Kauai Aadheenam

When we acquired an adjacent 17 acres of land many years ago, it came with a wooden house built on stilts. The thick wooden stilts at the outer four outer corners gradually began to disintegrate at the base due to rain damage. It was reaching a state of potential danger, so we hired a team to temporarily prop up each corner of the house so they cut off the bottom section of each wooden pillar and fill that space with concrete. The photos show the nearly-final results, with just some concrete staining left to match the color of the remaining wood pillar.

The third photo shows one of our large banana stalks heading into ripening stage.

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.

“Lord Gaṇeśa is the first God a Hindu comes to know. As the Lord of Categories, His first objective is to bring order into the devotee’s life, to settle him into the correct and proper flow of his dharma—the pattern of duties, responsibilities and expectations suited to the maturity of his soul. As the Lord of Obstacles, He deftly wields His noose and mace, dislodging impediments and holding avenues open until the individual is set in a good pattern, one that will fulfill his spiritual needs rather than frustrate them.“

December 24, Green

Nurturing Harmony through Cultural Arts

The sadhana of day four is to draw forth the vibration of joy and harmony that comes from music, art, drama and the dance. Family, relatives and friends gather for satsanga to share and enjoy their artistic gifts. Children dance and sing. Poems are recited. Plays are presented. When the program is over, all sit together before Pancha Ganapati, Patron of the Arts and Guardian of Culture, discussing Hindu Dharma and making plans to bring more cultural refinements into each household. More gifts are placed before Lord Ganapati.

Self & Samadhi Audiobook

We continue to create a audio version of each book that Gurudeva authored, using his professionally cloned voice. The small book, Self & Samadhi, was the final one. It is now complete and available here. The Foreword and chapter titles are rendered in a different voice.

For example, here is Chapter One–