Here is Bodhinatha on Day Four of the Himalayan Academy Study Retreat in Malaysia. It was December 25th there and Pancha Ganapati day. Bodhinatha paid a visit to the a nearby orphanage which is assisted by one of the funds of the Hindu Heritage Endowment: the orphanage is called the Manjung Hindu Sabha Ashram.

Here the priests greets our Satguru and does an archana…

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At home here on Kauai, it’s another quiet day… well, in terms of people and activities. But Mother nature has been very busy: it rained continuously throughout the night and all morning. Incredible as it may sound, Waialeale Mountain may register over 800 inches of rain for 2004.

In side the monastery, everyone is busy. Bodhinatha completed the editing work on the next educational Insight section of Hinduism Today… a piece on Parenting, which is slated for a 30,000 copy press run along side the next issue of Hinduism Today. Bodhinatha’s emphasis on educational literature is having a major impact… see more news on this below.

Continuing with our captions from the Malaysia retreat and also more incoming news on the Tsunami….

It was Pancha Ganapati. The Altar was decorated with gifts prepared by the Singaporian’s for the children at Manjung Hindu Sabha Ashram orphanage.

Tsunami Relief News

Back here at the Aadheenam, fund raising is going well for the Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam orphanage that was destroyed in Batticaloa. On behalf of all the boys there we thank everyone who is sending in these donations.

At the Manjung Hindu Sabha Ashram, where a sign hangs informing everyone of the inauguration by Shanmuganathaswami.

Satguru gave a small speech and them gave the
Pancha Ganapati gift to all the 40 children in the Ashram.

Satguru also presented the Ashram with a hamper of things for the children. Preceding that, the temple priest honored Satguru with a shawl.

Participant from Klang, Pushpajaran takes a shot with the children…

More children from the Ashram…

Back from the visit, Bodhinatha holds a special workshop for the youths, answering their queries on how to effectively face problems in their daily life..

It was an interesting day for all of us..

Tsunami “Miracles”

The South Eastern tip of India is home to some very holy places of Saivism. Being buffered by Sri Lanka, they witnessed the pre-tsunami water recession, but not the subsequent wave of destruction. While scientifically explainable, it was also viewed as a divine protection by many. This report from India:

“Dear Gurudevaji,

South india was affected very severly in tsunami particularly costal areas.

Affected areas: Chennai surrounding area up to Chengalpet, Nagapattinam [worst hit areas] Kanyakumari, [those who were taking a bath in the sea are all missing] Tuticorin and most of the coastal areas.

Not affected areas are the only two holy places in South India: Rameshwaram Shiva’s temple. It is an island. The sea water receeded about one kilometer while the tsunami damaged other places. Thiruchendur: Lord Murugan temple. Same thing happened here also. Sea water went back into the sea about one kilometer inside the sea. No casualties. Not a single person was affected. None other then God….”

Yours V. Chandraamogan

Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India

Gurudeva’s work is starting to penetrate the next generation of Indian Americans… more and more of whom were born here… thanks to the on-going efforts of Kulapati Easan Katir… he sends two pictures and a brief update from South California:

The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh invited Saiva Siddhanta Church’s Kulapati Easan Katir to talk at their West Coast Hindu Youth Camp this week in Malibu, California.

Here he is speaking to the Young Men’s Camp “Hindu Dharma — Hope for a Troubled World”. Co-speaker at the camp was Shri N.V. Raghuram, director of Vyasa Yoga Research Centre in Bangalore.

At the separate Young Ladies’ Camp, Easan spoke on the subject of “Are All Religions the Same?”

A lively Question and Answer session follow diving into questions about past lives, dreams, and faith.

The HSS in America has distributed 5,000 copies of Himalayan Academy’s “Ten Questions….” pamphlet. Most members are avid readers of Hinduism Today.

This final report on December, 2004 events in Mauritius:

Our report there writes: “The Park is growing well in beauty as well as in spirituality. Many high minded Hindus are slowly being attracted there. Gurudeva’s vision is being fulfilled…”

We sending the last Ganesha Homa photo series for 2004. This December Homa, sponsored by the Mardemootoo/Pallanee kutumbas, was another soothing experience for all those who attended. As usual on such Sundays the Ganesha Mandapam is always full with devotees coming from various parts of Mauritius.

Our ladies singing devotional songs which uplifts everyone.

After the Homa, Kulamata Sornumbal Mardemootoo addressed the devotees on the topic of Pancha Ganapati celebrations….

One inspired lady humbly gave an inspiring testimony about how Lord Ganesha made things practically possible in her family life…

Our dedicated youth are now taking care to offer the sacred flame to devotees after the final arthi.

The Beedassy family from the centre served food on that Sunday to everyone present. Many Hindu families are now coming forward to offer lunch during these Sunday Homa events.

From the right Kulamata Sornumbal Mardemootoo, Mrs Kownden and Tirumati Vijayam Arnasalon enjoying the meal…

Tirumati Indranee Ramsamy and Tirumati Teeruvumbala Devi Iyaloo…

This is Venilla, daughter of Kulapati Manon, married to Sivaneswaren in Malaysia, soon to be a mother, now staying for a while in Mauritius, as is traditional, to have her first child in her mother’s home.

She looks bright and happy to be back to the Park where she has danced Bharat Natyam on so many events! She has a message for her dear ones: ”

Hi to my beloved husband, families and friends in Malaysia, I miss you all. See you soon!

