Mount Waialeale is one of Kauai’s greatest natural marvels, rising from the island’s emerald heart (more technically the island rises from its heart) and cloaked in near-constant mist. Its name means “rippling waters” or “overflowing water,” a reference to the countless waterfalls and ancient bogs that spill from its summit. Known as one of the wettest spots on Earth, Waialeale is revered in Hawaiian culture as a sacred wao akua, a realm of the gods, where clouds gather, nourish the land, and sustain life downstream. Its blue-green cliffs and perpetual rain have long inspired respect, marking the mountain as a living temple of water, fertility and spiritual presence at the center of the island.
We live with it daily and watch it change from hour to hour as the clouds come and go, as the setting sun sets it on fire. Gurudeva envisioned a futuristic coffee table book which would show all of its moods, and we share a few of those in today’s TAKA, taken by various monks over the years.
In December of 1968 Gurudeva brought 32 Innersearchers to Kauai and on the second day we hired Larry rivera, the island’s legendary singer/composer, to regale us all with his song about Waialeale. Larry warned us, as we gathered around what is now the temple pool, that the song makes it rain more often than not. We nodded politely, and asked him to continue. It rained before he ended!
Want to hear him sing it right now? Go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0voBezB05cw
Like everything in life, our point of view shapes our experience. Here at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, we’re all familiar with the monks’ ground-level photos—bright baskets of vegetables, blossoms unfolding, quiet temple pujas, and those small daily miracles that make monastery life so rich.
But the photo above gives us something entirely different. It lifts us into the sky and turns us toward a direction we’ve never seen before. Suddenly the whole monastery reveals itself in a new light. Footpaths we walk every day connect into larger patterns. Buildings become part of a serene landscape design we didn’t know we were living inside. It’s a gentle reminder of how perspective changes everything.
As Marcel Proust wrote, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
To help everyone orient themselves in this rare bird’s-eye view, we’ve labeled the main areas. Enjoy this fresh glimpse of our spiritual home—and may it inspire a renewed appreciation for this sacred land that holds our daily worship, work and service.
Under a sacred tree, Tayumanavar speaks to the Vedantins on his right and the Saivites on his left. Around him, villagers listen as the saint reveals the unity at the heart of both faiths: the eternal Siva within.
Tayumanavar welcomed seekers from every path, embracing the many lineages of India—not only Hindu traditions, but also Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, and others. His vision of samarasam, or harmony, called for unity beyond sectarian boundaries, affirming the shared quest for truth that underlies all faiths.
In the mystic, devotional songs to Siva, Saint Tayumanavar (1705–1742) beseeched humanity to see the one Divinity within all paths and philosophies. He sought to reconcile the religious conflicts of his day in South India—the Buddhists colliding with the Jains, the Vaishnavites quarreling with the Saivites—not unlike what we see in other parts of the world today. He had a Tamil word for it: samarasam. Samarasam literally means “same taste.” It denotes the harmony of doctrines, the inclusivity of religions, the bliss in which all dualities dissolve. It is, in essence, the high state of awareness that sees the One Divine equally in all beings. It reminds us that the thousand names of God are but echoes of one eternal Silence.
That call for religious harmony and reconciliation is a hallmark of Gurudeva’s teachings,and reaches back to Yogaswami before him. Saint Tayumanavar was deeply connected to our lineage, and sang that he followed the teachings of Tirumular, the second satguru on the Nandinatha Sampradaya.
Tayumanavar sings from within this current. His hymns revere both Vedas and Agamas, the saints and siddhars, and above all the living Guru who embodies their essence. He sees Saivism not as one creed among others but as the meeting point where outer differences are reconciled. For him mauna (silence) is not emptiness but the serene absorption that follows perfect understanding; and samarasam (harmony) is not compromise but the state in which Vedanta’s insight and Siddhanta’s devotion fuse as one path. His language of longing—sivanubhūti, anbu, jñāna, mauna—marks a heart that has passed beyond theology into direct awareness.
