 Satguru Siva Yogaswami Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
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 Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA |
| October 29, 1999 - Punarvasu | ||
    
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 Special guests today on the right were Anthony Buchignani and his fiance, Sarah Andrus. Anthony is the son of Alvin Buchignani, who has been the California attorney for Gurudeva for over 35 years. Gurudeva hired Alvin in the early 60's and Alvin has been with us ever since. Alvin grew into an expert corporate lawyer and consummate mediator and a very dear friend. He later also helped in the formation of other Hindu non-profit corporations. And most recently he was instrumental in the formation of the Hindu Heritage Endowment, a foundation that will one day change Hindu history. His son and future daughter-in-law are also both lawyers. Anthony works in the firm of Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey, in Los Angeles and Sarah at Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger, also in Los Angeles. Anthony's father was not with them on this trip. But we know Alvin will be looking at this page so:
Aloha Alvin! We send you all our love from Hawaii and thank you for all the wonderful service and wisdom you have given us through the years!
 Tour day brought a bright group.  Rev. Clarence Higa, from Honolulu where he is a minister of a Honolulu Shingon Buddhist temple. Born and raised in Oahu, he went to Japan for six years to learn Shingon ritual and philosophy and has been ordained a minister. He came on a pilgrimage to see Nada Budake (who has a temporary residence at Kauai's Hindu Temple) and to see how he could help the Lawai temple restoration project where Nada Budake will eventually be re-established. As a boy he had heard about the healing powers of Nada Budake. Next June he is going to bring his whole mission over here on a pilgrimage.  Today's presentation by Vel Mahalingam was wonderful. He spoke in French and in Creole and Sadhaka Jothinatha translated. Vel had a well-developed speech prepared on the great progress of the Republic of Mauritius in the 31 years since its independence.  Vel describe how the flowering of numerous Hindu religious organizations had built an underlying foundation of spiritual harmony in the country. Remarkably, today, Hindu celebrations like Kavadi are attended also by Christians and Muslims. Fine organizations like the Divine Life society have great attendance at all their classes  Vel explained that of course there are some fanatics that occasionally bring trouble, but these are invariably Muslim or Christian fanatics. While there are also some Hindu "fanatics" as well, they are never violent in advocating their programs.  Vel describes how the annual festival to Grand Bassin for Maha Sivaratri has grown to 600,000 pilgrims. He firmly believes it is the spirit of non-violence and tolerance that underlies all the Hindu teachings and organizations along with the power of the Divine that has brought about this unusual harmonious coexistence of peoples from many cultures and with many languages. That is why in Mauritus you have this air of joy and true contentment that permeates the whole of society, and the hearts of its people.  Then he held up a book by an American researcher which talks about the "Community of the Future." In it there are Four Model communities cited for the rest of the world to take lessons from. One is Mauritius, another is the island of Kauai, the third is the Oneida Indian tribe in Wisconsin and the fourth is Columbus, Indiana. Thank you Vel for your wonderful inspiration!
 Gurudeva stands by a gorgeous wooden sculpture of Lord Muruga. Year 2000 March Caribbean Innersearch Taking Reservations Now Gurudeva says, "Come with me to the Caribbean next March, on the Year 2000 Innersearch. Besides our wonderful study together, we are planning a gala gathering of Hindus in Trinidad for one day." We will depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 25th and return to Fort Lauderdale on April 4th and be traveling on Holland America's spectacular, brand new cruise ship, the MS/Volendam.
For information contact our wonderful tour agent who will be conducting the Innersearch: Kailash and Indra Dhaksinamurthi of Search Beyond Adventures, Inc. ASAP at Very Important!: |
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