Himalayan Academy student Kiran Kheerodhur and his fiancee….

Himalayan Academy student Saminaden Veerapen with his wife and new born child.

Putrika Basanti Mardemootoo and Putrika Dipanjali Mardemootoo, lovely daughters of Sivakumaren and Kavita. They love helping at the Mini Mela during the Ganesha Homa event…

The holiday “river” of guests, that reached close to 700 people in a 10-day period, has abated.

We have no more pictures from the Aadheenam today. We bring you more insights on the situation in Sri Lanka and the next series of photos from Bodhinatha’s Himalayan Academy Study Retreat in Malaysia.

Here he is on December 24… being grandly greeted at the Sitiawan Ganesha Temple evening program in Perak.

Photos taken last year: Orphans of the Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam orphanage parading into their new building for the first time on a monsoon day.

Today we received good news indeed….

Yesterday on TAKA we shared Commander Ram’s short note on our orphanage near Batticaloa and offered our prayers for the boys there. That note sparked new optimism on Kauai, and the monks reached out into the US and Canadian Sri Lankan immigrant community, searching for eyewitness news of the orphans, something reliable. This morning we heard, through a Canadian relative of a cell-phone savvy resident in the boys’ town, that most of the boys have indeed escaped, running to higher ground just in time.

Three of the orphans were lost, and the leader of the facility, Mr. Swaminatha Thambiah, survived, but sustained serious injuries while saving the boys and is recovering in the local hospital. It is assumed that the orphanage buildings and grounds took heavy damage, if not demolished, but that will all be rebuilt in the months ahead.

This photo is of older boys eating in the traditional Sri Lankan way.

Orphans worshipping together in the morning in an open pavilion on the grounds.

Devotees have been contacting us to ask if they could help to provide relief for the surviving orphans of the orphanage in Batticaloa that had for so many years been one of Gurudeva’s cherished charities. By the way, the official name of the orphanage is the Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam of Sri Lanka.

The answer is yes, you can help them. For this, we have opened a small special fund, and you can donate to it. Send your check to the address below in the name of the Sri Lanka Refugee Relief Fund, and on the description line write “Orphanage.” These finds will be specifically given as aid and reconstruction of the Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam orphanage. Mail to:

SLRRF
Kauai’s Hindu Monastery
107 Kaholalele Road
Kapaa, Hawaii 96746-9304

For general, all-island support and aid, please use the TRO (Tamil Relief Organization) on our list of agencies, at http://www.hindu.org/aid-relief/ which today has been updated with more options.

We continue with coverage of the retreat… Day 3, December 24 2004:

The Five states of Mind, Lord Muruga and Lord Shiva were among the topics discussed in today’s session for teachers and newcomers.

Yoginathaswami gave a small test to the participants to see if they remembered what was discussed in the previous two sessions. Most of them did remember them very well.

Organizers setting the names of the participants on the tables… one way to get them to mingle with others…

One more session on Lord Siva followed, before the break and all participants were allowed to go to the sea for a plunge. Here we have Meena and Dhanika Nagalingam taking a break near the pool…

Dhaniya and Premila Ponniah seems to be having a lot of fun in the pool…

As their parents watch over them…

“A Taka Moment!” Satguru, Yoginathaswami and Yogi
Japendranatha at the lobby , waiting to adjourn for the Ganesha Temple Program at Sitiawan, Perak.

Participants from Johor, Madhu and Omana Narayan

A big contingent of sishya and students from Singapore, who sponsored the entire meal the next day…

At the Sitiawan Ganesha temple program, Bodhinatha gives a short speech on Lord Ganesha, translated into Tamil by Kulapati Appasamy Kuppusamy.

Back for dinner at the resort…

Also dining with us, Dharmaraj Ramasamy (3 years
old), from Johor Bharu. He was the youngest of all our participants who spanned 3 generations.

If you would like to contribute to the relief efforts, please visit the aid-relief page at Hindu.org to find out how you can help.

Here is Bodhinatha at the retreat in Malaysia, the story of which continues below.

News from Sri Lanka

A small orphanage on the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka has been closely connected with the monastery since it was founded in 1995. They were right in the center of the worst and most deadly tsunami to hit the shores of Lanka.

They young boys there are more missionaries and Siva bhaktars than orphans. They taught Saivism to all in the community, held festivals, fed the poor and the homeless sadhus. They read from Gurudeva’s trilogy each day, and sang Yogaswami’s Natchintanai morning and night. They were very much in love with Gurudeva’s teachings and he was always supportive of their efforts, admiring their attitude of not only taking care of themselves, but reaching out to others, actually helping those who had more than they. Just recently Hindu Heritage Endowment bought them a tractor, which they plan to rent out in order to become more self-sufficient.

Initial news was not good. We were told two days back that their village had been swept away, with no known survivors, and we despaired of ever hearing from them again. But today one of our TAKA CyberCadets sent us a hopeful message posted on the web, basically a report from the military leaders assessing damage and trying to help survivors. This is the short but possibly heartening report:

“Seventy five boys in an orphanage in Thirukovil escaped the Tsunami by running inland as soon as they saw it coming. A few boys there who did not escape were killed in the orphanage when it was hit by the wave”, Commander Ram said.

Thirukovil is the main village near the orphanage. We now believe our boys may have escaped, their swift, young feet taking most of them inland to higher ground just in time. Still, it is all a bit uncertain and it could have been another orphanage. Please add your prayers to ours that our young ones survived the tsunami.

