Here it is: the long-awaited videocast of the Second Interfaith Dialogue of the Permian Basin, held on February 28, 2012, at the First Baptist Church of Midland, Texas.
Emcee: Russell Meyers, CEO, Midland Memorial Hospital
Speaking for First Baptist Church: Dr. Randel Everett
Speaking for Temple Beth El, Odessa: Rabbi Holly Levin Cohn
Speaking for Kauai’s Hindu Monastery: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Speaking for St. Stephens Catholic Church, Midland: Monsignor James Bridges
Speaking for Masjid Al-Qur’an and Masjid Al-Islam, Houston: Imam Wazir Ali
This year’s panelists each spoke on the perspective of their faith on questions regarding the singular non-negotiable truth of their faith, the role of women in their faith, the practices that members of their faith perform in the home, their personal view on capital punishment and how their faith values diversity and looks at the idea that the whole world is one family.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGT_PE3-lXI

The Guru Chronicles was officially released in Toronto. The event took place in the Sri Varasiddhi Vinayagar Hindu Temple of Toronto. The temple is owned by Sivasri Vijaykumar Kurukkal. He requested that Bodhinatha come early for the puja. The temple event and the book release here were coordinated by Siva Markandu and his family. They also took care of the book sale and literature distribution. Thiru Sivayogapathy did the promotional work and our main coordinator for our visit to Toronto as always is Thiru Satkunendran.

When a Sivabhaktar in India recently received a gifted mala made of Kauai-grown Rudraksha seeds, she was moved to wonder, "Siva, why are you crying those fabled tears?" She wrote a poem we share today: Beads Wet, Beads Sweet "Why do You cry?" I asked Him "Why are there tears in Your eye?" The Lord of lords the Life of our lives the Word in sound the Dance in movement the Everything in nothing the All in all looked at me and in Silence said - "I gave you all everything all of you hold all of me and yet something makes you forget who you are where you come from and, where you are going. You choose to suffer when you could celebrate You choose to resent when you could rejoice You choose to resist when you could accept And then you complain incoherently beg and plead for liberation! Who ties you down? Where are your bonds? Who created the shackles that hold you back? I feel your pain even before you sense it It hurts me so I cry to see my gifts wasted and thrown away! My Third Eye flashes and I see your future misery should you hold to your habits of yore Open your eyes, awake Let your senses do what they were given to do Step away and stand aside, out of your own way Align your will with Mine All will be well, as it always is Let my tears wash away the debris collected from births before Stand fresh and clean in the moment and you will see the smile, the smile in my Other eye!" Aum Namah Sivaya Sivaya Namah Aum! Our March 2012 news video covers events in February 2012, including the festivals of Thai Pusam and Mahasivaratri, progress on Iraivan Temple carving in India, an interfaith event Bodhinatha spoke at in West Texas, and the translation of Lemurian Scrolls into Russian. httpvh://youtu.be/2YgyP3hNlKI

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami reads his editorial from the Apr/May/Jun 2012 edition of Hinduism Today magazine. Progressing from our instinctive to intellectual to spiritual nature, our soul unfolds to resplendence like a beautiful lotus. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrtqSzjreLc

While in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Bodhinatha gave his 2012 temple presentation at numerous temples, including the new Hindu Temple of Greater Fort Worth, which meets currently in a room in a strip mall until their new temple is built, and the Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Frisco. The Fort Worth temple committee were our hosts. The Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple is under the auspices of Sri Ganapati Saccchidananda Swami of Mysore, though it was actually the local Gujarati Samaj that invited Bodhinatha to speak to their group and had arranged for the lecture to take place at the Hanuman temple. There are so many temples and groups in the D/FW area, it's quite amazing!

Also in Dallas is the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. Bodhinatha is frequently invited to speak at BAPS mandirs worldwide, owing to a sense of brotherhood between our two monastic orders. One of the sadhus of their North America headquarters didn't miss the chance to invite Bodhinatha to speak to their Dallas congregation. Their grihastha men gave us the grand tour of their impressive new 80,000 square foot facility in Irving, right next to the DFW airport. Along with a mandir and satsang hall, there are extensive classrooms, full residences for priests and visiting sadhus, dining facilities and even a full size basketball court, 11 buildings in all, all combined under one roof. They have plans to build a traditional stone mandir in the next few years, like the one the fellowship has in Houston. Bodhinatha was warmly received and enjoyed the visit.

