Respect and Nurture of the Elderly
One of Gurudeva's teachings to all his sishya was to encourage respect, care and nuture of our elders. He promoted the idea that elders should live near temples and have an opportunity to pursue spiritual life. Of course this can only happen if we teach this ideal to the next the younger generation
Sishya, Thondunathan, is very active in the Tamil Sri Lankan community and he write: "One of the important goals of my teaching mission is to encourage our youth to love and respect the elderly and learn from them. Whenever I visit Canada, I accompany my students to the elderly homes and we sing, play instruments and entertain them.
In July, when we were at one such home, one of the residents named Mr. Mohamed (of Pakistani origin), told us that day was his birthday. We wished him a happy birthday; later, one of the nurses told us that Mr. Mohamed did not have a family, and even on his birthday no one visits him. The next day, we went back to see Mr. Mohamed, sang "Happy Birthday," gave him gifts and lots of hugs. Yes, tears began to roll down his face. We told the children that this is Sivathondu - "Service to God." It was a great learning experience for the students.
In Sri Lanka, once a month, students travel from the neighboring schools to our Sivapoomi Elderly Home and perform cultural programs for the elderly. The elders love the programs and they look forward to them. So, whenever I am in Sri Lanka, I give talks in public schools, and one of my main topics is always about loving and caring for the elderly and the needy.
I hope and pray that more and more schools and parents in the East and West will get involved in this kind of Sivathondu, and give their children such a meaningful firsthand experience of life and service.
In Peace,
Rishi Thondunathan
About the photos: Our visit to the eldely home in Canada in July, the Sivapoomi Elderly Home and some of the school talks in Sri Lanka in March of this year.
Kauai Seniors Visit the Monastery
High Ceremony For Mauritius Sishya
November 19th was a blessed day for the devotees of the Kailasa Paramapara in Mauritius. A number of the sishya advanced on the spiritual path by receiving Vishesha Diksha. Having proved themselves worthy and ready, they now take on the daily sadhana of performing Siva Atmartha puja in their homes. This is a big step on the traditional path of the Saiva Neri, as the devotee moves from the charya stage, fully into kriya, deepening his or her relationship with our Divine God Siva. On this solid foundation of daily worship, the devotee can proceed into the deeper realms of Raja Yoga.
The ceremonies were held at our Saiva Dharmasala, Saiva Siddhanta Church on Mauritius, known to the public as "The Spiritual Park." All the island sishyas were present at the ceremony which lasted some two hours. It was very special to be here with only the satsang of close devotees. Many remarked they felt like they were at a homa like they see at the Aadheenam on TAKA. After the Siva Homa, devotees were asked to collect water from the river and to ceremoniously pour over the Sivalingam. It was a memorable event for all those present. Aum.
Do You Believe?
A fun part of Sadasivanathaswami's talk after the homa yesterday:
Two babies were in the womb of a pregnant woman.
The first one asks the other, - "Do you believe in life after birth?"
- Sure! There's got to be something after birth. Maybe we're here just to prepare ourselves for what we'll be in the future.
- Hummm, no. That's nonsense! There's no life after birth. What could such a life be like?
- I don't know exactly, but certainly at least brighter than in here. Maybe we'll walk by ourselves, with our own feet... maybe we'll even eat with our mouth!
- Preposterous. Walking around freely, with our own feet, is impossible! And eating with our mouth... Ridiculous! Mouths are for making sounds, but food comes from our umbilical cordon. I'll tell you something: life after birth is definitely impossible - our umbilical cordon is too short, don't you see?
- There's got to be something! May be it's just a bit different than what we are used to experience in here...
- Think about it: no one has ever came back after birth. Delivery just wraps up life - this life that's nothing more than a long and uncomfortable time in the darkness.
- Well, I don't know what will happen after birth, but certainly we'll be with Mom and she will take care of us.
- Mom???? So you believe in Mom? And where exactly is she supposed to be?
- Where? Everywhere around us! It's in her, and thru her, that we live. Without her nothing we know could exist.
- I don't believe it. I've never seen any "Mom". If you're honest with yourself, you'll admit Mom does not exist outside your imagination...
- But sometimes, when we're really quiet, we can hear her singing, feel a certain life rhythm as though she is dancing for joy and intuit a maternal caring all around us... You know, I think real life is ahead of us - and this is just a preparation for it!...
New Phase Begins with Homa
We are back after at two-day retreat and had another magical homa this morning to begin our phase. Sadasivanathaswami presided in Bodhinatha's stead.
Last Week's Tour
With the holiday season many Hindu families with children are free to travel. Our last tour was on the 23rd. The Aadheenam gardens are a magical setting to share a few basic beliefs of Hinduism in the spirit of education. Many are from Western faiths and they are interested to hear the Hindu declaration that God never punishes. Our law of karma explains that it is our own thoughts, speech and action which are the powerful forces that spin out into the cosmos and return to us as the temporary creations and circumstances of our life. We also have Hindus coming to Kauai for events like a wedding only to be told by the locals about Hindu temple they can visit. Paramacharya Sadasivanathswami signed books for guests today. He explained to one fortunate couple Gurudeva's insistence on zero tolerance for inharmonious conditions, and how to apply it - both in the monastery and in family life. Holiday season brings the little ones and our new children's books are a big hit with Hindu families. They are real life stories of challenges children face with practical, modern examples and answers of how to work through them.
Holiday Guests
The holidays are bringing lots of Hindu families to Kauai Aadheenam
This is the family of Dr. Bhagawandas P. Lathi and his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grand-children. Dr. and Mrs. Lathi have been very strong supporters of Hinduism Today and Iraivan temple through the years! And we all want to thank them for their generous contributions.
Brahmachari Mayuran Supplicates for Entry
Brahmachari Mayuran recently advancef from Aspirancy to Supplicancy. During this stage he sits by the Wall of Rain for many hours each day, inwardly begging the devas to help him adjust himself to the monastery, all the while supplicating the monastic order to be accepted as a full-fledged monastic. He will sit here daily for at least a month or more at the discretion of the Guru and then be interviewed by the group of senior monastics. If he is accepted he takes his Postulant Vows and becomes a Sadhaka, making him a full monastic of our community.