We held a special tour day today, to accommodate the many holiday guests. The magazines and guide books that have us listed are drawing quite a crowd.

Among them are Hindu families.

Today the family of Prasad, Vimala, Sindhu and Teja Ravipati visited for the first time from Michigan, USA, after hearing about us from friends.

They are from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh originally.

They enjoyed “discovering” the ball in lion’s mouth and trying their hand at stone chipping.

They also chatted with Shanmugam Sthapati a bit while the other shilpis worked on a portion of the sunshade roof.

The tedious work of fitting the “sun shade” (edge of the temple roof) onto the edge of the chinna gopuram, continues.

December 23rd… Day Two of the Malaysia retreat:

Morning view of the Teluk Batik Beach.

View of the Resort we stayed in.

Bodhinatha told the monks today: “The hills behind the retreat were filled with trees. We had lots of fresh prana flowing from the ocean and the forest behind us.”

He said: “The resort environment was excellent. Unlike some hotels where evening rock music begins early, here, it was very quiet, and the class hall was perfect.”

The topic of discussion for the first session was Yamas & Niyamas..

Some of the beautiful Artwork done by Sarkuna Sockanathan as a part of fund raising activity.

Next session was the teachers workshop..Teachers got into groups to brainstorm on how to deliver Yamas & Niyamas to their students effectively.

Caught in Action!! Yoginathaswami & Yogi Japendranatha enjoy the local fruits delight during the break. It was Yogi’s first taste of the famous amazing durian fruit. The Malaysians were delighted that he was instantly “hooked” on it as is everyone else in the country.

Focus on the next workshop was on the newcomers…Among the topics discussed was Lord Ganesha and his role in the physical world…

Ice Breaking Games at the beach – Each participant was asked to blow the balloon and give the balloon to the respective participant (names were wri
tten on each balloon)..Dr. Arjunan is action!! We want to thank him for his generous support of the program and his youthful spirit!

Our happy Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami during a break. He’s giving a lot of talks and answering a lot of questions!

A few more workshops followed and then dinner was served. Youth leader Aravind Raj and Sivaneswaren having dinner with swami and yogi.

“My new friend!”, Vivek Kartigesu from Singapore and Thelvin Nair from Klang– the next generation…

Speaking of Himalayan Academy, Bodhinatha is putting new prana into the educational side of life with the recent Academy study retreat in Malaysia. He just returned home earlier today after a long trip from Malaysia, via Taipei. Everyone on the team is fine, though a bit tired.

Here we are on Day One of the retreat, the late afternoon, of December 22nd

The first session on the retreat was on Temple Worship, presented by Satguru and Yoginathaswami. Two other workshops then followed, one for teachers and a separate one for newcomers.

Today was Sun One, with our scintillating morning homa as usual. Sadhaka Jivanandanatha performed the rites.

Our prayers go out to all those throughout the coastlands of the Indian Ocean who bore the onslaught of Mother Earth releasing stress in the Indian Ocean.

We are currently vetting relief organizations and will shortly post those we feel will make the best use of funds from those who would like to contribute to the massive relief efforts that will be required to restore these communities, with a special focus on Sri Lanka, which has seen the worst damage of all.

The retreat venue in Malaysia had no phones in the rooms, so reports are only now flowing in from our reporter in Malaysia, Mohana Kandasamy. She writes:

“The Malaysian Devotees organized A 5-day Himalayan Academy Study Retreat from the 22nd to 26th of December 2004. At the Teluk Batik Resort, Perak With Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.

The focus of the retreat was “The Essential Teachings of Gurudeva”. Eighty participants from Singapore and different states of Malaysia participated in this retreat.

Participants waiting in Kuala Lumpur, to board the bus to Teluk Batik.

Mountain view on the way to Teluk Batik

The journey took almost 5 hours..It was lunch time when we reached Teluk Batik.

A small shrine was set up in the Hall.

First in agenda, Ganesha puja by Yogi Japendranatha.

Participants look on as the puja is done.

Retreat overview and briefing was given by Aravind Raj.

After the teaching sessions (see today’s lead photo of Bodhinatha above) sishya take the opportunity to have dinner with our Satguru.

Participants Amutha Muniandy, Gowri Nadason, Aruna and Ahila Ganesan.

Meanwhile we are stepping back in time to Mauritius where Pancha Ganapati is taking on new dimensions.

Rajen Manick reports:

With the approval and Blessings of Satguru Bodhinatha, Pancha Ganapati was celebrated in a wonderful way at the Spiritual Park on December 23.

Many youth and students joined the members at Ganesha Mandapam in the morning for decorations, helping to inflate colorful balloons which were being hung on the wooden pillars… Lord Pancha Mukha Ganapati was superbly dressed in red, the shakti color of that day.

One young lady was so inspired by the festival that she painted a new banner for that day. Using leaf designs she painted a beautiful Ganesha on red satin.

The Ganesha Mandapam was full of devotees, mainly youth from different areas of the island.

Sivarathna, 10 years, brother of Jambalini entertained everyone with a solo classical performance on the mrdangam.

After an arthi to Lord Pancha Mukha Ganapati, the next activity was a short cultural show with only the youth performing. Here is Jambalini Manick, 8 years old, performing a Bharat Natyam dance on Lord Ganesha.

Padmasree Ramsamy, daughter of member Parmeswaran Ramsamy of Henrietta, sang a very beautiful carnatic song on Ganapati. She was accompanied by Sivarathna on the mrdangam.

