Bodhinatha has a final darshan with the Malaysian ladies who will be returning home early Wednesday morning. They are carrying forward Gurudeva’s teachings to the next generation in a very strong way. The young adults of Malaysia really have set a high standard for dedication to the mission work!

Lord Muruga after the puja this morning…

The temple is scintillating with that high, light blue kundalini actinic force….

Jai Muruga!

Potriyan at work in the Ekadanta Kulam. He’s also helping out in the temple, which is great because the 9 AM puja is very busy these days.

This wonderful family from New Jersey were among our many visitors these last few days. They were here yesterday and returned again today to attend the morning Siva puja. And they will be back tomorrow to attend the last day of Skanda Shashti celebrations.

Suresh Mohan and his wife Sulo are here with their son, Deepak, daughter-in-law Pavithra and granddaughter Preethi. Also in the photos are Suresh’s brothers and wives, Sujatha & Balasubramaniam and Ashok & Gomathi.

It is Suresh’s 60th birthday today (far left). Happy Birthday from all the monks here at Kauai Aadheenam to you Suresh. We are so happy that you brought your whole family to Lord Siva’s island home to celebrate this special occasion.

Sulo Mohan made this wonderful sweet rice dish for all the monks. Thank you very much for thinking of us.

Bhupendra and Devyani Shah are here on pilgrimage as well. They had in July pilgrimaged to Mount Kailas so now they said they decided to visit the Kailas of the west. It is their 45th wedding anniversary tomorrow. They were here yesterday as well for the morning puja.

Today they toured Iraivan temple and our grounds. Bhupendra also just turned 70 and is a professor in Maryland.

Here they are lovingly offering stream water to the Narmada Lingam. They are lifetime subscribers to Hinduism Today and have been reading it for almost 20 years. Such a great fulfillment to be here at last.

Dr. Kulothungan, a cardiologist, originally from Sri Lanka, and now living in Maryland, is here for a couple of days to participate in the Skanda Shashti celebrations. He recently helped with the extremely successful Iraivan Fund Raising that took place at the Landham Murugan Temple in Maryland in April of 2003, and is another lifetime subscriber to Hinduism Today. Thank you for your support of Gurudeva’s vision to manifest a pilgrimage place in the West.

Our guests are awestruck by the peace and beauty they find here.

Our Malaysia contingent comes over for a long and information-filled tour of the publications facilities. They are Bharati, sister Kavidah, and friend Nalakini. Paramacharya Palaniswami introduces them to all our activities, our archiving of Gurudeva’s lifetime of work, our magazine production plans for the future and the new publications that Bodhinatha is inspiring us to undertake. They are enthralled with all the projects underway in our world of publications. They then met with all the members of the Ganapati Kulam, and were regaled with tales of great tasks underway.

Sannyasin Natarajnathaswami shares with them his work.

Iraivan is looking great these days. With roof beams spanning from the sanctum to the pillars, we are really beginning to see the temple take shape as never before.

More work on roof beams yet to go up. The plan now is to make sure that any adjustments are finished on the ground and our team will even do some trial fitting on the foundation itself of pieces that will be going up high.

These giant beams are extremely heavy, nearly four tons, and impossible to reposition once raised to roof level, which is another reason Sthapati is now having his team finish and fit pieces at ground level first.

Chinnu, on the right, with his ever bright smile…

Guests offer give the silpis their pranams… “You mean to say that just seven men have assembled all this?” Yes, they are doing it all, with a little help from a crane.

Pieces of the “sun shade” which is the outer extension of the roof, laid out for fitting. When installed, these stones will add a
special grace to the temple not yet seen.

We were blessed finally with a break in the rains and just in time for our Maha Samadhi observances and Skanda Shasti… our devotees had sunshine throughout. But, there will always be the little shower… and this large area has yet to dry up… As the Hawaiian t-shirts say: “No rain, no rainbows!”

More news from religious societies abroad. We have this report from Toronto, Canada, today:

Rajamohan writes:

“We have observed Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Maha Samadhi Day on November 6th, 2004, at our Toronto Centre located at “Sangamam Hall.” …

“We have moved from Sri Shakti Durga Temple to Sangamam Hall to accommodate more devotees, since September 2004.

“Henceforth, our monthly aayiliya observances will be held at this location.”

“A large number of swami’s devotees participated on this occasion to pay homage to Gurudeva.” …

“There was also a 45 minute broadcast over the Canadian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (CTBC) on November 10,2004, to commemorate the occasion of Gurudeva’s Great Departure and to honor his contributions to Hinduism.”

“The Tamil paper Uthayan, published in Canada, also carried an article on Gurudeva….”Enclosed are some photographs for your records.”

Om Namasivaya,

Sincere devotee,
Rajamohan

All around the globe Gurudeva’s contribution to the human race is being honored. Thank you all, for the messages and the blessed gift of your love of our dear Gurudeva.