A new phase today began with Sun One Homa as usual. Bodhinatha read from the insight section, “My Friend, Lord Ganesha,” which is in the October edition of Hinduism Today that is in the last few days of production.

It’s summer time… and guests are coming. With children out of school, we find whole families traveling together who are always uplifting to host.

Here is Pandit Parashar and his wife, Kanan, and wonderful children Shivani, Eesha and Govinda who are here on Kauai just to visit the temple. Pandit had contributed an article to Hinduism Today about 20 years ago so he has always wanted to see the place where the magazine is produced.

The family had a nice meeting with Bodhinatha who shared with them on how to incorporate religion in their whole day.

Tushar and Alka Doshi with their children, Ekta and Amrita, are here on their second visit. They were here one and a half years ago and enjoyed their visit so much that they decided to return. They enjoyed seeing the progress on Iraivan temple.

They also had a nice meeting with Bodhinatha who shared with them some key points on raising children as good Hindus. Both Ekta and Amrita chose to be vegetarians and enjoy their religion very much.

We are reminded of the old saying: “Families that pray together, stay together.”

Today is the last day of this short 4-day phase. Things are quiet. A few pilgrim families have stayed on after the festivities and are enjoying a deep inner quiet time and also good long meetings with Bodhinatha.

END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming two-day retreat,
until Dasami Tithi, Sun One, Friday, July 29th.

Tour day today… a good time to share some testimonies from Island folk who joined us for open house last week.

“It was such a pleasure being with you on Saturday. I’m very impressed how the monks and swamis connect with people in a warm and friendly down-to-earth way. You make yourselves very “available” to people. That might be why you’re considered part of the community rather than ethereal beings who separate themselves by their seeming piety. You’re really wonderful.”

What a glorious day last Saturday was! Your program was wonderful. I enjoyed the speakers and the young people and their music. I am sorry I had to leave early and didn’t have a chance to hear them play more, but I look forward to hearing them again at a future open house. I’m sorry I didn’t get to stay for lunch, but it smelled delicious and I heard from friends that it tasted as good as it smelled!

The gardens looked beautiful! I could tell you had spent many hours working on them. The plants were very cooperative to have so many blooms just in time for all your visitors too! The lotus with its stately, magnificent bloom was a wonderful greeter! The Brownea flower right at eye level was lovely and it was great to see so many of the bromeliads blooming. Your site just gets better and better every time I see it.

Adinatha gave me two Amorphophallus plants that I will love taking care of in hopes that they will one day produce blooms for us too.

The temple is looking so fantastic! It was fun to see all the new pieces that have arrived. In my life the churches I have known have always been stern, serious places so it is wonderful to see all the interesting, educational and fun things that are being incorporated into this temple. You have such a happy, peaceful place, thank you for sharing it with everyone!

Please know that I feel blessed to have all of you touch my life.

Aloha!

Two happy visitors on today’s tour…

Our reporter from Mauritius writes:

“We are happy to send a few photos of our Guru purnima celebration at our Ganesha Mandapam on last Thursday. It turned out into a very spiritual experience as the celebration took place in the quiet evening at the Park.”

Guru Purnima is earnestly looked forward by our Mauritian devotees and this year as usual all our local sishyas and HA students turned up at the Spiritual Park to celebrate this Guru festival together. The celebration took place on Thursday July 21 at 5.00 PM in the evening.

Despite this cold winter evening, sishyas arrived in time from all parts of the island and as far as the extreme south.

Guru Purnima celebration is a special moment for the sishya to feel closer to one’s Guru.

Brahmachari Vel Mahalingum and Sivarathna Manick doing the pada puja on the Holy Tiruvadi.

Our two most senior Kulapati Mardemootoo and Kulapati Koothan. In fact, the entire family of Gurudeva devotees in Mauritius are to be commended, congratulated and applauded for their tireless work. Each week they host hundreds of visitors. Each week they hold events and classes for the peoples of their island community. Each week they care for, groom and improve the property that Gurudeva founded. Their service is a powerful example for us all!