The last item were two songs sung by some very young students taking music classes under the guidance of Adi Sankara.

The big event of the day was the Ganesha treasure hunt very much looked forward by the youth who had participated in previous years. The were some 87 youth who attended and they were divided into five teams representing each one of the shakti colors of Lord Pancha Mukha Ganapati: yellow, blue red, green and orange.

Here is Team Red with their red flag.

Each team had their large flag with a Ganesha drawn on it. The treasure hunt was a little more complicated this year: each team had to obtain five clues that they had to put together in the end to find out a hidden Ganesha icon.

To get these clues, participants in each team had to undergo various challenging physical, intellectual and spiritual tasks all based on Gurudeva’s teachings.

You would see even the older youth and adults running up and down the property to see how the teams were struggling to find the hidden Ganesha.

The Yellow Team…

No competitive spirit, but real fun with each team winning in the end!

After the Ganesha Treasure Hunt, all guests were served a special meal. Our youth coordinators had a nice experience with the younger ones.

Children of the membership… they know every nook and corners of the Park and can be professional guides to visitors of the Spiritual Park in future.

All youth participants were each given a gift on that day. Everyone went home tired, but really happy having participated in this Ganapati event. Next year Pancha Ganapati will be another big event again for a larger number of youth in Mauritius!

On the first day of the retreat it was both Pancha Ganapati and Iraivan day. Paramacharya Palaniswami presented the silpis with gifts….

Here we see they are working on the top of one of the side gopurams we call a “Chinna Gopuram” — the “Little” gopurams. But they are not small at all! All the fitting is being done at ground level first, as there is no option for moving and fitting the stones up in the air after the are placed later one.

Meanwhile the news at the Aadheenam is all about holiday guests. We estimate that since December 20, we have had up to 600 pilgrims and visitors, triple the amount we had last year… It hasn’t been possible for our two hosts, Sadhaka Dandapani and Sannyasin Saravananathaswami to get the names and details of every family…

Outdoor personal abhishekam of the Narmada Lingam is always a special moment for our pilgrims.

Lifetime Hinduism Today subscriber Dr. Shanmugam Lakshmanan from Illinois visited again with his wife two years after his previous visit, this time bringing his two daughters and granddaughter Ramya for the first time. They had a great time seeing the updated work on Iraivan Temple and little Ramya really enjoyed trying to carve a stone!

“On the rock!” another big hit, with people putting in their initials, or making little aums…

Circumambulating Dakshinamurthi

Many young couples have come to Hawaii for their holiday vacation….

Our pilgrims of nine days. …. worshipping Siva, just hours before going back to Detroit. Amma wants to move to Kauai, “it’s heaven here!”

Raj and Rina Agarwal were among our many Hindu guests this morning.

Rina had been here before about 10 years ago and today returned with her husband.

Here they are hugging a sacred rudraksha tree.

Another couple…

With university out of session, its a time for the family to be together for quality time…

Sooth your heart buy hugging a rudraksha tree.

Yogi Japendranatha called last evening and left another phone message report. The team is doing well. The class schedule is very intense with 8 hours a day and even break time is filled with intense discussions. Everyone is very inspired. Note that the program will finish over our three day full-moon retreat and then Bodhinatha will be back home on Sun One, so we give you the complete schedule through the end of the teaching program:

DECEMBER 25 — SAT — DAY SEVEN — TELUK BATIK (Sun 5)

• 6:30am Breakfast
• 7:30am General session (6 of 8; Topic: Chakras)
• 9:30am Break
• 10:00am Special workshop for teachers (5 of 5)
• 11:00am Special workshop for newcomers (5 of 6; Topic: God Siva, True and False Concepts; Readings: LWS intro on Siva as love and Nataraja symbolism from DWS preface Siva’s Cosmic Dance; Presentation: Bodhinatha on Siva as love)
• 12:00pm Lunch and break
• 2:00pm General session (7 of 8; Topic: Karma)
• 4:00pm Program at Manjung Hindu Sabha–Pancha Ganapati gift-giving for the kids.
• 6:00pm Special workshop for youth (1 of 1)
• 7:00pm Special workshop for newcomers (6 of 6; Topic: The Role of the Guru; Readings: various on guru; Presentation: Bodhinatha: Siddhanta Shravana– The Guru

DECEMBER 26 — SUN — DAY EIGHT — TELUK BATIK/KL (Star 1)

• 7:30am General Closing Plenary Session (8 of 8; Topic: Improving Self-Concept)
• 9:30am Pack up and check out of hotel
• 10:00 Pangkor Island excursion program. 30 minute ride from mainland by
• ferry. Our group will have first preference to enter the ferries.
• 12:00pm Visit to Pangor Island Kaliamman Temple
• 4:30 Drive back to KL
• 9:00pm Arrive Pan Pacific Glen Marie Hotel

As expected a truly “giant” crowd turned up today… we estimate about 140 people came for the weekly tour!

The ever popular chance to chip a stone.

Today the Kamalesh Ruparel family and his parents visited Kauai for the first time from northern California. They are originally from Gujarat and are followers of the Pushti Marg nondual Vaishnava school of Sri Vallabhacharya.

They were delighted to meet our Umbrella Ganesha on the way out to Iraivan Temple

They were very happy to see the traditional, painstaking hand-carved nature of Iraivan Temple as it arises.

And the kids, Nihal and Nandini, had great fun carving their initials into a granite stone!

