The monks perform gurupuja for Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami at the Swayambhu Lingam, during this year's celebrations of Guru Purnima

At the beginning of August 2021 Kauai county COVID restrictions which limit occupancy in places of worship were still in place. Because of this capacity restriction, a reservation is required to visit and worship at the monastery temple. Email puja@hindu.org to request a reservation. Though the temple is open, most of the monastery’s grounds remain closed. Please note that during the year-long pandemic lockdown of Kauai the car rental companies sold off their automobiles. There is still a shortage of cars, and thus high rates! In response, enterprising residents of Kauai have taken to advertising on Craigslist the rental of their personal vehicles to visitors.

One of the three chinna gopurams, with a freshly applied yellow undercoat, is ready for 23-karat gold leaf to be applied in August

Through July the silpis continued their work of detail carving and re-grouting the joints between the ceiling stones. They also began polishing the red granite rear wall of the inner sanctum. A metal ornamental piece that runs at a diagonal from the top of the kodimaram flagpole to the underside of the lowest flag section was fabricated and installed. This decorative structure also ensures that the flag pieces stay horizontal. Two hand-carved, stone pots were delivered to the monastery from artists in Bali to reside on either side of Iraivan Temple’s entrance steps. The team of artisans from Gilders Studio in Maryland arrived to apply gold leaf to the temple’s towers. They predict that the work will be finished by mid-August. The monastery benefited from the “Rise to Work” program sponsored by new Kauai residents Mark and Priscilla Zuckerburg. It paid for two full-time workers we hired for three months to care for the monastery grounds and improve the landscaping around Iraivan Temple. See a less-than-a minute video of the temple progress here: bit.ly/AerialIraivan8-9-2021.

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami receives offerings from Arunesh and Poshika Eswaran in the Guru Pitham.

On the full moon day of July, Guru Purnima, Satguru was drawn on a colorful chariot down the San Marga path by devotees from California and Kauai, and a sunrise Pada Puja was conducted at the Svayambhu Lingam. See his recent webinars: 1) Denominational Nature of Hindu Temple Worship, 2) Hindu Unity, and 3) Integrating Hinduism into Daily Tasks. Satguru presented his July/August/September, 2021, Publisher’s Desk Editorial from Hinduism Today in a YouTube video titled “Now Is a Good Time to Update Your Plans,” stating, “The restrictions imposed by the pandemic can give us time to plan and manifest a positive future for ourselves and our family.” See this at the HinduismTodayVideos Youtube channel.

Alexander Kennedy studies the Yoga Sutras during his first weeks of serving in the monastery

Hinduism Today’s July/August/September issue is now available online. You can download our free Hinduism Today app and get the entire magazine in a mobile-friendly format for your device here. The Ganapati Kulam completed the editorial work on the October/ November/December issue at the beginning of August and sent it off to the printer. During July and into early August, four families (from Boston, Dallas, Phoenix and California) performed karma yoga at the monastery—from gardening and web work, setting up shelves in our new Himalayan Academy Publications room, to Wikipedia editing, publishing research, art design and pricing of Mini Mela items. Alexander Kennedy arrived in early July on our taskforce (karma yoga) program to experience what it’s like to be a monk. Welcome, Alexander!

