Bodhinatha at his morning satsang and class today.

We will pick up the thread of events here beginning with yesterday afternoon’s activities. Things are very busy here, so our captioning will be “light” today.

Paramacharya Palaniswami shared tales of Gurudeva’s stay in Sri Lanka and the results of much research going on here for the book on his life.

He has scanned and photo copied for everyone some precious letters that Gurudeva wrote from Sri Lanka back to his friends in USA while he was there.

A small souvenir poster of a painting of Gurudeva.

Later in the afternoon we had a parade to San Marga for a Havan.

Gurudeva was carried on a palanquin from the temple out to San Marga.

Sri Rudram is chanted, while the fire begins.

Everyone comes forward to make a few offerings to the sacred fire.

The little children in the congregation are having a truly wonderful time.

It is a magical wonderland for these lucky and blessed little souls

Now we go back to Kadavul…

“He searched for me in the coconut-groved Lanka and made me His own–He whom none can ever, ever apprehend; He it was who made me know myself, in and through myself. So entrancing was His love, more tender than the deep love of my mother.”

–Siva Yogaswami

This morning’s class with Bodhinatha.

Meanwhile, a stream of guests and visitors continues as usual. Here is Lani Petranek from Kauai who brought a film crew today to take a few shots of Iraivan temple. It is for a Worldviewz film that seeks to bring cultures together and share and celebrate our differences. Robert Dakota, second from left, is the filmmaker.

Robert has several on YouTube if you want to see them. His emphasis on the unity of things was inspiring. Just search “worldviewz” with a “z.”

Bodhinatha gave a great seminar this morning in the Guru Peedam, using his Mac hooked up to a hi-definition plasma screen on the wall to present the teachings.

The day began with an early morning pada puja to Gurudeva.

Chanting the 108 names of Gurudeva. The blessing that he gave us all, his gifts to the world, the power and strategic insight he brought to the mission of his own Guru and our Parampara, and the love he showered on each one of his devotees… are all beyond reckoning.

“He moved amidst us as Sivam–all pervasive,
He beheld every thing as the Divine will of Siva.
He gauged the true nature of time and space,
And is One with the Supreme in serene Santam.”

Saint Tirumular

It is said that to take human birth is a rare opportunity. To then be blessed to be on the spiritual path is even more rare, and to have the opportunity to find a true Satguru, the rarest boon of all. Every day we awaken, our hearts full of gratitude for what he has given us. Tirumular says it so well:

“He who is beyond the worlds, He dwells
In the hearts of the saints in benign grace
So that all may attain liberation.
He is the speechless Guru, the immaculate Sivam.”

“The Beauteous boon of ‘Siddhi and Mukti,’
The upright way of Grace and Truth,
The wealth of Wisdom and Bliss divine,
Can be attained by Grace of God with Form.”

Thambynathan Nandi has arrived back from the world. He completed his task force here earlier this year, went home, changed his name and settled his affairs and is now back to take his first steps on the monastic path.

Sadhaka Nilakantha is our pujari today and Sadhaka Satyanatha, his assistant.

More wondrous words from Tirumular which so well describe the feelings we have:

“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 realize sweet serenity.”

“He who is 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 Sat Guru.”

The Guru indeed is Siva,
He is the kingly splendour too;
He is beyond the wisdom of the Vedas.
He is beyond all finite consciousness.

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.

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.

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.

“Siva Peruman 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.

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.”

All sit quietly savouring within themselves Gurudeva’s divine presence.

Meanwhile, outside in front of Kadavul we have two marvelous wooden sculptures of Ganesha and Muruga from India on either side of the doors. For years we had
“Tiki Torch” lights. These have been replaced with new lights and small shrines over both sculptures. They were just installed over the past retreat. Acharya Kumarswami brings us the story in this slide show:

The Front Door Shrines of Kadavul Temple

Bodhinatha gave a seminar this morning in the Guru Peedam.

He was in bright form with many practical anecdotes to bring out the meaning of Gurudeva’s teachings.

