Bodhinatha arrived home this afternoon from Toronto

along with Acharya Kumarswami

[We continue with the Toronto Mission series. Today we cover the events of last Saturday, July 21st.]

This morning Bodhinatha visited the new Murugan temple of Kumaraswamy Kurukkal, which he established just 9 months ago.

On Saturday morning, Bodhinatha attended a grand Rudra Homa at the Nagapooshani
Amman Temple of Kandasamy Kurukkal, which he conducted specially for us with donations going to Iraivan. The chanting was excellent and vibration very uplifting. He is the priest who did the puja at the first stone laying for Iraivan, trained at Pillaiyarpatti.

In the afternoon Bodhinatha met with devotees. Here he is with Shanmugavadivel and his wife.

Siva Markandu and family

Satkunendran and family. Satkunendran has been Bodhinatha’s selfless host and coordinator throughout the stay in Toronto.

With Rogini Shanmugam and husband….

David Jayasingh came to meet Bodhinatha to receive Bodhinatha’s blessings and advice for the newly formed Canada Saivite Council for spiritual support. This ten member group have received training in social service and been registered and recognize the Canadian Government. Their questions centered about hospital visitations with those who are nearing the end of life. Bodhinatha’s answers were to be a good listener; your presence alone is a great blessing; try, if you can, to help the person release resentments, forgive others, and prepare for transition, knowing that life is eternal, and that as they gain experience they should get together regularly to share what they have learned in this most sensitive area of counseling.

We had Chitra puja a few days ago on the retreat… conducted by Sadhaka Satyanatha and Sadhaka Dandapani.

And Sun One Homa yesterday…

Paramacharya Palaniswami gave a talk “in praise of the Guru.”

Click here to download the MP3 file (big download: 19 megabytes!)

Mrs. Vallavambikai Arampapillai, or Amma as we come to know her in the last few days, is on pilgrimage from Toronto, Canada. Originally from Jaffna area, Sri Lanka, she moved to Canada in 1993.

This morning we found her actively sweeping, at 82 years young, the pathways surrounding our Kadavul temple.

Here she is with the beautifully carved Ganesha statue outside the temple.

She is visiting with her daughter, Shantini Dharmakulaseelan. Both are strong devotees of Yogaswami. Shantini has named her home, her part time teaching school and other things in her life after Yogaswami.

Amma rings the bell at the Swayambhu lingam.

Then its off to hug a rudraksha tree.

Abhishegam to the Narmada Lingam.

Finally they visit our Yogaswami shrine. She is in tears at the sight of her beloved Gurunathan.

She views the different artwork telling the story of the parampara.

She meets Palaniswami on the pathway who gives her a photo of Gurudeva. Amma is overjoyed. One of the favorite things she enjoys doing here on her 5-day pilgrimage is ringing the big temple bells. And she does it so well and enthusiastically.

Sundar, his wife and daughter, Suhashini, are visiting Kauai. The main reason they chose this island is because of the temple, they said. They had met Bodhinatha in Atlanta not long ago. They were here yesterday for the tour and returned again today to walk the grounds. They’ll be back tomorrow they said for one last visit before they fly off.

A view from a helicopter shows Iraivan two years ago, nestled in the tropical forest of Kauai, with the ponds and palms on the north side.

Here we see the temple from farther away. Notice the red dirt spot near the middle of the photo. That is the site. Here too you can see that we have very nearby one of the island’s largest reservoirs, just a stone’s throw from the monastery property line.

Today we present some photos that came from India, from our master builder, Selvanathan Sthapati. When he was here last year, he made plans for four 30-inch murthies of Siva to be placed on the temple tower.

These four statues will go just below the capstone, and sit a little higher than the Nandis that you see here. Together they will make the tower visually more of a pyramid. It’s an important refinement that Sthapati designed.

Here we have a drawing of the first Siva…

And this is where the carving is today.

Here is Siva’s second form…

And that carving, which is in an earlier stage of manifestation.

Vamadevam is the third form of Lord Siva…

And He too is just taking form in the stone.

Finally, the fourth…

Which is farther along. We hear that this will all be done and ready to ship to Kauai in about 3 months…
Jai to Gurudeva whose vision brought all of this to be. Aum Namasivaya!