Today is the monthly Ashram Sadhana Day at the Aadheenam, monks were out and about all morning cleaning, taking care of areas and putting up artwork on walls…

We were busy yesterday and did not have time to post our usual excerpts from the Saiva Dharma Shastras on the annual Ritau (seasonal) changes. We have entered Moksha Ritau and excerpts follow as a useful reminder to all sishya of the sadhana and flows to follow for this season

Meanwhile, for listeners of Bodhinatha’s talks: a new one is linked here today. And you can always go here to book mark and see the complete list of his current talks that are online. We are gradually catching up to the point where we will post his weekly upadesha shortly after he gives it here in the temple.

From the Saiva Dharma Shastras. The complete book is on line as a single large PDF file here.

112 Introduction

Beginning with Hindu New Year in mid-April, three seasons of the year divide our activities into three great needs of humankind: the learning of scripture in the first season, Nartana Ritau; the living of culture in the second season, Jivana Ritau; and the meditating on Siva in the third season, Moksha Ritau. Thus we are constantly reminded that our life is Siva’s life and our path to Him is through study, sadhana and realization. In ritau one, we teach the philosophy; in ritau two, we teach the culture; and in ritau three, we teach meditation.

120 The Third Season: Moksha Ritau

The third period of the year, Moksha Ritau, the cool season, is from mid-December to mid-April. It is the season of dissolution. The key word is resolution. Merging with Siva: Hinduism’s Contemporary Metaphysics is the focus of study and intense investigation. The colors of this season are coral-pink, silver and all shades of blue and purple coral for the Self within, silver and blue for illumination, and purple for enlightened wisdom. High above flies the coral flag, signaling ParaSiva, Absolute Reality, beyond time, form and space. Moksha Ritau is a time of appreciation, of gratitude for all that life has given, and a time of honoring elders, those in the sannyasa stage of life. Moksha Ritau is excellent for philosophical discussions, voicing one’s understanding of the path through an enlightened intellect. In finance, it is the time for yearly accounting and reconciliation. On a mundane level it is a time of clearing attics, basements, garages, sheds, warehouses, workshops and desks, getting rid of unneeded things, of pruning trees, of streamlining life on the physical plane of reengineering.

122 Festivals and Realms of the Third Season

The major festival of Moksha Ritau is MahaSivaratri. It is at Kauai Aadheenam, as are all other gatherings, not a public event but a private one, due to the special sacredness of this sanctuary and its Iraivan moksha koyil. Church members, Academy students and special guests by invitation are all who attend. This and all other gatherings at the Aadheenam are restricted in size in keeping with a covenant with the county of Kauai in respect to the surrounding residential area. From December 21-25, the Pancha Ganapati festival is enjoyed in Church family homes worldwide, and the resulting joy and peace is felt even by strangers. The Aadheenam realms of this season are: 1) San Marga Iraivan Temple, a hand-carved, white-granite edifice seated upon a lava-rock plinth, golden tower shining in a rainbowed sky; 2) Tamil Nayanar Neri, the 1,300-foot-long path that winds around ponds, banyan trees, tropical plants in seven distinct botanical habitats, with seven shrines to the great Saiva saints of South India, and 3) Kauai Aadheenam central, with its offices, publications facilities, kitchen, library, workshops, monks’ quarters, aviaries and cloistered gardens.

396 Seasonal Changes for Satsangas

The format of the satsanga changes slightly three times per year in accordance with the three climatic seasons experienced on the Garden Island of Kauai. The three seasons are: Nartana Ritau from mid-April to mid-August, Jivana Ritau from mid-August to mid-December and Moksha Ritau from mid-December to mid-April. Each season emphasizes one of the three great books of the Kailasa Parampara. Also, during each ritau, a different group is honored: those in the grihastha ashrama during Nartana Ritau, those in vanaprastha ashrama during Jivana Ritau, and those in the sannyasa ashrama during Moksha Ritau. All satsangas begin and end on time and last for approximately three hours.

