Aum Namah Sivaya,

Jai Gurudeva!

Today is Gurudeva’s Jayanthi, the 82nd anniversary of his arrival on this physical plane to guide, inspire and change countless Saivite souls.

Gurudeva gave us the most precious thing imaginable: our true identity; the realization that we are one with every single atom in the universe, that we are one with Lord Siva himself.

With the blessings of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, our living satguru, we honor Gurudeva by living up to the ideals he set.

This is a gift every one of Gurudeva’s devotees can give him.

Ganesha blesses us in this new phase. We begin it with a homa, just like Gurudeva taught us, in Kadavul Temple, built on a vision Gurudeva had.

Gurudeva also had several visions of Lord Hanuman, the deity on the right. Lord Hanuman is a major Mahadeva force behind Iraivan Temple.

Gurudeva opened the doors to the most refined forms of Hindu culture, religion and mysticism. He explained the rituals we perform from within, expounding of the invisible forces at work.

Today we also burned prayers in the fire. Gurudeva brought back into practice this almost-forgotten tantra of communication between the three worlds.

All details of our lives have been shaped by Gurudeva, all aspects of ourselves have been transformed by his love and fire.

Our guru is a rare soul. Thank you, Gurudeva, for taking birth and leading us to the highest of our potentials.

We bring you some classic shots of Gurudeva.

This photo was taken in Malaysia in the 1980s by Rohini Kumar.

All photos in this section can be downloaded. Just click on any photo!

Honoring Yogaswami in Sri Lanka.

Yesterday some photos arived of the Pancha Ganapati Festival on 25 December 2008 at the Sithivinayagar Temple, Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, ended on a joyous note. Everyone who attended felt blessed. They found a wonderful religious tradition introduced by Gurudeva and fully appreciated this modern-day Hindu festival.

The day began with children and their mothers decorating Pancha Ganapati. Here, they’re creating a rangoli design combining all the 5 shakti colors of Ganapati.

Kids and mothers busy decorating Pancha Ganapati in the morning

We arranged a few activities for the kids. Coloring is one of them.

One of the young children feeling quite pleased with his drawing of Ganesha

A smiling young one with Pancha Ganapati

Ballon game: The younger boy is clearly wondering why his balloon isn’t inflating. He’ll get the hang of it.

Dharma’s ball game: Everyone strives to uphold dharma, keeping the ball in the air. Whoever drops the balloon apologizes to all for letting down dharma!

All the children had a wonderful time. They said they want even more fun and games next year!

Later in the evening, after 6:00 pm puja to Lord Ganapati, bhajans were sung in His praise and a review of Pancha Ganapati Festival’s significance was spoken by Mr Umamahesan.

Ganesha Himself is present to give away the gifts and blessed everyone today.

“Sweets for you,” Ganesha offered to this little girl.

Dato Balakrishan, temple Chairman, graced this event and happily distributed presents to children.

Not forgetting our cultural dance, the youngsters offered bharatanatyam to add even more joy to this festival. Jai Pancha Ganapati!