Today we share a sampling of his songs and art from the book we are soon to publish.
Songs for Siva
Who was it that gave this egoity so much authority? Does this maya even exist outside of my thought? Will “sky flower’’ and “mirage water’’ ever have a practical use? Even my instructed state is thrown into confusion unless I receive Your grace to seek refuge in You. It performs a conjuring trick in my mind, establishing the illusory world as permanent. When shall I receive the secret of conquering this? Please tell me, O Jnanaguru Who expounds in Your grace the six established faiths and the philosophical unity of Vedanta and Siddhanta for all the worlds in cardinal directions to know. O Mantra Guru! O Yoga Tantra Guru! Mauna Guru who comes in the line of Tirumular!
Holding as real this body that is evanescent, like a flash of lightning, holding as real the pleasures of flashy women who intoxicate the senses with their collyrium-painted eyes, holding as heaven the stately mansion and mounting riches, holding gold as an imperishable treasure that waxes high, putting on false appearances to an excessive degree, abandoning to the winds the virtues of patience, wisdom, renunciation and charity, to be possessed of greed, miserliness and other demons, to walk about here below caught in the faith of the materialist—with a single word, in compassion, You kept me from all these that I might receive the grace of the great Vedanta-Siddhanta accord and enjoy the life eternal. O You Jnana Guru! O Mantra Guru! O Yoga Tantra Guru! Mauna Guru who comes in the line of Tirumular!
Namaste and welcome to our various websites and mobile apps, through which we endeavor to provide accurate, useful and contemporary information on Hinduism.
Thanks to Digital Dharma Drive donations, the monks continued their steady push to create additional AI recordings in Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s voice of his writings that he did not himself record. This is especially appreciated by individuals who regularly listen to audio files, such as when traveling to work. We have a new presence on Instagram, where snippets from Path to Siva and Gurudeva’s Spiritual Toolbox appear each week thanks to development and publishing tools that have been acquired. AI has been adopted by many of the monks who now use it to aid in communications, publications, web development, image creation, troubleshooting, computer learning and research tasks. Donations also cover the professional fees needed to continue to upgrade and expand our digital offerings. Our most exciting news is the completion, after 13 years of work, of our own translation and commentary of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. And it’s illustrated!
The material on our websites and mobile apps continues to be available for free. Our Guru, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, insisted that all of his books as well as our other publications be available in digital formats without charging readers to access this material. For example, all issues of our magazine, Hinduism Today, are available online without cost.
We do, however, follow the model of Wikipedia of asking for donations during the last two months of the year. For fifteen years running, you have responded generously to our Digital Dharma Drive, and after another year of dynamic digital progress, we are back again with our 2025 appeal.
In our “How the Funds Are Used” page, https://ddd.himalayanacademy.com/how-the-funds-are-used/ we detail what we did with your past generosity, and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. Digital Dharma Drive funds do not pay staff salaries or administrative overhead, since our sites are created and maintained by selfless monks who happily work for free and live simply in our remote monastery on the island of Kauai. This allows us to accomplish major projects with relatively small cost.
Ten percent of your tax-deductible contribution goes into the permanent Digital Dharma Drive Endowment, which now stands at $319,764 after fourteen years of fundraising. This follows Gurudeva’s vision that ultimately, in the future, all major aspects of our work will be supported by endowments. As the endowment accumulates, it will provide an ever-increasing income for decades to come, protecting the digital future of Hinduism, your religious heritage.
We urge you to donate today, and empower us to improve Hinduism’s global English-language resources—for the benefit of this and future generations. Our plans, projects and publications can be made manifest with your help.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam Publisher of Hinduism Today
Sadasivanathaswami and Tillainathaswami each shared insights for the women who make the Spiritual Park work so well
Sharing appreciation, one on one
There was a lot of love in the room as sweet words were exchanged.
