Dr. Frank Neubert, our visiting professor from the University of Bern in Switzerland, has been having a wonderful time learning about the monastery. He's reading through our books, enjoying the pujas and observing how the monks produce the magazine for his research. He had a meeting with Bodhinatha today and was able to get His perspective for his work. Frank has also been spending time with the Ganapati Kulam's members. Prior to the meeting, he sat in on the editing of one of the magazine articles, seeing first-hand what goes into their creation.

Yesterday was the monastery's tour day, which brought about 70 people to see the grounds and Iraivan temple. More and more, individuals who come to see the monastery on these tours, turn out to be very interested, respectful and spiritual people.

Today the GK had two wonderful guests attend their morning meeting. Dr. Frank Neubert from Switzerland and Seiyonne Suriyakumar from California.

Dr. Frank Neubert is a professor at the University of Bern in Switzerland. He has been studying Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy and Hinduism Today for some years, writing articles on Gurudeva's work, including one for Brill Encyclopedia in Europe. He is studying the globalization of Hinduism for a long-term project to publish a book on that topic. He is traveling with his wife and 2-year-old son, staying near the monastery and learning how the monks produce the magazine and impact global Hinduism. 

Seiyonne Suriyakumar is a financial analyst for Deloit, one of America's four big financial advisors. Seiyonne, who lives in Los Angeles, is the son of Rushika and Suriyakumar and this is his third visit to the monastery.

This morning's Siva homa invoked the presence of the devas and mahadevas, as notes were burned in the fire to be read by the inner worlds. It is a great blessing to have such a connection, one which is utilized daily by our order to make all our projects go as smoothly and efficiently as possible. People often ask how the monasteries monks are able to do all they do. This cooperation with the inner worlds is the answer. Through renouncing personal preferences and ambitions, the inner-world beings are able to work with and through the monastics, who endeavor always to remain open to their perfectly calculated guidance.

Following the homa, Satguru Bodhinatha gave a wonderful talk, reading from this passage in Merging with Siva, and elucidating on it many mystical verses.

Lesson 272 from Living with Siva
The Evolution Of Humanness
Ahimsa, nonhurtfulness, is the essence of dharma, and the muladhara chakra sets the pattern of dharma. The muladhara chakra is a very interesting chakra, because it is the base center of energy and consciousness, and consciousness is energy, ever creating, preserving and absorbing. Karma is the self-perpetuating principle of cause and effect, shaping our experiences as a result of how we use our energies, mentally, verbally or physically. So, once we narrow down the individual awareness from freedom without responsibility, which is the lower nature, into the consciousness of freedom with responsibility, which is the higher nature, the individual awareness, or consciousness, must pass through the portals of the muladhara chakra and rest comfortably within the energies of its four petals. Four petals, of course, form a square. Three dimensionally, two squares put together with a space between can well be defined as a box. This box is defined as dharma. 

Briefly, at this point on the path to enlightenment we put our cumulative karmas into a box called dharma. Once encased within dharma, the various karmas may fight each other. As the individual progresses on the path, the box lightens and rises. The box of dharma is the base from which the aspirant must live at this point. Strictly contained, he may rise through the hole in the top of the box in consciousness, or open a hole in the bottom of the box and seek freedom without responsibility in the world of darkness. To seek freedom in the chakras above is the San Marga. To seal off the hole at the bottom of the box is his sadhana, penitent tapas, japa, bhakti and Sivathondu, all of which is eloquently explained in Merging with Siva. 

Who holds the lid on the box? Community, community pressures, both religious and secular. There are certain things you can do and certain things you can't do. The stronger ahimsa becomes at the family level, the more subtle it gets, and the violence gets more subtle, too. A careless word can cut the heart of someone you love, but someone not loved may not be wounded by anything less sharp than a knife. 

Someone asks, "I am trying to seal off the chakras below the muladhara, but whenever a trying situation comes up, the feelings of resentment and retaliation are paramount. What can I do?" When the feelings that come up amplify resentment, squelch reason and paralyze memory, we must assume that the box of dharma is empty and does not contain the cumulative sukarmas and kukarmas of this and past lives (the kriyamana and prarabdha karmas), and that he is not bound by dharma at all, or that it has no influence in guiding his future karmas. There are no excuses on this path. This means that the person has really not yet come to Lord Ganesha's feet. Therefore, vrata--he must take a vow and live up to it. 

Ahimsa is a vrata. Rishi Patanjali called it the mahavrata, or great oath. When it is not lived up to, there are consequences. Remorse must be felt, apologies made, penance endured and reconciliation accomplished. The ego experiences embarrassment. All this and more occurs, depending on the individual's sincerity, steadfastness and resolve never to reenter the lower nature of himsa, hurtfulness, again. 

Those who have found it necessary to take the mahavrata of ahimsa and are prepared to make amends if they do not live up to it are well on their way to entering the muladhara and svadhishthana consciousness. Being penitent is rising to reason and remembering the dharma. Being belligerent is lowering to selfishness and, through confusion and anger, attaining his wants. To proceed further, he has to listen to the wise, listen to the swamis, read scripture, perform bhakti and do Sivathondu, selfless service. Those who remain prone to anger should not do raja yoga or any form of intensive mantra, japa, or pranayama amplification of the energies into higher chakras--lest that collective energy plummet into the corresponding lower chakras and be vented through fear, anger and jealousy. 

The fourteen chakras have been described as a pole one must climb. The pole is heavily greased with ghee. It's a slippery pole. Therefore, the helping hand of our loving Ganesha, who reaches down from the muladhara, is needed to lift up the aspirant. It's the helping hand of Lord Murugan that reaches down from the anahata chakra, grabbing and lifting the devotee up. It is the helping hand of Siva that reaches down from the ajna chakra and lifts one up. One cannot do it alone. Total surrender to the Gods is the only way. Karma yoga, bhakti yoga, japa yoga is the way to attract their attention. The guru keeps the path in view, but he does not walk it for you. 

Kumar, Lakshmi and Siddharth Gutta are visiting on pilgrimage from Fort Worth, Texas. They last visited about 16 years ago when Siddharth was just age two and rolling around in a stroller. On that visit they had the opportunity to meet with our late Gurudeva for a few minutes. That visit resonated deeply and now they are back to attend the temple each morning and walk the grounds to perform various sadhanas.

Click here for more photos and report of the homa at our Spiritual Park

Today is a most auspicious day, it's not only Gurudeva's Jayanti, but also a wonderful day for Brahmachari Girish to make his sacred pledge as a Sivanadiyar. 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:

"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.

Last year this carving of the yesti for the temple was started. This first image is a cement model of it created by Dr. Ganapathi Stapathi, a pioneer lecturer of Government College of Architecture and Sculpture, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. He had met Gurudeva while he was lecturing in the college, long before Iraivan was even thought of. The final slide is the state of the stone today, as it nears its completion.