 Satguru Siva Yogaswami Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
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 Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA |
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August 16, 2000
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Purvaprostapada Hindu Year 5102: Vikrama, the "Year of Fulfillment |
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 Caption: The morning homa was conducted at the Kadavul Shiva temple and flame was brought out to the Iraivan temple site to light another small homa. News: Our Sadhu Paksha ended and the late summer/fall season which we call the "Jivana Ritau" of the year began today with a lot of energy. One can feel the power beginning to build at the Iraivan temple site as preparations are made to ship six more containers of stones from Bangalore to Kauai.
Cybertalk: An e-devotee asks when Iraivan temple will be completed. In response, Gurudeva explains the new initiative for building this remarkable temple. We want to pick up the pace, Gurudeva explains. Whereas the fundraising and building had been going at 25 miles per hour, we want to increase it all to 50 miles per hour. Have a listen, get inspired, and lend a hand!
Do you have questions for Gurudeva? A detailed index of past inspired talks is available here. Transcription of One of Gurudeva's CyberTalks August 08, 2000 Title: An Aum Tattoo Category: Hinduism and Tradition Duration: 2 min, 16 seconds An e-mail question, from Brussels, Belgium. About a tattoo of the sacred mantram Aum, most probably in Sanskrit language and script. Someone wearing a tattoo of the Aum, as our priest here in the Kadavul temple has one on his arm, distinguishes himself as knowledgeable of Vedic culture, Vedic lore and the sound of the Universe. Also binds themselves to the Asian community where the Aum is respected as the sound of the Universe, all sounds put together make Aum. We say Aum when we're born and we say Aum when we pass on. So you did the absolute right thing and having a tattoo of Aum on your body, very difficult to remove and you divided yourself the Abrahamic communities of Islam, Judaism and Christianity who don't look upon Asian religions with the same respect and you can avoid their company because they will probably surely avoid yours. Thus saving yourself a lot of misery now and in the future. Well today we are going to go to Iraivan Temple foundation take the spirit of Lord Hanuman there, so we'll have the Sadhaka, Sivadiyar, Sivasevaks, Natyam depart first so you can get your drums, cymbals, conch shells and all your equipment going for our parade to the Iraivan Temple foundation. Aum Namasivaya.....  Caption: The final "Purnahuti" of the morning fire ceremonies. News: Gurudeva gave a rousing talk this morning. First he gave a special speech which was recorded for a Hindu Cultural Festival in Switzerland. He spoke on his theme of "Ending the War in the Home" saying that it is in peaceful happy homes that true culture flourishes.
 Caption: Ganapati arati at the banyan tree on San Marga. . .the small image of Ganesha is more and more being engulfed by the Banyon tree. News: Gurudeva said today that "The progress of Iraivan temple has been going along slowly and conservatively with many curves in the road. . . .we have raised some three million dollars so far but we need to raise another thirteen million. So now we will accelerate the whole process and shift into high gear.
 Caption: One can feel a great depth of shanti, all pervading peace at the new temple site. as we circumambulate together.
 We had some wonderful guests to day, Ajit Gokhale and his wife Kalpana joined us. They are devotees of Lord Ganesha originally from Maharastra and have been coming to our temples for over 20 years, since the time Gurudeva had his temple in San Francisco. They brought their little baby girl there to be blessed and now both their children are grown up and gone away to college. We were refreshed with light "deva showers" as we call them, when the devas seem to lightly sprinkle us just as the ceremonies are in progress, but only for a moment.  Our mother is here. . .as we say. . .Sadhaka Japendranatha's mother (on the right) with a friend of her's who lives on the island. Our mother's name is "Vicky" and this was her first participation in a Hindu ceremony.  When we change seasons we change our flag which is called the "Hindu Dvaja" The flag of Hinduism. The summer season is a bright orange color. Here is the flag coming down.  The flag of the Jivana Ritau, a rust/ochre color is now hoisted aloft.  "Tad Astu" "It is done!" says Gurudeva.  The flag pole is 60 feet tall and can be seen from far away. It is always uplifting to look up and see the proud banner of Sanatana Dharma flying vigorously high over the land.  Later in the morning Gurudeva sits in the Guru Peetham with his devotees. During the Nartana Ritau (the season that just passed) the focus was on Dancing with Siva, and our students and new people entering the study of Himalayan Academy. During the Jivana Ritau, the focus is on the text "Living with Siva" and Gurudeva will be working very closely with his initiated sishya and long time devotees.  One of the points of focus which Gurudeva wants to bring to the foreground is arranging marriages for our youth. Here he discusses the issues with some of his close devotees on the island.  He explains how we have to make some changes in the attitudes that have been prevalent. This is especially because our young girls in the modern era now are well educated and very mature and one has to take this into account making sure that the young man will also be a match for her intellectually and emotionally.  It is always a joyous time for the members to have the opportunity to have such a close communication with their Gurudeva. And special welcome back to Kauai for Iraja and Nilani Sivadas who have returned from a long stay in California. Iraja has held a position at the Kauai Community College and will be returning to that post for a while.
