Chapter 6§
International Headquarters
कवै आधीनम्
ROM THE WORLD OVER, DEVOTEES PILGRIMAGE TO KAUAI AADHEENAM, OUR CHURCH HEADQUARTERS. LOCATED ON THE ISLAND OF KAUAI, IT IS MY ĀŚRAMA AND THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY FOR OUR ŚAIVA SIDDHĀNTA YOGA ORDER OF SWĀMĪS AND OUR YOGĪS AND SĀDHAKAS PREPARING FOR SANNYĀSA. THOUSANDS OF DEVOTEES REVERE IT AS THE CENTER OF THEIR UNIVERSE. FROM HERE IRAIVAN’S SPHĀTIKA MOKSHA ŚIVALIṄGA SHINES FORTH. §
79 ¶Kauai Aadheenam is a 458-acre monastery-temple complex which I established in 1970 on the verdant, volcanically cratered island of Kauai, oldest and northernmost of the Hawaiian Islands. This religious nucleus for thousands of Hindu families around the world is located in the ancient royal, or “Alii, ” section of Kauai. Kadavul Temple, a private sanctuary for the monastics and one of two major sites of worship at the monastery. The first Hawaiian priest, Kuamo’o Mo’okini, 1,500 years ago, called this sacred spot Pihanakalani, “where heaven and earth meet.” The Aadheenam has the full support of that founding kahuna lineage, signified in an ancient wooden scepter presented to me in 1990 during a ceremony at the Mo’okini Heiau on the Big Island of Hawaii by the current head priestess, Leimomi Mo’okini Lum. At Kauai Aadheenam, a monastic staff of about thirty work together with me to oversee, guide and provide teaching for students, members and the broader Hindu community. From here HINDUISM TODAY, the Hindu family magazine, is published each quarter, books and pamphlets are created and distributed, and the Hindu Heritage Endowment is managed as a public service for Hindu institutions worldwide. §
Preserving the Sanctity of Our Cloisters§
80 ¶What makes the San Mārga Iraivan Temple, the moksha sphaṭika Śivaliṅga, our small and large shrines and publication facilities so special is that they are part of a monastery or aadheenam: the home of a spiritual master, a satguru, and his tirelessly devoted sādhakas, yogīs, swāmīs and āchāryas. Moreover, the Aadheenam is a theological seminary for training monks from all over the world to take holy orders of sannyāsa and join the great team of our Śaiva Siddhānta Yoga Order. §
The Nine Realms of the Aadheenam§
81 ¶Greatness in nature is seen in nine realms of tropical beauty at Kauai Aadheenam, the land known as Pihanakalani, where heaven meets the earth. Members sit in meditation under banyan trees, are awed at sparkling waterfalls and enjoy cool trade winds on what is known as the Garden Island of Kauai. Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, the exquisitely beautiful spiritual sanctuary at the foot of Mount Waialeale, has a multitude of splendid settings, each with special charm and unique inner vibration. Healing plants and trees and fragrant vines and flowers make each of the following nine realms a magical kingdom unto itself. 1) Ṛishi Valley, 2) Wailua Farm, 3) Kadavul Temple, 4) San Mārga Sanctuary, 5) Wailua River, 6) Pihanakalani Trail, 7) Iraivan Temple, 8) Path of the Tamil Śaivite Saints and 9) Maṭhavāsi Vīdhu. §
Realm I: Ṛishi Valley§
82 ¶Ṛishi Valley is a secluded traditional-style retreat on the banks of Lake Saravaṇabhava, with my thatched Guru Kutir, hut, near a natural marsh under Hala Hala screw pines. Nearby are simple shrines to six satgurus of our Kailāsa Paramparā. §
Realm II: Wailua Farm§
83 ¶Established in 1972 in the tradition of Hindu monasteries being endowed through agriculture, Wailua Farm is run by the full-time monastic staff with occasional volunteer help from family members. It provides an area of contemplative service and training for young monks in carpentry and farming in the natural beauty of groves of plumeria, hibiscus, bilva, neem, curry leaf, fragrant vines, surinam cherry, lilikoi, native Hawaiian plant species, ferns and more. The farm also has orchards of lime, banana, papaya, guava, orange, tangerine, jackfruit, mangosteen, fig, breadfruit and avocado trees, and a large variety of vegetables such as manioc, murunkai, sweet potatoes, curry leaves, hot peppers, herbs, squash, chayote, beans and legumes, coconut trees, the famed Hawaiian taro, flower gardens and one of the world’s largest collection of tropical flowers, including over 500 species of heliconia and ginger. A small herd of Jersey and Holstein cows provide an abundant supply of milk, yogurt, cheese and butter for the monastery kitchen and ghee for cooking and temple ceremonies. §
Realm III: Kadavul Hindu Temple§
84 ¶The Kadavul Koyil is the private temple of the Aadheenam, the daily sanctuary for resident monastics and Church members. Its adjoining Guru Temple, site of the Kailāsa Pīṭham, is open to monastics and initiated members, dīkshāśishyas. Kadavul is an ancient Tamil word for God, meaning “He who is outside and within, both immanent and transcendent.” This was the first Śiva temple in the West. The exact location of the temple sanctum was chosen by Lord Murugan Himself, when he appeared to me in a vision, upturned His glistening vel and pounded its point three times on the cement steps at the Aadheenam entrance, marking the precise spot to install the Naṭarāja Deity that had just arrived from India. God Murugan’s orders were obeyed. The Deity was moved into place and worship began immediately. That was 1973. In mid-March, 1985, just as the last finishing touches were being made on the structure, several days of rites were begun to reconsecrate the temple after twelve years of perpetual adoration of the Lord in continuous, round-the-clock three-hour vigils by monastics. Hundreds of guests gathered to witness the auspicious event and two expert priests were brought from India to perform the rituals. Hawaii’s Governor in Honolulu sent a representative on the final day who praised the temple, encouraging the growth of Hinduism in the Aloha State and noted its parallels with the ancient Hawaiian religion and its acceptance in Hawaii. The Governor deemed the event so significant that he entered it into the state’s official historical archives, making record of the first Hindu temple in Hawaii. §