Dr. S. Sabharathanam of Chennai is about halfway through his lucid translation of the 3,000+ verses of Saint Tirumular’s Tirumantiram. He has been working on it earnestly (along with other projects) since early 2019. His is the clearest translation to date, conveying the depth of Tirumular’s meditations, as it freely combines his extensive commentary with the root meaning of each verse.
The literal meaning of Tirumantiram is “holy incantation.” It is a vast storehouse of esoteric yogic and tantric knowledge, the Nandinatha Sampradaya’s oldest Tamil scripture, the earliest of the sacred Tirumurai texts.
Containing the mystical essence of raja yoga and siddha yoga, this scripture reveals the fundamental doctrines of the 28 Saiva Siddhanta Agamas, which are the heritage of the ancient Saivism. As the Agamas are now partially lost, the Tirumantiram is a rare repository of the Agamanta (collection of Agamic lore). Its 3,047 four-line verses were, as legend has it, composed in a rather extraordinary way. It is said that Tirumular would meditate for an entire year and only then summarize his experiences in a four-line Tamil verse. He did this for 3,000 years! The allegory is said to mean that 3,000 years of yogic knowledge is distilled in this one book.
The text is organized in nine parts, called tantras, summarized as follows: 1) basic rules of religious morality; 2) Saiva mythological stories, five powers of Siva and three classifications of souls; 3) a raja yoga treatise plus information on other forms of yoga; 4) mantras and tantras; 5) the essential features of Saiva religion: the four forms of Saivism, four stages, unorthodox paths, conduct to be avoided; 6) the Sivaguru, grace, renunciation, sin, penance, jnana, worthy and unworthy persons; 7) siddha yoga, Siva’s grace, mudras, control of ida and pingala, worlds reached by yogis after death, refinements of yoga, the satguru; 8) essential theology: five sheaths, eleven states, three padarthas (Pati-pashu-pasha), 36 tattvas, four states of consciousness, three malas, three gunas, ten karanas, etc.; 9) the fruits of realization, liberation, jnana, Siva’s dances, meeting of the guru. Following are two examples of the verses.

Verse 503: I have never forsaken Him, even when I was an embryo within my mother. I have never deviated from the eternal path of San Marga and I have never considered my body as a hindrance to my progress; with this body given to me by Him, I am always seeking the sacred feet of the immutable Lord. Having delinked myself from all the tattvas, now I have become like an ever-glowing lamp for which there is no need for ghee, lit and kept near the feet of the Lord who has matted locks of hair.

Verse 703: Among the nine trans-empirical locations in which different kinds of yogic experience occur to the sadhaka, the blissful state occurs in the sixth location. In the seventh location, his karmic effects, both good and bad, get nullified. In the eighth location, a kind of inexplicable experience occurs. After such experience, which could last for a short period, he would reach the ninth location, identified with the great space (mahakasha), where he would experience the highest kind of bliss, his mind and prana being in unified state.

“Far sweeter than divine nectar is simple boiled rice stirred by the small hands of one’s own child.” - Tirukkural
One of the often forgotten fundamental truths of life is that no one chooses where they are born, or the circumstances of their birth. Infants and toddlers display the purest and most natural behavior among us; research studies show that they instinctively help others and act in altruistic ways. Children offer us hope for the future and a fresh, inquisitive perspective on the world. As adults, it can be easy to forget or overlook how vulnerable and dependent this precious population is on the kindness and goodness of others.

HHE supports five Hindu orphanages in India, Sri Lanka & Malaysia

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shed painful light on the sensitivity of children to external global events. In Indonesia, children are now suffering in greater numbers from COVID-19, more than 150 children dying during the week of July 12 alone. In India, as of June 5th, 3,632 children lost both parents to COVID-19 and 26,176 children lost one parent.
In the midst of this global crisis, it can feel overwhelming and hopeless to think of the magnitude of loss and suffering. Channeling that emotion into helpful actions, however, can feel empowering and powerful.
The Hindu Heritage Endowment has a specific fund dedicated to securing the future of children in need. The Hindu Orphanage Endowment is designed to support five children’s centers in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and India, where the goal is to create an environment in which children can experience a sense of family bonding and security. This is an important and meaningful task, requiring teams of caregivers with patience, kindness and humility alongside a steady and impactful stream of resources. Donations directly support the daily needs of children and securing their futures through educational programming. Raising the children’s standard of living has an effect beyond mere comfort—it enhances their self-esteem, maturation and independence.
Making a donation is a fast and simple way to support children in need. However, if you have financial constraints, consider other ways to support this cause by sharing the message on social networks or choosing to support the Hindu Orphanage Endowment during a birthday or social fundraising event. Every quarter, funds are directly transferred from the Orphanage Endowment to bring each fund up to a minimum amount, which currently is $45,000.
One of our main concerns at HHE is to secure the future of children in need. Donations from people from all around the world have helped to set up a series of orphanage endowments that give constant financial and moral support to orphanages in their very difficult work of raising and educating neglected children in the purest Hindu manner and traditions. Five of these children’s centers who depend on HHE are listed below.

