Botanists Tour Siva's Gardens

While Matt fetched vegetable ivory from the pond, we all watched and wished him well.

Remind anyone of busses in India?

One of the botany students learns how to pollinate the world

s largest orchid.'

All are fascinated with Dakshinamurthi and His connection to the banyan tree (identified as Ficus microcarpa).

Jan, at the center, is a PhD professor who joins Matt in leading these field excursions.

Swami is explaining the integrity of the molecular structure of the stone, and how dynamite "kills the stone

s song" if it is used at the quarry.'

All try their hand at chipping. It is a humbling and informative experience.

Iraivan

s surrounding gardens are an important part of every visitor's experience, bringing them, as Gurudeva would say, into Siva's beauty and all-pervasiveness. Much has been done, and much lies ahead. '
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Fifteen botanists from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California, visited over the retreat. Their leader, Dr. Matt Ritter, has been to the monastery before and wanted his students to experience a sacred garden (something new in their academic experience). It is all part of his philosophy of "learning by doing."

Sadasivanathaswami took them on a tour of the grounds, including Iraivan temple. They were delighted to see sacred plants carved on the pillars, something they had never imagined. Many learning moments came, as when one among them learned to pollinate an orchid and others tried to chip a stone using the chisel and hammer you all know about.

Many stops here and there to identify a plant or discuss its morphology, or to ask whether plants have consciousness (yes, they do) or wonder at the cellular structure of a tree. Enjoy the slideshow.