Blog Archives
January 19, 2004
Gurudeva enjoying some divine music. He had the monks select the best of Indian classical music and set up a system whereby it could be heard throughout the Aadheenam.
In Living with Siva, he advised us, "The type of music played in the home and the message it delivers is crucial. Ideally, it should be beautiful Hindu music played on traditional instruments by Saiva souls. Great care should be exercised to exclude the crass music and lyrics of lower consciousness. Whatever you listen to brings you into one state of consciousness or another."
TAKA will next be updated January 22 as the monastery is on retreat the 20th and 21st.
Meet Bodhinatha in Malaysia and India, Jan-Feb 2004
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami will be traveling through Malaysia and South India this January/February on his 2004 Indian Odyssey travel-study program. You are welcome to meet him at the below places:
- Mon, Jan 19, 2004 - Sri Kandaswamy Temple, Kuala Lumpur
- Fri, Jan 23, 2004 � Sri Meenakshi Temple, Madurai
- Sun, Jan 25th, 2004 � Sri Karpaka Vinayagar Temple, Pillaiyarpatti
- Mon, Feb 2nd, 2004 - Siva Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
- Wed, Feb 4th, 2004- Binny Hall, Taj Connemara Hotel, Chennai
- Thur, Feb 5th, 2004 - Thaipusam celebrations at Arupadai Veedu Temple, Chennai
Click here to go to his Travel Page for details.
Satguru Bodhinatha upon the Peedam.
Today he wrote, "We had a powerful Ganesha puja to invoke His blessings for a successful program at Pudu Pillaiyar Temple in Kaula Lumpur. The shakti was so strong it felt like Ganesha was really big and we were inside of Him."
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.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||
Lots of guests today, one group of 13 yoga students and another of 20 microbiologists, brought by a Hindu in their midst after a convention on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Also guests today, the couple on the left, Vijay and Usha Puri, came after their son, who visited the Aadheenam last year, encouraged them to. The couple of the right are devotees of Sri Panduranga Athavale, one of the great Hindu reformers of our time.
Our big coconut trees survived again the latest wind storm. That makes three times through 90 mph plus winds for each.
Another left-behind "companion animal," Vyagrapada, our Macaw parrot, whose companion human is Acharya Kumarswami. Vyagrapada's much more philosophical about his absence than Puli the cat, having been through it more times. Paramacharya Ceyonswami is the backup companion in Vyagrapada's case.
 |
Himalayan Academy Travel Study Programs |
2004 Indian OdysseyJanuary 19, 2004 - February 5, 2004 |
After many hours of travel, our monks and innersearchers finally arrived on January 18th in Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Paramacharya Palaniswami and Sadhaka Dandapani traveled all the way from San Francisco with 11 of the participants and joining 59 more in Hong Kong. Here he is with Larry and Lisa Gibson.
A joyous group is very happy to finally get out of their seats after sooooo many hours! Waiting here for the luggage to come up from the shutes....
Next the walk through the beautiful new airport towards customs and immigration... Deva Rajan and Darshani Alahan...
Darshani takes a few minutes of waiting time to read....
Laura Marks on the left, Jeane
Gibson and, oops, forgot her name...
Palaniswami give a myli garland that was given to him to one of the innersearcher.
Bhavani Param and Asha Alahan. These two are in the "experienced innersearchers" category. Bhavani has not been to India for over ten years.
Next we board our train to get to the departure lounge.
The airport is a giant maze! One has to pay close attention to the signs to get from where you are to the departure lounge.
More happy innersearchers
Inter-airport transport whisks us off at top speeds to the luggage claim area.
Stepping out of the departure area we are greeted by 100 or more devotees who shower the monks with flowers. Our Malaysia mission members are all great wonderful souls. Four Kulapatis greet Paramacharya Palaniswami here. Left to right, Murugesu Kandasamy, Dhasan Sivananda, Guhan Sivalingam, Bala Sivaceyon. These senior members are part of the core group who have been a loyal and dedicated sishya of Gurudeva and now Bodhinatha, carrying the work of the Kailasa Parampara on to the next generation of Malaysians
Saivite Hindus.
Our Malaysia ladies shower the arrriving devotees with love and affection. Gowri Nadesan greet Stephani Corgetelli.
Everyone is gathers ready to board the bus for the Hyatt Saujana.
Bodhinatha who arrived on another plane is greeted by the devotees and covered with garlands.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami arrives in Kuala Lumpur on the first official day of Innerserach. Greeted by all the sishya of Malaysia with many, many garlands and flower offerings. The airport was filled with joy.
This photo is a bit dark but here we have the youth team of Malaysian devotees who have been working hard to prepare for the big public book launching even at the Kalamandapam of the Scott road Kandasamy temple. The event is focused on Iraivan Fund raising and the release of two new books which have been printed in Malaysia. Yoga's
Forgotten Foundation and pocket book edition of Dancing with Siva.
The team sits in the hotel lobby with Sadhaka Dandapani and the lead organizers of the team to coordinate the last minute details on what will prove to be a big event.
Traffic is a big issue in the city of KL and a lot of the discussion revolves around departure time from the hotel and strategy to get from one end of the city to another.
It's really warm (F90+) and humid but still very comfortable. The Hyatt Saujana is exquistely appointed with really beautiful grounds.
Arvindraj on the left will be the MC for tomorrow's public event. Here he goes quickly over the flow of events for the evening. All questions are resolved and everyone is green to go and set up the hall.
Each of these young people are really dedicated souls who each have an assigned task that will make the event go in a super professional way.
