"What you sow, you reap, and what you sow you eventually eat. So, be sure what you eat will be sweet by sowing the right things."

GURUDEVA

It's Sun 6 on the Garden Island, Monday, and Skanda Shasti! Our wonderful Kauai Mission members came yesterday and decorated the temple in traditional style, and today it was such a great joy to sit with God and Guru as we offered up our prayers, our aspirations, to Lord Muruga, Siva's Son, Master of Yoga, Great Healer and brother to Ganesha. Yesterday we had some wonderful guests to the monastery, Mr. and Mrs. Ranganathan Munusamy and child Manisha, from Singapore. He is a key leader in the Oracle Company, and highly webified, so we hope he will keep in touch each day with Gurudeva through this page when he returns to his Singapore home. And he will return again soon. Here is their photo with Yogi Tapodhana. By the way, in Gurudeva's audio talk today he answers questions about karma and drugs, 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

And today a very special visitor came devotedly in the early hours for the homa. He is Sambhavananda Yogi, and he has a burgeoning center in Boulder, Colorado, called Sashone. He met Gurudeva for the first time as the Muruga Abhishekam was going on, and they spoke of his work, of Hinduism Today and more.

Faith Stone, on the right, is his wife and partner in the spiritual center they are overseeing, and that's daughter Tara being shy for the camera, with friend. We hope you had a fine morning, Yogi, at Kauai Aadheenam, and were honored to meet you and to know more of the great work you are doing in America....on the Really Big Island as we call it here.

The Muruga Homa today

...up close. Notice the Shum flag decorations. Nice.

This is Bhavani Palani and Vasuki Sendan, singing to Muruga sweet bhajans....

The bhaktars seated devotedly before the Muruga shrine.

The pujari pours pal, milk, over the icon, turning Him transluscent white. Jai Muruga, we all shout!

The Lord is dressed and bedecked in fresh flowers brought by the devotees.

Vel, Vel Muruga!

Shakti Vel Muruga!

Like Skanda's Vel, our mind must be sharp, broad and penetrating.

Fruits and offerings are placed lovingly at His Feet.

This is Sadhunathan Nadesan, from San Diego, whose vision and generosity have created a special endowment which is used each year to sponsor the Skanda Shasti puja and celebration. Muruga Bhaktars are like that!

Here is Bhavani again, with son Toshadeva in her lap, as she sings in the lap of Lord Muruga.

The camphor flame is passed and all are blessed.