The sishyas sang Natchintanai and other Saivite bhajans led by Parmeswaran Ramsamy and Adi Sankara…

Everyone joined in the chanting of the Gurudeva’s 108 names during the ceremony.

Offerings of flowers, fruits and sweets lovingly brought by devotees are offered at the peetam…

The Tiruvadi beautifully decorated with flowers

The final arati… Everyone stood up and chanted the Guru mantra…

Kulapati Manon Mardemootoo giving a talk on the Guru…

We had a humble performance by the children of the Saturday Saivite Hindu Religion class of the Spiritual Park. They presented a sketch on the need for a Guru in the devotee’s spiritual life even if that devotee is a powerful king!

The sketch was based on a story from Merging With Siva. Poshan like a Satguru with his white beard.

The little princesses in the background…

Every child had a little role in the sketch. Here they are for a souvenir
photo for Bodhinatha!

Sishyas waiting for their turn to prostrate at the Holy Tiruvadi…

Every sishya came forward for the sacred flame. We can see Kul. Pallanee and Kul. Sivakumaren helping…

A much appreciated meal was served by Kulapati Kulagan Kutumba to everyone present.

Our youth helping at the food station…

It was a quiet day at the Aadheenam.

Deva Rajan, Aran and Tara Veylan and Hotranatha and Kamala Toshadeva quietly finished gold-leaf work for the stupi stone that goes on the very top of the temple.

With one team of silpis away to India and the new team awaiting visas… Iraivan is getting a rest. But, a new innovation… daily arati is now performed inside the sanctum, since the Garbanyasa ceremony…

We step back in time to finish up our “recollection” of the joyful events of last phase…

At the auspicious hour early morning on July 21st we all gathered at the Iraivan Temple. The morning sun is just breaking over the tall trees to the East. Iraivan emits a golden glow.

Easan Katir and his son Kartikkeya.

Chidambaram Sendan with his mother Mira…

Everyone watches as a homa is performed…

Sacred metals, herbs, and small gems are blessed and energized along with the traditional Kumbha Pot that will carry the shakti of Agni into the temple.

Bodhinatha receives the tray of sacred elements to be placed inside the temple

The homa kunda (fire altar)

The priests, sthapatis and monks are taken inside the temple. Ganapati Sthapati says this is only the second time in his life he has done this ceremony, only done for stone temples. He likes to stop to explain the meaning of the events as we proceed from one stage to the next.

What happened after that was “Rahasya” for the camera… no photos allowed inside… Here is what happened:

On east wall of the inner most chamber about 3 feet up from the floor level an approximately 8-inch opening was left in the side of the wall, a small nitch. Inside this was placed a solid gold box with 9 compartments filled with precious gems, herbs and substances from various places in India and small portions of precious metals. These were sealed into the little crypt with a block of granite that was glued into place of the opening. Then and arati was performed…

Everyone now comes down as the Sthapatis seal up the little chamber. Koviloor Swami from India mentioned that now it would be good to do a daily arati in the temple as the vibration of worship had begun.

Kulapati Deva Rajan and Ganapati Sthapati, here from India, who designed the temple. Sthapati is happy to see his creation unfolding so beautifully.

Stepping further back in time to June 16… we bring you closing shots from open house…

After the speeches, music performance… it was noon and time for lunch! We counted about 600 plates had been taken from our supply, so we calculated that we must have served that many people that day. Here they are lined up in a queue…

Meanwhile others are at the temple site trying their hand at carving…

Pouring water thru the spout of the crocodile…

We sold Ti plants and Rudrakshas that day, as fund-raisers for Iraivan…

Priya Alahan performs for the crowd during lunch. Very few of our guests had ever seen or heard a Veena.

Monks talk with our guests.

We learned a lot from the last open house and this year we set up four tables with 8 dishes each and 32 of our volunteers manned the stations and we served 600 people in no time at all.

We want to thank Marty Kahn who pitched in to help the monks and our members get a lot of work done! Thanks Marty!

Photographer for the day…Sadhaka Jivanandanatha steps out in front of the camera…

DQ Jackson on the job filming the event for local television.

