Jai Gurudeva! This morning we had a simple arati to Gurudeva followed by meditation. In the profound silence of the meditation the cognition of the great gifts that Gurudeva has left us brings an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

The fullness of Saiva Neri is here and we are living it, and blessed because of it. This is a gift of our beloved Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The daily awareness, in fact the minute-by-minute awareness that God is within us and in all things and that we are immortal souls, each one of us the Atma. This is the gift of our beloved Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The knowledge of the divinity within, the Self within, places upon us the most wonderful challenge: to live as best we can to honor that divinity, to follow dharma, keep strong the flame of aspiration to ever move onward. That challenge and the urgency within to meet it face on every day. That is a gift of our beloved Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

To have a precise definition of what exactly does it mean… this evolution of the soul, spiritual evolution: the progressive stabilization of awareness in higher chakras, leading to full realization of God. To have that understanding and the practical tools to actually proceed along this path. This is another great gift of our beloved Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The culture and fullness of temple worship and a complete understanding of it’s meaning and grace, as bequeathed to use through our ancient scriptures… This is another gift of our beloved Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The heralding of a global awareness of Hindu Solidarity… nurtured by a spirit of tolerance born in the heart of compassionate understanding of God’s presence in all devotees, regardless of the sampradaya… that spirit of solidarity and brotherhood, is yet another gift of our Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The cognition of this life as an on-going educational experience, which is yet but a brief sojourn of the soul in one life time… realizing that we are ultimately one and free in the ocean of Siva’s Satchidananda… this is the gift to us from our Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The uncompromising will to do daily sadhana and svadyaya, practice and continuous study, consistency in the spiritual and religious life, these sure life rafts that will take us to the goal, safely across the ocean of samsara. These are great gifts of our beloved Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The clarity of commitment that leads to the core strength and sambandam, unity, of the satsang of devotees, however different each may be, each facing forward like Nandi, toward God, Gods and Guru. This is the great gift of our Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

His successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and all his monks, these are great gifts of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

A firm establishment placed on a foundation of the Vedas and Agamas, that today fills our lives and carries forward the fullness of the tradition for coming generations. This is the gift of our Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

For these and countless more we are every grateful and full of appreciation. Listen below to an excerpt of Gurudeva speaking to a group in Colorado, in 1977, which we played here today to all the devotees.

Jai Gurudeva!