A 4-ounce bag ready to ship. Notice the see-through window. A typical daily use is to add a teaspoon to morning juice or a protein shake. It has a surprisingly sweet taste, unlike the juice which is quite medicinal (as most medicines are).
The Polynesians’ double hulled canoes traveled thousands of miles in open waters and storms.
Our two dehydrating chambers.
The chips ready for the milling machine which grinds them into a fine powder.
This is the powdering machine. It takes about an hour and a half to powder the chips from the dehydrators.
A bucket of finished powder. It’ll be about 6% moisture content.
The powder is also put in capsules, a preferred product for some people.
The first Polynesians reached Hawaiʻi around 300–800 CE. It was a time in India of the regional kingdoms of the Pallavas and Pandyas, a time of great bhakti movements and temple building. These first seafaring adventurers probably came from the Marquesas (south of Hawaii and East of Australia), with later waves from Tahiti. They sailed in double-hulled voyaging canoes using stars, currents and birds to navigate. The journey of roughly 2,000–2,500 miles took 3–6 weeks. It was hazardous—storms, starvation and dehydration posed real risks, and some voyages likely failed. They brought “canoe plants” and animals choosing things they needed for survival in the new land: taro, breadfruit, coconut, banana, sugarcane, pigs, dogs and chickens. Kauaʻi was among the earliest islands settled.
They brought the noni tree as their primary medicine, a fruit which strengthens the human immune system helping it to fight off all kinds of ailments. Fast forward to today, when the monks tend 10 acres of noni trees and ferment the fruit into a healing juice. They also make noni powder. It is a new product for us, and seems promising. One Swiss company imports it to add “organic Hawaiian noni” to their superfood products.
The process is simple but time-consuming. It begins with harvesting ripe, firm fruit from the tree. The fruit should be mature and mostly white, but not overripe or soft enough to fall apart. Next comes sorting and washing with water to remove dust and debris.
After washing, the fruit is allowed to ripen further in 30-gallon food-grade containers for up to a week until it becomes uniformly soft. Once ready, it is processed through a pulping machine to remove seeds and create a smooth mash. This pulp is spread in thin layers on trays for drying.
Drying happens in two dehydrators until the mash becomes crisp. The dried product is then tested for moisture to ensure stability and shelf life.
The final step is breaking the large thin sheets into chips and pulverizing the hard, dried fruit into a fine powder. The finished powder is packed into sealed bags, labeled and stored in a cool, dry place awaiting shipping.
This panel summarizes the mission/purpose of the monastery.
It’s a simple detail but it took many years to create.
Local craftsmen install one of the panels.
The had to drill deep into the hard granite, so they brought Tiny to do it
Almost a decade to sculpt the perimeter wall and the frames for the inset panels.
Recent visitors have asked the monks, “Iraivan is designed to last a thousand years. Will the bronze panels have to be replaced before that?”
A great question since ordinary metal is seen to rust and disintegrate in a couple of centuries. We dove into it to respond meaningfully. What we found was that bronze works from ancient India (Mohenjodaro) are alive and well 4,500 years after they were created. Bronze works go back farther, 6,500 years back in Serbia. Above you are looking at the famed Nebra Sky Disc (c. 1800–1600 BCE) fabricated in present-day Germany. A flat bronze disc with gold inlays, sometimes considered the earliest “designed surface” bronze object. It shows celestial symbols—arguably the closest early example to a true decorated bronze panel.
Our Iraivan panels will survive as long as the temple, carrying forward the history and mysticism of the temple.
You can explore the art and text of any (or all) of the panels here:
The book proof arrives from Amazon with a grey “Not for Sale” band across the cover
Table of Contents
Translator Dr. B. Natarajan hears Tayumanavar’s songs for the first time
The poet’s love of religious harmony, samarasam, is depicted
Ten of the works of art are by Kerala muralist, Suresh Muthukulam. Here he shows a Vedantist and a Siddhantist both receiving Siva’s blessings. Their love of Siva is feeding both traditions through the intertwined roots below.