We have pilgrims here from across the US and Canada.

Bodhinatha’s talk today was on one of his favorite subjects: Nine Qualities to Cultivate in Children.

Here he talks about how to develop a positive concept of oneself, which is a key foundation for a young child to grow up with a healthy mind and proper orientation to life and others.

Questions and answers

We hope to have some audio of his class for you in the days ahead.

Shyamadeva from Alaska…

Sun One is here again, and with it the beginning of Gurudeva’s annual Maha Samadhi observances.

Many devotees have arrived.

Bodhinatha spoke this morning on achieving the overview through meditation, learning how to step back from the reasoning mind. By this process, one starts to see the forest and not the trees, and insight comes.

Emotions take us out of this overview, because we think we are the emotion.

He explained how we could understand these concepts through the four perspectives of the Shum language which are carved on Iraivan temple’s pillars.

The first is Shumif, the perspective of meditation, that awareness travels through the mind. This is the view of pure advaita.

The second is Simnif, the perspective of science derived from observation, the view that you are stationary and the world moves.

The third is Mooif, the perspective of the intellect, of scholars, based on explanations of knowledge, but not direct experience.

And the third is Difee, the perspective of space, of communication with the inner and outer worlds and even with other planets. This is the perspective of theism.

He gave the example of treating depression according to each of these perspectives. From Simnif, the science perspective, one would take a pill to lift one chemically out of the depression. From the moolif perspective, one would be talked out of it by a psychologist. From the difee perspective, one would go to the temple and place the problem at the feet of the Deity. And from Shumif perspective, depression is an area of the mind that always exists, and “solving” depression is a matter of moving awareness into another area of the mind.

We have posted today Bodhinatha’s talk on the subsuperconsciousness and the fourth and fifth dimensions of the mind.

He reads from Gurudeva’s writings and then gives a marvelous bhashya, bringing these high concepts down to real life contexts.

Don’t miss it!

And the talk he gave this morning on the Four Perspectives in Shum will be coming in a few days.

It was tour day today. Guests came for darshan and booksigning with Bodhinatha.

This lady had Bodhinatha sign her copy of Lemurian Scrolls.

A young couple from Chennai.

Each day as the sun passes over Kadavul Temple the light passes through the skylight. At this time of year, at 11 am, after the Siva puja, it falls on the Maha Sphatika Lingam. It is impossible to describe that brief moment.

Devotees who have just sat through the 9 am puja may now be sitting quietly for meditation and prayer in the temple, as suddenly the crystal comes to life.

A slideshow from the Ganapati Kulam detailing activities of this past phase.

Halloween for the Aadheenam is all about bright and uplifting things. We would much rather dress up in the clothes of devas as we leave the world of goblins far behind us on the spiritual path.

Click to view.

It was tour day today, and guests got to see the silpis in action. We share with you the words of Nannapaneni Narayana Rao who describes his view of Kauai Aadheenam.

In America, you go to Kauaiswaram!

A Devotee discovers Kauai Aadheenam as parallel to Rameswaram

By Dr. Nannapaneni Narayana Rao

I came to the United States about 50 years ago in 1958 with $50, a passport and an undergraduate education in my technical field from the motherland, India, and, most of all, my Hindu heritage. For 50 years I pursued science in the field of electrical engineering with “grattitude” and “workship,” as you might have read in my article in the October/November/December, 2005, issue of Hinduism Today.

In 2003, I got connected to Kauai Aadheenam, owing to a Hindu Temple project we began at Champaign-Urbana. My wife, Sarojini, and I made a short but memorable trip to Kauai, along with our daughter, Vanaja. The first real visit came in 2004 when Sarojini and I were there for five days. Following the Siva homa on the first day, the flag raising ceremony took place to usher in the new season. As we were walking back, something clicked in my mind and I said spontaneously, “When in India you go to Kashi, when in America you go to Kauai! I read about the Dvadasa Jyotirlingas in India while creating the vision for the Champaign-Urbana temple project. I uttered those words because I felt that there was a modern Jyotirlingam in the 700-lb Maha Sphatika Lingam, presently in the Kadavul Temple and to be enshrined in the Iraivan Temple under construction!