• Yogaswami Hindu Girls Home, Sittandy, Sri Lanka
• Manjung Orphanage, Malaysia
• Pazhassi Balamandiram Orphanage, Kerala, India
• Udayan Care, New Delhi, India
• Swami Vipulananta Children’s Home, Sri Lanka

For more information about the orphanage endowments, visit www.hheonline.org/orphanages.

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

Stone Chains: Among the “wonderments” of Iraivan Temple are the stone chains, each carved from a single solid block of granite. In all, 20 such chains, 24 to 32 inches long, will adorn the spaces. Eight will hang from the corners of the Nandi Mandapam and twelve from the main temple sunshade. Asked why these marvelous artifacts are created, the master builder said with a smile, “To show off the extraordinary skill and artistry of the carvers.” Of course, they also add an ornate and charming visual masterpiece and provoke a sense of awe in pilgrims who encounter them. The process, which takes around 350 man hours per chain, is so difficult that few have been made in the past hundred years, we’ve been told. Sponsorship is $5,000 per chain.

Rose Granite Flooring Stones: One of the last remaining large projects for Iraivan Temple is the installation of one-inch thick rose granite flooring stones (sample of the reddish stone below) in the second prakaram, the 6,500 square-foot area surrounding the roofed area of the temple. The diagram at left is a detailed map of the project prepared for the tile supplier and the professional installers. The colors indicate the various tile sizes. Sponsorship is $1,800 for each 25-square-foot section.

