A New Year and a New Season

Yesterday our monks started the season and the new year by lighting the sacred flame in Kadavul Temple. This homa was accompanied by the chanting of Sri Rudram and the offering of ghee, seeds and written prayers into the fire. Satguru then gave an Upadesha which will be online soon.

Flowing the homa, Satguru and the monastics paraded out to the Aadheenam's flagpole to raise the bright orange flag of the Nartana Ritau. Aum.

A passage from Saiva Dharma Shatras about how we should approach this new season:

Nartana Ritau, the season of Dancing with Siva, begins on Hindu 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 Hindu 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 practical focus is completion of unfinished projects. Secular holidays to observe among the families include Mothers Day in May, Fathers Day in June and Grandparents Day in August. In the monastery intensive cleaning of buildings and grounds takes place.

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. Kadavul temple and the Guru Temple are cleaned and renewed during this season, and the adjacent grounds receive special, abundant attention.

The daily sadhana is the Sivachaitanya Panchatantra: experiencing nada, jyoti, prana, shakti and darshana. In Sanskrit, it is a time of learning new shlokas and mantras. 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. In the missions, Nartana Ritau is the time of bringing in new students and Church members. It is a time of hatha yoga and philosophical teaching.

The main festival of Nartana Ritau is Guru Purnima. The mathavasis hold special conclave on Vaikasi Vishakham, the full moon day of May.

Satguru offers flowers at the flagpole

Early in the morning, monks gather in Kadavul Temple for a homa

Yoginathaswami performs the ceremony

Some Monks chant Sri Rudram

Satguru places written prayers into the flames

a fire cobra?

A final offering of ghee

Outside at the temple tank, the sun is rising

It\

s becoming a beautiful clear day'

The monks gather to parade out to the flagpole and then to Iraivan Temple

They are joined by singing birds and blooming flowers

A short arati to Ganesha

Up in the trees, the flowering vines are blooming.

The coral pink flag of the Moksha Ritau is lowered

Satguru attaches the orange flag of the Nartana Ritau

Next we pay a visit to Iraivan Temple

The sun\

s warm rays illumine many plants along the way '

Swami performs an arati inside the sanctum

Upon leaving we note the recent cleaning that has taken place on some of the stones that have been stained with Kauai "red dirt" over time.

This ceiling section had other stains as well

As example after cleaning

Here are cleaned red-granite floor tiles

Here\

s what they looked like before'

Happy New Year! Aum Namah Sivaya

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