Blog Archives
March 30, 2003 
Gurudeva wrote: We must love the world, which is God's creation. Those who despise, hate and fear the world do not understand the intrinsic goodness of all. The world is a glorious place, not to be feared. It is a gracious gift from Siva Himself, a playground for His children in which to interrelate young souls with the old--the young experiencing their karma while the old hold firmly to their dharma. The young grow; the old know. Not fearing the world does not give us permission to become immersed in worldliness. To the contrary, it means remaining affectionately detached, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, being in the world but not of it, walking in the rain without getting wet."
Our Beloved and Revered Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Attained Maha Samadhi on November 12th, 2001
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The first day of Sadhu Paksha. Rain came in abundance today, but timing was good for the Iraivan stone team.
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End of Phase Notice
This is Sun Five, the last
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up until Wednesday evening, April 2
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Title: Don't Get Stuck in the Mud |
Cybertalk: One reaction many face in life is the feeling of being unworthy and wanting to give up in our spiritual efforts. This feeling of despair can make a person feel stuck and unchangeable, which can then lead to taking the incorrect attitude of just "staying in the mud." Don't get stuck in the mud; this is a time when the help of family, friends, and the guidance of the guru should be sought to uplift our consciousness, to help us face and make up for the misdeeds which have triggered this reaction in our conscience.
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The second roof beam rises up this morning around 9 am.
Last night it rained hard after a dry sunny day. Plans for today's stone lift were grim as a grey dawn arrived. It was just a light drizzle and Yoginathaswami was about to call Larry, the crane man and tell him to cancel for today.
Usually the silpis will never work in the rain, ever... period!
But Sthapati was determined. He knew that here in America construction sites will often continue despite the weather. Yoginathaswami told him that if we didn't go for it today, we might have to wait a week.
Sthapati said "I can't wait seven days! It's ok.. the rain is light, we can do it." So another historic breakthrough at Iraivan... the silpis put on raincoats and the job proceeded: three roof beams, six potagai and two pillars.
the second roof beam is lowered into place.
Yoginathaswami said actually the rain helped... everyone was cool, the hot blazing sun can be very stressful... a light drizzle, quiet concentrated work... all went calmly.
Our Siddhidata team straps the last beam.
Sthapati watches as the next one goes up.
Raincoats! Yes... they work!
Number three aloft...
And... down...
Sadhaka Dandapani was there with the video camera.. he is our resident photographer these days and most of the photos you see on TAKA he has been taking. In this case he takes a moment in the middle of a break in the showers to shoot some video and Paramacharya Palaniswami behind him, catches him in the act.
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OK, the third beam is nearly down...
Yoginathaswami motions to Larry to boom in a bit more.
That's it! down!
Adaikkalam laughing... the silpis are having fun in the rain... everyone is feeling very cool.
Sadhaka Tejadeva our main rigger now unhooks the crane.
Three beams up... time to move over to do the six potagai that go on top of the last six pillars we raised up.
The north end of Iraivan.
First potagai for the day is up.
Down! Good!
Larry asked Yoginathaswami on the phone this morning "Are you sure you want to do this? No problem for me... I've done plenty of work in the rain... OK then, let's do it!"
Number 2 coming in...
Sadhaka Adinatha stands by... many hands and lots of eyes contribute to a safe day...
incoming...
Almost there.
Watching very carefully now... the small 'button" in the center on the top of the pillar must line up perfectly with the matching hold in the bottom of the potagai.
Raman stand by watching from another angle.
Good... we are in!
These are the ends of the beams that sit on top of the top course, number 16 of the sanctum.
the span out to the top of the pillar with a pointed end that will meet two more stones that will cover the Potagai.
OK... potagai three is in place.
These are magnificent pieces.
Here you can see the top of the sanctum....
Yoginathaswami is happy, all went well.
This group of silpis have big smiles on their faces... they will be going home soon and be with their families after two years of living like monks on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean (smile)
The temple stone has a wonderful color when wet.
As you can see, Iraivan is really shaping up.
Jai to Iraivan!
Another project in the works... choosing rudrakshas of the same size for a mala.
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transcription begins
Date: March_14_2003
Title: Ethical vs. Unethical Conversion
Category: Hinduism and Tradition
Duration: 1 min., 38 seconds
Date Given: January 20, 2003
Given by: Bodhinatha
You can see we are focusing on a number of points. One of them is ethical versus unethical conversion. We have a lot of experience in this. Gurudeva has documented that quite nicely in, 'How to Become a Hindu'.
The other is in terms of working with youth and actually doing so in a way which is inspiring and uplifting, not just making Hinduism a boring subject. For example, our Saivite Hindu Religion Course has some wonderful games in it. On many occasions, we have been told that is the part the kids really like the most. They come to the temple in Malaysia and come to the class and say, "What is the game for today?" That is the big interest.
Areas like that where we have experience, are what we are offering and trying to do our part in helping the Malaysia Hindu Sangam re-energize Hinduism in Malaysia. They are taking up a large scale task and they seem to be going about it in a very methodical, organized way. So we want to do what we can to help.
Any idea how long the talk took to read?
24 minutes. Good, I have a 30-minute time slot! It is just about the right length, counting all the introductions.
Have a wonderful day. Thank you very much.
transcription ends
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