Arshya Vidya Gurukulam

The traveling monks spent two days at the feet of Dakshinamurti, housed at the famous Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. We wanted to visit and pay our respects to Dayananda Saraswati. The second day of our visit was his second mahasamadhi celebrations.

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (Under the auspices of Arsha Vidya Pitham) is an institute for the traditional study of Advaita Vedanta, Sanskrit, yoga, Ayurveda, astrology, and other classical Indian disciplines--founded by Pujya Dayananda Saraswati. Home to several resident monks, the center's 14 acres has housing for retreat getaways, advanced seminars and long programs ranging from one to three years.

Please visit their website, linked above, for all their details.

The temple gopuram is surrounded by Pocono Mountain trees and crisp mountain air. Upon arrival we are greeted by the iconic Hindu structure.

Our long-time brother monk Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji greets us as we enter the temple. He is in a bit of shock since our visit was a surprise! He and Paramacharya have shared the stage at a number of events and HMEC conferences.

An old Master Course student who knew Gurudeva, John Paul, is excited to see Paramacharya from a distance and rushes over to say, \"I used to be a student of Master!\" John Paul later hosted us at another temple, which we will post about later.

We are immediately taken to the dining hall for lunch, we had arrived right around noon.

The walls are covered with pictures of Pujya Swamiji, as he is affectionately called

The monks catch up on what is happening here in Pennsylvania and on Kauai at the monastery there. We usually see Swami at the Hindu Mandir Executives Conference but missed this year. Luckily he is in residence for the mahasamadhi of his guru.

A little later we are greeted by Mahamahopadhyaya Swami Tattvavidanandaji, a renowned scholar of Vedic studies. This Swami extols the Gita and Upanishads as the heart of Vedanta and does not talk of much else.

Right outside the temple and dining hall is the homa building

The monks begin a walk aroud the grounds and share some details about the center. The buildings in the background are what we see around the main complex, with smaller housing as one goes further out into the woods.

The quiet of this place is deafening and the tall trees don\

t interfere with the bright sun\'s rays. It\'s fall in the part of the world and the tropical monks adjust to the crisp bite of the thin air. One can easily hear the silence in this sadhana centric center. '

Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji leads us to our kutir and updates us on two days of programs. Swami lovingly urges us to contact him 24\/7 for anything we may need.

Outside our kutir are leaves of every color. The ground is showered with dried brittle leaves that crackle and dust under the weight of our bare feet. Perhaps this is the peace Henry David Thoreau felt at Walden Pond.

The temple houses a shrine for Pujya Swamiji and showcases a photo that is rarely seen. Sri Chinmoy\

s Center also used a rare photo for their shrine. '

Dakshinamurti, the silent teacher, stands in a pristine shrine. The cleanliness of the center is worth noting.

Pujya Swamiji felt that since this is a center of great teaching and lectures that the main deity would be the Silent Teacher

Sri Dakshinamurtaye Namah!

Next to the shrine is something we have been seeing at temples around the country. A tiered staircased showcasing Hindu culture and tradition, a gamut of deites and some happy Buddhas.

We are able to attend the second class of the day, and the last class marking the end of a two-week retreat. Some 40 people are attending and living here at the center and chanting Sanskrit, learning more about Vedanta and spending time with the Swamis during Q and A sessions.

Swamiji gives a one hour talk on the Sad Darshanam, \"Vision of Truth.\" This text brings out the teaching of advaita in a sophisticated yet direct manner. While Kauai\

s Hindu Monastery are Saiva Siddhantins in the Monistic Theist philosophy, the Arshya Vidya Pitham are pure Monists, there is no relavant use of duality. '

Swamiji chants the line and everyone attending chants after him, then he breaks down the Sanskrit and gives bhashya on that line

Yogi is learning a lot on this trip. By visiting other orders and seeing another side of this beautifully diverse religion ocan foster a deeper appreciation for the philosophy that speaks to you.

Evening puja performed by the center\

s head priest Ravi. Ravi has recently visited Kauai Aadheenam and loves us all very much.'

Thank you Ravi

After evening arati we went for a walk around the compound and met some of the good people who look after the place and they took us to Pujya Swamiji\

s house where he lived for 5 months of every year'

Many things Pujya Swamiji used are kept safe here

Our amazing host and main contact for the center is Suddhatmaji, far left. Suddhatma works full time on staff and manages the goings on of the center, the guests, the taxis and is the main MC for celebrations.

Our walk also landed us on the centers newest massive hall in process now and moving forward quickly. The building will house a new teaching all and kitchen so that the temple has its own building.

The next morning Ravi performs the morning Rudra puja at 5:45am. There is a short abhishekam for Ganesha and then a milk abhishekam for Dakshinamurti.

The group engages fully by chanting Sri Rudram and Purusha Suktam. The standard for Sanskrit knowledge is very high in the Arsha Vidya sampradaya and everyone here can read and chant Sanskrit beautifully.

During the naivedyam offering all the lights are turned off and the hall goes silent as everyone meditates for a few minutes. I have never seen this before.

A few hours later the swamis and priests begin the mahasamadhi celebrations. Below is Swami Omkaranandaji who resides at the Arsha Vidya center in India. He is fresh off the plane and begins the Lingam abhishekam and stunning chanting.

Swamiji can speak and chant in Sanskrit more fluently than he can speak in English

Many elaborate chants are said with passion, some lasting for tens of minutes.

Paramacharya was asked to speak unbeknownst to him. He gave a short sentimate about Arsha Vidya Pitham and the friendship between them and us.

Mahaprasadam is served

Staying at the center is a long-time brother to Gurudeva and the Aadheenam. He is Swami Jotirmayananda who wrote an important biography of Swami Vivekananda, and also wrote an article in our first-ever issue of Hinduism Today, in January of 1979! He is working on a global directory of Indic spiritual organizations and we are assisting in small ways. Swami stayed up late to be sure the Hawaiian monks were fed today.

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