they have invited him to return again soon.
Cybertalk Ends”
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Sadhaka Thondanatha leaves for Canada and then to Sri Lanka tomorrow on a special mission to see that his parents in Jaffna are properly cared for. There is a cease fire in the war there and this is a window of opportunity for Sadhaka… It will be the first time he is going back to Jaffna since he became a monk. Here he reviews his “Mission statement” with Paramacharya Palaniswami which defines his goal and agenda for his time away from home.
Sadhaka Thondunatha has attained American citizenship several years ago and will be a wonderful ambassador for Kauai Aadheenam on this mission to the homeland of our Paramaguru Siva Yogaswami.
Outside the Kadavul Temple stands the “Bali Peedam” which is the “offering place” where the food offering of the day is made to the “bhutas” or nature spirits and the sun at the end of the daily Siva puja.
The river is calm as there hasn’t been too much rain lately, revealing many rocks: perfect spots for performing Wailua Ganga Sadhana.
This is Chaturthi. For the first six months of her life she was raised by the monks and thinks of herself as half cow and half human. Very intelligent, very curious, she checks out one of our small vehicles. If you drive through the pasture Chaturthi will usually run over to say hello and beg to have you scratch behind her ears.
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transcription begins
Date: November_09_1998
Title: Interview of a Prison Warden
Category:
Duration: 8 min., 25 seconds
Date Given: November 09, 1998
Today at Kauai Aadheenam, November 9th. Welcome everyone in Cyberspace. Welcome to the Cyberspace Ashram, on the garden island of Kauai. More questions are coming in. So we have interviewed Warden Neil Wagatsuma. He is the head of the KCCC, Kauai County Correctional Center. In his own words, we will see what Neil has to say in answer to more of these questions. There is a lot of interest out in Cyberspace from many countries.
Neil, let us hear what you have to say to these very fine people who are very interested in upholding the law.
Warden Neil: We are seeing more and more cases where it does not matter what kind of status you have in the community. But, the courts are very, very keen to the dangers of drug distribution. If you are caught selling, the chances of you getting prison or jail time is very much assured. Today, the courts realize that we have a very epidemic type of problem here and they cannot really use double standards, so to speak. So, they are becoming very strict as far as the sentencing.
Well, our philosophy is that if you do not want to make an effort to change, then get prepared to be housed in a facility that will meet your constitutional rights, but will not appease you, will not give the type of traditional prison privileges like TV, snacks, and cigarette smoking. We have options over here for inmates that want to make strides to change. Our philosophy is that we don’t want the inmates to come back. The way it is now with society, we find more and more people from all walks of life, coming in through our back door. So, we want to make sure that the ones that we house over here do not return. Or, we try to minimize their return, because we are prepared for the flood of new offenders. Especially, with this drug use and with family abuse cases also. I believe it is over eighty percent. I can tell you that from substance abuse, it is over eighty percent. Substance abuse ties in with their crime. Thefts, family abuse, domestic violence, assaults really ties in with substance abuse.
Here we see a lot of all different types of crimes, from murder to driving under the influence. But a lot of the crimes, criminal acts are tied in with abuse of substances and drugs. I don’t think people realize the damage, the physiological damage, from these new ‘designer drugs’. Especially ‘crystalmethamphetamine’, or ‘ice’, or ‘batu’ as they call it. There is a large portion of inmates in Halawa who they consider walking zombies because if you look at a scan of their brain, they will show you a lot of holes that cannot close. People used to say that chronic alcoholics lose brain cells. But with ‘crystalmethamphetamine’, the damage is so much greater and so much faster.
I guess there is a whole bunch of reasons why they use drugs. There are a lot of people who use drugs recreationally, they never get caught. But in our prison population, we see a lot of individuals who have come from dysfunctional pasts, broken homes. They have had a lot of pain, a lot of betrayal in their lives and drugs, kind of, serve as an anesthesia to all of their problems. You know, a lot of them are filled with self-pity about their pasts. Some people are able to use the adversity and rise above. Many of these people go back to the short-comings in their pasts and use that to continue using substances.
Arumugaswami: How do you keep kids off of drugs?
Neil: That is where the families come in. You know, we can only do so much. I mean, even outside agencies – police, counselors, school teachers can only do so much. But actually, the key is the families. I think that a lot of people with kids that use drugs are those that are searching out for love. There is something missing in the family. That is why they search out and go with their friends. I mean, everyone goes through a period of rebellion and where the peer group becomes more important than the family. But in families where there is good communication, good understanding, and a lot of honesty, they usually come back. They know what is right. But, in those families where the crucial element is missing, they search out. Unfortunately, they look for love in all the wrong places.
Arumugaswami: How do kids get the money?
Warden Neil: You know, everyone can tell you that if you have a strong drug habit, the only way that you are going to be able to feed the habit, is eventually from dealing drugs. That is the only way you can feed your habit. It becomes a real vicious cycle. There is no way, because it is a very expensive habit. You know, they can resort to burglarizing, to thefts and what not. But, dealing is actually the way to sustain your habit. That is why it is so dangerous because then, everyone who wants to use is dealing. Then, you have more and more people getting caught in this vicious cycle.
Well, it is interesting with these new ‘designer drugs’ because they are so addictive. In the past, you would have people who smoked pot once in a while. But today, we see more and more people getting really caught in this web. (and) They are really out of control, to the point where they are willing to risk losing everything. When they end up in here, they almost hit rock-bottom. We see more and more people who come in here, who hit rock-bottom in their lives. So, as far as occasional and as far as heavy use, we are seeing in our facility over here. The ones we see are the ones who are very heavy users of drugs. Yeah, they are willing to risk everything, even their families.
Our lifetime stand is a training center. It is based on a triangle of honesty, compassion, and discipline. We utilize some Western para-military concepts for order and for discipline. But, we use a lot of Eastern concepts. We use a more holistic approach to helping offenders. We try to help them rely more on their conscience. We try to re-channel their passion and the power that they have and try to have them understand where they stand in life’s bigger picture. Our whole focus is this.
We always say that society is breaking down. Society is breaking down as far as the morals, family values and standards. You know, we can hire many more police officers, many more counselors, many more teachers. But, if we don’t really change the families, the heart of the families, then we can only do so much. What we try to do with offenders over here is help them come to understand themselves, their past, their present and to look at their future so they can go back into their families and lead by example. I know this sounds controversial, so to speak. But, we feel this is an effective way of counter-acting this trend that is happening.
Gurudeva: Neil, we want to thank you for your statements today. We really appreciate this and I know you have a very unique program here on the island of Kauai, and it has been recognized worldwide. Thank you very much, Warden. Mahalo.
transcription ends
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Innersearch 2002 in Hawaii!
Our next Innersearch Travel-Study program will be held right here on the island of Kauai in the summer of 2002. It’s the first such program on the Garden Island since 1974! From July 17 to July 22 we will enjoy daily classes with the swamis, join in the annual Guru Purnima festival, be inspired by local culture, explore the lush tropical island in exciting and non-touristy ways, and more. Be prepared for a wonderful spiritual experience in paradise with meditations, seminars and sacred ceremonies at the Siva temple of Kauai’s Hindu Monastery. Many have applied already, and there is a limit of 50 participants, so we recommend everyone apply as soon as possible. Interested? Please request an application from pilgrim@searchbeyond.com |
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From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.
