Today we received this artistic sketch of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and love it. It is the work of Zsolt Novak who is living in Italy and teaching engineering at a university. It's done on a plaster canvas with a roughness nicely contrasting the refinement of the subject. And the subtle splotches of color on the pottu and the earring are fantastic. Thank you, Zsolt. You can get a larger copy of it below:

Download it here

Aum Namah Sivaya

Last summer, work began on the installation of the red granite tile which surrounds Iraivan Temple's main structure. Today, much of the work has been completed around the back and the two sides of the temple. The team is now focusing on the front area around the Nandi Mandapam. Projections are that after another month this tile project will be near completion. Aum.

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Sannyasin Shanmuganatha are in India today, invited to two major events, one in the south and another in the north. Today's post covers the Bengaluru event, and the Ahmedabad happenings will be coming in the next day or two. The parapatetic swamis were greeted in Singapore on their way to India, and a number of satsangs and devotee sharings took place. Then came the major event at Kailas Ashram in Bengaluru (that's Sr Sri Jayendra Puri Swami on the stage with Bodhinatha yesterday). Here is Satguru's note about the day:

"We spent the morning and early afternoon at Kailas Ashram. The Ashram called the event SATKARMA-BHAKTI-JNAANA SAMMELANAM. A visiting swami from Italy was there with quite a few of his devotees. Total group attending seemed to be a few thousand. Events were a blessings for the new rajagopuram, breakfast, and a lengthy tour of Sivaratnapuri Temple of Health. Next we had talks in the auditorium. My address to the assembly was about half an hour long. Our friend Dr. Karthikeyan publisher of Life Positive Magazine was also an honored guest and gave a short talk. Then another grand meal to end the event. Sri Sri Jayendra Puri Swami gave us a armful of gifts for the monks and monastery. We gave him a very special mala of our Kauai rudraksha beads. All in all it took about eight and a half hours from leaving the hotel to returning.

"A second event followed at the hotel at 5 PM. Sundaramurthi Sivacharya came with two assistants from the Veda Agama Pathasala. Wonderful meeting with one of the leading Sivacharyars in the world."

On January 5th, just following the Ardra Darshanam abhishekam, Brahmachari Vatshalan entered the Guru Pitham to sit before the monastics and take his Supplicancy Pledge. With Satguru currently in India, Vatshalan's Sacred Pledge was sign by he himself as well as by the monastic witnesses present. 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.

Congratulation on being the 1,000,008 visitor to our site! Please accept this free gift absolutely free! ...Not really but we did just performed some noise removal magic on Gurudeva's Self God talk and you can be one of the first to listen to it right now! The results are not perfect but the significantly reduced background sound makes the recording much more pleasant to listen to. Jai Ganesha!

For a couple of months now intense work has continued in the landscaping right near Iraivan Temple. Four stone circles are being created, raised gardens which hold five Old Man Palms each, (Cocothrynax crinata), a native of Cuba. It has a hairy white thicket surrounding the trunk, and some say it looks like an old man's white beard. Also, the team continues to cut and manage the new grass, which is clearly thriving in the tropical sun and rain.

We weren't sure even a few days back if it would happen, if our 2022 Digital Dharma Drive goal would be met. Each year we seek your help at year's end to keep our websites ad-free and all of our resources available at no cost. This year we set a goal of $75,000, and we reached it. In fact, we exceeded it. We are immensely grateful for all your generosity, and we are committed to continuing throughout 2023 our important work of driving Gurudeva's and Bodhinatha's mission forward by creating new tools and spiritual resources, to help all seekers on the Great Path. Mahalo, that's our Hawaiian "Thank You!"

Jai Sivaya Subramuniyaswami!
Jai Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami!
Jai Kailasa Parampara!

Today we celebrate the completion of Sannyasin Brahmanathaswami's incarnation for this birth and his life's mission as a Sannyasin of the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order. On December 22nd at 10 PM, Swami left his body, transitioning from this physical world into Siva's inner world of light. Less than 24 hours after his transition, at 12:33pm on December 23rd, Swami's remains were given a traditional departure ceremony followed by a swift cremation—all overseen by an entourage of twelve Saiva sannyasins. As a Saiva sannyasin, Swami's funeral rites were conducted on the day he donned his kavi robes, many years ago. For our monks, this is not a time of mourning or grief, but a time to celebrate a long life well lived, brought to completion in a natural and noble way. As many of our mathavasis can attest, Swami is already living a very active existence on the inner planes. The Tirukural succinctly says, "Death is like falling asleep, and birth is like waking from that sleep."

Yesterday, on the 26th, the monastery held a Reflective Honoring, a small gathering to remember the life that Swami lived so beautifully. Monks and island devotees shared stories of their interactions with him throughout life, messages were read from around the world from those who knew him and worked with him on many projects, including his beloved SivaSiva app. To conclude, Satguru gave a meaningful short talk on the continuity of awareness from life to life, stating that while many see life as a book which, read once, comes to the end, Hindus see it as one chapter in a book, which leads not to the end but to the next chapter. Consciousness does not die. You are invited to add your own testimonies in the comments below.

"Wear the body like a sandal" - Siva Yogaswami