Aum Namah Sivaya

This last month, the monastery's small parking lot at the Sacred Rudraksha Forest has been seeing some changes. The fencing along the forest itself is being improved and larger plans await the fence line where the small parking lot meets the former cow pasture, which now houses Lord Hanuman's 13-foot Bronze Statue. We will soon be extending the parking lot into the field, as the beginnings of what will be a future parking area for Iraivan Temple Pilgrims. Aum.

Om Namah Sivaya

Recently, Suresh and Shanthi from LA visited Kauai Aadheenam on pilgrimage. While here, they had the opportunity to do some seva in the Media Studio. In the Studio's "Cedar Room," there exists a wall of 1008 Siva Lingams from Ma Ganga in India. Cleaning these many little Lingams can be a massive job and must be done on a regular basis. Thankfully, the Muttulingam's had already started the process of cleaning them the week before. Aum.

Om Namah Sivaya

For the past three weeks Chandipati and his father have been on Kauai enjoying the Aadheenam's taskforce program. They've been staying in a nearby house and coming to the monastery each day to live like the monks. Today marks the last full day of their stay. Chandipati took his brahmacharya vrata and expressed his interest if a future monastic life. He's like to be called "Brahmachari" now. Here's his report of his stay:

"While on Taskforce, you get to do many fun things. Have conversations with the monks, eat with the monks, climb trees, etc. (you might get to drive a small vehicle like a Cushman or a Ranger. Maybe even some big vehicles-like a Tacoma Truck). It's very fun when you get to help the monks with the tasks they need to get done. Especially if you want to get stronger. You probably get to lift drainage pipes. I got to clean the 1,008 Siva Lingams with my dad the day before and on Mahashivarathri. A task which sounds worse than it was. By the time of me writing this, I climbed 15-20 small Noni plants to pick high-up fruits. They were the fruits of labor. (or more specifically Saravananathaswami's, Arumuganathaswami's, my dad's, and my labor) It was worth it when Doug and I (Doug is one of the workers for the grounds. They are lucky to have him. He is very kind.) got to help with the barrel cleaner by helping the Noni fruits get put into buckets. Every time a fruit fell out of the fruit washer I got to throw the fruit back in. It was usually a particularly hard throw. Also when we were done, I got to throw the stragglers as hard as I wanted over the fence for the cows to eat.

"About a week ago the monks in the Siddhidatta Kulam installed drainage pipes for the Annaporna garden. After it rains here (Which is many times. When we were installing the pipes it even rained a bit) the water would go off the drains on top of the high tunnels. This erodes the soil beneath and ruins the soil the monks use for gardening. Their fix was installing pipes to lead the rain water from the drain pipes to Narmada Stream to Wailua River. The Wailua River goes to the ocean. Then, the water from the ocean evaporates, it rains, and this process repeats. We owe a special thanks to the Hawaii government for providing around half the funds for this project. The branch of government that provided these funds was the National Resource Conservation Service, and they don't want the soil to erode. This will help the island to have better soil if everybody does this process. The government wanted to get the ball rolling with the monks, so everyone can do what the monks are doing and preserve the agricultural land in the island of Kauai better.

"Here's an example of the schedule we followed while here.
Phase days are the days that we work. Retreat days are the days we get a break. There are 5 retreat days in this "vacation." Including 2 half day retreats where we work to the first of the day and then go home to relax.

A.M. Phase Day, Hawaii time
4:30-5:30 = Wake up, shower, get ready, walk mile to temple
5:30-6:00 = Siva Puja
6:00-7:00 = Religious Class with me, my dad, and a swami
7:00-8:00 = Breakfast (I am a slow eater)
8:00-8:30 = Morning Meeting
8:30-12:30 (12:30 P.M)-Work, work, and more work (my dad and I help the monks with tasks around the 172 acres of land they own)
P.M.
12:30-1:00 = Ashram Sadhana (my dad and I clean certain places-it varies from the certain groups of monks we help which are called kulams. There are 4 kulams, there used to be 5 but that kulam dispersed)
1:00-1:08 = Get Lunch
1:08-1:30 = Eat lunch with the Monks
1:30-3:00 = Break (I usually do my homework)
3:00-3:30 = Ganesha Puja
3:30-5:30 = Work
5:30-6:00 = Get dinner ready
6:00-6:30 = Walk mile back to the house we stay at
6:30-8:00 = Wash feet and hands. Then, eat dinner. Then, wash the dishes.
8:00= I cry myself to sleep (I'm just kidding. I save my tears for the morning when I repeat this process
Just a little overview at one of the hardest things I did. On Shivarathri, (a Hindu holiday) I had to stay up till 12:30am! 2:30 California time. That was after having this entire schedule, and working far after 5:30pm, finishing with a 7:30pm-12:00am puja. One break in-between and 3 bathroom breaks I believe. (Near the end when we were standing up to pray, I couldn't do it and just laid down on the floor. The next day I walked there and back from the Ashram and just had to lay in bed with a migraine. The day after that, I felt much better.
Overall, being on Taskforce is a privilege and a fun activity."

