A Daily Chronicle of Kauai's Hindu Monastery

Satguru Siva Yogaswami
Jaffna, Sri Lanka

A Daily Chronicle of Kauai's Hindu Monastery

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA

December 21, 2000 - Visakha
Hindu Year 5102: Vikrama, the "Year of Fulfillment"

Here is a retrospective shot with Gurudeva and some bright young people. It seems appropriate as during this holiday season we have a lot of families coming with their children and the next generation of Hindus seem to have become a focus for today's photos.

Title: Past Lives, Why Siva created the universe?
Category: Hinduism and Tradition
Duration: 2 min., 29 seconds
Date Given: October 18th, 2000
Date Posted: December_21_2000

Cybertalk: A cybercadet asks why don't we remember our past lives. Gurudeva says that the memory of past lives is available to us and that it is possible to trace back to past lives. Another question comes from a cyberspace devotee in Wales who wonders why Siva created the universe.

" For more information about listening to Gurudeva's talks online and to hear them in other formats, click here.

Do you have questions for Gurudeva? Send to questions@hindu.org.

Please note: Gurudeva only responds to questions from the general public on matters that are suitable for our public cyber audience. Personal or intimate questions sent to this address are not answered.

A detailed index of past inspired talks is available here.

Transcription of One of Gurudeva's CyberTalks
Date: May_19_1999
Title: Willpower
Category:
Duration: 2 min, 55 seconds
Date Given: May 19, 1999

Today at Kauai Aadheenam. This is Gurudeva on the 19th of May. Greetings, everyone in cyberspace.

One cybercadet asks about willpower. "I don't have a lot of willpower and would like a little bit more. How can I develop willpower?"

Well cybercadet, this is how you do it. Do just a little bit more than you think you might be able to do.

What does this mean? This means, if you are exercising and you become tired, do just a little bit more of the same exercise. Exerting your will builds up a tremendous amount of willpower in your subconscious mind. When we exert our willpower, we are bringing prana from the inner realm into the outer. That prana stores up within our solar plexus. That is where your belly button is, cybercadet.

If you are eating and you have a tendency of eating too much, stop eating before you eat too much. You know the time. That effort of will that you have to put out to stop eating, remains with you and builds up.

You carry willpower built up in this way, from life to life. It never goes away, never ever goes away. You become stronger and stronger and stronger.

You have seen Superman. Superman was not always that strong. It took him many, many lives to build up enough willpower, so that he could fly from planet to planet like Lord Murugan, who has a tremendous amount of willpower. He is the God that tells us how we can be, if we develop willpower.

Also, we must remember that love in the will is very important. Willpower is a tool that can be used to harm somebody or to help somebody. We must have love in our will, so that we do not make bad karmas.

If this is not clear, cybercadet, I will explain it again tomorrow. But now, we are going to hear it all over again in the beautiful ancient Tamil language, the beautiful French language and in Malay.

This is the Chander family, Sharat, his wife Ajita and two children. Ajita is the daughter of Dr. Janakiraman from Chicago Illinois. Dr. Janakiraman was instrumental in getting the large Rama temple in Chicago started. In those days committees had difficulty coming to agreements on how to get started. Finally Dr. Jankiraman said: "OK, let's ask Gurudeva what do to and then we will all agree that whatever he advises we will do that!" They all agreed and when they called Gurudeva he said: "OK I am sending you a large statue of Lord Ganesha. Begin the worship immediately and everything will work out." It just so happened that a large statue of Ganesha was available at Gurudeva's monstery in San Francisco and the monks packed it up and sent it off by air. . .in less than 48 hours the first aratis were performed and the temple thenceforth grew and flourished.

Salil and Suhana Chander, Hindu children born and raised in America, fortunately in the shelter of a really solid Hindu family.

During the holiday season, Hindu families often come to Hawaii and visit our temple. It is a time when school is out and the whole family can be together for some quality time at a spiritual location. Here is the Prakash family from Freemont, California who used to worship at our Palaniswami Temple in San Francisco.

Prabodh and Sarita Hemady from Phoenix, Arizona. They were shocked when we told them today was the 10th anniversary of the beginning of stone carving on Iraivan Temple, as today was also their 10th wedding anniversary!

It wasn't a tour day, but guests kept coming. . .we don't even know who they all were.

Three young ladies visiting from Arizona heard about the temple and came to worship during their holiday break.

The Mandayam family from San Diego, California, having recently moved from Austin Texas. The children attend the Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihar.

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 section of the silpis who attended the postive discipline classes conducted for the families of the stone carvers at our worksite in Bangalore. Seated from the left is the supervisor Sundaramacharya followed by the Sthapathi Chidambaram. In front is a little baby. Maybe she can't talk but I am sure she smiling because, hopefully, she will be raised with no corporal punishment, thanks to these classes. Lucky little lady!

This is my father Jiva Rajasankara conducting the Positive Discipline class. Jiva is the manager of the Bangalore Iraivan temple carving site and has done an incredible job running everything. Under his careful management, nearly half of the temple is carved. Today is special. . .it's the tenth anniversary of the day when the carving began. Ten years ago, Gurudeva chipped the first stone of the Iraivan Temple.

Gurudeva's other monastery in the island country of Mauritius
in the Indian Ocean near South Africa

Sooroojdev Rambhajun family and friends came to visit the Spiritual Park today. They are visiting Mauritius from Gaborone, Botswana.

The Bal Vikas of the Le Hochet Sai Centre in Terre Rouge -- a suberb of the capital, Port Louis. These are the children of the youth who started the group 20 years ago. Summer break for the students in Mauritius provides a great opportunity to rent a bus (sometimes with local Government sponsorship) for outings which combine culture, religion and fun. This group will go on to enjoy the temple and beach near Belle Mare.

"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

Visiting Kauai's Hindu Monastery
If you are planning to visit Kauai, please go first to our our visitor's page. Thank you.

INNERSEARCH EUROPE 2001

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.

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THANK YOU, GURUDEVA

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.

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