The Muruga temple near Trichy where many of the songs were composed
Inside the Muruga temple, Tayumanavar composes on palm leaves
The itinerant mystic poet would often scold Siva
A typical page showing the songs in Tamil and English
We are celebrating the publishing of our latest book, The Songs of Tayumanavar. Most CyberCadets will have followed our long process (some four or five years in all) from Kerala art to Singapore audio recordings to design and typesetting and editing and more art by DALL*e, and now it is done. The proof arrived some days back. Finding no errors, we released it for sale. It is available here: nall.ai/tayu-book-amazon. It’s a full-color, 540-page tome, so it is a bit pricey, but it is full of some of the most amazing mystical/devotional poems ever composed. As with all of our books, it will be online in a couple of weeks in PDF format, free to the world. The PDF will make a great gift to all who love Siva. We think it will prove to be the most authentic English translation ever done. The remarkable work (all 1,452 songs) was personally gifted to Gurudeva in the 1980s by Dr. B. Natarajan, the translator.
Sadasivanathaswami’s sister Devi, her son Brian and his wife Kimberly are on the island for a week or more and took a tour of the garden together. There were some stunning botanical things happening as they drove around and discovered. Devi reports: “Everyone is completely overwhelmed with the beauty of the garden. Brian and Kimberly say this is the most beautiful garden in the world—they both love plants.” The following day Devi and Swami went hunting for seeds in the garden, and today she filled two pots and sowed seeds of a rare tropical palm and a Gold Vine from Australia. Good job everyone!
The mondo at Iraivan Temple does well in some areas, but suffers in others
ChatGPT portrays the volunteers at work in April
Kadavul’s thriving patch, planted in 1975
Up close.
A good shot of the issues around Iraivan
A ficus bonsai that charms visitors
This one is Ficus microcarpa with its thick, oval leaves and glossy surface
As the third photo in today’s gallery shows, the mondo grass around Kadavul Temple is lush and happy, a sea of green that waves in the wind and gives a nurturing feeling which, importantly, is virtually maintenance-free. When we planted mondo (which is actually a Japanese lily) around Iraivan Temple, this was our vision. But it has proven difficult to attain the kind of healthy maturity out there, and the team has been struggling for some three years now, and losing the battle.
Cue the cavalry! Yesterday a four-man team of agronomists visited the monastery to help. They are experts, from the staff of the global company Corteva Agriscience on the island’s west side. They spent a couple of hours assessing the conditions, then took soil samples which will go to their lab for analysis. They expect to find that our problem is a lack of specific nutrients, and they even said they would provide needed amendments when the time comes. Plus, they want to bring a team of 12 skilled volunteers to work for a day getting the mondo on its feet.
The mondo team is much encouraged by this unexpected and generous assistance. We asked ChatGPT to imagine the day of help, and slide two is the result.
We end the show today with the two new bonsai trees Tandu Sivanathan placed in the Kadavul pool. Amazing!
Above ChatGPT imagines Gurudeva under a Bodhi Tree as we all chant his 108 names, as we did for decades during his life and continue to do every Chitra puja, which happens to be today! With Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami’s oversight, a new, corrected, improved edition of his formal Ashtottra Namavali has been created. This will be our official name list going forward. Thank you, Gurudeva!
108 Names of Gurudeva, 2026
1. Aum Śri Śivāya Subramuniyāya Namaḥ– Hail to Sivaya Subramuniya
2. Guru Paramparā Dhariṇe – Praise to him who upholds the Guru Paramparā.
3. Sādhujana Vardhanāya – Hail to him who strengthens the monastic order.
4. Sarvajana Priyāya – Hail to him who loves all people.
5. Yogaswāmī Śiṣyāya –Praise to the disciple of Yogaswami.
6. Sarva Parityāgine – Hail to the one who renounced everything.
7. Paścimā Gurave – Prostrations to the guru from the West.
8. Nātha Sampradāyine – Prostrations to the embodiment of the Nātha Sampradāya.
9. Mahātmane – Hail to the great soul.
10. Hawai Nivāsine – Hail to him who resides in Hawai‘i.
11. Śiva Gotrāya – Praise to him of the Śiva Gotra.
