Most of our Sivaratri pilgrims returned home over the past few days. Each in turn came for darshan with Bodhinatha before departing. Here is Dr. Sunder and his wife Thilaka, long time supporters of the Parampara. Dr. Sunder has been doing great service for our publications, team, Iraivan Temple and for the Sri Lankan Tamils in need of medical aid in Sri Lanka.

Chandran and Mathini Wigneswaran from Australia, not far from Sydney on their way home. They did a great service during Bodhinatha’s last trip to Australia, handling much of the ground logistics, literature distribution etc.

This is Rajeev and Manjul Bhargava from Alaska. They know Shyamadeva and Peshanidevi and have been part of the temple project there.

Today was the auspicious anniversary of Gurudeva’s vision of Lord Siva sitting as Dakshinamurti on the sacred lingam on San Marga. To commemorate the occasion a special puja was performed in the early morning before dawn at the Svayambhu Siva Lingam, which Gurudeva discovered a few hours after the vision. Lighting lamps in the windy morning can be a challenge.

Here is the sacred stone that 32 years ago Gurudeva saw Lord Siva sitting upon.

A short and simple video of “A Puja in the Dark.” below

Pilgrim Vaidyisa Bala from Canada stayed on after Sivaratri doing Sivathondu for the publications team. The issue of Hinduism Today carries a special, already famous special Insight Section called “Hindu History Lesson.” which is a sample school text as Hindus would like it to be presented in the public school text books.

The article was the result of months and months of work on the part of Sannyasin Arumugaswami ensuing after the California Court case on the presentation of Hinduism in the text books there. Vaidyisa Bala is translating the text into Tamil.

An extra fifty-thousand copies of this special section have been printed and thousands have already been sold at cost for mass distribution to children, schools and families. Watch for it in the next edition of Hinduism Today. The Digital Edition will be coming soon. You can find out about it now on the Hinduism Today web site.

Visitors today were from Australia, Canada, Alaska, Michigan, Texas and Portland Oregon – all happy to be away from the cold weather and enjoy an enchanted morning tour of the very sacred Iraivan Temple.

This young man was so impressed with the Shilpi’s work that he spent about 15 minutes concentrating on carving ‘that flower’ with some success!!!