Bodhinatha meets with Vayudeva Varadan who lives in Maryland where he is very active at the Murugan Temple, and does a lot of Sivathondu there. He also helps serve at our event promotions, staffing the Himalayan Academy Publications literature tables. He has been a devotee of Gurudeva for decades and now Bodhinatha.

Today local resident Debra Blachoweal from Koloa arrived with a friend Tricia Spencer who is visiting from Lexington, Ky. Debra hasn’t been here for some time and was astounded at the architectural beauty and progress of the temple. Both have had exposure to Hinduism through other Hindu groups. They posed for a photo between Bhadra and Chitras pillar near the stone chain.

Two other couples arrived both from Pacifica, California. Fred and Judy Glosser (both teachers) and Larry and Jean Holloway. This was a new experience for them all and their first visit to a Hindu Temple. They were amazed at the superb craftsmanship of our great stone artisans as they chipped away at beautiful stone flowers and our visitors marveled at the hand-carved lion pillars with ball-in-mouth and the stone chain. Here they are in front of the sanctum of the Iraivan Temple.

Stone Artistry – just a few days ago this flower was a drawing on a stone. . . . . today it is an amazingly beautiful hand-carved stone flower! Wow! What artistry!

More artistry, this time in wood. Acharya Kumarswami is installing this beautiful door that was created by Kanda Alahan during his task force stay at the monastery about a year ago. The rich warm hue of the clear redwood of the main door frame contrasts beautifully with the fourteen honey colored Norfolk pine inlaid panels, centered with brass medalions from India.

It is Ashram Sadhana Day at the Aadheenam . Once each month the monks put aside other responsibilities and work all together to make small improvements and attend to the in-depth cleaning of our home that does not happen in a daily routine. Gurudeva gave great importance to keeping the home clean and actinic, full of light.