During this trip, I really fell in love with the Aadheenam–the spirituality, the serenity, the ancient practices yet modern methods, the magnificence and yet simplicity, and so on. The inspiration began with three words: appreciation, meaning the act of being thankful for; admiration, meaning the act of regarding with wonder, esteem, and delight; and adoration, meaning the act or state of adoring, that is, worshiping, holding in reverence; and made me describe the experience and compose poems and mnemonics. I decided I should take my entire family of thirteen to Kauai to accomplish three things: (a) I wanted our six grandchildren to do namaskaram to the Nepalese Ganesha as they entered the Aadheenam one by one, and capture those moments; (b) I wanted them to capture in their minds the Iraivan Temple,  the temple for the generations being built by the monks for generations of children like them; and (c) I wanted them to be part of our donating to the cause of spiritual connection, by presenting a check to Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami during darshan with him.

The opportunity came with the 50th wedding anniversary of my wife and me on June 10, 2005. The entire family of thirteen, ranging in age from 5 to 70+ converged on Kauai from six different locations on the mainland and spent five days from June 7 to 11. Graciously, Bodhinatha moved the Siva homa day to June 10 from June 7. But more than celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary, the trip had to do with the legacy I wanted to leave behind for our six grandchildren through the experience of visiting the Aadheenam for establishing this spiritual connection. I succeeded in doing that by accomplishing all three things above.

In January 2007, my wife and I visited Rameswaram for the first time in our lives. While there, it occurred to me spontaneously that in Kauai Aadheenam, there is a parallel to Rameswaram. To go to Rameswaram from the mainland of India, you cross a bridge over water; to go to Kauai from the mainland of America, you take a flight over water, which in a way is like a bridge. This made me come up with the term Kauaiswaram, and the saying, “In India you go to Rameswaram at least once in your lifetime; in America you go to Kauaiswaram at least once in your lifetime!”

I can say I have taken my entire family of thirteen to “Kauaiswaram” at least once in my lifetime, which will be my ultimate legacy. As a reader of Hinduism Today, I hope that, whether you are in America or elsewhere, you will take your entire family on pilgrimage to “Kauiswaram” at least once in your lifetime! Aum Namah Sivaya!

Nannapaneni Narayana Rao and his wife, Sarojini
Urbana, Illinois

A space just opened up on our 2008 Asian Odyssey for 1 person (a male to share a double occupancy room with another male)

Here’s your chance to join Bodhinatha and this grand adventure.

If you are ready to go please e-mail Sadhaka Dandapani or call him at 808-822-3012, ext 239. It’s on a first come, first served basis, so don’t hesitate.

Please see our Innersearch website for more information.

Sun Three at the Aadheenam. We had a marvelous Ardra Abhishekam this morning… Lord Nataraja seems to be generating ever more actinic power with each month’s Ardra puja.

Posing in front of the Iraivan Temple entrance –Left to Right(Silpis) Chelliaya and Pandi; Charlene Oakes from Alaska who (guess what) ran into her neighbors who are old friends outside the temple door this morning! The Dandapanis are longtime devotees here, also on pilgrimage from Alaska (not shown in this photo).

Suzi Karr from Calimesa, CA and Wilhelma Buffo from Alaska. Next is (Silpi) Rajendran; Kartik Narayan and his wife, and far right is the Nuggihalli family from California.

Caught!

One last photo before reluctantly departing for foreign ports.

The new addition to the Monastery bovine family is full of energy and loves to run around the garden.

“If you want my photo with this thing around my neck, you’ll have to catch me first.”

We bring you more photos from the California fair in Davis held last Saturday.

Kulapati Easan Katir with the news today…

Photos by Chuck Kunda of Davis

Beautiful weather greeted everyone for the Autumn Indian Bazaar.