To such a one who has his stains wiped away, the venerable Sanatkumāra shows the further shore of darkness. Him they call Skanda.§
SĀMA VEDA CHANDU 7.26.2. UPH, 262§
Kadavul’s Entryway and Gaṇeśa Shrine§
85 ¶The realm of Kadavul Temple, and the main entry to Kauai Aadheenam itself, begins at 107 Kaholalele Road. Here one finds our Information Center, *open from 6am to noon except during retreats, and the Puakenikeni Meditation Pavilion, just off Temple Lane. Kauai’s Hindu Temple is approached via Tiruneri, a straight, 300-foot-long pathway through hibiscus and plumeria gardens and—near Kadavul’s sacred tank and Mango Maṇḍapam—a protective giant banyan tree enshrining a small statue of Lord Gaṇeśa under which the satguru gives darśana. Just beyond Puakenikeni Pavilion at start of Tiruneri, a magical public roadside shrine was established in 1995 under, and in direct response to, the command of the Nepal Gaṇeśa mūrti that is installed here. So vital was He when He told us where His future home was to be, so insistent, that we all bowed down to His will and placed Him there without question. Such is the magic of Śiva consciousness. Such is the grace of the Lord Gaṇeśa mūrti created in Nepal, blessed and worshiped through pūjā, that somehow it might find its way to heralding the entrance to our sanctuary in a typical roadside shrine in an untypical place. Here confessions and other subconscious burdens can be written down by devotees and burned in an urn near the shrine. Thus pain of abuse and the anguish of deeds done but now regretted can be assuaged, so say the Vedas and the Āgamas, and so say I. The power of burning of confessions which one can only tell oneself is a testimony made by all. So say the pilgrims, and so say I. Yes, release is attained. Yes, peace is attained and yes, a vision of a happy future is seen with the inner eye. So say those who have sat before this God, and so say I. §
Heralding Lord Śiva’s Cosmic Dance§
86 ¶The ceremonies at Kauai Aadheenam are voiced in the Sanskṛit language according to Hindu tradition dating back six to eight thousand years. The monastic priests, trained under the guidance of Śrī Sambamūrthi Śivāchārya of the Then India Archaka Saṅgam, are from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and North America. The one Supreme Being is adored here as Śiva, enshrined in the main sanctum as a 200-year-old, six-foot bronze Naṭarāja, King of Dance. Śiva’s dance is both symbol and reality. It is the movement of creation, preservation and dissolution, the triad which taken together is the principle of māyā, God’s endless impulse, taking place within each of us, within every atom of the universe. We are all dancing with Śiva this very moment and He with us. Ultimately, we are Śiva dancing. Installed at the feet of Lord Kadavul Naṭarāja, Parameśvara, is a special Tiru Ambala Yantra made 200 years ago by a renowned siddhar and presented to me in 1974 by the brāhmin priests of Sri Lanka’s Tiruketeesvaram Temple. Two other Gods are also worshiped: Lord Gaṇeśa, the benevolent Lord of dharma and remover of obstacles, in the left shrine; and Lord Kārttikeya, the God of yoga and spiritual striving, in the right shrine. §
Kadavul Koyil’s Schedule and Holy Services§
87 ¶The main pūjā of the day is conducted to Lord Naṭarāja and the sphaṭika Liṅga at 9AM, with other pūjās held every three hours. Archanas (pūjās done in one’s name to invoke special guidance and blessings) are available in person or by mail. Other special pūjās may be sponsored. Holy ash, vibhūti, blessed before the Deity is given or sent to devotees as prasāda. Our temples perform the major saṁskāras, including nāmakaraṇa (name giving), annaprāśana (first feeding), vidyārambha (beginning of learning) and karṇavedha (ear-boring). Pūjās and sacraments are available to Hindus only. We also celebrate several major Śaivite festivals each year. Kadavul is not a public temple, but a shrine for monastics and members, the spiritual nucleus of our fellowship. One day in the distant future, it was revealed to me in psychic vision, Kadavul will stand alone as a colorfully-painted Āgamic temple with a tall vimanam and rājagopura entrance. In the vision, the Aadheenam was relocated closer to Iraivan. §
Written Prayers Sent Through The Sacred Fire§
88 ¶Lekhaprārtha havana is the ancient sacrificial rite of burning written prayers in the sacred fire. Written prayers can be offered at Kadavul Temple by Hindus or non-Hindus to God, Gods and devas of the inner worlds. When burned, these are released to their astral form in the Devaloka for the devas to read and act upon. All prayers are burned confidentially and never read by the priests. It is traditional that no love offering be included with prayers, which can also be mailed or faxed. Only after a prayer is answered is an offering traditionally given to the temple in gratitude, along with written appreciation in a subsequent prayer to the Divine Beings who performed this selfless service for the devotee. §
In the gloom of fear, His six-fold face gleams. In perils unbounded, His vel betokens, ‘Fear not.’§
TIRUMURAI 11. KD, 224§
Realm IV: San Mārga Sanctuary§
89 ¶Kauai Aadheenam’s most prominent place of worship for members, students and sādhana yātrikas is the San Mārga Sanctuary, an extraordinary meditation tīrtha at the foot of the extinct volcano, Mount Waialeale. San Mārga is the straight path to God, through rudrāksha, neem and konrai forests, marshes, bogs and wild bird sanctuaries, where pheasants are protected from local hunters. This realm includes the Svayambhū Śivaliṅga and Agni Maṇḍapam. San Mārga is entered through the Rudrāksha Meditation Forest at the opposite site of the 458-acre monastery land. San Mārga, the straight path to God, and the Svayambhū Liṅga area is “the place where the world comes to pray, ” as predicted in our Śaivite Śāstras. §
