Tirukural – Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Possession of Self-Control
Verse 124
With a massive mountain behind him, a man sits before trays of delicious food. Others are gathered around, gossiping, drinking and otherwise indulging themselves, as he sits detached from such temptations.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 121
Self-control will place one among the Gods,
while lack of it will lead to deepest darkness.
Verse 122
Guard your self-control as a precious treasure,
for there is no greater wealth in life than this.
Verse 123
Comprehending and acquiring self-control
confers upon one the esteem of wise men.
Verse 124
More imposing than a mountain is the greatness of a man who,
steadfast in domestic life, has mastered self-control.
Verse 125
Humility is a precious quality in all people,
but it has a rare richness in the rich.
Verse 126
Like a tortoise withdrawing five limbs into its shell, those who
restrain the five senses in one life will find safe shelter for seven.
Verse 127
Whatever you may fail to guard, guard well your tongue,
for flawed speech unfailingly invokes anguish and affliction.
Verse 128
The goodness of all one’s virtues can be lost
by speaking even a single word of injury.
Verse 129
The wound caused by fire heals in its time;
the burn inflicted by an inflamed tongue never heals.
Verse 130
Virtue will wait in the streets to meet a man
possessed of learning and self-discipline, his anger subdued.
Behind the Glass
In the Ganapati Kulam's Media Studio, you are taken aback by the beauty of the natural view of the river, mountain and Iraivan Temple. As you peer out from these glass panels, you're not as likely to notice the smaller panel nearby. Gurudeva encouraged monks and members to have art forms that involve the refining of something physical, reflecting the constant refinements within our own minds. So we are, of course, talking about the office's 125 gallon freshwater aquarium—an example of cultivating the growth of a living system and maintaining its balance. With a recent request for an update of this tank, this post seemed like a relaxing thing to leave you all with for our upcoming two days of retreat. Venture through the slides to learn more. Aum.
Our New Variety of Tomatoes!
Aum Sivaya. Here is our latest tomato variety to come online, ready for our monks to enjoy. These are Climstar Tomatoes. They grow in big clusters like this and, as you might expect, are super delicious. Jai to our veggie-growing monks!
The Task of Tiling Iraivan Temple’s Foundation
Jai Ganesha!
Recently we have begun what will eventually lead to the tiling of Iraivan Temple's foundation plinth. Currently the entire plinth around the temple is bare concrete, but when complete, it will be topped with red granite tiles, accenting the white granite Temple and walls and continuing with the South Indian Temple theme of representing Siva and Shakti with whites and reds. White as the unmanifest and red as the manifest Universe. It's a process that requires a great deal of thought and careful calculation in order for us to be efficient and to produce the best result that we can. Click through the slideshow to learn a little more. It's wonderful to see yet another big part of the temple project begin to move. Aum Namah Sivaya.
New Art Collections on HAMSA
Aum Namah SivayaYou can now enjoy two more collections of artwork available on the Himalayan Academy Museum of Spiritual Art. The first is an informative collection of the traditional 32 forms of Ganesha as found in the Mudgala Purana. These pieces of art are joined by their scriptural description found in the Purana's Dhyana Slokas.
The second collection consists of the entirety of the black and white artwork found in our Saivite Hindu Religion Course, books 1, 2 and 3. The art includes the english captions from the books and would be perfect for children to color in. Feel free to download them and print them.
Observing Sadhu Paksha
Aum Namah Sivaya
Many blessings from Kauai Aadheenam on this Ardra Nakshatra.
Today our monks began two weeks of "Sadhu Paksha," a time of reflection and quietude before the changing of seasons from our harvest season to our winter season, the Moksha Ritau. For these two weeks our monks enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds them. A sunrise stroll reveals flowers, birds, fish, ancient stones, a bright moon above and a fiery sky. Aum.
"All you have to do is to watch your mind think. Then and only then are you experiencing your perfect state of inner being." Gurudeva
Tirukural – Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Impartiality
Verse 118
A man is sitting with two others, one on each side. He is there to make a judgment, to balance things fairly. From above, a deva places a crown on the central figure to acknowledge his fairness.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 111
Justice may be called good when it acts impartially
toward enemies, strangers and friends.
Verse 112
The wealth of those who possess justice will not perish;
rather it will be their posterity's soothing security.
Verse 113
However prosperous it may seem, all wealth gained
by loss of rightness must be relinquished that very day.
Verse 114
In their offspring one may doubtlessly discern
who are the just and who are the unjust.
Verse 115
Adversity and prosperity never cease to exist. The adornment
of great men's minds is to remain unswervingly just under both.
Verse 116
When his heart forsakes fairness and his deeds turn depraved,
a man realizes deep within himself, "I am ruined."
Verse 117
Though a man is profoundly impoverished,
if he remains just, the world will not regard him as poor.
Verse 118
To incline to neither side, like a balance scale's level beam,
and thus weigh impartially is the wise one's ornament.
Verse 119
Speech uttered without bias is integrity,
if no unspoken bias lurks in the heart.
Verse 120
Those businessmen will prosper whose business
protects as their own the interests of others.
Iraivan Temple Lavarock Update – November 28
Aum Namah Sivaya
While the Siplis are busy working on some smaller, detailed projects within the temple, the lavarock wall that surrounds the temple foundation continues its steady progression. The stones on either side of the entry staircase are beginning to look complete on the southern side. The stones along the entire east side of the temple are almost fully in place with the edge along their top almost complete. All the small stones acquired for the very top of the wall have been collected. The West side of the temple is also much further along with an entire row of stone having been added. Aum.
Iraivan in High-Dynamic-Range
Recently our monks have made a few fantastic HDR photos of Iraivan temple using photos from an iPhone. For those that don't know, these photos are made by combining three photos at different exposures allowing detail and color to be preserved in the shadows and highlights. Sometimes a little extra digital magic is added for fun, to make some outstanding visual experiences. Aum.
Our Daily Modes of Consciousness
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami presents his January/February/March, 2021, Publisher's Desk Editorial from Hinduism Today Magazine. "Ancient texts teach us a way to comprehend the mysteries of mind, describing four fundamental states of consciousness."
From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.
