 Satguru Siva Yogaswami Jaffna, Sri Lanka  Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Hawaii, USA |
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 Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA 
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May 2, 2002
: HST January 1: Aslesha until 2:53AM Wed HST Hindu Year 5104: Chitrabhanu, the "Year of Varied Splendors" |
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 On May 31st, 2001,Gurudeva presided over the placement of the first stone of Iraivan. Here Gurudeva is placing a navaratna or nine-gems pendant under the first stone. End of Phase Today: this was the last day of a short 4 day phase. This edition of TAKA will remain up until the evening of Sunday, May 5th. Have a wonderful retreat!
Our Beloved and Revered Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
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Cybertalk: A letter in Hinduism Today used the phrase "our people." Gurudeva never used this phrase. He reached out to everyone he encountered making no distinction. He also helped people broaden the scope of "my people" such as with the slogan of Kauai: "One island, Many peoples, all Kauaiians" which is bringing the different groups of Kauai into one community. Gurudeva said that Hindus must be a part of their local community.
" For more information about listening to Gurudeva's talks online and to hear them in other formats, click here.
And click here for an Index to All Past CyberTalks.
Study Gurudeva's teachings
every day. Visit the Master Course site!
Bodhinatha will be happy to hold "Prasnottara Satsang" -- "Questions and Answers" over the telephone with any Hindu religious societies, Hindu youth groups, Radio talk show hosts etc. All you need is a phone with a speaker and an enthusiastic audience. Arrangements may be made in advance by sending email to Sadhaka Mahadevan
If you are experiencing any problems listening to the audio, please to go our Audio FAQ page for sound geeks and follow the directions there.
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Being the last day of the phase it was also "Tour Day" and we had a lovely group of guests.
Here is our wonderful Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami who handles all the communications with all the initiated members. Every year members rededicate to the Parampara, through a simple method of writing down "Aum Namasivaya" 108 times and writing a note of rededication at the bottom. The writing out of mantras is a traditional sadhana called "Lekhana Sadhana."
Gurudeva instituted this "annual rededication form" as a means to determine who really was committed. It is often said "If you take one step toward the Guru, he will take 9 steps toward you." But, if someone chose not to fulfill this simple sadhana and send back the rededication, it was a clear "sign" that individual really, no longer wanted Gurudeva or the monastics to be part of his or her life. Gurudeva felt it was very important to know this... and then he would simply "withdraw" and not interfere in their lives or hold any expectations.
Shanmuganathaswami keeps a photo of Gurudeva by his desk as do all the monks.
The annual rededication has proven to be a most wonderful tool. It keeps the organization trim and only dealing with the karmas of truly dedicated individuals. Those who are no longer interested in pursuing a path of spiritual transformation are left free to go off in any direction they wish without attachments on our side.
While most organizations work hard to get members, Gurudeva was not like this. To take initiation requires a lot of work and dedication and then once you receive initiation you have to keep working to remain a part of the fellowship!
If you find these matters of interest you may enjoy reading the Saiva Dharma Sastras. Available at our bookstore.
Shanmuganathaswami is also our resident expert in programming of the data base and the Panchangam (Hindu Calendar) He started out years ago, using Apple Basic, then went to Microsoft Basic on the Mac, and now he writes ths software in Acius 4D language (similar to Pascal).
The Panchangam is a truly wonderful tool for living life attuned with the natural ebb and flow of the Lord Siva's Giant Clock--our solar system and the stars beyond. It tells the phase of the moon, the nakshatra ("fixed stars" i.e. the position of the moon in the zodiac) what days are best for meditation, planting, routine work and creative activity etc. sunrise and sunset and more.
These are available free of charge for time zones around the world at http://www.hindu.org/sciences/panchangam.html
In Rishi Valley, we have small shrines for each of the Parampara. It is very beautiful walk.
The Rudraksha trees here and there around the property have all set fruit. It looks like we will have a spectacularly huge harvest this year...
