Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“The same cyclical pattern of development in human history is evident even more clearly in the growth of the individual. In the seven cycles of a man’s life, beginning at the time of his birth, his awareness automatically flows through one of these chakras and then the next one, then the next and then the next, provided he lives a pure life, following Sanātana Dharma under the guidance of a satguru. ¶In reality, most people never make it into the higher four chakras, but instead regress back time and again into the chakras of reason, instinctive will, memory, anger, fear and jealousy. Nevertheless, the natural, ideal pattern is as follows. From one to seven years of age man is in the mūlādhāra chakra. He is learning the basics of movement, language and society—absorbing it all into an active memory. The patterns of his subconscious are established primarily in these early years. From seven to fourteen he is in the svādhishṭhāna chakra. He reasons, questions and asks, “Why? Why? Why?” He wants to know how things work. He refines his ability to think for himself. Between fourteen and twenty-one he comes into his willpower. He does not want to be told what to do by anyone. His personality gets strong, his likes and dislikes solidify. He is on his way now, an individual answerable to no one. Generally, about this time he wants to run away from home and express himself. From twenty-one to twenty-eight he begins assuming responsibilities and gaining a new perspective of himself and the world. Theoretically, he should be in anāhata, the chakra of cognition, but a lot of people never make it. They are still in the bull-in-the-china-shop consciousness, crashing their way through the world in the expression of will, asking why, reasoning things out and recording it in memory patterns which they go over year after year after year.”

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“The sixth force center is ājñā, or the third eye. Ājñā chakra means “command center” and grants direct experience of the Divine, not through any knowledge passed on by others, which would be like the knowledge found in books. Magnetized to the cavernous plexus and to the pineal gland and located between the brows, the ājñā chakra governs the superconscious faculties of divine sight within man. Its color is lavender. Of its two “petals” or facets one is the ability to look down, all the way down, to the seven talas, or states of mind, below the mūlādhāra and the other is the ability to perceive the higher, spiritual states of consciousness, all the way up to the seven chakras above the sahasrāra. Thus, ājñā looks into both worlds: the odic astral world, or Antarloka, and the actinic spiritual world, or Śivaloka. It, therefore, is the connecting link, allowing the jñānī to relate the highest consciousness to the lowest, in a unified vision. This center opens fully to the conscious use of man after many experiences of nirvikalpa samādhi, Self Realization, resulting in total transformation, have been attained, although visionary insights and, particularly, inner light experiences are possible earlier.”

Aum Namah Sivaya
Please enjoy this video version of Satguru’s January 2024 Publisher’s Editorial from Hinduism Today Magazine. You can read the article or explore more from our latest issue here. Aum.

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“Once in either current for a long time, it is difficult to flow awareness out of it. There are some people who are predominantly piṅgalā, aggressive in nature and strong in their human elements in that area. There are some people who are predominantly iḍā: human, physical and earthy, and full of feeling. And there are some who switch from one to the other. These are the more rounded and well-adjusted type of people, who can move awareness through the piṅgalā current and through the iḍā current and adjust the energies almost at will.”

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“Once in either current for a long time, it is difficult to flow awareness out of it. There are some people who are predominantly piṅgalā, aggressive in nature and strong in their human elements in that area. There are some people who are predominantly iḍā: human, physical and earthy, and full of feeling. And there are some who switch from one to the other. These are the more rounded and well-adjusted type of people, who can move awareness through the piṅgalā current and through the iḍā current and adjust the energies almost at will.”

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives a upadesha at the start of a new season in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“In the esoterics of unfoldment on the path of enlightenment, there are some mechanics about what happens inside of the human body, its nerve system, that you should know about. There are two basic forces working within the body, as I have explained, the instinctive area of the mind and the intellectual area of the mind. Within these are two forces working that flow out from the central source of energy through their respective currents. They are called the iḍā and the piṅgalā forces. ¶The iḍā current is pink in color. It is the vibration of the physical body. It is the Earth current. When the energy is flowing through that current, or nāḍī, we are more conscious of the physical body, or more in physical consciousness. We are not in the world of thought but in the world of feeling. We feel very strongly and experience very strong emotions when the energy is flowing through the iḍā current.”

The recent World Hindu Congress 2023, organized by the World Hindu Foundation, was first held in 2014 in Delhi, then again in Chicago in 2018. It is “a global platform for Hindus to connect, share ideas, inspire one another and impact the common good.”

