Bodhinatha watches the morning Arati ceremonies at Gurudeva shrine. The devotees have covered him in garlands.

The second day ceremonies and events begin in the morning with arati at Gurudeva’s shrine.

The songs of Yogaswami to his Guru were often addressed to “the one who lived at Nallur” So, when we hear or read those songs we often think of “the one who lived on Kauai.” Yogaswami sang this song, in playful refrain of children tossing a ball as they sang:

TOSS AND LET GO

That which is Formless assumed the form of Guru
At Nallur to shower His Grace–Toss the ball and chime
That Siva is the Self, Toss and let go.

He cut asunder the cluster of desires
Praise the Peerless One and toss the ball and chime
That there’s no birth nor death, toss and let go.

That He is or is not, none can tell,
But He did come to Nallur, so toss the ball and chime
That I am He–Toss and let go.

He o’er-powered and made me His at Nallur
And succoured me–Toss the ball and chime
He’s the ocean of grace–Toss and let go.

Freed from delusion, they who bide by His will
Enjoy limitless bliss–Toss the ball and chime
That desire hath no charm–Toss and let go.

He who has no fixed abode nor name, came
Of his own accord to entice me–Toss the ball and chime
That sorrows have fled–Toss and let go.

The Supreme Being who pervades the whole world,
He came to Nallur–Toss the ball for thus
Said He, ‘that we know not’–Toss and let go.

He cannot be eulogised in definite script,
He’s acclaimed as Guru in this land–Toss the ball
That we lack nothing–Toss and let go.

He’s the lord who can subdue my senses five.
The beloved of Nallur also is he–Toss the ball
That doubts there are none–Toss and let go.

Sublime is He and full of sweetness
Is this sage of Nallur–Toss the ball and chime
That anxiety is dispelled–Toss and let go.

He who is the essence of the mystic Aum
Hast eradicated the I-ness–Toss the ball and chime
That delusion’s spell is over–Toss and let go.

Incomprehensible to the envious, He showers
The bequest of Grace, Toss the ball and chime
That He is Guru-Chellappa–Toss and let go.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Following the ceremonies the monks chanted for the members and later in the morning Bodhinatha gave a seminar and then everyone watched one of his DVD’s on awareness and spiritual practice. Below is a video of some of these events. Of course, early morning is very dark in the temple from a camera’s point of view!

And in the aftermath… we have the joyful satsang with devotees. Tandu Sivanathan on the left had his Vishesha Diksha initiation yesterday.

And below we bring you the video from yesterday’s homa. We are presently doing a lot of work on refining our video delivery systems and creation. Note today’s video has a “real” sound track!

[If you are not able to see this video please email studyhall@hindu.org with details. We appreciate your feedback.]

It is a rare time for the devotees to get to spend a little time with our monks who are usually cloistered away all year long.

….Dora Kovacs from Boston Massachusetts, Ganga Sivanathan from Adelaide, Australia and Devi Tandavan from Seattle… satsang: the fellowship of like mind souls in the spirit of “truth seeking” is soooo sweet…

It has been some years since Shailesh Trivedi came to the Aadheenam on Task Force. He went home to take over his father’s flower business in Southern California and is doing very well.

Shymadeva from Alaska and Mrs. Carole Khan from Kauai

The weather has been spectacularly clear to bless the festival with vivid colors and light shows everywhere.

Bodhinatha gives a seminar to the devotees.

On Sunday October 15, Mauritius sishyas including Church members and enrolled Master Course students were at the Ganesha Mandapam to joyously celebrate the Guru Jayanthi of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.

The ceremony started with a pada puja to the sacred Tiruvadi…

Prior to the ceremony, sishyas came early to the Ganesha Mandapam to decorate the shrine and set everything ready for the event which started at 10:00 AM.

The 108 Names of Bodhinatha are being chanted. Before the chanting, Nuckiren and Rajen explained the meaning of each name in French/creole.

It was a wonderful opportunity for sishyas to pay obeisance to Bodhinatha…

Everyone had a clear view of the the ceremony.

The peak moment of the pada puja was when the flame was passed over the Tiruvadi.

Sishyas stood up and chanted Nachintanai

pada puja ceremony

Sishyas came forward to give a few inspiring testimonies. Here is Ananda saying how he is happy now that his whole family is studying with Bodhinatha.

Vandana, a Master Course student told everyone how she came to know about Gurudeva’s teachings as a young girl. Now both her husband Roshan and herself are studying with Bodhinatha and said how happy she is to be in a group of like-minded people.

Another peak moment… A special cake for Bodhinatha… Our most senior couple, Kulapati and Kulamata Mardemootoo were asked to cut the cake for Bodhinatha.

Happy Birthday Bodhinatha…Many Happy Returns from Mauritius!

Everybody instantly joined in to sing Happy Birthday to Bodhinatha…

The ceremony over, devotees had vibhuti…the children were very happy and a little impatient too to have a taste of Bodhinatha’s Birthday cake.

Food was served to everyone attending by the Nathoo family.

Devotees sitting under the mango to enjoy a nice time together as a great family…

One MC student kiran, offered Bodhinatha an artistically hand designed Rajastan ‘chowki’ on which the sacred Tiruvadi would be placed in the future.