Kauai Aadheenam

This before and after aerial photo of Iraivan tells a tale of progress. The BEFORE shot is from 2020 and the AFTER is from 10 days back.

For decades the monks cleared the land, built ponds and waterfalls, planted tens of thousands of plants, trees and flowering bushes. So, by 2020 the Sacred Garden was almost mature. To the first-time visitor it looked complete. Of course, under Siva’s care it has become ever so much more in the last six years.

And for decades Gurudeva, Bodhinatha and the monks worked with skilled teams of Indian silpis to hand-carve and erect the temple, which was completed in 2023 .

But there still remained a no-man’s land between them, a 50-foot-swath of dirt and mud. It has to be so, since it was still a construction site with trucks coming and going constantly.

Now, with the temple completed, we could begin healing, planting and landscaping that surrounding band of raw earth. That has been a focus for the last few years, and continues to be. But it is nearing completion (in August and September a team will clad the new concrete Garden Path that surrounds Iraivan Temple with quartzite which is now on a ship from Brasil).

The effect has been profound. The finished garden is being united with the finished temple, making them a single holy sanctuary. As a Japanese landscape designer once told the monks: “What you have created here is amazing. The temple is Indian granite. It is hard, rigid, strong, structured and commanding. It is masculine. Around it lies the garden which is soft, pliant, graceful, organic and nurturing. It is feminine. You have created the perfect balance of Siva and Shakti.”

“The perfect balance of Siva and Shakti.”

It is unusual, at our quiet monastery, for so many projects to be happening on a single day. Yesterday was such a day.

A team of 12 volunteers from the Corteva Agribusiness group spent the day helping us plant mondo around Iraivan. This was their second visit. To thank them, the monastery prepared a truly special South Indian feast (see the menu in the slideshow) which they enjoyed midday.

Another team was installing a new floor in rooms that will be used by our newest monks. A third team (as you know from yesterday) is taking apart the 97-year-old roof built by Japanese craftsmen in 1929. There is considerable weather damage to repair. It is the roof of our Guru Pitam, which is also our meditation hall each morning.

And finally, our own monk team has erected scaffolding at the MiniMela, preparing for the repair of the solar panel microinverters in the days ahead.

Inspiring to have so much basic maintenance underway.

Hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia and South Korea, and the state flower of Hawaii. It has great meaning in many cultures. In the Hindu tradition, hibiscus (especially Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the red hibiscus) is sacred. Its five petals are interpreted as representing the five senses, the five elements, and even the five potencies of God Siva. The flowers are offered to Kali because their deep red color resembles divine power and the life force. They are also offered to Ganesha in many regions. They symbolize Shakti, energy and devotion and, for some, the transience of life, since their blooms, while stunningly beautiful, are brief, reminding us to be present in every moment.

The fancy hybrids are not as productive as the workhorse flowers that we collect daily by the bushel. They are far more spectacular, as though the plant puts all of its effort into the extra attention given to color, shape and form of the blossom. We show a few of the hybrids and a few of the more productive flowers that are the monks’ daily offerings to the deities in our two temples. Enjoy this short slideshow.

Rishi Valley 1988 and Today

This morning, while in Rishi Valley (just 100 feet East of Iraivan Temple for those unfamiliar) inspecting some minor pig damage from their nighttime foraging, we were struck by the beauty of the pond and the surrounding landscape. You know the experience: we see something day after day and then, suddenly, it reveals itself in a fresh and completely different way.

That happened today, and our minds drifted back through the many years of clearing land, making paths, creating waterfalls and ponds, reshaping the terrain, planting, planting and planting some more. We have come a long way.

Back at our computers, we found an old photograph taken during the valley’s early development. It looked so raw and rugged. We thought it would be fun to share a glimpse of what the valley looked like then and how it appears today.

Use the slider to move back and forth between past and present.

Stills of Rishi Valley

Photos from today’s walk through the monastery sacred garden on Kauai

Today’s amble through the monastery’s sacred gardens became a meditation on water — among the most common substances on Earth, yet also one of its rarest treasures. Without it, no garden could flourish, no forest could endure and no human life could continue. On our island of Kauai, water appears in many forms at once: rushing rivers, quiet pools, misting rain, waterfalls tumbling over volcanic stone and delicate droplets resting silently on lotus leaves. It is an essential offering to Siva in the temple sanctum during abhishekam. Clear water appears empty, but contains 5-6 million forms of life in a single drop. Patiently, persistently, unceasingly, water moves toward its source, the sea, just as the soul moves toward God.

Water is endlessly adaptable. It accepts every shape without losing its own essence. It yields to obstacles and moves around them effortlessly. It can appear gentle enough to cradle a lotus leaf, yet powerful enough to carve valleys through stone over thousands of years.

Scientifically, water is astonishing. A simple molecule made from two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom forms the basis of nearly all life on Earth. Its unusual properties allow plants to draw moisture upward against gravity, help living cells regulate temperature and enable oceans to store immense amounts of heat that stabilize the planet’s climate.

In Hindu thought, water has always carried sacred meaning. It purifies, renews and restores. Temples are traditionally built beside rivers, tanks or oceans, recognizing water as both a physical necessity and a spiritual symbol. Watching the streams move through the monastery gardens today, one is reminded that water teaches by example. It yields, adapts, nourishes and continues moving forward without resistance.

We have much to learn from water’s ways.

The Saga Continues

We have shared recently how lotuses that were once super abundant in our ponds were totally eaten by the ravenous tilapia fish some years back. Inspired by two pilgrims, we have successfully (with the help of Kauai’s lotus whisperer, Ken Bernard) established just yesterday seven lotuses in seven 130-gallon pots buried in the ground. Ken also brought water lilies and five fast-growing aquatic plants. These will provide interest in the pots when the lotuses naturally die back and hibernate. He also introduced some small red platies fish and a few small snails who, as they multiply, are to become the maintenance crew.

Ken brought an abundance and with the additional plants he and Sadasivanathaswami set up a small Water Garden Propagation Area with the idea that when these lotuses and water lilies in smaller pots bloom they can be displayed at the Iraivan Temple entrance for all pilgrims to enjoy for a few days or weeks.

We learned from Ken that there are only two true species of lotus on the planet, the Asian Sacred Lotus and the American Yellow Lotus. Ken remarked that their new home, being half Indian and half American is an apt place for these two. And, he added, lotuses have been on the Earth for 130 million years, and are among the earliest flowering plants.

Factoids

Lotus has several unusual features that fascinate botanists:

Thermal flowers

Some lotus flowers can regulate temperature slightly, which is rare among plants.

Extremely durable seeds

Sacred lotus seeds have germinated after more than 1,000 years. One famous Chinese lotus seed was dated to around 1,300 years old and successfully sprouted.