Gurudeva describes upadesha and prayaschitta, how we may learn from mistakes and experiences, and mitigation of karmas. Gurudeva tells how changes in thinking come about as one studies and begins to understand the basic truths of the universe as explained by Sanatana Dharma, the completely organized disorganized religion. Zero tolerance for inharmonious conditions is today's topic. Gurudeva gives us advice and tells us to have the courage to face up to conflict and to resolve it. Vasanas are explained.

Unedited Transcript:

Today at Kauai Aadheenam. October 18. By our moon calendar, it is Sun 6.

We have a new innovation to help us serve you better. We are Sivanadiyar, slaves of Siva. Since Siva is within you, we are therefore, your servants too. To help us serve you better, we have established a little program called questions@hindu.org, at the bottom of the page or maybe at the top. I don' know where they will put it. You might see it today. If not, tomorrow or the next day. This is for you to send suggested topics that I can talk on, you know. Something that you would want me to unravel to you and to everybody else who are all of you. All the many yous that are within you, because Siva, God, is the all-pervasive energy that moves your body. Nothing personal, please. We are not going to reply. If we use your suggestion, you will hear it on 'Today at Kauai Aadheenam'. We'll thank you for it. We need your name if you care to give it, your country and your city. That is all. Let us have a conversation. This is called upadesha. You ask the question and I give the answer. You give the topic and I will unravel it, from my point of view.

Well, we had Miles and Kris Shiira come today with their children and their mother, Helen. They had a wonderful time. I didn't see them unfortunately. But, they live here on the beautiful Garden Island of Kauai and we see them now and again.

We want to welcome Nitya Nadesan, who has an important position on 'America Online' as the Hindu Librarian.

Congratulations, Nitya! He is here on Kauai, member of Saiva Siddhanta Church from Seattle.

Today, I was listening to my email and paper-mail being read to me, giving suggestions on how to reply. Right now, this time of the year, all that I do is to read prayaschitta for confessions from my Saiva Siddhanta Church members. This means, they write of transgressions that they have done, that they feel guilty about. We want to mitigate them. If you have an argument with your wife or your husband and didn't settle it before bedtime, that creates a distance. Or, if you cheated on your taxes; that creates a big distance between you and your government. Or, committing adultery; that creates a big distance between you and your wife and your children. Do you want your sons and daughters to do that, too? No way.

Well, as we go on through life, people do make mistakes. But, the big thing is to learn from the mistake because life is a series of experiences and the lesson is within the experience itself. Learn the lesson, forget the experience. But, the karmas created by the experience have to be mitigated. That means, diluted. If you have some muddy water and you pour clear water into it, it dilutes it and it is not so muddy. Finally, if you keep doing that, it becomes clear. That is what prayaschitta or penance is all about. That is my job. It is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Now, for beginning students in Himalayan Academy or the general public, we do not give prayaschitta. Or, even answer personal problems. Why? Because, by learning Sanatana Dharma the Saiva way, reading 'Loving Ganesa' and 'Dancing with Siva', understanding what has been read and putting some of it into action in your life, most of the problems go away. The thinking is changed. Then, finally, when it comes time to enter Saiva Siddhanta Church, as a full-fledged chela or sishya, a disciple, you are problem-free, all but a few. Because, why? Because of the understanding of the basic truths of this Universe, which Sanatana Dharma articulates in a precise way. That is why it has lasted and will always last, never go away. It is a completely unorganized, organized religion. You try to figure that statement out. It is a completely organized, unorganized religion. It can never be destroyed, even though organized religions are organized to destroy it. No way will that ever happen.

So, that is what I do at this particular time of the year. Other times of the year are different.

Well, let us get to the advice for today. The advice for today is, zero-tolerance for inharmonious conditions. That is how we run our Ashram. That is how you should run your home. Don't go to bed with a mental argument in your head. Don't go to bed with a conflict brewing in your solar plexus, tying up your nerve currents. Don't go to bed when you cannot sleep because you feel very strange about something that happened during the day. In other words, don't go to bed with a dirty room in your mind. Clean it up as you go along! Clean it up as you go along. Have the courage to face up to a difficulty. Have the courage to face up to a misunderstanding. Have the courage to face up to a conflict and resolve it, by talking it over with the conflictor, that you are conflicting with. Otherwise, what happens? You pile up within your subconscious mind what we call, vasanas. A modern artist, if he were to paint the subconscious mind, it is hideous. Color designs and all kinds of conflicting colors, which a psychiatrist would call repression, suppression, denial, suppressed anger, etc., etc. All this can be dealt with, within yourself. This is how we run our Ashram. Religious work cannot be done with an inharmonious condition. So, all religious work stops until the inharmonious condition is settled, period does not matter. Zero-tolerance for inharmonious conditions.

Well, I think I have said enough on that subject and I will be seeing you not tomorrow, not the next day, but the day following, which is our Monday. It is called Sun 1 on our Vedic calendar. I look forward to seeing you then.

Send your questions. Not really questions, but suggested topics in the form of a question to questions@hindu.org and give your name, give your city and your country. Remember we are not going to respond by email. But, we will respond by mentioning your name, your country, your city and unraveling your suggestion for a topic, on 'Today at Kauai Aadheenam'.

Aum Namasivaya, everyone! I will be seeing you in our familiar place, our own personal cyberspace cafe.