Kauai Aadheenam

Love of the Gods, Part Four

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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 Hindu looks to the Gods for very practical assistance. He devoutly believes that the Gods from their dwelling in the Third World are capable of consciously working with the forces of evolution in the universe and they could then certainly manage a few simpler problems. He devoutly believes that the Gods are given to care for man on the planet and see him through his tenure on Earth, and that their decisions are vast in their implications. Their overview spans time itself, and yet their detailed focus upon the complicated fabric of human affairs is just as awesome.“

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Love of the Gods, Part Three

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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.

“Like the Hindu religion itself, the Hindu temple is able to absorb and encompass everyone. It never says you must worship in this way, or you must be silent because there is a ceremony in progress. It accepts all, rejects none. It encourages all to come to God and does not legislate a single form of devotion. Hindus always want to live near a temple, so they can frequent it regularly. People arbitrate their difficulties in the vicinity of the temple. The Hindu people treat the temple very seriously and also very casually. It’s a formal-informal affair. Between pūjās, some may sit and talk and chat while others are worshiping. You might even find two people having a dispute in the temple, and the Deity is the arbitrator of their quarrel, giving clarity of mind on both sides.“

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2025 Krittika Deepam at Iraivan Temple

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A few days ago we celebrated the new annual Krittika Dipam lamp lighting and bonfire. It began with the normal monthly Krittika homa in the morning. The regular afternoon 4pm puja then took on magical hues as various extra deepas were lit within and just outside the mukha mandapam. Rows of electric lights were hung around the temple to provide soft illumination as late afternoon gave way to early dusk and then nighttime. After the puja, we paraded around the mukha mandapam and maha mandapam, lead by Satguru carrying a large deepam which was then used to light our simple bonfire out front made of dry palm fronds. It burned up very quickly, perhaps in a minute or less. Ash was then passed around to place on our third eye, followed by final aratis and prasadam inside the temple.

An AI overview describes Krittika Deepam thusly:

“Krittika Deepam (or Karthigai Deepam) celebrates the divine light of Lord Shiva, symbolizing the triumph of spiritual knowledge over ignorance, marked by lighting clay lamps to dispel darkness, invoke prosperity, and honor Lord Murugan (Kartikeya) and the Krittika (Pleiades) stars that nurtured him. It signifies enlightenment, divine union (Shiva-Parvati), and removing ego, culminating in a massive bonfire (Mahadeepam) at Tiruvannamalai, representing Shiva’s infinite flame. 

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Kadavul Guestbook, and Sadhu Paksha begins

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Morning sunrise at Shanmuga Banyan

The first two weeks of April, August and December are called Sadhu Paksha here in the Aadheenam, during which the monks have a individualized early morning routine. We can do personal sadhanas on various parts of the grounds, and catch up on extra rest if needed.

For many years we had a handwritten guestbook in Kadavul Temple for visitors to leave their contact information if they wished. We consider the email address as the most useful information, as we can conveniently send a followup note sharing our services some time after they visit. While handwriting is consider quaint these days, we often find the letters written to be questionable at best, and illegible at worst. Too much time was spent trying to decipher email addresses, not to mention typing them into a computer list in the first place. Also, many people did not leave a email address at all. We finally decided to switch to a digital guestbook, which not only encourages correct spelling and is fully legible, but allows us to simply copy all the email addresses for a given period and paste into a followup note.

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New Mower For Himalayan Acres

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The primary task across the river on our Himalayan Acres agricultural land is to keep the vigorous guinea and elephant grasses mowed down next to and between the rows of noni and hardwood trees. However, the tractor must stay a distance from the tree to avoid bumping and breaking its lateral branches. To accomplish this and still mow grass right next to the trunk, we mount mowers that stick several feet out to the right side, beyond the tires. Our old Ford tractor has just been fitted with a new rotary mower on the back which is stronger than the previous mower. It needs to be strong enough for when the grass sometimes gets extra tall and thick. Some extra reinforcement was added to handle the weight of the mower.

At the front of the tractor is mounted a small rotary mower that sticks out even further. It is able to safely cut right next to the trunk because the blade is underneath a slightly wider circular disk which turns freely and can roll against the trunk.

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