Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Aisles of the Greenhouse

Amaranth

Lettuce

Celery

Leek

Vel washing and cleaning the newly harvested tomatoes

Sadhaka Shankaranatha removing the old tomato plants

The revived Greenhouse that is producing the new tomatoes

Offering Ganesha the newly harvested tomato

Bandit waiting for his belly rub

Jai Ganesha!

Today, as we walked around the monastery, we noticed the Siddhidatta Kulam’s mathavasis and taskforcer working hard in the greenhouse. A few months ago, we had to shut down one of the greenhouses, which was growing tomatoes, due to a bug infestation that destroyed the plants. The Siddhidatta Kulam monks thoroughly cleaned the greenhouse to prepare it for new planting and resumed growing tomatoes. Just a week ago, they harvested the first batch of tomatoes and decided to offer them to Ganesha as a gesture of gratitude for helping them restore tomato production. Meanwhile, the other greenhouse, which grows various vegetables, is thriving and producing abundant greens for the mathavasis to enjoy. A variety of greens, including leeks, lettuce, amaranth and celery, are being cultivated. The images you see here are from the greenhouse producing these vegetables. However, access to the tomato greenhouse is restricted for the moment, to prevent another bug infestation. We hope you enjoy looking at these vibrant greens as much as we enjoy eating them. Aum!

Today we installed the amazing bronze murti of our founder, Gurudeva. He now greets and blesses all pilgrims and visitors in his garden shrine at the entrance to the monastery. For a few years we had a stone murti there, but it began to erode in the tropical weather. This will endure.

This 25″ tall masterpiece is the work of Holly Young who lives on the Big Island. The original was sent last year to the little temple in Sri Lanka which houses our four most recent satgurus. It was so beautiful, we got Bodhinatha’s permission to have the team in Colorado make two copies, one for the Spiritual Park (which arrived about 12 days back) and another for Kauai Aadheenam. All three are now where they belong.

Jai Gurudeva! Jai Kailasa Paramparai!

Doug picks up the murti to move him 800 feet to the entrance.

He is right at home, seems he was always here.

This is the one sent to Sri Lanka, showing Holly’s gifted work.

The first image visitors encounter.

The sign points those who want to know more to his biography, using a QR Code.

Gurudeva in the Wiliwili Mandapam

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.

“Who is the spiritual leader of the house? The man or the woman? Dancing with Śiva states: “The husband is, first, an equal participant in the procreation and upbringing of the future generation. Second, he is the generator of economic resources necessary for society and the immediate family. The husband must be caring, understanding, masculine, loving, affectionate, and an unselfish provider, to the best of his ability and through honest means. He is well equipped physically and mentally for the stress and demands placed upon him. When he performs his dharma well, the family is materially and emotionally secure. Still, he is not restricted from participation in household chores, remembering that the home is the wife’s domain and she is its mistress.“

Repainting the container

Vel collecting coconut for Maha Ardra

Jai Ganesha!

Several months ago, Vel Mahalingam arrived here as part of a task force to support everyone in the monastery. Here’s an update on his contributions and well-being during his time here. Vel has been actively involved with the Siddhidata Kulam, assisting the monks with various projects. Recently, he was helping the team repaint the Lambodara Kulam container, where all our puja items are stored. This container underwent significant renovation, and Vel’s efforts in repainting it have greatly enhanced its appearance. Additionally, he contributed to the construction of the new Siddhidata Kulam office, showcasing his dedication to improving our facilities. Beyond these tasks, Vel has also been busy harvesting coconuts in preparation for Maha Ardra. Aum.

A new Ganesha image and trim next to stairs leading up to the new office area

Over the last few weeks, the upstairs of Hale Hana building saw more stages of construction completed. A worker came to tile the shower room floor. Another painted all the walls a pale blue. The Siddhidata Kulam members installed wood window sills and trim in all the rooms. And over the last week, sishya Easvan Param was here to oversee the installation of fans, switches, power outlets and a Lutron control system for all the lighting.

Blessing the trackhoe for a long and useful life

It has a few small dings here and there, but overall is in excellent condition

Swami starts it up!

It is more powerful than our previous one and has much smoother controls

Jai!

Jai Ganesha!

On Ardra Darshanam, our new (to us) Kubota trackhoe arrived, ending its long journey across the ocean from California, where it had been a well-maintained piece of rental equipment. The trackhoe replaces our previous machine, which was recently sold. These little machines are invaluable for our many projects throughout the aadheenam, and with such a small size, they can fit into areas of the gardens that larger machines can’t reach. The day after its arrival, we held a little blessing at the Ganesha shrine in front of the Siddhidatta Kulam’s new shop. Satguru and several monks attended while Sannyasin Tillainathaswami conducted a small puja and blessing for the vehicle, followed by its initial operation and the digging of a small gravel pile to celebrate. Aum.