Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Cleaning Kartikeya at Muruga Hill

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A Kartikeya Deity adorns the side of Muruga Hill on San Marga path, tall bamboo swaying above. The Deity was previously at the entrance to the Svayambhulingam square. Just before completing his taskforce stay a couple weeks ago, Maruthu Darmalingam and one of the monks cleaned the murti and surrounding platform, lightly oiled and dressed Him in clean garments, with new pottus.

A couple days ago we had very strong wind gusts, so formidable that, just before Muruga Hill, a tall rudraksha tree clump fell across the San Marga path. It had been growing in a swampy area, so the roots were unstable. It’s now leaning at a 45 degree angle over the path because more rudraksha trees on the other side halted the fall! It’s going to be quite a job to safely remove this clump, probably involving a excavator. For now, no one is allowed to pass through this area.

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Stormy March Weather Over Kauai

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  • Recent rains have been swelling our ponds and streams
  • High winds have kept the clouds moving over the aadheenam at a quick pace
  • We are on the north fork of the Wailua River. The rain overflowed our rain gauge, so the river is bound to rise even more that this
  • This is the overflowing bridge to our agricultural land, along the southern river fork. The river is usually 10-15ft below this.
  • Easy to find water on a lotus leaf in this weather
  • Our pathways and roads become little waterways of their own
  • “Be like the river water. Water flows freely anywhere, easily finding its way around rocks and trees. Be pliable in your life, moving in rhythm with life. Let go of everything that blocks the river of life’s energy.”
  • The Narmada Lingam receives a constant abhishekam
  • This is a 8 inch seed pod of a carnivorous flower vine
  • The Blue Jade Vines are starting to bloom
  • There are very few things in nature that produce blue pigment
  • The walking palm doesn’t have to walk very far to reach water today
  • Many of our various palm species have been vigorously flowering this month
  • San Marga is still very walkable, as long as you bring an umbrella
  • Many types of plants are blooming along it
  • The bamboo on Muruga Hill is loving the extra rain
  • Muruga’s Vel gains contrast in the weather and shines with water
  • We have many ginger plant varieties that are flowering too
  • The lava rock bell along San Marga is full of green life
  • Between bouts of rain, the sun dries Iraivan’s stonework, only for it to receive water again a few minutes later

Aum Namah Sivaya

Join us on an adventure through our gardens as we enjoy our fresh jungle rainfall! Recently a large weather system has been passing over the island. First a cooler atmosphere with torrential rains, and then warm winds with powerful gusts. At time of writing, the winds seem to have concluded and our gentle, sunny days have returned.

“We are divine souls on a wondrous journey. We came from God, live in God and are evolving into oneness with God. We are, in truth, the Truth we seek.” Gurudeva

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Fish tank cap on final stage

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  • Sadhaka Shankaranatha is making sure they stick together.

Jai Ganesha!

The Siddhidata Kulam has been working on completing the fish tank’s cap, and it has now reached the final stage. Sadhaka Shankaranatha, one of the members of the Siddhidata Kulam involved in this project, is carefully putting the pieces together by gluing them and ensuring they hold firmly in place. After this, it will need a bit more sanding and polishing, and then it will be ready to be placed on top of the fish tank.

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Volunteers to Save Iraivan’s Mondo Grass

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  • The mondo at Iraivan Temple does well in some areas, but suffers in others
  • ChatGPT portrays the volunteers at work in April
  • Kadavul’s thriving patch, planted in 1975
  • Up close.
  • A good shot of the issues around Iraivan
  • A ficus bonsai that charms visitors
  • This one is Ficus microcarpa with its thick, oval leaves and glossy surface

As the third photo in today’s gallery shows, the mondo grass around Kadavul Temple is lush and happy, a sea of green that waves in the wind and gives a nurturing feeling which, importantly, is virtually maintenance-free. When we planted mondo (which is actually a Japanese lily) around Iraivan Temple, this was our vision. But it has proven difficult to attain the kind of healthy maturity out there, and the team has been struggling for some three years now, and losing the battle.

Cue the cavalry! Yesterday a four-man team of agronomists visited the monastery to help. They are experts, from the staff of the global company Corteva Agriscience on the island’s west side. They spent a couple of hours assessing the conditions, then took soil samples which will go to their lab for analysis. They expect to find that our problem is a lack of specific nutrients, and they even said they would provide needed amendments when the time comes. Plus, they want to bring a team of 12 skilled volunteers to work for a day getting the mondo on its feet.

The mondo team is much encouraged by this unexpected and generous assistance. We asked ChatGPT to imagine the day of help, and slide two is the result.

We end the show today with the two new bonsai trees Tandu Sivanathan placed in the Kadavul pool. Amazing!

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The Two Perfections of Our Soul, Part One

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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.

“We shall now discuss the three perfections of our Supreme God Śiva: Paraśiva, Satchidānanda and Maheśvara. Isn’t it wonderful to know that two of God’s three perfections are inherent in the soul of man? What are those three perfections? The great God Śiva has form and is formless. He is the immanent Pure Consciousness or pure form; He is the Personal Lord manifesting Himself as innumerable forms; and He is the impersonal, transcendent Absolute beyond all form. We know Śiva in His three perfections, two of form and one formless. First, we worship His manifest form as Pure Love and Consciousness, called Satchidānanda in Sanskrit. Second, we worship Him as our Personal Lord, Maheśvara, the Primal Soul who tenderly loves and cares for His devotees—a Being whose resplendent body may be seen in mystic vision. In our daily lives we love, honor, worship and serve God in these manifest perfections. Ultimately, in perfectly simple, yet awesomely austere nirvikalpa samādhi, we realize Him as the formless Paraśiva, sought for and known only by yogīs and jñānīs. We cannot speak of His Absolute Reality which is beyond qualities and description, yet knowable to the fully matured soul who seeks God within through yoga under the guidance of a satguru.“

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Fruit Orchard Mulching

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Though time consuming to apply, our avocado and other fruit trees respond well to mulching, so the Siddhidata Kulam is carving out time to replenish the mulch layer around them more frequently. This is partly possible due to a large amount of material being regularly delivered by tree trimmer companies when they work in our area. We are very thankful for this.

Many of the avocado trees are putting out blossoms and tiny fruits right now, so this is the time to add more mulch.

  • A couple new avocado saplings
  • Lots of baby avocados
  • The tree is loaded
  • Mulch arrives
  • The egrit birds always gather around work like this, waiting for insects to show their faces

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