Pilgrims' Path

Some days back we officially began the construction of a new and improved Pilgrims' Path along San Marga. It will be a major upgrade to the visitor experience. The yellow line in the image above is the path of the path.

Following his 1975 visions of God Siva, Gurudeva created San Marga, naming it "the straight path to God." From then to now it has served well, but has never been civilized enough to make the walk to Iraivan Temple easy or pleasant. It is rough, full of harsh gravel, potholes and mud when it rains.

Under Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami's direction, the San Marga Pilgrims' Path is being properly repaired and upgraded. It will be raised with rock and gravel to assure that the almost-daily rains wash off and don't create puddles of water to wade through. After compacting, sand will be added, and a special eight-foot-wide polycarbonate landscaping grid, called EZ Roll Grass Pavers, will be laid for stability. The hexagonal cells of the pavers will be filled with rich compost into which grass seed will be sown. When mature, the grass will provide a soft green carpet on which pilgrims can walk, even bare-footed, along the entire 3,400-foot path--from the Rudraksha Forest, down San Marga to the Svayambhu Sivalingam, then continuing to the Wailua River and along the river road and up to the temple entry staircase.

It will take some months to complete. Yesterday a laser light was employed to survey the straight path, so it will be as straight as a photon's travels. In the slideshow you can see the beginnings of the project.

This is a 1975 photo of what Gurudeva liked to humorously call Sand Marga. That is the Swayambhu Lingam square at the far end. How things have changed!

A truck brings sand to the lingam square.

That is the past. If you go out to Iraivan today, you will see the work progressing.

Dennis Wong is moving materials, soil, rock and two sizes of gravel.

Here he has placed 6-inch rock as a solid base to raise the sections of the path that are constantly wet, so future pilgrims will walk on dry ground even if it rains.

Gravel is coming in almost daily from the quarry.

Dennis is pleased that we have entered June, the driest month of the year here. This allows him to make progress more days of the week.

The path goes through a fruit grove.

This is the base course, filling the lowest spots.

Then gravel on top of the rock. Next will come a few inches of sand.

Ultimately all of this disappears and one will see only soft green grass.

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