A recent sunrise captured by one of our monks

“You are perfect this very moment. You are all that you will ever be.”

– Gurudeva

Aum Namah Sivaya

Recently we took some new aerial photos from our little drone. It was a chance to discover our aadheenam grounds, temples, building and gardens from a new perspective. Our hilly landscape and fascinating species of plants make for quite a picture. It's important to get an overview once in a while to keep the little things in proper perspective. They're just smalls strokes in a grand painting of life. Aum.

Recently the island of Kauai received a bout of heavy rains which fell for several days upon Mount Waialeale. This in turn caused the sacred Wailua River to flood its banks in a spectacular display of natural energy. Large branches and whole trees were whisked downriver. Here, we flew our small Quad Copter out over the waterfall to get a closer look. Aum.

The State is upgrading a section of the ditch which flows from Wailua Reservoir (a short distance from the monastery) and winds its way through the entire monastery grounds. It is a source of water for our cows, gardens, the Rishi Valley ponds and more. It was shut off about two weeks ago to do this work. The engineers decided that the open ditch on the outside slope of the dam was weakening the overall structure by soaking the ground. They decided to upgrade that section of the ditch to a 200 foot section of concrete pipe, connecting to the culvert under Kuamoo Road. The water then opens to the ditch on the University of Hawaii's Agricultural Station adjacent to the monastery and then flows into our streams.

Recently Nirvani Tejadevanatha (camera man), Yogi Dayanatha and Yajatadeva took an exploratory journey up river. After our recent, record deluge this was a good opportunity, not only to hike through some of Kauai's natural beauty, but also to survey the many changes that had taken place following the storm. Countless trees and plants have been washed away and many rocks and boulders have been relocated. In the morning the three set out from our waterfall and walked upriver towards the mountain as far as the ford that we use to cross over to our agricultural land.

Several days ago the monastery witnessed a powerful lightening storm, which brought with it tremendous rains throughout the night. Many suggest this was the Wailua's largest surge in the last 50 or 100 years. By 2:00am the flooding river had broken the state river gauge and would soon remove trees and strip bare the the banks of plants and silt, leaving only rock. Though none of us saw it while it was at full hight, the massive instant landscaping was more than obvious the next morning. Thankfully it didn't quite reach our large banana patch!

Recently we appreciated a visit from a group of Kauai elders, who all enjoyed a morning tour of our temples and sacred gardens. Aum Namah Sivaya.

Over the retreat, Sannyasin Yoginathaswami and Nirvani Tejadevanatha took the siplis and Chinnu to the north shore to visit the beach. Beforehand they visited an American icon that the silpis deeply enjoy — Walmart, where they spend happy hours. It was a perfect, sunny day to visit the ocean. Even the oft rainy Halanei area was nice and dry. Aum.

Here's a group from one of our weekly tour days. This day saw over 100 people, awed and inspired by their adventure through the Aadheenam's natural beauty and mystical artistry. Here they pose by the Sipli Pavilion before heading over to Iraivan Temple to see how it is carved, firsthand.