Building Fund Donations;;AUSTRALIA | Nagaratnam Jeyasreedharan: US$20.00 | BRAZIL | Leonidas Coutinho: 108.00 | CANADA | Natalia Ludkivich: 76.61;Thevarajah Nagarajah: 16.00 ; Somas & Yoges Rajamohan: 1,000.00 ; Dharmalingam & Mangai Selvarajah: 51.00 ; Sara K. Sivasurier: 383.06;Anonymous: 137.92 | GERMANY | Tharsika Chelvarajah Vasanthan: 20.00 ; Jeeva Velusaami: 21.00 | INDIA | Lakshmanan Nellaiappan: 10.00 ; Maragatham Nellaiappan: 10.00 ; Sankula Prasad: 5.00 ; Vikram Santurkar: 102.00 | MALAYSIA | Klinik And Surgeri BD: 23.60 ; Devinasree Balasegaran: 11.80 ; Om Krittik Balasegaran: 11.80 ; P. Barathi Balasegaran: 11.80 ; Balamurali Balasupramaniam: 11.80 ; Hemakheshaa Naatha ;Batumallah: 11.80 ; Mekaladeva Batumallah: 11.80 ; Rathidevi & Veerasamy Batumallah: 46.61;Theevhiyaa Chandrasekaram: 23.60 ; Umaabati Chandrasekaram: 11.80 ; Gunasegaran Chitravelloo: 11.48;Sasikumar Darmalingam: 11.80 ; Sai Aaditya Deva, Sai Janany, Sai Hamsiny, Sai Shreeny, Chandran Ramamurthy & Kalpana Devasagayam: 69.80 ; Omaya Devasagayam: 11.64;Kavin Kirav, Shreiyaa, Leena ;Lakshmi Devasagayam & Anand Kumar Letchumana: 46.54;Annapoorani Ganesan: 23.27;Yoga Rubini & Chandra GanthFamily: 11.80 ; R. Jayakumar & Yoga Bhavani Family: 23.60 ; Uma Dewi & Dinesh Kumar ;Jayaram: 6.88;Muthukumar Jeyapalan: 2,500.00 ; M. Shanmuganathan & A. Kamalambikai: 23.60 ; Amaraysh, Kumutha & Jarry Lai: 11.64;Nameegri Marimuthu: 23.27;Malaysia Mission: 2.00 ; Logadasan Murugesu: 11.80 ; Puvana Murugesu: 11.64;Gowri Nadason: 23.27;Kamalaharan Nadason: 23.27;Ponnamah Nadason & Family: 11.64;Rasiah Vallipuram & Pathumanithi Nagalingam: 23.27;M. Suranthiran Naidu: 41.87;Mohanavilashiny & Navukarasu: 23.27;Yehanthini, Sivatarnee & Dhevashri Navakkarasu: 23.27;Nalakini Niranjana: 23.27;Palanisamy & Vasande: 11.80 ; ;A. Paranthaman: 4.58;Jayaram Rajaletchumi: 11.48;Sai Ram: 11.64;Supramaniam Ramoo & In ;Memory of Neelavathy Thangavelu: 23.27;Raagini Ravindren & Senthil Ravindren: 23.27;Jayaraj Kantharaj & Saranraj ;S-O Jayabalathilagam: 13.96;Sanjana Saravan: 11.64;Lachmi Savoo: 11.64;Ambikabathi Shanmugam Pillay: 23.60 ; Raja Singam Raja Ratnam & Shreema Rasiah: 23.27;Nutanaya Sivaceyon: 11.38;Saraswathy & Ramesh ;Sivanathan: 11.93;Mohana Sundari & Sivasekaran: 23.27;Girish Skanda: 23.60 ; A. Sockalingam & Chandrasekari: 23.27;Devi & the late Selvadurai Subramaniam: 11.64;Vasanta Tanggavelu: 35.40 ; Thanabalasingam & Manimala: 11.80 ; Remalah & A. Thinathayalan: 11.64;Saroja Vasudevan: 11.80 ; Vikneswaran A. Vinsent: 46.54;Yuvanes Waran: 20.00 | MAURITIUS | Soondiren Arnasalon: 11.31;Gunavadee Caremben: 7.94;Moorghen Caremben: 7.94;Ragini Caremben: 7.94;Somasoundarum Caremben: 7.94;Sukanta Caremben: 7.94;Jegadessa Chenganna: 11.31;Shree Saroja Devi Doorgiat: 0.23;Darcinee Jugessur: 2.26;Mooneenagen Koothan: 6.57;Poospawadee Koothan: 2.26;Amravadee Kownden: 43.00 ; Loganaden Kownden: 25.00 ; Vel Mahalingum: 22.63;Kulagan Moonesawmy: 2.26;Seedha