Vendors were busy

Priya Kareti is all smiles after face painting from Tickles the Clown

Deepa Param decorates Gowri Shankara’s hand with traditional mehendi.

MC addresses the SRO crowd.

Tickles and Poco ask Kartikeya to assist with a skit.

The Bazaar was enjoyed by young and old alike

The MC: “When you go home tonight and tell your friends you saw two clowns bangra dancing today at the Indian Bazaar, they are not going to believe you.”

Some vendors said the entertainment was too good; they wanted more patrons visiting their stalls.

A college group, Tharangana, comprised of University of California Davis students, ( left to right ) Tina Mann, Anu Ranganathan, Sangeetha Ramalingam and Abhijit Kalavapudi,singing classical Hindu songs.
Tina Mann began Hindustani classical vocal training with her father, SurinderS. Mann,at age 3. She seeks guidance from Rita Sahai at UC Davis. She is working on her first album.
Anu Ranganathan began singing Carnatic music at age 5 under Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan, and has performed in temples and at community events in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was awarded the title “Gaana Deepti” after completing her solo vocal debut in 2005. Since enrolling in UC Davis, she has performed with ‘Tharangana’. Anu is also a talented and disciplined Bharatanatyam artist, having studied under Smt. Mythili Kumar, and was awarded the title “Nritya Mani” after her arangetram in 2003.
Sangeetha Ramalingam, a 3rd year pre-dental student at UC Davis,began her singing at age 5. Every summer she goes to India to learn from acclaimed artists such as Srimathi Charumathi Ramachandran and Nookula Cinna Satyanaraya. She recently completed her vocal arangetram. Herparents areDr. Kumar and Mala Ramalingam of Sacramento.
Abhijit Kalavapudi has played tabla for 10 years, staring at age 11. His Guru, Daniel Prabhakar, is a well-known musician in Washington DC. Abhijit has played in temples and cultural events, and national Telegu conventions.

The final performer of the day, Nafeesa Mahmoud, enticed all with a spiritual Odissi dance. Nafeesa studies with Guru Sri Vishnu Tattva Das. She spent two summers studying at the Odissi Research Center with Guru Kum Kum Mohanty in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa and at the Smitalay Dance Academy with Guru Jhelum Paranjape in Mumbai. Nafeesa is a biology student at the University of California Davis.

Sun Two of a short four-day phase. The Pillaiyar Kulam shared their news today. Yogi Jivanandanatha told tales of his attempt to get things done in India, remotely. Muruganathaswami worked hard on the monthly newsletter folding and his book distribution duties. Shanmuganathaswami also spent a lot time recently on printing the monthly Kauai Aadheenam newsletter. Sadhaka Jothinatha says advertisers who put their ads in Hinduism Today are happy and getting responses via the Digital Edition. He also shared a report on the great success of the Autumn Bazaar fund-raising fair the members held in California this past Saturday.

Brahmacharini Shama Kumaran is continually hosting guests and sends us these photos today.

Umila and Jayshree Rao fulfilled a long-awaited pilgrimage to the Kauai Aadheenam. They attended the daily pujas at the Kadavul Siva Temple and toured the Iraivan Temple and grounds. “This is a most sacred place” said Jayshree. “The Darshan here is very powerful.” Jayshree has been studying Gurudeva’s trilogy, Dancing, Living, and Merging with Siva for some time.

Before departing for Manchester, England, they made one last visit to the Ganesha Shrine at the entrance gateway.

A wonderful group of visitors from different parts of the USA and Canada enjoyed the morning puja in Kadavul Temple and then toured the Iraivan Temple.

R/L Dilip and Usha Shroff from Toronto, Canada; Hari Haran, his wife Shalini, and baby Vanesha from Seattle, WA; Vivek and Richa Srivastava from Mountain View, CA; Syam and Shanthi Aribindi from Naperville, IL who are longtime subscribers of Hinduism Today; and Oma whose family are longtime devotees of Gurudeva’s.

Hari Haran performs abhishekam over the Narmada Lingam while baby Vanesha observes with great interest.

Vivek and Richa Srivastava pour milk of Nandi .

