This morning, following a full-moon retreat, the monks began their new phase. As usual, it started off with a Siva homa. Satguru Bodhinatha will be returning from his travels this evening, so Sadasivanathaswami served at the homa in his stead, burning the prayers to the devas and giving a talk afterwards. Paramacharya discussed several things, including new understandings in science, which, after reading from Gurudeva's words, parallel his understandings. These fairly recent scientific views state that reality is a potentiality, until something becomes aware of any part of it.

Paramacharya read from Merging with Siva, Lesson 326:

The point of conception is the apex of creation. At what point do we conceive, and how do we create? Let's expand our consciousness, really expand our consciousness, and begin to know that creation is merely recognizing what is already there--that there is nothing new; everything is within you and it is portrayed on the outside as you become aware that it is already created, finished, within you. What makes the point of conception the apex of creation? It is the story of you. Expand your consciousness to take in the sun, the moon, the planets, the Earth, everyone. And when your limited consciousness focuses upon one thing, you say, "There is the sun, and in a few hours I will see the moon." And in a few hours you do see the moon. You are the creator, but you only create to the lower realms of the mind. Everything is within you: the sun, the moon, the planets, all of the people functioning through all their different states of consciousness, all of the various manifestations of form. They are all within you. As you become aware of one thing at a time, you are really creating it into the lower realms of your mind. You are translating it into the lower realms of your mind. Your recognition of what is is the way you create it to yourself. This is deep. This is in the realm of contemplation. And only in the realm of contemplation will you begin to conceive of it. Those of you who have had the power enough to concentrate enough of the mind in order to contemplate should begin to be very godlike in your everyday life. You should work very, very hard to do each thing perfectly that you do in your conscious mind, to finish each job, and to have consideration for others at all times. That will take you into the next stages of contemplation. When we become careless in our lower realms of the mind after having reached contemplation, we use that great God-power in a negative way and build great barriers within ourselves that hold us in the lower realms of the mind. But when we strive diligently to perfect devotion, which is bhakti, to perfect service, which is karma yoga, at all times--twenty-four hours a day the vigil is--then we release barriers, barriers that we are going to meet perhaps next year or the year after. We burn up and clean up karma that will come even in your next life. And you go from one stage of contemplation and become stable in the next stage of contemplation, until you begin to live on the very brink of the Absolute. And it's on the brink of the Absolute that you can begin to realize that the point of conception is the very apex of creation. You realize all form, and then you realize formlessness.

One of our viewer form Trinidad and Tobago writes English Poetry based on Sanskrit-Hindi literature. The following for Lord Siva, based on the famous Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra, from the Rig Veda, found in the Sri Rudram Trayambakam Yajamahe Upon the tresses of life’s fragrant breath, Came Love, Compassion, And the bliss of Realisation; As I came to know that all these three, Are the soft beautiful eyes of Mahadeva, For He is Trayambakam; The beautiful one of three eyes, And Yajamahe; We worship him with all our hearts, Sugandhim, pushti and vardhanam, He pervades the universe with His sweetness; He nourishes all and sustains everything. Oh Lord, my God of Gods, Open my heart and release my soul, Lift me to the heights of devotion to You, As we tread our path of BhaktiKarmaGyana, Give us liberation and free us from death, Mrtyor mukshiya mamritat, Just like a ripe fruit Is snapped from its stem, Quickly, effortlessly and with consummate ease: Urvarukam iva bandhanan; Give us Realisation of the Brahman, The permanent reality of the universe, Grant us Your Sat, Chitta and Annand, That we may be free in life, To live the bliss of Your Realisation, And always worship at Your Lotus feet, With all our heart and all our love, Om Shri Trayambakaya Namah.

This is our second release from Gurudeva's archive of treasures. The famous upadesha—The Self God—was given in 1959. It is a powerful a message. A 20th century Rishi speaks of timeless truths that instill in the listener a deep sense of aspiration to work hard to achieve the ultimate goal of human birth: Realization of the Self God within.

Following Gurudeva's 12th annual mahasamadhi celebration, several of the visiting pilgrims and local members hiked the Kuilau Trail along with some of the monks. At the picnic area at the top, they had a mountian-top meditation and a restful lunch.