401 Moksha Ritau Bhajana Satsanga

Moksha Satsanga is held from mid-December to mid-April. This is the season when those in the sannyasa ashrama are especially honored. All turn their attention to those special grihasthas in life’s fourth stage, and to the sannyasins of our order, who have renounced the world to follow the path to moksha and Self Realization. We listen to their insights, to their yogic revelations and their sweet encouragements. When possible, we invite them to our satsanga so we may enjoy their presence and their words, and we prepare special garlands to show our admiration for their courage and commitment, their example of detachment and inwardness as exemplary members of the sannyasa dharma. If no exemplars of this ashrama are present, the eldest vanaprasthas take their place in extolling the merits of this stage of life, reading from the Holy Orders which express all of the renunciate ideals and the need for young men to qualify themselves as mathavasis. This is a time when the families talk about and plan the future of any young men who may be potential monks and arrange for their training. It is also a time to think of the future of any family persons approaching age 72, to determine how and where they will live out the fourth stage of life.

1. Activities begin with Ganesha arati by the padipalar of the day. He then leads the group in chanting the Gurudeva Namaskara Veda Mantra.
2. Then the padipalar conducts satguru padapuja.
3. Meditation: The teaching period for this season stresses Merging with Siva: Hinduism’s Contemporary Metaphysics. Therefore, everyone enjoys a 30-minute meditation on the Shum mamsane guided by the pechalar. One of the twelve mamsane is the subject of meditation each week. Soft vina music may be played during the meditation. All strive to follow perfectly the meditation map through the areas of consciousness named in the Shum language. All merge with Siva in Satchidananda samadhi. All see the end of the path moksha and ultimately vishvagrasa merging with Siva.
4. Vasana Daha Tantra: After the meditation, everyone writes confessions on paper to clear the subconscious mind of unwanted vasanas. The confessions are then burned in an unauspicious fire, such as a fireplace or trash can. They are not burned in the havana or temple because they are not being written as prayers to the devas. Next is the time for giving testimony as to how confession, repentance and reconciliation have helped in clearing unwanted vasanas that have accumulated in the subconscious and sub-subconscious areas of the mind during the year. However, this does not require revealing the details of one’s actual confessions. The writing of confessions and giving of testimony constitute the 45 minute study period.
5. Announcements are then given by the pechalar, focusing on the goals of this ritau, the areas of emphasis indicated for the season.
6. Next is a 30-minute time for cultural events, videos, recordings, singing Natchintanai, dancing, seminars and classes on the myriad cultural arts, including the 64 kalas.
7. The satsanga concludes with a 30-minute period of socializing and sharing prasada.

434 The Four Steps of Atonement

The four petals of the muladhara can be described as unrestrained devotion, confession, repentance and reconciliation. When penance is given, it must be fulfilled, especially when requested. Otherwise, the life of the penitent is vulnerable to the company of asuras. Penance is given after a certain amount of remorse is shown and the urgency is felt by the individual to rid his mind of the plaguing matter. All help is given by the divine devas to those seen performing a sincere penance. These devas that oversee those in a penitent state of mind are similar to doctors and nurses gathered to help their patient become well again. The angelic helpers surround their “patient,” assisting in the relief of mental and emotional illness caused by transgression of dharma and the guilt that follows. When the penitent is undergoing penance, it is a form of tapas, described by some as psychic surgery performed by the devas working together to bring the soul from darkness into light. It truly is a happy event, but only long after it is over. The guru of every pitham receives the verbal confession of shishyas and gives out the appropriate penance, prayashchitta. He recognizes Divine absolution, knowing the penance has been fulfilled, when the inner aura is bright as a new-born child, the face happy and the testimony on the result of the penance discloses true atonement. In our Church, the period specifically dedicated to confession, repentance and reconciliation is the third season, Moksha Ritau.