Bodhinatha reports:

Om Sivaya everyone,

Jai Ganapati.

Morning: Visit to Yogaswami's Columbuthurai Ashram for tiruvadi puja, meditation and Natchintanai singing. Next was Vani Vaideeshvaran Sivan Temple for homa and abhishekam. Third was Sivathondan Nilayam for more tiruvadi pujas and meditation followed by lunch. I would say the group really felt in touch with Yogaswami after these visits.

Afternoon: Maviddapuram Murugan temple for a fantastic puja to the Arumugam utsava murti with six priests. Part of the heightened experience was all the innersearchers being quite close to the murti during the puja. Last was Tellippapali Durga Devi Temple for the end of a homa, quick puja and vibhuti blessings mostly for the girls who live in the adjacent girls' home.

Om Namasivaya,
Bodhinatha


Sadasivanathaswami reports:

"Amazing" "Unbeliveable" "I have been visiting temples my whole life, and never experienced such a puja"

At the dinner table on February 26 comments flowed as freely as Muruga's Grace had all day long. It began at Yogaswami's hut in Colombothurai, that magical compound where the Lion of Lanka lived simply in a thatched hut with a cow dung floor yet roared for over 50 years. It was walking into the history of the guru paramparai and all were deeply moved. Each approached the samadhi shrine with awe, each sang Natchintanai with the locals, each sat in silent appreciation of such a moment.

At one point Ms. Yogapushani came forward to share Yogaswami's last moments here, at 3:15am in March of 1964. She was in her early 20s at that time and remembers vividly. Sadasivansathaswami asked her to share with all what transpired that morning and recorded as she spoke of how Yogaswami had earlier told everyone that he had done all he came to do. They gathered when they saw his Great Departure was near, and sang Natchintanai. She said his mouth opened and he seemed to be singing along with them, but there was no sound. Then quietly he left his body.

Innersearchers visited the historic gate where Gurudeva received the slap on the back that would be heard around the world, and they crossed the street to visit the small shrine where Yogaswami had established his guru's sandals. It has been newly renovated.

This visit was for many a lifetime goal, a return to the source.

Our march through the history of the paramparai continued after leaving Yogaswami's hut.

First to the ancient Vannarponnai Sivan Koyil for a major homa and abhishekam. The walls feel so old here. This is the temple where Arumuga Navalar gave his sermons, where Kadaitswami spoke to the public and gave them courage to follow Saivism despite colonial domination and conversion efforts, and where Yogaswami wrote some of his Natchintanai and once heard the anklet bells of Siva/Shakti.

Then off to Maviddapuram Murugan Koyil. This is Yogaswami's birthplace and Murugan here was his family's deity as he grew up. It is a truly ancient temple (they say over 3,000 years) and gloriously full of light and loving grace. It was built by the Cholas, so it has a familiarity for us and a connection to Iraivan.

The swamis were brought by the priest deep into the sanctum, something Thondunatha says he has not seen since they did the same for Gurudeva in 1983. The long and elaborate puja for Shanmuga cannot be described. Six priests presided, six lamps were offered again and again, six voices chanted the 1,008 names of Murugan. Never had we sat for such a darshan. Never. Never. These are the magical moments of Innersearch.

Off to the Amman temple for our last darshan of the day. A large group of priests was ending one of ten days of chanting 100,000 names of Shakti. Dozens of young girls sat to sing Natchintanai to Bodhinatha and the Innersearchers, and he offered Vibuthi to one and all. This temple has a story. Long ago it was just a thatched shrine which Yogaswami visited. He took a stick and struck the ground three times, saying, "If you but sing Kanda Puranam here often, this will one day be a marvel." They did, and it is. They are building their fourth rajagopuram now, and the temple is second in size to Nallur in all of Jaffna.

All in all, a day to remember forever.

Classes Under the Trees
The Innersearchers had a marvelous series of classes on the shores of a man-made lake (there are 26,000 here!). Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami's six classes brought the 60 pilgrims into a deeper awareness of the Satgurus, with a strong stress on their Mahavakiams. Satguru took each of the Great Sayings, first asking the Innersearchers to share their understanding of these often perplexing statements. It was amazing to hear all of the interpretations coming forward, each a little different (sometime a lot different) but each correct and insightful. Then Satguru dove deeply into the Nandikeshwara Kashika, that ever-so-brief and ever-so-profound first scripture from our lineage. It presents the 51 sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet and in the process unfolds the 36 tattvas. Basically, the structure of the Cosmos. These were rare, and sometimes intellectually challenging, classes, much needed foundation for a full understanding of Saiva Siddhanta.

Paramacharya's Classes
The gardens of the Habarana retreat provided an apt space for Sadasivanathaswami's four classes during our stay in the high central hills. Each class began with everyone chanting the Guru Vandanam Slokas. He had chosen a story to begin each class, then moved on to the main topic of the day. One day he spoke of Gurudeva's early visit to Sri Lanka, with some insights that were not included in The Guru Chronicles. Another class explored the difference between religion and mysticism, with a brief discussion on SBNR as a global movement. In another he spoke about How Enlightened Beings Die, and gave ten reasons that Hindus have no fear of death. That subject was preceded with the story of a king who had lost his sense of identity, and four times during the story Nukeran and Kavina sang a Tamil song to musically express the king's mood as he moved from doubt to suffering to hope and finally joyous awakening. A fun way to tell a story.