The Story Of San Mārga’s Founding§
90 ¶San Mārga was established as a result of a three-fold vision that came to me early one morning in 1975. I saw Lord Śiva walking in the meadow near the Wailua River. Then His face was looking into mine. Then He was seated upon a great stone. Astonished, I was seated on His left side. Upon reentering earthly consciousness, I felt certain the great stone was somewhere on our land and set about to find it. Guided from within by my satguru, I hired a bulldozer and instructed the driver to follow me as I walked to the north edge of the property that was then a tangle of buffalo grass and wild guava. I hacked my way through the jungle southward as the dozer cut a path behind me. After almost half a mile, I sat down to rest near a small tree. Though there was no wind, suddenly the tree’s leaves shimmered as if in the excitement of communication. I asked the tree, “What is your message?” In reply, my attention was directed to a spot just to the right of where I was sitting. When I pulled back the tall grass, there was a large rock, the self-created Liṅga on which Lord Śiva had sat. The bulldozer’s trail now led exactly to the sacred stone, surrounded by five smaller boulders. San Mārga, the straight or pure path to God, had been created. All this happened February 15, 1975. Worship of the sacred stone with water and flowers was commenced immediately through daily pūjā rites, and a master plan was unfolded from the devonic worlds. Today, visitors to the sanctuary walk the path of the Tamil Nayanars around picturesque lotus ponds and visit the six shrines of the Kailāsa Paramparā on the banks of Saravaṇabhava Lake in Ṛishi Valley. Across rolling meadows, pilgrims will gaze upon the Iraivan Temple now being hand-carved in Bangalore to enshrine the world’s largest single-pointed quartz crystal—a 700-pound, 39-inch-tall, six-sided natural gem, a sphaṭika Śivaliṅga, acquired in 1987. Iraivan, designed to stand 1,000 years as a spiritual edifice for forty generations, is America’s first traditional, all-stone temple. §
The Healing Power of Rudrāksha§
91 ¶Pilgrims begin their spiritual excursion in a small healing forest of Himālayan rudrāksha trees. Many do not know the obscure fact that this sacred tree, known in English as the Blue Marble tree, is also famous for its special wood. During the First World War, when airplanes became so essential to military strategy, it was the white wood of this tree that was chosen for making propellers, due to its qualities of torque strength. Yes, being under the rudrāksha trees in this magical forest has hidden, sought-after healing powers, the key to helping aching hearts, the salve to soothe broken hearts, yearning hearts, sad hearts and ailing hearts. Āyurvedic doctors and medical doctors alike agree that the seed, when placed upon the heart, regulates its beat. They know that the fruit is good to strengthen the heart and the seed when ground and mixed with certain herbs is a remedy for heart attacks and healing in their aftermath. Just to hug the trees themselves and to absorb their healing force takes away pain of losing a loved one. The tree takes all sadness into its sap, carrying it up to the tops and dropping the astral tears of God Śiva. This practice has the power to balance your chakras, purify your aura, close the doors to the darker areas of your mind, open the doors to light, happiness, mirth and the ability to make others laugh. Hugging the rudrāksha tree will imprint the realization that all the past is and was necessary for the present moment to exist. The blessings of Śiva through the rudrāksha seeds, leaves, bark and energies, open the doors of protection of the future. Carefully pick one or two, or three or four seeds. Take them with you to plant in a pot in your home and create your own tree or trees, to bring these gifts into your life and the lives of others, the regulation of the heart, the strengthening of the heart. §
Realm V: Wailua River§
92 ¶The Wailua River graces the monastery with spiritual blessings and wonderful sites including Nani Kaua Waterfall and Pond, and the small but ever-flowing Moon River which ends in the spectacular Bali Hai Falls. The Wailua River Ridge Road, also called Wailua Gaṅgā Mārga, opens many vistas to the water’s edge—places of healing, solitude, communion and sādhana. It begins at Moon River Bridge and continues on to the Teak Tree Turnaround at the edge of Rainbow Amphitheater.§
The soul is born and unfolds in a body, with dreams and desires and the food of life. And then it is reborn in new bodies, in accordance with its former works. The quality of the soul determines its future body; earthly or airy, heavy or light.§
KṚISHṆA YAJUR VEDA, SVETU 5.11–12. UPM, 94§
Realm VI: Pihanakalani Trail§
93 ¶Pihanakalani Trail, following the course of the Wailua River, is the legendary Hawaiian path toward the volcano, beginning at Kadavul Koyil and continuing just past the Orchid Pavilion. This pavilion displays the twelve basic beliefs of Śaivism and is available for truth teachers of all faiths for spiritual sharing with followers. Half way to the Pavilion, pilgrims encounter a unique landmark displaying the distance to every major continent measured from Kauai. Pausing before the magnificent Hindutva Dhvaja, the Hindu flag, one enjoys a 360-degree panoramic view of all nine sacred vistas. §
Realm VII: Iraivan Temple §
94 ¶Iraivan Temple is a grand hand-carved white granite temple seated upon a black lava rock plinth, golden tower shining in a rainbowed sky, God Śiva’s most traditional sanctuary in the West, with its stone bell and “God is All and in all” motto etched in a multitude of languages. It is a magnificent shrine for fellowship members and devout pilgrims intent on worshiping the immanent and transcendent Lord. Being a moksha temple in the center of a cloistered monastery, Iraivan is by no means a tourist attraction. It is a puṇya tīrtha, a sacred destination for devout pilgrims who come with this one goal in mind, having received permission early on and begun preparing themselves far in advance through fasting, meditation and prayer in anticipation of receiving the darśana of Iraivan and performing daily sādhana on San Mārga. They are granted temporary access cards by the Pīṭham for the duration of their stay. §
