In the early morning Jai attends the morning monk siva puja.
Aum Namah Śivaya!
Recently, Jai returned to the taskforce program for several weeks. While he participates daily with seva, working alongside swamis and sadhakas in the Siddhidatta Kulam. So far, he has helped with digitally inventorying heavy equipment and machinery onto our maintenance server.
Jai Returns on Taskforce Read More »
Aum Namah Sivaya!
Recently, Pradeep and his team were continuing to clear fallen trees from other parts of the monastery property. Today we share photos of an enormous palm tree being cleared by a large excavator operated by Pradeep. The road these palm trees once grew on was the major path down to Iraivan temple. Clearing this area reopens a major throughway for monks and devotees. Nearby, fallen wild hardwoods were removed; they will be saved for future carpentry projects. These logs were perfectly straight, measuring twelve feet long and had a wide enough diameter to be milled into usable lumber. Once these blue gum eucalyptus and camphor trees are milled, they will spend many years curing before they can be used for future construction. The monks are grateful to find ways to use trees that fall on the monastery’s sacred grounds.
Continual Clearing of the Sacred Grounds Read More »
Jai Ganesha!
Not long ago, Taskforcer Shreyas spent his day cultivating his gardening and carpentry skills. He served in the monastery garden, removing soil around the footings of one of the high-tunnels. This high-tunnel was used for growing zucchini and summer squash year round. However, the hurricane damaged the screen of the structure, making it unusable until repaired. In order to replace the side screen, a small trench was dug near the high tunnel. Shreyas also disassembled a large wooden pallet that was used to ship some equipment to the monastery. The wooden 2×4’s he saved will be used for numerous projects in the future.
Shreyas’ Seva Continues Read More »
Jai Gurudeva!
In the early morning today in Kadavul temple, the monks and many devotees worshiped Gurudeva on the auspicious day of Chitra nakshatra. This month’s puja was noteworthy because it was the 333rd (a memorable multiple of nine) pada puja performed since his Mahasamadhi in November of 2001. Sadhaka Sabanatha and Yogi Haranandinatha performed the powerful ceremony. All those who attended felt the blessings from the inner worlds flow out and energize them for the week ahead.
Below is a talk given by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami in 2017, he talks on the importance of having a Satguru. Aum Namah Sivaya!
333rd Chitra Pada Puja for Gurudeva Read More »
Vel Muruga!
Today, we shadow Śivanadiyar Arinien around the monastery. His day is filled with a dynamic balance of temple worship and selfless seva. He enjoys singing devotional hymns while the Muruga pujari adorns the Deity with fresh flowers and richly embroidered clothing. During the height of the puja—the final arati—Arinien receives Muruga’s blessing, encouraging his mind to become calm as a still lake. After the puja, he heads to the garden with compost buckets. He empties their contents into a large composting bin, layering the food waste with woodchips to help it break down into beautiful soil. Besides composting, he attends to many other garden duties, including growing food. He shows us a sprawling pumpkin vine that is harvested weekly. Walking the monastery’s German shepherd, Bhairava, is another duty he performs with a smile and enthusiasm.
Arinien’s Daily Activity Read More »
Jai Ganesha!
Today, we explore the lush and pure lands of Himalayan Acres. Natyam Shankaranatha joins Acharya Arumuganathaswami on our agricultural land which is across the river from the main monastery property. Here we showcase some of the sights that he saw.
Acharya and Natyam treaded through the hundreds of acres of exotic palms, hardwoods and noni trees. Upon seeing the noni trees up close, Acharya was inspired by the high fruit count on the branches. The monks look forward to picking many hundreds of pounds of noni fruit in the days to come.
Abundance at Himalayan Acres Read More »