Here you see the fruits. And you can understand why the Rudraksha is called the "Blue Marble" tree in English. Of course the Hindu name is much more laden with powerful symbolism. Rudraksha means literally the "Eys of Siva" but refers to God Shiva's tears of compassion that fell to earth and gave birth to the sacred Rudraksha trees. Beings were in conflict in their greed for the nectar of immortality and from the conflict arose the dreaded blue Hala Hala poison that threatened to destroy beings of all Three Worlds. Lord Shiva drank the poison, saving the cosmos and himself turned blue (thus He got the name "Nilakantha" "Blue Colored") and cried tears of compassion which were also blue... a beautiful story. In a similar story, Lord Siva wept on the occasion of seeing the city of Tripura. The Rudraksha has many powers. Read all about it in Hinduism Today's very interesting article on two of Hinduism's most sacred plants: the Tulsi and the Rudraksha
in the Indian Ocean near South Africa
Rajen Manick write from Mauritius:
Holy prostrations to Lord Vigna Vinayaga and our Kailasa Parampara!
Here in Mauritius we are now getting into winter and it is cold and a little rainy outside. We are sending a few photos of the monthly Ganesha Homa at the Saiva Dharmasala and of the membership.
Our warmest regards to Sat guru Bodhinatha and all our monks in Kauai. Aum.
Rajen."
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New visitors to the Spiritual Park are now carefully booking their first Sunday of the month to attend the Ganesha Homa in the morning at 10.30 am. Many of them enjoy to bring fruits and cooked prasadam to later share with other devotees at the Park. Here is one of our new visitors happy to be blessed with the shakti from Lord Ganesha's arthi.
Mrs. Balloram is taking holy ash prasadam with a big smile. She has come to the Spiritual Park for the first time. Her husband is an Education Officer and she is at present following a pre-primary course to join the teaching profession. The Balloram family is now planning to attend the Ganesha ceremony every month.
Mr. Vinaye Keijoo and his wife are regular monthly donors to the Spiritual Park. This nice couple is very much involved in Hindu social work in their locality.They own their own retail business in the north and have been attending seminars on Positive Discipline organised by the Himalayan Academy facilitators.
This is Rooma Narain from Curepipe. She is coming to the Park for the second time with her parents and is feeling good all over after having attended the Ganesha Homa. On her birthday recently, her mother gave her a crystal to keep in their shrine and she is really surprised to hear that we have a wonderful Spadika Lingum at Kadavul Temple.
Here are the Mootoosamy ladies from Quatre Bornes. They have one member of their family settled in Belgium who never miss to go on TAKA regularly to see photos of activities of the Park. They all appreciate the soft and melting spiritual atmosphere of the Park.
Welcome to Mauritus Sivaneswaran! Our happy young man from Malaysia has discovered his life partner in Mauritius. Both Sivaneswaran and Venilla Mardemootoo are long time sishyas of HH Gurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami and Sivaneswaran said their marriage is being planned for this year. Venilla is a professional Bharat Natyam dancer who has graduated from the prestigious institution, Kalashetta in India. She is at present holding classical dance classes for the youth on every Saturday morning at the Spiritual Park. She would no doubt be a rare jewel for Sivaneswaran and his family.
| MORE UPLIFTING THINGS |
Innersearch 2002 in Hawaii! Our next Innersearch Travel-Study program will be held right here on the island of Kauai in the summer of 2002. It's the first such program on the Garden Island since 1974! From July 17 to July 22 we will enjoy daily classes with the swamis, join in the annual Guru Purnima festival, be inspired by local culture, explore the lush tropical island in exciting and non-touristy ways, and more. Be prepared for a wonderful spiritual experience in paradise with meditations, seminars and sacred ceremonies at the Siva temple of Kauai's Hindu Monastery. Many have applied already, and there is a limit of 50 participants, so we recommend everyone apply as soon as possible. Interested? Please request an application from pilgrim@searchbeyond.com |
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