Kauai Aadheenam is the spiritual home and theological seminary for 19 monks from six nations. They are the ministers of Saiva Siddhanta Church overseeing an international religious mission, while living a strict lifestyle of daily religious worship, meditation, yoga and service. Morning worship begins before dawn in the temple with rites to Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan and then Lord Siva. Young, single men under 25 years of age who are interested in traditional Hindu monastic life can explore our How to Become a Monk page.
Following the daily worship, at 6:00am the monks sit together for a one-hour guided meditation followed by singing and guidance from the abbot. This daily spiritual activity is the anchor for the coming day of service to dedicated spiritual seekers and the Hindu world at large.
The monks are involved daily with the Hindu temple that is the center of their life, performing three-hour vigils 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the sacred precincts. Classes, seminars and training take place throughout the week as they study together the philosophical and metaphysical teachings of the founder, chant Sanskrit mantras, sing traditional devotional hymns and celebrate the festivals of their lineage.
Self-sufficiency is a prime principle for Hindu monastics, and thus each monk is called upon to help with the daily chores of the monastery, whether in the kitchen, the gardens, the temple or the offices.
Now we introduce ever so briefly the founder of Kauai's Hindu Monastery and the 20 monks whom he initiated and who now carry on the spiritual work of his lineage.
For over five decades Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva, taught Hinduism to Hindus and seekers from all faiths. In the line of successorship, he was the 162nd Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and the founding Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam (also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery), a 458-acre temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island. Gurudeva's mission, received from his satguru, Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, was to protect, preserve and promote the Saivite Hindu religion as expressed through its three pillars: temples, satgurus and scripture. That mission is now carried forward by his monastic and family communities.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami is Gurudeva's designated successor, having spent 37 years training and serving at Gurudeva's side. On November 13, 2001, he was installed as Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam and the 163rd preceptor of the Kailasa Parampara. Bodhinatha is the spiritual head of Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy and Hindu Heritage Endowment. As publisher of Hinduism Today magazine, he carries forward Gurudeva's vision to inform, strengthen and connect Hindus around the world. For a full biography please go to: Bodhinatha
Paramacharya Palaniswami is one of the four stewards of Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy and Hindu Heritage Endowment. He is the leader of the Ganapati Kulam, the monastic team reponsible for all book and magazine production, translations, art work, web work and publications. He is intimately involved with the design and construction of Iraivan Temple, working with the master builders. He is also editor-in-chief of Hinduism Today magazine and the other publications and guide of the Innersearch Travel-Study Programs. He is the senior counselor to the monastic community and overseer of our global relationships with other Hindu organizations and interfaith religious forums. On retreat days, he fulfills the monastery's vision of a wild, tropical paradise by collecting, cultivating and planting many varieties of sacred, medicinal and tropical plants, palms and trees around the monastery grounds.
Paramacharya Ceyonswami is a steward of Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy and Hindu Heritage Endowment. He is also the leader of the Lambodhara Kulam, the team which manages Kadavul Siva Temple, monastic health and welfare, the monastery kitchen and our many animals. He works with all the monastics through his extensive knowledge of ayurveda and Vedic astrology. Ceyonswami is our senior temple priest, trained in Sri Lanka in the traditional Saivite devotional rites. He assists Bodhinatha as the Publisher's Aide for Hinduism Today magazine and oversees the fund-raising for Iraivan Temple.
Acharya Kumarswami is a member of the Ganapati Kulam and is responsible for the publication of Himalayan Academy's many books on the philosophy, culture and metaphysics of Hinduism. He guides the content of these publications, informed by his years of careful research and knowledge of Saiva Siddhanta. He is the Deputy Editor of Hinduism Today magazine in which role he edits all articles and oversees page layouts, typography and design. Kumarswami is a fine carpenter and in his spare time works with the Siddhidatta Kulam on various woodworking and building projects.
Sannyasin Muruganathaswami, a member of the Pillaiyar Kulam, is responsible for the bookkeeping for the several nonprofit corporations, monitoring our book inventories and coordinating monastic travel. A senior monk, skilled in Sanskrit, Muruganathaswami is among a select group that chants hymns from the Vedas during the sacred morning fire ceremony held weekly, attended by family members and pilgrims. He likes to get out in nature and take care of the monastery grounds on retreat days.
