Bodhinatha is in Michigan today. He said the Hindu Temple Council of North America meeting he attended was fruitful. One of the main initiatives was a focus on input to the government on a proposed revision to the qualifications for the temporary religious worker visa. While Hindu temples need to be able to sponsor visas for priests and artisans coming to the U.S. from overseas, it’s important that the Hindu religious needs continue to be fairly encompassed in the revised law. A delegation of three will be going to Washington D.C. to meet with a committee from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services which has called for input on the proposed revisions to the law.

Paramacharya Palaniswami and Yogi Jivanandanatha have sent us a movie and slideshow.

A very quiet morning following a series of overnight storms which struck the Islands.

Darcy Lubbers brought her students from Santa Monica, CA. They are on a spiritual retreat on Kauai and are studying Ayurveda. Amongst the group are nursing professionals who wish to expand their knowledge into the Eastern forms of healing.

Mr. P. Balachandran with a friend from British Columbia, Canada, originally Kerala, India. He is very knowledgeable about temple architecture and Saivism and is a longtime subscriber to Hinduism Today.

On left, Aaron and his mother Charmaine Pesnell who reside in Anahola, Kauai. P Balachandran and friend from Canada, Sally Tygart from Florida, Surendra and Karen Gupta from CA., Ravindra and Meera Vashi from CT, and Laurie Laney from Florida.

Surendra full of enthusiasm remarked “what an unexpected blessing to be here now to see this great Temple being built. It is truly wonderful!”

Visiting from Bangalore are Deepa, and her two children Venkat (5) and Sahana (3). Beside them are Ranjani and Srikanth with their 10 month old daughter, Samanvitha, from Fremont, CA.

Tamil-speaking they were able to learn a great deal about the temple building from the silpis themselves. Upon returning from his trip to the Iraivan Temple, Srikanth’s only remark was “Its just Fabulous!”

The marvels of Skype! Our team had an international video chat with Palaniswami and Yogi today in Chennai. The quality of the video was amazing.

They are both doing very well and have three more days in Chennai before flying off to Mauritius.

Yogi Jivanandanatha thought it was interesting to note that if you started drilling through the earth from Hawaii you would end up on Botswana, which is just a stone’s throw from our Spiritual Park in Mauritius. You can see Mauritius there on the map, its the tiny dot on the right, just off the coast of the big island, which is Madagascar. Kauai Aadheenam and the Spiritual Park together have the world surrounded.

This month our MC Gathering was at uncle Egambrum’s residence at Flacq, our most senior enrolled MC student. Uncle is a retired Tamil language school inspector. He welcomed us with a nice shrine for that day…

On the wall of the parlor is a large Ganesha beautiful painting inspiring everyone ….

The activity starts with a simple arati by the host.

Today the lessons are on Ashtanga Yoga: fifth to eighth limb: Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi.. Satguru Bodhinatha explains on Dharana:

“The first part of the practice is to feel your nerve system, all those thousands of miles of nerve current throughout the body and the psychic nerve system surrounding the body. Feel energy flowing through this vast network. Once this is well established more on to the second part. The second part is on the out-breath visualize this energy withdrawing from the nerve system into the spine. Of course in coming out of meditation we repeat this process in reverse.”

A long practical session learning and practising concentration on a flower followed by a guided Shum meditation.

The students during the coffee break are pondering about what they have just learned from Satguru Bodhinatha

“Meditation and concentration are practically the same thing, though meditation is simply a more intense state of concentration. The state of meditation is careful, close scrutiny of the individual elements and energies which make up that flower. You are scrutinizing the inner layers of the mind, of how a flower grows, how the seed is formed. You are observing it so keenly that you have forgotten that you are a physical body, that you are an emotional unit, that you are breathing. You are in the area of mind where that flower exists, and the bush that it came from, and the roots and the seed and all phases of manifestation, all at the same time. And you are seeing it as it actually is in that area of the mind, where the flower is that you first put awareness at attention upon, then began to concentrate upon. Then you are meditating on the actual inner area of the mind where, in all stages of manifestation, that particular species actually is within the mind.”

The session continued.. The reading of a chapter from Merging with Siva on ‘Observation’ as explained by Gurudeva.

Explanation continued on Bodhinatha’s talk:
“Example of the first level of Samadhi or contemplation: Continuing with our example of the flower contemplation is concentrating so deeply in the inner areas of the mind in which that flower and the species of it and the seed of it and all exist. We go deeper, deeper, deeper within, into the energy and the life within the cells of the flower, and we find that the energy and the life within the cells of the flower is the same as the energy within us, and we are in contemplation upon energy itself. We see the energy as light. We might see the light within our head, if we have a slight body consciousness. In a state of contemplation, we might not even be conscious of light itself, for you are only conscious of light if you have a slight consciousness of darkness. Otherwise, it is just your natural state, and you are in a deep reverie. In a state of contemplation, you are so intently alive, you can’t move. That’s why you sit so quietly.”

The sessions over, all participants shared a lunch together …

Kirtideva and Nuckiren from Quatre Bornes

Uncle Egambrum and Amma lovingly spoilt all of us at their residence…. Both of them have taught us a great lesson on humility… the Hindu way.

Selven Maurimootoo is one of those few students from the far south of the island. He is dedicated to his level one study of the Master Course.

Should you wish to be emailed a copy of Bodhinatha’s talk for that session, kindly click and send your request to: spark@hindu.org