Four of the master masons pose for a celebratory portrait as they near the end of a year-long project

We are pleased to announce that, after almost a full year, Kadavul Hindu Temple’s 9am Siva puja is again open to devotees. Please note that there is a capacity restriction and a reservation is required. Email: puja@hindu.org to request a reservation. Though the temple is open, the grounds remain closed.

During March, the silpis have been re-grouting the joints of the sunshade eavestones to make the roof waterproof. (See page 4) Experiments that the silpis have been conducting to remove the stains (from the red earth of the carving site in Bengaluru and other causes) on the pillars and roof beams using a mild acid wash and pressure washing have proved successful! The alternative, removing the stains with chisels, was a bleak prospect that would have involved months of work. Recently our masonry team has completed the rock work on the north side of the foundation. Meanwhile, we are consulting with the Kauai Tile Work company regarding the installation of the red granite tiles in the outer portions of the temple floor.

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami presides at the homa during Maha Sivaratri

On the evening of Mahasivaratri 2021, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gave a discourse about the nature of Self Realization. Here is a high-resolution video of that talk: 
bit.ly/Sivaratri2021BodhinathaTalk. Every week during the 2020 lockdown Satguru presented a webinar, twice a week, with his close devotees using the Zoom platform. One was hosted by devotees in Northern California and the other by devotees in Singapore. Twenty of the webinars were recorded and are now on our Kauai’s Hindu Monastery YouTube channel. We invite you to watch. Tapping into Intuition, Reincarnation: Journey to Liberation, Reprograming the Subconscious Mind, and a nine-part series on Raising Children as Good Hindus are some of the videos of interest.

For nearly three years a small team in Moscow has been producing Hinduism Today in the Russian language, an amazing achievement

Hinduism Today’s April-May-June issue is now available online. You can also download our free Hinduism Today app and get the entire magazine in a mobile-friendly format for your device here. The Hinduism Today production swamis are just now wrapping up the work on the July-August-September issue. This issue will contain articles from our new team of teenage writers. Shaina Grover, age 16, writes about her uncle’s Hindu wedding because of the Covid pandemic. There were eight family members at the wedding and 200 guests on Zoom. Sanjeevani Dedge, age 12, writes about the Maharashtrian tradition of building a mud fort on Divali in honor of the king Shivaji. Ridvij Holay, age 15, writes about John Adams, a founding father and the second president of the US, and his defense of Hinduism against Christian theological criticism.

The monastery recently acquired two food dehydrators for processing noni. We use the machines during sunny days when they can fully run off solar power. It takes 20 pounds of noni fruit to make two pounds of noni powder, which will be a new product, sold in bulk and in capsules. We also used the dryer to make our first batch of “sun-dried” tomatoes.

Months after the roof and sunshade of Iraivan temple were completed (14 years ago), we noticed the development of white deposits on the underside of the roof along the joints in the stone. These were most prominent under the projecting sunshade, with unsightly stalactites several inches long forming in many places. There were also areas of wide deposits a sixteenth to a eighth of an inch thick along vertical and horizontal surfaces below the roof.
The cause, we learned, was water leaching calcium hydroxide out of the mortar between the stones, then reacting with carbon dioxide in the air to form calcium carbonate—the rock-hard white substance accumulating on the stone surfaces. We’ve seen it in temples in Sri Lanka. It is even more problematic on Kauai, where it rains almost daily. It is a common problem with any concrete structure and with tile floors or stone constructions using cement mortar. Calcite deposits are a major issue in the mining and chemical industries. A similar process gives rise to the huge stalactites and stalagmites found in limestone caves.
Our primary approach is to stop water coming through the grout joints and forming the deposits. The silpis have been at work on this for several months, chiseling into each mortar joint at roof level and filling it with waterproof cement.
For removing calcite deposits that have built up over the years, our research has yielded a much better method than simply chiseling by hand, which is time consuming and requires refinishing the surface afterwards. Our new method employs mild, food grade phosphoric acid. It’s a three step process: 1) use chisels to scratch or rough up the surface and removing heavy buildup, 2) apply the acid solution, 3) do final cleaning with a pressure washer. With this breakthrough, chisel use has been reduced by 60 percent. As an added boon, the acid wash also removes deep stains and mold, a worrisome problem that has lingered for years. This system will allow periodic cleaning of any surfaces, bringing them back to pristine condition. Recently the monks cleaned the entire floor with the acid wash, and the result is wonderful. 