Our dentist, Dr. Black on the right, with another islander on the left, checking out the stone balls inside the lion’s mouths… Amazing!

Everyone really loved the rice and curries and every plate was cleaned!

Jothi, Vasuki Sendan and their daughter…

Shaila Pushpa Sendan…

Sannyasin Yoginathaswami talks with long time devotee Jothiswarar and his wife from Ulu Behrang, Malaysia. Gurudeva presided at the Kumbhabhishekam of the small but powerful Ganesha temple that he built in that town years ago.

The monks answer lots of questions that day….

Special attraction… on stage everyone! Venita Katir dances Bharata Natyam!

Venita is just 21 but already a “star” in her area in Northern California.

She has been teaching dance in the University of Davis.

And she got a big surprise the moment she stepped off the airplane and put her foot on Kauai.

Opening her email, there was a request for her to take a formal position as a dance teacher for an accredited course at the University. Leadership in her stars… Congratulations Venita!

Mr. Kawamura of Kawamura Enterprises on th left… supplier of animal feed for our cows, farm tools, equipment etc. We have been doing business with him for 35 years! On the right is Wendall Kam and his family. Wendall is� Kauai Branch Manager for Young Brothers, who helps us in various ways to bring in Iraivan stone containers and returning the containers to the shipping lines on time.�

Happy pilgrims from Northern Alberta, Canada, Shama Vinayaga and her daughter, Shivani.

This brings to a close the retrospective photo series of events these past 10 days… It was a joyous time for all.

Bodhinatha continued to meet with pilgrims today. Here are Kulapati and Kulamata Vel and Valli Alahan, from Colorado.

Our two guest priests departed back to Canada today. They were very inspired to be here and already started making plans for their next trip to Kauai.

If you are in Toronto, Scarborough area and would like to worship Amman (a form of Shakti), visit their Sri Nagapooshani Ambika Sameda Nagalingeshwara Thirukovil temple. For directions go to http://www.srinagapooshani.org/

Stepping back in time again to last phase… For the first time in a long time we held a homa at the Agni Mandapam on the south side of the San Marga Swayambhu Lingam in the evening of Guru Purnima day. Some may recall our havan’s there years ago on Kartikkeya Deepam… Here we are walk out in the late afternoon past Iraivan.

The setting sun lights up the capstone before slipping down behind Mount Waialeale..

Gathered at the Agni Mandapam…

A big fire is raised by our two Kurukkals. This is Kandasamy Kurukkal who also came for the first stone placing of Iraivan Temple in 2001.

Sri Rudram chanting…

The graceful Nrityaraja Kurukkal energizes the kumbha. Today he came to visit us in the publications building. He said he has been doing pujas for over 70 years! He is from Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

The small crystal lingam that sits in front of Gurudeva in Kadavul has been brought out to be part of the ceremonies tonight.

Homa done… we proceed to the Lingam square…

Everyone offers flowers.

Bodhinatha performs abhishekam with the kumbha water…

Kesari prasadam for all.

Kartikkeya Katir is behind the camera today… he took pictures of all the decorations of Iraivan which had been done in preparation for the Garba Nyasa ceremony…

Kulapati Deva Rajan on top of the temple examining the stone work first hand.

All is in readiness for the ceremonies the next day…

Bodhinatha shares a preview of a talk he plans to give in Toronto on his up-and-coming trip at our Sun One homa today…

Today our home was very special as it was conducted by the elder Kurukkal, Nrityaraja, who performed all the kriyas (actions) while the younger Kandasamy Kurukkal chanted. Aran and Tara Veylan sponsored today’s homa and sit near for blessings and to make offerings.

Nrityaraja Kurukkal conducted the rites with a relaxed gentle grace and ease that only comes from a lifetime of serving in the temple. We were all blessed to have him…

The homa was filmed on video to help train our monastic priests.

It was yet another day in over a week-long series of truly “mangalam” (auspicious) events… We feel as if we have been lifted into another world.

But if you think of it… this is simply the result of the following the Saiva Dharma, and the gift that such a lifestyle offers to those who walk on the path of the Saiva Neri.

