Kauai Aadheenam

The holy tank is retiled and renewed

This is a photo from 2023, showing the need to renovate the tank, built in 1959 and painted once since then.

After draining the water, workers grind off the old concrete

The rains slowed the progress, so a tent was installed.

A shot of Sambandar dancing with delight.

He seems to enjoy the new fountain.

The large Kamachi Amman Temple tank in Kanchipuram

Projects can be great teachers of patience and persistence. Behold the Teacher of Tolerance, the Preceptor of Perseverance, the Lecturer of Long-Suffering, our very own Kadavul Temple Pool.

It was three years ago that we began retiling the 1959-era pool. It had served us well and was ready for a new life. In our February 2023 contract the company estimated in writing that it would take 2 1/2 months. Here we are 2 1/2 years later and it was just completed. For all that time tens of thousands of visitors saw just a green construction-site barrier that concealed the work, and hid from view the fact that workers were not showing up and progress had stalled. Karmas held back the team, and we had to let them go.

In February of this year we hired another team and their first work was to demolish all of the inferior work of their predecessors. But they did it efficiently and work proceeded apace. Turns out to get a big project done it helps to show up every day! And they did. Completing it a few days ago. It is quite beautifully done and visitors can once again enjoy the presence of water near the temple, an important element in temple sacred architecture. Jai to Josh and his team, especially the ever-jolly Chico who made us some three-star Michelin hot sauce. A small celebratory party is planned for the completion.

In the sacred geography of South India, temple tanks are not just water reservoirs—they are portals to the divine. Called pushkarini, theertham or kulam, these tanks invite the heavens and cleanse the soul. They are places where pilgrims bathe or just wash feet and hands before entering the sanctum, where festivals come alive with floating lamps, and where lotuses are encouraged to grow.

Water is a symbol and necessity for life. Temple tanks in India hold centuries of devotion and the blessings of countless rituals. With our new tile installation, we restore not only beauty but sanctity—inviting reflection, reverence and return to the sacred cycle of nature and spirit. As the sun rises over the newly laid tiles, the tank once more becomes a living mandala of worship and wonder. Ours has a small murti of the child saint Sambandar, dancing playfully and blissfully as he beholds God Siva. It is said that later in life he lead processions of devotees, singing and dancing through towns and temples, awakening people’s faith and love of God Siva.

The rare fragrant Hawaiian hibiscus blooming by our entry gate.

Making copies of a nice agave that bloomed last month.

Worlds smallest orchid, the flower is 1/4-inch wide.

The three Hawaiian sandalwood trees recently gifted to the monastery by Lyons Arboretum in Hololulu. To be planted in our sandalwood grove.

Potting up calatheas that will later be planted on San Marga.

Dark red pentas for Hanuman’s mountain

The monastery has tens of thousands of botanical species, some humble, some stunningly proud, some edible, some poisonous, some not so pretty. But they all add to the special spaces here, hundreds of little microcosms, each with a different amount of light and water and wind and minerals and predators. Those who work in the gardens, growing and nurturing, soon learn to listen to the plants, watch their reactions and respond in order to help them survive and flourish. Of course, our teachings tell us that the entire universe is aware. A molecule has awareness, a protein shows intent. Siva is aware and Siva is the life/existence in all things, so it is no surprise to us that plants would exhibit awareness. Theirs is different from ours for sure, but it is awareness nonetheless.

Science is just now catching up to that little fact. Witness the latest New York Times bestseller on plants:The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. It’s a deep dive into the secret life of plants. According to her research, far from passive greenery, plants see, smell, remember, decide and communicate. Schlanger presents five fascinating reasons to think of plants as having awareness: they sense light direction, emit chemical warnings, store memories, respond to touch, and even adjust their behavior. This, she insists, is hard science and she tells it well. She is not as talented as Michael Pollan in his books about food, but she does reveal that science about plants is evolving quickly.

One of the most compelling anecdotes Zoë Schlanger shares in The Light Eaters involves the mimosa plant (Mimosa pudica)—a sensitive species known for folding its leaves when touched. Hawaiians call it hilahila which means shy or bashful. Scientists dropped mimosa plants repeatedly from a short height—not enough to harm, but enough to provoke the leaf-folding reflex. At first, the plants reacted as expected. But after just a few drops, they stopped closing their leaves—having “learned” that the drop wasn’t dangerous. Even more astonishing, weeks later, the same plants still remembered not to react. No brain, no nerves—yet they showed signs of learning and memory. Consciousness? Maybe. Awareness? Undeniable.

Sweet Hawaiian Orange Trees

The original tree protected by an electric fence.

We took these photos this morning and look forward to a few ripe oranges.

Showing the entirely hollowed out base of the tree.

The orange is near our newly planted Nepalese Rudraksha Grove.

You are looking at a box of six Hawaiian heirloom orange trees, saved from extinction by the high-tech Terra Nova Nursery in Canby, Washington, about 200 miles from Seattle. Of course, it comes with a monastery story.

About 70 years back Uncle Manuel (who for decades was the manager of the water system that flows through the land that is now Kauai Aadheenam) received a gift from a Hawaiian clan. They gave him a special orange tree, one whose sweetness and low acidity made it rare and valuable. Manuel carried the tree in a gunny sack on horseback from the mountains about 20 miles to the monastery and planted it himself in a field. There is grew and gave its fruits for all these decades.

About 15 years back it began to age. The bottom trunk rotted out during a wet winter, then our cows sped up the process by munching on the sweet leaves and fruits. We put a fence around it, but a year later the cows overwhelmed the fence and ate every leaf. We though it was dead.

But it is a brave orange, and it grew strong branches right out of the rotting trunk. We tried to propagate it. And failed. We enlisted local tree grafters. Who failed. Finally, in desperation to save this legacy fruit tree, we reached out to Harini Korlipara, General Manager of Terra Nova Nursery. She had visited the monastery three years back and said she would try, so we sent her cuttings following her directions.

It worked! Yesterday we opened the box with six very healthy orange trees. We will give one to the living relatives of Uncle Manual in honor of his bringing the mother plant to our land, a couple to local botanical gardens and collectors and the rest will be planted in our own fruit groves. Orange trees can live 70-100 years, so a couple of generations of monks will have sweet oranges for breakfast.

Oranges and other citrus fruits were introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by European explorers. British Captain George Vancouver is often credited with bringing orange seeds or saplings around 1792–1794 as gifts to King Kamehameha I. Hawaii was for a short time the premier supplier of oranges to California until the citrus farms developed in the state.