The Divine Architecture Of Iraivan§
95 ¶Strictly following ancient scriptural treatises, this 100-foot-long, 35-foot-tall, 3.5-million-pound Chola-style temple is being built according to divine architectural knowledge to channel and focus the spiritual power of the crystal Śivaliṅga representing the Supreme God, Śiva: Parameśvara-Parāśakti-Paraśiva. Sculpted stone panels tell in pictures and potent aphorisms the temple’s story and mystical philosophy of Śaivism. Most importantly, Iraivan, with Lord Śiva facing south, is a moksha temple. This means that being in the presence of its sanctum sanctorum brings the pilgrim closer to freedom from rebirth on this planet. The vibration of the temple wipes away the dross of the subconscious vāsanās and simultaneously heals the wounds of psychic surgery. It takes away encumbrances and releases the pristine beauty of the soul. As pilgrims leave the San Mārga Sanctuary they are escorted back the way they came, along San Mārga and through the Rudrāksha Meditation Forest with a new self-image and clear understanding of the purpose of life on planet Earth.§
The Unique Nature of Iraivan Temple§
96 ¶In 1995, as we look into the future, we see Iraivan, fully completed, as a center where Śaivites will come to find the center of themselves. We will preserve it and maintain it so that it is the way Ṛishikesh used to be, a proper, pure, quiet place where devotees can go within themselves through the practice of rāja yoga. There are very few such places left on the Earth now. Kauai’s Hindu monastery is one of them. It is not a place for ordinary people, curiosity seekers, or tourists. It is a place to which people will be drawn who have made themselves pure by self effort through sādhana. I see Iraivan as Mount Kailāsa, or the Amarnāth Cave Ice Liṅgam, a silent citadel hidden within a rainforest on the furthest land mass from all continents. I see Iraivan as a yoga citadel, a place of pilgrimage for the devout, sincere and dedicated. I see Iraivan as India’s message to the world on visitors’ day, when Hindus and non-Hindus alike come to admire the great artistry of the śilpi tradition guided by the Vāstu Śāstras. I see Iraivan as a fulfillment of paramparā, scripture and temple: the three pillars of Śaivism. This is a place where you do not have to invoke God, for God is here, for this is where heaven meets the earth.§
Realm VIII: Path of the Śaivite Saints 70§
97 ¶The Path of Tamil Śaivite Saints is on the east side of San Mārga. Walking the 1, 300-foot-long path that winds around ponds, banyan trees and tropical plants, pilgrims encounter statues of select saints of Śaivism. §
Realm IX: Maṭhavāsi Vīdhu§
98 ¶The central monastery facility, maṭhavāsi vīdhu, is itself one of the nine realms of upliftment, care and beautification, with its Chola, Nakshatra and Paṇḍyan Gardens, high-tech publication facilities, kitchen, library, offices, workshops, monks’ quarters, Guru Temple, Persian and Himālayan cats, and bird aviaries with cockatiels, macaws and cockatoos. §
Five Divisions Of Monastic Responsibility§
99 ¶There are five kulams, or monastic “family” groups, at Kauai Aadheenam, each overseeing specific areas of service and responsibility. All named after Lord Gaṇeśa, they are as follows. Lambodara Kulam: temple sacraments, āyurvedic food preparation, astrology and animals; Ekadanta Kulam: Church mission, membership, student body, festivals and teaching; Pillaiyar Kulam: finances and publications sales; Siddhidatta Kulam: gardens, grounds, maintenance, architecture and construction, festive decorations; and Gaṇapati Kulam: publications design, communications and editing. All monastics are part of one of these family groups. In these different duties, the boundaries are not absolutely strict. Rather, there is an overlapping of fifty percent, with each kulam assisting whenever possible the other four in performance of their responsibilities. Each kulam is overseen by a talaivar, working in close communication with me to coordinate activities and oversee the betterment of all the monks in all circumstances. He is responsible for the spiritual, social, cultural, educational and economic welfare of all members of his kulam. He is head of a family of monks. Branch monasteries fulfill the same pattern within the limits of the number of monastic residents. §
As oil in sesame seeds, as butter in cream, as water in river beds, as fire in friction sticks, so is the ātman grasped in one’s own self when one searches for Him with truthfulness and austerity.§
KṚISHṆA YAJUR VEDA, SVETU 1.15. UPR, 718§
An Overview Of Kulam Responsibilities§
100 ¶This is a brief summary of the five kulams, followed by a more detailed description. §
1. LAMBODARA KULAM—TEMPLE: This family group of maṭhavāsis is responsible for temple and religious services, hosting of guests, food preparation, health and diet, āyurveda and jyotisha, animal care and general spiritual welfare of all residents, especially young monks.§
2. EKADANTA KULAM—TEACHING: This family group of maṭhavāsis is responsible for teaching, Church and Academy management, nurture and outreach activities. It also coordinates innersearch pilgrimages, maṭhavāsi travel and counseling of members and students.§
3. PILLAIYAR KULAM—FINANCE: This family group of maṭhavāsis is responsible for finance, investments, accounting, legal work and money management on all levels. It takes care of our database, mailing lists, advertising, publications sales, distributions and inventories. This group is also in charge of community public relations. §