We have to thank our Gurudeva and all the rishis and sages who preceded him for bringing forward such a blessed heritage.

The priest come up for blessings after the homa.

Dr. Selva and his wife, from Lancaster, California, are here on pilgrimage. They flew over a few days ago to attend the Garbhanyasa ceremony for Iraivan Temple and have been spending their time on the island here at the aadheenam.

Though they have heard of us before and read Hinduism Today, it is their first visit to the aadheenam. This morning they had a nice meeting with Bodhinatha.

Now that the ceremonies are over… we are all back to work. Yesterday’s retreat day was “Iraivan Day” and the monks were all focused on various projects. One was to get a lot of posters prepared for up-and-coming fund raising events. We are not sure if we ever showed you all this amazing painting by A. Manivel, showing Hanuman carrying Iraivan from India to Kauai…

We have about 300 photos in our queue from events that have transpired here in the past few days… we will bring them to you in chronological order… and let many of them simply speak for themselves.

The day after Guru was a day “off,” with no special events. But we were all busy nevertheless. Bodhinatha had darshan meetings with many of the devotees during the morning… Here is Jutikadevi Sivaraja, receiving her Samaya Diksha (Mantra Initiation) sadhana guidebook…

Signed by Bodhinatha…

Nalakini Niranjana from Malaysia shaved her head and received blessings…

Uma Swami also from Malaysia..

Aran and Tara Veylan from Edmonton…

One of their sons, Devasiva Veylan

That afternoon, all the members and many of the monks were focused back at the Iraivan temple. A big team worked on gold leafing the capstone of the West Chinna Gopuram.

A natural clay homa pit was prepared for the Garbanyasa ceremony to come the next day…

Sadhaka Nilakantha applies the wet vibhuti tripundra decorations.

We will let you all enjoy the following gold leafing picture in “silence.”

Koviloor Swami sits at the temple site watching the gold leaf work… a technology he may take back to India.

Little Chidambaram says: “This isn’t so hard to do!”

It is Star 1 here at the Aadheenam, the first day of a three-day retreat… but activities are still in full swing and with 100’s of picture in the queue we are posting the balance of the morning Guru Purnima ceremonies…sharing more quotes from the writings of the sages of our sampradaya.

END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming retreat,
until Tritya Tithi, Sun One, Saturday, July 23rd

The verses today are from Siva Yogaswami as recorded in the book, which is online: The Testament of Truth

“He is the Sat-Guru, who is Self-luminous.
He is beyond the plane of objective consciousness.”

“He illumines everyone to see by the light of grace radiating within each being. His rays also lighten the universe which is constructed of the five elemental powers. Who can see if he Luminous One wills it not?”

I see Him and yet I see Him not,
This is the annunciation of our Guru,
That wheresoever thou art, there I am–Siva, Siva.”

“By the grace of my Guru was overthrown my pride.
By the grace of my Guru, showers of grace were mine.

By the grace of my Guru, bliss infinite was mine.
By His grace myself and Guru commingled as One.”

[Devotees chant the newly created 108 names of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami]

‘Detach, and in attachment, see detachment, espouse righteous living with awareness, my dear…”

Thou art myself’–Thus spoke he.

“No intrinsic evil is there,’ so said he,

‘And Truth is Absolute,’ he added my dear.

Yet he behaved like a dumbman, dear.

‘Accomplished is His Will–there’s neither before nor after.’ Like thunder, he echoed these words, my dear

What more can I speak, my dear. ‘That is: Who doth know?’ so said he.

No parallel to him can I conceive, my dear.

Dazed and motionless I become, my dear.

‘We know not,’ declared the wise teacher.

A wholesome life bequeathed he, my dear.

Fled are all the unrighteous acts, my dear. In oneness did I see the universe in and out.

As has been our tradition.. we invite our visiting swami to come forward and also bless the devotees with vibhuti… Koviloor Swami from Tamil Nadu…

Gurudeva is with us also today…

The flame is taken around to everyone

And all come forward to prostrate and receive the satguru’s blessings.

Our priests are happy to be here…

Bodhinatha, bright and smiling for our camera.

