Bodhinatha has been working on the 3-year publication plans for the Ganapati Kulam and today the monthly Publisher’s Desk meeting was held with the Hinduism Today team which has just completed the January-March 2005 issue of Hinduism Today. Today’s meeting looked forward to the April issue. Some interesting plans in the works: more educational literature and a new emphasis on providing teaching tools for teacher and parents. We may send our Delhi correspondent, Rajiv Malik on assignment to Bali to cover a youth conference there and get more stories while he is there.

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 Navami Tithi, Sun One, Saturday, November 6th

Kulapati Shyamadeva Dandapani and Kulamata Peshanidevi sign papers to initiate a new fund in the Hindu Heritage Endowment.

This is a book distribution fund to help pay for the distribution of books other than the Trilogy which are already fund set up for free distribution of books.

Being the last day of our phase. It was tour day and we had this joyful crowd.

Speaking of tours. We want to thank Inder Mirchandani from Honolulu for sending a series of photos that are like a “walk through Kauai Aadheenam.” After finishing TAKA, come back here and click over to our tour page and then click the link to the slide show we created with his photos.

The new roof on Kauai Aadheenam main building is going up fast. It is a lovely green color…

Potagais being place on top of pillars at Iraivan.

Potriyan Sivanathan from Malaysia has come on task force for a month. We have known him since he was still a baby in his mother’s arms. Today he’s a full grown intelligent 15-year old and is really proving to be a great help. In the mornings he has been serving in the Ganapati Kulam this phase and he helps the Siddhidata Kulam in the afternoon. Today he assists with the raising of stones…

We will let the rest of the image speak for themselves… see you next phase!

Our monastic vows have many gems that can be taken as spiritual goals, not only for monks but for any sincere aspirant on the path of inner transformation. This excerpt from the Vow of Humility, is instructive for all:

“Humility is the state of profound maturity in which the soul, immersed in the depths of understanding and compassion, radiates the qualities of mildness, modesty, reverent obeisance and unpretentiousness. There is an analogy in the Saivite tradition that compares the unfolding soul to wheat. When young and growing, the stalks of wheat stand tall and proud, but when mature their heads bend low under the weight of the grains they yield. Similarly, man is self-assertive, arrogant and vain only in the early stages of his spiritual growth. As he matures and yields the harvest of divine knowledge, he too bends his head. In the Tamil language this absence of pride or self-assertion is known as pannivu. Pannivu also means “jewel.” In the Holy Kural it is said that “Humility and pleasant words are the jewels that adorn a man; there are none other.”

Humility does not consist in concealing our merits and virtues or in thinking ourselves as worse or more ordinary than we are. Nor is it a pretended meekness. Rather it lies in not exalting ourselves before others, for we perceive the grandeur of God Siva in every human being and reverently acknowledge Him there. Humility in this ideal is the awakened perception that “Siva is All.” It is the inner being predominating over the outer nature.

One of the projects in the works is to put Dancing with Siva on the web. What make this edition so remarkable is the large number of exquisite color paintings rendered throughout the book. These graceful works by S. Rajam show us a lifestyle of religious dedication and simplicity. Of course, for the real gold you should get the actual hard bound copy of the book. Dancing with Siva remains our best seller.

Deva Magdelena and her relative from Germany visited our aadheenam this morning. They also had an opportunity to meet with Bodhinatha.

“The seed of liberation lies in the knowledge of the self
The urge to divine love is to hold fast in earnest worship.
The goal of grace is self-forgetting consciousness in Siva.
The way to awarenes is to sink in peace serene.

Beyond subtle matter embodying sevenfold efficient cause,
Beyond immense space of the sevenfold instrumental cause
Freed from the limitation of cause and effect, pervades
The serene beatitude of peace divine.”

— Saint Tirumular

It’s a second dry day in a row! This is the first such series in nearly three months of continuous rains…

What is that bright object up in the sky with all the light coming out of it?

OK.. let’s take a walk to the Pilliyar Kulam information center at the front of the property at 107 Kaholalele Road. Sadhaka Jothinatha who is the advertising manager for Hinduism Today is also a landscape artisan and done a beautiful job outside the office… it is really an inspiration to walk down the path…

The offices have been completely renovated. The inside of the building was torn down to the bare walls and floor, repairs made to the base structure and then patched, repainted, new carpets and.. wow! is it clean and fresh!