4. SIDDHIDATTA KULAM—BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS: This maṭhavāsi family group, and those they hire to assist them, is responsible for the physical property, buildings, grounds, maintenance, construction, orchards and flower gardens.§
5. GAṆAPATI KULAM—PUBLICATIONS: This maṭhavāsi family group is responsible for the creation of the Church and its Academy’s written teachings, courses, books, magazines, pamphlets, press releases and other publications. It also handles video, photography, design projects, translations and international public relations.§
The Kulams Are Integrated And Interactive§
101 ¶Each kulam is a school and a family in itself. Training and guidance is ongoing. Each newcomer is assigned to a kulam. He amalgamates with the members of that group, young and old, and serves alongside them under the artisan’s direction. In early years a young monk may serve in more than one kulam before being given a permanent kulam assignment. Each kulam has distinct offices and shops, tools and responsibilities in playing its part in the mission of the Church. Thus, these five family groups together create a full and complete environment for fulfilling our monastic dharma. Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, ideally situated on 51 acres of secluded land, is well endowed with modern equipment and communication devices. Each day at Kauai Aadheenam, before the morning meditation, the maṭhavāsis can be heard reciting together the following affirmation: “The five kulams of Kauai Aadheenam pledge our existence to serve Lord Śiva selflessly and harmoniously to provide a firm foundation to meet the massive Śaiva karma through fulfilling our monastic dharma. We each pledge loyalty to the fulfillment of the kulam goals. We unanimously beseech the blessings of Lord Gaṇeśa for wisdom in our inner worship and foresight, so that each of our projects will be smoothly, concisely and efficiently fulfilled. We dedicate our energies to dispatch our duties quickly, with the speed of the holy Vel of Lord Muruga. We are filled and thrilled with the Cosmic Energy of God Siva, creatively alive, in tune with the universe and now ready to begin this day.”§
Lambodara’s Priestly Responsibilities§
102 ¶The Lambodara Kulam maṭhavāsi family group is the monastic group responsible for temple and religious services, hosting of guests, food preparation, animal care and general spiritual welfare of all residents. Training and personal experience in the priestly arts is given in the two temples on the Kauai property: the Kadavul Hindu Temple and the Iraivan Temple. The advanced priestly skills, being sacred knowledge, are conveyed only to those trainees who qualify, by age, background, aptitude and nature. Members of this kulam oversee and conduct daily liturgical ceremonies, called pūjās, sacraments for individuals (such as name-giving), called saṁskāras, and special local mission festivals, called utsavas, as well as guru pūjā and home-blessings. All ceremonies involve chanting from memory extensive liturgy in the Sanskṛit language. Temple duties include the following activities. §
1. LITURGY: Liturgy for pūjā is in the Sanskṛit language, the religious language of Hinduism, which shall always be the liturgical language of our fellowship. Other aspects of liturgy include, devotional hymns in Sanskṛit, Tamil and other languages, the use of mudrās, hand gestures used in ceremonial rites, as well as visualization and invocation and other esoteric aspects of Hindu sacerdotalism.§
The one controller, the inner Self of all things, who makes His one form manifold, to the wise who perceive Him as abiding in the soul, to them is eternal bliss—to no others.§
KṚISHṆA YAJUR VEDA, KATHAU 2.2.12. UPR, 640§
2. PŪJĀ PREPARATION: Preparation for pūjās, sacraments, homas and utsavas—gathering sacred wood for the homa, wrapping sacred water pots (called kumbha), grinding chandana (sandalpaste), preparing incense, bathing and dressing the Deity image, preparing oil lamps, etc. §
3. TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION: Temple office and management duties including correspondence, monthly mailings, keeping a computerized database of devotees’ contributions and answering the telephone. Temple planning and construction and oversight. This area includes the production of some of the Church’s video presentations.§
4. FESTIVALS: Responsible for local festivals, coordinating with the local council on missions and other monastery kulams. §
5. HOSTING: Greeting and attending to devotees in and around the temple. §
6. HINDU ASTROLOGY: The basics of Hindu astrology, an essential area of knowledge for all Hindu temple priests, including horoscopy and determining auspiciousness for various occasions through the use of the Hindu astrological calendar, known as pañchāṅga. Trainees become familiar with and assist in the creation of astrological charts for Church members through the use of the Macintosh computer.§
7. NURTURE OF YOUTH: Overseeing the teaching of children of surrounding missions through age 25.§
Lambodara Nutritional Responsibilities§
103 ¶Food preparation and animal care are part of the ongoing nurturing of the monastics themselves, under the purview of the Lambodara Kulam, which is the first kulam established when opening a new monastery. Food preparation is viewed as an extension of their duties in the temple. The reason for this traditional understanding is that: 1) The food we eat, and the thoughts and feelings that go into its preparation, influences all that we do. Therefore, the preparation of food is a sacred duty; 2) nutrition is life, and Hinduism offers a wealth of knowledge, in the ancient science called āyurveda, to guide the culinary arts to create meals that are not only pleasing to the appetite but healthful to the body and mind; 3) ghee and fresh, raw milk are requirements for the pūjā. In this area of the Lambodara Kulam, training and exposure is given in the following activities.§
