A Daily Chronicle of Kauai's Hindu Monastery

Satguru Siva Yogaswami Jaffna, Sri Lanka		Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA
	January 2, 2000 - Anuradha

Today the heavenly beings joined the earth-bound to rejoice in the entrance of six new members into Saiva Siddhanta Church. It is a great achievement, as anyone who has undergone it will testify. As Gurudeva said this morning, "It is entering a traditional Saivite spiritual fellowship committed to the path of daily sadhana and personal transformation." Here at the end Gurudeva showers pink flowers on the six to welcome them. New! Satguru Speaks Again! Today's Cybertalk: Have you ever thought of your Home as a Business? Gurudeva explains that perhaps you should. For you home can prosper and expand, or it can go out of business, even become bankrupt. The determining factor, Gurudeva stresses, is the daily expression of appreciation, love and the giving of praise. MP3 Streaming: Use the QuickTime controller above to listen to Gurudeva's upadesha in MP3 streaming mode. You must have the QuickTime plug-in installed in your browser. (Click here to get QuickTime.) Click here for Real Audio For those unable to play streaming MP3 or RealAudio: Option-click here to download MP3 file to your computer. Option-click here to download WAV file to your computer. The six new members are, from left to right starting next to Gurudeva: Chundadevan Mahadevan Nanthakumar Satgunasingam Hitesvara Saravan Kaneshan Jotishvarar Tiru Jotishvarar Sellamah Jotishvarar (in blue behind the priest) Church membership also requires months of study, formal severence from any previous faith, path or preceptor, deep study of Gurudeva's books and teachings, and the taking of vows of commitment to vegetarianism, tithing and dedication to our Guru Paramparai and all that it honors and represents. Tiru Jotishvarar owns a Ganesha Temple in Malaysia and has been close to Gurudeva for many years. Welcome! His wife, Sellamah. Their son, Kaneshan, who will serve in the monastery for the next six months. He is seventeen. Here is a happy Hitesvara, with his new membership card proudly displayed as he chats with Karttikeyanathaswami this morning. To earn membership in Gurudeva's Hindu Church, candidates have adjusted their life to have Lord Siva and the Satguru at its center and committed themselves to following especially the Saiva Dharma Shastras and the 54 Kulapati Sutras, rules of life drawn from Gurudeva's book, "Living with Siva." They have memorized and accepted as their own the 12 fundamental beliefs of Saivism, which includes belief in the practice of nonviolence, in reincarnation and karma, in God Siva and the Gods, in temple worship and yogic meditation. Plus they have begun to perform a daily puja in the morning hours before dawn in the traditional manner. Three new members add sacred grains into the fire. As Gurudeva said today, "These six join our strong Church members, special souls who are working together for the Hindu renaissance, working together to bring the culture of the temple into the home." We congratulate you all, and welcome you deep into our midst as Vrata Shishya, now qualified to prepare for the next step, Mantra Diksha from the Satguru, that most precious moment in every Saivite's life. After Gurudeva spoke on Science and Religion, he invited Jothi Param to come forward and sing a traditional Carnatic song. Jothi studied for several years at the famed Kalakshetra School in Chennai, India, and has become a magnificent singer. He arrived just today for the Jayanthi Festival, with his wife, Deepa, and their newborn child and Jothi's mother from California, Bhavani Param, now a new grandmother! That's Deepa Param on the right, experienceing her first trip to America with her husband and child, chatting at breakfast with Vasuki Sendan. The swamis spent time with members today before the group left on their Big Excursion, of which more will be said later. Two young members, Ananta Palani and Markendeya Sendan, visiting the island. They grew up here, but are now working and going to school on the mainland. Sadhaka Jothinatha speaks with Sivakumaran, from Singapore. Tilaka Sunder, left, chats with Peshanidevi Dandapani. Kulapati Shamadeva Dandapani. Our young children grabbed the digital camera for a moment and found these graceful bromiliads near the Bangalore Gallery. They also found our newest baby, born in India, held here by Yoganathan while his brother Toshadeva looks on. That's Shanta Devi from Singapore with her son, Siva Kumaran. Family portrait time! What a lovely family. Jothi Param and his wife and child, and grandma Bhavani. Lots of affection for our little one today, who has many new friends on Kauai. Tara Katir hold him.... Swamis and members together. Year 2000 March Caribbean Innersearch Taking Reservations Now Don't Delay as the group is limited in size 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 search11@mail.idt.net Very Important!: Be sure to include your mailing address and phone number in the body of your message! Kailash will be mailing you information, but if you don't send an address there is nothing he can do.
This page is updated every day at 5:30pm Hawaii Standard Time. Hindu Basics \| Hinduism Today \| About Gurudeva \| Books \| Daily Events Hawaii Ashram \| Art & Aums \| Resources \| Saiva Siddhanta Church Himalayan Academy \| Hindu Heritage Endowment \| Home Contact Us Copyright © 1999 Saiva Siddhanta Church. All rights reserved.

New! Satguru Speaks Again!