"After you realize the Self,
you see the mind for what it is
the self-created principle."

Gurudeva

Mr. and Mrs. Vivek and Shubhangi Burhanpurkar, came on a pilgrimage from Orillia, Ontario, Canada (not far from Toronto.) Born in Yawaal, Maharastra, Vivek is now 36 and came to Canada when he was just 4 years old, 31 years ago. Shubhangi is from Poona and came to Canada 3 1/2 years. Vivek and Shubhangi runs a software consulting company together, Cyberworks Software Inc. which provides consulting services for fortune 500 companies in the US. Ardent Hindus, they perform arati every day. They love Gurudeva's books and Vivek himself has written a book on Vedanta and is starting a second. His book on Vedanta is focused on the metaphysics of Vedantic philosophy using the modern terminlogy of western physics and logic as the basis for explaining and using Vedanta principles. "A lot of people, who are not Hindus, even many young Indians today are turned off by religious terminology. They just shut the door on it. But if we can explain the Vedantic principles to them by using logic and scientific terms, they will reach the same conclusions, the perhaps they will go from there to start integrating the religious aspect of it. As far as I know this is the first such book of this kind." Burhanpurkar has another project, carrying her first, yet unborn child. The young couple will soon be a family. A bright couple here they are having blessings from Gurudeva. They will be on the island for about a week, doing sadhana and coming to the temple.

Acharya Ceyonswami gave the weekly talk in the temple today. His subject was on the "Yogas" aspect of astrology.

Tour day today brought curiosity seekers young and old from tiny tots to an elegant elderly couple in their 70's.

Thank you! Kumar Katir who came today to do some seva at the monastery. Here he is deep in the sea of green that surrounds us. Working hard, he is clearing some bananas tree from vines and growth that threaten to engulf them completely.

This richly colored bromiliad is about to burst open with a myriad of flowers, a rare but visually fantastic event. Our photographer could not resist the tiny but beautiful emergence.

This lowly wood rose vine (read "aggressive weed" if found in the wrong place) bears a very soft, willowy bloom with a strong yellow that wakes you up in a minute.