At the Aadheenam our simple Shrine is filling up with gifts… mostly goodies…

Pancha Ganapati Day Four Sadhana:

DECEMBER 24, GREEN SHAKTI

The sadhana of day four is to draw forth the vibration of joy and harmony that comes from music, art, drama and the dance. Family, relatives and friends gather for satsanga to share and enjoy their artistic gifts. When the program is over, all sit together before Pancha Ganapati, Patron of the Arts and Guardian of Culture, discussing Hindu Dharma and making plans to bring more cultural refinements into each household. More gifts are placed before Lord Ganapati.

Since there will be no new TAKA tomorrow, we bring you the final installment of the guidelines for the Sadhana of Day Five:

DECEMBER 25, ORANGE SHAKTI

The family sadhana for the final day of Pancha Ganapati is to bring forth love and harmony within all three worlds. Because of sadhanas well performed during the first four days, the family is now more open and aware of Ganesha’s Grace, and their love for Him is now overflowing. On this day the entire family experiences an outpouring of love and tranquility from the great God Himself. His blessings fill the home and the hearts of everyone within it, inspiring them anew for the coming year. This exchange of affection between all members of the family and the Lord is invoked and perpetuated through the day by performing five special pujas. The first puja is at 6AM. Before the puja, personal offering trays are prepared and placed before His shrine. After the puja, each one gives verbal testimony about prayers that were answered during the past year. Hearing testimonies strengthens the faith of everyone. Then vows of sacrifice can be verbally made. Vows should improve the quality of the life of the individual, such as giving up smoking or correcting other harmful habits.

The second puja is at 9AM, and the third at 12 noon. The fourth puja is held at 3PM. At 6PM the fifth and final puja of the day is held. These five pujas to Pancha Ganapati solicit help from His devas in the home and establish the patterns for improvement in family life. The overflowing love that is felt today will inspire generosity in the year to come, bringing in return abundance and good fortune. All gifts received during the day are placed unopened before Pancha Ganapati.

The evening puja, held at six o’clock, is the long-awaited time. The five sadhanas have been completed. Peace, love and harmony among everyone have been restored. After the puja and before the great feast that follows, Lord Panchamukha Ganapati Himself gives His final darshana and prasada to one and all. Gifts are distributed and joyously opened. Happy children. Happy parents. Happy God.

Giving appreciation is one of the great keys to infusing our social and community life with spiritual energies. Gurudeva always taught us that the expressions of love, should be more than lip service, but shown through real giving… Our Wailua Mission decided to show their appreciation for the Silpis and invited them to the mission house for a special treat.

He writes:

“The families of the Wailua Mission are so inspired by our silpis and during Pancha Ganapathi we wanted to do something for them as they are separated from their families….”

” We hosted them to a
dinner with a broadway play recorded for TV …”

” and then a sit down dinner with waiters and busboys.”

The “Royal Treatment”

An experience they will never forget…

The meal was tops: Pumpkin soup to start served with papadams, followed by biryani, with tomato kulumbo, banana flower curry, fried chilies, coriander chutney, coconut chutney, cabbage pachati, closing with swiss mocha cappuccino with vanilla almond cake.

and many inspired cooks.

We collected gifts for them and honored them for the most wonderful job they are doing in building Iraivan with their whole heart and soul.

The silpis told us later “We have enough chocolate and candy to last us through next year…”

Over-joyed…

These men would normally never see this kind of treat, They said, “In India, this kind of “real” chocolate is found only in the Five Star hotels.”

Pancha Ganapati cards are pouring in from outside. This is perhaps our favorite….

And tomorrow is the Big Day when we open all the gifts! Yay! I can’t wait…. 😉

Saroja Devi Manickam from Colorado says to everyone:

“Happy Pancha Ganapati”

Tomorrow is a full moon day also, very auspicious.

We will see you all again on Sun One.

Om Pancha Ganapataye Namaha!

Yogi Japendranatha called and left a messages saying that the teachings sessions were going well in Malaysia, that Bodhinatha and Sannyasin Yoginathaswami were “in great form and the participants were really loving every minute…” Here’s today’s schedule:

DECEMBER 24, FRI, DAY SIX, TELUK BATIK (Sun 4)

• 7:30am General session (4 of 8; Topic: Mind)
• 10:00am Special workshop for teachers (4 of 5)
• 11:00am Special workshop for newcomers (4 of 6; Topic: Lord
• Murugan; Readings: Dancing with Siva; Bodhinatha: Talk on Lord Murugan)
• 12:00pm Lunch and break
• 2:00pm General session (5 of 8; Topic: Nature of God and Soul)
• 4:00pm Break/recreation
• 7:30pm Program at big Ganesha Temple in Sitiawan. Bodhinatha gives a talk. Big crowd expected.

At home… gifts are piling up in front our of jade Pancha Ganapati… lots of chocolates! 😉

Sadhaka Dandapani (behind the camera) and Sadhaka Jivanandanatha continued their rounds today, going to various community members and associates.

