Sadasivanathaswami and Tillainathaswami fly off today on a 25-day mission to California, New York, London and Mauritius. As they pack to depart, the Songs of Tayumanavar book is taking shape, a work of some three years. You will hear more about it in the months ahead, but for now we share the graphic spreads that introduce the five cantos which are the organizational structure of the Tamil poet’s 1,454 songs. Amazingly, and not without climbing a steep learning curve, the five works of art were created by DALL•E, the AI partner of CHATgpt. Tayumanavar, we hear, is to be a major theme for the various satsangs, workshops, temple talks and seminars planned for the journey. Aum Namasivaya!
A family stands at a crossroad. To the left is a dark and rocky future which the deva in the clouds is advising against. To the right is a brighter path. A small decision here will have lifelong impact.
CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES: This well-to-do lady could easily afford the outfit in the department store. Yet, in a moment of weakness, she chose to steal it. The store’s security guard caught her, and soon she faces a day in court. Every choice we make plants a seed whose results inevitably return to us.
SEEK DIVINE GUIDANCE: Facing difficult karmas, this devotee turns to Lord Ganesha. By sincerely worshiping Him, we find that confusion gives way to simplicity, and tangled problems become manageable.
MITIGATE PAST KARMA: In a fit of anger, a father has beaten his son earlier in the day, forgetting his vow to his guru never to strike the child again. Now, filled with genuine remorse, he fasts at dinner in a self-imposed penance, seeking forgiveness and cleansing his heart of regret.
DON’T RETALIATE: The protest march led by Gandhi on May 21, 1930, is attacked by police. The injured protestors did not retaliate or defend themselves, but allowed the injustice of the attack against them recoil against the administration that ordered it. It helped to free India years later.
The monks are working on the final stages of editing and designing the next Educational Insight for Hinduism Today, a 14-page feature on how to handle karmas in our life. It has Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami’s deep insights into the art and science of dealing with karma, something we can all benefit from. Satguru gives ten basic precepts. We share here a few of them, along with the art that attends the precept.
“Treat everyone as you would like to be treated. Because karma is watching.” 21st-century proverb
A palm tree sheds its bark, looking like a super close up of violin strings or an electron micrograph of human hair and scalp
Lichen up close resembles dried coral or weathered bone
Intricate moss carpet, a miniature forest growing on a log
A chlorophyll oragami with folds trapping the Sun’s light resembling a drone shot of a farmer’s field
The amazing cordex of the South African Turtle Vine, its bark resembling cork or maybe an alien planet’s surface
Hundreds of palm flowers fallen to the ground, their work done as pollinating bees fly away to their next meal
A desert euphorbia, a visitor favorite that is a cabbage wannabe
Palm bark looking like woven hemp fabric. Does Siva use a loom for this work?
A tropical Calocasia, glossy with rain and hiding in the shade
Like succulent scrolls, each leaf of this densely crowded sanserveria folds and bends to make room for its neighbor
It’s called Black Coral, with shiny dark leaves that look wet even in the dryness of midday
A Shell Ginger leaf looking like like wet paint on a canvas
The Everglades Palm, reminding us of Cinnamon Bark and woven from the threads of years
A young Poincianna branch (a rare yellow-flowered variety) with its little leaf soldiers all lined up in parade formation.
The lungs of the jungle, facing the sky to make sugar from photons. Or is it a satellite photo of the Amazon jungle?
If a hundred and one visitors walk through Siva’s Sacred Gardens, they will have at least 102 differing experiences. There is the plant/stream/stone relationships to understand, there is the color pallet to admire, there is the contrast of massive and miniature, there is light and shadow everywhere, clusters of color and never-saw-that-before moments.
For today it is all about looking more closely than usual as we chronicle 15 botanical creatures from up close. Challenge: before reading the caption, try to guess what you are looking at.
Devotees parade Satguru through the Spiritual Park
Then welcomed at the Spiritual Park with a foot washing by the senior kulapatis.
A drone captures the spiritual park overlooking the river jusst before it merges with the sea.
Satguru blesses the future site of the bronze Gurudeva murti (seen middle left) with water from a kumbha.
Adding rice and flowers into the small pit.
Another aerial view. Ganesha is in the mandapam with the dark blue roof.
Pada puja is performed in the traditional manner.
The stairs down to the river.
Bodinatha addresses the members in one of the three new mandapams.
Last week this team planted new trees.
An amazingly productive Amala tree.
The annual Amala (Indian Gooseberry) harvest is underway.
Members package the health-giving fruits and sell them to visitors who appreciate the freshness.
Such a happy tree. Our Amala on Kauai gives few fruits, since they like a dry climate which we are not.
On August 22 Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Shanmuganathaswami arrived in Mauritius for a five-day visit with our members. He was greeted by devotees at the airport and later paraded by a large group through the Spiritual Park with drums and conch shells, and lots of melodious chanting. There were multiple events, initiations, ground-breaking, wedding blessings, upadeshas and gatherings.
Bodhinatha sent a note despite how busy he has been:
“Aloha, everyone! From 9 AM to noon Satsang at the Spiritual Park was arranged for members and a few devotees. Perhaps 150 attended. A Ganesha Arati fwas ollowed by a ground-breaking ceremony for the soon-to-be-built Gurudeva bronze shrine. Next was a full pada puja followed by my talk on how rising through the chakras is like climbing Mt. Everest. Next we had two Vishesha Dikshas and three Samaya Dikshas. The morning concluded with vibhuti blessings and lots of photos with individual families.”
