A Mahasamadhi Gift From Gurudeva

On the final day of Mahasamadhi, during the final afternoon homa, Iraivan's long-awaited, priceless pieces finally arrived at the temple. Both parts of Iraivan's central Deity are now at the Aadheenam: The Spatika Lingam and now the Avudaiyar. Iraivan's Siva-Shakti.

For those who don't know, this shipment of containers has seen every form of delay and obstacle imaginable, including spending a few days run aground on a reef in the Saipan Channel, sitting atop undetonated World War II mines! Upon being freed and rerouted, the shipping containers saw delay after delay at each point they reached. Knowing when the containers would arrive was anybody's (probably wrong) guess. The fact that the shipment reached Kauai Aadheenam exactly when it did is absolutely extraordinary. Jai Gurudeva!

The two 40-foot containers brought us many precious items for Iraivan Temple, including the five-ton metal auvudaiyar, the four-foot Nandi and important sculptures for the Nandi Mandapam, the five metal Sadasiva bronzes that will be installed on three sides of the vimanam, the black granite statues of Rishi Nandinatha, Gurudeva, Bodhinatha and many other items.

"As I look into the future, I see Iraivan, fully completed, as a center where devotees will come to find the center of themselves. We will preserve it and maintain it so that it is the way Rishikesh used to be, a proper, pure, quiet place where devotees can go within themselves through the practice of yoga. There are very few such places left on the Earth now. Kauai's Hindu Monastery is one of them. I see Iraivan as a yoga citadel, a place of pilgrimage for the devout, sincere and dedicated. I see Iraivan as India's message to the world on visitors' day, when Hindus and non-Hindus alike come to admire the great artistry of the silpi stone carving tradition. I see Iraivan as a fulfillment of our lineage, our scriptures and our monastery. This is a place where you do not have to invoke God, for God is here, for this is where heaven meets the Earth." - Gurudeva

The Avudaiyar has arrived. Though a little dirty after travel, it will shine up beautifully.

The containers arrive at Kauai\

s port'

looks like everything is well intact

The dockworkers unload them

Yoginathaswami and Tejadevanatha make sure everything goes right

The Satguru statues are unloaded

The second container

All loaded up and ready to drive to the Aadheenam

The Avudaiyar is unloaded

Nandi arrived safely

They have to bring their own forklift because everything is so heavy

stones are unloaded at Iraivan

Nandi is next

He is taken to the front of the temple

You can see his stone earring is intact

The Kauai map base

Rishi Nandinatha

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