12. Himācala Vaṁśodbhavāya – Prostrations to him of Himalayan lineage.
13. Advaita Prakaṭanāya – Hail to him who proclaims the oneness of all.
14. Yoga Darśanāya – Praise to the revealer of yoga.
15. Kailāsa Paramparāya – Praise to him of the Kailāsa Paramparā.
16. Jagadācāryāya – Hail to the world teacher.
17. Maharṣi Gotrāya – Praise to him who perpetuates the Maharishi Gotra.
18. Mahimā Dāyakāya – Prostrations to the bestower of greatness.
19. Avyakta Rūpiṇe – Hail to him whose form is unmanifest.
20. Gāyatrī Pārāyaṇāya – Praise to him devoted to the Gāyatrī Mantra.
21. Acyuta Śaktaye – Hail to him of imperishable power.
22. Gaṇadeva Priyāya – Hail to him who loves Lord Gaṇeśa.
23. Śubhra Nāmne – Prostrations to him whose name is radiant.
24. Śiva Kaṭākṣāya – To the one blessed by Śiva’s glance.
25. Sarva Loka Vāgmine – Prostrations to the eloquent one of all worlds.
26. Ekatva Mata Pravartakāya – Praise to the champion of the doctrine of oneness.
27. Bhaktavatsala Priyāya – Hail to him who tenderly loves his devotees.
28. Puṇyasthala Yātrikāya – Praise to him who pilgrimages to holy places.
29. Kauai Nadītīra Vāsine – Prostrations to him who dwells on Kauai’s riverbank.
30. Śaiva Sabhā Nāyakāya – Prostrations to the leader of the Śaivite fellowship.
31. Yogadīkṣā Dāyakāya – Hail to him who gives yoga initiation.
32. Nāmadīkṣā Dāyakāya – Prostrations to him who gives nāma dīkṣā.
33. Taho Vāpītīra Vāsine – Hail to him who grew up on the shore of Lake Tahoe.
34. Sanmārga Darśine – Hail to him who envisioned San Mārga.
35. Sanmārga Sthāpakāya – Hail to him who founded San Mārga.
36. Paścime Loka Sthitāya – Prostrations to him who is established in the West.
37. Nātha Sampradāya Dīpāya – Hail to the light of the Nātha Sampradāya.
38. Satguru ParamparāRakṣakāya – Hail to him who safeguards the Satguru lineage.
39. Siṁha Garjanā Pātrāya – Prostrations to the vessel of the lion’s roar.
40. Sanmārga Vaṁśāya – Praise to him of the San Mārga lineage.
41. Śānti Liṅga Pratiṣṭhā-pakāya – To the establisher of the Liṅga of peace (in Kopay).
42. Āśrama Pīṭhādhipataye – Prostrations to the abbot of the Kailāsa Pīṭha.
43. Divya Pāda Dhāriṇe – Hail to him who wears the divine pādukā.
44. Karadaṇḍa Dhāriṇe – Praise to him who holds the daṇḍa.
45. Śum Bhāṣā Udbhāvitāya – Prostrations to the creator of the Shum language.
46. Antarjyoti Prabhāya – Hail to him of radiant inner light.
47. Dhavala Jyoti Dhāriṇe – Praise to him who holds the clear white light.
48. Śaṅkara-rūpāya – Obeisance to him who is the very form of Śaṅkara.
49. Parivrājine – Prostrations to the world-wandering sage.
50. Alaveṭṭi Āśrama Sthāpakāya – Praise to the founder of Alaveddy Ashram.
51. Kopai Koṭṭam Pataye –Prostrations to the protector of Kopay Koṭṭam.
52. Nānā Dāyaka Gurave – Praise to the guru of manifold giving.
53. Parārtha Jīvitāya – Praise to him who lives for others.
54. Sarvaloka Priyāya – Prostrations to the lover of all worlds.
55. Pāda Paṅkajāya – Hail to the one with lotus feet.
56. Saumya Rūpāya – Praise to him of pleasing form.
57. Sajjana Vanditāya – Prostrations to him who is honored by the wise.
58. Bhāvana Munaye – Hail to the meditative sage.
59. Śānta Mūrtaye – Prostrations to him whose form is peace.
