 Satguru Siva Yogaswami Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
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 Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA |
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November 21, 2000
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Hasta Hindu Year 5102: Vikrama, the "Year of Fulfillment" |
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 Thie wonderful Tamil Amma, Mrs. Punitham Perinparajah, now living in London was on her to Australia to visit her sister and she stopped in Hawaii to see Gurudeva. She is a blessed soul. Born in Jaffna, when she was a little girl, Siva Yogaswami himself held her finger to help her write her first letter in the tray of rice during the samskara (rite of passage) called the Vidyarambha Samskara--Beginning of Learning. Later after she returned from University with her degree, she came to see Yogaswami who said to her "Nothing gained, nothing lost."
Cybertalk: A cyberspace cadet on Kauai says he saw a golden being right after hurricane Inniki struct the island and wonders who the being was. Gurudeva explains that this being came as a great blessing for this island bringing many other spirits to the island to see if the people were ok and inspire a new future. In another question Gurudeva gives blessings to the carvers in Bangalore, India, who have been carving Iraivan Temple over the last 10 years.
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: November_20_2000 Title: Family Sleeping Together, Delirious States of Mind Category: Duration: 2 min., 16 seconds Date Given: September 28, 2000 A cyber cadet in Santa Monica, California noticed that, "An Indian family has a very large home with many bedrooms. But, everybody sleeps in one room together, mother and father and children." He is comparing this to the American way of living, where children are put off into a room by themselves as early as possible. He wants an answer. This is a custom in, not only, India but other countries as well. For the entire family to sleep in the same room together, including grandparents sometimes, is a healthy custom. It is called 'family bonding'. There is not much to be said about the Western system of isolating children as early as possible in their own room. It brings up loneliness, discontent and maybe even some very bad habits. A question from a cyberspace cadet, who heard the Veena playing during the time of intense fever and wondering about sounds and symbols, in a state of delirium. What does it mean? When one is in deep meditation, in a state of mind that is not in the external state of mind of everyday, one often hears the sound of the veena, tambura and certain drums. These are physical instruments that duplicate the sounds of the higher chakras. A high fever often puts one into an altered state of consciousness, similar to meditation, where the superconscious sounds of the inner world are heard. In the physical world, listening to the veena, the tambura and certain drums also will lift consciousness into superconsciousness because they duplicate the sounds of a superconscious state.  Pilgrim Maryanne Thompson has darshan with Gurudeva in the peetham. She made friends with Punitham Perinparajah (above) and when she and her husband move from Kansas to Dublin, Ireland, Maryanne is looking forward to being able to go to the many Hindu temples in the London area, and visiting with her new friend and getting to know the Sri Lankan Tamil community.  Mrs.Punitham Perinparajah visits the editorial offices of Hinduism Today.  This exquisite blossom is from a hybrid Bromeliad. It is patented and you are theoretically not allowed to propagate it. Now, we don't know if the plant is aware of this patent that someone has on him and if he feels or even cares that it might be illegal for him to make little baby bromeliads with the same kind of flowers.  A different variety of bromeliad. This one hasn't been patented and so he can make as many offspring as he wants to without any anxiety over the patents in the patent office. In fact he thinks it is pretty ridiculous that anyone thinks that they could put a patent on a plant anyway. He thought only God had the patents on plants and that God had an infinite number of copies of the patent that He distributed freely throughout the universe. He tried to explain this to the flower above, but the flower above insisted that some human actually believed he had a patent on him and he had put it in writing somewhere and other humans actually believed him.  A new and much needed "go cart" arrived yesterday. With 51 acres and our other small grounds vehicles constantly in demand by one monk or another off on a planting project, to milk the cows, pick the fruit, get some tools here or there. . .it came just in time. But first the traditional blessing at the temple.  