ISLAND DAM BREAKS:

A QUICK NOTE IS ADDED TO TAKA TO REASSURE EVERYONE THAT THE RECENT BREAK IN A RESERVOIR THAT CAUSED DAMAGE AND LOST LIVES DID NOT AFFECT THE MONASTERY. THE DAM WAS ABOUT 20 MILES AWAY FROM THE MONASTERY. BUT WE ARE PRAYING FOR THOSE WHOSE HOMES WERE LOST AND WHOSE FAMILIES HAVE DISSAPPEARED WHEN 500 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER, A 50-FOOT-HIGH WALL, SWEPT THEM OUT TO SEA. PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR ALL THE MAHADEVAS AND DEVAS TO LOOK AFTER THESE ISLAND FOLKS WHO HAVE SUFFERED. AND WE SEND OUR GRATITUDE TO ALL OF YOU WHO WROTE AND CALLED TO SHARE YOUR LOVE AND WORRY. WE ARE DEEPLY TOUCHED BY YOUR AFFECTION.

It is the last day of our phase. The Ganapati Kulam shared their news today. Palaniswami has been working on What is Hinduism and also this phase engineered his kulam’s work on the archives. He was happy to announce that he had completed the digitization of all old style video cassette tapes and is now digitizing the small DVD tapes. Kumarswami has been working on the next insight section for Hinduism Today. Arumugaswami shared news on the Saivite Hindu Children’s course and we passed around Book 4 with it’s marvelous line drawings by A. Manivel. Natarajnathaswami is deep into his feature story work on the next issue of Hinduism Today. Sivakatirswami has been working on the Hinduism Today Digital Edition, Yogi Japendranatha is at work on an article on the Pondicherry Institute for the next issue…

We bring you two videos today, starting with this one of Bodhinatha being greeted in the traditional way by the priests of the Murugan Temple in Sydney,Australia during the January Innersearch. He then joins other spiritual leaders to raise the Nandi flag, a ceremony which begins the 3-day-long 10th Annual Saiva Conference for which Bodhinatha was a keynote speaker.

Nutanaya Sivaceyon from Malaysia

He has really been having a great time here and is a great help to all the monks.

This phase he has been serving in the Ganapati kulam. He mastered some basic sound editing work and today completed an important project which was to review, process, edit and prepare the Ganesha puja chants sent from Dr. Tyagarajan in India, for the web. You can see the result of his work here.

Ganesha Home Puja... the text for these chants is in the April issue Insight section of Hinduism Today. It’s all part of the new Hinduism Today digital initiatives.

We leave the Publications building now, pass by a beautiful plant and take a trip to Iraivan.

END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming three-day retreat,
until Tritya Tithi, Sun One, Thursday, March 16th.

Gurudeva’s photo sits in the doorway of the main sanctum and everyday the silpis offer flowers. He is watching over all the work.

Yoginathaswami consults with Chellaiya and Vellaisami on the work the silpis are doing today.

Some indentations are needed … and watch the video below to see it in real time! (Click the control to go past the Clear White Light beginning frame.)

We will let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

Once again: this is a three-day retreat, so you will not get an update until the 16th. Have a wonderful full moon meditation!