Kauai Aadheenam

A New Aviary for Nimu

Jai Ganesha!

We’re sure most of us are familiar with Nimu, the Monastery’s African Grey parrot. He was gifted to the monastery at three months old, and was raised to adulthood by the monks in the Media Studio. Several years ago, one of the monks had built a small 20ft greenhouse for growing grapes and roses, and over the last half of 2024 it was decommissioned and upgraded into its new form as a parrot aviary. On the auspicious day of Ardra Darshanam, at the end of the year, Nimu moved from his temporary childhood home in the Media Studio, out to this new natural abode—and he LOVES IT!

Since the end of last year he’s been enjoying the company of his other feathered friends: a group of blue budgies and a pair of colorful Jendey Conures (they all get along very well). Every day, monks get to visit Nimu’s paradisiacal mosquito-free enclosure to sit with him and supply him with cheek scratches and treats. Monks picking nearby temple flowers like to participate in a complex back and forth of whistling and “Siva Siva.” In contrast to Nimu’s time indoors, he now has loads of sunshine, fresh air, breezy plants and space to fly around. He’s also befriended the wild birds who come to sit on branches nearby to teach him their songs, all of which he has already learned perfectly. At night, he sleeps near a wooden Ganesha, and awakens to a warm sunrise and the squawks of his slightly-batty conure roommates. Aum.

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Monastic Life Video

Jai Ganesha!

We know some of you have seen this video before, but many have not, so we thought it a good idea to show it again here on TAKA. It is a video made by Sivanadiyar Kodiswara, interviewing our monks about monastic life here. The goal is to give greater insight for both those who may be considering monastic life, and those who simply would like to know more about the monastery and our monks.

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Aerial Photos – January 26, 2025

Aum Namah Sivaya!

Happy Pradosha Puja day! With such nice weather we decided to take the drone up for some fresh aerial photos of Iraivan Temple. These also give us a good view of the new temporary service path around the temple, which is in place until funds are raised to build the final stone path. They also give us a snapshot of the growth of our temple gardens and landscaping. Aum.

The best thing to do when you begin meditation is to live in a good environment, among good people.

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

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A Blessing for Our Kubota Trackhoe

Jai Ganesha!

On Ardra Darshanam, our new (to us) Kubota trackhoe arrived, ending its long journey across the ocean from California, where it had been a well-maintained piece of rental equipment. The trackhoe replaces our previous machine, which was recently sold. These little machines are invaluable for our many projects throughout the aadheenam, and with such a small size, they can fit into areas of the gardens that larger machines can’t reach. The day after its arrival, we held a little blessing at the Ganesha shrine in front of the Siddhidatta Kulam’s new shop. Satguru and several monks attended while Sannyasin Tillainathaswami conducted a small puja and blessing for the vehicle, followed by its initial operation and the digging of a small gravel pile to celebrate. Aum.

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Devotional Song Library

Jai Ganesha!

We’re pleased to announce access to our Devotional Songs Library, now available on our website at himalayanacademy.com/audio-songs. After many years we’ve accumulated a collection of music of varying recorded quality, much of it sung by devotees, including Natchintanai, Tirumurai and many more. This has been a continued request since our website update. Migrating data correctly form our old website is a slight challenge with the many different ways the data was formatted, so we’re happy to finally be able to release this initial access. Aum!

Enjoy!

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