Sun 5 today, and it's guest day at Kauai Aadheenam. a small group, less than a dozen, but each one a gem. The magazine is out and the publications team has turned its considerable skills toward other tasks, including helping Acharya Palaniswami make some preparations for his 2-week journey to Atlanta, Georgia for a Religion and AIDS in America conference. That's Palaniswami giving this mornings acharya talk in the temple [for details see the end of the page]

The Ford Foundation is flying Palaniswami, the editor in chief of Hinduism Today, and Yogi Yuganatha to Atlanta for the week. About 150 religion editors will be there for four days at the Carter Center, discussing the spiritual side of the epidemic. Palaniswami will be offering a Hindu view, of course. They will also be visiting for one day the wonderful Kashi Ashram in Florida, founded decades ago by the remarkable Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati (who is a keynote speaker at the same conference in Atlanta and perhaps one of the greatest exemplars of compassionate treatment of AIDS victims in the USA.

Today Gurudeva's audio talk today focuses on having a firm commitment to what you envision. It is not good, says Gurudeva, to get into the habit of "I want to want to do so and so." Just do it. Those who live in the consciousness of wanting to want to quit smoking, wanting to want to make a change in life, wanting to want to do puja or meditation each day, never ever get around to doing it. The talk is better than the summary. Just click the button above to listen to Gurudeva's own words about this.

Some questions have been coming in and he invites you to submit your own questions for him to address. Send any and all questions you want him to speak about to: kumar@hindu.org

November 2, 1998 Sun 5: Acharya Palaniswami's Talk in the Temple this morning.

Acharya Palaniswami took his seat in front of Siva's stall and sang a song to our Guru and then asked us to sing a Natchintanai. Just as we finished it began to pour down rain. What a magical place this holy temple! Through Acharya Palaniswami we get a little insight into the powerful forces that drive the Ganapati Kulam and stretch our imagination to what is humanly possible in the brief span of a day. Not only did the Ganapati Kulam produce this month's Hinduism Today, but also the special Temple, Island supplement issue which is absolutely beautiful and a timeless tribute to the Island of Kauai, our Church, Monastery, Temple complex and the vision of Iraivan. If that were not enough they are working on a deadline for a 1,400 page book and in their spare time designing and printing new aloha cards in conjunction with the mayor's office and creating mystical book marks for Merging with Siva!!! His show and tell also brought forth some exquisite paintings from Manivel which depicted the human aura, beginning to meditate, transition at death, color meditation, bringing to full color real life, inner life. Acharya Palaniswami's message today was a new perspective on action and reaction.

Living close to a Siva Guru brings a certain intensity and pace of life that pales the slower and mundane experiences of ordinary life and consciousness. Things begin to happen and this is good, this is suppose to happen. As we continue to do our sadhana, and work to refine ourselves and struggle to control our lower nature we begin to face these happenings. Physical things, emotional things, relationship things and spiritual experiences all coming at an accelerated pace. The secret is not what happens to us, but how we respond to the experience. Whatever happens in our life - be it a car accident, a persistent illness or a financial calamity - it is not the experience that counts- it is how we respond and react to these experiences that help us to grow and are the true measure of who we are.

Palaniswami noted that Gurudeva has said that the greatest souls have the greatest challenges in life. We must approach life - all of life - all of experience from our inner perspective and ask ourselves - what does this experience have to teach me - what lesson can I derive from it - take it as Siva's will. We use all of our skills, all of the many tantras and lessons Gurudeva has given us to keep our balance and see from the inside out. We can observe a soul who has not found the path face an illness and immediately fall prey to self defeating emotions and depression. Where another soul on the path, on the inner climb would take the exact same experience as a karma and a grace in lifting the darkness of the past. We are not on the "roller skate through life" consciousness. We are not trying to avoid happenings in our life for fear we might slip off the edge into doom as in the western perspective. We learn about ourselves through our responses.

That is where the night time playback can be a great help. We review the day's actions and many experiences at the end of the day and we step back into ourselves and let the light shine through our responses. In this way we can remold our future because our subsuperconscious will help us in the future when we face similar experiences.

Humorous interlude for the day:

A Brief History of Medicine

2000 BC - Here, eat this root

1000 AD - That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.

1850 AD - That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.

1940 AD - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.

1985 AD - That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.

2000 AD - That antibiotic doesn't work anymore. Here, eat this root.