Since arriving earlier this week from Austin, Bodhinatha and Senthilnathaswami have criss-crossed the huge Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex several times, going from event to event, meeting to meeting.

First upon arriving on Tuesday evening was a meeting with the board of directors of the up and coming Hindu Temple of Greater Fort Worth. There are no temples west of Arlington, and this strong group is working hard to create one here on the outskirts of the west side of the metroplex because it can typically take an hour or more to get from here to any of the other temples. This dedicated group is our host, bringing Bodhinatha back to Fort Worth for the third time in three years. With each visit, as their temple project progresses, they ask Bodhinatha for more and more advice on topics ranging from how to situate the murtis in the temple, to what other kinds of facilities to build on their 17 acre parcel, to how to manage various aspects of the project and issues that arise in the process. They have officially asked Bodhinatha to be the temple's guiding guru, which he accepted. In his presence, the board officially signed over part of the land to the temple that they have been holding in a trust until now.

On Wednesday we drove to Plano for a live interview with Karishma Himatsinghani on her popular internet radio station, RadioKarishma. The interview covered a variety of interesting topics and will be replayed frequently in the coming weeks. Tune in to find out when. You can even download her station's free iOS app, called "Karishma," and listen on the go! Conversation with her and her husband afterward included an informative discussion about Internet radio and mobile apps, something the monastery may venture into with our vast library of audio content in the years ahead.

On Thursday evening we drove all the way out to Richardson to the beautiful, recently constructed University of Texas Dallas campus to meet with the branch of the Hindu Students Association there. In a discussion and advice-giving format, they asked Bodhinatha lots of questions about the four stages of life (ashramas), especially the brahmacharya ashram and how their duties and focus of life will change over time, as well as other topics, including details of reincarnation and karma. The group was especially engaged and truly enjoyed their time speaking with Bodhinatha directly about their concerns and questions.

On Wednesday night, the full moon in the month of Phalguna, Bodhinatha was invited to attend the Holika bonfire and give a talk at the Dallas Fortworth Hindu Temple, the original temple in the area, right in the middle of the metroplex. This now large temple has extensive facilities, including classrooms, halls, yajnashalas, apartments for six priests and their families, living facilities for the elderly, and more. Hundreds come for darshan in the multi-Deity temple every day, and 800 children attend classes each weekend, using their custom curriculum in Hinduism and many Indian languages. This temple, dubbed the "Ekta Mandir," is also referred to as the "Mother Temple" because it sends a delegation to every new temple group that starts up anywhere in the metroplex, offering guidance, assistance and a healthy donation to get them started.

Last weekend Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami was the honored guest at the Hindu Temple of Central Texas in the town of Temple. (After experiencing some awkwardness every time we told people that Bodhinatha was speaking "at the temple in Temple," we learned that all the Hindus in central and northern Texas refer to this sanctuary simply and affectionately as "Temple Texas.")

About 35 people came to the talk, which is close to the 50 devotees the temple usually draws for its Sunday ceremonies. This young temple has beautiful Agamic style construction and ornamentation, and the vibration is palpable. The main Deity is Omkara Mahaganapati. If you live in Austin, Dallas or are driving between the two, we highly recommend visiting this temple to receive Ganesha's blessings.

There is a strong contingent here from the South of India and the North of Sri Lanka, including Gankeyan Kanthasamy from Jaffna. We learned that he attended Yogaswami's Sivathondan Nilayam in Jaffna every week as a child. As soon as we started talking about our parampara, he brightened up and listened close. He and others cherished a gift that Bodhinatha made of one copy of The Guru Chronicles for the temple library.

The talk also spontaneously turned into a book signing, as many of the devotees rushed to the back of the hall to purchase copies of The Guru Chronicles and then lined up to have Bodhinatha sign them before they departed.