Lutchmee Moonesawmy: 2.26;Revathi Mootoosamy: 1.13;Siven Barlen Mootoosamy: 2.26;Vimaley Chellen Mootoosamy: 2.26;Youdananda Munian: 905.18;Naden Seeneevasen Pillay: 1.13;Dayalen Renghen: 3.39;Ezilveylen Renghen: 9.05;Jagadissen Renghen: 6.79;Madhevi Renghen: 9.05;Siven Renghe n: 11.31;Varaden Renghen: 9.05;Vega Renghen: 3.39;Kannen Valaydon: 22.63;Anonymous: 45.44 | NETHERLANDS | Prekash & Sabita Baladien: 15.00 | RUSSIA | Inna Aleshina: 10.00 | SINGAPORE | Singapore Mission: 55.00 ; Bijamati Pareatumbee: 10.00 ; Sivakumar, Lavanya & Easan Saravan: 600.00 ; Kavitha Darshini & Amitpal Singh: 73.60 ; Vasaant Krishnan & Hannah Van Galen: 40.00 | UAE | Anil Kumar: 54.00 | UNITED KINGDOM | The late Shree Vishna Rasiah & Sharmila Harry: 23.27;Sivadevi & Kuhan Sivathasan: 5,001.00 ; Anonymous: 11.00 | USA | Benevity: 102.00 ; Asha Alahan: 25.00 ; Kanda Alahan: 101.00 ; Srinivasa Reddy Alavala: 101.00 ; Rita Andriello - Center for ;Spiritual Living Kauai: 200.00 ; Bhanmatti & Tulsiedas Arjoon: 50.00 ; Gowri Arulanantham: 250.00 ; Chitrammal & Sangarapillai Asokan: 100.00 ; Bryan Bailey: 10.00 ; Rajendra Bassit: 25.00 ; Ram & Kalpana Batni: 51.00 ; Rashi & Savinay Berry: 151.00 ; Gurdial Chadha: 21.00 ; Asha Chaku: 75.00 ; Ajay & Jamuna Chalasani: 200.00 ; Charu Chaudhry: 101.00 ; Neelam Chaudhry: 501.00 ; Sharath Chigurupati: 123.00 ; Benita Darshana-Reed: 25.00 ; Janakbhai R. Dave: 50.00 ; Paul DeSantis: 54.00 ; Chellappa Deva: 25.00 ; Venkat Devraj: 0.00 ; Gayathri Dhanasegaran: 25.00 ; Anjali Monga Dhar: 1,008.00 ; Vijay Dhar: 1,008.00 ; Linda & Ross Donnelly - In ;memory of Amitav Mukerji: 100.00 ; Aiyasawmy Dorairajan: 25.00 ; Rajaratnam Ganesh: 1,008.00 ; Murali Ginjupalli: 101.00 ; Ajit Gobbur: 100.00 ; Lalita Godbole: 200.00 ; Amitabh Goswami: 501.00 ; Hiranya & Saraswathi Devi Gowda: 10,000.00 ; Vasudevan & Saraswathy Gurunathan: 51.00 ; Kriya & Sharyn Haran: 125.00 ; Dennis Michael Harness: 108.00 ; Chandraleela Hoezoo: 101.00 ; R. S. Jeyendran: 202.00 ; Harini Krishnan & Vikas Jha: 151.00 ; Nikhil & Adeeti Joshi: 501.00 ; Vinay Kallesh: 21.00 ; Chaitali Kapadia: 101.00 ; Srinivas & Shanthi Karri: 50.00 ; Banshi Kashyap: 108.00 ; Rajiv & Roopla Khanna: 5,000.00 ; Renu Kharbanda: 1,100.00 ; Andrzej Kraja: 100.00 ; Rajagopal Krishnan: 216.00 ; Chitra Saraswathy Kumar: 5.00 ; Viswanath P. Kurup: 100.00 ; Marcia Lewis: 25.00 ; Gregg Lien: 50.00 ; Gerard & Zhena Linsmeier: 52.00 ; Abha Lokhande: 11.00 ; Dave & Vasantha Mahadevan: 10.00 ; In memory of Vandita ;Mahanty: 2,500.00 ; Mallikarjuna Rao Mamidipaka: 25.00 ; Cindy McGonagle: 25.00 ; G. Rai & Rekha Mehdiratta: 51.00 ; Srinivasa R. Mekala: 501.00 ; Inder & Aileen Mirchandani: 108.00 ; Golden Gate Mission: 3.50 ; Wailua Mission: 25,975.50 ; Mohan Family: 20.00 ; Ailesh Mulji: 105.00 ; Piyush & Rashmi Mulji: 101.00 ; Muniyappa: 101.00 ; Satesh Murugesan: 101.00 ; B.L. Mylari: 501.00 ; Ruban Nadarajah: 40.00 ; Ravi Nadesan: 108.00 ; Anantharaman