Shanmuga Banyan Offerings

Aloha everyone,

We hope this Sunday lived up to all of your greatest expectations! Our Sunday was not a retreat day so we were all working hard but thankfully a three-day retreat is coming up tomorrow. Anyways, on to our story... over the past few years visitors and pilgrims to the monastery have brought with them the very popular trend of leaving small offering to Kauai! It reminds us of Indian trees and temples where you will find thousands of notes, bells, pieces of colored cloth ties to a tree. Talk a walk under the Shanmuga banyan tree and you will see all sorts of small gifts people have left. Money is commonly left but it is not the only thing. Look closely and you will see bracelets, prayers and even small Ganesha murtis.

The core of the Banyan

Someone took the time to wrap this one around the Banyan\

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A prayer with a key

Lots of braclets!

Apparently people carry around a lot more string than one would think!

Jai Ganesha!

The sun can barely get through the thick banyan branches

A garland high up

This is a rare shot of the small (9-inch tall) stone Ganesha that was placed in the fork of two branches 30 years back, and is now half-engulfed by the tree. One day it will disappear entirely.

Shanmuga himself commands the sacred space.

Six meditation pads are placed around Shanmuga.

The sign outside the Banyan Tree.

Enter this Alice in Wonderland tree at the risk of feeling the wonder of a child again

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