From June 28th. Asian pulse TV interview with Bodhinatha which will air this Saturday on Channel 20, 1:30 pm.

The beautiful sunny morning brought several families for the morning Abhishekam. The first family, Bruce, Suzi and Jena Smalling, residents of Kapahi, Kauai for 37 years. Their daughter Coco and her husband, David, and sons Ben and Lars Baldwin are from Wailua. One of the young men is working towards joining the US Olympic swim team.

Here they are near the Dakshinamurthy with Acharya Kumarswami. After watching the silpis perform their miraculous work with granite stone, one member remarked that he had no idea that this “unbelievable work” was going on here. Coco said that she planned to bring her family back here again and “truly loved the whole experience.”

Several families, all related, arrived for the puja. All were originally from New Delhi and now reside on the Mainland. They “read about the temple on the Internet.”

A group photo was taken at the Iraivan Temple site. Dr. Parul Bhaskar, an Internist, and his wife Sudhir, and two children Neha and Ria from Orlando, Fl. S.P. Agrawal and Vijaya from Memphis, Tenn. Suresh and Sangeeta Gupta and their children Sapra, Sundeep Sonal, Orlando, Fl. Mukul and Anu Gupta and Krish from New York. and Dr. Tapan and Nila Roy from St. Louis, Mo. Two sisters Ann Marie, a registered nurse, and Ester Whaley a dental assistant also joined the group.

On the way to the river….

Everybody walked down to the Wailua river to rest and enjoy the beauty and peace of this special place before going up to the Kadavul Siva Temple for the noon Arati. As one family member put it, “what a wonderful and spiritually fulfilling morning!”

A family from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, now living in San Jose, arrived just in time for the noon Arati. Ala and Laksh Chandon and their 13 yr old son. They posed for a photo beside Nandi, (meaning joyful), outside the Kadavul Siva Temple.

Our monthly June Ganesha Homa was a big event as previous months drawing devotees from all over the island. Lord Pancha Mukha is decked with garlands and flowers lovingly brought by devotees.

At 10.30 AM the homa fire is lighted by the most senior kulapati present .

Devotees are seated all around in the Mandapam…

Everyone joins in the singing of devotional songs…

A pious atmosphere always prevails on such occasions…

Kulapaties seated around the sacred fire conduct the ceremony. Notes dipped in ghee are burnt into the fire to reappear into the inner worlds. More and more prayers are being sent each month.

Here is Venilla from Malaysia. She gave a testimony about her attending the Ganesha Homa.

Another lady from Curepipe came forward to say how the teachings of the trilogy have helped her better understand Saivism. Other nice testimonies followed.

As part of the ceremony, a talk of Bodhinatha is read to the public every month. Here Kulapati Manon uses one of those talks from Hinduism Today.

The use of the PA system allows everyone to hear the talk translated in creole, the local French dialect.

Devotees outside listening carefully.

The talk of Bodhinatha always captivates everyone by its practical approach and examples that better illustrate deep philosophical concepts.

The pond is a favorite place for many… now red and white interlocking bricks have replaced the old wooden planks near the pond.

After the talk, it is time for the final arati to Lord Pancha Mukha Ganapati who now is becoming the favorite deity of many Hindu devotees who attend Spiritual Park Homa every month.

Sishya Lomavadee with her little daughter Venilla.

Food sponsored by Hindu families, is served to everyone in the shade of the mango trees.

Paramasiven and Thungavello have been helping during the ceremony.

The whole family who sponsored the June Ganesha Homa lunch for a souvenir photo…