"We are here on this planet in a physical body to realize the Self,
not to realize the body, or to realize emotions or to realize intellect,
but to realize the Self. And we will have to keep coming back and
back and back again until we finally accept this fact and get on the path."

Gurudeva

The Sun One fire ceremony today was very powerful. Gurudeva gave a very strong talk on the constant theme of implementing the culture and the philosophy in a very real way. He cited the sad sad consequences of cases of young girls seeking take on men's jobs. "Even among members of my own Church I have had young girls, when asked what they are going to do, say 'I am going to become a lawyer.' I ask them if they can cook, they say 'No." I ask them if they have learned anything about raising children, they say know. I ask them if they know anything at all about household cultural arts and they say no. This is so unfortunate. The families have two incomes a big house, two cars, but no one is living in the house, its not a home, its a place for asuras. Without the mother there to teach the traditions, to keep the rituals going, to pass on the traditional culture, the children basically are not being raised at all by adults. The children are being raised through their associations with other children. Then not only this the children are being beaten at home. Now today everyone is following everyone else. I have to ask, where are the leaders? Let us be the leaders. We want our Indian Hindu communities and temple trustees to set the example. Let us find a better way to teaching out children. To discipline without corporal punishment. It can be done. And our temple trustees must set an example. What point is there if the priest is invoking the devas at one end of the temple and the trustees are fighting at the other end of the temple? They are making a bad karma that could lead to a very bad re-birth. So let's make a change, let our temple be places of harmony.

We had a wonderful group of pilgrims here today who have been with us for several days. "Sri Amma," Her Holiness Ammai Madiyoli Saraswati, (center with dark purple sari) is the spiritual head of the Sri Nandala Religious Trust in Madras. The organization has a newly built temple in Madras and is doing many wonderful good works. One of the US families associated with Sri Amma, brought her to Kauai to visit Gurudeva and the temple. It was an inspiration and honor to have such high-minded souls join us for satsang and the Sun One Yagna.