And then, the annual give to our Guru from the monks…

Bodhinatha loves to listen to Sanskrit chanting, so last year we have him an iPod. But then, to listen to the chants he must use ear plugs… so this year we gave him this Bose iPod Speaker dock.. just drop you iPod onto the slot and you have a high class mini audio system.

Bodhinatha, full of love and joy…

Koviloor Swami…

We honor Koviloor Swami with a shawl and then Paramacharya Palaniswami announces the gift that Swami is preparing for the Aadheenam: a beautiful, highly ornate chariot, for pulling the Deities around the paths….Swami also made a substantial donation to the Iraivan temple building fund.

The morning event over, Bodhinatha returns to the Aadheenam.

Lucky little ones…

to be here in the radiance of such events…

Later in the morning, Sannyasins Arumugaswami and Natarajnathaswami take Koviloor Swami and Greg Lien on a tour of the Himalayan Acres land across the river from the temple. Here they are checking up on a recent tree planting…

Paramacharya Palaniswami give a seminar today. Giving everyone another taste of an audio talk from Gurudeva…

and eliciting more testimony from devotees on their experiences of Gurudeva…

It has been a most blessed day… Of course we owe everything to Gurudeva, and the Satgurus who came before, down through time…

Jai to the Kailasa Parampara!

Happy Guru Purnima! we have nearly 90 photos and though today is the last day of this short phase we will do a special edition of TAKA tomorrow to bring you all the photos of the profound ceremony and activities…

Here is Bodhinatha deep in samadhi during the pada puja…

Special Announcement!
Satguruspeaks is back online!

We please to announce on this auspicious day of Guru Purnima ceremonies that after a year of being offline, Satguru Speaks is now up and running. And, for those with lo-bandwidth, the transcript is now posted with the talks, together. Please keep an eye on the side bar on the right… we will be going back to the summer of 2004 and coming forward. For avid Satguruspeaks fans. an index page is also available that you can use to access all talks since that time… This page also is being updated.

We want to thank our dedicated team of transcription sevaks for helping us to make this happen.

Yesterday afternoon, pilgrims gathered at the San Marga Lingam site for to help prepared the altar and decorate.

Everything in readiness for this mornings ceremonies.

Stringing garlands…

Red and white carnations…prepared by Thilaka Sunder…

We are happy that long time sishya of Gurudeva and the Paramapara, Tirumati Shama Vinayaga could come this year with her daughter, Shivani (left).

Here we are early this morning at 6 AM… Yoginathaswami arrives with the two priests from Toronto, Canada, who have come to perform the Garba Nyasa ceremonies the day after tomorrow. They have a chance to join the ceremonies as devotees instead of officiating…

The parade begins at the beginning of the Third World section of San Marga… The chariot is beautifully decorated.

Koviloor Swami takes a seat in a small palanguin…

He is lifted up on the shoulders of some of our strong men and the parade begins…

“Om Gurunatha, Jaya Gurunatha, Sat Gurunatha, Siva Gurunatha!” singing along the way.

Koviloor Swami smiles for our camera.

At the site our two priest and two monastic pujaris await the arrival of the satguru…

Kandasamy Kurukkal and the elder Nrityaraja Kurukkal from Toronto… after arriving yesterday, we ask the senior what he though of Kauai Aadheenam. He looked up toward Wailaleale mountain and recited a sloka which was to say that: “This place on Mount Kailas, where the rishis beseeched Parvati to ask questions of Siva on their behalf, that blessed heavenly abode… that place, is right here, manifest on Kauai…”

Alighting from the chariot… Bodhinatha gives the priests and pujaris a big smile.

He is paraded around the lingam square…

then in to his seat…

Natyam Jivananandanatha is the pujari today, Yogi Japendranatha assisting… the rest of today’s photos speak for themselves… so we will use this opportunity to share thoughts from Saint Tirumular. Siva Yogaswami on the nature of the Satguru…

“Transcending all mutations of form and attribute,

Surpassing all finite measure is the GURU,
An embodiment of the highest wisdom.”

