Siva's Golden Eye

One of the creative things happening at the monastery is the golden Rudraksha beads. Our trees are now in full blossom with more flowers than we have ever had since the forest was planted in 1978. Of late, we are experimenting with applying 23-karat gold leaf to the home-grown seeds. They are beautiful, something never done before, so still a bit experimental. They make wonderful gifts, a precious combination of spiritual meaning and sheer beauty. To one of the monks, "These should be in a Gucci shop in Milan. They are that elegant." But, for now, they are only in a humble MiniMela shop on a little island in the Pacific Ocean.

A new batch is delivered by the island mission.

The contrast of ruddy seed and real gold is stunning.

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