If you are seventy or older, you may want to explore the possibility of a qualified charitable donation (also referred to as an IRA charitable rollover). A qualified charitable donation (QCD) offers you a way to donate your RMD (required minimum distribution) from your retirement account directly to a charity. If you have alternate sources of retirement income, this can be a great way to fulfill your RMD without dealing with complicated tax implications. This is a strong option for individuals who are making donation decisions year by year.
If you are in the process of estate planning, you may consider including a charity in your will. This is an incredibly popular choice for planned giving because of its simplicity—all that is needed is to include a single sentence in your will that states the amount of money, the name of charity and any intended purpose of the donation. If you have no specific purpose, but intend to support the charity generally, you can do that as well. It is an easy way to donate to a charity, but unlike a donor-advised fund, requires you to know ahead of time the amount you anticipate giving to a particular charity.
As an alternative, you may consider a real estate donation. While these can be more challenging logistically and legally, they do provide an effective opportunity to give generously. Real estate is often a significant portion of an individual’s net worth, far outpacing stocks, bonds or any other kind of financial holdings. As a result, a real estate donation can offer tremendous value for a charity.
If you are reassessing your financial investments, you may consider seizing the opportunity to transfer to a charity stocks that have appreciated in value. Stock transfers allow individuals to potentially benefit from reduced taxes and portfolio reallocation. You can learn more about stock transfers by reading our article detailing the benefits of stock transfers at www.hheonline.org/gifts-of-stock.shtml. This may be a good option for individuals who want to give immediately, and have financial assets in stocks and investments rather than cash or real estate.
There are many ways to successfully donate to a charity­—including ways for individuals who are still in the process of making critical choices about their donations. The most important step in charitable giving is to begin the journey, from wherever you are, with whatever you have.
For more resources on demystifying types of donations go to www.hheonline.org/fivewaystodonate.shtml.

For information on establishing a fund at Hindu Heritage Endowment, contact Shanmuganathaswami at 808-822-3012, ext. 6, or e-mail hhe@hindu.org.

Entrance Steps: The nine entrance steps are 30 feet wide and comprise 64 carved granite stones in all—shown above during installation. Sponsorship for each intricate stone is $2,500. On either side are two massive handrails, intricately carved in the form of a yalli, a creature made of several animal species said to protect the temple. This grand stairway creates a magnificent entry to Iraivan Temple.

Perimeter Wall:The perimeter wall is 40 inches tall, 24 inches thick and 475 feet long. It comprises 50 short pillars and 49 panels (the long section between the pillars). Each pillar and panel pair required 430 man-days to carve, even with the massive granite slabs being sawn to size by machine. Of the 49 panels, 35 have an ornate border (as shown in the photo at left) which will display (etched on bronze plates) verses from scripture and information about the philosophy and history of the temple. Sponsorship for one pillar section is $15,000, and $30,000 for one panel section.

