Locals, return visitors and first time guests enjoyed a stroll through the gardens yesterday. looking up close at Iraivan carvings and hugging rudraksha trees.
Kauai Aadheenam and the temple inspired a lot of wonderment in the eyes of our guests.

A devotee sends thoughts on the Mahasamadhi Observances for our Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, October 20-24, 2011, Kauai.

Dear Devas,

I am sitting quietly the day after the last day of our observance of our dear Gurudeva's transition ten years ago, Am feeling so full that often words are hard to come by. So many loving souls reunited after short and long periods of time, as if the continuum of our common bond was never ended, just put on hold by time and space. I see faces, shining in radiance, beaming with joy, voices expressing gratitude which brings lumps to the throat and bursting of the heart. It must be a beautiful show for those endowed with the vision to see!

There were devotees from Malaysia, from Singapore, from Mauritius, our northern neighbor Canada, as well as from many parts of the United States. We received such abundant and loving hosting (and feeding!) from our Kauai families who provided transportation, prepared delicious repasts and shared the fragrant and luminous flowers of the islands. And there was our beloved Bodhinatha, quietly and self-effacingly inwardly drawing our awarenesses to our souls, gently, gently, invisibly. Our mathavasis with lessons and stories, working in the background, and perhaps communicating silently while commingling with us as we shared bits of our everyday lives.

The mantle had been passed, and now worn with a transparent authority and continuity–our sampradaya as is our Iraivan, built to last a thousand years and beyond.

Aum Sivaya Sivayanama Aum

Another short by powerful upadesha but Bodhinatha has been posted today. See the link on the side bar. Bodhinatha is making use of stories from the Guru Chronicles as a basis for some of his talks.

The practice of Pancha Ganapati is spreading world wide, far beyond the borders of Saiva Siddhanta Church missions.

Kaladevi Ambalawan sends us these photos from her family in Malaysia in Penang

Kaladevi writes: "Jai Jai Ganesha, I am from Penang, Malaysia. The man in the last photo (in white t-shirt) is my father. His name is Ambalawan Suppiah. He is an Iraivan Temple Builder and subscribes to Hinduism Today. He has a lot of books from Satguru."

"We have been celebrating Pancha Ganapati Festival for the past five years. Few days before the start of the festival, my mother makes sure the house is dusted, cleaned and moped. On the 20th of December, we prepare His shrine in the living area. On the first day (21st December), the picture of Lord Ganesha is brought to the shrine and decorated with flowers. A sweet offering (Kesari) is offered and we do our first pooja. After the morning pooja, I read the family sadhana for the day. In the evening we do another pooja. We read the Sri Ganesa Upanisad and the Maha Ganesa Pancharatna Stotram as in the "Loving Ganesa" book. We repeat this for the next 4 days (Until the 24th of December)."

On the 25th of December, we have our first pooja with the offering of Kesari, the second pooja we offer a bowl of mixed nuts and rock sugar, the third offering is mixed vegetable rice, and the fourth pooja we offer fruits. For the final pooja, we invite our relatives who bring offerings to Lord Ganesha (Vadai, Modagam, sweet rice, green peas cake, flowers, sugar cane and coconut water). After the pooja, we sing a few songs in praise of Lord Ganesha and chant the "Aum Sri Ganesa Namaha" 108 times. Then we observe a few mins of silent After that, my father will explain to us about the Yamas and the Niyamas. He will ask us to reflect on the past year and apologies to the Lord for any wrong doings and pray for His guidance and blessings. Prasadam is given to all and food is served." .

I hope to continue this tradition even when I start working. In my family we always look forward to December and the Pancha Ganapti Festival. This festival has brought our family very close together. Our heart felt thanks to Gurudeva for coming up with this festival.

Om Shanti,
Kaladevi