Then the first official event of Innersearch: the traditional opening dinner.
Satguru Bodhinatha gives out name tags to each one and gives a short introduction what he will offer to the group during the coming weeks: 1) a series of classes 2) get to know each one of them and 3) be available to answer questions.
It was an amazingly diverse group. The spirit of satsang filled the room with bliss.
Two birthdays fell during the past two days and the traditional honoring was done this time with two cakes. What is a amazing is that we scanned these images of AUM on Kauai and then emailed these to the Hyatt Saujana in Malaysia were a master pastry chef replicated these Aums' with beautiful precision.
Then the meal began and went on, and on, and on... I counted 11 courses! each one very bite size in the Asian way.
Birthday boy, Vel Alahan shows his gift to the whole group: a picture of Sivayogaswami.
Then Chudika Mahadevan....who just turned 18 today and glowed with joy as the whole group sang Happy Birthday to her.
We all went to bed exhausted after three days of hard travel, but at the same time filled and thrilled with the bliss of being on a spiritual journey with in the company of like minded devotees.
Innersearch has begun!
We're going to catch up here on our descriptions prepared in advance of the trip for TAKA, so you'd know what was going on each day even if there were no new photos:
Jan 17: Today the Innersearch begins with everyone at the Hyatt Saujana in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. We take a moment today to look back on another Innersearch, the 1983 Indian Odyssey which also stopped in Kuala Lumpur. Here is an excerpt from our official 1982-1983 Odyssey Diary: "It's December 30 and we have arrived from Hong Kong. Leaving the air-conditioned airport, we sink into the balmy, tropical air of Malaysia (we are quite close to the equator here). We board the first of many buses we will experience this next month. Veteran pilgrims tell us that it is the very same bus they rode in during the last pilgrimage here. We ride some 20 miles, past the King's Palace, and right up to the Rajarajeswari Temple, an Ammen temple (a form of Shakti who holds the tridant.) This will be our home for the duration of our stay in Malaysia. Living right in a holy temple. The reception for Gurudeva at the temple is so impressive. To the sound of nagasvaram and drums, Gurudeva is garlanded and paraded along the path that leads us all to the sanctum. His feet are washed and then, less ceremoniously, the feet of all the pilgrims too! Our hosts pour buckets of water over them. A brief puja is eld and Gurudeva is honored again as a large golden turban is wound around his head. Our experienced pilgrims have seen such ceremonies of welcome for Gurudeva before, but to others it is a totally new experience. They have never seen anyone treated in this manner."
Jan 18: Today the Innersearchers are visiting temples in Malaysia, experiencing the amazing Central Market of Kuala Lumpur (with some time for sari shopping). Tonight they will be at the Murugan Temple for a major Iraivan event, with a thousand or more guests. Bodhinatha will introduce some special VIP guests and speak himself on the progress of Iraivan, thanking the Malaysian Hindus for their strong support of Iraivan over the years. In all, they have raised almost $500,000, which is a lot in their local currency! We quote again from the 1982-83 Odyssey diary: "At another temple tonight Gurudeva gives a profound talk. The crowd is the largest yet, It is even difficult to move within the compound. There are at least 1,000 guests here to hear Gurudeva speak, among them many dignitaries who are here to welcome Gurudeva to their land. All the temples we have seen in this tropical country are open-air. It is most practical, having no walls. The crowd can grow and grow, extending far from Gurudeva on all sides, and everyone can see him and hear him well. Palaniswami shows a slide show we brought with us. One pilgrim is overwhelmed with the affection of the Malaysians, confiding, "In one evening I have made more friends than in my whole life." He later comments on how pure and kindly everyone here is to us. We see nothing but humility, hospitality, simplicity and holiness in them. Clearly their religion flows in their blood."
Jan 19: Today Bodhinatha and the Innersearchers will visit the famed Batu Caves of Malaysia. This is the naturally formed cave, which is reached by climbing hundreds of steps. Within the massive cavern of the cave is a Murugan Temple. On festivals, nearly a million Hindus visit this sacred spot. They will be treated to a special picnic lunch nearby, in a park, and then visit the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building in the world, and known to many by its central part in a James Bond movie, "Tomorrow Never Dies." We quote again from the 1982-83 Odyssey diary: "Gurudeva gave a talk today at the Maha Mariamman Temple where Veylanswami is invited to do the aratis and deepams himself. For over an hour he offers blessings, and then carries the main sanctified kalasa, pot, around the temple in grand procession, and then into the sanctum. All this lasts over an hour. Then Gurudeva gives a beautiful talk, on the theme of temple worship and how it works to loosen the bonds of karma which limit our all-pervasive minds. The temple, he explains, stimulates the superconscious mind. It does not stimulate the instinctive mind and it does not stimulate the intellect. Gurudeva repeats this for effect again and again. It is music to our ears. It confirms our experiences for the past two days where we have been to many temples and been blessed with an incredible number of pujas. For most Innersearchers, perhaps all, they have not been so deeply immersed in puja and temple worship in a long time, if ever. Indeed, the temple strongly stimulates us far within. We are just a few days into the Innersearch and already we are leaving our usual, ordinary minds far behind. Our cities back home and our usual concerns seems lifetimes away. Clearly, this pilgrimage is having the effect we all hoped it would."
No Audio Today
|
Be surprised! Take this opportunity for an adventure. Close your eyes and click to get a message picked at random from the vast audio archives of our Satgurus' discourses |
And click here for an Index to All Past CyberTalks.
|
|
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 |
||