Sannyasin Arumugaswami, a member of the Ganapati Kulam, is the Managing Editor of Hinduism Today magazine, our internationally renowned religious journal. He coordinates dozens of journalists, photographers and writers around the globe, assigning their monthly projects, assembling their writings and reports. Arumugaswami is instrumental in guiding the thinking of Hindus around the world, and works to assure the purity of dharma and the protection of Hinduism in the media. He issues a daily summary of Hindu news, called Hindu Press International. He is currently working on an illustrated, multi-level children's course on Saivite Hinduism in several languages. Swami is instrumental in the construction and agricultural activities of the monastery.
Sannyasin Sivakatirswami, a member of the Ganapati Kulam, assists Paramacharya Palaniswami in a host of ministry projects and activities. As the Production Manager of Hinduism Today magazine, he works with our printer in Missouri handling the digital production from our servers here to the finished magazine. He also helps coordinate translations of Gurudeva's books and reprints done by other publishers in India, Ukraine and Trinidad. He oversees website projects and the global team involved in our various work on the Internet. Sivakatirswami is responsible for writing the daily web page at TAKA, telling the story of current events at the monastery and sharing the teachings with digital pilgrims. On retreats he takes care of our hundreds of fruit trees, specializing in pruning and harvesting.
Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami is the leader of the Pillaiyar Kulam, the monastic team responsible for the promotion of Himalayan Academy's outreach programs and distribution of our publications, including Hinduism Today subscriptions. He guides efforts to get our religious teachings into the hands of temples, ashrams, schools, libraries and individuals around the world, and works with professional distributors to achieve these goals. His team handles the administrative and business activities of the Church, Academy and Hindu Heritage Endowment. Knowledgeable in the traditional Hindu sacred calendar, Shanmuganathaswami has spent years writing and refining the computer program which creates the almanac, or panchangam, that guides the spiritual and practical life of the monastery and Church members. He writes the code and supervises the structure of our master 4th Dimension database. He oversees the care and breeding of our small herd of milk-producing cows, and he is also our in-house telephone system engineer. On retreats he enjoys making home-style root beer, ginger ale and other beverages for his spiritual brothers to occasionally enjoy.
Sannyasin Saravananathaswami is the leader of the Ekadanta Kulam, the monastic group responsible for nurture and outreach to members of Saiva Siddhanta Church and students of Himalayan Academy. He works closely with Bodhinatha to reach out for new members, coordinate Bodhinatha's various travels, guide students of Himalayan Academy's Master Course Correspondence Study, communicate with young men interested in monastic life, and plan activities for our annual Satguru Purnima festival and Gurudeva mahasamadhi observances. One of our younger swamis, he was appointed by Gurudeva, just before his transition, as the fourth steward of our religious and educational institutions, to extend continuity of Church administration into the next generation of monastics. Saravananathaswami enjoys working outdoors in his spare time, where he is currently nurturing flowering plants, especially plumeria and hibiscus, to provide abundant fragrant flowers for our daily temple worship.
Sannyasin Yoginathaswami, the leader of the Siddhidatta Kulam, is in charge of buildings and grounds maintenance, festival preparations and temple construction, including the assembly of Iraivan Temple. He coordinates the work of our team of Indian sacred sculptors, guiding the arrival and unloading of stones from Bangalore and supervising contractors hired for monastery projects. His team ministers to pilgrims by caring for our large outdoor meditation sanctuary to make their visit most uplifting. They also manage our organic vegetable gardens and fruit orchards, building maintenance and construction, as well as waterways, equipment, vehicles and grounds. Yoginathaswami is one of the monks who chant sacred hymns from the Vedas during our weekly fire ceremony and special festival pujas. He occasionally travels abroad to minister and teach to Church members and Academy students. On retreats he enjoys solitude, delving into his religious studies, and planting seedlings for the food production in our vegetable gardens. He is learning orchid cultivation and is always ready for a philosophical discussion on the fine points of Saiva Siddhanta.
Sannyasin Senthilnathaswami, a member of the Ganapati Kulam, assists Bodhinatha, Paramacharya Palaniswami and Acharya Kumarswami in the editing, design and production of our publications, websites and new media projects such as Keynote presentations, video and audio. He also writes and edits for Hinduism Today magazine and oversees the computer correction of the photos and art used in our publications. One of Swami's major responsibilities is developing, managing and maintaining the monastery's Macintosh computer network, the primary tool for our religious outreach. On retreat days he loves to cook and bake, turn wooden bowls from exotic local woods the monastery mills and spend time alone in his yoga practices.
