It is Star 1 here at the Aadheenam, the first day of a three-day retreat… but activities are still in full swing and with 100’s of picture in the queue we are posting the balance of the morning Guru Purnima ceremonies…sharing more quotes from the writings of the sages of our sampradaya.

END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming retreat,
until Tritya Tithi, Sun One, Saturday, July 23rd

The verses today are from Siva Yogaswami as recorded in the book, which is online: The Testament of Truth

“He is the Sat-Guru, who is Self-luminous.
He is beyond the plane of objective consciousness.”

“He illumines everyone to see by the light of grace radiating within each being. His rays also lighten the universe which is constructed of the five elemental powers. Who can see if he Luminous One wills it not?”

I see Him and yet I see Him not,
This is the annunciation of our Guru,
That wheresoever thou art, there I am–Siva, Siva.”

“By the grace of my Guru was overthrown my pride.
By the grace of my Guru, showers of grace were mine.

By the grace of my Guru, bliss infinite was mine.
By His grace myself and Guru commingled as One.”

[Devotees chant the newly created 108 names of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami]

‘Detach, and in attachment, see detachment, espouse righteous living with awareness, my dear…”

Thou art myself’–Thus spoke he.

“No intrinsic evil is there,’ so said he,

‘And Truth is Absolute,’ he added my dear.

Yet he behaved like a dumbman, dear.

‘Accomplished is His Will–there’s neither before nor after.’ Like thunder, he echoed these words, my dear

What more can I speak, my dear. ‘That is: Who doth know?’ so said he.

No parallel to him can I conceive, my dear.

Dazed and motionless I become, my dear.

‘We know not,’ declared the wise teacher.

A wholesome life bequeathed he, my dear.

Fled are all the unrighteous acts, my dear. In oneness did I see the universe in and out.

As has been our tradition.. we invite our visiting swami to come forward and also bless the devotees with vibhuti… Koviloor Swami from Tamil Nadu…

Gurudeva is with us also today…

The flame is taken around to everyone

And all come forward to prostrate and receive the satguru’s blessings.

Our priests are happy to be here…

Bodhinatha, bright and smiling for our camera.

And then, the annual give to our Guru from the monks…

Bodhinatha loves to listen to Sanskrit chanting, so last year we have him an iPod. But then, to listen to the chants he must use ear plugs… so this year we gave him this Bose iPod Speaker dock.. just drop you iPod onto the slot and you have a high class mini audio system.

Bodhinatha, full of love and joy…

Koviloor Swami…

We honor Koviloor Swami with a shawl and then Paramacharya Palaniswami announces the gift that Swami is preparing for the Aadheenam: a beautiful, highly ornate chariot, for pulling the Deities around the paths….Swami also made a substantial donation to the Iraivan temple building fund.

The morning event over, Bodhinatha returns to the Aadheenam.

Lucky little ones…

to be here in the radiance of such events…

Later in the morning, Sannyasins Arumugaswami and Natarajnathaswami take Koviloor Swami and Greg Lien on a tour of the Himalayan Acres land across the river from the temple. Here they are checking up on a recent tree planting…

Paramacharya Palaniswami give a seminar today. Giving everyone another taste of an audio talk from Gurudeva…

and eliciting more testimony from devotees on their experiences of Gurudeva…

It has been a most blessed day… Of course we owe everything to Gurudeva, and the Satgurus who came before, down through time…

Jai to the Kailasa Parampara!