This is a very peaceful and beautiful site. The Narmada Lingam rests on the banks of a lake filled with white and pink lotus flowers and water lilies. A stream rushes past and empties into a waterfall beside the sacred Narmada Lingam where devotees fill kumbhas with fresh mountain water.

Here is Usha Shroff performing abhishekam.

Here is Sandhya Param getting a lot of good cheer from Tickles and Poco at the fund-raising fair in Davis, California.

Sun One begins a new phase. Bodhinatha gives his morning upadesha. He spoke on the sub-superconcious mind, explaining how this phase of the mind was experienced once one had resolved issues of the past through penance, apology and the vasana daha tantra. When one is in the sub-superconscious mind, one is out of their thinking mind and intuitive, able to easily grasp the overview of an issue or project.

Homa….

Bodhinatha talked about the need to cultivate observation by avoidance of excessive talk. He related this to the 4th and 5th dimensions in Shum which related to the 4th and 5th chakras.

He quoted Yogaswami’s mahavakiam, summa iru, “Be still,” and explained how a quiet mind produced more energy and dynamism in thinking.

He concluded, “Make the world more peaceful by being peaceful ourselves.”

Yesterday the Golden Gate Mission members conducted the day-long “fair.” It was a great success… photos are coming in today and in the days ahead.

There were over 20 booths, marvelous entertainment, clowns, music, dancers and great food!

Here Sandhyadevi Param is making a Handmade Card for
her friend at the “Card Making Booth” at Autumn Indian
Bazaar Event in Davis, CA

There was an on-site Astrologer, as well as a “Healing
Touch” Booth.

Young Girls enjoying stamping at the card making booth.

Tickles the Clown doing a wonderful job of face painting! One of the favorite things for the children. She was also a hit with balloons, making flowers, hats, dogs and almost anything the children requested!

Tickles enjoying spending time with children as well as
their parents.

Tickles & Poco added a light side to the fair.

Rangoli demonstration.

There were many performers throughout the event.

Tickles entertains the youth.

Tickles and Poco are currently students of meditation and created this fun skit on meditation. Here Poco tries to distract Tickles, who is “deep” into meditation.

Some belated photos of guests from last phase.

A truly beautiful morning brought seeking souls from three different parts of the world. All were blessed by the powerful darshan of the Deities of the Kadavul Siva Temple.

Together they later pose for a photo beside Dakshinamurthy who is North of and in direct alignment with the Iraivan Temple Sanctum.

Susie Nelson-Smith, the Director of the Karyna Center for Transformation arrived with some of her graduate students from Sydney, Byron Bay and Canberra ACT, Australia.

Also visiting is Nitin and Kamu Palan from London, UK. Nitin teaches Hindu parenting in London and is very impressed with the Kauai Aadheenam’s books and pamphlets on this all-important subject.

The Gorty families from Columbus, Ohio and LA, CA arrived to join us in a tour of the beautiful Iraivan temple and sacred grounds.

Google Earth photo of Nallur Temple in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

It was tour day today. Rajagopal and his wife from Boston, original from Tamil Nadu, visited yesterday and today and wandered the grounds and met with Bodhinatha and ask some questions.

Out at Iraivan the big development is the work on Iraivan’s roof. In the on-going search for new media creation and delivery tools we bring you today yet another kind of slide show: this time a Quicktime Interactive movie, easily built in Keynote and export to Quicktime. From Paramacharya Palaniswami’s Natha Productions Studio… the Iraivan Roof Begins, slide show.

Silpis at work on stones before they to the roof.

Photos just landed from Bodhinatha’s arrival home from the Memphis 4D Summit.

this is a change!

Another change!

And our dynamic Information and Accounting wizards who carry a very big load for the Church and all the monks. Thank you Shanmuganathaswami and Yogi Jivanandanatha for taking care of all of us and all the details!

Here is Rishi Thondunatha in Canada, teaching classes using our Saivite Hindu Religion courses.

