As many know, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami (who is in Malaysia today) has been working in the early hours before dawn for many months on a new edition of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It is historic because it is an interpretation of the classical 195 sutras from a Saiva Siddhanta point of view. Most editions follow the Advaita Vedanta take, so this one is unique in that it gives monistic theism exposition. We share here below a verse from the third canto, so you can enjoy the progress and the style. You will note we are including Gurudeva's writings on the topic at hand. In the slideshow we share one of the ten works of art done in Kerala for the book, which will be highly illustrated, as is our style.


vyutthna-nirodha-saskrayor-abhibhava-prdur-bhvau nirodha-kaa-cittnvayo nirodha-parima .. 3.9..

nirodha-parima = the development of/transformation toward (parima) restraint (nirodha) | abhibhava-prdurbhvau = is both the manifesting (prdurbhvau) and subjugating (abhibhava) | vyutthna-nirodha-saskrayo = of the subtle impressions (saskrayo) of restraint (nirodha) and going out (vyutthna) | nirodha-kaa-citta-anvaya = connected with/following (anvaya) the mind (citta) at the moment (kaa) of restraint (nirodha) |

Sutra: Restraint develops when the externalizing samskaras are subdued by the restraint samskaras, which appear in the mind at the moment of restraint.

Bhashya: The yogi through his inner work and discipline develops new samskaras which neutralize and subdue the worldly samskaras which are the common man's lot. These yogic impressions are brought to bear and further strengthened each time he strives to control the mind, to quiet the mental noise. Slowly his controlling impressions become stronger than the instinctive impressions that normally dominate and he is able to use the one to be rid of the other. This subtle interaction between the control and the controlled is a major discussion in the sutras, to be understood through practice and more practice.

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
As you sit to meditate, awareness may wander into past memories or future happenings. It may be distracted by the senses, by a sound or by a feeling of discomfort in the body. This is natural in the early stages. Gently bring awareness back to your point of concentration. Don't criticize awareness for wandering, for that is yet another distraction. Distractions will disappear if you become intensely interested and involved in your meditation.

There are some 80 million souls who speak Telugu and so it was natural that we would create an edition of Path to Siva, our catechism for youth, for them and their children. It took most of a year to have a team in Madurai translate the 68 lessons, then a Kauai devotee, Voleti Chaudhari volunteered to proof it, then inputting the corrections and finally, yesterday we put the PDF on our site. You can download it here:
https://kauaishindumonastery.com/books/path-to-siva-telegu-2/

The team in Moscow continues to repurpose our Himalayan Academy work energetically. Their team leader, Dinanatha Bodhiswami, emailed a few days back sharing that they wish to add the Saivite Hindu Religion, Book One to their list of books. Having done the entire trilogy and Loving Ganesha, they seek to reach the young ones.

It is a simple book, all in black and white, giving dharmic teachings in four languages: English, Tamil, Bahasa Malaysia and French. Each page is illustrated with the concept being presented to the children. The files were sent and now translation will take place ahead of printing.

CyberCadets will know that this same team has been publishing Hinduism Today in Russian for several years, and each year compiles the four issues into a bound volume, shown in the slideshow.

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Aum Namah Sivaya!

Something fun for the last day of our 5-day lunar phase.

And as they say, another day, another step forward in AI, and while for most of the world this technology is evolving too fast to keep track of (us not excluded), the monks at Kauai Aadheenam are still trying to keep up with the new developments—knowing that machine learning will play a common role in all of our futures. First chat bots, then photo generation (like the one of this robot composing music) and then video and music. All digital arenas seem to be an area that ai can reach into.

Our monks recently found this tool called Suno, which allows you to create instant songs about anything in any style. Currently anyone can log in with their google account and generate a handful of songs each day. It's undeniably fun to experiment with. We've been trying to get it to generate bhajans, but that doesn't seem to work too well yet. Still here are some just-for-fun examples we created. Most are generated with simple prompts such as "Folk song about the Monks of Kauai's Hindu Monastery" and after 12 seconds it gives you this, completely generated by ai:

Jai Gurudeva!

The Gurudeva app has now been released for Android users.

Visit the Google Play Store to find it for your device: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.himalayanacademy.gurudeva

Long ago, the first mobile app Himalayan Academy produced was a rather simple concept: random photos and quotes from Gurudeva to keep you inspired. Long had this little app been enjoyed by those who knew about it, and long has it been in need of some updates to its code and interface. Over the last few weeks our team has been rebuilding it and yesterday we released the version for Apple iOS and it is also released for Android.

