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FRONT GROUNDS ARE OPEN DAILY FROM 9AM to 12PM WITHOUT A RESERVATION

Showing our Taskforcer Some of the South Side

We took SSC sishya and current taskforcer Rajen Manick out to see some more of Kauai, this time a oceanside walk in the area around Shipwreck's Beach in Koloa/Poipu. Stunning vistas awaited, and Rajen practiced his photography.

Outing to Ho’opi’i Falls

Nearby the monastery, in upper Kapaa, is a wondrous walk through through lush rainforest and along a stream to visit a couple beautiful waterfalls, mainly Ho'opi'i Falls.

SSC sishya Rajen Manick, from Mauritius, is with us on taskforce and this was his first outing to see some of the island. Ho'opi'i Falls was a set piece for one of the Jurassic Park movies where they were mining amber that contained Jurassic DNA.

Partial Closure of Main Road Leading to Monastery

Kuamoo Rd is the main route for people to travel from the coast to upper Kapaa residential areas and our monastery. After climbing the main hill, drivers encounter the beautiful Opaekaa Falls lookout on the right side, and Wailua River lookout on the left. The section of road following the parking area is very narrow, with a long, steep cliff on either side. During recent heavy rains, it was discovered on December 15th that "surface roadway distresses had worsened to indicate signs of slope failure" on the right side.

It is quite a significant emergency, with repairs likely taking many months as they plan to insert huge "soil nails" into the cliff and install a shotcrete wall on the slope. This is what they did in Hanalei after a major slope failure yeasrs ago.

Fortunately, at least as of this moment, they have determined that the left side of the road is still safe to drive on (though a weight limit is to be determined). They are installing traffic lights to create one-lane traffic. In our experience so far, the delay is not bad, about 5-10 minutes, though it would be more during early morning and late afternoon rush hour.

The only other access route is via winding back roads starting at the other end of Kapaa town.

The Famed Pihanakalani Hula Dance

For decades while living on the island, Gurudeva reached out to the Hawaiian community, invited them to events, involved them in our various temple consecration ceremonies. His love of the confluence of the two cultures continues this week.

On November 26th, Kumu Leihi'ilani Kirkpatrick and ten hula dancers came to the monastery with their friends and family, to dance the Pihanakalani hula, and chant the Pihanakalani Oli (chant). Kumu is among Kauai's most knowledgeable and beloved hula teachers, and it showed in the performances of her wahinis.

In her introduction she gave much praise to the monastery for caring for the aina (land) which her ancestors inhabited some 8-900 years ago. Such a joy to have them here, and to see their joy in a rare performance on sacred grounds. The rains held back, barely, as they danced from 3:30 to 5:30, and almost as soon as they finished the heavens opened to bless the event.

You can see a one-minute video here:

https://youtu.be/l2dxvCWodLI

We Are Safe!

As the map shows, our island of Kauai is about 200 miles away from Maui island, where the devastating fires happened on August 9th. It was the most destructive disaster in the history of Hawaii, with the loss of over 80 lives and total destruction of an entire town, Lahaina, with a population of 12,000. It is estimated that it will cost 5-6 billion dollars and decades to rebuild everything.

Many around the world have worried if the monastery is OK, and we want to assure everyone we are.

Nene Geese

We have a small flock of nene geese now hanging out on our Aadheenam property in various places. Short description from wikipedia-- The nene, also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Hawaii. In 1957, it was designated as the official state bird of the state of Hawaii.

Silpi Outing Included First Time Participant

It was time again for another island jaunt by our temple shilpis, and our Iraivan Temple priest, Pravin Kumar Gurukal, joined. It was his first opportunity since March to start seeing the beautiful environment of Kauai. On this sunny day they took a short walk around Nawiliwili Bay near the airport and visited a small lighthouse on the point.

Aerial Photos – May 2023

Aum Namah Sivaya

We recently took a short survey flight with our drone, attempting to map out some future improvements along San Marga. While up there we took a few other shots just for fun. From the air, we're continually reminded of how lush and pure our island environment is. A perfect place of prana and a plethora of pretty plants.

"The whole world is an ashram in which all are doing sadhana. We must love the world, which is God's creation. Those who despise, hate and fear the world do not understand the intrinsic goodness of all."

Coconut Husking Extravaganza and Recent Sunrise

After husking around 330 cocos for the Iraivan Pranapratishtha last month, the husking party took a break, but now we're back to husk another 250 or so for the final days of Mandala Puja from May 8--11.

Iraivan Temple Sivalinga Installation Ceremonies

As most of you already know, the large crystal Sivalinga has been “temporarily” residing in Kadavul Temple since August 1987, awaiting its move to the Iraivan Temple sanctum. Our architect, Selvanathan Sthapati, has indicated that now that the Iraivan Temple structure is complete and the 11,000-pound panchaloha Avudaiyar base has been moved into the inner sanctum, we need to move forward with installing the Sivalinga. Actually, Sthapati was more colorful in his urgings, reminding us that the temple is a living being, with a conception (Gurudeva’s three visions), a birth and a lifespan. And, he offered, we have waited long enough, to the point that the temple is like a pregnant woman who is two weeks overdue, and we can no longer delay the event. Based on that instruction from our Master Builder and guidance from India’s Sivacharyas, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami has set the Sivalinga installation rituals for March 21-26, 2023. These historic rites will be professionally filmed and livestreamed on our youtube channel for everyone to have a front row seat wherever you live around the world.

A just-uploaded trailer video for the ceremonies can be viewed here. If you would like to plan ahead for watching the livestreams, here is the schedule of morning and afternoon streams: March 21 Morning Ceremonies 8:00 AM Start 12:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam Afternoon Ceremonies 3:00 PM Start 7:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam March 22 Morning Ceremonies 8:00 AM Start 12:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam Afternoon Ceremonies 3:00 PM Start 7:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam March 23 Morning Ceremonies 7:30 AM Start 12:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam Afternoon Ceremonies 3:00 PM Start 7:30 PM Distribution of Prasadam March 24 Morning Ceremonies 8:00 AM Start 12:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam Afternoon Ceremonies 3:00 PM Start 7:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam March 25 Morning Ceremonies 8:00 AM Start 12:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam Afternoon Ceremonies 3:00 PM Start 7:00 PM Distribution of Prasadam March 26 Morning Ceremonies 6:00 AM Start 10:19 AM Auspicious Moment 12:00 PM Anna Dhaanam

Access to Iraivan Temple for these installation ceremonies will be through the monastery, with cars utilizing our existing parking lot of 37 spaces. Our maximum capacity of confirmed attendees for the event has already been reached, based on the existing facilities of the Aadheenam and Iraivan Temple. Permitting greater attendance would create substantial issues for us with our neighbors and the county over traffic and parking.

The good news is that starting on March 28th and thereafter, all Saiva Siddhanta Church sishyas and those on a prearranged pilgrimage to Kauai Aadheenam will be able to attend a daily puja at Iraivan Temple, something we have been waiting for all these years.

After March 28 visitors to the Aadheenam who are not formal pilgrims, Saiva Siddhanta Church sishyas or students of Himalayan Academy can still access the rudraksha grove and the monastery entrance areas, including Kadavul Temple, the Meditation Banyan and the MiniMela gift shop. But they will not have the opportunity to attend the Iraivan Temple daily puja until we fully establish additional facilities at the rudraksha grove entrance, thus meeting county regulations to have more parking and bathrooms to accommodate greater numbers of visitors before we can host large crowds. This development is still a couple of years away. 

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