One highlight was yesterday’s meeting with Kauai’s Honorable Mayor Bryan Baptiste, when we handed over “End Kauai’s Ice Age” anti-drug campaign bumper stickers that were engineered by the monks. Actually one of Gurudeva’s old Himalayan Academy students in California, Kumar (Alex) Hunter, has been silk screening these at his Imprints Products facility and sending them here. The monks cut them up and delivered them. They are special because they don’t fade in the sun.. and are a big hit. We know Alex, who made these bumper stickers, and has been for several years, doesn’t surf the internet, so if any of our California members would like to pay him a surprise visit as a fun Pancha Ganapati “secret mission” you can drop into his shop one day at

Imprint Products
733 S. Claremont St.
San Mateo, CA 94402

Or just give him a phone call to say hello and thank him for helping with Gurudeva’s mission work on Kauai. Ask for “Alex” at 650-349-5723. And if you need any quality silk screened imprinted products Alex is a top craftsman in this field!

Just in from Seattle: Pancha Ganapati at the Nitya Nadesan home. Nitya says “There are five images of Ganesha on the altar…”

In the next issue of Hinduism Today we have an article on the on-going controversy and struggles surrounding the Swastika. Asians want to restore the ancient symbol to its former glorious cultural position as a symbol of divine auspiciousness. Meanwhile it’s use by Hitler has tarnished it, some say, beyond redemption… read about it in the next issue… a very interesting subject.

Sannyasin Natarajnathaswami put his skilled artistic hand to work using computer graphics… to render a very “benevolent” looking version. It’s still a work in progress…

It is Thursday in Malaysia and the Himalayan Academy Study Retreat goes into full gear. Here is today’s schedule there.:

DECEMBER 23 THURS DAY FIVE TELUK BATIK (Sun 3)

• 7:30am: General session (2 of 8; Topic: Yamas and Niyamas)
• 10:00am: Special workshop for teachers (2 of 5)
• 11:00am: Special workshop for newcomers (2 of 6; Topic: Caste in the Modern World; Readings: Hinduism Today: 10 Questions, Living with Siva: Ancestor Worship lesson 241,
• 12:00pm: Lunch and break
• 2:00pm: General session (3 of 8; Topic: Four Padas)
• 4:00pm: Program at small Sri Manjung Shiva Temple for Purnami pradosha puja
• 6:00pm: Special workshop for teachers (3 of 5)
• 7:00pm: Special workshop for newcomers (3 of 6; Topic: Lord Ganesha s Importance; Readings: Loving Ganesha, Creed #4, Dancing with Siva sloka 22 and 23; Presentation by Bodhinatha
• 8:00pm: Dinner

For our monastery’s Pancha Ganapati shrine, we added a table below to hold the gifts as they arrive. The latest gift is from one of the monk’s family in California. Chocolates from the famed Ghiradelli Square in San Franscisco.

Being Day 2 of Pancha Ganapati, (see below) Sadhaka Dandapani and Sadhaka Jivanandanatha are out driving all over Kauai giving away honey bears to all we know.

“December 22, blue: Day two is devoted to creating a vibration of love and harmony among neighbors, relatives and close friends and presenting them with heartfelt gifts. The sadhana of the day is to offer apologies and clear up any misunderstandings that exist. Relatives and friends in far-off places are written to or called, forgiveness is sought, apologies made and tensions released. Gifts received are placed unopened before Pancha Ganapati.”

For those who are unfamiliar with this festival Here is another article on Pancha Ganapati that appear in Hinduism Today

Today many families continued to visit Kauai Aadheenam during this busy holiday travel season.

There were so many that we couldn’t capture them all on camera, but here are a few photos of three of the families vacationing from mainland USA, plus a fourth couple we didn’t get the names of.

Girish and Chaya Bhatt from Minnesota, Sreenivas and Radhika Reddy family from Illinois and Raj and Sapna Reddy family from Ohio.

They all enjoyed the standard Iraivan Temple tour which also included hugging our healing rudraksha trees

…and visiting our huge Dakshinamurthi.

Afterwards they visited our Minimela giftshop…

One family bought Gurudeva’s trilogy of Dancing, Living, and Merging with Siva as a gift for their temple priest back home.

A new holiday destination for US Hindus… Kauai Aadheenam….

Dasan Mahadevan sends us photos and captions from Pancha Ganapati celebrations among shishya in Southern California.

“Ganesha loved in style.”

Shrine room prior to puja

Just before puja, Ganesa with flower offerings

Ganesa in entry alcove, welcoming guests

Damara’s granddaughters having fun playing with Santosha the cockatoo

Puja in home of Shakti and Dasan…

Sadhunathan & Dasan after puja

Happy Saivites-Damara Shanmugan & Chudika

Sadhunathan taking pictures after puja.

Dasan Mahadevan as Sadhunathan s pujari assistant

Ushdevi Katir holding up her handmade ceramic AUM given to her by Chudika Mahadevan. Chudika handcrafted one for everyone present.

Nadesan’s Pancha Ganapati shrine…

As we write today, it is Wednesday in Malaysia, and Bodhinatha is on a bus going north from Kuala Lumpur to Teluk Batik, which is a coastal area, one of Malaysia’s naval ports and seaside retreat area where the Himalayan Academy Study Retreat is being held… beginning this evening in Malaysia. In fact, as we write, Yogi Japendranatha is calling in from a highway rest stop.

Go here for a quick look at the retreat location.

The study retreat, entitled “Gurudeva’s Essential Teachings” is broken up into different sections for long time sishya, teachers and new people. 75 have enrolled in the 5 day program which qualifies as an “intensive” with a total of 28 hours of presentations during that period. Here is today’s schedule.

