Jai Ganesha!
On April 14, we at the monastery joyfully celebrated the Tamil New Year. Our chef, Mani, prepared a wonderful meal for all the monks, making the day truly special and memorable. Sadhaka Shankaranatha performed the prayers for the food, adding a sacred and devotional touch to the celebration.
Tamil New Year Celebration Read More »
Decades ago one of our large ponds was so dense with lotus that you could not see the water! It was a marvel, and we thought it would persist. But the Hawaiian “catfish,” called tilapia, perhaps the most widely farmed fish in the world, is an aggressive species and is impossible to get rid of. It devoured thousands of lotus plants, til there were none. The fish are still there, in abundance. Thanks to some unexpected support from recent pilgrims, we are working on systems to sidestep their damage to the lotus.
Our solution is to grow lotus in self-contained large pots (almost miniature ponds) that are four feet wide and 18 inches deep. Today we are digging holes for six of the pots, and in the days ahead we will fill them with topsoil and compost. We are getting ready for a May 1 visit from Ken Bernard, who is bringing new cultivars and helping us to establish them properly in the pots.
Hopefully, this time next year we will see dozens of buds and blooms. And the next year. And the next…
Return of the Lotuses Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“Never have there been so many people living on the planet wondering, “What is the real goal, the final purpose, of life?” However, man is blinded by his ignorance and his concern with the externalities of the world. He is caught, enthralled, bound by karma. The ultimate realizations available are beyond his understanding and remain to him obscure, even intellectually. Man’s ultimate quest, the final evolutionary frontier, is within man himself. It is the Truth spoken by Vedic ṛishis as the Self within man, attainable through control of the mind and purification. “
How to Realize God, Part One Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“In your constant striving to control that mind, your soul comes into action as a manifestation of will, and you quiet more and more of that mind and enter into a deeper state of contemplation where you see a scintillating light more radiant than the sun, and as it bursts within you, you begin to know that you are the cause of that light which you apparently see. And in that knowing, you cling to it as a drowning man clings to a stick of wood floating upon the ocean. You cling to it and the will grows stronger; the mind becomes calm through your understanding of experience and how experience has become created. As your mind releases its hold on you of its desires and cravings, you dive deeper, fearlessly, into the center of this blazing avalanche of light, losing your consciousness in That which is beyond consciousness.“
The Two Perfections of Our Soul, Part Four Read More »
Happy New Year of Parabhava!
This samvatsara (year) is commonly associated with a theme of dissolution and transformation.
Para (परा): “away,” “beyond,” “off,” “reversed” — a prefix indicating reversal, opposition, or loss; bhava (भव): “being,” “becoming,” “existence,” “state” (from the root bhū, “to be”).
Taken together it references a “reversal of the current state of being” often stated as a “downfall which leads to its opposite.” Sounds like a good time for spiritual growth!
Today our monks began the day with our seasonal homa and a parade out to our flagpole. They raised the new dvaja for this spring season and for the new year as the Sun enters Mesha (Aries).
Here follows the passage from Saiva Dharma Shatras about how we should approach this new season:
Nartana Ritau, the season of Dancing with Siva, begins on Hindu New Year. This is the period of creation, the warm season, from mid-April through mid-August. The key word of this season is planning. The colors are orange, yellow-gold and all shades of green–orange for renunciation, yellow-gold for action, and green for regeneration. High above, the main Hindu flag flies the color orange, heralding the Nartana Ritau throughout this season, symbolizing sadhana and self-control. The other colors adorn smaller flags. This is the season of giving special attention to those in the grihastha ashrama. It is a time of awakening, renewal, review. The emphasis is on seeing ahead, planning for future years. It is a time of planning retreats and other activities for youths and adults for the entire year. During this time of looking forward, the Church’s six-year plan is updated by the Guru Mahasannidhanam and stewards and another year added. The Saiva Dharma Shastras are studied; and any needed additions in supplementary manuals, representing new growth, are made.
The practical focus is completion of unfinished projects. Secular holidays to observe among the families include Mothers Day in May, Fathers Day in June and Grandparents Day in August. In the monastery intensive cleaning of buildings and grounds takes place. New clothing is issued and old garments mended.
This season of harvest and new growth is also the time to review and reestablish picking and planting routines for the gardens. It is a time for ordering seeds and plants for the year, of planting trees, fragrant vines and the annual crop. Review is made for scheduling the care of all realms of the Aadheenam. Kadavul temple and the Guru Temple are cleaned and renewed during this season, and the adjacent grounds receive special, abundant attention.
The daily sadhana is the Sivachaitanya Panchatantra: experiencing nada, jyoti, prana, shakti and darshana. In Sanskrit, it is a time of learning new shlokas and mantras. Shrine rooms are renewed and redecorated for the year, and the clothing of all is renewed in the Hindu style of the current fashion. It is a time of doing things for others, religious outreach. In the missions, Nartana Ritau is the time of bringing in new students and Church members. It is a time of hatha yoga and philosophical teaching.
The main festival of Nartana Ritau is Guru Purnima. The mathavasis hold special conclave on Vaikasi Vishakham, the full moon day of May.
Aum Namah Śivaya
Welcoming the Nartana Ritau and the New Year Read More »
Jai Ganesha!
A few days ago, we visited our greenhouse, which is being managed by the Siddhidata Kulam’s mathavasi. During our visit, we were happy to see a fresh new batch of tomatoes and bell peppers growing beautifully.
While we were there, we also observed how Sadhaka Shankaranatha is attentively caring for the greenhouse, ensuring everything is nurtured with dedication and care.
Aum.
