Last weekend Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami was the honored guest at the Hindu Temple of Central Texas in the town of Temple. (After experiencing some awkwardness every time we told people that Bodhinatha was speaking "at the temple in Temple," we learned that all the Hindus in central and northern Texas refer to this sanctuary simply and affectionately as "Temple Texas.")

About 35 people came to the talk, which is close to the 50 devotees the temple usually draws for its Sunday ceremonies. This young temple has beautiful Agamic style construction and ornamentation, and the vibration is palpable. The main Deity is Omkara Mahaganapati. If you live in Austin, Dallas or are driving between the two, we highly recommend visiting this temple to receive Ganesha's blessings.

There is a strong contingent here from the South of India and the North of Sri Lanka, including Gankeyan Kanthasamy from Jaffna. We learned that he attended Yogaswami's Sivathondan Nilayam in Jaffna every week as a child. As soon as we started talking about our parampara, he brightened up and listened close. He and others cherished a gift that Bodhinatha made of one copy of The Guru Chronicles for the temple library.

The talk also spontaneously turned into a book signing, as many of the devotees rushed to the back of the hall to purchase copies of The Guru Chronicles and then lined up to have Bodhinatha sign them before they departed.

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