Siva Vision Day

This morning, monks and devotees gathered and the Svayambhu Lingam for a short puja and meditation to honor the day in February of 1975, when Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami had the powerful vision of Lord Siva which led to the creation of Iraivan Temple.

Below is the description from Gurudeva's Spiritual Visions book:

In the early hours of February 15, 1975, lying on a tatami mat in his Ryokan--the simple, oriental room where he slept--Subramuniyaswami was deep asleep. He was in one of those profound states of slumber that are neither awake nor full of dreams, his conscious mind fully absent. In this clear space above physical consciousness, the 48-year-old satguru experienced a three-fold vision that would be the spiritual birth of the great Siva citadel called Iraivan Temple, and its surrounding San Marga Sanctuary.

"I saw Lord Siva walking in the meadow near the Wailua River."

"Then I saw His face peering into mine.

"Then He was seated upon a great stone, His reddish golden hair flowing down His back. I was seated on His left side.

"This was the vision. It became more vivid as the years passed. Upon reentering Earthly consciousness, I felt certain that the great stone was somewhere on our monastery land and set about to find it. Guided from within by my satguru, I hired a bulldozer and instructed the driver to follow me as I walked to the north edge of the property that was then a tangle of buffalo grass and wild guava. I hacked my way through the jungle southward as the bulldozer cut a path behind me. After almost half a mile, I sat down to rest near a small tree. Though there was no wind, suddenly the tree's leaves shimmered as if in the excitement of communication.

"I said to the tree, 'What is your message?' In reply, my attention was directed to a spot just to the right of where I was sitting. When I pulled back the tall grass, there was a large rock-- the self-created Lingam on which Lord Siva had sat. A stunningly potent vibration was felt. The bulldozer's trail now led exactly to the sacred stone, surrounded by five smaller boulders. San Marga, the 'straight or pure path' to God, had been created. An inner voice proclaimed, 'This is the place where the world will come to pray.'"

Gurudeva has his visions of Siva while lying on a tatami mat in his Ryokan

He sees Siva\

s face, bathed in light'

and Siva upon the stone Lingam.

Gurudeva hires a bulldozer and makes his way towards the Lingam

He stops beneath a dancing guava tree

and discovers the Lingam

Before dawn, we gather for a short puja and meditation here

Nirvani Haranandinatha performs the puja

Satguru does the abhishekam

Vibhuti, chandana and pottu are applied

an offering of light

and flowers

final arati

The sun rises as the group finishes the meditation

The monks return to start their day

Iraivan catches the morning light

Aum Namah Sivaya

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