Part of vehicular blessing pujas is the blessing of the ignition key itself. A little golden Ganesha overseas the microcosmic starting device.  Vibhuti (sacred ashes) is applied to the wheels.  Limes are placed under the wheels and the vehicle drives over them.  A retrospective here as some photos have come in sent to us by the Mystical Sciences Institute that visited and held seminars in a nearby hotel where Gurudeva spoke to the group. Here Acharya Palaniswami shows everyone giant poster sized representation of the future Iraivan temple.  Gurudeva speaks to the group.  What about the grace of the Deity?" seekers ask. Grace is received from the God when you are consistent in your worship, consistent in your discipline, consistent in your bhakti your devotion. With such a foundation in your life, a great Shaktia force or power, will come from Lord Ganesha. This is grace. It is uplifting. It comes unexpectedly. When grace comes, your mind may change and your heart may melt. Your sight will become clear and penetrating. You may say, "I have been graced to see everything differently." New doors will begin to open for you, and as you go through them, your life will become more full, more wonderful. And the grace of it is that it would not have ordinarily happened to you. Seekers also inquire, "What is the difference between grace and a boon from the Gods?" Grace is not exactly a boon. A boon comes as the result of something that you ask for and receive. A boon is quite speciÞc. Grace comes because of the state of the soul in conjunction with its particular karma. It comes because we have done everything right up to a certain point in time according to the laws of dharma. It is then that the grace of the God comes. Grace is not for a speciÞc need or event in our life, as a boon would be. Grace is more of a complete transformation„a metamorphosis. After receiving grace of a God, the devotee can never be the same again, never look at life again in the old way. By grace we are directed deeper into spiritual life, pointed in the right direction, carefully guided on the San Marga, the straight path to our supreme God. After grace has been received, our thoughts are enlivened, our life is inspired with enthusiasm and energy, and we live daily in the joyous knowledge that everything is all right, everything is happening around us in accord with our karma our dharma and God's gracious will.
--excerpted from Loving Ganesha, Benevolent Deity for a Modern Hindu World
 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  Now that our blacksmith series is complete we bring you a new series: "Daily Puja at the Iraivan Temple Site." Our documentary photographer, Thuraisingam Rajasankara, son of the site manager and his wife Kulapati Jiva and Kulamata Kanmani Rajasankara, took the photos and sends these captions. He is on a scholarship to one of the fine art schools in Bangalore and doing very, very well. This the new Ganapathi statue at our work site. It was carved by one of
our silpis after their working hours.
 This is kulamata Kanmani Rajasankara placing flowers for the photo of Gurudeva. This is her daily routine, preparing the home altar for the puja as well as this altar, outside the house, where the silpis attend for puja.  Sharp at 7.30 a.m, the bell is rung (not an electronic buzzer or alarm, but a "Indian style" alarm: a piece of metal railway track hit with a 5 pound hammer). All the silpis, hanging around at the site after a minimum of 10 idlis for breakfast, gather to witness the special Friday puja.
Yes, seen at the right hand foreground is our sincere bhakta Mushi also an ardent follower of Saiva tradition coming to attend the puja at the ring of the bell.
 Mushi is waiting for his boss--Kulapati Jiva (my dad and manager of the Iraivan carving site)-- to come and start the puja, giving an overall look at the members around. Tune in tomorrow for more photos from the puja at the work site in Bangalore.
 Gurudeva's other monastery in the island country of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean near South Africa  When her eleven children asked Grandmother Pectchay Jaunky what she wanted for her 60th birthday, she replied, "I want to visit the Spiritual Park at Le Point des Lascars."  What more can a grandmother want than to be surrounded by happy children and grandchildren on their way to one of her favorite places. All eleven of her children were with her today  It was one happy family.  After a wonderful visit to the Park, Sadhaka Jothinatha sends them on their way with a big smile.  And as the sun sets and the shadows grow long, Sadhaka Adinatha adjusts the makeshift sprinkler system that we use to keep the park green and beautiful during the hot summer days. . .oops, watch out there. "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. 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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