1. ĀYURVEDA: The basics of āyurveda, the Hindu “science of life,” including diet, principles of health and nutrition, remedial medication and preventative treatments.§
2. COOKING: South Indian and Sri Lankan vegetarian cooking, including preparation of monastery meals, the daily sacred offering (called prasāda) to the Deity and various special prasāda dishes for festival days.§
3. DAIRY: Care of the sacred cows that provide milk for the temple rites and the monastery residents. This includes proper milking procedures, cow breeding and calf-raising.§
4. ANIMAL CARE: Fish, birds and cats.§
Ekadanta Kulam: Nurture And Outreach §
104 ¶The Ekadanta Kulam maṭhavāsi family group oversees Church management, nurture and outreach. It is responsible to oversee the dissemination of the teachings, nurture the Church membership and reach out for new members. Teaching is done through philosophical discussions, lectures, seminars, book distribution and our Innersearch travel-study programs. This is accomplished through a complex communication network with local monasteries and family mission centers, as well as individual members. The duties of the Ekadanta Kulam are summarized as follows:§
1. COMMUNICATIONS: International communications through mail, phone, fax and computer, in overseeing all Church administration through branch monasteries, known as dharmaśālas, and family missions. A primary tool is the computer database, containing up-to-date student and membership records on a Macintosh computer network. §
2. MISSION COORDINATION: Coordinating the activities of the Church family missions. Encouragement of cultural richness through the promotion of music, art, drama and dance among members. Nurturing the practice of daśamāṁśa, tithing, among the Church membership and student body.§
3. TEACHING COORDINATION: Overseeing the teaching patterns within the Church and Himālayan Academy—nurturing the dissemination of the Śaiva philosophy to shape the knowledge and human/ethical values of the worldwide membership. Directing teachers, coordinating courses of study, testing and record keeping. Among this kulam are the facilitators for all kinds of activities among the Church missions, membership and student body. They arrange programs for āchāryas and other maṭhavāsis to teach the glorious path of Śaiva Siddhānta in a multitude of ways. §
4. HOSTING VISITORS AND GUESTS: Caring for all visitors, guests and pilgrims in coordination with the Church families in the local area. All visitors are regarded as guests of Gurudeva, and every effort is made to enroll them in the study before they leave. §
When the soul attains Self-knowledge, then it becomes one with Śiva. The malas perish, birth’s cycle ends and the lustrous light of wisdom dawns.§
TIRUMANTIRAM 2331. TM§
5. COUNSELING: Religious guidance and confidential counseling of members and students. Trainees are familiarized with the basics of counseling through sitting in on sessions with senior swāmīs.§
6. TEACHING TOURS: Planning and managing lecture tours of the Guru Mahāsannidhānam and his senior swāmīs. Overseeing youth study camps internationally. Overseeing annual Innersearch pilgrimages to holy sites and religious centers in India and other countries.§
7. BRANCH MONASTERY COORDINATION: Directing the Church’s branch monasteries in their nurture and outreach efforts. Kauai’s Hindu Monastery serves as a resource and facilitating hub for all monasteries.§
8. MONASTIC TRAINING: Overseeing monastic care and training, including nurturing of new candidates. Assisting and overseeing the orientation program for monastery guests and new monastics.§
9. FESTIVALS: Organizing and overseeing the two major annual festivals which honor the satguru—Satguru Jayantī and Guru Pūrṇimā. §
Pillaiyar Kulam: Financial Management§
105 ¶The Pillaiyar Kulam maṭhavāsi family group is responsible for finance, accounting and money management on all levels, as well as for monastery purchases and distribution of Church publications. Through assisting in this kulam, trainees receive exposure and instruction in five primary areas: HINDUISM TODAY subscriptions and advertising; monastery budgets, banking, Himālayan Academy Bookshelf and mail room. The Pillaiyar Kulam’s areas of responsibility are:§
1. FINANCES: Management of Church and Academy financial and other resources, including tithing. Supervising all Church investments, real estate and legal affairs; providing regular reports to the maṭhavāsi stewards in fulfillment of their fiduciary responsibilities. Nurturing and overseeing the Hindu Heritage Endowment. §
2. ACCOUNTING: Bookkeeping, bank deposits and regular reconciliations, managing project budgets and purchase orders, sending money to other countries, petty cash and writing checks.§
3. MAILING: Packaging, posting and sending mail for all kulams. §
4. HINDUISM TODAY: Subscriptions, subscriber list maintenance, advertising sales and production, deposits, franchise communications and agreements, renewals and periodic mailings for this international journal. §
5. HIMĀLAYAN ACADEMY BOOKSHELF: Packing orders, maintaining bookshelf sales, both wholesale and retail, inventory, supervision of distributors, purchasing, advertising and promotion.§
6. MONASTERY BUDGETS: Purchasing monastery supplies (phasely town trips), town trip accounting and overseeing monthly budgets.§
7. DATABASE: Management and keyboard entry for publications sales department and HINDUISM TODAY subscriptions.§
Siddhidatta Kulam: Property Management§
106 ¶The Siddhidatta Kulam maṭhavāsi family group is responsible for maintenance, upkeep and enhancement of the physical property, buildings and grounds. Siddhidatta Kulam duties are summarized as follows:§
1. CONSTRUCTION: Basic carpentry, remodeling and repair, wood work, concrete work, tile work, plumbing, electrical and electronics, telephone wiring, etc.§
2. BUILDING MAINTENANCE: Care of all monastery facilities, pavilions, living quarters, shrines and temples, including the continuous upkeep of San Mārga Iraivan Temple, built to last a thousand years.§
