Kauai Aadheenam

Report from devotees in London:

Vanakkam, Namaste and Aloha,

Jai Ganapati!

With great joy, we humbly share news of the much-anticipated visit by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Shanmuganathaswami to London in August 2025.

Six years since their last visit, the Satguru and Swami were warmly welcomed at London Heathrow by devotees with garlands and flowers, before continuing on to rest after significant travels.

The following evening marked the first gathering, a satsang at the Santhirapala home. After a traditional welcome, accompanied by the recital of thevarams, devotees were uplifted by a melodic chanting of the Sri Rudram, offered by disciples of Sri Jeyandrapuriswami and father–son duo Keshav and Jijjit Thukaram. This set the divine vibration for the satsang, further elevated by the iconic voice of London’s orthuvar, Sri Sami Thandapani, who led the London Pan Isai group in renditions of Thirumurai and Natchinthinai.

The presence of the Parampara was profoundly felt, especially through Satguru Bodhinatha’s upadesha, in which he spoke with clarity on questions often faced by Saivites in the West, such as “Aren’t all religions the same?” He expanded on the four goals of life—dharma, artha, kama, moksha—offering practical wisdom for spiritual seekers. The evening was further blessed with the Samaya Diksha of Niraj Thaker following decades of preparation, concluding with sacred vibhuti blessings for all in attendance.

The next day brought an impromptu vegan lunch with close friends of the Aadheenam. Over beautifully prepared Japanese-inspired dishes, conversations flowed from the philosophical to the practical, and many cherished the opportunity to personally connect with Satguru and Swami.

The finale of the four-day visit was a Youth Workshop on Saivism at Shree Ghanapathy Temple in Wimbledon—a temple with long-standing ties to Kauai Aadheenam. Satguru and Swami were lovingly welcomed with devotional thevarams and escorted to the first floor shrine of Paramaguru Siva Yogaswami. The décor, themed to honour the Parampara flowing from Lord Nataraja, provided the perfect setting. A short gift was offered to Satguru Bodhinatha by 9 year old Anju Kumaran who lovingly and expressively delivered a speech on the life and times of Paramaguru Yogaswami.

Satguru Bodhinatha’s talks at the workshop were both profound and accessible, covering topics such as Lord Ganesha, the chakras, the ladder of consciousness, the purusharthas, the yogas, and much more. The youth listened attentively, some taking notes, and engaged in question-and-answer sessions. The closing comments deliver by Saivite Youth relayed Satguru Bodhinatha’s unique ability to explain complex concepts simply, while showing their relevance to daily life as Saivites in the West, left a lasting impression. Geetha and Satkurunathan Maheshwaran, a dynamic husband and wife duo, who industriously work to support Hindu activities within the UK and are senior management at Shree Ghanapathy Temple, were duly honoured for their kind efforts and love in supporting this beautiful visit (and many prior).

Alas, after a whirlwind four-day stay, Satguru Bodhinatha and Shanmuganathaswami departed for Oslo—pausing for a final coffee with devotees at the airport. The visit was truly divinely timed, filled with love, grace and blessings for all.

Aum Namah Sivaya.

The assembled shrine (without the granite piece)

The large crate it had arrived in

The monks assemble it in the new building

The granite section

The original concept for the shrine in the Siddhidatta Kulam’s new office, started many years ago after acquired a set of murtis for the new building. The kulam’s monks considered building one themselves or buying a pre-made shrine, but neither option was feasible at the time. That’s when they reached out to Kanda Alaha, a skilled cabinet maker and a longtime devotee of Gurudeva and Bodhinatha. Kanda happily stepped forward to help. With dimensions and drawings from Yoginathaswami, he began constructing the shrine.

After a year of dedicated work, the shrine was finished, crated and shipped all the way from California to Kauai! It arrived three days ago, and the monks were thrilled to unpack and assemble it. The shrine is truly special, with a carved Aum on the storage drawer and a beautiful section of black granite—which was an extra piece that had been originally made for Iraivan Temple.

We are so grateful to Kanda for his time, his talent and his hard work.

Jai Ganesha, Muruga and Siva!

Aum Namah Sivaya

Each season during Sadhu Paksha, the monks of Kauai Aadheenam enter a period of retreat and quiet reflection. Morning routines shift from the usual group worship and meditation, to include silent walks through the monastery grounds or other personal sadhana. It gives us a time to observe and connect with our natural surroundings. This timelapse offers a glimpse of today’s warm, tropical sunrise.

“We are divine souls on a wondrous journey. We came from God, live in God and are evolving into oneness with God. We are, in truth, the Truth we seek.“

– Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Aum Namah Sivaya!

Happy Ardra Nakshatra!

Recently, Madan Ganesh from Bengaluru created a small web app that specialized in playing Master Course audio lessons. Note that it currently draws on the formerly non-Gurudeva-narrated version of Dancing with Siva audio lessons, but that will be updated in the near future. You can access it here or click the image below.

One of the magnificent 12-inch flowers from our pitcher plant vine

Rains and morning sunlight produced this recent rainbow over Iraivan Temple

Mahalingeshvara bedecked in blooming flowers

The aadheenam’s only yellow jade vine is also in bloom. Be careful though, flowers from this hue come with little spines!

Evening sun shines through the rudrakshas and bamboo

Our very happy, red tiger lily blooms near Satguru’s office

It’s the only one of this particular type that we have blooming right now. For some reason it will often bloom in the dark of night, and then close midday.

Nene have been stopping by this month. They are our state bird, and always nice to see

The temple gets a sudden rain shower

An eye in the sky! Perhaps somebody is looking out for us.

The Ganesha near our entrance gives protection to a little gold-dust day gecko on His nose

Our monks recently found some aloha near the ocean’s edge

The chariot parades around Iraivan Temple during our recent celebration of Guru Purnima

This has been quite an energizing month at the Aadheenam. We’ve had many guests come through, mostly to attend Guru Purnima celebrations. We’ve also been having bright, sunny day’s, interspersed with sudden, deafening deluges of tropical rains from Kauai’s fast moving clouds. After our cooler spring months, much of our surrounding nature has begun to grow and bloom rapidly, aided by this onset of water and sunlight. In the slideshow are a few photos of some of the sites from our jungle canopies and waterways.

Tirumantiram 2010:

Śiva assumes the form of infinite smallness by being within the minutest atom. At the same time, He assumes the form of infinite vastness by holding all the universes within Himself, such that each universe appears like a small atom. Lord Īśvara who is incomparable and matchless, simultaneously presents Himself within all the objects of the world, both moving and inert. He pervades the entirety of space and all the worlds. There is not even a minute space that is unoccupied by Him. In spite of this presence of Śiva, the worldly-minded do not realize His inseparable oneness with each soul and His presence in everything.