DECEMBER 22 WED DAY FOURKL/TELUK BATIK (Sun 2)

7:30am Drive north by bus
12:00pm Lunch at Muniandy home (20 minutes from Teluk Batik resort)
2:00 Continue on to Teluk Batik hotel (15-20 minutes drive from town)
3:00 Welcome gathering: Ganesha puja, retreat overview
4:00 General session (1 of 8; Topic: Hindu Temple)
6:00 Break
6:30 Special workshop for teachers (1 of 5)
7:30 Special workshop for newcomers (1 of 6; Topic:
Four Denominations; Reading: HT Insight Section;
Presentation by Bodhinatha)
8:30 Dinner

At the Aadheenam our younger monks did a beautiful job setting up a Pancha Ganapati Shrine in the courtyard. The center piece is a huge solid jade Pancha Ganapati that recently arrived from India.

Go here for more information on this popular new December Hindu festival. (scroll down the page…)

Our first gifts arrived… brand new hand made hot pan holders for the kitchen. What a needed and practical gift! Our old ones certainly needed replacement. Thank you!

Gokul and Priyanka continue their pilgrimage here at our Aadheenam and today we shared with them about the Pancha Ganapati festival. Here they are with Sadhaka Jothinatha next to the wonderfully decorated shrine with its jade Pancha Ganapati.

Though it looks black in the photo, it is actually a dark green.

Each day of Pancha Ganapati is a time for bringing through one of the five shaktis of Lord Ganesha. Here is Gurudeva’s description for today’s sadhana.

DECEMBER 21, YELLOW

The family sadhana for the first day of Pancha Ganapati is to create a vibration of love and harmony among immediate family members. The day begins early, and the entire family works together to design and decorate the shrine with traditional symbols, rangoli, lamps and more. Then a grand puja is performed invoking the spirit of Pancha Ganapati in the home. The sadhana of the day now begins. The family sits together for the purpose of easing any strained relationships that have arisen during the year. They make amends one with another for misdeeds performed, insults given, mental pain and injuries caused and suffered. When forgiveness is offered to all by one and all, they speak of each other’s good qualities and resolve that in the days ahead they will remember the futility of trying to change others and the practicality of changing oneself to be the silent example for all to witness. Gifts are then exchanged and placed unopened before Pancha Ganapati. As family harmony is important to all Hindus, this sadhana must be taken very seriously.”

Incidentally, this jade Ganesha will be for sale after this festival. If you want to purchase this blessed Ganesha please email Sadhaka Jivanandanatha at jiva@hindu.org.

Yashvant Patel and family are from New Jersey. They are devotees of Swami Narayanan and Yashvant was at the opening of the Swami Narayanan temple in Houston and heard Bodhinatha’s talk there. They are also subscribers to Hinduism Today.

Ravi and wife, Sandhya, with children Priyanka and Aneesh were among our many Hindu guests today. It is citrus season at the Aadheenam and the our trees are full of fruits. Aneesh, for the first time in his life, had the experience of picking a grapefruit from a real tree… .

The big news is that Bodhinatha is off to Malaysia for the “Gurudeva’s Essential Teachings” Himalayan Academy Study Retreat. Here we are stepping back two days ago to the first day of our retreat when Bodhinatha departed for the airport.

Sannyasin Yoginathaswami and Yogi Japendranatha are going with Bodhinatha on the mission.

Here is Yogi Japendranatha with the study materials he prepared. Though the away team did not take computers, Yogi managed a quick note from an internet cafe in Taipei, saying they enjoyed a good rest overnight in Honolulu then a loooong flight to Taipei and another overnight there. They were waiting for their flight to KL and Bodhinatha was busy making brainstorming notes… Now, as we write they should be arriving in Malaysia any moment.

All the monks gather to bid the team farewell. It is a retreat day and many of the monks are dressed in their “greens.” (work clothes) and are outside working on carpentry, landscaping and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather.

Muruganathaswami (left) handles travel arrangements… Final check: “Passports? Boarding Passes? All Set?”

We will update you on the progress of the study retreat in the days to come.

Back up to the moment… today was Sun One. Saravananathaswami performs the homa.

Paramacharya Palaniswami presides and burns all the prayers…

The monks in alert attention…

Palaniswami shared with everyone the details of Bodhinatha’s teaching program… It’s great to see Himalayan Academy’s educational programs coming to life in such a dynamic way….

For several years, Shankar Nathan, a Kauai resident who is a budding new film producer, has been working on a documentary film for the Iraivan temple. This is a great contribution to the helping build up the “awareness” level of the Iraivan temple. In it he has wonderful interviews with Gurudeva and architect V. Ganapati Sthapati and others, and dramatic computer graphics which explore the meaning of major elements of the structure.

Shankar’s “editorial angle” is to focus on South Indian architecture as the over-riding theme. With this as the dominant concept, the 45-minute documentary can make its way into the mainstream, and thereby broaden the global awareness of this amazing project in the middle of the Pacific. It is Shankar’s intention to enter the film in several film festivals, and to have it played on educational TV to inform the world about this profound vision of God’s home on the Earth.

He is in India today with his family, but just before departing he completed the final editing and presented it to the monastery, with a big smile on his face. While in India the past few weeks, he has been working hard on the web site and distribution, as well as on designs for marketing, press releases and such. This morning he sent us a note to announce that a “movie trailer” to showcase the DVD is now available. We highly recommend, even if you have a slow modem connection, that you download the trailer to your hard drive and then watch it. There is a low-res and a high-res version online. This mini-movie, less than a minute long, will give you a good sense of his documentary, which may be the first ever to reveal the mystical science of South Indian temple building which Iraivan represents.

