Introducing Sivanadiyar Akash

Yesterday, during the Chitra nakshatra, Brahmachari Akash entered the Guru Pitam to sit with Satguru and the monks and to take his pledge as a supplicant.

This important ceremony signifies the stage where the young pre-monastic has made a firm decision to follow the monastic path. He is now in a state of "supplication" begging the monastic order to take him into their midst and to become a postulant, or full Sadhaka.

"The supplicant's foremost objective is to strive for mastery of the charya marga, or path of service. This begins with the avoidance of wrongful actions and the overcoming of base instincts and emotions as he learns to transmute worldliness into the higher states of devotion and selflessness. At this stage on the path, the Saivite devotee is content not to strive for profound spiritual attainments but to work diligently with the faults and flaws that are stumbling blocks on the path, learning at the same time to depend not only on his own resources but on the limitless abilities of the Gods to resolve all difficulties and dissolve all obstacles. In "The Final Conclusions for All Mankind," Gurudeva has said, "In the stage of charya, similar to karma yoga, the devotee naturally awakens a desire to work for the sake of work, to serve for the sake of service. He does this in his daily life and through helping in the temple in practical ways--through sweeping the marble floors, polishing the brass oil lamps, weaving fragrant garlands for the pujas, helping other devotees in their lives and in general through a humble and unseen kind of service." The Supplicancy is a time of profound worship of Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan and Lord Siva and of deepening commitment and service to Saivite Hinduism and to the Church. It is also a time of study, challenge and inner change. The supplicant is encouraged to strive for the perfection of service and for the monastic ideals of humility, industry and responsibility, renouncing personal needs for the benefit of others. In this service, he should strive for transparency, that quality of anonymous virtue in which the premonastic lives in full harmony with others, remaining centered within and not standing out or disturbing the surroundings. It is this ancient tradition of unseen service and unperturbable stability that the supplicant seeks to emulate, realizing that serving in unheralded ways and renouncing the fruits of even good deeds averts the pitfalls of the spiritual ego and nurtures the state of unpretentiousness. By putting great energy into premonastic life and by serving tirelessly for the benefit not of himself but of others, the supplicant opens himself to the inflow of Lord Siva's grace."

Satguru and Sivanadiyar Akash

Akash starts off by reading aloud from the pledges of purity, humility and obedience

He then signs each one

\"There\

s no scripture that surpasses what you\'ll find inside yourself\" - Bodhinatha'

Other monks attend the ceremony

\"It is the day-to-day reactions to circumstance that indicate the attainment and not mere recorded knowledge about the path.\" - Gurudeva

\"Be an example of transparency, not worldliness. A holy place is made because of the people in it.\"

\"Siva\

s devotees accept all experiences, however difficult, as their self-created karma, without cringing or complaining. Theirs is the power of surrender, accepting what is as it is and dealing with it courageously. Aum.\" - Gurudeva'

Satguru then signs the pledge booklet

A vibhuti blessing

Sivanadiyar is then given robes to wear as he moves his way closer to full monastic vows.

Aum Namah Sivaya

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