Our various wooden surfaces in the outdoors need regular maintenance if they are to look new. Our Ganesha and Muruga ornate roofs at the entrance to Kadavul Temple haven't been oiled in quite a while, so we thought it would be neat for you to see the before and after look from the other day.

Jai to the Nandinatha Sampradaya!
Jai Kailasa Parampara!

Several days ago our monks gathered at Iriavan Temple for a brief photoshoot of the order and for individual portraits which hadn't been updated in some time. Our taskforcers, Mayuran and Chandipati joined in to help take some of the photos.

"The Natha Sampradaya has revealed the search for the innermost divine Self, balanced by temple worship, fueled by kundalini yoga, charted by monistic theism, illumined by a potent guru-shishya system, guided by soul-stirring scriptures and awakened by sadhana and tapas." - Gurudeva

See: https://www.himalayanacademy.com/monastery/meet-the-monks

Here's a small tour through some of the items kept in supply for the many visitors passing through our Minimela giftshop.

A short aerial video over Kauai Aadheenam this morning, taken just after sunrise.

"When you realize God, the omnipresent, there is no consciousness of souls. It is all God and nothing else. The fingers of your hand may go through all kinds of actions, but the fingers remain unchanged even after these actions. It is all like a film show. All things are immersed in God. This realization cannot be described. Any attempt at description is a blemish and will only be a source of extraneous growth." Siva Yogaswami

We recently installed two new items at the front entrance area. First is a electronic push button lock on the entrance gate. There's a lock on both sides so it can be opened from either side. A neat feature is that the electronics are powered simply from turning the door handle.

Second is large signboard with six panels which consolidates various messages in one place, and includes QR codes for this blog and more.

Jai Ganesha!

Yesterday, the first portion of an improved royal path to Iraivan Temple was poured in concrete. This path stretches from the area around the Silpi Pavilion, up the Corypha palm-lined hill and ends where it intersects one of our roadways at the top. When done, it will be 650 feet long and ten feet wide. A Royal Road we are tentatively naming Siva Saalai (சிவ சாலை in Tamil) Siva’s Road. Many pilgrims may remember this hill and the challenges it has historically presented during heavy rains. Our hope is that this path will now serve as an mud and erosion free avenue for monks, pilgrims and work vehicles.

Over the this last week, concrete-expert Jim Fain and his 12-man team worked to prep the roadway. First they scraped and flattened it and then prepared the forms and the wire mesh for the concrete pour. Yesterday the trucks and pumps arrived, bring in a total of 88 yards of concrete, ten trucks in all. For perspective, a single yard weighs about 3,700 lbs. As it was pumped into the forms, Jim and his team continuously worked it and shaped it. They started their work day at 6:00am and finished at 5:30pm. Just imagine yourself raking rocks for a whole day, and you'll have a sense of the endurance that this type of work requires. So today, in appreciation, the monastery brought them lunch: pizza, Hawaiian potato salad, regular salad and local juice drinks. After all, Yogaswami told Gurudeva he would "build palaces and feed thousands!"

Jai Ganesha!

Recently, at the Siva Murugan Temple in Concord, California, monastic aspirant Akash Katir observed his Namakarana Samskara, officially establishing himself with his new name and formally entering Hinduism. Once his legal name change process has concluded, he will be able to return to Kauai to pursue his monastic path.

The name-giving sacrament can be held at nearly any Hindu temple. Before the namakaraa saskra, the devotee informs family, relatives and close friends of his or her name change and intended entrance into Hinduism. At the sacred name-giving rite, the Hindu name is received, vows are taken and a certificate is signed, documenting the former name and the new name, place of ceremony and signature of the priest and at least three witnesses. This sacrament marks the formal entrance into a particular sect of Hinduism, through the acceptance and blessings of established members and the blessings of Gods and devas invoked through rites performed by an authorized Hindu priest.

Here's a short note from Akash after having had his Namakarana:

"The ceremony was a powerful one and the feeling of energy and peace was alike to that of the homas I attended at Kadavul. Additionally, the experience was not just for me and I think it was an important physical manifestation of my mental and spiritual change that my family and others can look to and say "wow, yea, that happened." Earlier, my mom said she was unsure if she would be able to call me "Akash," but now, after the ceremony, she seems happy to call me by my new name with only the occasional forgetful slip up."

Akash
"Space." The sky. Free, open space. Ether, the fifth and most subtle of the five elements—earth, air, fire, water and ether. Empirically, the rarified space or ethereal fluid plasma that pervades the universes, inner and outer. Esoterically, mind, the superconscious strata holding all that exists and all that potentially exists, wherein all happenings are recorded and can be read by clairvoyants. It is through psychic entry into this transcendental akasha that cosmic knowledge is gathered, and the entire circle of time—past, present and future—can be known. Space, akasha, in this concept is a positive substance, filled with unseen energies and intelligences, in contrast with the Western conception that space is the absence of everything and is therefore nothing in and of itself. The Advayataraka Upanishad (2.1.17) describes five levels of akasha which can be yogically experienced: guna rahita akasha (space devoid of qualities); parama akasha (supreme space), maha akasha (great space), tattva akasha (space of true existence) and surya akasha (space of the sun).

Katir
"Formless light," a name for Lord Murugan