Bodhinatha sits quietly as the Sun One Homa began early this morning.

Today Bodhinatha continues with his talks on Shum.

Today he gave a deep mystical explanation of the 5th Dimension of consciousness.

He also described how we can identify that we are in the Fifth Dimension. One simple practical signpost is that you see the world as perfect and feel love for everyone. In the early stages on the path you may only be in this state for short periods of time, later you may hold that state for many hours at a time.

Our three pilgrims returned home yesterday from their yatra to South India. They were all looking well despite the long trip home.

Yogi Japendranatha

Our yatris with Bodhinatha..

The highlight of their trip was the Ardra Puja at Chidambaram. They described the incredible experience of the Nataraja Deity being taken out of the main sanctum, paraded around the inner prakarams of the temple and the village street outside the temple’s four walls and then brought back to the temple and placed in the thousand-pillared hall for abhishekam, which is something not done in any other temple. Usually the main Deity always remains in the sanctum and a second utsava murti, or “festival Deity,” is paraded outside.

In this case the actual central Deity from the inner sanctum is the utsava murti as well. This unusual event happens only twice a year and is a commemoration of the legendary day when, centuries ago, Lord Siva himself came and danced before the crowd of devotees. He granted a boon to two sages who said what they wanted was for him to stay with them. Siva is said to have granted the boon by manifesting the Nataraja murti of Chidambaram temple.

Yoginathaswami says it is one of the most incredible spiritual experiences you can imagine: “I won’t even try to explain it. It is beyond words. One amazing thing was that when we went back to the main sanctum of the temple while Nataraja was out in the parade, it felt completely empty, no vibration at all. But in the thousand-pillared hall where Nataraja was temporarily installed for the abhishekam, the vibration was beyond words.”

Yogi Japendranatha adds, “Sorry we don’t have any photos of this event. Photos are not allowed in the temple at Chidambaram at all. Amazingly, even during the parade out on the city streets, we saw not a single person with a camera. When someone on a second-floor balcony was taking photos of the passing chariot procession with her cell phone’s camera, someone noticed and, within seconds, dozens of devotees were pointing and yelling, sharply scolding her. Obviously chagrined, she retreated into the building. The whole city protects the temple and the Deity in this way.”

This is Robin Jessee from Reno Nevada who has only recently started studying the Master Course. He is twenty years old.

Because of his very clear intention to take up spiritual life he has come to the aadheenam for a six-month task force to find out about monastic life.

Robin says he has been studying about the inner path since he was 16 years old, having found some books on Buddhism and then Hinduism. At one point he felt he wanted to dedicate himself fully to spiritual pursuits, but that he didn’t think he could do it on his own and needed guidance. So he was about to continue his search by going to India, when he found Gurudeva’s teachings on the internet and decided to come here instead.