Nagarajan: 50.00 ; Rama Chandran & Rema ;Nair: 20,000.00 ; Krishna & Samridhi ;Nallamshetty: 251.00 ; Nandhini Nandakumar: 51.00 ; Balu Natarajan: 1,008.00 ; Sanjaya K. Nath: 11.00 ; Aruna & D. Natraj: 108.00 ; Emma & Narendra Nemivant: 25.00 ; Ajaysingh & Sunita Nirwan: 261.00 ; Neelam Oberoi: 50.00 ; Rao Pachigolla: 51.00 ; Gurudas Pai: 101.00 ; Satya & Savitri Palani: 102.00 ; Cassan Pancham: 2,016.00 ; Dhaivat V. Pandya: 251.00 ; Easvan & Devi Param: 101.00 ; Harish Parmar - Dhanraj, Inc.: 101.00 ; Bhaskar & Minakshi Patel: 101.00 ; Hari Ohm Patel: 25.00 ; Harita & Jay Patel: 101.00 ; Tejas Patel: 100.00 ; Venkat Pichairaman: 11.00 ; Indrathan Pillay: 50.00 ; Erasenthiran Poonjolai: 2,001.00 ; Amish Purohit: 101.00 ; Bhavendra & Shipra Pututunda: 250.00 ; Lakshmi Puvvula: 501.00 ; Rangesh Raghavan: 501.00 ; Suresh Rai: 251.00 ; Mohan Deepak Ram: 11.00 ; Deepa Sundararaman & Vikram Ramachandran: 501.00 ; Ravi & Vaishnavi Ramakrishnan: 101.00 ; Jeyashree & Venkat ;Ramakrishnan: 50.00 ; Ashley Raman: 11.00 ; Brandon Raman: 11.00 ; Eswar Raman: 40.00 ; Rajesh & Yatra Raman: 11.00 ; Anand Ramasubramanian: 101.00 ; Partab & Chandra Ramsinghani: 27.00 ; Madhava & Vijaya Rao: 20.00 ; Ravi & Jayanthi Ravikumar: 201.00 ; Aruna Reddy: 50.00 ; Yenumula Reddy: 200.00 ; Meera Reghunathan: 101.00 ; Chamundi Sabanathan: 130.00 ; Aran Sambandar: 36.00 ; Shantha Sarangapani: 51.00 ; Pathmini Saravanapavan: 100.00 ; Sivendiran & Nirooshi ;Sethuram: 108.00 ; Deva & Amala Seyon: 51.00 ; Rohit Shah: 108.00 ; Salone Shahi: 108.00 ; Sarojani & Vinen Singh: 108.00 ; Yash Singh: 51.00 ; Nirthika Sivakumar: 101.00 ; Dharshi & Sivasothy Sivakumar: 300.00 ; Homa, Hotri, Hridaya & Tejasinha Sivalingam: 31.00 ; Nathan & Sulena Sivananda: 216.00 ; Tandu & Uma Sivanathan: 100.00 ; B. Sivaraja: 15.00 ; Kandiah Sivarajah: 51.00 ; Sundarraman Sivasubramanian: 101.00 ; Keith Sorlie: 20.00 ; Kiran Srinivasan: 20.00 ; Padmapriya Srinivasan: 25.00 ; Raghavan Srinivasan: 101.00 ; Joseph W. Steelman: 200.00 ; Karthik Suresh: 108.00 ; Shanthi Suresh: 101.00 ; Manoj Sureshkumar: 501.00 ; Vasuhi & Siva Sureshwaran: 201.00 ; Amit Syal: 1,008.00 ; Dilip & Sneha Thakar: 500.00 ; Raguparan Thanga: 51.00 ; Rakesh & Kranthi Thatikonda: 51.00 ; Siva U. Thillaikanthan: 60.00 ; Gunendran Thuraisingam: 50.00 ; Tran Tu & Amit Trivedi: 101.00 ; Rama Vangala: 21.00 ; Vayudeva Varadan: 51.00 ; Mahesh Viswanathan: 25.00 ; Raghu Ram Vollala: 251.00 ; Tsajon & Kamalia Von Lixfeld: 100.00 ; Richard Bosworth & Kerri Watts: 202.00 ; Venkata Yelamanchili: 50.00 ; Anonymous: 54,236.50 | Total Building Fund: $157,275.53;;Iraivan Temple Endowment | Frank Burkhardt: 10.00 ; Terrill Silke: 100.00 ; Anonymous: 72.80 | Total Endowment Funds: $182.80 | Special Project Donations | Durgam & Subha Chakrapani: 16,500.00 ; Valliammah Kandasamy: 11.64;Gowri Nadason: 69.80 ; Dipak & Kalpana Patel: 62,500.00 | Total Special Project Donations: $79,081.44 | Grand Total: $236,479.77