Living Like a Monk

March 6, 2022

Om Namah Sivaya

For the past three weeks Chandipati and his father have been on Kauai enjoying the Aadheenam's taskforce program. They've been staying in a nearby house and coming to the monastery each day to live like the monks. Today marks the last full day of their stay. Chandipati took his brahmacharya vrata and expressed his interest if a future monastic life. He's like to be called "Brahmachari" now. Here's his report of his stay:

"While on Taskforce, you get to do many fun things. Have conversations with the monks, eat with the monks, climb trees, etc. (you might get to drive a small vehicle like a Cushman or a Ranger. Maybe even some big vehicles-like a Tacoma Truck). It's very fun when you get to help the monks with the tasks they need to get done. Especially if you want to get stronger. You probably get to lift drainage pipes. I got to clean the 1,008 Siva Lingams with my dad the day before and on Mahashivarathri. A task which sounds worse than it was. By the time of me writing this, I climbed 15-20 small Noni plants to pick high-up fruits. They were the fruits of labor. (or more specifically Saravananathaswami's, Arumuganathaswami's, my dad's, and my labor) It was worth it when Doug and I (Doug is one of the workers for the grounds. They are lucky to have him. He is very kind.) got to help with the barrel cleaner by helping the Noni fruits get put into buckets. Every time a fruit fell out of the fruit washer I got to throw the fruit back in. It was usually a particularly hard throw. Also when we were done, I got to throw the stragglers as hard as I wanted over the fence for the cows to eat.

"About a week ago the monks in the Siddhidatta Kulam installed drainage pipes for the Annaporna garden. After it rains here (Which is many times. When we were installing the pipes it even rained a bit) the water would go off the drains on top of the high tunnels. This erodes the soil beneath and ruins the soil the monks use for gardening. Their fix was installing pipes to lead the rain water from the drain pipes to Narmada Stream to Wailua River. The Wailua River goes to the ocean. Then, the water from the ocean evaporates, it rains, and this process repeats. We owe a special thanks to the Hawaii government for providing around half the funds for this project. The branch of government that provided these funds was the National Resource Conservation Service, and they don't want the soil to erode. This will help the island to have better soil if everybody does this process. The government wanted to get the ball rolling with the monks, so everyone can do what the monks are doing and preserve the agricultural land in the island of Kauai better.

"Here's an example of the schedule we followed while here.
Phase days are the days that we work. Retreat days are the days we get a break. There are 5 retreat days in this "vacation." Including 2 half day retreats where we work to the first of the day and then go home to relax.

A.M. Phase Day, Hawaii time
4:30-5:30 = Wake up, shower, get ready, walk mile to temple
5:30-6:00 = Siva Puja
6:00-7:00 = Religious Class with me, my dad, and a swami
7:00-8:00 = Breakfast (I am a slow eater)
8:00-8:30 = Morning Meeting
8:30-12:30 (12:30 P.M)-Work, work, and more work (my dad and I help the monks with tasks around the 172 acres of land they own)
P.M.
12:30-1:00 = Ashram Sadhana (my dad and I clean certain places-it varies from the certain groups of monks we help which are called kulams. There are 4 kulams, there used to be 5 but that kulam dispersed)
1:00-1:08 = Get Lunch
1:08-1:30 = Eat lunch with the Monks
1:30-3:00 = Break (I usually do my homework)
3:00-3:30 = Ganesha Puja
3:30-5:30 = Work
5:30-6:00 = Get dinner ready
6:00-6:30 = Walk mile back to the house we stay at
6:30-8:00 = Wash feet and hands. Then, eat dinner. Then, wash the dishes.
8:00= I cry myself to sleep (I'm just kidding. I save my tears for the morning when I repeat this process
Just a little overview at one of the hardest things I did. On Shivarathri, (a Hindu holiday) I had to stay up till 12:30am! 2:30 California time. That was after having this entire schedule, and working far after 5:30pm, finishing with a 7:30pm-12:00am puja. One break in-between and 3 bathroom breaks I believe. (Near the end when we were standing up to pray, I couldn't do it and just laid down on the floor. The next day I walked there and back from the Ashram and just had to lay in bed with a migraine. The day after that, I felt much better.
Overall, being on Taskforce is a privilege and a fun activity."