Satguru Bodhinatha Visits the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah
Satguru Bodhinatha and Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami visited the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah during the weekend of November 16-17, graciously hosted by long-time Saiva Siddhanta Church member Aditya Vinadhara. In the 80's and 90's, Aditya was instrumental in helping Gurudeva to start the worship of Ganesha in Utah and engineer the subsequent steps of creating the present temple complex. During those early years Gurudeva gifted the beautiful granite Ganesha which is currently the main Deity of the temple. On Sunday morning Satguru Bodhinatha gave a presentation on Hindu Tools for Success and Spiritualizing Your Charitable Giving for Hindus which was followed by an animation entitled The Essentials of Financial and Estate Planning. The temple has one endowment with Hindu Heritage Endowment, the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah Endowment Fund, which was created by Aditya and is now generously funded by the devotees of the temple. On Sunday afternoon, Shanmuganathaswami presented a color meditation class to about fifty children, parents and teachers which featured the color animation short, The Seven Chakras. Hindu religious classes for children are held every Sunday, and the children gave a demonstration of their impressive Sanskrit chanting skills. The local, pre-winter weather was cool and brisk, and the nearby majestic Rocky Mountains east of the temple, which were lightly brushed with a fresh coat of snow, gave the devotional feeling of being at the foot of the sacred Himalayan peaks. The ever-expanding temple complex includes the Ganesha temple, the India Cultural center, priests quarters and a children's playground. Future plans for the temple include a larger building for the temple, more parking spaces and new priest's quarters. Visit the temple website at www.sghtu.org
Poem on Lord Shiva
Shanmuganathaswami and Siddhanathaswami Depart…
Shanmuganathaswami and Siddhanathaswami depart for the 4D Summit. The 4D Summit is a large conference among the leaders and experts of our Database Software that we use in the monastery. Playing such a key role in monastery efficiency, the summit will include many events such as educational classes, new software launch and upgrades to the current database.
From Columbuthuri, Sri Lanka
Paramaguru Yogaswami's Ashram in Columbuthuri, Sri Lanka, has recently had an ornately carved gopuram installed out front. The gopuram reads: "Yogaswami's Samadhi Temple."
Yogaswami sits at its the center, facing towards Kauai Aadheenam.
"Bliss will come, if you remain still. Why then do you want this illusory world?
If you remain at the top you will see no difference. You can preach dharma only when you come down. If you remain at the top and see, everything will appear as one. That 'One' always remains pure. Nothing can pollute it. There is no guru and no disciple. All are That." - Yogaswami
Stories of Hospitality
Gurudeva often spoke of the refinements of traditional cultures, in nations all over the world. Like many, he was unhappy to see some of those cultured ways of life abandoned. He wanted us, in wisdom and moderation, to hold onto the subtle sentiments expressed in such things as respecting others, serving humbly, deferring to the needs of others, and much of this is to be found in the Nandi Natha Sutras, those 365 couplets that guide our life.
So, it was fascinating when yesterday a CyberCadet sent the story below. It shows how culture used to be, and gives us a sense of how things have changed, and perhaps a hint about where they may be going. The slideshow is just fun, some old photos from Sweden so we can visually glimpse into the era that this story takes place in. Enjoy!
"Today, I decided to begin to listen to one audio each day of both Bodhinatha's and Gurudeva's.' I just finished listening to Bodhinatha's talk on "Karma Yoga". In the part where he talks about treating your guests like gods...he says it is most polite to ask four times for them to stay.
It prompted me to share this story with the monks.
I was recently gifted with this rare, unpublished book. It was written by my Swedish grandmother's aunt who was born in 1873. She is writing her mother's story, my Great, Great Grandma.
Here are some excerpts from the book that were reminiscent, to me, of the Hindu ways of hospitality...