Sadhaka Jothinatha, a member of the Pillaiyar Kulam, is our most senior sadhaka, having served Gurudeva's mission since 1967. He furthers the religious outreach of the Church and its Academy by managing Hinduism Today's advertising efforts. Through the Internet, he ministers to a large group of sevaks who communicate with readers and subscribers of our religious magazine around the world. His fluency in French, coupled with years of experience teaching Saiva Siddhanta philosophy and theology in Malaysia and Mauritius, allows him to bring Gurudeva's teachings into that language. He cultivates effective relationships with groups and individuals in many nations, facilitating their spiritual work. Sadhaka Jothinatha's green thumb shows on retreat days when he plants, trims and tends the monastery gardens, especially the long, winding path down to the river pond.
Sadhaka Haranandinatha, a long-time monastic but new member of the Lambodhara Kulam, oversees all fund-raising for the Iraivan temple. His wonderful, nurturing spirit reaches out to people all over the world, inspiring them to be part of this remarkable enterprise. He looks after the monthly temple building fund mailings, communications with Iraivan donors and helps keep track of archana requests and mailing out of prasadam. Every month he masterminds all the activities that the monks do as a team on the full-moon Iraivan day. His skills as a chef provide healthful, delectable meals for the monastery and in his spare time he has been taking a special interest in making sure our carvers from India are happily supplied with Tamil music, videos, the latest news from their home in Chennai and generally seeing to their human needs with a generous, loving spirit.
Sadhaka Adinatha, a member of the Siddhidatta Kulam, works closely with Yoginathaswami in the many aspects of building and equipment maintenance, construction and groundskeeping. He has served extensively in the country of Mauritius, where he helped Gurudeva establish a Spiritual Park for the Hindu community. Experienced in all aspects of carpentry and building, on retreats he takes delight in developing hardwood trees, nurturing them from seed to readiness to plant in small groves of Hawaiian Koa, Milo, etc.
Sadhaka Nilakantha, a member of the Siddhidatta Kulam, assists Sannyasin Yoginathaswami with the growing of the monastery's food in our large organic gardens. His areas of service include the maintenance of the sacred meditation paths and grounds, the buildings and vehicles. Sadhaka Nilakantha's knowledge of ayurveda is brought to bear in growing herbs and healing plants. On retreat days he enjoys tending to the monastery's palm collection, planting and potting hardwoods and practicing the traditional South Indian temple drum, the tavil.
Sadhaka Tejadevanatha, a member of the Siddhidatta Kulam, assists Sannyasin Yoginathaswami with the upkeep of the monastery buildings, grounds and gardens. His service includes the regular maintenance of our equipment and vehicles, for which a master calendar is used. His travels to the Caribbean Hindu communities on Innersearch and several months spent at the Kailas Ashram in Bangalore, India, revealed his great abilities to teach and to live an exemplary monastic life. Sadhaka Tejadevanatha is in training with our senior monks to develop his carpentry skills and the care of shop tools. On retreat days he works on landscaping and small building projects.
Sadhaka Dandapani serves in the Ekadanta Kulam helping Sannyasin Saravanathaswami with Himalayan Academy and Saiva Siddhanta Church communications and programs. He hosts guests and pilgrims and is resident photographer for our daily TAKA page at /taka/. In his spare time, Sadhaka loves to do graphic design and work outdoors, landscaping the temple gardens and growing exotic flowers, bushes and trees. Dandapani also coordinates the Academy's Innersearch travel-study programs, overseen by Paramacharya Palaniswami.
Sadhaka Satyanatha entered the monastery in late February of 2006. After studying Gurudeva's teachings for years and being one of Gurudeva's cybercadets, he joined Bodhinatha on the 2004 Indian Odyssey Innersearch. Satyanatha serves in the Ganapati Kulam, helping with the monastery's multi-facted publications, our Wikipedia project and audio-video presentations. More recently he is being trained to do audio editing and as an Assistant Editor of Hinduism Today.
Yogi Jivanandanatha, a member of the Pillaiyar Kulam, he is training directly with Bodhinatha as the monastery accountant and information manager. His math and computer-script-writing gifts are keys to the monastery's efficiency. He also helps oversee the monastery's network of Macs, keeping all software, computers, systems and cables that connect them trouble free in service of Gurudeva's worldwide mission. On retreats he collects tropical fruit trees from around the world, planting and nurturing them to provide a variety of fruits for the monks. He has taken an interest in woodworking, particularly in milling woods harvested from the monastery land, including rudraksha, camphor, blue gum, jambhu and lychee, and making useful things with the lumbers derived.
