Many pictures are arriving, some with captions, some without… Here is Bodhinatha giving a talk at Edmonds Community School center in Vancouver.

Kumar Natarajan from Seattle, who went up to Vancouver, writes:

His talk was on the “Hindu Path to Enlightenment” and he explained a number of subjects in the clearest and most simple of ways. The devotees were so very relaxed and secure with his practical thoughts. He had asked everyone for written questions and he received quite a big stack of them, and answered each and every one with an obvious care. He later said that sometimes he will speak to a large audience and not get any questions at all but if he would have known ahead of time that he would get so many questions from this small gathering he wouldn’t have come with a topic to speak on.

Bodhinatha being greeted at the airport in Vancouver.

Second from right, Manickam Senthivel was instrumental for helping arrange things in Vancouver. Thank you Manickam and to all the devotees there who helped take care of Bodhinatha and Sadhaka Haranandinatha!

A short evening visit to the Subramaniyam temple…(June 23rd)

Visit to the Thurkadevi Temple for lunch

A traditional Tamil meal is always a welcome moment!

Reviewing written questions from the audience….

Evening lecture at Edmonds community center…

Bodhinatha writes: “This morning was our three hour event at a school auditorium. The Iraivan DVD was well received and my talk on the Hindu Path to Enlightenment with lots of good questions and answers took about 2 1/4 hours!”

On Kauai, the morning sun is quite hot so our group of visitors were first taken down the path to the waterfall. On the way we stopped for a group photo on a hill above the Wailua river, with the Iraivan Temple just visible in the background.

Our visitors today included Smita and Prakash Patel and their son from Fremont, California, originally from Baruch, Gujarat, and their friends Jay and Hemu Hazari and their son Aakash also originally from Gujarat and now living in Hayward, California.

Everybody enjoyed the cool shade and beauty of the Bali Hai Falls. Prakash Patel felt that this was definitely “The God’s country.” “Such a peace and spiritual presence, beyond words.”

Another young couple Michael Karlovich and Yenling Wang Karlovich, married for only two days and here on their honeymoon, are from Redwood City, California. They both stated that “coming to such a spiritual place was such a blessing and was beyond anything they could possibly have imagined!”

Everybody enjoyed the cool shade and beauty of the Bali Hai Falls. Prakash Patel felt that this was definitely “The God’s country.” “Such a peace and spiritual presence, beyond words.”

Another group photo on the steps of the Iraivan Temple sanctum doorway wherein will reside the magnificent crystal swayambulingam.

The silpis are busy these days on the roof joining the stones and working also in the Gopurams putting finishing touches to the stones there. Visitors are always encouraged to ask questions, and there is one question that is always asked, “when will the temple be finished?” Response about 2010.

Another photo in front of the South-facing aspect of God Siva, Dakshinamurthy, or the Silent Guru and the four sages which also represent the four vedas, Sama, Yajur, Atharva, and Rig Vedas.

What a beautiful day!

Rajkumar Manickam, representing Iraivan Temple, spoke at the Hindu Mandir Executives Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia. He explained the steps the temple trustees took to achieve financial success. Fifty-four temples were represented by the 90+ attendees.

Easan Katir, representing Hindu Heritage Endowment, also spoke at the Conference. His topic was “Eternal Money for your Temple.” To emphasize the long-term power of endowments, he proposed each one in the room put in $1 for a new endowment benefitting the Atlanta Siva Vishnu temple.

Conference organizer, Nachiketa Tiwari, adds to the Atlanta Temple endowment as the impromptu hundi is passed around the room. The $156 collected compounded for 150 years totals almost $2 million dollars. Then from that accumulated principal HHE grants $78,000 a year to the Atlanta temple in perpetuity.

In Penang a small but momentous event: Sivaram’s mother is applying for Level Two of the Master Course.

Here she is signing her Vegetarian Vrata (Vow) as part of her next step on the path.

Congratulations! Sivaram writes about his mother:

“Amma is so happy and proud of her accomplishment, since at the initial stage she felt she was already old and impossible to do it.”