What an actinic vibration!

This complete make over was the inspiration of Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami, current Talaivar of the Pilliyar Kulam…

Here he is with Sadhaka Jivananadanatha. Both of them are “super brains” and manage our data base programming, online shopping sites, the international distribution of Hinduism Today, subscriptions, Hindu Heritage Endowment, accounting, sales of retails items, the mini-mela, imports from India, rudraksha sales, outreach to new contacts with free copies of Hinduism Today and other literature, the weekly town trip and purchasing for the Aadheenam… the list goes on and on!

We really have to thank them for all the self-less service they do to keep take care of all the tedious business side of Saiva Siddhanta Church and Himalayan Academy, Hindu Heritage Endowment and Hinduism Today. Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami has big plans for growth…

Siddhidata Kulam Presents!

The Maha Pumpkin Award goes to….

Big Mauritius Pumpkin from Anna Purna Gardens.

Sadhaka Nilakantha says, “Quick, take the photo… I can hardly hold on to this giant… it weighs 50 pounds!”

We could only use the top third of the pumpkin for today’s lunch… The inside has a 3 inch thick layer of nutrious flesh… amazing…

This is one of our “viewing stations”… the southwest corner of the area around Iraivan, under the Rudraksha trees we can get a good perspective shot of the temple progress.

Lots of small stones and beams.. and lumber from the crates which is providing a valuable resource for Aadheenam building projects.

More beams…

Back at the Aadheenam, Bodhinatha and Kumarswami take a moment in the sun to gaze on the progress of the roof renovation…

After several months of very challenging work, Louis Gonzales owner and lead of Anuenue Building Contractors and his team have completed the renovation of the rafters, many requiring replacement, and now have the “fun part” which to apply the new metal roofing.

We have to congratulate Louis and his men for what has been a very difficult, sometimes dangerous job, constantly interrupted by bad weather.. Now they are closing in on the end of the project.

Nature shows us some colors today…

Coy fish in our small ponds

We feed them any left over rice every day….

“The seed of liberation lies in the knowledge of the self
The urge to divine love is to hold fast in earnest worship.
The goal of grace is self-forgetting consciousness in Siva.
The way to awarenes is to sink in peace serene.

Beyond subtle matter embodying sevenfold efficient cause,
Beyond immense space of the sevenfold instrumental cause
Freed from the limitation of cause and effect, pervades
The serene beatitude of peace divine.”

— Saint Tirumular

It’s a second dry day in a row! This is the first such series in nearly three months of continuous rains…

What is that bright object up in the sky with all the light coming out of it?

OK.. let’s take a walk to the Pilliyar Kulam information center at the front of the property at 107 Kaholalele Road. Sadhaka Jothinatha who is the advertising manager for Hinduism Today is also a landscape artisan and done a beautiful job outside the office… it is really an inspiration to walk down the path…

The offices have been completely renovated. The inside of the building was torn down to the bare walls and floor, repairs made to the base structure and then patched, repainted, new carpets and.. wow! is it clean and fresh!

What an actinic vibration!

This complete make over was the inspiration of Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami, current Talaivar of the Pilliyar Kulam…

Here he is with Sadhaka Jivananadanatha. Both of them are “super brains” and manage our data base programming, online shopping sites, the international distribution of Hinduism Today, subscriptions, Hindu Heritage Endowment, accounting, sales of retails items, the mini-mela, imports from India, rudraksha sales, outreach to new contacts with free copies of Hinduism Today and other literature, the weekly town trip and purchasing for the Aadheenam… the list goes on and on!

We really have to thank them for all the self-less service they do to keep take care of all the tedious business side of Saiva Siddhanta Church and Himalayan Academy, Hindu Heritage Endowment and Hinduism Today. Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami has big plans for growth…

Siddhidata Kulam Presents!

The Maha Pumpkin Award goes to….

Big Mauritius Pumpkin from Anna Purna Gardens.

