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Today, August 16th, 2004, is a very special day. Consider the following:

  • It is the beginning of the Jivana Ritau on our Aadheenam Calendar.
  • It’s is also a special day on the regular Indian Calendar.
  • On this day in 1987, the Maha Spatika Lingam was installed in Kadavul Hindu temple on the occasion of “Harmonic Convergence.”
  • August 16th, 1998 was the first day of this TAKA series which the monks have been posting now regularly for six years!

It was one of Gurudeva’s gifts to outline the change of seasons as a structure for sadhana and religious life. As is traditional on TAKA we take bring you excerpts from the Saiva Dharma Shastras for the Jivana Ritau.

112 Introduction
Beginning with Hindu New Year in mid-April, three seasons of the year divide our activities into three great needs of humankind�the learning of scripture in the first season, Nartana Ritau; the living of culture in the second season, Jivana Ritau; and the meditating on Siva in the third season, Moksha Ritau. Thus we are constantly reminded that our life is Siva’s life and our path to Him is through study, sadhana and realization. In ritau one, we teach the philosophy; in ritau two, we teach the culture; and in ritau three, we teach meditation.




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We have photos also from Toronto without captions, though we have some notes from Sannyasin Yoginathaswami which you can read below… as we write today, Bodhinatha has finished his last day in Canada, in Montreal.

“Aum Sivaya, we arrived safely in Montreal. Tiru Nataraja and two other devotees came to pick us up (including one Nigerian man named Roland …) One of the ammas here brought full blown Lanka rice and curry lunch for five. One of the best lunches we had in recent times. Will be meeting devotees in the hotel lobby in couple hours and then head out to the Murugan temple with Tiru. Aum Sivaya.”

Sannyasin Yoginathaswami


TRAVEL NEWS! Bodhinatha is now visiting Toronto and Montreal. His next travel is September 8-23: Malaysia, Singapore and Mauritius. See travel page for more information.


Click for most recent TAKA page with an Iraivan Temple progress update.



It was Sun One following Sadhu Paksha and we had a wonderful Home and Jivana Ritau flag raising. We will share with you the significance of the Jivana Ritau as our captions for photos today…




117 The Second Season: Jivana Ritau
During Jivana Ritau, the rainy season, from mid-August to mid-December, Living with Siva: Hinduism’s Contemporary Culture is the primary text. The key word of this season is work. The colors are rust, copper-maroon and all shades of red�rust for earthy preservation, copper-maroon for fulfillment and red for physical energy.




The Aadheenam’s 60-foot flag pole flies the rust-colored dhvaja, symbolizing environmental care. Copper-maroon and all shades of red adorn our smaller flags. This is the season of honoring and showing appreciation for those in the vanaprastha ashrama, life’s elder advisor stage.




The focus is on preserving what has been created, manifesting goals and fulfilling plans made in the past. Inwardly the emphasis is on direct cognition and caring for the practical details of the external world.




Practicality is a word much used this season. In the monasteries and the missions, there is a big push on studying the sutras of Living with Siva and these Saiva Dharma Shastras. The format of the mission satsanga changes into one that in fact helps everyone live and breathe with Lord Siva through personal adjustment to the aphorisms of Living with Siva, which define tradition, culture and protocol.




Gurukulams are established or renewed to teach the 64 kalas for boys and girls.




All work hard to perfect and strengthen Saivite culture in the life of each member. Kulamatas, grihinis and their daughters should think ahead and make plans to send talented children to dancing, singing and art schools for special courses, and ponder ways to make this possible through scholarships and special funds.




It is a time of building and repairing and caring for what has been built, planted or created in any realm of life. It is a physical time, of exercise and exertion in the Bhuloka, a magnetic time for action and willpower, of finishing all jobs started since the first ritau.




On the farm, there is harvesting of the land’s fruits as we celebrate abundance. In the missions during Jivana Ritau, the shishyas can form tirukuttams, and thereby visit students’ homes, see how they live and meet their families.




119 Festivals, Realms of the Second Season
Krittika Dipa is the major festival of Jivana Ritau. This grand event, conducted by the family missions, is open to members, Academy students and to special guests by invitation, including honored dignitaries of the island, neighbors and friends of the Church.




Ganesha Chaturthi and Skanda Shashthi are also conducted by shishyas on the Island.