Willow Leaf Banyan. Botanical name: Ficus nerifolia, a top tier choice among masters of the craft.
Imagine five-years living in a shallow pot and still able to look flush and happy!
The roots tell their story of a lifetime of adaptation to limited conditions.
The shape is guided methodically by the Bonsai Sensei, using pliable copper wires on roots and limbs.
Close up of the leaf shape. Notice the small berries.
This is the Wax Leaf Banyan, Ficus microcarpa.
Such intelligence, to be able to create the root system below that will allow the branches above to spread and reach the Sun.
“Gnarly” is the word that comes to mind. How about “twisted,” “knotty,” “rugged,” “heroic”?
The PhD of Plant Cultivation
With the temple pool retiled recently, Tandu Sivanathan was inspired to bring two of his amazing bonsais to grace the rose granite pedestals. They are, he tells us, about 50 years under his cultivation. the one on the left is a Wax Leaf Ficus (banyan) and the gem on the left is a Willow Leaf Ficus, with unusually narrow leaves for a banyan tree. The Willow Leaf is a favorite of professionals, due to its general grace and beauty and unusual leaf structure, but also to its robust growing habits, it’s adaptability (it can endure severe root pruning better than most). Now the pool feels complete, its two stoic sentinels on duty.
Today we explore Tayumanavar a bit more, the 16th century Saivite poet and mystic who authored the book the Ganapati Kulam is working on intensely and which contains his 1,454 songs. For those unfamiliar, when Yogaswami was a boy he learned by heart many Saivite hymns, including those of Tayumanavar. The saint’s deep understanding of the core truths shared by Vedanta and Siddhanta resonated with him throughout his life. And below we share one time he sang such a song for a senior devotee. The slideshow shows artist S. Rajam’s take on the meeting of Gurudeva and Yogaswami and also a couple of the works of art that ChatGPT and the monks are working on for the book.
Cover of the book about our sampradaya.
Yogaswami serves grape juice to the young visitor from America who would become his successor one day.
Yogaswami loved to sing and Tayumanavar’s songs were a favorite, full of spiritual passion, human frailty and deep love for God Siva.
Tayumanavar’s message of samarasa was a call for goodwill and religious unity. Here he addresses Vedantins seated to his right and Siddhantins to his left. With clarity and warmth, he urges them to focus on their many agreements rather than their few differences.
His foot bandaged from months of walking barefoot, he scolds Siva for not appearing in his inner vision.
Tayumanavar climbs up to the Murugan temple where he composed many of his songs.
From “The Guru Chronicles”
It was about 7 pm when they arrived at Yogaswami’s hermitage. The sun had set, and a full moon illumined the landscape. The lamps were lit, and the evening had brought devotees to Swami. The atmosphere was electric—charged with the presence of the satguru. About fifteen people were sitting with him. No sooner had the screeching of the cart wheels stopped than Swami’s voice from the hut was heard loud and clear, “Come, come, come. I am waiting for you.” Vinayagamoorthy recalled:
As soon as we opened the gate and entered the ashram, Yogaswami asked Robert in a loud voice, “Did you see me anywhere?” Robert replied, “Yes, at the Nallur Temple,” and the following conversation took place. Yogaswami: “You are in me.” Robert: “You are in me.” Yogaswami: “I am in you.” Robert: “I am in you.”
The devotees present were astounded. No one had ever talked in such a way with Yogaswami since the days of Chellappaguru. Usually if he said to a devotee, “I am in you,” the person would respond humbly, “Yes, Swa- mi.” Or he might begin singing a song that Swami had composed. No one ever responded the way Robert had. He spoke as confidently as Swami himself, and he echoed Swami’s very words.
At that point Swami eased the intensity of the moment and asked his visitors to enter. “Come and sit with Jaffna’s old beggar.” Robert knew the protocol and once Swami was seated moved forward to prostrate. But Swami indicated he should not, and invited him to sit on a nearby mat that had been laid down for this unusual visitor.
Yogaswami was in a jolly mood that night, smiling and laughing as people came before him. It felt like a special holiday. There were large bunches of grapes on a tray in front of him. He called to a devotee, Pundit
A.V. Mylvaganam, and asked him to take them and make some juice for the three visitors.
While awaiting the refreshments, Yogaswami asked his guest if he had read it. In fact, it was the only book he had really studied during his early training. He had read and practiced it for years. Yogaswami tossed a few penetrating questions about the pithy classic. Robert answered quickly and clearly. Recounting this experience later, he said that the answers came immediately, not as an intellectual memory, but from within.
Then Yogaswami asked about the difference between advaita and dvaita. Robert answered that both are true, depending on one’s perspec- tive. Yogaswami smiled, obviously enjoying the way in which the disciple had grasped that it is not one and not two. Swami, well familiar with the controversy between the two schools of philosophy, was satisfied. Dr. S. Ramanathan later provided the following insights:
Swami once told me that the mahavakya “Aham Brahmasmi” is not correctly understood by people who criticize Advaita Vedanta. He had high regard for the Advaita Vedanta of Sri Shankaracharya as well as for the Siddhanta Shastras. One day when I was going to the ashram at Columbuthurai, I was thinking of the debate between Vedanta and Sid- dhanta. The minute Swami saw me he sang a line from the work of Tayumanavar: “We belong to the group of learned mystics who have understood the complete agreement and equality of Vedanta and Siddhanta.” Then he placed his hands on his chest to indicate that it was the firm truth.
