Blog Archives
February 27, 2001 
Gurudeva joined a "Drug Free Kauai" meeting last evening with representatives from various constituencies on Kauai: the police, the local county prosecutor, state representatives, a man who recently began some clinics to help the addicted, and school teachers. All were brought together at the initiative of Dr. Greg Smith. The goal is to get the community working together with the police. Gurudeva gave two talks at the meeting. He highlighted Kofi Anan's statement (the Secretary General of the United Nations) that the war on drugs is an international problem and we have to work at it from an international level. Gurudeva made the point that Kauai being an island, with only 55,000 people, has the opportunity to be drug free and set an example for the rest of the world. He told the monks today, "Right now we have the attitude we just live with it, just do the best we can. We have to change that. We have to make it clear that if you deal in drugs you are not welcome on this island! We will work together, get the community to help the police." The officers in attendance were pleased to find they are going to get support from the community.
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Title: Disciple's best gift to a Guru |
Cybertalk: A cyberspace devotee asks what is the best gift a disciple can give his guru. Gurudeva says intelligent corporation is the best way to serve one's guru and by being responsive to the guru too.
Cybertalk Ends"
For more information about listening to Gurudeva's talks online and to hear them in other formats, click here.
Gurudeva 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 Sivadevanathaswami
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.
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Transcription of One of Gurudeva's CyberTalks
Date: February_19_2001
Title: Arthur Pacheco interviews Gurudeva Part 7
Category: The Guru
Duration: 2 min., 45 seconds
Date Given: January 27, 2001
Arthur: In fact, that very point of the subconscious mind, I have found just over the years, people are fascinated by it. I think intuitively they know how incredibly important it is to have that subconscious mind working for us, instead of against us.
Gurudeva: Exactly! It can be your greatest friend or your greatest enemy, depending on what you put in it. It is like a CD disk. What you put there is what is there. Also, it can be erased and re-recorded over because it is your tool.
Arthur: How is it done, Gurudeva? How would one, let us say, someone says, "You know I feel or sense or know that my subconscious mind programming is not working for me", and decides they want to move in a forward direction. What would be possibly something they could do? Because I know everyone needs this.
Gurudeva: Well, one thing to do is a tantra, called a Vasana Tantra. You write down all of your feelings, your emotions and your problems. You crumple it up and burn it in a garbage can. What that has as an effect is, it brings it out of the subconscious mind and detaches the emotion from the memory pattern as you see it being burnt up in the garbage can. You realize it is the past. You realize you are throwing it away. You don't need it anymore. When the memory doesn't have emotion attached to it, it is no longer bothersome and no longer influences your future, except in positive ways.
Arthur: I see. This is a very ancient thing to do, isn't it?
Gurudeva: Very ancient and very useful and very wonderful.
Arthur: I know that your Swamis there will often write letters to the devas, to the higher ones, and they burn those as well.
Gurudeva: Yes, our particular temple here on Kauai, you can send prayers to the devonic world. They receive the prayers in the astral world and go to work to answer the prayers. The temple was set up that way at the beginning. There are other temples that perform the same function, in Japan, China, Singapore and all through Asia. This is one here on the island of Kauai. We have prayers coming in all the time on fax, on e-mail, through the mail from all over the world. People have gotten great results from sending their prayers to the great masters and Mahadevas and Gods and devas of the inner world.
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"Spirits Journey", a group of seekers who are taking a spiritual retreat on the islands from various parts of the mainland came for puja today.
The inflourescense of a bromiliad is a remarkable "creature" from another world.
A thriving water lily in one of the ponds near the Path of the Saiva Saints.
The "Holy Feet" or "Sacred Sandals" of the Guru. These are worshipped by devotees as the "representative" of the Satguru. They connote the place where the divine touches the earth, that place being the form of the Satguru who by his evolution and attainment has become a channel for Lord Siva. Worship of the feet also connotes the proper attitude of the devotee which is total surrender "prapatti" --the highest expression of devotion, "bhakti." Most Hindu denominations consider bhakti, love and devotion toward God, to be fundamental to all other spiritual practice, without which other spiritual practice can bear little fruit.
Gurudeva's other monastery in the island country of Mauritius
in the Indian Ocean near South Africa
Balasubramania Vamadeva Gurukkal (center, holding child) is originally from Coimbatore, India. He comes from a family of priests. He studied for 10 years at Trichyswami's padasala (school) for priest training near Bangalore and has been working as a priest for the past six years in Mauritius. He's related to our dear friend Sambamurthy Sivachariar who heads up the priest union in Chennai (see Hinduism Today's Sept/Oct 2000 issue.) Balasubramania's contract has expired so he and his family will be returning to Coimbatore. He'll be home just in time to participate in the annual festivities at Trichyswami's ashram. He'll be leaving behind his younger brother who's also working in Mauritius at the Draupadee Amman temple in Stanley.
Here he is shown with his wife and three children, his sister-in-law and her children and his Mauritian friends. His oldest daughter (right, holding camera) speaks very good Mauritian Creole having gone to school here for many years. Balasubramania and his family are travelling around the country in a van today saying goodbye to all their friends. He has nothing but good things to say about the Mauritius people.
Mr Boodev Madayah, his wife and two sons have come to worship Ganesh. Mr Madayah is an electrician and signmaker. He'll be helping us install a recently donated lighting fixture in the Ganesha mandapam. He's kindly offered to help us design and install direction signs for the park sometime in the near future. His specialty is computer generated design using a special cutting machine to produce vinyl letters which then are affixed to metal or plastic signboard. He's done work for Lufthansa Airlines and other big companies and has won many design awards.
Here's Mr Krishnanan Utchanah of Utchanah Brothers store in Riviere du Rempart. He and his brothers have been supporters of the Spiritual Park for many years. Today we are visiting him to invite him to participate in the Northern European Innersearch with Gurudeva this August. After our talk he generously donated some umbrellas to keep our guests dry during the sudden rain squalls that have been graciously frequent this summer.
And speaking of Innersearch! Visualize yourself in this photo with Gurudeva this coming August in the world class dining room of Holland America's newest cruise ship the MS Amsterdam. See more information below.
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12 Glorious Days, 8 Enchanting Countries and One Chance in a Lifetime! Imagine spending 12 days with one of the greatest spiritual leaders of this century. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami will be leading this exotic educational and spiritual voyage himself combining the mystical path of Indian spirituality with a superlative retreat from it all. Take advantage of this one chance to be in close proximity with a living master. Come with us on an inner and outer voyage to Northern Europe and Russia. www.innersearch.org
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