From the Tirumantiram.
.

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’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 mad
e them His own.
The peerless Siva is the priceless NatGuru.

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.

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.”

From the Songs of Tayumanavar:

“To those who have been duly initiated
into murthi, the temple and holy waters,
of the Deity… the real Guru who
utters the unique Word (mantram) will also appear.”

“Fixed as a mountain top is firm,
Towards which moves the soul.

All other words beside it are
As vain devoid of aim,
As are the pawns at random moved,
moved in aimless game.”

“Thou camest as the Silent Teacher mine,
Ready to grant all boons however rare,
And with a mother’s love Thou didst unfold
Decking my head with those Blessed Feet of Thine,

The Eternal Law of wisdom’s ecstasy.
Bereft of thought or holy word revolved
The superconscious Vision beyond all thought
Of Freedom’s final state as one or two,

As Light or Void or Form or Primal Sound.
Such is Beatitude. So hast Thou taught.
Grant me thy Grace, O Lord, to live that life
Wherein are steeped time honored lovers thine.
O Thou Siddhanta’s Goal and Prime Essence!
O Dhakshinamurthi that dost shine aloft
On Trichi’s hill, O master of Wisdom’s Bliss!”

We had another joyful day of Guru Purnima activities. In fact, there will be so many photos coming in today and tomorrow that we will defer the final installment of Open House photos until next phase…

The morning began with a powerful Muruga Abhishekam in Kadavul temple at 6 am, attended by all the pilgrims, followed by breakfast at 8:00am…

At 9 am a simple but remarkable group worship of the Narmada Lingam on the Path of the Saiva Saints started from the Aadheenam, which comprises today’s photo documentary… it was so special and beautiful we did not have the heart to cut out too many photos…

Saravananathaswami and Sadhaka Tejadevanatha led the group this morning. The milk that was just received from our two cows morning milking is brought out

…and poured into the shiny polished Kumbhas…

Ladies ready for the parade posing for the camera.. it is a bright sunny morning.

The parade wanders off to San Marga…

Kovilur Swami is with us today…

The Path of the Saiva Saints is a formation of the stream and a path that snakes through trees to the north of Iraivan…

Lilies are bright in today’s sun…

Once inside the glen… the rest of the world fades away..

Clockwise on the path the Narmada Lingam..

Kovilur Swami began the Abhishekam… water….

water…

Milk…

arati…

We will let the pictures speak for themselves and share some of Siva Yogaswami’s profound thoughts on the worship of Lord Siva.

We are the servitors of Siva.

No harm will befall us, if without forgetting we meditate on the holy mantram that we have neither beginning nor end, neither birth or death, neither day nor night, neither happiness nor sorrow.

What you contemplate, that you become. Persistent spiritual effort is necessary. Do not become discouraged.

Those who fail to toil will not reap any reward. No pains, no gains is a familiar saying in the world. Perserve until you succeed.

(offering the juice of oranges and limes)

Why do you constantly ponder on unworthy pursuits? Banish these futile intents and worship God with a full heart.

Accept joyfully and carry out whatever is dispensed to you. In the end everything will lead you to success. Perform cheerfully whatever work and duties are assigned to you, and be convinced that everything that happens is for the best. It is so. You may even ignore these things altogether. Both courses are acceptable.

Your liberation does not depend on action or inaction. Do not desire to be free of action. Do not become attached to action. Devote yourself to that which naturally befalls you, whether it involves action or inaction.

We are the servitors of Lord Siva. We lack nothing. Our duty is to serve the Lord. It is the fundamental goal of our life in this world.

The moon fulfills the will of Siva. The sun and other planets also carry out His bidding.

The gods and demons, and all other beings are also engaged in the performance of the Lord’s work.

In everything do we see the will of Siva at work. Not an atom mo
ves but by His will–nothing gained and nothing lost. We continue to be ever the same.

There is no one above us or superior to us; good and evil cannot affect us. There is no beginning and no end for us. We have no likes or dislikes; we have no desire for material goods. The specter of the mind does not haunt us; neither are we bound by the limitations of place, time or causation. We simply bear witness to everything around us.

