To attend worship at Kadavul Hindu Temple make a reservation here
FRONT GROUNDS ARE OPEN DAILY FROM 9AM to 12PM WITHOUT A RESERVATION

THE RAJAM ART COLLECTION

Those CyberCadets who visit TAKA or read our books well know the amazing artwork of S. Rajam (10 February 1919 29 January 2010) musician and painter from Tamil Nadu. He worked on our art commissions for decades and by a small miracle we acquired his life's work, some 60 years worth, which we brought to Kauai and have kept in an archive container.

Amy-Ruth Holt, an art expert, came to know of the collection and flew to Kauai with her daughter, Maya, to spend five days cataloging and photographing key parts of the collection.

They have been sorting through the hundreds of paintings, all roughly organized in large manila envelopes, bringing new clarity to our collection. We thank you both for this important (and tedious) work, something only an expert could accomplish.

And we honor S. Rajam. His work lives on in every corner of our mission.

All Knowing Is Within You, Part Two

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.

"Each experience that we have is a good experience, because it molds us. It shapes us, just like an artist would mold a piece of clay. From an ugly hunk of clay can emerge a divine being, molded by the artist. In that same way, the experiences of life, even those that boomerang back on us and those we think are terrible, mold us. But they only mold us quickly and benefit us tremendously if we hold our perspective as the inner man, the timeless man, the immortal being. Only in this way can this happen. That’s the attitude, the thoughts we must have, as we go along on the path of enlightenment."

Our Beloved Yogaswami

As we learned yesterday, this year marks the 60th since Yogaswami took his Great Departure on March 20, 1964. We opened The Guru Chronicles to visit that day and other moments in his remarkable life:

One morning a man came to share his life's sorrows with Swami, complaining that he had several daughters and could not afford the dowries that would be required to get them married. Now one had received a pro-posal. Wordless, Yogaswami reached into his veshti (into that hip pocket that is really just the cloth folded in upon itself) and handed the man ten thousand rupees for the dowry. Other fathers he told not to worry, that men would marry their daughters based on their merits. Invariably, it came to be. S. Shanmugasundaram recounts how Swami once called upon other devotees to assist a man with his daughter's dowry:

"Yogaswami's heart was full of love and compassion for everyone. Whether he smiles at you or scorns you, whether he embraces you or kicks you, every act of his is an act of love and grace. Without any outward show, he would shower so much compassion on all beings. The care and concern he had for those in need was immeasurable. He never disappointed any sincere devotee who approached him with a problem.

One fine morning, Yogaswami was seated in his hut with two devotees in front of him. He was chatting on various topics. An old man came there and stood outside the hut. Swami summoned him inside and asked, "How is everything going with you?" Without uttering a word in reply, the man broke down crying and sobbed for two or three minutes.

"Then Swami spoke, "Don't worry. Siva will show you a way out of your difculties. You may now go home in peace." The man left as directed and Swami addressed the two devotees who remained, "He is a good-hearted man. He is experiencing some difculty in giving his daughter in marriage. She is 26 years old, and a cousin of hers is willing to marry her if the father will at least provide her with the minimum jewelry. Why don't one of you help him?"

Immediately A. Thillyampalam offered to do the needful. Excusing himself, he ran after the man and got his name and address. The next day he went to his house and presented him with a gift of Rs. 5,000. The man was overjoyed. Without any delay, he got all the necessary jewelry made and gave the daughter in marriage.

Observing Yogaswami’s 60th Mahasamadhi

Yesterday marked the 60th year since Yogaswami's grand departure. Here at the Aadheenam, the Satguru and the monks observed a small private arati at Yogaswami's shrine before beginning their morning meditation. In Sri Lanka, events were held at Columbuthurai, the Sivathondan Society and Alaveddy.

"Live a disciplined life. Everything else will take care of itself." - Yogaswami

Monthly Krittika Puja at Iraivan Temple

Here are a few photos of last week's Krittika Puja (the final portion) taken by taskforcer Rajen Manick, with a few pilgrims attending.

Bonsai Trees for Our Satgurus

Tandu brought a blossoming bougainvillea into the garden, a marvelous bonsai that is a bit of a show-stopper. It inspired us to go out today and capture the various shapes and species he has nurtured for decades. He placed them near each of the Satgurus, as you will see in the slideshow.

This collection of about 12 plants has added a third level of refinement to Siva's Sacred Gardens. Level one is the wild underbrush, the untouched-by-human-hands thickets, mostly wild guava. Level two is the cultured and cultivated sections, where we cleared, formed paths and ponds, planted thousands of tropical species. Now we have a third level, the bonsais, which are stunningly refined and elegant (and maintenance-intensive).

Enjoy the slideshow.

All Knowing is Within You, Part One

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.

"As soon as we start on the path to enlightenment, we begin to wonder about our own personal life, and that becomes very important to us, even to the point where sometimes it could make an aspirant rather selfish, because he becomes more interested in himself, his own personal life, than people around him. This is one of the things on the path that really should be avoided, and again a complete change of perspective is needed. We have to change our perspective and begin to realize that beautiful body of the soul which has been growing through the many, many lifetimes that we have spent on the Earth. It’s an indestructible body, and each lifetime it grows a little bit stronger in its inner nerve system. That is called the soul, or the psyche."

An Update to the Gurudeva App for Apple’s iOS

Long ago, the first mobile app Himalayan Academy produced was a rather simple concept: random photos and quotes from Gurudeva to keep you inspired. Long had this little app been enjoyed by those who knew about it, and long has it been in need of some updates to its code and interface. Over the last few weeks our team has been rebuilding it and yesterday we released the version for Apple iOS and it is also released for Android.

You can get it for iPhone here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gurudeva/id1031437551

And Android Here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.himalayanacademy.gurudeva

Or if you already have it installed, simply update the app.

Happy Birthday!

A few days ago our "Aadheenam Protector-in-Training," Bhairava, celebrated his first birthday. Right now he's living in a small walled-off corner of the new Siddhidata Kulam machine shop building, but soon he'll move into a larger home right next to the building which has been dubbed Bhairava Mandapam.

Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.

Subscribe to RSS Feed