 Meanwhile our dear young brother Brahmachari Gurudasanatha left for Malaysia two days ago. He will be going to see his family for a very short time and then flying off to Canada to enter school in Edmonton. He intends one day to become a monk. During his stay here we uncovered hidden talents as an artist which were nurtured carefully by Sannyasin Natarajnathaswami, our art director, who introduced him to the basics of contour drawing and illustration. Gurudasanatha presented to Gurudeva this wonderful piece of art depicting Gurudeva watching Lord Hanuman carry the Iraivan temple from India to Hawaii. It was a remarkable first time piece of a 15-year-old to have produced.
 We bring you some scenes from our precious Garden Island. We are so blessed to be at this location. Here is the small falls where the Wailua "Ganga" as we call the river, meets the pond below the monastery. There has been little rain to wash from the fields into the river, so the water is coming from the very top of Mount Waialeale, cold and clear.  Our two new additions to the feline flock are doing very well, healthy, strong and playful. Here is Shum, who has been chasing after his brother and small toys for an hour or more wearing himself out. "Oh, Oh, feeling a little sleepy, my lights are going out! I'll see you in 20 minutes" says Shum.  Shum is down for the count.  Tyaf his brother says: "Boy, he is such a lazy little fellow, what am I going to do now all by myself. . .mmm. maybe I will chase my own tail and spin and spin and spin around until I get dizzy and fall over, that's so much fun!"  An eleven acre site in Bangalore, India, where 75 Indian families live and daily carve the sacred white granite edifice of Iraivan Temple which will soon begin to be assembled on the island of Kauai  This is the sunset at Iraivan carving site. We bring you now more wonderful shots of the exquisite work being done on the Iraivan Temple in Bangalore.  This is the top view of the door frame of the main sanctum where the Lingam will be installed. This stone is for the vertical side of the door frame. Two stone go on either side. The following pictures will give a complete view of the detail ornamental work done on black granite. This black granite is from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, was ordered in 1994 and it took 6 years for it to arrive at our worksite in Bangalore. Well this is nothing new in India when you place an order.  This is another view of the detail ornamental work on the vertical frame. It took about 6 months for it to be completed.  This is the closeup view of the design.  This is the closeup view of the detail ornamental work at the center of the top stone.  This is the design that come on the bottom of the door frame. Its a plain stone with this wonderful lotus design carved at the center. P> Please join our wonderful family of 6,000 devotees the world over who have contributed to the Iraivan Temple. Go to our progress report and arrange to make a monthly donation today!
 Gurudeva's other monastery in the island country of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean near South Africa  Progress report on a new store room being completed in Mauritius. August 4, 2000 Siven paints a primer on the door and window frame. This addition to the garage roof is the same color (concrete color) as the rest of the garage below.   "How to Become A Hindu"! Gurudeva's latest book release is now available Hot Off the Press! Visit the Himalayan Academy Book Store Web Site get the book and read the incredible testimonies of the early pioneers from the west who chose to make a full and complete conversion to Hinduism, legally change both their first and last names to Hindu names, change their lifestyles, sever their formal connections to previous faiths and joyously face the challenges in joining the tribe of the Sanatana Dharma Gurudeva's Travel Itinerary/Visiting Kauai's Hindu Monastery Click here for information about Gurudeva's travels. He will be to New York for United Nations events from August 24th through August 29th. And if you are planning to visit Kauai, please go first to our our visitor's page.Thank you. 12 Glorious Days, 8 Enchanting Countries and One Chance in a Lifetime! Join Gurudeva for Himalayan Academy's 17th travel-study program, the 2001 European Innersearch, themed the "Hinduism Today Adventure". Go to www.innersearch.org and for more detailed information, please contact Sadhaka Dandapani. Space is limited and filling up fast! Very Important: Please include your mailing address and telephone number in the body of your message. We will keep you posted as the program develops. Sign our guestbook and we will send you a free issue of our global full-color bi-monthly magazine, Hinduism Today. For those who have been touched spiritually by Gurudeva's work, his books, his guidance, his inspired life and example and even his website, the "Thank You, Gurudeva Fund" has been established within Hindu Heritage Endowment. Proceeds from this fund last forever; they're not a one-time gift. So gifts to this fund have eternal gratitude built into them. They live on in perpetuity. Each month Gurudeva receives the income from the fund to be used at his own discretion to promote his work and mission around the globe. He loves this, for he knows that it comes from all the good souls who have met him and studied with him, traveled with him or just talked with him over the years. A contribution to this fund is tax-deductible. |
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