Chaturthi is the fourth day after either a new or full moon (in this case full). So today lord Ganesha was honored and elaborately decorated. Today is an excellent day to seek blessings and gather close to this powerful God, overseer of the intricate karmas and dharmas within the heavens and all the earths.

Ganesha, above all others, is the God, the great Mahadeva, to be invoked before every act and especially worshiped and prayed to when changes occur in our lives as we move from the old established patterns into new ones. Lord Ganesha is always there to steady our minds and open the proper doors as we evolve and progress. He never, ever fails. He is always there for us when we need Him.

Kashika Publications, which is responsible for distributing Hinduism Today and Himalayan Academy Publications in Trinidad & Tobago, hosted a two-day workshop at the National Council of Indian Culture's Divali Nagar facility, led by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami last weekend.

If one thing became evident during the weekend's 10 hours of classes, it was that Gurudeva's visit during the 2000 Caribbean Innersearch enlivened this tropical island's Hindu community, gave them permission to be proud of their heritage and faith and activated their interest in learning more about how to apply Hindu principles in their lives. Since then, Ashwinee has gathered around her a marvelous group of sevaks. A dynamic mission for the spreading of the monastery's educational materials not only in Trinidad & Tobago but throughout the Caribbean exists here as a result. It is truly something special. This was Bodhinatha's third visit in the past five years, and his support has been equally important to sustaining the momentum.

As one attended put it in the local language, "Wit' Bodhinatha's trick presentation style, de' Hindus in Trinidad are understandin' deir religion, mon!"

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Sannyasin Senthilnathaswami arrived in Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday night to a warm greeting by hosts Pandit Narendra and Ashwinee Ragoonanan and family. Friday was a full day of calls to local organizations, including the Chinmaya Mission ashram in McBean Village in Couva, in the central part of the island, Dattatreya Yoga Center in Carapichima, Ashwinee's mother's ancestral home in San Juan, and the 90.5 FM radio station facility in the St. Clair district of the capital, Port of Spain.

Due to the great work of Ashwinee Ragoonanan and her husband Pandit Narendra and daughter Kashika over the years, Gurudeva's teachings and Hinduism Today magazine have a strong presence in this country, slowly bolstering the large Hindu population's understanding of and pride in their religion.

The Monastery lives and works according to the lunar calendar, taking a few days during the full moon, half moons and new moon as retreat days. The monk's routine days of kulam duties and group sadhanas make up the other days. These phase days average five per phase. At the beginning of each new phase the monks observe a homa. Devotees from the island and other special guests also attend.

Today Satguru Bodhinatha is traveling, so Paramacharya Sadasivanatha sat in to burn the written prayers. He also gave a short talk following the homa. These last few days at the Aadheenam have seen endless downpours of tropical rain, leaving slippery mud under every step. On that note Paramacharya began with a few quotes from the Tirukkural about the importance of rain.

"No life on Earth can exist without water, and water's ceaseless flow cannot exist without rain."

Paramacharya then continued his talk from last week about the central importance of love on the spiritual path, pointing to the Nandinatha Sutras and the Tirumantirum as direct examples of this concept.

Sutra 34:
Siva's followers all believe that Lord Siva is God, whose immanent nature of love, Parasakti, is the substratum, primal substance or pure consciousness flowing through all form as energy, existence, knowledge and bliss. Aum.

The ignorant prate that Love and Siva are two,
But none do know that Love alone is Siva
When men but know that Love and Siva are the same,
Love as Siva, they ever remained.
270

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Sannyasin Senthilnathaswami visited the Austin Hindu Temple last Sunday, where Bodhinatha gave a talk to a small group in the complex's original Ganesha temple.

Monday presented the opportunity to drop in on the Chinmaya Mission's new facility under construction in Austin. Taking the moniker Chinmaya Sundaram, there will be a significant Siva temple on the premises, along with classrooms for grades 1-12 suitable for a total of 350 students. Brahmachari Girish Chaitanya, who was overjoyed at Bodhinatha's visit, explained that they will probably outgrow the facilities, which will be finished within the month, almost right away. Fortunately more land has already been set aside for expansion.

The next stop was the home of Ravi, Devi and Bhuma Ravindraj in Round Rock, where a handful of local well-wishers--along with Chandran and Sahana Param and their children who are following Bodhinatha throughout Texas--gathered for informal satsang and brunch.

Tuesday evening saw a dinner at the home of Chinna and Sivagami Natesan in Austin, and Wednesday Bodhinatha and Swami drove to Houston to prepare to fly to Trinidad & Tobago for the weekend. Stay tuned for a story on that.

It's quite a task, finding and keeping peace within yourself. Gurudeva had much to say about it, and here we share one of his simple admonitions:

Keeping Peace Within Yourself

Then the next step unfolds from within most naturally: zero tolerance for disharmonious conditions within our own self. This brings us back to my guru's wisdom: claim the strength to stop being miserable, to stop tolerating turmoil inside yourself. How is this accomplished? We have to boldly affirm, "I will not allow the instinctive mind that I experienced as a child to control me in any way. I will not allow anger to come up. I will not allow jealousy to dominate my thinking and make me feel inferior or superior to someone else. I will not allow fear to permeate my aura." 

To see the peaceful beauties of Siva's Perfect Universe, of which you are a perfect creation, enjoy today's amazing slideshow of nature...

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Sannyasin Senthilnathaswami are traveling in Texas and Trinidad this month. The first stop was the Greene Family Camp, an expansive summer camp facility run by the Union for Reform Judaism in Bruceville, a small town about 100 miles north of Austin. Here the Hindu Students Association held their fifth annual camp called Gateway over the weekend of February 7-9.

Due to snow, students from the University of Arkansas branch were unable to drive in, and due to the near-and-sometimes-below-freezing temperatures that are blanketing most of Texas currently, others couldn't make it, so attendance was only about 60, around half of the usual number of students from universities mostly in Texas.

Senthilnathaswami was asked to open the camp with a Ganapati puja including explanation of the meaning and purpose behind each step. An acharya from the Arya Samaj in Houston conducted a homa and gave wonderful explanations about the meaning and purpose of traditional yajna according to the Vedas. Bodhinatha led three discussion sessions, one each day, on topics and questions submitted by the HSA members:

1: The Hindu View of the Universe: Creation and Purpose
2: What is Hinduism's view on heaven and hell?
3: What is the connection between science and Hinduism?
4: There has been a decline of Hindus in the recent years. Despite surviving for many years, what does the future of Hinduism look like?
5: What is the Hindu view of drugs, specifically cannabis, and alcohol?
6: What are the qualifications to be a Hindu religious leader?
7: What is Hinduism's view on homosexuality?
8: Marriage, Dating and Premarital Sex

With the Ganapti Kulam's recent finalization of the next issue of Hinduism Today, they are now free to devote a great deal of their energy to their work on the Media Studio renovation project. Today several projects are actively progressing simultaneously. The new tent cover for the saw mill is being put together, the cove molding is being installed, the team's new desks are being created, the ceiling vents are being painted, the 1008 lingam cabinet has been assembled and the front entryway door installation is moving forward. Not to mention all of the unseen background task which must be accomplished. Here is a slideshow of some of the recent progress, with an in depth look at how the mango desktops are being created.