END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming three-day retreat,
until Tritya Tithi, Sun One, Thursday, Jan 27th.

Bodhinatha has added more to his message on the Tsunami, which will now be published as the “Publisher’s Desk” for the next issue of Hinduism Today. If you have not read it, click on the link to the right.

Being the last day of the phase, it was tour day and some 70-80 people came.

Besides the regular tour group, Sannyasin Arumugaswami hosted a special leadership group today… he writes:

An Agricultural Leadership Program class of the University of Hawaii visited the monastery and temple today. In a program sponsored by the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii, the fourteen people are part of an 18 month education program aimed to improve the skills of people in the agricultural industry to work more effectively with the broader community. They visit farmers and ranchers on the islands, spend time at the State legislature understanding the legislative process and travel to Washington D.C. to meet Hawaii’s Senators and Representatives. Hawaii is in the midst of a transition from the sugar industry which utilized thousands of acres of land for one crop to small farmers using up hundreds of acres at most. The class came to the monastery to learn about our participation in the creation of the East Kauai Water Users’ Cooperative, which took over the large East Kauai irrigation system from the sugar company when it went out of business. The Coop is the first instance in the State of Hawaii of local residents gaining control and successfully running a complex irrigation system.

The class asked questions of Arumugaswami as to the reason the monastery participated in the Coop — the first reason being our need for water from the system as a main ditch runs through our property. They were all very impressed with the temple construction and enjoyed the demonstration of the stone working techniques by Sthapati and the silpis.

More information on the Ag Leadership Program is available at http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/InfoCenter/AgLead/CurrentProgram.asp.

Our visiting priest Janahan helps with the tour by giving some amazing indepth explanations about the meaning of the temple… here he is talking with Sannyasin Yoginathaswami.

A group photo…

Here is the entire Param family, three generations all together… they are working on the gold-leafing one of the Kalasams for the Chinna Gopuram in the Banyan Mandapam.

Iraja and Nilani Sivadas are helping also.

Later in the day…about 3 PM… the call comes as expected. Larry Conklin checking in “OK I’ll be there with my crane in just a few minutes.” Our Siddhidata Kulam team swings into action… time for stones to move!

Sthapati and Yoginathaswami are poised on top of the pillars of the back, north side of the temple.

Larry sets up his crane… and the team starts rigging a stone on the ground…

Here we go!

and down….

And down…

And into place…

Adaicken mixing mortar for placement… wearing a turban for protection from the bright sun.

Moving into place, having already been carefully fitted on the ground.

Mr. Chandreswaran, treasurer of the Tirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam (TNG) orphanage, sent us this digital image of the orphanage’s other building facilities that surround the main building – now all reduced to rubble. If you would like to hear the latest news from Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, surrounding the TNG orphanage please click on this link Batticaloa TNG Orphanage