60. Sphaṭika Liṅga Prakāśakāya – To him who revealed the crystal Liṅga.
61. Bhakti Pradāya – Praise to him who bestows devotion.
62. Bhakti Mārga Darśakāya – Praise to the guide on the path of devotion.
63. Jñāna Svarūpāya – Prostrations to the embodiment of divine wisdom.
64. Mūlar Muni Dhāriṇe– Hail to him who upholds the teachings of Ṛishi Tirumular.
65. Parāṁjyoti Upāsine – Hail to the worshiper of the Supreme Light.
66. Valluvar Muni Bodhakāya – Praise to the revealer of Tiruvalluvar’s teachings.
67. Drāviḍa Śiśu Priyāya – Hail to him who is dear to the Dravidian child Sambandar.
68. Vāgīśa Jñāna Bodhakāya – Praise to the teacher of the wisdom of the Lord of Speech (Saint Appar).
69. Sundarar Mata Anurūpāya – To him whose teachings reflect those of Saint Sundaramurti.
70. Maṇikkavācakar Priyāya –To him who is pleasing to Maṇikkavacakar.
71. Pādarakṣā Pradāyine – Praise to him who grants the protection of his lotus feet.
72. Wailua Gaṅgā Lolāya – Praise to him who sways with the sacred Wailua Gaṅgā.
73. Himācala Kalāpīṭha Dāyakāya – Hail to the founder of Himalayan Academy.
74. Kauai-pati Gurukulāya – Praise to the Lord of Kauai’s gurukula.
75. Dīkṣā Netrāya – Hail to the eye of initiation.
76. Kāṣāya Dhāriṇe – Hail to him who wears the ochre robes.
77. Kamaṇḍalu Dharāya – Praise to him who carries the water pot.
78. Pārivrāja Paramparod-bhavāya – Praise to him who was born from the lineage of renunciates.
79. Guhā Mandire Yogaswāmī Darśakāya – Hail to him who beheld Yogaswamī in the Nallur Temple sanctum.
80. Gaṇapati Cakra Darśine – Praise to him who had the vision of Gaṇeśa’s chakra.
81. Tapas Siñcita Nayanāya – Prostrations to him whose eyes are filled with tapas.
82. Sakala Tattvajñāya – Hail to the knower of the tattvas.
83. Caryā Rūpāya – Praise to him who embodies caryā.
84. Kriyā Lolāya – Praise to him who moves in kriyā.
85. Yoga Pradīpakāya – Hail to him who illumines the yoga path.
86. Jñāna Svarūpiṇe – Praise to him who embodies jñāna.
87. Saṁprati Jīvine – Hail to him who lives in the eternal present.
88. Antaryāmine – Hail to him who guides from within.
89. Śubhra Siddha Saṅkalpāya – Praise to him whose resolve is a radiant spiritual power.
90. Dhavala Raśmi Pradāya – To him who bestows the ray of white light.
91. Gūḍha Mantra Vikāśine – Hail to the revealer of the secret mantra.
92. Saccidānanda Darśakāya – Praise to him who reveals Truth-Consciousness-Bliss.
93. Tattvamasi Darśakāya – Prostrations to him who reveals “Tat Tvam Asi.”
94. Antarātma Darśakāya – Hail to him who reveals the inner Self.
95. Śāntānanda Darśakāya – To him who reveals peace and bliss.
96. Śāśvatānanda Darśakāya – To him who reveals perpetual bliss.
97. Nityānanda Darśakāya – To him who reveals eternal bliss.
98. Hṛdayālaya Darśakāya – Praise to him who reveals the temple of the heart.
99. Hṛdaya Jyoti Darśakāya – Praise to him who reveals the light within the heart.
100. Kamśumaliṅga Darśakāya – Prostrations to him who reveals the chakras.
101. Naṭye Ukanaśum Darśakāya – To the revealer of seekers’ sādhanas.
102. Rehna Śakti Darśakāya – To him who unveils the temple’s power.
103. Karmakārya Darśakāya – Hail to him who teaches karma yoga.
104. Satyarūpa Darśakāya – Praise to him who reveals the form of Truth.
105. Gurudeva Brahmaṇe – Prostrations to Gurudeva, who is Brahman.
106. Tasya Śiṣya Parivārāya – Praise to his family of disciples.
107. Sarva Śaiva Janāya Priyāya – Hail to him who is beloved by all Śaivites.
108. Sarva Maṅgala Dāyakāya – Praise to the bestower of all auspiciousness.
A 4-ounce bag ready to ship. Notice the see-through window. A typical daily use is to add a teaspoon to morning juice or a protein shake. It has a surprisingly sweet taste, unlike the juice which is quite medicinal (as most medicines are).