This is Hindu Heritage Endowment in action. One of the funds is the Saivite Tamil Foundation Endowment which is set up with this purpose:

“The purpose of this fund is to provide financial support for the advancement of Hinduism within the Tamil Saivite community. Specifically, the fund will support Hindu activities for children and the elderly through the Tamil Saivite Foundation.”

Copies of the books for the children were sponsored by HHE

And Rishi’s trip was sponsored by the Saivite Tamil Foundation Here he visits some elderly people

Back at the Aadheenam, we can’t resist trying to capture sunset over Mount Waialeale.

Today’s tour day brought many happy visitors and young couples

It’s Sun Four today and the Aadheenam is humming like a bee hive. No big news events on today’s horizon. It is the “lull” between travels and various publications that are in the pipeline.

Here are a few photos taken earlier by our Siddhidata Kulam.

Dr. S.P. Sabharathnam Sivachariyar with the silpis during his one month stay here.

The Aadheenam’s durian tree is fruiting for the second year. We have about 20 fruits as of yesterday.

It is the king of all fruits in South East Asia. Once you get use to its sweet fragrance 😉 it is almost impossible to stop eating the fruit.

Every year, the Spiritual Park of Mauritius conducts an elaborate puja for those students who are sitting for their end of year primary, secondary and university exams.

The aim of the ceremony is to seek the Divine Blessings of Lord Pancha Mukha Ganapati and pray for success in those exams…

The stewards of the Park had thousands of special exercise-books printed for distribution to all students on that day. The exercise-books have been placed at the Feet of Lord Ganapati.

This special ceremony project has been coordinated by Kulapati SK Moorghen with the help of several sponsors.

Today the Ganesha Mandapam is filled up with only youth of all ages.

The boys are seated on the right whereas the girls are on the left of Lord Ganapati… A large homa pit for an elaborate Homa has been set up….

So many youth turned up that they had to even sit on the lava rock steps…

Everyone followed with attention the Sivacharya chanting the mantras.

In the meantime outside, devotees keep coming with offerings….

Sishyas Nanda and Parmeswaran are leading the bajans…

Other members are taking care of offerings brought by devotees down the Mandapam steps.

The atmosphere is filled with uplifting traditional vedic chanting…..

Everyone is inspired…

The homa is about to end… As usual hundreds of written prayers were sent into the sacred fire.

Pouring ghee the traditional way into the fire…

The peak moment…the final arati. Kulapati SK Moorghen ringing the hanging bells at the entrance…

Kulapati Manon Mardemootoo reading the monthly message of Satguru Bodhinatha.

A wonderful ceremony for all …..

The religious ceremony over, devotees walked around the Park to have lunch, have some sight-seeing, meet friends and purchase our Himalayan Academy publications at our HA Booth and Mini Mela.

Bodhinatha, Shanmuganathaswami and Yogi Jivananandanatha arrived home safe and sound yesterday evening and after a flurry of monastic travels, everyone is back home and very focused on their work.

A number of publications are in the pipeline: finalizing this month’s Kauai’s Hindu Monastery newsletter, which will be mailed out this coming purnima Iraivan Day.

The Jan 2008 issue of Hinduism Today is in it final two weeks of production and the editorial team and Sadhaka Jothinatha in the ad department are very focused.

Yoginathaswami sends us a few photos from nature’s wonders.

Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam An Orphanage, Boys Home in Batticaloa,

Pictures arrived from Sri Lanka yesterday with the following message to Bodhinatha:

“Humble Salutation to your holy feet everything is happening smoothly today we are celebrating Satguru’s Jayanthi Day at Gurukulam several programs and prayers are organized to have the blessings. Many devotees will join us.”

"Please find some photos from the celebration of the children in Children’s Day held at Gurukulam Building. Construction is progressing. We have received the annual grant Hindu Heritage Endowment grant which Yogi Jivanandanatha has mailed."

“May the blessing of Satguru Bodhinatha and Gurudeva ever rest on us.”

–Babu

For background on the orphanage and its struggles after the Tsunami visit their home page here