Believe in God; Believe in Him with perfect trust. Consider Him as sweeter than the sweetest of earthly joys.

Ponder that He is the incomparable One.

Reflect on His glory night and day and at all times. Let the constant remembrance of Him fill the interstices of your being.

Meditate that, “I am naught–He alone Is.”

Let the worship of God be the goal of your life.

Whatsoever you think, that you become. Cherish the Lord in the recess of your heart. Everything, everywhere is subject to His Will. Ultimately it will be seen that he is All in All.

After the worship, a short tour of our garden… Giant Pumpkins…

Getting to know Nandini… one of our small calves.

Here we are, the second day of Guru Purnima. Early this morning all the devotees gathered for “walk San Marga” sadhana as a group, walking down the San Marga path, gathering water into small kumbha pots from the Narmada Stream, singing bhajans along the way, doing abhishekam to the lingam and then sitting for the puja and a guided meditation.

Later in the morning Bodhinatha gave a workshop on parenting, launching some new technology….

He has had the monks help him prepare a Keynote presentation. This is software designed by Steve Jobs of Apple, sort of an Apple version of PowerPoint, with more graphics power. Using this system Bodhinatha has notes on his computer relating to the slides being shown, and Keynote also shows him his next slide. He gave his morning and afternoon presentations from the Simhasanam in the Guru Peedam where the monks meditate each morning.

He reads, offers spontaneous thoughts, answers questions and the whole group is kept attentive with the visuals, which include art, engaging transitions and fun effects.

He is planning to take this particular presentation to Toronto in about two weeks and use this for more such educational workshops in during his future travels, including the Dharma Summit at Rutgers University in New Jersey in mid-August.

Our Guru Purnima pilgrims are all eyes and ears, listening attentively to issues that are important to their life.

Our sweet and gentle Kovilur Swami, here from India, enjoyed the session. That’s the projector behind him… He is enjoying a retreat from otherwise very demanding schedules at home in India where he is in charge of 20 mutts and a large publications operation in Chennai.

Stepping back in time to yesterday… after the morning ceremonies our team of devotees and monks were all set for the flood of guests. At 9:15 the parade started in front of the monastery… Our Open House official photographer, Sadhaka Jivanandanatha, has himself stationed out in front of the coming procession.

Next Sadhaka makes his move out to climb up on top of Iraivan… A wonderful shot of Dakshinamurthi under the banyan.

He is wearing a giant, 12-foot-long, red and white carnation garland made for today.

Here they come! Conch players leading the way and 83-year-old Kovilur Swami driven by Natarajnathaswami in front….

People from all parts of Kauai near the temple, some looking skyward to marvel at the height of the Pigefetta palm trees.

Some have flown in from Honolulu and the Big Island to be with us today.

The massive white “circus” tent looked magnificent in the morning sun. Here is the entrance, decorated with coconut fronds and mango leaves.

Then Bodhinatha arrives with the entourage of mathavasis.

Kulapati Thanabalan garlands his satguru at the entrance.

Ladies from California offer arati to the arriving holy man in the traditional manner, waving a flame on a tray before him.

Kovilur Swami on stage, awaiting his turn to speak.

Aletha Kaohi, a leading Hawaiian “treasure,” gave a blessing and a sacred Hawaiian gift of sacred salt, waters, soils and plants to Bodhinatha and all the monks. Stanley is holding the gift, which has a taro plant.

Sacred waters from Mount Waialeale and Ti leaves are presented, along with an engraved plaque…

Paramacharya Palaniswami welcomes our guests from all over the world, tells a few stories and plays a two minute talk by Gurudeva, after which he introduces Bodhinatha and honors him for four years of remarkable work in continuing Gurudeva’s work around the world.

Bodhinatha shares some of the work the monks are doing for Kauai and introduces another gift to the county….

Two banners that will hang permanently at the Aloha Center, a new cultural place near our port. Barbara Bennett with the purple muumuu receives the gifts on behalf of the island.

Bodhinatha next garlands our visiting Kovilur Swami from India and invites him to say a few words.