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“Vegetarianism is very important. In my fifty years of ministry, it has become quite evident that vegetarian families have far fewer problems than those who are not vegetarian. The abhorrence of killing of any kind leads quite naturally to a vegetarian diet. If you think about it, the meat-eater is participating indirectly in a violent act against the animal kingdom. His desire for meat drives another man to kill and provide that meat. The act of the butcher begins with the desire of the consumer. When his consciousness lifts and expands, he will abhor violence and not be able to even digest the meat, fish and eggs he was formerly consuming. India’s greatest saints have confirmed that one cannot eat meat and live a peaceful, harmonious life. Man’s appetite for meat inflicts devastating harm on the Earth itself, stripping its precious forests to make way for pastures. The opposite of causing injury to others is compassion and love for all beings. The Tirukural (251) puts it nicely: “How can he practice true compassion who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?”
“If children are raised as vegetarians, every day they are exposed to noninjury as a principle of peace and compassion. Every day they are growing up, they are remembering and being reminded to not kill. They won’t even kill another creature to feed themselves. And if you won’t kill another creature to feed yourself, then when you grow up you will be much less likely to injure people.”
–Gurudeva
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From the Tirumantiram:
127. In Siva was he rooted: Sivam did he see everywhere.
In the will of Siva did he discern all things,
Transcending consciousness of past present and future,
And duality ceasing did he realise sweet serenity.
1576. He who’s beyond the visible universe, came down on earth
As a Guru to abide in the hearts of the virtuous,
And illumined them by His grace and made them His own.
The peerless Siva is the priceless NatGuru.
TRAVEL NEWS! Bodhinatha’s next visit is August 11-17 to Toronto and Montreal, eastern Canada. See travel page for more information.
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Click for most recent TAKA page with an Iraivan Temple progress update. |
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Sun One Homa…. Yoginathaswami performs the rites…. more from Tirumantiram:
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1581. The Guru indeed is Siva,
He is the kingly splendor too;
He is beyond the wisdom of the Vedas.
He is beyond all finite consciousness.
1584. If not for the grace of Siva who came as the Guru,
The import of the scripture,
The way leading to liberation,
The reality of Truth cannot be understood by man.
1527. Endowing me with equanimity, the power of Grace
Descended as the Guru and purged my dross,
And enlightened me from the sway of my ego.
Thus freed did I commingle with Siva.
2959. When you meditate on the form of thy Guru
Then all the bonds that bind you
To this prison house of the body
Shall give way and make you free in Siva.
1590. Sternly did my Guru chastise my ignorance;
He placed his holy hands on my head,
And his beauteous Feet lit up
The secret chambers of my heart.”
2971. SivaPeruman did I invoke and adore whence,
He came down as my Guru in the form of a sage.
The majestic Lord did overpower me as my Guru,
And I pay my homage to this Lord of the universe.
Sadhaka Tejadeva is back home after his time in the world where he studied welding in Honolulu and also spent time in California with his family… Here he is writing prayers…
Gale Mariah Martin is a student of Himalayan Academy student who lives on Kauai. Today she took her Shakahara Vrata: Vegetarian vow.
With Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, all the monks, and devotees and the fire as witness, she recited three times aloud:
Reading aloud three times:
“I believe in You, the one Supreme God, Lord Siva, and the Gods of our Saivite faith, and in the Saiva Dharma. In love and trust I recognize Your goodness in providing for my every material and spiritual need. I accept the principle of shakahara as the method by which I may acknowledge my compassion, my karuna, for all living beings. As an act of dedication, I am resolved this day to begin (continue) the regular practice of eating a strict vegetarian diet and not eating meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs.”
Gurudeva and the spirits of all three worlds are overjoyed today, especially the animal kingdom, that one more human being has decided to let them live!
The poses of Lord Shiva performing the Tandavan dance come alive in the early morning light in the temple.
Bodhinatha give his Sun One talk… drawing on stories of Yogaswami and Gurudeva’s writings.
He then gives the points he has raised from Yogaswami and Gurudeva a practical focus from his own insights.
Lord Murugan in Kadavul temple.
Today we were visited by the Dr. Ramesh and Sujata Sachdeva family from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
They were here 18 years ago on their honeymoon and have now returned after all that time. They really enjoyed the atmosphere of the temple and surrounding grounds.
They also attended the early 6 am homa at the beginning of the day. Here they offer abhishekam at our Narmada Lingam.
Their kids are Shiva and Simran. Sujata had promised to bring Shiva here before his sixth birthday and her plan was accomplished, as his birthday is next week!
They are devotees of Sri Karunamayi and are helping her get ready to build a large hospital at her headquarters in Andhra Pradesh.
This is always a special moment for our pilgrims.
Stepping back to our retreat… we had an interesting planting session yesterday with the help of some volunteers.
David Kawika Viets made a wonderful gift to Kauai’s Hindu Monastery. He brought about 30 species of native Hawaiian plants, the plants that were here long before the Polynesian peoples arrived some 1500-1800 years ago. many of these plants are rare, even on the verge of extinction, and Kawika is dedicating himself to their preservation.
Mariah Martin (far left) also brought some Hawaiian species from the garden where she works, Waipa Gardens in Hanalei. Here is the planting team for our new garden. Left to right: Mariah, Tandu Sivanahan, Palaniswami, Kawika, deva Rajan, Gayatri Rajan and Asha Alahan. Vasuki, Darshani and 21-month-old Shaila Pushpa were on a break and so not in the photo.
The new garden is deeply mulched and lined with logs. It is located right near the path to Iraivan, so future visitors will be able to see these plants. A couple of them are truly rare, having only 1 or 2 specimens in the wild! No wonder Kawika is eager to find them a home for the future. They don’t do well, he tells us, where there are cows or pigs, goats and other critters. The monastery provides a perfect refuge for them. Kawika was especially inspired by Gurudeva’s “1,000 year vision.” Few places, he noted, think in such long time scales, and he is hopeful that the plants we placed in the ground today will have caretakers hundreds of years into the future.
Kawika was shown the golden capstone at the end of the planting, and the whole team shared lunch on the picnic tables under a shady Rudraksha tree to celebrate their accomplishment.
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MORE UPLIFTING THINGS |
Color Trilogy Complete! We are happy to announce that the new edition of the enormously popular Dancing with Siva is now available in hard back with all new color artwork. It’s truly an amazing and beautiful work, with more art than any of the collection. This completes the fulfillment of the vision that Gurudeva had of his Master Course Trilogy being produced in full color. In addition, Bodhinatha is taking pro-active steps to bring Gurudeva’s teachings out in a new forms that can be broadly disseminated in the mass mind. With this in mind we, are also pleased to announce that the Dancing with Siva pocketbook is also available. Keep the three-pound book in your shrine room, and take the little one with you on the airplane or subway! How little? It’s just 3″ by 4.5″ — truly pocket-sized, and just over half an inch thick. Yet it is a full 375 pages, containing ALL of the 155 sutras. Available now at our online store. The complete Trilogy is being offered at a discount. |
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From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.