Building Fund Donations: AUSTRALIA;Swarna Balasubramaniam US$30.00; Marie & R. Bhanugopan 108.00; Nagaratnam Jeyasreedharan 20.00; D. Karthigesu Family 100.00; Rama Krishnan 30.00; Vimala Muniandy 32.00; Rajaratnam Natkunam 111.62; Luckshmi & Logan Siva;Nirmalananda 35.00; Mylvaganam Sivakadadchan 25.00; Gunavinthan Siva Thirumalai 100.00; Thanavinthan Siva T. Thirumalai 100.00; Chandran & Mathini Wigneswaran 108.00 | BELARUS;Tatsiana Mezhennaya 100.00 | BRAZIL;Leonidas Coutinho 108.00 | CANADA;Sreetharan Bide 101.00; Serge Bilan 40.00; Jnanideva Cevvel 230.37; Peter Christian 25.00; Frederik Jan Elbers $1,008.00; Sarojadeva Jeevanayagam 778.30; Rathinappillai Logeswaran 50.00; Ioana-Gabriela Manoliu 33.00; Changam & Kamachi Naidu 50.00; Vanesh Naidu 27.00; Mr. & Mrs. Pranavan 25.00; Vijaya & Thiru Satkunendran 25.00; Sivakumaran Sivalingam 21.00; Sayanthan & Anupama Sivanathan 11.00; Sara K. Sivasurier 191.97; Saravanamuthu Somasundram 50.00; Anonymous 50.59 | GERMANY;Tharsika Chelvarajah Vasanthan 20.00; Ratnam Ratnakumar 60.00; Gnaneswari Sivagnanasuntharam 60.00; Jeeva Velusaami 21.00 | GREECE;Artemis Bimpiza 20.00 | INDIA;Lakshmanan Nellaiappan 10.00; Maragatham Nellaiappan 10.00; Sankula Prasad 5.00; Jiva Rajasankara 30.00; Vikram Santurkar 51.00 | INDONESIA;Mahadevan Gengadaram 75.00 | ITALY;Cristina Ma Puja Canducci 20.00 | MALAYSIA;Klinik And Surgeri BD 24.06; Nageswarie Apana 58.45; Supramani Apana 58.44; Arulmani Devi Arumugam 72.75; Devinasree Balasegaran 12.03; Om Krittik Balasegaran 12.03; P. Barathi Balasegaran 12.03; Balamurali Balasupramaniam 12.03; Hemakheshaa Naatha Batumallah 12.03; Mekaladeva Batumallah 12.03; Rathidevi & Veerasamy Batumallah 24.06; Arulmani Chandra Kumar &;Sujith Arulmani 24.25; Theevhiyaa Chandrasekaram 24.06; Umaabati Chandrasekaram 12.03; Gunasegaran Chitravelloo 11.85; Sasikumar Darmalingam 12.03; Sai Aaditya Deva, Sai Janany,; Sai Hamsiny, Sai Shreeny,;Chandran Ramamurthy &;Kalpana Devasagayam 144.03; Omaya Devasagayam 11.88; Kavin Kirav, Shreiyaa, Leena Lakshmi Devasagayam & Anand Kumar Letchumana 96.03; Annapoorani Ganesan 71.96; Yoga Rubini & Chandra;Ganth Family 12.03; R. Jayakumar & Yoga;Bhavani Family 24.06; Uma Dewi &;Dinesh Kumar Jayaram 7.10; Muthukumar Jeyapalan $2,500.00; M. Shanmuganathan &;A. Kamalambikai Family 24.06; Anbu Kandasamy 28.00; Amaraysh, Kumutha & Jarry Lai 36.13; Nameegri Marimuthu 23.76; Malaysia Mission 48.51; Logadasan Murugesu 12.03; Mohanavilashiny Murugesu &;Navakkarasu Family 60.23; Puvana Murugesu 24.01; Gowri Nadason 108.64; Kamalaharan Nadason 48.01; Ponnamah Nadason & Family 24.01; Chandran Nagalingam 200.00; Rasiah Vallipuram & Pathumanithi Nagalingam 47.53; M. Suranthiran Naidu 90.31; Yehanthini, Sivatarnee & Dhevashri Navakkarasu 12.03; Nalakini Niranjana 48.01; Palanisamy & Vasande 12.03; A. Paranthaman 124.64; Jayaram Rajaletchumi 11.85; Mogan Raju 69.00; Sai Ram 24.01; Supramaniam Ramoo &; In Memory of Neelavathy Thangavelu 48.01; Raagini Ravindren & Senthil Ravindren 24.06; Jayaraj Kantharaj & Saranraj S-O Jayabalathilagam 28.80; Sanjana Saravan 24.01; Lachmi Savoo 24.01; Doraisami & Mohanasundari;Selvaraj 