Each one came forward to receive a golden Rudraksha bead and a small piece of precious cloth from Gurudeva’s robes
On October 1, a rare and uplifting Ladies’ Workshop was held at the Spiritual Park, bringing together the amazing women who form the heart and sustaining force of Gurudeva’s and Bodhinatha’s mission in the island nation. The gathering focused on issues close to their lives—how to lovingly guide children who do not follow our path, how to balance the many daily tasks at home and at the Park, and how to find precious time for meditation amidst it all.
After the presentations, Paramacharya invited everyone to pair up and share their often-unspoken love and appreciation for one another. He began by expressing his gratitude to Premila Manick, who then responded in kind. Inspired by their example, the women turned to those beside them, offering heartfelt thanks to their friends for simply being part of their lives. The space soon filled with laughter, gentle hugs, hand-holding, and tears of joy as each felt seen and cherished.
The event concluded with vibuthi blessings. Paramacharya had brought from Kauai 23-karat gilded Rudraksha beads and a small piece of the robes Gurudeva had worn in life, presenting each woman with these sacred and deeply meaningful gifts.
Testimony
Om Namasivaya Paramacharya,
I wanted to write to you on how AMAZING it was to hear and see you during the Ladies workshop today. I will most probably remember this for the rest of my life. There were so many teachings – some conscious, some unconscious.
When you said that it is important for women to know that they are seen, heard and loved for all that they do, it suddenly occurred to me that it is exactly what my mum requires. She is emotional most of the time these days, and I think it is because she does not feel seen, heard and loved. I came home today and I had a different response to her. I was more present, tolerant and understanding. All thanks to YOU. You are really untangling my karmas!!
I also really appreciated the way you demonstrated appreciation and gratitude to Kulamata Premila. There are so many profound lessons in those moments that I will love to go back to this memory and draw inspiration from it again and again.
I have changed today, I am deeply humbled by this experience and I want to convey my deepest gratitude to you.
The youth gather at the end of the morning to take an all tribes photo.
Tillainathaswami speaks on the nature of consciousness.
The tribes made 8 circles for their discussions.
Each tribe’s spokes person gave a report on their shared conclusions.
Our new monk from Mauritius, Arinien, with his father, Ananda, waiting at the Murugan Temple for the arrival of the swamis.
Arinien signs his Aspirant Agreement in a family shrine room, affirming his decision to follow the Saivite monastic life
On October 4, in the island nation of Mauritius, some forty under-25 seekers gathered at the Spiritual Park for a two-hour workshop that joyfully spilled into overtime. Sadasivanathaswami spoke on the nature of real spirituality, sharing the story of a fraudulent magician who, during the 1982 Innersearch pilgrimage in India, pretended to possess mystical powers—an act that aroused Gurudeva’s ire. Paramacharya then outlined Gurudeva’s practical tools for overcoming all kinds of fear. Tillainathaswami followed with mystical teachings on the nature of the mind and a guided meditation that everyone deeply enjoyed.
The real excitement came after the tea break, when the group was divided into eight “tribes” of five and asked to sit in informal circles to discuss two topics:
The place of AI in Hindu spirituality—including Zoom pūjās, digital gurus, and online Hindu studies; and
How can we help our elders perform their duties better?
Brave themes indeed, which the youth tackled with intelligence and enthusiasm. Each group then appointed a spokesperson to report back on their tribe’s conclusions. It was a wonderful morning—filled with friendship, lively discussion, and new bonds formed with the swamis from Kauai.
One of the participants, Arinien Mootoocurpen, shared with the traveling monks his decision to come to Kauai to become a monk. He has the full blessings of his parents, who raised him in our fellowship from birth and had long hoped this day would come. He signed his Aspirant Agreement in the home shrine of Mougam Pareatumbe and his wife Amutha, in the presence of his parents. Arinien, is presently on pilgrimage in South India with his family while the monks prepare his U.S. visa application. As you might imagine, the monastery is joyfully celebrating this happy turn of events. There are photos of him at the end of the slideshow.
