Yesterday the monastery observed our monthly padapuja to Gurudeva during the chitra nakshatra. In the early morning, monks and guests gathered in Kadavul Temple for the abhishekam to Gurudeva's black granite tiruvadi. Sadhaka Dayanatha and Nirvani Tejadevanatha performed the puja. Jai Gurudeva!

"Don't let anyone take your religion away from you. We have to keep developing religion in our mind. We have to keep learning the language of our soul, which is one definition of religion. When religion leaves our mind, something comes in to replace it. What comes into our mind to replace the vacuum when religion goes? Greed, jealousy, hatred, anger, past regrets, despair, self-condemnation. We cease to feel good about ourselves. We are always discontented and restless, and we are always unhappy, jealous, angry and fretful. These are some of the lower emotions that replace religion when we allow religion to leave our mind. There are many people in the world today intent on taking your religion away from you. Saivites have the greatest and philosophically most comprehensive and deeply experiential religion in the world. Saivites have moved their religion forward for five to ten thousand years. At no time in history has the Saivite religion not been on this planet. The Tamil people especially have moved the Saivite religion forward, year after year after year, through bhakti. And it is your religion. It is in your DNA, and no one can take that religion away from you. But you must steel your mind, make your mind strong through knowledge, through religious education." Gurudeva