Below are some of the preparations for Mahasivaratri night at Iraivan Temple, plus today’s morning golden light on Kadavul Temple dhvajastambha.
Mahasivaratri Preparations Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“The sequential pattern of evolution is experienced by each individual in a microcosmic sense in each lifetime. Even if they have been experienced in a previous life, the lessons contained in each stage are, in a sense, relearned in childhood. If we have previously learned them, then they will be quickly mastered. But if we have not learned these lessons in another life, we draw to ourselves in this life the experiences that we need to do so. This knowledge is an inheritance that comes along with the physical body. In other words, experiences from other lives affect the patterns of experience in this life. With basic inherited knowledge, the soul develops an intellectual mind through the good graces of its own personal karma and destiny, provided his intellectual mind is in accordance and in harmony with the precepts of his religion. If not, he has problems. Those problems can be overcome, but they are problems while they are being overcome. If his beliefs are not in harmony with his religion, that conflict can stagnate and congest his natural advancement and must be resolved before he can move on to the second stage. “
The Final Conclusions For All Mankind, Part Three Read More »
A couple of our common tropical hibiscus varieties planted in the ground are so resilient that you can just take cuttings from a mature plant, stick them directly in the ground and they’ll grow new plants. With more complex varieties, not so easy. For a long time we were temporarily putting cuttings in pots that serve as a gentler way station for them to put out new roots. After a while we would transfer them to the ground. However, this method was not always successful, especially with more complex hybrids, and took many months to accomplish.
Then we heard about air layering, a faster, more reliable propagation method whereby you expose the inner stem of a young branch and wrap a growing material around it, such as coco peat or sphagnum peat moss, held together by foil or a plastic bag. It only takes about 1.5 to two months for new roots to form and be ready to transfer to the ground. We are having good success with it. The slideshow above shows the process from start to finish for a fluffy double white hibiscus.
Propagating Hibiscus Through Air Layering Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“When a beginning devotee comes to the temple to worship Śiva, he sees Śiva as a man, a person, not unlike himself, yet more than a man, for He is a God, the God of Gods, so powerful, so aware and complete within Himself that He is the center of endless universes. In coming to worship Śiva, this devotee prostrates himself before the Deity just as if he were in the presence of the grandest potentate or majesty imaginable. Śiva is that to him. We know how wonderful it can be to approach a distinguished and honored personage. It makes us feel special. It brings out the best within us. The same thing happens to this man. He feels himself in the presence of the Supreme Lord, and he brings the best of himself to the temple. “
The Final Conclusions For All Mankind, Part Two Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“Religion as it is known today is an offshoot of various ethnic groups that gathered together in the twilight of human history and forged systems of law, worship, culture and belief. The unique circumstances of geography, language, communications and race isolated one group from another, and differences were born and preserved: differences of belief and custom. As these small communities varied, so did the systems which satisfied each one. From their inception they absorbed the singular thought patterns postulated by their culture and their leaders, and these distinctions were perpetuated from father to son, from guru to disciple, from one generation to the next. The leader was the shaman, the priest, the āchārya, the philosopher-king. He was well versed in religious matters among them and naturally became the authority, the tribal priest. Religion in the early days was tribal, for man’s early experience was tribal. Being tribal, religion was political. The political character has been preserved, as we find it today, in the world’s many religions, which are, for the most part, the common beliefs of the various races and/or nations on the Earth.“
The Final Conclusions For All Mankind, Part One Read More »
The ground-level perimeter of Iraivan is planted with two types of grass, separated in the middle by paver stones that form a pradakshina path. One can perform the circumambulation walking on the stones or on the light green short grass next to them. For a while now, the northwest corner of this grassy area and paver stones has been sunken, accumulating mud and standing water. We are now in process of rectifying this. Paver stones in the corner were removed and dirt brought in to raise the area. A pipe was placed under the new dirt to help channel water around the corner and away. When our employee returns to work, he’ll finish re-installing the paver stones.
Iraivan Northwest Corner Buildup Read More »