At the opening plenary session, plaques of recognition were presented to Swami Purnatmananda Maharaj, acting president of Bharat Sevashram Sangh, Bharat, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher, Hinduism Today, USA and Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, founder Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Bharat.

The award for Hinduism Today was introduced by Shri Milind Shrikant Parande, Secretary General of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharat.

He began, “The second award is to the worldwide magazine Hinduism Today. In the 1970s Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami established Kauai’s Hindu monastery, Kauai Aadheenam. It is regarded as the single most advocate of Hindu Dharma outside of Bharat. The worldwide magazine Hinduism Today was founded by him in 1979.”

Shri Parande then read the text of the felicitation:

“The Organizing Committee of the World Hindu Congress, 2023 Bangkok wishes to express profound appreciation for the remarkable contributions made by Hinduism Today since its establishment under the guidance of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a devoted disciple of Jnanaguru Yoga Swami from Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

“Hinduism Today’s commitment to nurturing Hindu solidarity, fostering unity and dispelling misconceptions about Hindu Dharma is truly praiseworthy. It has served as a guiding light of knowledge, inspiration and awakening for Hindus across the globe. The unwavering dedication to nurturing the ongoing spiritual Hindu renaissance and providing a valuable resource for Indian leaders and educators is immeasurable.

“Hinduism Today’s pivotal role in preserving and promoting the rich heritage of Hindu Dharma is deeply appreciated. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your tireless efforts in upholding the essence of Hindu Dharma and sharing its wisdom with the world.”

The award was then jointly presented by Shri Parande and Dr. Mohanrao Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak [head] of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Another report on the event is here.

For the full report including Satguru’s talk:

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“Responsibly resolving karma is among the most important reasons that a satguru is necessary in a sincere seeker’s life. The guru helps the devotee to hold his mind in focus, to become pointedly conscious of thought, word and deed, and to cognize the lessons of each experience. Without the guidance and grace of the guru, the devotee’s mind will be divided between instinctive and intellectual forces, making it very difficult to resolve karma. And only when karma is wisely harnessed can the mind become still enough to experience its own superconscious depths.”

The World Hindu Congress, held every four years, invited Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami to Bangkok to receive a special honorary award. He and Arumuganathaswami flew there and attended three days of events and panels. On the first night, the award was given from the stage before a crowd of some 2,000 Hindu leaders from across the globe.

Arumuganathaswami presented a Keynote on the magazine during one of six Hindu Media conferences. He also played the one minute Iraivan trailer to introduce all to Kauai Aadheenam, and we are told there were near gasps from the audience in seeing the beauty and sanctity of Mahalingesvara's Hawaiian home.

You can see a short and articulate introduction by clicking on the video below, followed by Bodhinatha's ten-minute presentation:

We share here a few photos of the Skanda Sashti puja a few days ago (which was also livestreamed), and in the middle of the puja, while Karttikeya was decorated, Brahmachari Shankara Veylan took the six-month Supplicancy Pledge. Having already taken the vow of purity, he now takes on two more vows, the vow of Humility and the vow of Confidence. This pledge declares his intention towards a life of monasticism, as he now begins the final process, by which he will ready himself for the life of the Postulant. From the Sacred Pledge booklet:

"The supplicant's foremost objective is to strive for mastery of the charya marga, or path of service. This begins with the avoidance of wrongful actions and the overcoming of base instincts and emotions as he learns to transmute worldliness into the higher states of devotion and selflessness. At this stage on the path, the Saivite devotee is content not to strive for profound spiritual attainments but to work diligently with the faults and flaws that are stumbling blocks on the path, learning at the same time to depend not only on his own resources but on the limitless abilities of the Gods to resolve all difficulties and dissolve all obstacles. The Supplicancy is a time of profound worship of Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan and Lord Siva and of deepening commitment and service to Saivite Hinduism and to the Church. It is also a time of study, challenge and inner change. The supplicant is encouraged to strive for the perfection of service and for the monastic ideals of humility, industry and responsibility, renouncing personal needs for the benefit of others. In this service, he should strive for transparency, that quality of anonymous virtue in which the premonastic lives in full harmony with others, remaining centered within and not standing out or disturbing the surroundings. It is this ancient tradition of unseen service and unperturbable stability that the supplicant seeks to emulate, realizing that serving in unheralded ways and renouncing the fruits of even good deeds averts the pitfalls of the spiritual ego and nurtures the state of unpretentiousness. By putting great energy into premonastic life and by serving tirelessly for the benefit not of himself but of others, the supplicant opens himself to the inflow of Lord Siva's grace."Aum Namah Sivaya.