It’s a very quiet Sadhu Paksha day here at the Aadheenam… no photos for you… all is well.

The monks are busy as bees as usual–our computer server and hard drive upgrades are still in progress. The Ekadanta Kulam reported at lunch today they are involved in lots of planning for Bodhinatha’s future travels which appear to be very extensive this year. The emphasis will be to make the journeys focus on education, with with special meetings with donors and others who are helping without work in far off places combined with educational seminars.

Guru Purnima planning is also underway with an all -island Open House which we expect will draw 500-700 of our island friends, maybe more. We do this every two years, have a big tent event, with the mayor as chief guest, with special spiritual guests, a talk by Bodhinatha and Shanmugam, our master builder. Then we feed everyone from the monastery kitchen. They don’t say it, but half of them come for the curries. This year our island friends and well wishers will be awestruck to see Iraivan in its current state of progress.

One of our Master Course students asked today what is new at the monastery, and here is part of the answer he got from Paramacharya Palaniswami: “What projects are new? Well, many. We are working on our first foray into a digital version of Hinduism Today. Gurudeva always foresaw a computer page that turned, like a book, and that is one of the features provided by Olive Software, our expert in this field. We are starting with the April issue, which you probably have by now. Our new calves, two of them, are growing up quickly and a new cat has been added to our feline community, named Pandian.

“Also some new computer upgrades are going on, and we just received a box of gold and silver leaf for several projects: Iraivan, the giant metal doors of Kadavul Temple, the elegant copper roof of Nepali Ganesha who greets all visitors. Working on new clothing for the monks, on getting 900 ancient (1950-80s) reel-to-reel audio tapes he recorded into digital form to preserve them forever, this being done in India (thanks to Sheela: editor’s note). Working on new entrance gateway to the monastery which is ready to ship, and a glorious 8-foot-tall Shanmugam for under the sprawling banyan tree. Of course, lots of editing, art and design for the books and magazine and such. Each morning now, during our two-week sadhu paksha some monks are going up Muruga Hill and watching the sun rise (we are usually in our morning meditation at that time, but not during this sadhu paksha period, so nice to see the sun come up and nicer still to be meditating atop the hill (it’s only 22 feet high but marvelous) in Lord Murugan’s yogic energy.

“As for the grounds, it’s a glorious day on Kauai. The world’s largest orchids are blooming for the first year (we’ve had them for about 6 years now. It’s called Grammatophylum, and the record-holder is a 2,200 pound single orchid brought from Java, Indonesia, to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1907.) Each year from now on we wil have their special blossoms to witness and share with pilgrims. New lotuses went into the ponds two days back and one of the world’s most highly regarded flowering trees is blooming for the first time. It is called Amherstia nobilis, from India and named after Lord Amherst who was in charge of India for a time. Here, there and everywhere we see nothing but Siva dancing His dance of nature and beauty. OK, that’s enough of a survey of what’s new here! More than you bargained for. Lots of blessings.”