Monks Making Code for the Interwebs
Aum Namah Sivaya
Today we take you into the digital world of two of our monks in the Ganapati Kulam's Media Studio. Sannyasin Brahmanathaswami has been hard at work on several fronts. Each week he edits the audio for Satguru's talks and, after they are transcribed by a sevak on the big island, Swami puts them up on the monastery's website. Swami is also working on a new in-house release of the file version control app that our team uses for creating and editing Hinduism Today magazine. This afternoon Swami has been making improvements to the audio functionality of the SivaSiva app. On other fronts, Yogi Jayanatha has been gradually working to rebuild the Hinduism Today website, which is now near completion. Aum.
A Sunny Day for Temple Tile Repair
Jai Ganesha!
After several weeks of grey cloud-cover and massive amounts of rainfall, today our monks have enjoyed a full day of bright sun and blue, rainless skies. The grounds are already beginning to warm up and the many well-watered plants are bursting at the seams with fruits and new growth. This is a perfect chance to work on the remaining tile-replacement around Kadavul Temple. While the area we'd been working on out front has been finished, the focus now turns to the temple-side path that leads to the small Ganesha shrine. While some tiles are cracked, many can be restored and reset. Aum.
Iraivan Temple’s Tiruvasi
Aum Namah Sivaya
We've recently received this updated and more detailed photo of the bronze tiruvasi for Iraivan Temple's innewr sanctum. This bronze has been made in India and will stand behind the Iraivan Temple's crystal Sivalingam , against polished red granite. At its base are two yallis and above them, two shining hamsas. At the top we have the snarling face of Mahakala "Great Time" who devours all things. Om.
Tirukural – Chapter 27
Chapter 27: Austerity
Verse 268
An illumined yogi sits under a tree, filled with the light of his realizations. Seeing his peace, people and animals come for his blessings and darshan.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 261
It is the nature of asceticism to patiently endure hardship
and to not harm living creatures.
Verse 262
Austerity belongs to the naturally austere.
Others may attempt it, but to no avail.
Verse 263
Is it because they must provide for renunciates
that others forget to perform penance?
Verse 264
Should he but wish it, an ascetic's austerities
will ruin his foes and reward his friends.
Verse 265
In this world men do austerities diligently,
assured of acquiring desires they desire.
Verse 266
Men who follow some austerity fulfill their karma.
All others, ensnared in desires, act in vain.
Verse 267
As the intense fire of the furnace refines gold to brilliance, so does
the burning suffering of austerity purify the soul to resplendence.
Verse 268
One who has realized by himself his soul's Self
will be worshiped by all other souls.
Verse 269
So potent is the power acquired through disciplined self-denial
that those who attain it may even delay the moment of death.
Verse 270
A few people fast and abstain, while most do not.
Due to this, many suffer deprivation.
Shum Maps of Meditations – Part 1
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives part one of a series of talks which give insight and elaboration into a verity of fascinating concepts revealed in the Shum language of meditation. Here, Satguru gives special attention to the 54 mambashum—important areas of the mind detailed by Shum.
Mahasivaratri 2021 Upadesha
On the evening of Mahasivaratri, 2021, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives a detailed discourse about the nature of Self Realization. This is a high-resolution version of the talk in the below live stream.
Kauai Aadheenam 2021 Mahasivaratri
Aum Namah Sivaya
Kauai Aadheenam's 2021 livestream of the monks' Mahasivaratri observance includes an upadesha by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami followed by a short abhishekam to the small crystal Siva Lingam that resides at the base of Lord Nataraja in Kadavul Temple. Our livestream begins at 10:00pm aadheenam-standard-time, March 10th.
Growing Greens, Gourds and other Goods in the Garden
Jai Ganesha!
Today we bring you a garden update!
Our High Tunnels are progressing steadily and we now have plants growing in the first of them. Zucchini and Cauliflower are two notable veggies that we can't easily grow out in the open. Thankfully these two plants are starting to gain speed in their acquiring of new growth and we hope to eventually produce enough for our needs without having to purchase them elsewhere. In other departments we've started some new eggplants to replace our older bushes and off to the side of the garden you'll find a happy pumpkin patch. Aum.
Tirukural – Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Abstaining from Eating Meat
Verse 256
A butcher holds his hand on his head, dejected that his shop is empty. His helper tosses aside the killing knife and runs away, setting the chickens and goats free. He is drawn to the opposite shop, a vegetarian store where the crowds are abundant and lots of fresh vegetables are available.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 251
How can he practice true compassion
who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?
Verse 252
Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless,
nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.
Verse 253
He who feasts on a creature's flesh is like he who wields a weapon.
Goodness is never one with the minds of these two.
Verse 254
If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkindness?"
It is not-killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.
Verse 255
Life is perpetuated by not eating meat.
The jaws of Hell close on those who do.
Verse 256
If the world did not purchase and consume meat,
no one would slaughter and offer meat for sale.
Verse 257
When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh
of another creature, he will abstain from eating it.
Verse 258
Insightful souls who have abandoned the passion to hurt others
will not feed on flesh that life has abandoned.
Verse 259
Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial
fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature.
Verse 260
All life will press palms together in prayerful adoration
of those who refuse to slaughter or savor meat.
The Concept of Awareness – Summary
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylaswami gives a concluding summary of his upadesha series on the concept of awareness and consciousness from the yogic perspective.
View the full playlist here.From Our Gurus' Teachings
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