Sannyasin Saravananathaswami's Meditation Classes
Each day the Innersearchers looked forward to beginning with hatha yoga and a meditation class, led by Saravananathaswami. They began at 6:15 under the big banyan tree. With the sun rising, they stretched, did breath control and learned of Gurudeva's preparation for meditation system in some detail. It was quite a sight, all of them on their woven mats, monkeys scurrying around--a great example for all the other residents at the resort, reminding them that they, too, can find peace within if they but make the effort.

Informal Moments
Among the delights of Innersearch must be counted the unplanned exchanges and conversations that happen. Sometimes when waiting on a bus, or after dinner before retiring, or after a class has ended, there will be several conversations, animated ones. Innersearchers get to talk story or ask those questions they always wanted to know about, and the monks have a chance to share Gurudeva's marvelous teachings. Today came these: "Can a soul reincarnate backwards in time or is it always forwards?" "How far should a family go in keeping an aged pet alive?" "When is the next Innersearch?" "How did the Rudraksha forest on Kauai get started?"

Aum Sivaya from Sri Lanka!

Today was our last day of classes, which were held in the morning. An early morning meditation class by Saravananathaswami, then after breakfast was Bodhinatha's class, then a jeep arrived filled with coconuts to give everyone a refreshing and cooling drink, followed by Sadasivanathaswami's class.

The whole afternoon was set aside for the Safari!

Going backwards to the Lion Mountain adventure, the group has their official photo and some classes at the top.

A report from the road:

Aum Sivaya from Sri Lanka!

Today's main activity besides classes was an ancient Sri Lankan village experience. We were transported back 1000 years.

The Innersearch is moving along and we are receiving images and stories by the day. Here is a small portion of the beginning days.

Satguru writes in, "Morning excursion to nearby Sigiriya. It is a giant rock that use to be a king's palace and also a Buddhist monastery. It is famous for its fresco paintings. We walked through the grounds and saw the ancient water gardens. Then we stopped in a shady place for my morning class. Next, more than half the group climbed to the top of it which was the equivalent of 42 stories of stairs!Quiet a view of the country side from there.

Afternoon at hotel; another class by me and then one by Sadasivanathaswami.

Link to Sigiriya on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya"

Innersearch Sri Lanka is almost underway. The staff departed the monastery for a 27-hour transit to their final destination. The first on the ground planning meeting with head ground coordinator Rishi Thondunatha.

Kodiswara Rao reports:

HH Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami presided at The National Hinduism for Teenagers Conference, 2017, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This one day program was organized by Mr. Aravinthan Periasamy of Artha Nyana Concept Builders and was done with the support of the National Land and Finance Corporative Society (NLFCS), Malaysia, and co-organised by prominent Hindu organizations such as Malaysia Hindu Dharma Mamandram (MDHM), the Hindu Youth Organisation (HYO) and the Malaysia Hindu Sangam. The ex-president of MHS, Datuk Vaithilingam, in his speech, praised HH Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami's persistent educational efforts over the years, with the remark "This is the only Hindu institution that brings its teachings in various multimedia channels, making it very attractive." Satguru received the traditional honoring with huge, beautiful garlands from the heads of the co-organizers.

Satguru's presentation was about Hinduism and achieving spiritual progress. The teaching was precise and simple. The slides and animation components were very catchy. Not to forget Satguru's intermittent injection of Tamil readings excited the crowd. The famous Saint Yogaswami's quote "Bliss, bliss, bliss, here there and everywhere I am" had a spontaneous Tamil translation by Satguru, received applause from the crowd. Satguru's presentation was made up of independent topics thus it benefited the slowly-swelling-crowd, which was estimated at 550 in total. Each major parts were later translated to Tamil by the Kulapati of Saiva Siddhanta Mission, Ramesh Sivanathan, and the crowd was able to hear the message twice. The digital screen made for a grand display, enhancing the learning experience. The organizer was approached by youth leaders for their copy of Satguru's keynote presentation, which is underway.

While Satguru had taken a 3 hour break Mr. Wickneswaren Kaliaperumal took us back in time to the empire of Raja Raja Chola, his glory, accomplishments in South India and how the entire South East Asia up to Vietnam was brought under his Hindu kingdom. A great sense of pride was in the air!

At about 5:30pm, Satguru was again on stage, greeting and blessing each and every one of the conference attendees with his unfailing loving grace. Attendees from all over the Peninsular Malaysia had patiently waited for blessings. We felt the satisfaction and happiness of having attended a great teaching program in the proximity of the Holy Teacher. We recall a MHDM personnel saying, "We would love to have more presentations in the future, an absolute need for us."