The Aadheenam Realms of this period are: 1) San Marga, the straight path to God, with its rudraksha, neem, konrai and bilva forests, and Agni Mandapam. 2) The Wailua River, with its Nani Kaua Waterfall and Pond, Bali Hai Falls and Ganga Sadhana Ghats. 3) Pihanakalani Trail�legendary Hawaiian path toward the volcano, beginning at the Aadheenam and continuing past the Orchid Pavilion of Religions to the Teak Tree Turnaround at the edge of Rainbow Amphitheater.

–Saiva Dharma Shastras




The flag raising is always a joyous, uplifting moment for us all.




Pilgrims from Illinois. They are spending a week here on a pilgrimage. The recently received a shipment of two Ganesha’s, sent by Bodhinatha, but magically, it turned out to be three!




Chidambaram Sendan is here from California… He’s a bright and growing lad.





Bodhinatha in Toronto





Day One in Toronto Swami’s visit was real Shakti.
It was Lord Amman Thirvala at the Varasiththi Vinayagaar and it was as if Lord Siva from Iraivan was here. So much energy. So blessed to be with our great Saivite Swami’s

–Siva Markandu





Bodhinatha wrote the other day:

Nagapooshani Amman Temple

We attended the 10 Am Friday pooja. Kandasamy Kurukkal, who came to Kauai and conducted the first stone ceremony for Iraivan, runs the temple.

About 150 devotees in attendance who came forward afterwards for vibhuti. He was assisted by a young priest who chanted for us at Pillaiyarpati Pathasala for the Innersearch. The young priest also gave an introduction in Tamil for us which was well done. He said he is a nephew of Sambamurthi.






TVI TV Interview

The interview was taped, a half-hour long with translation, and went well. It will air in a week or two and there is a good chance we can get a copy to play at the Aadheenam.






Varasithi Vinayagar Temple

The evening was the first day of a special evening chariot festival for Nagapooshani Amman and Nagalingesvara (Siva lingam). There was a Ganesha Puja, a few introductory speeches, the chariot going around, inside with three each nathaswaram and tavil, and then my talk at 9:30. The group was over 300 and quite attentive. The temple had printed the talk in English and Tamil and handed it out to the devotees to take home. We distributed lots of literature and vibhuti!





Bodhinatha’s report from August 15th activities:




Vishnu Mandir

This is a successful temple under the guidance of Dr. Dubay. He is running it in the Caribbean style where he is the pundit/minister. Officially, we were coming to see the progress on the temple’s Hindu museum, which is opening in October. However, we arrived a bit early so attended the end of their puja, gave a ten-minute talk which was recorded as part of their weekly TV program on teaching Hinduism to your children in the home. The talk was quite well received by a large crowd. Their talks are in English so everyone understood what was being said. The Mayor was there also as it was India Independence Day and we both raised a flag, we the Canadian and he the Indian (fulfilling our flag raising day a few days early). Dr. Dubay suggested next time we are in Toronto to give a half day seminar at the temple with questions and answers, etc.

Sivathondan Society

They had a larger group than expected, quite elaborate program of talks, songs by children, singing by the “best” Devaram singer of Natchitanai, Ponsundaralingam, guru puja for Yogaswami on Aslesha and my talk with translation and a long vibhuti line for Yoginathaswami and I to give vibhuti, fruits and our CD for Iraivan fundraising. They also have a children’s school called Saiva Thamil School for teaching Tamil, Natchitanai and Saivism. Some interest in the ten questions which were mentioned in my talk Mr. Nalliah who use to have a home across the street from Pasupateesvara Temple in Alaveddy was there with one daughter. He was quite happy to see us again.

Richmond Hill Temple

This was primarily the Yogaswami devotees that work with Ma Navaratnam’s nieces, plus some others who were attending the temple pujas. Excellent Natchintanai singing by the children that they are teaching. It was a day for “relative” reality. We met a man to whom Kandiah Chettiar is his great uncle, all four nieces and their mother of Ma Navaratnam, Sundari Katir’s niece and family etc. The temple has Ganesha in the middle , Siva Parvati shrines on the left and Durga and on the right the Vaishnava Shrines, so my talk on the four denominations was well suited.




Dharmalingam Siddhan flew up from Pennsylvania to Toronto with his mother. He wrote that they had a wonderful philosophical discussion and felt very blessed to have a Satguru with whom to discuss the deeper issues of life.





Mardemootoo Kutumbha
Satsang in Mauritius
at the home of the Mardemootoo Kutumbha


Some of the ladies of the Mardemootoo Kutumbha…




Brahmachari Vel Mahalingam performs the pada puja…




Some of our youth and children.






An excellent photo of the new Mandapam for Six-Faced Murugan at our Saiva Dharmasala in Mauritius. It is nearly complete.



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