Today at Kauai Aadheenam

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.

“The force field of actinic consciousness is one which a guru has worked perhaps for many years to enter. His awareness of it is his control of it. This mechanism works in the same way a corporate executive guides the forces of his business, through knowledge of the field and experience. A guru learns control of actinic force fields just as a businessman learns to control his odic force fields. ¶The odic force and the actinic force make up this planet. The action and interaction of these two forces working together cause the life that we see on Earth. Quite often, in meditation I see the planet as completely transparent, just like a tremendous, transparent, translucent sphere. It looks light, and it is floating in a clear space, a blue space. This space is called ākāśa. I am seeing the planet in the ākāśa, vibrantly seeing the collective odic and actinic forces working within and through it. “

Putting the wood through our extra-wide planer

Getting the wood from the machine

It’s a lot of heavy lumber to be moving around all morning

The wood after having oil finish added to it

Nirvani Tejadevanatha smiling while doing hard work

Mayilnathaswami storing all the extra wood

Jai Ganesha!

Since it’s the final day of the phase, we took a stroll around the property to see what the Siddhidata Kulam monks were doing. In the morning, we saw Sadhaka Shankaranatha working in the woodshop. He was cutting wood for Siddhidata Kulam’s new office and arranging the pieces in order. Over in the Siddhidata Kulam’s new office, we saw all the mathavasis engaged in cleaning the shop, as their weekly end-of-phase tidying. Aum.

“The object in being on the spiritual path is not to have just a little influx of energy, but to be the energy itself—consciously.“

“If you take responsibility for all that happens to you, then you will have the power to deal with your karma through the grace of Lord Siva.“

“Whenever we are injured or hurt, we understand that our suffering is but the fulfillment of a karma we once initiated, for which our injurer is but the instrument who, when his karma cycles around, will be the injured.“”Gratitude and appreciation are the key virtues for a better life. They are the spell that is cast to dissolve hatred, hurt and sadness, the medicine which heals subjective states of mind, restoring self-respect, confidence and security.“

“Gratitude and appreciation are the key virtues for a better life. They are the spell that is cast to dissolve hatred, hurt and sadness, the medicine which heals subjective states of mind, restoring self-respect, confidence and security.“

“For me, true free will means the dharmic will that is divine and guided by the superconscious. In reality, only this kind of will makes you free.“

“Religion is the connection between the three worlds, and temple worship is how you can get your personal connection with the inner worlds.“

“Loving appreciation is a life-changing force just waiting to be used. Express appreciation to community leaders, business associates, spiritual mentors, family members and friends as often as you can.“

“Vedic rishis have given us courage by uttering the simple truth, ‘God is the Life of our life.’“

“The teachings of yoga are so basically simple and so basically concrete. And the most beautiful thing in the world, on contemplation, is the simplest thing in the world. The most beautiful design is the simplest design.“

“The ultimate goal of life on Earth is to realize the Self God, the rare attainment of nirvikalpa samadhi. Each soul discovers its Sivaness, Absolute Reality, Parasiva—the timeless, formless, spaceless Self.“

“How do we practice contentment? Simply do not harm others by thought, word or deed.“

Jai Gurudeva! Jai to the Kailasa Parampara! Aum Namah Sivaya!

This month, we observed our sacred Chitra Padapuja at Kadavul Temple, honoring our beloved Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, on the auspicious Chitra nakshatra. Sannyasin Tillainathaswami and Nirvani Tejadevanatha performed the puja, as the mathavasis filled the temple with the resonant chants of Sri Rudram. Devotees and local members brought vibrant floral offerings, adding to the sacred atmosphere. As the puja unfolded, all present were uplifted in silent communion with Gurudeva’s presence and teachings felt within. Aum.

“When the mind has resolved all of its differences through worship, penance, dhyana and dharana then the inner which is stillness itself is known. Then the inner is stronger than the outer.“

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Milk

Yogurt

Honey

Panchamirtham

Orange water

Vibuthi

Sandalwood water

Main Kumbha water

Final Arati

Vetri Vel Muruga Arogaraaa!

Vetri Vel Muruga Arogaraaa!

On February 10th, Mathavasis and devotees celebrated Thaipusam at Kadavul Temple in the presence of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. The event began at 3:00 PM and concluded at 5:30 PM. We started with an abhishekam, performed by Sannyasin Siddhanathaswami, of milk, yogurt, orange juice, panchamritam, honey, sandalwood water, vibuthi, chandanam and rose water. After completing the abhishekam, we performed the alankaram—dressing the Deity, which took about 30 minutes. Once the alankaram was finished, we continued the puja. Yoginathaswami sang Lord Muruga’s songs and the monks concluded with a final arati. A fun fact: Lord Muruga is considered the first and foremost renunciate—which is why this day holds great significance for us Mathavasis. Aum.

If you missed the live stream, you can watch it here.

Chellappaswami saw life differently

Iraivan with Rudraksha trees in the backgound

Nandi’s stable

Nataraja in His small shrine on a pond

The Stone Bell and Dakshinamurti on the right (who said it never snows on Kauai island?)

Nandi Mandapam gomukai with palms in the distance

Infrared photography sounds like a secret spy technique, but it’s actually an amazing way to see the world through a whole new lens—literally! Recently a pilgrim with advanced photography skills captured previously unseen parts of the temple with her special lens.

This cool photography style captures light from the infrared spectrum, which is invisible to the naked eye. Here’s how it works: normal cameras capture the light you and I see every day, but infrared cameras use special filters to block visible light and only capture infrared light. This results in stunning photos with a surreal, dreamlike quality. Trees and grass turn snowy white giving our gardens the look of a deep winter in Norway. Skies can appear dark and foreboding, and everything looks just a bit magical.

Infrared photography has some practical uses too! It’s a handy tool in fields like environmental studies to monitor vegetation health, as healthy greenery reflects more infrared than the unhealthy or dead ones. (our trees are vibrant and robust, and thus the brilliant white look). Art historians use it to see underlayers of paint in old masterpieces to discover hidden secrets. Whether it’s for artistic expression or scientific investigation, infrared photography opens up a hidden world of unseen beauty and practical discoveries. It certainly gives a fresh look at Siva’s Sacred Gardens.