Kulapati Dohadeva, Kulamata Nagavathy and daughter Anusha have been here at the Aadheenam on pilgrimage for several days. Today they had darshan with Bodhinatha.

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END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming two-day retreat,
until Ekadasi Tithi, Sun One, Wednesday, September 7th.

Bodhinatha had a lot of darshan sessions this morning with everyone asking many interesting questions.

Meanwhile we again announce the release of the October issue of Hinduism Today Digital Edition
(HTDE)

If you are a subscriber and have already downloaded the HTDE software interface then simply make sure you are online and then boot the application. Early reports are that this is another amazing issue! If you have not subscribed to the digital edition, it is free and you can get it at the HT web site

This issue of Hinduism’s flagship spiritual magazine presents a feature that could be called Hindu Music 101. In it, the history and development of Indian classical music is explored, along with present-day fusion trends. There are articles on the bindi, the amazing youth movement at Swaydhyay Pariwar and their recent Washington DC parade. Our ayurvedic expert talks about teenage depression and drugless treatment options. The Insight Section takes you on a traditional pilgrimage in the South of India, to Lord Murugan’s six sacred encampments, complete with travel guide and tips. Our publisher, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, talks about how to keep the mind clear by resolving things that disturb us. Humor and cartoons fill our Quotes & Quips pages and there is a great analysis of how Hindus can deal positively with the media. And much more: book reviews, a global glimpse of our faith and some useful digital resources.

Sunil and Vasundhara Kakodka from Pennsylvania are here on a 5-day pilgrimage. Sunil studies the Master Course daily and is also a subscriber of Hinduism Today. It’s their 2nd visit to the aadheenam and they love being here.

Manikandan Rangaswamy also on pilgrimage here met with Bodhinatha as well.

Ekta and Amrita Doshi came back again today with their parents to spend more time here and with Bodhinatha. And their parents had some wonderful questions for Bodhinatha.

Dohadeva family on San Marga

And visiting our garden

Enjoy Bodhinath in Procession (a slide show, click on this link)

The Golden Gate Mission ladies hosting a get-together for Devika, who is visiting with her husband, mother-in-law and aunt from Malaysia.

Our traveling swamis are on their way home now. Here is another batch of photos they took on their journey.

(left to right) Selvanathan Sthapati and his son; Kuberan Sthapati, who is in charge of the avudaiyar casting; Senthilnathaswami; Yoginathaswami; and Karunanithi Sthapati, Kuberan’s father

The morning after the avudaiyar casting, we went to a metal product shop in Kumbakonam. We scoured the place for the highest quality items to be used in our temples at the Aadheenam. On the table is an assortment of things we purchased, as well as some fancy solid silver items that were custom-made for a temple in London.

Kuberan Sthapati’s wife, Chitra, brought us to this shop, which her family considers the best in the area. This shop is possibly the most well stocked, and it definitely has the highest quality work. If anyone is interested in stopping by there to shop when visiting India (Kumbakonam is between Thanjavur and Chidambaram), let us know, and we can give you their contact information.

Pots, dishes, cups, spoons, in styles for shrine use and kitchen use, in brass, copper, silver, silver-plated, gold-plated

Racks and racks of items

And more racks, some with kuttvilakkus and other lamps, trays, Deities

And more, and more, and more

Kulapati Jiva Rajasankara’s home at the worksite has this beautiful shrine with a model of the Iraivan sphatika Lingam outside. All the silpis worship here every morning at 7:20am before beginning their temple carving work. Jiva performs a short puja, and the silpis chant the guru mantra and several Natchintanai songs by Siva Yogaswami. Then the arati, vibhuti, chandanam and kumkum are passed out to all present.

While we were there, several lorries dropped off rough stone from the quarry. Here are two blocks, each about 3.5 tons. To our surprise, the blocks were simply dropped on the ground using the lorry’s hydraulic dump. Imagine the small quake we felt when seven tons of solid granite suddenly hit the ground fifty feet in front of us.

Duraisingam and Senthilnathaswami observe the stone drop-off.

Here is the floor stone for the namaskara mandapam, the area of the temple where the guru prostrates. The design of the carving is like that of a fancy carpet. It’s almost finished. The drawing of the Tamil Aum in the middle is one possibility for the middle panel.

Here is the 45-foot solid teak kodimaram, or temple flagpole. Finding such a straight tree at just the right height was quite a feat.

Senthilnathaswami was quite impressed by the quality of the carving.

Here is one of the wood carvers. They do a fairly basic carving on the wood because the elaborate, decorative details will be done in the copper kavacham that will clad the wood.

The primary purpose of our visit to Bangalore was for Yoginathaswami to meet with the temple architects, or sthapatis, Selvanathan (right) and Chidambaram (middle). Meeting in person with the architects in India is proving to be essential to clarifying many complex construction issues.

One afternoon, Jiva took us on a tour of the gardens at the worksite.

The acres are littered with rough stones, ready for carving.

Here are small cement models of the statues of Yogaswami, Gurudeva and Bodhinatha that will be carved in black granite for Rishi Valley at Kauai Aadheenam. We will have similar statues of Chellappaswami, Kadaitswami, Rishi from the Himalayas, Tirumular and Maharishi Nandinatha.

This is the five-headed cobra that will stand directly in front of the rajagopuram.

Chidambaram Sthapati explains that the now-round Lingam in the center will be carved down to look just like the temple’s six-sided, single-pointed sphatika Lingam.

Hundreds of floor stones, in rose-colored granite, have been carved for the temple’s first prakaram. The silpis are currently making more of them.

Water drainage is important in a temple that will be exposed to a lot of rain. Here, Chidambaram Sthapati and some of the silpis do a trial assembly of one corner of the temple where the floor will slope in two directions to guide water to drains underneath the floor at the edges of the mandapam. We want to be absolutely clear how this dual sloping will work before bringing the stones to Kauai. If some need to be carved any differently than originally designed, it should be done in India before they are shipped.

Next was a tour of the new worksite, which is under construction. On the left is the compound wall, and on the right is a large building which will house the silpis.

A view of the center of the compound from the soon-to-be second floor of the silpi residence.

On the left are store rooms and a generator house, and on the left is a large workshed.

Here is a giant stone saw.

This is the beginning of Jiva’s new home in one corner of the compound.