You can get it for iPhone here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gurudeva/id1031437551

And Android Here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.himalayanacademy.gurudeva

Or if you already have it installed, simply update the app.

If you have a young child or know someone who does, our highly-illustrated "Lion Sage" book has now been turned into 19 short videos with simple animation and character narration. This is a great teaching tool for young ones, being the mystical teachings found in Gurudeva's "Merging with Siva" brought into language for 3-8 year olds by the monks. The narrated and animated videos are a great achievement, accomplished by Venkatesh in Australia. Now you can have bedtime stories with spiritual content for the little ones, bringing children and their parents together in a spiritual way. Some think it's better to wait until they are older to hear some of the profound ideas, but Gurudeva felt they are never too young to hear of the deeper ideas in life. You can access the videos using this Playlist link. No kids? Forward the link to those who have little ones.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeEp57jcBSjpbmfg1gmrvOsmEhfh3v_ml

Venkatesh has a six-year-old son, and the two of them have been sharing these stories nightly for several weeks. Their experience is worth sharing:

"Every night when I play the "Lion Sage" bedtime stories for my son, more than him, Im learning more from the stories nowadays. Even as I type this email on my phone, I finished listening to 3 chapters. Though I now feel it could have been done better (after listening to the audio podcasts at bedtime almost three times a week, repeating again and again), I think it is one of the most valuable lessons every kid must listen to.

"Thank you so much for having given me a chance to work on this great book. It was a magical experience for me. The learnings are too deep. I have to pause at times to really get the full message in silence while listening, and then I resume the clips. They are amazing!"

Today we heard from Sivakumaran in Singapore that our Oduvar there has completed more recordings of the songs of Saint Tayumanavar and they will be sent to us as soon as he returns from India. That progress inspires us to share a couple of the devotional quatrains and a canvas our own S. Rajam painted for the future book, probably published in 2025.

Here are three songs as translated by our swamis.

CANTO 33

Song 6
Just as the heavenly waters cascade over the hills, the flood of my love's tears courses over my breast. Have You not seen that, O Being uncreated Who flows as the pellucid river of peace? O blissful Lord in Whom the musical streams of the four Vedas find symphonic confluence! O Being pervasive!


Song 7
Have You not seen my heart and face droop as I yearn for the day I will join Your fellowship of devotees? O Lord, know that I am the one with folded hands seeking Your grace, singing in all directions. O Being pervasive!


Song 9
Lacking wisdom, I praise You not, nor seek liberation. Such a fool am I! Alas, what must I do to tread the holy path? Will Your benign grace not grant me at least sufficient devotion to serve Your noble devotees? O Being pervasive!

We asked ChatGPT to summarize his songs in 100 words:

Over the last year, our publications team in Kauai has been quietly working on a sizable side project sponsored by the Uberoi Foundation. The project is intended to assist in the presentation of the four Dharmic faiths, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, as per the foundation's goal. This particular video is meant to teach about the Hindu religion in California 6th grade social studies classes. The Malibu Hindu Temple's main shrine is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was built in the traditional style of South India and opened in 1981. Students were welcomed into the temple and given an overview of the beautiful architectural features. They then participated in an archana (special prayer) in front of the main shrine. The tour continued with visits to the smaller surrounding shrines while learning of the attributes of the Deities and concluded with insightful questions asked by the group.

Directed by Mainak Dhar, Produced by Gabriel Bruskoff.

Over the last year, our publications team in Kauai has been quietly working on a sizable side project sponsored by the Uberoi Foundation. The project is intended to assist in the presentation of the four Dharmic faiths, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, as per the foundation's goal. This particular video is meant to teach the Jain religion in California 6th grade social studies classes. The Jain Center of Southern California (JCSC) located in Buena Park, California, is a non-profit religious organization to pursue a goal of practicing, promoting and preserving the Jain religion. Started in 1979, the present center of 13,000 sq. ft. was opened in 2008 to accommodate the growing Jain population. The exterior design of the center is inspired and reminiscent of ancient Jain temples of Delwada, Ranakpur and Paliana Tirths. Carved Jesalmer yellow limestone was designed and produced in India for the exterior of the building, and the interior uses natural stone including white marble and colorful granite. Each video will allow students to experience these temples as a digital school tour, when visiting them in person might not be possible.

Directed by Mainak Dhar, Produced by Gabriel Bruskoff.