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One More Course of the Rajagopuram Is Lifted

Sun Two at the Aadheenam. A stone lift happened today. Iraivan is becoming more of a reality with each passing day.

In record-breaking few minutes, the Iraivan Team lifted eight more stones for the Rajagopuram. This is Larry Conklin, “Island Crane and Rigging” owner and operator.

This time we started the stone lift with a very small puja to a Turmeric Ganesha that the silpis made — can you see Him between the red flowers?

We only have one more course of stone to install before the 6-ton Raja Gopuram capstone!

Sthapati does the arati.

Up they go, against the blue sky. These are small ancillary pieces, but just as necessary as any other stone to have a finished temple.

The ground team, always precise.

These are the stones that went up today. They are waiting for some finishes before we flip them to their right position.

The Rajagopuram course is coming along. The main stone goes on top.

From the roof of Iraivan Temple, one has the full view of Rishi Valley, after the creative dance of Sri Rudra happened there.

On the ground, the silpis continue to prepare the last course that will hold the Rajagopuram.

It is a beautiful piece, rich in tradition and artistry. Visualize it gleaming with gold!

Guests of the Last Few Days

In a beautiful sunny day and approximately seventy-one souls arrived for a tour of the Iraivan Temple. Kannan and Manikandan, two of the stone carvers from India, gave an excellent demonstration on how to correctly carve granite the world’s hardest stone. Our guests were all very impressed and some later chose to remain in the demonstration area to try it for themselves. The remaining visitors posed for this photo and, in the background, the work continues on the Raja Gopuram.

Kauai residents Kamalia and Sajon, (right) both longtime friends of the Sat Guru and Swamis pose with Palaniswami before enjoying a tour of the property. Kamalia and Sajon donated the Narmada Lingam and its base, as well as Nandi, to the Aadheenam many years ago. It was subsequently installed in its permanent site by “Gurudeva” in a lovely ceremony beside a beautiful little stream that empties through a natural waterfall into a lotus pond. Since its installation literally thousands of pilgrims have performed abhishekam in this very tranquil and spiritual setting. Thank you Kamalia and Sajon.
Their friends, Ann West from Scotland, Devon Fioner from San Diego, and Sian West and Jon Avana both from Honolulu, are here enjoying their first visit to the Aadheenam.

On the left are Alamelu and Lakshamanan who later joined our little group after performing abhishekam at the Narmada Lingam along the path of the Tamil Saivite Saints. Visiting for the first time is Bernie Eigl, Tanuja Kodeeswaran and their three children Natassja (age 8), Bryndan (age 7), and little Tharan (age 3) with Bernie’s parents from Vienna, Austria.

A relaxed and happy family enjoying the beauty and peace of this spiritual paradise.

(center) Kokila and Prem Hejmadi are here visiting the temple for the first time and are from Santa Clara. They were very surprised to meet two longtime friends whom they had not seen in years, Rev. Mira Sai Ma and Raghu Baba who are devotees of Satya Sai Baba. They are closely connected to the Kalpataru Sai Temple in San Jose, CA. After unexpectedly seeing her two friends here at the Aadheenam, Mirabai Ma mused “that is the Divine Leela at play!”

Pancha Ganapati Celebration at Puchong, Malaysia

We had a wonderful and blessed Pancha Ganapati in the home of Aravindraj and Renu Chandrasekaran on December 25. Here, fellow devotees arrive bright and early in anticipation.

We decorated the altar in the living room and tried to make it look a bit like a jungle with banana trees, sugarcane and mango leaves.

On Pancha Ganapati Day 2, we had a pleasant surprise when relatives from India had brought a beautiful Ganesha statue into our home. It was such an adorable looking Ganesha that we just had to get it blessed and include it in our puja on the 25th of December. Thank you so much for the wonderful gift!

We put the new Ganesha statue at the altar, surrounded with all the gifts that are going to be given to the children.

We had about 60 people in attendance. Here, after the puja, everyone receives Lord Ganesha’s blessings.

Bhajans led by Kulapati Dhasan enlivened the atmosphere. This was followed by a short explanation about Pancha Ganapati, as there were many people who had never heard of Pancha Ganapati before. Then it was game time for children, and everyone got a gift…

…including the big children!

And who else but Ganesha Himself came to give out the gifts to everyone! Three-year-old Jagatheeshwar is up to the challenging task of playing Ganesha.

Everyone had a great time. Thank you, Ganesha, for giving us this opportunity to share your abundant blessings with everyone. Jai Ganesha! Jai Kailasa Parampara!

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