24.00; Ambikabathi Shanmugam Pillay 24.06; Raja Singam Raja Ratnam &;Shreema Rasiah 47.53; Mohana Sundari & Sivasekaran 48.01; Girish Skanda 24.06; A. Sockalingam & Chandrasekari 48.01; Devi & the late Selvadurai Subramaniam 24.01; Ambalawan A/L Suppiah 240.00; Vasanta Tanggavelu 48.12; Yagesan, Durgeswary, ;Remalah & A. Thinathayalan 24.01; Saroja Vasudevan 12.03; Vikneswaran A. Vinsent 48.01; Yuvanes Waran 20.00; Darrshan Letchumanan & Yuvan Letchumanan 24.25; Anonymous 340.00 | MAURITIUS;Soondiren Arnasalon 12.02; Soundarajen Arnasalon 4.81; Meeravadee Koothan 2.40; Sooreshen Koothan 12.02; Amravadee Kownden 45.66; Vel Mahalingum 24.03; Kulagan Moonesawmy 2.40; Seedha Lutchmee Moonesawmy 2.40; Jayaluxmi Mooroogen 2.40; Revathi Mootoosamy 1.20; Siven Barlen Mootoosamy 2.40; Vimaley Chellen Mootoosamy 2.40; Karoumee Pareatumbee 6.01; Naden Seeneevasen Pillay 1.20; Dayalen Renghen 3.60; Ezilveylen Renghen 9.61; Jagadissen Renghen 7.21; Madhevi Renghen 9.61; Siven Renghen 12.02; Varaden Renghen 9.61; Vega Renghen 3.60; Anonymous 48.26 | NETHERLANDS;Prekash & Sabita Baladien 15.00 | NORWAY;Anil Ananda Badhwar 60.00; Anuradha Badhwar 10.00; Meetu Badhwar-Hansen 10.00 | RUSSIA;Oksana Kitaeva 10.00 | SINGAPORE;Kandasamy 211.08; Sivakumar, Lavanya & ; Easan Saravan 400.00; Kavitha Darshini & Amitpal Singh 74.40; Kamala Devi Vaiyapuri 50.00; Hannah Van Galen 40.00; Anonymous 100.00 | SINT MAARTEN;Gary & Radica Asha Yee-Fong 25.00 | UAE;Anil Kumar 54.00 | UNITED KINGDOM;Ketheeshmalar Balachandran 26.00; P. & G.S. Balendran Family 266.28; Punitha Ganeshwaran 30.00; Azagun Marudamuthu 70.00; Georgiana Lukshmi Dorothy;Barnes & Theeba Ragunathan 100.00; Clive & Puvaneswary Roberts 175.00; Sharavanan Selvadurai 100.00; The late Shree Vishna Rasiah &;Sharmila Harry 47.53; Anonymous 11.00 | USA;Benevity 207.54; Wailua Mission 965.52; Abhijit Adhye 50.00; Asha Alahan 25.00; Vel & Valli Alahan 25.00; Yohini & Arumugam Alvappillai 51.00; Palani K. Aravazhi 51.00; Dharam & Madhu Bahl 50.00; Gurdial Chadha 21.00; Mallik Chaganti 20.00; Asha Chaku 70.00; Naren Chelian 51.00; Rameshkumar Chellappan 51.00; Sharath Chigurupati 123.00; Charles Close 108.00; Shyamadeva & Peshanidevi Dandapani 54.00; Janakbhai R. Dave 50.00; Chellappa Deva 25.00; Amarnath & Latha Devarmanai 112.00; Venkat Devraj 108.00; Gayathri Dhanasegaran 25.00; John Kenneth Doherty 10.00; Aiyasawmy Dorairajan 25.00; Ramya Subramani & Rajesh Ekambaram 211.00; Suketu & Mita Gandhi 51.00; Panshula Ganeshan 25.00; Siva K. R. Gara 108.00; Ajit V. Gokhale 216.00; Keshav Goyal $1,008.00; Ravi Grover 25.00; Toshadeva & Kamala Guhan 18.00; Dayanand R. Gummi 101.00; Kriya & Sharyn Haran 125.00; Jayashree Hariharan 51.00; Radhika & Venkatarao Isola 2,001.00; David Jaffe 108.00; Chandrashekhar Jairaman 51.00; Manickam Jeganathan 100.00; R. S. Jeyendran 101.00; Yogesh R. Joshi 51.00; Aravind & Ramya Kailas 25.00; Haran Kandadas 51.00; Srinivas & Shanthi Karri 90.00; Sundari Katir 20.00; Sunil & Rewa Kaul 207.00; Kavya Kaza 25.00; Richard Kennedy 10.00; Andrzej Kraja 100.00; Rajagopal Krishnan 108.00; Amirtha Krishnarajah 725.00; Chitra Saraswathy Kumar 