Blog Archives

We are pleased to announce the web release of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's monumental work on Hindu culture and lifestyle:
Living with Siva.
Click here for the entire text and artwork, now on-line!

We had over 80 guests today! One class from the local college, a group of seniors, some 90 years old who walked to the temple site on their own and a number of Hindu families. Bodhinatha has darshan with one of the families.

~~~~~~~~
End of Phase Notice:
This edition of TAKA will
Up over the retreat
Sun 1, Tuesday, Dwitya Tithi, November 25th.

Bodhinatha's Sun One Video. Most Recent update: September 12, 2003. Bodhinatha speaks on Ahimsa, noninjury, yama #1, which is noninjury in thought, word and deed. The law of karma decrees that it is wise not to harm or hurt others, for we will then receive harm and hurt in exchange in the future. 12 minutes, 29 seconds.

				Live Web Cam Pix!

Dr. Thomas Yarema who attends to the monks here on the island has expanded his clinic to include both a naturopath and also now, an ayurvedic doctor from Poona, India.

On the left is Dr. Suhas, his wife Manisha, who is also an ayurvedic doctor and son Manas and daughter Sanika. Welcome to Kauai! On the right is Dr. Thom and his wife and first born son.

Hindu family, Mrs Bapna with her son-in-law and daughter and grandaughter from the California.

As we head for winter the north and east shores of Kauai can see some heavy seas. Yesterday's swell were reaching 30 feet! And today after lunch a few of the monks skipped nap and went to the ocean to watch the surf for a few minutes.

The size of the waves had been considerably reduced.

Thambynathan Girish Samugam sends the peace sign to the whole world.

He is doing very well here and is quite helpful with a bright attitude and a steady disposition

Lord Nataraja, wooden sculpture relief painted outside the publications office.

Sadhaka Dandapani hard are work with details of innersearch. With less than two months before departure, the intensity is building.

The Remarkable Vision	Iraivan Temple Progress Update	Join this historic undertaking. Please contribute generously. Sponsor a stone today! Monthly Report Sponsor a stone Iraivan Wonders
	Order Rudraksha Malas from Siva's sacred Hawaiian groves; and also single rudraksha beads ready to put on a chain around your neck. Great for Gifts! All proceeds go to the building fund.
Current Overview

This series from Iraivan marks the completion of the 19th course... taken just a day before the crane came last week.

It is always with a sense of satisfaction and completion of another small milestone, that the team switch from the difficult and challenging task of carving and placing stones to filling the inner walls.

Bricks have been laid in with cement .

What you see here are the courses that are the first layers above the roof of the temple.

The final layer of mortar goes on.

Leveling the course....

A section of bricks laid in, about to be covered with thin mortar.

The carving of the first courses of the vimanam

The cement has to be prepared below and then raised up, bucket by bucket on a hoist.

Beautiful!

Congratulations to our silpi team once again! Now, on to course number 20.

Saiva Siddhanta Church
Singapore Mission

On 8th Nov 2003 evening, Nandinatha Sangam organised a day with nature to Singapore Botanic Gardens. A total of 12 of us, geared up for a one hour hike into the rainforest in our little island. Sow Hua, the tour guide, led our team with full of enthusiasm. Sow Hua highlighted various properties of plants found in the nature reserve.

You may enjoy the unusual history of the gardens by clicking here to see the Singapore site itself.

Here are the hikers! Very sporting and enthusiastic, all fully equipped with caps, umbrella, raincoat, water bottle, insect repellent and etc.

A row of beautiful palm trees, Elaies guineensis, that leads towards the rainforest. There are two types of leaves on most common palm trees, the fans and the feathers. This evergreen palm does not grow much more than 6m in height.

Is this a fans or the feathers shaped palm trees?

The guide is briefing about the various types of fig trees. All of us got to feel and smell the plants. I am impressed how attentive the group was.

The Banyan Tree, also known as bargad or vata (Ficus bengalensis linn), is an evergreen tree and grows to a height of about 100-ft. It is easily identified by its aerial roots, which hang from its branches. These roots often get embedded in the ground and become minor trunks. The leaves are broad, oval and glossy. If broken, a white, milky fluid oozes out of the leaves. According to the Agni Purana, the banyan symbolises fertility and is worshipped by those who want children.

Guide Sow Hua, explaining the cycle and relationship between the wasp and the fig fruit.

