Sadhaka Shankaranatha is making sure they stick together.
Jai Ganesha!
The Siddhidata Kulam has been working on completing the fish tank’s cap, and it has now reached the final stage. Sadhaka Shankaranatha, one of the members of the Siddhidata Kulam involved in this project, is carefully putting the pieces together by gluing them and ensuring they hold firmly in place. After this, it will need a bit more sanding and polishing, and then it will be ready to be placed on top of the fish tank.
The mondo at Iraivan Temple does well in some areas, but suffers in others
ChatGPT portrays the volunteers at work in April
Kadavul’s thriving patch, planted in 1975
Up close.
A good shot of the issues around Iraivan
A ficus bonsai that charms visitors
This one is Ficus microcarpa with its thick, oval leaves and glossy surface
As the third photo in today’s gallery shows, the mondo grass around Kadavul Temple is lush and happy, a sea of green that waves in the wind and gives a nurturing feeling which, importantly, is virtually maintenance-free. When we planted mondo (which is actually a Japanese lily) around Iraivan Temple, this was our vision. But it has proven difficult to attain the kind of healthy maturity out there, and the team has been struggling for some three years now, and losing the battle.
Cue the cavalry! Yesterday a four-man team of agronomists visited the monastery to help. They are experts, from the staff of the global company Corteva Agriscience on the island’s west side. They spent a couple of hours assessing the conditions, then took soil samples which will go to their lab for analysis. They expect to find that our problem is a lack of specific nutrients, and they even said they would provide needed amendments when the time comes. Plus, they want to bring a team of 12 skilled volunteers to work for a day getting the mondo on its feet.
The mondo team is much encouraged by this unexpected and generous assistance. We asked ChatGPT to imagine the day of help, and slide two is the result.
We end the show today with the two new bonsai trees Tandu Sivanathan placed in the Kadavul pool. Amazing!
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“We shall now discuss the three perfections of our Supreme God Śiva: Paraśiva, Satchidānanda and Maheśvara. Isn’t it wonderful to know that two of God’s three perfections are inherent in the soul of man? What are those three perfections? The great God Śiva has form and is formless. He is the immanent Pure Consciousness or pure form; He is the Personal Lord manifesting Himself as innumerable forms; and He is the impersonal, transcendent Absolute beyond all form. We know Śiva in His three perfections, two of form and one formless. First, we worship His manifest form as Pure Love and Consciousness, called Satchidānanda in Sanskrit. Second, we worship Him as our Personal Lord, Maheśvara, the Primal Soul who tenderly loves and cares for His devotees—a Being whose resplendent body may be seen in mystic vision. In our daily lives we love, honor, worship and serve God in these manifest perfections. Ultimately, in perfectly simple, yet awesomely austere nirvikalpa samādhi, we realize Him as the formless Paraśiva, sought for and known only by yogīs and jñānīs. We cannot speak of His Absolute Reality which is beyond qualities and description, yet knowable to the fully matured soul who seeks God within through yoga under the guidance of a satguru.“
Though time consuming to apply, our avocado and other fruit trees respond well to mulching, so the Siddhidata Kulam is carving out time to replenish the mulch layer around them more frequently. This is partly possible due to a large amount of material being regularly delivered by tree trimmer companies when they work in our area. We are very thankful for this.
Many of the avocado trees are putting out blossoms and tiny fruits right now, so this is the time to add more mulch.
A couple new avocado saplings
Lots of baby avocados
The tree is loaded
Mulch arrives
The egrit birds always gather around work like this, waiting for insects to show their faces
“When we look at the beautiful creations of nature, we see how lovely the mind can be. ” – Gurudeva
“All Hindus feel they are guests on the planet with responsibilities to nature”
“which when fulfilled balance its responsibilities to them”
“The physical body was gathered from nature and returns to it”
“Nature is exquisitely complex and orderly”
“The coconut always yields a coconut tree, a lotus a lotus, a rose a rose, not another species.”
“How constant nature is, and yet how diverse, for in mass producing its creations, no two ever look exactly alike.”
“Yes, the Hindu knows himself to be a part of nature and seeks to bring his life into harmony with the universal path, the sustaining cosmic force.” – Gurudeva
Jai Ganesha!
In an oft overlooked sentence among his many teachings, Gurudeva describes nature as “the first temple.” Indeed the Aadheenam’s natural surrounding jungle lands are a testament to this idea. Even when outside of the monastery temples, you can’t help but feel that your still within one. On their walk through nature our monks regularly photograph the beauty they find.
Our latest Hinduism Today issue April/May/June 2026 issue is out now . In this issue it’s diverse with different kind of story about Hinduism around the world. Buy the magazine and enjoy the article.
Sadhaka Shankaranatha is making sure they stick together.
