Jai Ganesha!

Recently Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Acharya Arumuganathaswami boarded a plane to begin their week-long journey to Thailand. The two are there to attend the 2023 World Hindu Congress at which Satguru will be receiving an award for Hinduism Today magazine and its global impact. Satguru and Acharya will also be giving talks while there. We wish them an enjoyable and fulfilling trip! Aum Namah Sivaya.

Meet the Associated Press (arguably the world's largest provider of news) described as: "The AP has a vast global reach, distributing news in multiple languages, reaching audiences across diverse cultures worldwide."

In July they sent a journalist (Deepa Bharat) and a photographer (Jessie Wardarski) to Kauai to do a story on Iraivan Temple. They work together as a special team, traveling internationally to cover specifically spiritual stories for the Associated Press. They spent three days on the island and later created an article and a 4-minute video, both very authentic and tasteful. Deepa is a Tamil woman, so she was deeply familiar with the subtleties of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy which would have escaped others; plus she could interview Pravinkumar in Tamil, who said some sweet things (watch the film). This morning we are getting messages from around the world asking if we saw this? Yes, and helped create it!

You can enjoy the video and the story here (and share it freely):

https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-kauai-island-hindu-temple-11644b04626e6482a172821d1d0b356a

We share here a few photos of the Skanda Sashti puja a few days ago (which was also livestreamed), and in the middle of the puja, while Karttikeya was decorated, Brahmachari Shankara Veylan took the six-month Supplicancy Pledge. Having already taken the vow of purity, he now takes on two more vows, the vow of Humility and the vow of Confidence. This pledge declares his intention towards a life of monasticism, as he now begins the final process, by which he will ready himself for the life of the Postulant. From the Sacred Pledge booklet:

"The supplicant's foremost objective is to strive for mastery of the charya marga, or path of service. This begins with the avoidance of wrongful actions and the overcoming of base instincts and emotions as he learns to transmute worldliness into the higher states of devotion and selflessness. At this stage on the path, the Saivite devotee is content not to strive for profound spiritual attainments but to work diligently with the faults and flaws that are stumbling blocks on the path, learning at the same time to depend not only on his own resources but on the limitless abilities of the Gods to resolve all difficulties and dissolve all obstacles. The Supplicancy is a time of profound worship of Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan and Lord Siva and of deepening commitment and service to Saivite Hinduism and to the Church. It is also a time of study, challenge and inner change. The supplicant is encouraged to strive for the perfection of service and for the monastic ideals of humility, industry and responsibility, renouncing personal needs for the benefit of others. In this service, he should strive for transparency, that quality of anonymous virtue in which the premonastic lives in full harmony with others, remaining centered within and not standing out or disturbing the surroundings. It is this ancient tradition of unseen service and unperturbable stability that the supplicant seeks to emulate, realizing that serving in unheralded ways and renouncing the fruits of even good deeds averts the pitfalls of the spiritual ego and nurtures the state of unpretentiousness. By putting great energy into premonastic life and by serving tirelessly for the benefit not of himself but of others, the supplicant opens himself to the inflow of Lord Siva's grace."Aum Namah Sivaya.

Join us on November 18th at 3:00pm (Kauai time) for our 2023 celebration of Skanda Shashti. Each year in Kadavul Temple, our monks perform this special abhishekam for Lord Murugan . Om Skandaya Namah

Following are some of the specific progress steps taken over the last weeks.
During their final days here, the silpis crafted a beautiful granite sign for the new maintenance shop, storage and office building, called Hale Hana.

The concrete "apron" around the building cured and is ready to use

Mobile tool storage units with work counters were assembled.

A simple bathroom indoors was completed

The storage rooms are all painted and lit, with trip along the base of walls.

Trim was installed around all the doors, and some windows placed.

As the annual Gurudeva Puja events have winded down and we head into Skanda Shashthi, sishya Rajkumar Manickam shares additional photos, taken with his fancy camera, of scenery and the San Marga murthi moves on day three. The final afternoon will be a separate post.

Today a glimpse of the golden murtis of Siva that abide in five niches around the Iraivan vimanam. As you know, this form of God Siva (called Sadasiva or Panchabrahma) is among the most important forms of God found in the Saiva Agamas. Enjoy the darshan of the five 32" tall murtis which now are dressed daily in different colors.

For those seeking the ultimate resource detailing Sadasiva in all His profound mysticism and glory, go here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10smkQGLR6MSrvgcJRbK-MvdZBRiEDyTR/view?usp=sharing

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

"'I am the master of my fate.' This is how you become the master of your fate and the ruler of your own destiny. Through meditation you can bring everything to the now. 'What happens when all the karma of all my past lives is worked out and I finally bring myself up to the now? Then what happens?' you might ask. You would truly be an artisan, an absolute expert at working out karma in the mental and spiritual spheres, and could begin to help working out karma for other people. Karma is transferable. One can take on some of the karma of other people, work it out for them and make their burden a little easier for them. ¶After the realization of the Self, Paraśiva, the forces of dharma and previous karma still exist, but through the force of the realization of God, much of the impending impact of karma has dwindled, and it is faced differently, treated differently. Prior to the experience of realization, karmas were dealt with in individual increments. After realization, the sum total is seen. The spiritual destiny is realized. The karma and dharma and the future manufacturing of karma are viewed from within out, as a totality."

Today marks 8,033 days since Gurudeva's Maha Prasthana, his great departure into Siva's world of light. And today, in a few hours, we will celebrate his life and teachings, his remarkable accomplishments, for the 294th time. We quote from Gurudeva who describes the unfathomable profundity os Siva's path, the Saiva Neri.

"The Natha Sampradaya has revealed the search for the innermost divine Self, balanced by temple worship, fueled by kundalini yoga, charted by monistic theism, illumined by a potent guru-shishya system, guided by soul-stirring scriptures and awakened by sadhana and tapas.

Thank you, Gurudeva, for setting us on the right path. And keeping us there!