Sadhaka Nilakantha says, “Quick, take the photo… I can hardly hold on to this giant… it weighs 50 pounds!”

We could only use the top third of the pumpkin for today’s lunch… The inside has a 3 inch thick layer of nutrious flesh… amazing…

This is one of our “viewing stations”… the southwest corner of the area around Iraivan, under the Rudraksha trees we can get a good perspective shot of the temple progress.

Lots of small stones and beams.. and lumber from the crates which is providing a valuable resource for Aadheenam building projects.

More beams…

Back at the Aadheenam, Bodhinatha and Kumarswami take a moment in the sun to gaze on the progress of the roof renovation…

After several months of very challenging work, Louis Gonzales owner and lead of Anuenue Building Contractors and his team have completed the renovation of the rafters, many requiring replacement, and now have the “fun part” which to apply the new metal roofing.

We have to congratulate Louis and his men for what has been a very difficult, sometimes dangerous job, constantly interrupted by bad weather.. Now they are closing in on the end of the project.

Nature shows us some colors today…

Coy fish in our small ponds

We feed them any left over rice every day….

When you seek a guru
Seek one who is holy and pure
And then give him your all–
Your body, life and wealth.
Then in constancy learn clearly,
Not a moment distracting.
Surely shall you thus reach Siva’s State.
Placing His Feet on my head,
The Master blesses me. He is holy Guru.
He my Self-Realization works.
He takes the jîva to the state beyond tattvas.
He sunders my bonds. All these he performs–
He that is Truth itself.

Potriyan Sivanathan just arrived from east Malaysia to stay as a guest at Kauai Aadheenam for a month. He will learn more about our monastic life as he serves with the monastics in various capacities and deepens his spiritual studies.

This is Iqbal and Manjit Dhindsa family visiting from Phoenix area in Arizona. It is their daughter’s sixth birthday today…happy birthday! They came to our monastery a few times in the last several days waiting for the right weather and timing to see Iraivan Temple, and it finally happened. They were appreciative of how traditionally the temple is being created.

The older couple in this photo live in Honolulu. They are associated with an Indian art gallery there and had heard about Iraivan Temple and wanted to see it in person. They were very impressed with the magnitude of the temple project.

The temple took a big leap forward today with the raising up of more pillars. It was as if the devas planned for it. After weeks of rainy days, the sun came out today. Perfect cool clear weather for our team.

Just to give you an idea of the extent of our watery blessings..last night on Oahu, they got 3 inches of rain in 45 minutes, 10 inches for the whole 24 hours…

This is a second row of pillars out in front of the main sanctum…

“Down… down… perfect!”

Our Siddhidata Kulam is on the job. Sadhaka Tejadevanatha on site.

“First we need to know, deep inside ourselves, who is the Supreme God. Is He Siva? Is He Vishnu, Krishna, or is She Durga? Having made that determination, we can gather like-minded people together to design and build a temple to our Supreme God. There is no power in a temple to more than one Supreme God, no power at all.”

Gurudeva

“Siva’s followers all believe that religion is the harmonious working together of the three worlds and that this harmony can be created through temple worship, wherein the beings of all three worlds can communicate.”

Shyamadeva Dandapani is here from Alaska… watching the progress with Sadhaka Adinatha.

The morning sun is the best time to take photos, with all the carving highlighted with cross lighting from the east.

Larry Conklin our trust-worthy and expert crane operator… safety is first on his list of priorities.

Another Chitra pillar ….

“My devotees revere Kauai Aadheenam’s San Marga Iraivan Temple as their center of the universe, our Saiva dharmashalas as sites of learning and service, and mission houses as places of study, worship and assembly.”

Gurudeva

Bodhinatha read aloud his Sun One discourse. This is another in the series he is prepared for Mauritius. We got him a new microphone… barely visible from a distance and it works very well.

Morning homa in the temple was conducted as usual… there is not much we can report… it was a quiet day at the Aadheenam… but the inner vibration is very strong.

We bring you a few quotes from our scriptures, the Vedas, that convey the feeling in the temple…

Diffusing glory with your rays,
you have scaled the shining realm of heaven.
By you are supported all things that are,
O God All-Creator, essence all-divine.

