Shankaranatha preparing all the woods to bring back to Hale Hana
Jai Ganesha!
The monks of Siddhidata Kulam are currently undergoing the final stages of the construction of their new shop and office building. Recently Sannyasin Vishvanathaswami and Sadhaka Shankaranatha have been working on making the blue gum window sills and trim for the second floor office. Over the past few weeks they milled the lumber, cut it roughly to size, and assigned each sill to a window. There are 13 windows in total for the second floor office, and they are now working to sand them and prepare the wood for the final installation. Once they have completed on this, the second floor will undergo the second stage which is finish the walls of the office space. Aum!
Quotes of the Day
Meditation is a long journey, a pilgrimage into the mind itself.
Bhairava on the way to help other monks in the monastery
Drama King
The “good boy” look
A naughty dog
The playful form of Bhairava
Yes he also attends the morning meeting along with other monks
Having good time in the beach when he was a pup
Bhairava when he was 8 weeks old
Jai Ganesha!
We are not sure how many of you are aware that for a while now we have had another monk (and protector) in a non-human form. Yes! A year ago our Siddhidata Kulam talaivar, Yoginathaswami, bought a male German Shepherd dog and named him Bhairava. He is one of use now. Before we deep dive into Bhairava’s story, we want to share this ai response describing this particular breed of dog:
“German Shepherds are highly intelligent, loyal, and confident dogs, known for their protective and courageous nature. They form strong bonds with their families and are affectionate, especially with children, but can be reserved around strangers. Energetic and eager to please, they excel in tasks requiring focus and are highly trainable, making them ideal working dogs as well as loving companions. Their playful yet disciplined demeanor thrives in active households where they receive consistent training, mental stimulation, and exercise to keep them happy and well-behaved.”
So from that you can guess that he is loyal to us, with many of the practical qualities of a guard dog. This means he will go to great lengths to protect his family. Swami has been training him along with an instructor who has been teaching Swami how to train Bhairava and teach him commands. Bhairava is a wonderful addition to the monastery and always cheers us up. Other monks also get a chance to take care of him by feeding him and taking him for walks. One time, Swami and Bhairava were going for an evening walk, and suddenly a crazed, wild boar appeared. It took a charge at Swami, but Bhairava scared it off, saving the day! He reminds us of Kala Bhairava the destroyer of darkness. Of course, like all dogs, he has a bit of an overly-playful side to him as well. He will excitedly run up to anyone new. He will bark at you until you give your attention and pet him, and with certain people who try to give him a command he will simply ignore you. He reminds us that even dogs are individuals and must be treated with respect. We all are very happy to have him with us. Aum!
Mayilnathaswami and Nirvani Tejadevanatha installing the shades properly
Nirvani is drilling the shades to the pole
Vel is arranging the shades on the other side
This is our cat Bandit taking a nap after working so hard
Jai Ganesha!
Several days ago, we captured a moment of the monks of the Siddhidata Kulam working on the greenhouse. Mayilnathaswami and Nirvani Tejadevanatha were installing the shades that drape down the sides of the building .They are an important part of the greenhouse because they actively control the temperature depending on the level of sunshine, maintaining a regulated environment for the tomatoes and peppers. Our team is working tirelessly to get the shades installed properly before the tomatoes start to grow. Aum!
Photos from the day’s first event, the Krittika Homa
Preparation has began
The main Kumbha
Vel concentrating on the homa
Jai Ganesha!
Today is a special day for us because we observe Maha Krittika in the morning, Pradosha Puja in the afternoon and then Śivalaya Dipam in the evening. This morning in Iraivan Temple we held our monthly Krittika Homa with extra blessings on this annual event. Our priest Pravin Kumar performed the homa while Mayilnathaswami was assisting. Satguru attended the puja along with devotees. The abhishekam was done with kumbhas passed into the sanctum by the monks. It was a four-hour long event and everyone who attended felt the divine vibration. Later this evening will enjoy Pradosha and Śivalaya Dipam. Aum!
Iraivan Day is a day each month that the whole monastery devotes to work related to Iraivan Temple and the San Marga Sanctuary. First thing in the morning, we all gather around in the Guru Pitham and prepare the month’s paper newsletters to be mailed to devotees. Once done with that each monk and taskforcer is assigned to do another task, by Yogi Haranandinatha. Here is a look into what Vel was doing for his Iraivan Day. He began by cleaning the Rudraksha Forest Ganesha which hadn’t been cleaned for quite a long time. Vel was very thorough, and Ganesha is now looking very neat and clean. Once done with that, he went to Murugan hill and cleaned the area around the granite Vel in top of Muruga Hill. Once finished, Vel took the Nataraja statue from the Saivite Satguru Path and washed and shined it well. It also hadn’t been touched for a very long time. As you can see, Vel took his tasks seriously and gave 100% effort. Aum!
The hydroponic growing bins, before the plants are planted
These are the new tomato plants
Ta-da! Planted where they belong!
In other news, Sadhaka Shankaranatha working hard to keep the weeds under control
Jai Ganesha!
A few months ago our greenhouse was affected by bugs, and the cost was our previous planting of tomatoes. All of them were affected and it required us to shut down the entire greenhouse and remove the plants. After the complete shut down the Siddhidata Kulam monks cleaned the space, inside and out. After that, the mathavasi started to work on growing the new tomatoes. Now the process of planting those vines has started, as you can see in the above photos. It’s just the beginning phase and very soon these little plant will start to produce tomatoes. Aum.