3. EQUIPMENT USE AND MAINTENANCE: Care and use of hand and power tools for construction, maintenance, groundskeeping and garden, including tractors, backhoes and other farm implements. Shop management. §
4. ORGANIC FARMING: Fruit tree planting and harvesting, including banana and papaya, sacred/medicinal trees, such as neem, bilva and rudrāksha. Vegetable gardening with such crops as taro, sweet potato, manioc, beans and grains, herbs and greens. Harvesting and preparation for use in the kitchen. Mowing, pruning, landscaping, irrigating and fertilizing, and weed and insect control. Nonchemical products are used for pest control for food production, but not necessarily for ornamental horticulture. §
5. HORTICULTURE AND GROUNDSKEEPING: Ginger and heliconia propagation, hibiscus, plumeria trees, mondo grass. Mowing, pruning, landscaping, plant acquisition and grafting, tree propagation and management, irrigation and fertilizing. Maintenance and cleaning of paths, fence upkeep and repair, weed control. Gifting of sacred and medicinal plant collections to āśramas and temples around the world. §
6. COMPUTER DATABASE: Maintaining a database of all plants, their characteristics, āyurvedic qualities, location on the property, sources and history. Posting of relevant resource information to the World Wide Web for access by other institutions. §
7. FESTIVALS: Coordinate with the local missions to arrange for decorations, physical preparations and cleanup. §
Gaṇapati Kulam: Publications §
107 ¶The Gaṇapati Kulam maṭhavāsi family group is responsible for the creation of the Church and Academy’s written teachings: books, magazines, pamphlets, etc. It manages the digital communications on the internet and World Wide Web. It works with Hindu leaders and institutions to articulate Sanātana Dharma in a variety of media for contemporary times, and helps guide the understanding of Śaivism in the West through contacts with publishers and news agencies, correcting errors and assuring accurate and fair reporting on Hinduism in the mainstream media. This kulam serves and trains newcomers in the following areas: §
If here one is able to realize Him before the death of the body, he will be liberated from the bondage of the world.§
KṚISHṆA YAJUR VEDA, KATHAU 2.3.4§
1. DESKTOP PUBLISHING: Use of computer publishing tools. Newcomers start with learning the basics of book layout, typography, production and publishing for a variety of periodicals, posters, hymnals, religious writings, catalogs, flyers, press releases, etc.§
2. JOURNALISM: Journalism, *news reporting, proofreading and writing. Basic skills in composition, interviewing, editing of regional pages of HINDUISM TODAY, library management and archiving, philosophical research, page layout and graphics. Acquisition of new franchisees for our international journal, and of journalists, illustrators, photographers, cartoonists, columnists and more.§
3. PRODUCTION: Use of photocopy machine and binding/laminating for small-volume printing of religious publications. Overseeing production (printing/binding) of outside printing projects, including technical direction and quality control. Reproduction of prints, posters, cards, etc.§
4. TRANSLATION: Translation projects from English to and from several languages, including Tamil, Sanskṛit, Malay, French and Hindi.§
5. ART AND PHOTO WORK: Working with artists in several countries on religious art projects. Photo and slide scanning and computer manipulation, compositing and retouching. Knowledge of our Graphics Guideline, use of logos and colors, Indian style graphics, color techniques. Photography, composition, use of cameras, including digital photography. Management of photo and art archives. Acquisition of art resources and books.§
6. VIDEO AND AUDIO PRODUCTION: Camera work, scripting and storyboarding, audio track editing, computer graphics and titles, special effects. Audio-video production of spiritual discourses, devotional music and dance. §
Personal Monastic Training §
108 ¶My maṭhavāsis also receive much training outside of their regular kulam duties and schedules. Teaching texts include: Dancing with Śiva; Vedic Experience, Living with Śiva; Merging with Śiva; Lemurian Scrolls, these Śaiva Dharma Śāstras; the Tirukural and Tirumantiram, The Shum Tyaef Lexicon, Satguru Yogaswāmī’s Natchintanai and more. Within the rich cultural context of the Hawaii monastery, spiritual guidance and training in the arts of monastic culture, yoga and meditation is also given. This training takes place during the daily gathering of all residents from 5:30 to 7:15am, at evening or retreat seminars, in spontaneous sessions and in the special periods mentioned in the following outline. All training is overseen by senior monks under the direction of the monastery Guru Mahāsannidhānam and the five kulam talaivars.§
• MONASTIC CULTURE AND PROTOCOL: Study of monastic vows and The Lord Subramaniam Śāstras. Ways of respect and interrelation among people, temple protocol, guru protocol, family protocol, eating protocol, traditional monastic gestures of humility, etc. Ongoing instruction and correction is given as needed through the monastery senior group which oversees general conduct and monastery cleanliness.§
• MONASTERY ADMINISTRATION: Kulam structure and senior minority group functioning.§
• MONASTERY CARE: Each weekly 2-day retreat four hours are spent by all the monks working as a team in āśrama upkeep and beautification. §
• HEALTH AND EXERCISE: Daily exercise and health care includes swimming and basic education in personal health and hygiene.§
• COUNSELING: Periodic counseling as needed and instruction from senior monks focusing on personal performance as a monastic and discussion of the path of enlightenment which is the central focus of our monastics’ life.§
• COMMUNICATION: General personal training including communication skills, working with others, following instructions, problem-solving, project organization, etc., gained through the context of the five kulams.§
