After a week of highly auspicious events, this phase opened with yet another uplifting moment. Rajita Sivananda, formerly Judith Cornell, enter the Saivite Hindu religion through the name giving ceremony known as the “Namakarana.”

Rajita sits before the sacred fire….

Then she reads out her oath of allegiance to the Hindu Faith, which we copy below in full.

Aum Ganesha

Namakarana Samskara
Hindu Name-Giving Sacrament

I, Rajita Sivananda, formerly known as Judith Cornell, having declared of my own volition acceptance of the principles of the Sanatana Dharma, and having formally severed all previous non-Hindu religious affiliations, attachments and commitments, hereby humbly petition entrance into the Saiva sect of the Hindu religion through the traditional namakarana samskara and plead for recognition by the community of devotees witnessing this sacred rite of this irrevocable adoption of or conversion to Hinduism. I have completed a study of the Hindu teachings and hereby proclaim my acceptance of the following nine beliefs of Hinduism and my promise to fulfill to the best of my ability the pancha nitya karmas: worship, upasana; holy days, utsava, virtuous living, dharma; pilgrimage, tirthayatra; and rites of passage, samskara. I now avow to the nine beliefs by reading them aloud. Aum.

1. I believe in the divinity of the Vedas, the world’s most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial hymns are God’s word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion which has neither beginning nor end.

2. I believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.

3. I believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.

4. I believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.

5. I believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, spiritual knowledge and liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be eternally deprived of this destiny.

6. I believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments as well as personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.

7. I believe that a spiritually awakened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation.

8. I believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, noninjury.

9. I believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facets of God’s Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.

Signature: former name: Judith Cornell
Hindu name: Rajita Sivananda

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami signs Rajita Namakarana Certificate.

It is Hereby Certified that this devotee, Rajita Sivananda, was at a namakarana samskara held at the temple known as Kadavul located in Hawaii on the auspicious day of November 17th, 2009 duly given a Hindu name in accordance with the traditions of Sanatana Dharma before the Deity, the Mahadevas and the devas and the congregation of devotees. This person is thus bound eternally and immutably to the Hindu religion as a member of this most ancient faith with full rights of access to all public Hindu temples, shrines and institutions throughout the world from this day onward. Through this magical Vedic ceremony guardian devas have been invoked from the Antarloka to protect, guide and defend this devotee.

Rajita writes her name on a tray of rice which is passed over the flame and the devotees all pronounce in unison

“Let this devotee’s name be established! Tad astu!”

“Let this devotee’s name be established! Tad astu!”

We all welcome Rajita to our global Hindu family!

Tad Astu!

On Saturday 14th November sishyas of Mauritius gathered at the Spiritual Park to celebrate Gurudeva's Mahasamadhi. It was a special moment for everyone present. We bring you as few photos of the ceremony.

Tirthadeva conducted the pada puja while a complete silence pervaded the Ganesha Mandapam.

The Holy Tiruvadi which is carefully kept and worshipped inside the private shrine of the Dharmasala, has been brought into the Mandapam for this auspicious event.

Sishyas sitting, quietly immersed in the Guru's Darshan.

The ceremony was conducted at 3.00 PM at a time when the Park is quiet and with not so many visitors around.

Everyone had their eyes on the pada puja…

Natchintanaii devoutly sung filled up the atmosphere with a high spiritual vibration.

Lord Pancha Mukha Ganapati oversees all that is happening between the inner worlds and the Mandapam.

Jai Gurudeva!

The presence of Gurudeva is felt in everyone's heart

Devotees listening to Kul manon giving a talk reminding on how Gurudeva started His saivite mission in Mauritius years ago and emphasized on a few key events of the past.

Time for a final arati after a keynote presentation on Gurudeva's teachings.

Kulapati Kulagan has been carefully coordinating this event.

Prostration to the Holy Feet of Beloved Gurudeva.

Natchintanaii chanting continues….

Our ladies happy to be together after the ceremony…

One of our keynote items…..

The keynote multimedia presentation with music, film excerpts, photos, graphics etc… stressed on a few key practical quotes from Gurudeva.

An hour after the amazing Pada Puja performed by Sri Kumar Gurukal (third from right, in orange), a tropical rainstorm swept the monastery.

Not an ordinary rain, mind you. This was the most rain in a short period we have seen in all our 40+ years here.

The Wailua River rose. Then it rose and rose. Then it rose some more, bringing giant trees fifty or more feet tall and four feet in girth down the river. They were tumbled in the swift waters like twigs. Nature's energy is awesome to behold, and the monks were mesmerized, unable to take our eyes off this display of natural energy.

It made an island of these giant albezias, something not seen before.

The monks were calling the floating monsters Moby Tree.

This one was so big, it got stuck on the boulders. It will take us weeks to chainsaw it into moveable pieces. What a spectacle it was, and just in the aftermath of our four days of honoring Gurudeva. How could it be a coincidence, that the more abundant rains in history came at just that moment? Color us impressed.

During the recent Mahasamadhi Observances, all the pilgrims worked together on an art project. It was to take some black and white are and using chalk color the Saiva scenes.

The board was 4 feet by 8 feet, as shown here in its completed form. We will share it below along with Gurudeva's words on his vision in Mauritius, of which more in the days ahead.

"In 1986 I had a powerful vision of Lord Ganesha while I was here in Mauritius looking for property for Saiva Siddhanta Church. Lord Ganesha was walking from His temple attended by two priests. He was about to take a bath in the beautiful Indian Ocean in the country of Mauritius where the river meets the sea. I was standing in the water with several sharks swimming around me. Lord Ganesha, accompanied by two priests, looked at me and said, 'Just rub some oil on their noses and they will not harm you.'

"The vision led me directly to this special land by the Rempart River and its lagoon. The Spiritual Park is a fulfillment of that vision. I see it combining environmental and architectural beauty that will give spiritual peace and mystical knowledge to visitors for many generations in the future. It is destined to become a pilgrimage site of great renown in the Indian Ocean area. Hindus from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Africa and India will come here."

Today thousands of Hindus attend the monthly homa at the Spiritual Park, burning their prayers in its magical fires. Outside the wooden, Kerala-style thatched pavilion, they crowd together in the shade of mango and sacred konrai trees to worship the nine-foot-tall, black granite murti of Lord Ganesha with five faces and ten arms. In this way, Gurudeva's mission has taken root on the tropical island that enchanted Mark Twain when he visited in 1896 and wrote: "You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius."

On this day the devotees of Yogaswami remember the diksha he gave to Gurudeva in 1949 and the Great Work that came from that powerful coronation, and they call on us all to practice Gurudeva's teachings in our daily life!

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