Don’t miss it and watch for more coming announcements about where to get the DVD when it is finally released for public distribution early next year. Those who are doing fund raising for Iraivan will want to make a point to explore all the links on the site and start giving some thought on how to put this excellent resource to work in your community.

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www.islandfolks.com | www.iraivan.org
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Shankar, we all thank you for the incredible time and sacrifices you have made to get this done. May the Lord of Iraivan send all His blessings for the future success of Island Folks Media Productions!

Gokul and Priyanka continue their pilgrimage here at Kauai Aadheenam. Gokul attended the morning 6am homa and expressed that he thoroughly enjoyed it. They returned later this morning and walked the grounds, visiting the swayambhu lingam.

As we expected the flow of pilgrims taking the holiday season opportunity to come to Kauai is rising…

Prabhakaran, his wife and daughter, Kritikka, were among our guests today visiting from San Jose in California. When asked what do you like most about this place Kritikka answered “The big statues”.

Kamesh and his wife along with their children Rishi and Ramaa were also visiting Kauai and decided to pay us a visit. They are here from San Jose as well.,

Bimal & Grishma Patel with their children Kanishka and Mayher stand in front of the towering Dhaksinamurthi. Visiting from California it was their first time to our monastery.

The carpentry shop was humming over the retreat with at least 4 projects in the works: Sadhaka Dandapani is upgrading some storage space for the pujaris in Kadavul Temple, Sadhaka Jivanandanatha is making a desk that wil
l accommodate both himself and Bodhinatha when they work together, Sivakatirswami is working on a cabinet for one of the monastic living areas and Kumarswami is helping everyone learn how to use all the tools.

Kumarswami has been spearheading the recycling of many trees that may have had to be cut down, both on and off our property. Rather than just let them go to waste, he has been getting them milled and stacked up. We finally pulled in quite a bit of lumber from the stacks that was dry enough to use, We find that this Java Plum, while providing not much long clear board feet, is really a very incredibly beautiful wood for small scale projects.

Gokul and Priyanka Shanbag from Michigan were among our guests today. They are here for 9 days and plan to come up everyday they said. They were very much impressed by Lord Siva’s island home. After the tour they had a nice meeting with Bodhinatha. You will be seeing more of them in the coming days on TAKA.

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 Sun 1, Dasami Tithi, Monday, December 20th.

Priyanka rises daily at 4 am for one hour meditation, followed by two hours of hatha yoga. During the day she teaches Hatha Yoga.

Bodhinatha said it was rare to have such inwardly oriented pilgrims and he explained to them the meaning of some of the Shum portraits on the walls of the Guru Peedam..

Meanwhile the holiday season has arrived, it was a clear day and we can visualize, looking out over Waialeale today, the hundreds of pilgrims who are in the air, winging their way to Kauai as we speak.

Today was tour day and Sadhaka Dandapani thinks it was “the biggest ever” with over 80 people coming…

Chipping the stones of Iraivan is a big hit for everyone, especially these youngsters.

The temple looks quite awesome with the big new pillars in front.

Hug a rudraksha tree and let the tree heal your heart.

From all walks of life…

and, as expected, aside from he weekly tourist the December season of Hindu family pilgrims is here…

Today two wonderful Hindu families attended the 9am Siva puja and then we showed them out to Iraivan Temple afterwards. They are Upendran, Radhika and Archana Rajan family from Calgary, Canada. And the Subhash and Manju Mittal family from New Jersey, USA.

The Rajan family is part of a small community that received a Ganesha murthi from Gurudeva a few years ago as a first step toward building their own temple. Since then, the murthi has passed from family to family, being worshipped in their homes. Just recently the community finally purchased 50 acres of land and plans to build at least two temples on the land to accommodate the South Indian and Bengali communities.

The Rajans picked up back issues of Hinduism Today, copies of our popular 10 Questions about Hinduism pamphlet and other literature to take back and distribute in Calgary. It’s a small world. Manju Mittal turns out to be the cousin of Mr. Sunil Modi, the man who brings Swami Buaji to Kauai Aadheenam each year for Guru Purnima.

Both families really enjoyed Iraivan Temple, trying their hand at carving some stone..

Careful, don’t hit your fingers!

… then hugging our rudraksha trees to release their cares into the tree, visiting our Umbrella Ganesha…

Dakshinamurthi pradakshina (circumambulation)

Subhash (center) is an avid student of Gurudeva’s Master Course lessons. He’s been studying them for a few years and was proud to say that he has all 365 email lessons. He personally likes Merging with Siva the most because it is the most profound. He also buys extra copies of Dancing with Siva to give to friends as gifts.

Then we took them to perform their own abhishekam to our Narmada Sivalingam

Om Nama Sivaya!

Tomorrow, Bodhinatha, Sannyasin Yoginathaswami and Yogi Japendranatha depart for Honolulu, will be there overnight, then one night in Taipei and then arriving in Malaysia for a 6 day Himalayan Academy Study Retreat, entitled “Gurudeva’s Essential Teachings”

This is the image on the cover of the study materials packet.

The packet includes recent educational materials we have printed… “Visiting a Hindu Temple” “Karma Management” and more materials specific to the program: The Three Phases of Mind, Letters from Lord Ganesha, The Twenty Seven Chakras.

Yogi worked really hard getting all the materials together on time and the 85 participants who have signed up can look forward to a rich program.