The Concept of Awareness – Part Three
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylaswami gives an Part 3 of his upadeshas on the concept of awareness from the yogic perspective.
Sending You Rainbows
After a month of dry weather here at Kauai Aadheenam, we’ve just received a few days of rain. This means our daily rainbows have returned. Just look to Iraivan between 7:00 and 9:00am and you’re bound to catch a glimpse of one. We have so many that we wish we could package them up and send them to all of you, but this photo will have to suffice for now. As we enter into our two-day, half-moon retreat, Satguru and all our monks would like to thank everyone for their generosity to the monastery this year. It hasn’t been an easy year for many people out there and those that would have liked to visit us haven’t been able to, yet somehow still, you’ve given generous donations to the Aadheenam. Whether it was to help build Iraivan Temple, support the Digital Dharma Drive, grow the Hindu Heritage Endowment or to simply “feed the monks,” we want to offer our appreciation once again. Tonight our monastics will enjoy a few edible treats in celebration of all of you—not just those who donated, but to anyone and everyone who looks to the aadheenam as their spiritual home.
Aum Namah SivayaSivaya Namah Aum
Tirukural – Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Avoidance of Backbiting
Verse 189
Mother Earth is weeping as she watches a woman malign others who are leaving her company and cannot hear her criticisms.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 181
Silent about virtue and swift to act wrongly,
one who does not slander others may still be called good.
Verse 182
More vile than violating virtue and committing crime
is slandering a man, then smiling to his face.
Verse 183
Virtue declares that dying, not living, will bring
better rewards to deceiving backbiters.
Verse 184
Though you speak unkind words to a man’s face,
do not talk behind his back heedless of consequent harm.
Verse 185
Though his every word is full of kindly virtue,
a man’s mean backbiting will betray an empty heart.
Verse 186
If a man spreads tales of others’ faults,
his own worst faults will be exposed and spread.
Verse 187
Not knowing the companionable art of cheerful conversation,
men estrange even friends by divisive discourse.
Verse 188
If men are disposed to spread the faults of friends,
what deadly harm might they do to strangers?
Verse 189
Only because she weighs duty well does Earth bear the weight
of those who wait for a man’s departure to defame him.
Verse 190
If men perceived their own faults as they do the faults of others,
could misfortune ever come to them?
Pongal at Kauai Aadheenam
Several days ago the monastery celebrated Thai Pongal with a short event at Iraivan Temple. On this day the sun enters the sign of Makara (Capricorn), beginning the Tamil solar year. Chinnu cooked some wonderful pongal for everyone along with some delicious vadai. Once Satguru and the monks had arrived Chinnu performed an arati, thus concluding this celebration of abundance. This was of course followed by an abundance of prasadam. Aum Namah Sivaya.
The Concept of Awareness – Part Two
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylaswami gives an Part 2 of his upadeshas on the concept of awareness from the yogic perspective.
Tirukural – Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Avoidance of Covetousness
A beggar has come to the door of a woman who brings him a savory bowl of food. Though impoverished, he points out a valuable necklace she has dropped, showing he does not wish another's wealth to be his. A tortoise rests nearby, his limbs withdrawn into his shell, a metaphor for withdrawing the senses of desire.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 171
In the very attempt to wrongly gain another's wealth,
a man forfeits his family's future and his own faultlessness.
Verse 172
Those who deem injustice shameful never commit
guilt-yielding deeds driven by money-yielding desires.
Verse 173
Those who seek immortal bliss will not succumb
to immoral deeds that follow desire for fleeting delights.
Verse 174
With senses conquered and sight unclouded by depravity,
one will not wish for others' wealth, even in destitution.
Verse 175
What avails a man's subtle and comprehensive learning,
if, crazed by covetousness, he treats others insensibly?
Verse 176
Desiring grace and doing his duty, a man who desires wealth
but acquires it wrongly is destroyed nevertheless.
Verse 177
Do not seek the fortune that greed gathers,
for its fruit is bitter on the day of enjoyment.
Verse 178
To protect one's own prosperity from decline,
one must not crave the property held by others.
Verse 179
Just as wise men know the goodness of noncoveting,
so Fortune Herself knows their goodness and draws near.
Verse 180
There is a thoughtless desire for others' things that is destructive.
There is a mindful pride that, in refusing to covet, is triumphant.
The Golden Form of Yogaswami
Jai to Sri Yoganathan of Jaffna!
As you may know, at Kauai Aadheenam we have a small Yogaswami shrine in the corner of the Guru Pitam and meditation hall. This Golden form of Yogaswami resides there, being one of two such images of this great sage. The other statue is in Jaffna. Over the years, the statue of Yogaswami at Kauai Aadheenam has seen the wear of our tropical environment and the gold was beginning to show it. Thankfully we have some resident experts in the task of worshipfully re-leafing sacred images. Having recently re-leafed Gurudeva's murti in Kadavul, Deva Seyon and Tandu Sivanathan worked together do the same for Yogaswami. After moving Yogaswami to the work area they gave him a thorough cleaning. Later, after applying a chemical layer as a base coat, they added a layer of gold leaf. They next day they added the second layer, and now Yogaswami is looking bright and shiny. Tomorrow we'll see if another layer is needed. Following that, an extremely powerful, clear sealant will be applied, ensuring a longer lasting leaf. Once Yogaswami's murti is reinstalled we'll post some final photos. Aum.
"You can go to the top by climbing up step by step. But exceptionally there are some who, with the help of Shruthis, the guru, and their own understanding and experience, can fly like birds." Yogaswami
A Tractor Upgrade For Himalayan Acres
Jai Ganesha!
For some time now our monks have been looking for a good replacement for our primary tractor that we use on Himalayan Acres. With several hundred acres of land to care for—which included our mahogany forests and noni orchards—it's a big job to keep it all maintained. Several years ago we replaced our older Landini tractor with a newer John Deere model. Unfortunately, the new tractor utilized a fully computerized system that turned out to be easily broken and expensive to repair. Thankfully we were able to find this Branson tractor as a replacement. Though used, it's well-built, isn't computerized and should hold up very well in our challenging environmental conditions. A few days ago the monks held a blessing for the new machine. Aum.
January Mauritius Ganesha Homa
Click here for more photos of the homa at our Spiritual Park: www.saivasiddhanta.org
Our First Chitra Puja of 2021!
Jai Gurudeva!
Recently our monks celebrated our January chitra nakshatra with their monthly padapuja to Gurudeva. Yogis Haranandinatha and Jayanatha performed the short abhishekam. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and other monks attended for this evening worship, invoking the love and blessings of Gurudeva. Aum.
"Understanding, loving and making allowances--these are the strengths of the soul awakened through sadhana, once the emotional ups and downs and the barriers of the instinctive influences of fear, jealousy, anger, deceit and disappointment are conquered" - Gurudeva
From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.