Rig Veda X, 170, 4

[speaking of Agni, the God of the Fire Sacrifice….]

With fiery brightness, like a lover of Dawn, he has linked the two worlds with the light of heaven.

He, master and envoy, coming to both worlds,
the herald well-established, great High Priest of men.

To you, dispeller of the night, we come with daily prayer offering to you our reverence.

Maha Spatika lingam…

Lord Hanuman ….

Shanmuganathaswami, talaivar of the Pillaiyar Kulam. He oversees the Hindu Heritage Endowment, the distribution of our books, subscriptions and distribution of Hinduism Today and a lot more… he has recently taken some new initiatives to help with the distribution of our educational literature by incorporating pamphlets into the line of items available at our online store… making it much easier now for people to efficiently order our very popular educational line of pamphlets. Click here for the Ten Questions and watch the site for new items in the days and weeks ahead.

Gurudeva writes in the Holy Orders, his letter of introduction…”THE FIRST PART OF YOUR LIFE WAS LIVED FOR YOURSELF; THE second part will be lived in the service of others, for the benefit of your religion. You have been tried and tested through years of training and challenges and proved yourself worthy to wear the kavi, the orange robes, and to fulfill the illustrious Saiva sannyasin dharma……”

Last night’s sunset over the western mountains…

This magnificent painting by A. Manivel, of Pradosha Siva, was enlarged and now hangs in Kadavul Temple.

The great sayings of Chellappaswami:

Oru Pollappumillai–Intrinsic evil there is not.
Eppavo Mudintha Kariyam–Accomplished is His Will.
Naam Ariyom–We know not.
Muluthum Unmai–All that is, is Truth Absolute.

And the Guru Vaakkiam of Siva Yoga Swami.

Thanai Ari–Know Thyself
Sarvam Sivamayam–Sivam art all.
Summa Iru–Be still.
Ellaam Sivan Seyal–Siva’s Will be done.

END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
Over our coming three-day retreat,
Until Tritya Tithi, Sun One, Saturday, October 30th

About 60 people came for our guest day tour this morning.

Saravananathaswami hosting a Hindu family…

The children think this is the biggest sand box they have ever seen!

Mel Drisko and his wife Jody were among our visitors today. Mel is a Level 1 Master Course Correspondence Student and has been studying Gurudeva’s teachings for some time now. He and his wife are visiting from Colorado. After the tour of our grounds they visited our Hinduism Today offices and learnt how the magazine was being put together.

A family from Chicago area. They heard about us from friends. Amma was impressed with how strong the “Siva vibration” was in Kadavul temple…

We step back to yesterday afternoon to ponder the power of nature… as the rains have arrived again in torrents…

Sadhaka Jivanandanatha on vigil in the temple, takes a quiet moment during the downpour, which seems like it could wash away the world. It is a good time to reflect on the more profound things in life….

from the Holy Orders of Sannyas… a reflection on monastic life..

“…the relinquishment of the transient and illusory in favor of a permanent Reality, the eschewing of a worldly life that one may, by gradual stages of purification, draw inward toward God as Parasiva, Truth Absolute. It is a break with the mundane and a binding unto the Divine. It is the repudiation of the dharma, including the obligations and duties, of the householder and the acceptance of the even more demanding dharma…”

At the temple site the work continues despite the wet weather.

The team has a goal to set up several more pillars and roof beams before the Maha Samadhi week….

The huge weather system passing over us brings sheets of rain that fill the ponds to overflowing… then fade away for a few hours or half a day… only to return again with more thunder..

Sthapati inspects crated pillars that are soon to be raised…

The overflowing ponds are crossing the road to the temple.

And even some field areas, normally covered with grass are under 2 inches of water.. as the land drains off to the Wailua River.

Despite the mud and inconvenience… there is an air of fresh vitality and the fullness of intense prana in the atmosphere that uplifts the spirit.

Shades of the future… as global warming sends more and more water into the atmosphere, more and more will have to come back down… 😉

Bodhinatha enjoyed an indepth darshan today with some pilgrims from Europe.

Chandraprakash, Sabitadevi and their daughter Jaya Prashanti are on pilgrimage from the Netherlands. They were here yesterday for a tour of Iraivan Temple and today they returned for the 9am Siva puja.