The fig fruits

The Bodhi or Peepul tree(Ficus religious), called ashvattha in Sanskrit, is a very large tree. Its bark is light grey, smooth and peels in patches. Its heart-shaped leaves have long, tapering tips. The slightest breeze makes them rustle. The fruit is purple when ripe. The peepal is the first-known depicted tree in India: a seal discovered at Mohenjodaro, one of the cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 3000 BC - 1700 BC), shows the peepal being worshipped. During the Vedic period, its wood was used to make fire by friction. The peepal is used extensively in Ayurveda. Its leaves, when heated in ghee, are applied to cure wounds. The peepal is also sacred to Buddhists, because the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under it. Hence it is also called the Bodhi tree or 'tree of enlightenment'.

Rattan, a climbing palms of tropical Asia, belonging to the family Palmae (palm family). Rattan leaves, unlike those of most palms, are not clustered into a crown; they have long, whiplike barbed tips by which the plant climbs to the tops of trees. The stem is noted for its extraordinary length of maximum 150m. The rattan cane of commerce, a slender, flexible tough cane of uniform diameter usually split for wickerwork, baskets, and chair seats and walking sticks.

Singapore snowing ? Nope, while we were walking up the rainforest, it started to rain. Rainforest Tour with rain , it was really wonderful. All of us grab our umbrellas, raincoats, and caps. The rain did not hinder our tour or the spirit of anyone. The Gardens' Rain Forest, a 4-hectare remnant of Singapore's primeval forests, provides visitors with an introduction to the region's primary vegetation. Lofty trees elaborate buttresses, massive lianas and a tremendous plant diversity offer a unique visual treat. Not only rich in species, the Rainforest includes a wealth of species with economic importance, such as the rattans, fruit trees and the palms. With more than fifty per cent of its species representing plants that are rare in Singapore, the Rainforest certainly qualifies as a part of Singapore's natural heritage

Pitcher plant found on the ground. We call it the non-vegetarian plant, because the plant eats insects! The Pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant, a meat eater. Fortunately, the pitcher plant is only a few inches tall and is only a threat to insects that come to explore the red-meat looking interior. The plant grows in boggy areas and has tube shaped leaf. The inside of the tubular shaped leaf is lined with downward pointing hairs. These hairs prevent an insect from climbing up the tube and escaping. The fluid in the bottom of the tube contains digestive juices and will consume the insect prey.

A beautiful flower. Costus speciosus, one of the easiest of the Costus to grow. Red cones and white flowers stay attractive and the blooming season is very long. The heavily creped white flowers protrude from the cones on twisting canes of dark-green foliage. This plant gives shady areas of the garden a much-needed spark of light. It's native to Southeast Asia and India. Takes a fair amount of abuse and still thrives. This species is widely cultivated in the tropics as an ornamental although there are local uses in folk medicine and the rhizomes are sometimes used as a food source. It is used as a herbal remedy for fever. The leaves are ground into a paste and applied to the forehead to bring down fever.

Double Coconut Tree is a remarkable plant found only in Seychelles Island in the Indian Ocean. A single seed may be 12 inches long, nearly three feet in circumference and weigh 40 - 50pounds. The largest seed in the plant kingdom looks like two coconuts fused together, giving rise to this fan palm's common name. The plant is tender and very slow growing, especially when young. The nut takes a year to germinate and another year to form its first leaf. Hence, it is rarely cultivated. This palm can attain heights of 100 feet and leaf blades to 20 feet in length and 12 feet in diameter. Even though commonly called a "double coconut", it is not a coconut but grows on a fan-leaf palm with the two sexes on different trees. The "female" trees do not bear until they are more than 100 years old. The annual production is limited to a few thousand nuts.

The germinating seeds in Singapore Botanic Gardens.

No Audio Today

MORE UPLIFTING THINGS		2004 Indian Odyssey Join Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami on an 18 day Innersearch to South India, from Jan 19 to Feb 5, as we pilgrimage to ancient monasteries, magnificent 1,000 plus year old sacred temples and meet with India's holy men in a life-transforming adventure. Click on the above link for more details.
	Check our children and youth section for new items for the young and young at heart!
1. SIGN OUR GUESTBOOK and receive a FREE GIFT
2. Newest Book: LIVING WITH SIVA
3. Visiting KAUAI'S HINDU MONASTERY
4. Contribute to THANK YOU, GURUDEVA FUND