Chudika Mahadevan works on restoring a cow destined for the Mini Mela.

These are photos of Yogaswami and of his hermitage in Jaffna where he stayed towards the end of his life as he was recovering from a broken hip.

From The Guru Chronicles:

"We Learned Silence in His Presence"
In June of 1961, after three months in Jaffna General Hospital, Swami returned to Columbuthurai and moved into his new hermitage. People took turns caring for him. There was always someone on duty to look after Swami's needs, and Dr. Rajakaruna visited the ashram every morning to do physical therapy for Swami. In spite of this, he never regained the ability to walk.
As his strength returned, Swami would take excursions in his wheelchair. He was often sighted kilometers from his hermitage in his chair, pushed by Sivayogeswaran, nephew of Mr. Tirunavukarasu. He also moved about freely by car in the mornings. At noon, he would have lunch and then take a nap until 4pm. In the evenings he received devotees in the ashram.
A special activity each weekend was driving to the beach. He especially loved to visit the seaside in those days; it seemed to give him physical solace. A. Thillyampalam and his teenage son T. Sivayogapathy would arrive in their Rover with their driver at 4:30pm. The son's duty was to sponge Swami's body, dress him for the outing and ever-so-slowly move him into the wheelchair for the short ride to the road.
Swami sat in the front seat with the driver as they drove to the beach. Once there, they parked the car, with doors wide open and the skylight pulled back, so he could enjoy the sea breeze. From the seaside, Swami and his hosts proceeded to Sivathondan Nilayam, where, from the car, he would call Chellathurai over for a short talk.
Typically they proceeded to Nallur Temple. Parked at a distance in front of the teradi, Swami sang Sivapuranam and worshiped. Money, coconuts and camphor were sent inside the temple in a basket so that a special puja could be performed invoking the blessings of the Deity.
As sadhus and others invariably approached, Swami personally handed a plantain to each one, while, on the other side of the car, Thillyampalam reached into his coin purse, carefully prepared for just this moment, and gave each one a coin, ten or fifty rupees--a generous sum, as in those days an ample meal could be purchased with a single rupee. This remained the pattern until January of 1964.
People were no longer afraid of the once-fearsome sage, and many who had not dared approach him earlier now came. Often he sent them to the Sivathondan Nilayam.
Increasingly, efforts were made to ensure Swami's comfort. His legs were swollen with excess fluid, and it helped if someone rubbed them. He allowed only a few men to massage his legs, and they considered it such a blessing that they would have massaged forever if he had not sensed their fatigue and asked them to stop.

Hindu American Foundation Press Release

Washington, D.C. (June 6, 2013) -- A Hindu monk offered the opening prayer for the House of Representatives and the birth sesquicentennial of Swami Vivekananda, considered Hinduism's first ambassador to the West, was marked in the Congressional record Tuesday morning. These two historical firsts led up to a gala celebration attended by over 300 as the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) marked its tenth year of advocacy on Capitol Hill. A parade of Senate and House leaders took turns at the podium of the ornate Caucus Room of the House Cannon Building and lauded the Foundation's accomplishments over the years.

"The dividends of a decade of investments in education, advocacy, and tireless interactions with every level of our nation's government were on display throughout HAF's full day of events," said Mihir Meghani, M.D., Co-Founder and member of the HAF Board of Directors. "A Hindu prayer given on the floor of the House, and the words of Swami Vivekananda offered by Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA) inspired a remarkable day and will carry us into the next decade of tireless work."

For the tenth consecutive year, over fifty delegates representing HAF fanned out in teams visiting dozens of congressional offices on the Senate and House sides of the U.S. Capitol on June 4. Delegates asked legislative leaders in direct meetings to begin a congressional letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, calling on the incoming Nawaz Sharif government of Pakistan to take concrete steps to ease the continuing tragedy of religious persecution and violence faced by Hindus, Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Christians there. They also called for the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees to host congressional hearings on the retaliatory violence faced by Hindus and Buddhists in Bangladesh in the wake of recent verdicts against Islamist leaders implicated for their roles in the 1971 genocide during Pakistan's partition. Delegates covered domestic issues as well, articulating uniquely Hindu perspectives on the pending immigration legislation.

At noon, HAF delegates gathered in the gallery of the House of Representatives within the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. On a joint invitation of Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, spiritual head of Kauai's Hindu Monastery and Publisher of the Hinduism Today magazine, offered a Hindu invocation to open the day's House proceedings.

"The tragic Boston marathon bombings, still vivid in all our minds, implore us to advocate the humanity of a nonviolent approach in all of life's dimensions. Hindu scripture declares, without equivocation, that the highest of high ideals is to never knowingly harm anyone," said Bodhinatha, becoming the first Hindu sannyasin, or monk, to offer the opening prayer for Congress. Chairman Royce, of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, took to the House floor after the invocation to thank Bodhinatha, while acknowledging HAF's decade of advocacy and work on the Hill.

As the gala reception got under way, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) accepted HAF's Friend of the Community award while affirming his commitment to ensuring that the FBI mandate a separate category for the tracking of data for hate crimes committed against Hindus - a position long advocated by HAF. Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY), Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, similarly was awarded for his work on pushing for the anti-Hindu hate crime data category on the House side. Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA) accepted the third HAF Friend of the Community Award for his commitment to promoting promoting pluralism and inter-religious dialogue, and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), the first Hindu American elected to Congress, was recognized for her history-making win.

"Our government leaders are hearing from Hindu Americans in a sustained, consistent way for the last decade, and the results are showing," said Suhag Shukla, Esq., HAF's Executive Director and Legal Counsel. "Our commitment to the community is to continue these efforts, expand them, and usher in a new generation of Hindu American leaders making a difference in political engagement."

Among the evening's other awardees were Professor Sachi Dastidar from State University of New York Old Westbury, who received HAF's Dharma Seva Award, Professor Ved Nanda from the University of Denver, the Pride of the Community, and Professor Arvind Sharma from McGill University with HAF's Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Pluralism. Finally, HAF's inaugural Award for the Advancement of Dharmic Arts and Humanities went to Kanniks Kannikeswaran for his pioneering work in the Indian American choral movement and whose locally-based choir performed sacred Hindu songs throughout the evening's celebration.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRNNzMZgrzs This Portuguese video was uploaded to youtube with an English translation in May and has quickly become very popular. It's well worth watching the whole way through.

Congratulations to Gunasegaran and Mohana Chitravellu for Vishesha Diksha. Congratulations to Eesan and Rajeswari Pasupati for Mantra Diksha and Congratulations to Sivanathan Batumalai for Mantra Diksha. Aum Namah Sivaya!

Morning Satsang in Singapore at the Dohadeva residence. More than 30 attended this Satsang with Bani and Rema Devi receiving Samaya Diksha. Congratulations and Aum Namah Sivaya!

Gaurav, Ripla and Aran Malhotra managed a booth at the Lamont Hindu Temple in Chicago on April 13th

One of our long time devotees wanted to honor Gurudeva's life and the Guru Chronicles (which he writes "is a masterpiece beyond compare") in some way after Mahasamadhi this year and sent us this little poem, (while at the same time "borrowing" the magnificent artwork in the Guru Chronicles). We thought we would share it with you. Jai Gurudeva! Beloved Guru to countless souls!

For many years now Rajan Ramakrishnan has been sending us his illustrations of Ganesha. He is amazingly prolific and has done many hundreds of them. You can see his collections here: http://www.rajandraws.com/

This morning we honored Gurudeva with a powerful puja, invoking his blessing and guidence.