Gajanan is serving in the Ganapati Kulam for two phases. He is focusing on two projects. One is to assist with the migration of media content to our new web site which is still under construction. This phase he has been working on slideshows. Click here for a sneak peak Note: not all the navigation links are functional yet. The new site will dramatically improve access and exposure to our right collection of digital assets.

His other project is to process scans of an unusual book which has the stories of over 300 temples in India, each of which is accompanied by a piece of black and white line art. He is cropping the scans to extract the art which was done by famed artist S. Rajam. This collection might otherwise be lost but will now live on in future publications and web apps. Two examples below.

Kulathupuzla Temple.

These drawings, simple as they are, have a compelling quality.

Deogarh Temple, Madhya Pradesh

Here are two stories from the next issue:

Village teacher Prahlad Singh Tipanya has brought the 15-century saint to life for millions around the world

Go inside the inspiring meeting of 1200 Sanskrit scholars in Delhi at the 2012 conclave

The Ganapati Kulam gave their report today. One important item was the news that the latest children’s book is off to the press! Modern stories for Hindu Youth! Book One: Growing Up Hindu

Just a few days back we received from Australia a personal account of the Tamil man who as a boy of 18 or so took two of the rare photos we have of Satguru Yogaswami. We share his tale with you today, along with the photos. These too have a story. When the editing team had virtually completed the book last summer, they realized, “Hmm, looking at all of S. Rajam’s paintings a reader could wrongly conclude that these men and their stories are fables, storybook stuff.” So, to show the real places and persons, a 32-page photo gallery was added. In that gallery are the two photos referred to in today’s story.

This title page for the photo section of the book shows Gurudeva with his shishya in Moscow in 1972 and Yogaswami’s shishya’s carrying his body to the funeral pyre in 1964. Here is the story:

My Story of the First Pictures
By Mr. Samy Pasupathi, Australia

There were no pictures of Swami. The devotees understood that he did not wish it be taken. It was said that when attempts are made to take a picture of Swami, mysteriously he would not appear in the picture. When my father, Dr. V T Pasupati was the the Physician and OlC of the Hospital in Chilaw in 1950, we were graced by Swami’s visit to my parents’ residence. Swami stayed for a few days. My mother, Kamalambikai, a deeply religious lady, told me that we were blessed that we were able to be in his presence.

However all of Swami’s disciples would wish very much that they should have a picture of Swami for their prayers. Would I take a picture early next morning when Swami is meditating? If Swami got angry she would take full responsibility. The next morning about 5.30 or 6 am Swami was in meditation at the furthest corner of the lounge. I was not to enter that room, but was to take a picture from the adjoining room.

At breakfast Swami enquired whether anyone had come when he was meditating. My mother kept silent. Later that moming when Swami was seated in a chair out on the verandah, my mother said ‘Swami, we made a big mistake’ instance. Swami who had known my mother from her infancy, the daughter of one of Swami’s early disciples, Physician Kasthuri Muthukumaru, said, What mistake can you make?’ meaning that she wouldn’t make a mistake. Of course Swami would have known that this picture was being taken.

My mother still feeling guilty said, ‘We took a photograph without your permission.’ Swami was silent and then to our relief, he laughed aloud and said ‘many have tried to take; you have taken’ We were relieved. I was emboldened and then asked, ‘May I take one more.’ Swami responded, ‘One is enough’. A little while later he said, ‘You took one, and take one more’ That is the picture of Swami seated in a chair.

These two pictures, the first of Swami in meditation and the other of Swami seated in a chair are perhaps the only two pictures of Swami when He was physically well and are now freely available everywhere.

For all the Russion readers in our audience. The online version of Merging with Siva in Russian to unicode Cyrillic has been upgraded by Sishya Chandra Shekaran in Kiev. Thank you Chandran! Click here to read in Russian.

Brahmachari Dinanatha is from Moscow. He met Gurudeva in St. Petersburg and considers Gurudeva his diksha guru. Dinanatha runs a travel business but has been a Brahmachari for 20 years and has dedicated his life to Saivism. He says that the Russian edition of Dancing with Siva, is for him “like shakitpat.”

He came to Kauai to be in touch with all the swamis here and Bodhinatha and get a renewed vision for future life in service to Siva and spreading Gurudeva’s teachings in Russia. He returns with new goals to get Dancing with Siva re-printed (it is out of print and there is a very high demand for copies) and Merging with Siva also, and possibly even one day, a Russian edition of Hinduism Today.