Here is Bodhinatha in Mahabalipuram on the last India Innersearch, an appropriate photo to accompany the latest update from the mission team who are in South India today. Bodhinatha writes:

Om Sivaya, everyone!

Jai Ganapati.

Today we drove from Pondicherry to Chennai, making three stops. The first was at Auroville where we were wonderfully hosted. Our visit included an hour-plus meeting with their teachers on the broad subject of teaching spirituality to their students. Their most common message was that they do it by the teacher’s example which includes no corporal punishment but handling problems by discussion.

Next we stopped in Mahabalipuram at the carving site of the Hanuman that will be installed near Iraivan, being sculpted under the direction of silpi Thurai. It is moving forward. Also, one of our three elephants, also partially done, had been moved to the site for us to view. It is usually at another site.

Third stop was the BAPS Swaminarayan Tsunami reconstruction of a fishing village of 150 homes. As is usual for all BAPS projects, it was well done,

Now we are back in Chennai at the GRT Grand with a private area for all the many darshan sessions planned over the next Sunday and Monday.

Om Namasivaya,
Bodhinatha

Another beautiful day at Kauai Aadheenam. The Ganapati Kulam detailed their work today. Many things happening in the publishing and media world. Top of the list are new content additions to the web site, preparations to launch the Digital Edition 2007 January issue of Hinduism Today and getting a really beautiful Book Four of the children’s course ready for the printer.

One item that has long been in the works is finally seeing the light of day… it is called “Kauai’s Hindu Monastery,” a 40-page booklet that has been transported to our web site as a new introduction to the monastery and its diverse areas of service… check it out here:

All About Kauai’s Hindu Monastery

Ratnam and Lakshmi Jeedigunta flew from Detroit to visit with their daughter, Aparajita, who is a student at the University of Hawaii on Oahu. Then the whole family flew directly here to attend the 9 a.m. Siva puja at the Kadavul Temple, followed by a tour of the beautiful Iraivan Temple and grounds. They were profoundly moved by their visit and plan to come back again.

Aruna and Venkat Kommu arrived with their two young children, Vasanth and Veena from San Francisco. They had been teaching their children a Siva prayer when they met a couple who directed them to this Siva temple. After enjoying the Abhishekam and touring Iraivan Temple, they confided that they felt extremely blessed to be here at Siva’s Feet.

This is the Jodhpurkar family from Virgina. Jeetendra, his wife Madhavi, daughter Mohini and son Kanha. It was Kanha’s 6th birthday today and he had an archana during the 9am Siva puja in Kadavul Temple. The family had a great visit and hugged the rudraksha trees. Madhavi teaches children’s classes at their local temple and is using some of our Himalayan Academy pamphlets, like “Ten Questions about Hinduism,” as teaching aids.

A photo and video tour of our Sacred Rudraksha grove today. On each tree a few leaves will turn bright red, then fall to the ground. Looking closely, you can see the Blue Marbles, which are the fruit surrounding the seed.

This Nepal-style Ganesha guards the entry to the grove, which is open daily from 6am to 6pm.

The trees have amazing roots, which rise out of the ground to provide lateral support.

There are several hundred trees on the property, America’s only Rudraksha Grove. Watch our movie to get a sense of what it’s like inside the Grove, with millions of holy seeds covering the ground and various colored lichens living on the trunks of the trees.

And now a silent video to walk through

Other than our regular monthly Ganesha Havana, the Spiritual Park continues to host visitors who privately come to worship at the Ganesha Mandapam everyday.

One major project this year regarding maintenance of the premises is the reconstruction of the Ganesha Bridge, a few metres from the Mandapam.

The old bridge used to be covered with pine planks but due to the large number of visitors crossing it the planks gave way and had to be removed. It has been decided to rebuild the bridge with concrete.

Church members are there to give a helping hand in pouring the concrete.

The bridge has to be very strong. Thick reinforcing steel rods are being used…

The work is being done professionally under the supervision of Master Course student Ramsamy Pillay, who is a building engineer.

Later ,when all concrete works are completed, the bridge will be entirely covered with wood to integrate its look into the natural surroundings of the Park. Work continues on this construction and karma yogis are welcomed to help….

The concrete has now been poured….

Back to another activity of the Park…. The children studying Bodhinatha’s Saivite Hindu Religion series on Saturdays there, have had their end of year test in the quiet atmosphere of the Ganesha Mandapam…

The children had to answer 47 questions based on Book IV of the Saivite Hindu Religion course, a special text for young ones to learn their religion.

They had to concentrate all alone and remember what they have learned from Bodhinatha.

Here is Lunadosha Valaytan immersed in the questions…

A group is being briefed by Ariadassy regarding the questions to be answered. The smaller ones are doing the test orally.

Here is one question from the objective tests section for you to try… Have you found the right answer?

Tolerance means that we …………….
A. show to others that our religion is better than theirs
B. accept all religions to be the same and mix them together
C. criticise all religions that are different from ours
D. recognise and respect religious beliefs that are different from ours.