Aum Namah Sivaya
Please enjoy this video version of Satguru’s January 2024 Publisher’s Editorial from Hinduism Today Magazine. You can read the article or explore more from our latest issue here. Aum.

A long project full of love and thoughtful effort has come to a close. A team from Pacific Concrete, Cutting & Coring came up some days ago to install the final three metal panels on the perimeter wall of Iraivan Temple. They are:
#7-- The Panchabrahma Mantra
#27-- A Saiva Siddhanta Creed in Sanskrit
#30-- Verses From the Vedas

The panels gleam in the afternoon sun today. Another stage of the temple structure is complete. Aum Namasivaya.

As mentioned in this post from November, Kulu Leihilani brought her dancers to perform the Pihanakalani chant and dance on the historic land that the ancient hula was created for. After weeks of making their outfits, they came with family and friends. The event was captured by iEcho, who've just released this wonderful video.

Our cookbook is out of print, proof (if it was needed) that people love to cook and eat. This week we updated it, asking ChatGPT to make us some new and relevant images. You can see a couple of the results in the slideshow, all painted by DALL-E, the intelligent but highly artificial artist.

The files are ready and today they go off to Amazon. Huh! Yes, Amazon, the company that already manages much of life, now wants to take over the on-demand printing business. We are trying their service for the first time.

The history of the Monks' Cookbook is that as Gurudeva traveled across the globe, he was invited to special meals in devotees' homes. Naturally, the Ammas brought out all of the family's heirloom recipes to serve to the Satguru, and so the meals were extraordinary. The best of the best were captured by having a swami run into the kitchen after the meal, and write down Amma's recipe.

One by one they were captured, and for 20 years it was only used in the monastery kitchen on Kauai, kept in a 3-ring binder. Inside were punched pages, typed with a tool I think they called a typewriter, with pages stained with ghee and spices. Finally, in 1997 Gurudeva gave permission to print it and share the riches.

You can now read it online, purchase or download the free ePub or PDF here:
https://kauaishindumonastery.com/books/monks-cookbook/

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

"Haṭha yoga (ha-piṅgalā and ṭha-iḍā) balances the two forces, the iḍā and the piṅgalā. The straight, erect spine releases the actinodic flow of the sushumṇā current. The mind centered in the contemplative atmosphere, cognizing timelessness, causelessness, spacelessness while sitting in the lotus position, awakens the pineal and pituitary centers, and the door of Brahman at the top of the head. "

Jai Gurudeva!

January 5th was Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's Jayanthi, and while we and many others the world over celebrated Gurudeva's birthday in our own quiet way, devotees in Sri Lanka were now able to gather at the newly completed Subramuniya Mandapam. Rishi Thondunathan sends us photos of the event.

"On January 5, we celebrated Gurudeva's Jayanthi at our Alaveddy Subramuniya Temple. Many children attended the event, along with Nallai Adheenam and Vethantha Madham Swamis, as well as local elders.

Some of the children's grandparents studied at our Subramuniya Ashram. It is heartening to see Gurudeva's legacy continuing through the generations in Alaveddy. Some elders recalled Gurudeva's Jayanthi in Alaveddy in 1983"

Water drainage around our buildings is a key task, since we are blessed with lots of rain.
With several days of drier weather (before these photos taken this morning), the Siddhidata Kulam was able to install long pipes and move earth around to channel rain water away from the new building.

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

"Control of the prāṇa is also guided through nutrition. Food and air contain a great deal of prāṇa. Prāṇa is transferred from one person to another, from a person to a plant, from a plant to a person. It is the life of the world of form. We should eat types of food that contain a great deal of prāṇa so that we are making prāṇa ourselves. Consider the physical body as a temple, with plumbing and electricity. To maintain this temple, watch what you eat and be conscious of the areas where you flow awareness in the world of thought. The vibration of certain thoughts upsets the nerve system of this physical-body temple. Also, be careful of the people that you mix with, so that their awareness and vibrations do not pull your awareness into unwholesome areas and the vibrations of their aura do not affect your temple. This is extremely important to observe, especially during the first few years of unfoldment."

Happy Jayanthi, Gurudeva...

For decades January 5 has held a special place in our lives, the day we would fall at Gurudeva's feet and joyously wish him Happy Birthday.

In 1998, we held a special island-wide surprise party to honor his 72nd birthday. He regarded the 72nd as specially significant, entering the fourth stage of life, the sannyasa ashraa. The event was called "It's a Beginning!" Over 500 island residents were invited to the Kilohana Mansion for an evening of adventures. As the day approached there was much planning, but we only shared the minimum with him, so when he went out to get in the car, we kept walking and put him (amazed!) into a helicopter waiting in a field where Iraivan now sits for the five-mile flight to his party. Hawaiian hula dancers and chanters greeted him, and Hindu ladies offered the traditional arati at the entrance.

Inside, Gurudeva was brought to the stage where he danced with Kauai's Mayor, Maryanne Kusaka; he showing her Manipuri dance, she tutoring him in hula. We weighed him on a homemade scale and gave him a check for what his weight in gold was that day. A giant painting by Indra Sharma, a famed Indian artist, was unveiled to raucous applause. Butterflies were released; elders were honored by children (something Gurudeva stressed often); songs were sung and tearful testimonies shared; and a grand veggie dinner was served.
Today would mark his 97th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Gurudeva, as you continue to guide us in this and the inner worlds of light. Our offering today is not so social as that 1998 party, but our love, if anything, is stronger, and we place that as our gift at your feet today.

Jai Ganesha!

Today we bring you a selection of photos from Rajen, who is currently here from Mauritius. Rajen has been working along side the monks, and will be for his full 5 month stay here. He also happens to enjoy photography! Over the last few weeks Rajen has been exploring with his camera, to bring you all some new perspectives of Kauai Aadheenam.