• ENGLISH SKILLS: For those needing supplemental help with English, tools and self-study time are provided. §
• MUSIC: Devotional singing in Tamil, Sanskṛit and English, especially of our lineage’s sacred songs called Natchintanai. This occurs during evening satsaṅga, and during morning meditation.§
• MUSIC AND DANCE: Optional instrumental music training. Selected maṭhavāsis are enjoined to learn one of the five traditional Śaivite musical instruments: vīṇā, mṛidaṅgam, tambūrā, cymbals and bamboo flute. Training in Manipūri dance, guided by the Tyaef language. §
Here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will. As is his will, so is his deed. Whatever deed he does, that he will reap.§
ŚUKLA YAJUR VEDA, BRIHADU 4.4.5. BO UPH, 140§
• PUBLIC READING AND SPEAKING: Recitation of scripture in English and other languages. Daily speeches at lunch and during evening satsaṅga. §
• PHILOSOPHY: Personal study and seminars on The Master Course and other religious texts presenting the Śaiva Siddhānta philosophy.§
• YOGA: Each maṭhavāsi is provided instruction in rāja yoga and then required to perform these disciplines daily for healthy mind and body. Guidance in the samyama-meditative precepts and practices of this ashṭāṅga yoga, the eightfold practice of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhara, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi. §
• SHUM TYAEF STUDIES: My esoteric languages of meditation and spiritual unfoldment, Shum and Tyaef, define the path of individual awareness as it enters inner states through the art of meditation, contemplation and samādhi. This study provides a contemplative art in many forms.§
Ministry Is Performed In Pairs§
109 ¶Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, like all the Church’s monasteries, is strictly cloistered and supervised. Only men live at the monastery. Monks do not leave the property except for activities approved by the head of their family group, their talaivar. They never go out alone, always in two’s or larger groups. However, if necessary a monastic may travel alone, incognito, for no longer than nine days, generally for the purpose of traveling from one of our monasteries to another or to rendezvous with a group of our monks on pilgrimage. Similarly, all ministry is performed in two’s, as is all social, cultural and business activity. These two rules are expressed in sūtra 350: “My Śaiva monastics, whether in or outside the monastery, perform ministry only in pairs. They never travel alone. Exceptions are made in dire emergencies and for those on the nirvāṇa sādhaka path. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.” Sūtra 353 further defines the point at which a second monk must be present during conversations: “My Śaiva monastics follow the tradition of not holding serious or lengthy private conversations in person or by telephone without another monk present. Gracious, impersonal small talk in public is, of course, allowed. Aum.” All of the above is consistent with other traditional Hindu orders, who have long followed this protocol. All of the above also applies to guru mahāsannidhānams now and in the future. Therefore, it would be an equal breach of protocol for any non-monastic to hold a long discussion with any monastic alone without his second monk, called sahayatin in Sanskṛit and salingba in Shum. This sūtra was created to avoid the development of magnetic attraction between my maṭhavāsis and those of the outside world, which would naturally be nullified by the presence of another monastic. Sensitive or personal conversations, furthermore, could be misconstrued, and therefore wisdom requires the presence of another monastic. Knowing my monks are vowed to conduct serious or extended discussions only in pairs, the families and members can sensitively approach for such talks when they see two monks together, or make arrangements ahead of time to assure the presence of two or more monks, or patiently sit quietly with one monk until he is joined by his sahayatin, which could be a swāmī or postulant, or in cases of nonpersonal discussions, a supplicant or aspirant. §
Monastery Schedule of Activities§
110 ¶A disciplined schedule is maintained which includes rising at 4:30am, attending a 5:30am study-meditation session and temple worship service, as well as performing personal disciplines such as scriptural study, japa and meditation in the hours before sleep or, for some, during a three-hour vigil in the temple. Like traditional monasteries and paṭhaśālas (priest schools) in South India, Kauai Aadheenam follows a lunar calendar. Roughly two days out of seven are reserved for religious disciplines, personal care, āśrama upkeep and beautification, study and rest. On these days, early rising is not required. The monastery “workday” begins at 8:00am and ends at 6:30pm, with a 2-hour break from 1:00 to 3:00 pm for lunch and nap and swimming or alternate exercise. Kulam activities resume at 3:00 pm. Group meals are served at 7:30am, 1:00pm and 6:30pm. Instructive discourses are given at each meal, as part of the on-going education of residents. A period of discussions, singing and select television viewing is held each evening from approximately 7:00 to 9:00. Monks retire at 9pm. §
About the Following Chapter§
111 ¶More information about our special Asian calendar is given in the next chapter. In India and some parts of Asia, there are six seasons, but in Western countries only four are recognized. As we find in the following chapter, on the Garden Island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Island chain there are three distinct seasons—the slightly warm, the very rainy and the slightly cool. At Kauai Aadheenam the average temperature varies only seven degrees fahrenheit from so-called summer to winter, and though the sun shines nearly all the time, the rainfall is an abundant 98 inches a year. §