They had a wonderful meeting with Bodhinatha. Sabitadevi previously prepared very insightful 10 questions and drew out some excellent answers
from Bodhinatha. This always helps to make the brief time with the Satguru useful. In fact, Gurudeva used to ask devotees who requested to see him to first write down at least 5 questions, as often their mind would go blank when in his presence.

We are in the midst of a 4-day tropical storm. There was a slight lull during the early part of the day… just time enough for our pilgrims to enjoy San Marga…

But last night we had thunder and lightening all night long and continuous rains.. and as we write now, late in the afternoon… it’s raining again heavily outside…. the plants just love this alternation between sun and rain…

After their meeting with Bodhinatha they visited the Narmada Sivalingam.

The whole family performed a milk abhishekam for Siva while chanting “Aum Namasivaya.”

Three-year old Jaya Prashanti was wonderful to watch. She knew exactly what to do.

Her mother said she joins them everyday in worship in their home shrine.

Then they visited the Swayambhu lingam …

…and sat before Siva to do some japa. They said they will be back tomorrow and the day after and if they could they would stay!

Jim Levin and Natalie came today. Mr. Levin has been instrumental in pursuing the fulfillment of Gurudeva’s vision for the Kauai Aloha Endowment.

Natalie is an artist and did these portraits of Gurudeva.

A limited number of prints will be made available during the up-and-coming Maha Samadhi observances.

Paramacharya Ceyonswami…talaivar of the Lambodara Kulam that oversees the temple, the monks health care, astrology, the meals, the birds… He spends nearly every day of each phase doing the Nitya Siva puja vigil in the temple from 9 am to noon and has been doing this for many, many years….keeping the center of our religious and spiritual life at the Aadheenam strong and steady.

This morning Mr. Drew Stave visited for the first time. He is a public defender working in the islands of American Samoa in the South Pacific. A friend referred him to our organization and he has been studying the information and teachings on our website for a while. He is deeply interested in Hinduism and will shortly become a formal student of our Himalayan Academy Master Course Correspondence Study. He was happy to meet Bodhinatha in person and ask questions about daily spiritual routine, meditation focuses and more.

One of our pilgrims, Ashvin Rajpara, came to Kauai in May with his wife Bina. They have known Gurudeva for 20 years, and when he went back he was inspired to send us a Siva painting he did. It contains the elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Akasha. We share it with everyone today….

It’s another quiet day at the Aadheenam, though we had some more rain with gentle thunder in the background… it feels very much like the picture you see here….

Our Pillaiyar Kulam gave a long report during lunch on their activities today. Shanmuganathaswami detailed advancements of various funds of the Hindu Heritage Endowment. One of these is the Kauai Aadheenam Yagam Fund, which will fund the cost of food at major festivals at the Aadheenam. He shared plans for distributing old editions of the trilogy to libraries and through discounted sales, plans for book promotion, and new modes of distribution of our educational literature at rock bottom prices by making these available through our internet store.

You can get copies of the now world renowned, 16-page Ten Questions pamphlet for just 50 cents each plus shipping! They are offered in 10 packs at US$5.00 per pack (plus shipping.) to here:store.himalayanacademy.com

The Pillaiyar kulam has also been working on various pages that will appear in the next issue of Hinduism Today. Sadhaka Jothinatha has been preparing all the ads for publication in the next issue. Sadhaka Jivanandanatha has been deep into information technology, programming more accounting modules in our 4th Dimension database to make his life easier and more efficient.

It is a quite day at home, Bodhinatha is catching up on his various projects after having been traveling for a while. Our publication team is focused on the final week of Hinduism Today, January 2005 issue production.

Kris, a dear friend of Gurudeva’s who lives on the island visited us today with her mother and 2 children. Kris first met Gurudeva in the 70’s. Kris’s mother is visiting from Southern California and she enjoyed seeing all the beautiful plants.

Here they are in front of Iraivan with Shanmugam Sthapati.

Kris’s daughter, Katlan, was impressed with this hand-carved temple especially the lion pillar with that big granite ball in the lion’s mouth.