Behind the Glass

In the Ganapati Kulam's Media Studio, you are taken aback by the beauty of the natural view of the river, mountain and Iraivan Temple. As you peer out from these glass panels, you're not as likely to notice the smaller panel nearby. Gurudeva encouraged monks and members to have art forms that involve the refining of something physical, reflecting the constant refinements within our own minds. So we are, of course, talking about the office's 125 gallon freshwater aquarium—an example of cultivating the growth of a living system and maintaining its balance. With a recent request for an update of this tank, this post seemed like a relaxing thing to leave you all with for our upcoming two days of retreat. Venture through the slides to learn more. Aum.

The media studio, with Iraivan seen through the large window-wall.

Off the the right, up in the corner, we find another piece of nature.

Full of lavarocks, live plants and little fishes, this tank houses a plethora of tiny lifeforms

In the shum language, there is a set of words related to contentment.

Perhaps you\

ve heard the word pronounced \"bee-hai-shoom.\" It can be used as a greeting and refers to \"the state of being content under all circumstances\"'

The most basic word in this series is pronounced \"ee-shoom\"

It means \"a contented fish\"

Perhaps they\

re a good example for us (although these Australian Rainbow fish do seem to have a bottomless desire for food). '

This little guppy does as well

In the background and orange platy fish stands out brightly against the natural greens

Slowly, more plant varieties are cultivated and propagated

This pearl-weed releases thousands of visible bubbles when the water\

s oxygen levels have reached saturation'

There are several lilies from our nearby streams

This one is a red variety

A pleco (like a catfish) comes out of the rockwork to sift some pebbles

he sees the camera and makes his escape

From above we are greeted by our male Betta fish

The female is nearby

Betta fish are small and beautiful. We decided to breed these two to make more colorful fish for this tank.

There\

s a small tank nearby'

Inside we find a bunch of happy snails

They float upside down, the eat off the rocks and glass, and sometimes they just float around with the current for fun.

With them, we find our baby betta fish! They\

re about half an inch long. '

This one has the silver body of it\

s mother'

These ones have her silvers and reds too, but they also have some of their father\

s shiny blue'

Once big enough, these fish will all move to the big tank. Many people think you can\

t keep male betta fish \(also known as \"fighting fish\"\) together once fully grown, but under the right conditions they\'re perfectly peaceful. '

Once they\

re all fully grown we\'ll give you an update to see them in their colorful and shiny glory'

Until then, may you feel like an ishum and remain in bihaishum, perhaps by creating something with your hands, or by finding some nature and appreciating its beauty, even on the smallest scale. Or maybe both. Aum.

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