Bodhinatha continues his narrative of his visit to Mauritius (part 2). At a Siva temple Bodhinatha gave a talk on God Siva as the perfect parent. At the Mardemootoo family home a wonderful guru puja was conducted for Bodhinatha followed by a talk about the esoterics of guru puja.

Unedited Transcript:

My chronology gets a little vague at the moment. We went to maybe, it was a Siva temple that night and gave the talk on, 'Siva as the Perfect Parent'. We gave that here and Kulapati Moogem Periathamby, was the translator for that night He is our recently inspired 'Hinduism Today' subscription acquisition person for Mauritius. He came here and got very inspired with everything that the members in the US were doing for 'Hinduism Today'. He decided to go back to Mauritius and get some subscribers. The talk went very well in Creole. I was getting my ear back for French words. So, I could tell sometimes he would get a sentence ahead of me and then I would make a joke, "Oh no! You are a sentence ahead of me." It helped to keep the mood light and getting a sense of the language again.

The President of the temple, Mr. Perumal was the one who gave us his bungalow for free, which is just half a block away. A brand new bungalow there on the Bay. He was so happy we came to the temple. The priest first of all began with an archana in each of the Shrines, Ganesha, Muruga and Siva. They redid the temple and removed other Deities under Gurudeva's concept. So, they have a pure Saivite temple now. It looks beautiful too, it is nicely painted, has 'Siva Siva' in Tamil on the top. It is not a small Mauritian temple, it is a medium size temple that would fit into a village in India. It is very nice.

One of the interesting points was the priest was chanting and he chanted it so many times I started to think about it . I started to think of it previously when we went to the first temple, he was chanting, "Thennanudaiya sivane potri, ennatavarkum iraiva potri". You know, that chant that is done at the end quite often. So I was starting to think about the meaning, you know the original meaning of course. It says, "He who is worshipped in the Southern land as Siva is worshipped elsewhere as Supreme God." It fit right in with the talk which was God Siva is the Supreme Being. But I realized this chant was made a long time ago, this is not a modern thought. Really at this point, He who is worshipped as Siva in the Southern land is worshipped as Siva elsewhere too. That the Saiva Agama form of worship is now worldwide, whereas it was not, when that concept was first stated. It was restricted to India or countries near India. But now in the USA, Canada and Europe, traditional Saiva Agamic pujas are being done worshipping the Supreme Being, Siva. Pujas to Muruga and Ganesha are being done, worshipping them as Muruga and Ganesha. So the whole concept is a little different.

I was just reflecting on that, it is a very recent phenomenon. The Agamic puja has become established in all continents in the world. It is a very interesting thought, could make a small article or something for 'Hinduism Today'. How the world has changed in that regard.

I saw a number of the members, Kutumbas, at the bungalow. But the Mardemootoo Kutumba was too big for the bungalow. So we had a nice evening Satsang at their home which is close by, just ten- fifteen minute drive. It was on the other end of Grand Bay from where we were. It was the only Guru puja we had in Mauritius and the members were much more comfortable in the home. It was really devotional and the vibration just soared. It went sky high. Everyone was just chanting away, it was really a remarkable evening.

I got inspired and gave a long talk that I was not going to give, on Yogaswami's room. The Saivite Shastra quote about Yogaswami's room. Gurudeva has a room which His Guru is in and the wall opens when the puja comes, you know that whole explanation we have been given a few times. That intense devotion through the Guru puja, the Guru is present and the Saivite Shastras go into the specific explanation of the wall of the room opens and the division between the worlds becomes clearer.

So I was giving that explanation, very nice. It made me realize that next year we should see all the members in homes and not see any of them at the bungalow. It would be a nicer experience for them. The bungalow is a nice place for us to stay, much better than a hotel. They bring you food, you have your own kitchen. There is no tourist around or anything. It is just a private room. It is like being on the beach on Kauai, an ideal place to stay. But, definitely see the members in their homes.