Dinanatha Bodhiswami is a travel agent in Moscow who conducts tours to India. He is a brahmachari and very devoted to Gurudeva's teachings. He studies Sanskrit and has a wonderful chanting voice and conducts tours of people interest in yoga and Hinduism to India, where he has been many times. This is his third visit to Kauai Aadheenam. This year he came with friends who are also students of yoga and Hinduism.

Dinanatha brought a special gift for the monastery: the 11-volume set of the recently published Encyclopedia of Hinduism—thirty-five kilos of books which he carried from India, to Moscow to Kauai. He also gave Bodhinatha a bottle of Ganges water for Bodhinatha to use for his personal Siva Abhishekam.

Several years ago Dinanatha found that the original Russian language edition of Dancing with Siva had gone out of print. Also some portions of the translation needed revision, so he sponsored a new translation of those parts by Andrey Kostenko who translated the original first half and a new edition will be going to press any day now. He requested Bodhinatha to send an introduction for the book to the people of Russia.

At lunch together, we had a fascinating discussion about Hinduism in Russia. Dinanatha hopes one day that there can be an officially recognized Saivite Hindu institution in Russia. Without official status, you cannot build a temple. In Russia, only Christianity, Buddhism and Islam have official status. Paramacharya told the group about his trips to Russia years ago with Gurudeva. Yana, who was translating for the group, says everything has changed and that today there are many, many more Russians interested in yoga and Hinduism.

There are still seats available for our 2014 Innersearch travel-study program. This year we will be flying to the island nation of Mauritius.

To pique your interest, we have appended some photos of our 2008 Asian Odyssey. We hope they give you a taste of the spiritual, cultural and just-plain-fun experiences one can have while on Innersearch.

This is your opportunity to travel with a satguru and his monks on their periodic journeys, engaging in a personalized instruction based on The Master Course. Twenty-two Innersearch travel-study programs have been held since 1967, taking hundreds of seekers to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tahiti, Hawaii, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Switzerland, the Caribbean, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and dozens of other regions. You can be sure that Innersearch is not your typical excursion but a travel experience that combines the mystical path of Indian spirituality with a superlative retreat from your day-to-day routine.
Each voyage is a pilgrimage to the divine and spectacular inside of you. The all-pervading beauty, color and grandeur of the outer voyage is but a reflection of the bliss and richness of the inner voyage as we delve the within together. A typical day includes morning classes exploring the esoterics of meditation and discussing how to live a spiritually dynamic life in a modern world. There are hatha yoga and meditation classes, question-and-answer sessions, instruction in Shum, Gurudeva's language of meditation, and lots of time for informal sharing with Bodhinatha and the swamis. Some of the most enriching moments are when we meet with Hindu communities, often joining in grand celebrations as they welcome us to the temples they have erected around the world. Next year's Innersearch Travel-Study Program will be extra special, as it will be the first program held on the lovely island/nation of Mauritius and promises to be one of our sweetest journeys. Less grueling travel then previous programs, more upanishadic time with Bodhinatha and the swamis at our very own Spiritual Park which sits majestically at the confluence of a river and the ocean.

During our days on the enchanting island of Mauritius, much of our time will be spent at the Spiritual Park, having outdoor classes, exploring the park's paths, trees and river, meditating and enjoying the divine presence of the Deities. Once a month a large homa for Lord Panchamukha Ganapati is held at the park, drawing thousands of bhaktars from all over the island to receive His blessings. We will have the opportunity to join in the monthly homa at the Spiritual Park on July 6. Be prepared to be amazed at how Gurudeva's little spiritual garden has become the venue for the largest monthly Hindu gathering in the country.


Click here to visit our Innersearch information page for more details

The monks are working each day on the renovation of the spaces where all of the publications are created, called the Media Studio. This 180 degree panorama shows the Cedar Room on the left and the Waialeale Room on the right. Doors are being hung, vents installed, wiring tweaked and cabinets built.

Satya Palani has joined the team during his stay on Kauai, coming out of 12 years of retirement to use his masterly tile setting skills. We are enormously grateful to Satya for taking care of a corner of expertise that is beyond our abilities.

We also brought the 16 wooden ceiling coffers over, to measure them and get ready for installation next month. The ceiling will transform the space. In the photo you can see one of the coffers with the kolam in place. There will be kolam designs from all parts of India.

Yesterday Satguru Bodhinatha and Shanmuganathaswami boarded a plane for their seven day trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. Wishing them a fun and relaxing journey. Aum Namah Sivaya.