5.00; Rayapeddi & Jayanth Kumar 100.00; Gregg Lien 50.00; Gerard & Zhena Linsmeier 52.00; Abha Lokhande 32.00; Yulia Machalaba 108.00; Manjula & Satya Mahanty 108.00; Mallikarjuna Rao Mamidipaka 25.00; Sridevi Boyapati & Krishna Manoharan 500.00; Laura Devi Marks 108.00; Cindy McGonagle 25.00; Prabhashanker & Bhanumati Mehta 11.00; Udayappan Meyyappan 51.00; Inder & Aileen Mirchandani 108.00; Anupam Kumar Misra 108.00; Palani & Selvarany Nadarajah 15.00; Nitya & Becky Nadesan 150.00; Manish M. Naidu 11.11; Rama Chandran & Rema Nair $10,000.00; Sanjaya K. Nath 11.00; Emma & Narendra Nemivant 25.00; Neelam Oberoi 50.00; Neela Oza 75.00; Raghurama Pai 51.00; Satya & Savitri Palani 51.00; Cassan Pancham $2,016.00; Pankayatselvan Family 25.00; Easvan & Devi Param 101.00; Janaka & Bhavani Param 10.00; Jothi Param 51.00; Venkat & Mahalaxmi; Parameswaran 101.00; Hari Ohm Patel 25.00; Praful & Ranjan Patel 501.00; Prasan Patel 35.00; Vinay & Hansa R. Patel $5,101.00; Salik & Sanjia Pathak 51.00; Gordon Pfeffer 108.00; Venkat Pichairaman 11.00; Jonathan, Sabina, Brendan & Kai Pieslak 126.50; Indrathan Pillay 50.00; Pilar Vasudeva Prabhu 251.00; Archana Prasad 25.00; Arcot Radhakrishnan 251.00; Parthasarathy Rajagopalan 50.00; Shantha Rajakrishnamurthy 108.00; Deva & Gayatri Rajan $1,001.00; Mohan Deepak Ram 11.00; Usha Ram 100.00; Janevi Ramaji 101.00; Jeyashree & Venkat Ramakrishnan 50.00; Eswar Raman 40.00; Rajesh & Yatra Raman 11.00; Kasi Ramanathan 51.00; Praveen Ramawadhdoebe 30.00; Sudharsaniam Rathinam 101.00; Cliff & Kathy Runge 50.00; Chamundi Sabanathan 130.00; Santosh & Madhu Sahay 101.00; Aran Sambandar 81.00; In memory of Mrs. M. Sangarapillai 100.00; Pathmini Saravanapavan 100.00; Aran & Valli Sendan 25.00; Kristi Severson 51.00; Deva & Amala Seyon 51.00; Narmada & Ravindra Shenoy 200.00; Salil Shibad 21.00; Iraja & Nilani Sivadas 108.00; Dharshi & Sivasothy Sivakumar 150.00; Jnana Sivananda 100.00; Lakshana Chetana Sivananda 51.00; Nathan & Sulena Sivananda 108.00; B. Sivaraja 20.00; Keith Sorlie 20.00; Subramaniam Srikumaran 108.00; Kiran Srinivasan 20.00; Padmapriya Srinivasan 25.00; Joseph W. Steelman 100.00; Yasotha & Thevarajah Subarajan 51.00; Nandi Deva Sundaram 50.00; Savithri Sundaresan 54.00; Phani Kumar Sureddi 7.00; Karthik Suresh 108.00; Shanthi Suresh 101.00; Siva U. Thillaikanthan 30.00; Jayshree Kantilal Vadsola 251.00; Rama Vangala 116.00; Vayudeva Varadan 51.00; Mahesh Viswanathan 25.00; Tsajon & Kamalia Von Lixfeld 100.00; Michael Wasylkiw 108.00; Richard Bosworth & Kerri Watts 202.00; Sundeep Yalamanchi 116.00; Srikala & Subramanya;Sarma Yellayi 250.00; Vyjayanthi Yerramilli 100.00; Anonymous $2,749.37 | Total Building Fund $48,203.09 | Iraivan Temple Endowment;Frank Burkhardt 10.00; Jai & Ganga Murugan 725.00; Efrain Raul Eduardo;Roman-Abarca 200.00; Pathmini Saravanapavan 100.00; Terrill Silke 100.00; Anonymous 126.80 | Total Endowment;Funds $1,261.80 | Special Project Donations;Valliammah Kandasamy 24.01; Sivakumaren & Kavita Mardemootoo $1,008.00; Silvarajoo Muniandy 24.06; Gowri Nadason 144.03 | Total Special Project Donations $1,200.10 | Grand Total: $50,664.99;