Blog Archives
January 19, 2001 
Gurudeva is in excellent spirits and Acharya Palaniswami says he got up from the table today and went out for a walk leaving his staff behind! He also called the monastery today at lunch as usual and told the monks he was back full swing with his editing schedule, working on Living with Siva both mornings and afternoons. He encouraged all the monks to continue to work diligently on maintaining harmony in all relationships, using the tools of Vasana Daha Tantra to regularly keep the subsconscious mind clear. He said we all want to build up our strength for the big work ahead of us.
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Title: Drugs as a spiritual stimulant. Kumbha Mela. Spiritual unfoldment and college. |
Cybertalk: A cyber cadet wonders if it is ok to take certain kinds of drugs to help with one's spiritual journey. Gurudeva says that to be a true Saivite one does not want to be dependent any kind of stimulant or drug. Another cyber devotee wonders about the Kumbha Mela and Gurudeva explains that it is a special festival that is held once every 12 years and an opportunity for people to meet millions of sadhus and partake of their wisdom. A cyber cadet asks if going to a prestigious college helps raise the kundalini force. Gurudeva says many good religious men and women of different religions have gone to college and come out as atheists and it certainly did not lead to spiritual unfoldment.
Cybertalk Ends"
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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 begins
Transcription of One of Gurudeva's CyberTalks
Date: January_13_2001
Title: Genetic Engineering, Can one have two Gurus?, How do we get to the astral plane?
Category: Hinduism and Tradition
Duration: 3 min., 40 seconds
Date Given: November 30, 2000
Good morning, everyone! A very interesting question from Amsterdam, Holland. Selvan asked about genetic engineering. He mentions, "You do not mention much in 'Hinduism Today' about genetic engineering."
In 'Hinduism Today' the Hindu International magazine, we try to do in-depth articles. A lot of background study goes in, before we print. We have been studying genetic engineering and your article that you are sending to us, will probably start a series of articles on this subject. There is still a lot of unknown things, such as - how does it affect vegetarianism when animal genes are put into vegetables? We don't yet know. So, we have to do a thorough investigation and get many opinions on the subject before we print a final conclusion.
Selvan, we are very happy you brought up the subject. We are looking forward to seeing your article. We are going to ask all of you in cyberspace who know anything about genetic engineering to e-mail us what you know and where we can find as much information as possible. Send it to letters@hindu.org
A cyberspace devotee in Dallas, Texas wonders if one can have an affinity for two gurus at the same time or could even one have two gurus?
Well, the word guru of course, means teacher. There are teachers of dance, teachers of music. A Satguru is a teacher of the Eternal Truths. Yes, you can have several gurus and learn from them. The guru that benefits you the most over the years, would obviously be your guru.
It is traditional in Sanatana Dharma that a family has allegiance to only one guru. But it takes time to find out who he might be and to mix with his congregation and followers.
A cyberspace devotee in Arizona asks, "How do you get in the astral plane? Do you have to die or can you do it through meditation or sleep?"
The astral world is a duplicate of this physical world that we see with our two eyes. We are more in the astral world than perhaps we realize. Every time you move your physical body, you move the astral body first. When you go to sleep at night, you leave the physical body and are in the astral body visiting family, friends, other people who are in their astral bodies, and people who are in their astral bodies and have no physical body to go back to. You don't remember when you awaken, because the astral brain is a higher vibration, a more refined matter than the physical brain. It takes 3 days or 72 hours or more, for the knowledge gained in the astral world to seep into the physical brain. Therefore, you don't identify.
Those on a spiritual quest go into the astral plane nearly every night, study with great teachers there, mix with other devotees and improve their life.
transcription ends
John and Dotty Whittiker, who live in Kapaa came up the hill to see the monastery today.
They were given a tour of the property by Acharya Ceyonswami, Sadhaka Thondunatha and Nutanaya, along with Carol Bockman (in the hat) from Santa Cruz, who is celebrating her 70th birthday on Kauai with her sister Dorothy Venolia from Sacramento. Dorothy has been coming every year to Kauai for over 20 years.
Taking some new shots of monks to upgrade our web site. . .this is a great shot of Tejadeva.
And Sivakatirswami. . .oh well, better take those glasses off.
It's ashram sadhana time of day when the monks take care of cleaning this and that. Thambynathan Nutanaya is working on the walks that daily fill with leaves from all kinds of overhanging trees.
This is the lovely gold plated statue of Siva Yogaswami our beloved Parama Guru. He left a rare collection of songs and sayings which comprise a spiritual heritage of unparalleled depth and magnitude. Two of these statues were prepared years ago and Gurudeva sent one of them off on a world wide yatra saying, "Yogaswami is going on a mission to visit all the Sri Lankan Immigrant communities around the world and one day he will return to Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He will take care of his own expenses and guide the trip and bless everyone. He is working closely with us all on the inside."
The small gold plated statue was shipped off first to Toronto, Rochester New York, Lancaster California, Edmonton, Canada, Vancouver Canada and now he is on his way to Germany, where there are big plans for some giant celebrations upon his arrival.
Yogaswami says:
"In the sanctum of our hearts, we shall find the Lord of Grace
showering His bounty as a great Giver.
All Hail Namasivaya!"
"Fix the heart on God with love, the mind on His word with
love, the hands upon His work with love, and then will unfold
in the heart, the radiance of the knowledge of the Self, the
SivaSakti, the dynamic and luminous presence.
All Hail Namasivaya !"
(Tamil Script)
--Natchintanai. 79.
Gurudeva wishes to thank everyone who sent and continue to send all the beautiful gifts for his birthday and all the wonderful cards, emails and kind thoughts of healing for his recovery from the back injury. We thought this one particularly photo worthy, completely hand done with a detail that you can't see in this photo, inside it says, from one of the bright young people in California:
"Karma Cat is my name
And healing is my game!"
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
We come to the end of our "rings of stone" documentary showing you finished pieces.
This photo shows the chain hanging from the sunshade (kodungai). This particular chain along with the sunshade was carved out of a single stone !
Gurudeva's other monastery in the island country of Mauritius
in the Indian Ocean near South Africa
The sadhaka attended the kumbhabhishekam (once-every-twelve-years temple
recharging) ceremony of the Arulmigu Sockalingum Meenatchee Ammen Tirukovil
today. It is commonly known as Le Temple Kaylassum or Kylasson, for short.
Standing on a 13-acre plot in the heart of the capital, it is regarded as
the most important temple for the Hindus of Tamil origin. It is also one of
the architectural and historical landmarks of Port Louis. (Construction
began in 1854 and was completed in 1860.)
Recently the temple has undergone a rupees 10 million renovation and
construction of a new Rajagopuram (temple entrance tower.) Workers from Sri
Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Mauritius participated in the project. The temple
looks and feels brand new on the inside. Outside, of course, it retains its
colonial charm.
Here's Sadhaka Adinatha in front of the rajagopuram. More photos tomorrow.
Click here to view this day last year.
"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.
Click here for information about Gurudeva's travels. He is presently staying on Kauai and has not immediate travel plans.
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