Welcoming the New Year

Today we celebrate the beginning of the Hindu Year of Durmukha, 5118. Following this morning's homa, monks and devotees paraded out to the flagpole. The coral pink flag of the Moksha Ritau was replaced with the bright orange flag of the Nartana Ritau. The parade then continued out to Iriavan Temple and inside for arati.

Nartana Ritau, the season of Dancing with Siva, begins on Tamil New Year. This is the period of creation, the warm season, from mid-April through mid-August. The key word of this season is planning. The colors are orange, yellow-gold and all shades of green–-orange for renunciation, yellow-gold for action and green for regeneration.

High above, the main flag flies the color orange, heralding the Nartana Ritau throughout this season, symbolizing sadhana and self-control. The other colors adorn smaller flags. This is the season of giving special attention to those in the grihastha ashrama. It is a time of awakening, renewal, review. The emphasis is on seeing ahead, planning for future years. It is a time of planning retreats and other activities for youths and adults for the entire year.

The Saiva Dharma Shastras are studied; and any needed additions in supplementary manuals, representing new growth, are made. The practical focus is completion of unfinished projects. Secular holidays to observe among the families include Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in June and Grandparent's Day in August.

This season of harvest and new growth is also the time to review and reestablish picking and planting routines for the gardens. It is a time for ordering seeds and plants for the year, of planting trees, fragrant vines and the annual crop. Review is made for scheduling the care of all realms of the Aadheenam's acreage. Kadavul temple and the Guru Temple are cleaned and renewed during this season and the adjacent grounds receive special, abundant attention. Karma yogis are invited to help in this and other areas with planting and weeding, digging, fertilizing, fence repair and more.
The daily sadhana is the Sivachaitanya Panchatantra: experiencing nada, jyoti, prana, bhakti and darshana. In Sanskrit, it is a time of learning new slokas and mantras. In the family community, prasnottara satsanga is held for one and all to attend. Families plan for their annual pilgrimage. Shrine rooms are renewed and redecorated for the year, and the clothing of all is renewed in the Hindu style of the current fashion. It is a time of doing things for others, religious outreach. It is a time of hatha yoga and philosophical teaching.

Satguru raises the orange flag of the Nartana Ritau

The day begins with an early morning homa

Saravananathaswami is the pujari

Satguru burns written prayers to the devas and Mahadevas

monks chant Sri Rudram

A final offering into the sacred flames

Everyone then gathers to hear Satguru\

s upadesha'

He emphasizes the need to see oneself as a soul inhabiting a body

His talk was a little shorter than usual to allow time for the flag raising

Just as we start to gather for the parade, it begins to rain

The koi fish seem to like it though

everyone starts to arrive

You know the seasons are changing when the roses start to bloom again

the plants love the abundance of water

We gather at the lookout and await Satguru\

s arrival'

There he is, time to start the parade

Out we march, conches blowing and umbrellas held high

Ganesha has the right idea

The river is beginning to flow faster

The flag from the Moksha Ritau is lowered

Satguru removes it to attach the next

up goes the new flag!

Om Namah Sivaya

Now we parade to Iraivan Temple

It\

s a bit muddy out'

We enter the inner sanctum for a short worship

A rare opportunity for devotees to enter the sanctum

Now everyone circles the temple on the platform and then we take a larger circle around the foundation

Once around and then we parade back

And of course, all that rain became a beautiful rainbow

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