"Mother's Story"
"Even to strangers was there a kind, warm-hearted hospitality. Hardly had the stranger entered the home before the wife or daughter was busy setting the table with a simple meal of the very best they had and earnestly begging them to eat and to eat more --- "A jo! at mera, en kopp kaffe til Var inte blyg" ("but, yes! Eat more, one more cup of coffee. Don't be bashful"), was their way of showing hospitality."
"Guests were very hospitably entertained in all the homes. The best room and bed was given them. In the morning, a cup of coffee and "pepparkaker" (pepper cookies) or some other small cakes were served them in bed. Their regular meals were served them in a special room in some homes. In other homes, the father ate with the guests while the other members of the family ate in the kitchen. After serving the meal, the wife left the room, coming back once or twice urging them to eat more."
When there was a wedding "a large arbor, made from the birch tree and the evergreen was erected near the house, to accommodate many guests and shelter them from the sun's rays."
"After the ceremony, the guests went to the home where there was much feasting and dancing. When the feast was being served, it was customary for the invited guests to put on an air of humility, by keeping themselves in the background, in the yard or in a corner of the adjoining room. The host or hostess would urge the guests, again and again, to come in and be seated at the appointed place of the table. Unless these actions of the guests were traditionally correct, they would have been resented by the host. But as it was, it must have been surprisingly ridiculous and interesting."
"For example --- when a name was called by the host/hostess, the guest almost had to be dragged to the place assigned him...."Jonte & Kejsa Stina vr sa snalla a satt er pa denna plats" (Jonte and Kejsa please be seated in this place). "Na tack, har ar allt sa bra." ("No thank you, it is all right here") And they persisted on being seated at the further corner of the room. "A nej, I sala sitta har ve' forsta bordet." (Oh no. You must sit at the first table.") It was necessary to invite at least 3 times before they consented to be seated at the proper place. The fact was, it was considered rude not to wait for the third invitation."
That sounds familiar.
October Chitra Puja
Jai to our beloved Gurudeva!
Last night, during the chitra nakshatra, we observed our monthly pada puja to Gurudeva. Sadhaka Mayuranatha and Natyam Nandinatha performed the silent, contemplative puja which permeated the temple with Gurudeva's infinite and loving presence.
Click To Play Gurudeva's Audio Talk
HHE Quarterly Meeting with Guest
The Stewards and Staff of Hindu Heritage Endowment met this weekend for their 2nd quarterly meeting. Sadhaka Mayuranatha, which serves in the Finance and Administrative Kulam, was invited as a guest to learn more about the inner workings of the endowment as well as a broader overview of the endowment's religious mission.
The mission of Hindu Heritage Endowment (HHE), which is strictly religious and nonpolitical, is to strengthen Hindu religious and cultural traditions throughout the world by providing Hindu institutions with a permanent and growing source of income in order to assure their financial stability and further their diverse programs.
Visit the HHE website at www.hheonline.org
Festival at Murugan Temple of North America
Saturday is the main festival event. About one thousand devotees attend many of whom drive down from New York/New Jersey. It began around 9:30 with a procession around the temple with about ten of the men carrying kavadi with a spear through the checks and hundreds carrying milk. Lots of dancing by the kavadi carriers. Next was an elaborate Murugan Abhishekam in which the milk everyone carried was offered. When the curtain closed Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gave his talk which had a Tamil transaltion. After yopam pushpam there was elaborate Veda chanting, Devaram singing and nathaswaram and thavil playing before the final arati. Interesting to note that the from the current opening for the alankara to the end of the abhishekam the electric lights in the sanctum are turned off and light is provided by five oil lamps--the same as Iraivan will be.
Next the parade deity was taken out and installed on top of the chariot. It is pulled around the temple with two large ropes. There were eight tables at which the chariot stopped and a short archana was done. The first six were for the six Murugan pilgrimage temples, seventh was for Batu Caves and eighth (with a new large poster we sent them) was for Iraivan. The chariot stops and each temple gives an offering tray. Archana is done and most of the tray's contents returned. Manyof the devotees do kadadi dances while the chariot is stopped.
From Our Gurus' Teachings
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