Here is Rishimata Sivalosani Kanagaratnam, a long-time member of Saiva Siddhanta Church, in Chennai with Sheela Venkatakrishnan. She was on a pilgrimage to India with Thondunathan.

Sivalosani has returned safely to her home in Kopai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Take deep breath and put on your browser seat belts as we load 52 image of the story of the creation of the base of the avudaiyar of the Iraivan Temple Maha Sphatika Lingam.

The avudaiyar (Tamil, pronounced AA-vu-dai-YAR), or pitham in Sanskrit, of the lingam, is being poured in Swamimalai, India, in several sections. Today’s documentary details the pouring of the very bottom portion which is marked on the painting.

We take you now to Swamimalai where the work is being supervised by Kubera Sthapati–the chief artisan of the metal works–under the guidance of Selvanathan Sthapati, our temple architect.

First a wax model made to exacting proportions was created. This was then encased in a special mixture of earthen clay that is indigenous to the area. We are told the earth in the Swamimalai area is one of the few soils that you simply dig up, mold and dry and it is perfectly suited to hold molten metals. You might call it the original metal works plaster. This mold is heated and the wax is melted out. Hence this area is popular for metal works.

The methods, materials and tools have been handed down by Swamimalai artisans for many generations.

The mold is baked to harden it. The mold is then buried and packed in the ground. Metal re-inforcement strapping has been added on the outside to help the packed mold sustain the pressures of the hot molten metal about to be poured into its interior.

Near by a pit full of coal has been burning for hours with crucibles of metal therein, heating up for the pour.

There are two coal pits burning away at incredible temperatures of over 1,800 degrees farehnheit.

Nearby a homa to Lord Ganesha has been performed to invoke blessings on the morning’s work, assuring that all barriers will be removed.

The two Sthapatis overseeing the work.

The time has come. The metal is molten, hot enough to pour and the covers of the pits are removed.

More coal is added to the pits.

The copper makes the fire green.

A final check on the state of the molten metal indicates it is ready for the pour.

Giant two-man tongs that will be used to pick up the crucibles are brought to the pits.

These vitrified ceramic crucibles are brought, one-by-one to the mold.

vitrify |ˈvitrəˌfī|
verb ( -fies, -fied) [ trans. ] (often be vitrified)
convert (something) into glass or a glasslike substance, typically by exposure to heat.

The pour begins.

More crucibles are brought out and queue up behind each other.

Two crucibles remain to pour in: early 1,000 degrees Celsius

All the metal has been filled into the mold

The team behind the job.

Now we wait, while the metal cools.

From still days to dynamically active days at the Aadheenam. Today was in the latter category with over 100 guests on the tour, lots of construction going on and every one very busy.

Jothi Param has been with us on Task Force for nearly 2 weeks and returns home on Saturday. Jothi has been with Gurudeva since he was a little boy and is now a grown man and a professional journeyman electrician. He has been a boon for the Siddhidatta Kulam, upgrading our electrical infrastructure. Here he is in the Cedar Room where he installed new track lights to properly illumine up the pictures of our beloved Parampara.

Here is Jothi in our the publications library, a small library of some 3-4,000 books, but amazing in its depth on submuects like the Agamas, Tirumantiram, Saiva Siddhanta and South Indian Saivism and art. He has installed a new switch box. All previously exposed wiring has been moved into conduit.

Thank you, Jothi!

It was lovely grand tour day with over 100 divine souls eager to see the marvel of Iraivan and the breath taking botanical gardens at Kauai Aadheenam.

It seems the economic slow down has had little effect on our visitor traffic. Here is everyone just after arrival gathering at the lookout over the Wailua River.

The tour host today was Kulamata Amala Seyon. Here she is explaining the beliefs of Saivism at the Siva Vinadhara mound
Guests were enthralled and listened intently to the beliefs and followed with profound questions including “What are the denominations of Hinduism?”

Our guests shown slowly wandering from the ponds near Rishi Valley all the way to the temple taking in the awe inspiring beauty.

Because of the work on the roof, guests must look from a distance. Here on the West side of the temple,they are learning about the unique carvings and the in depth thought that goes into each piece of stone.

Coming around to the East side. Here they learn about the sacred Rudraksha trees and seeds.

Group photos

Silpi carving demonstration.

Minimela construction moves forward rapidly as the main wall framing is up.

Today they began putting up the rafters for the roof over the main building section.

Here is Kulamata Isani who took the tour day photos and afterwards takes up the role of host at the old Minimela. It can only hold about 5 people comfortably at a time. with tour of 100 visitors we really are looking forward to having the new Minimela built soon!

The Ganapati Kulam just completed all its Hinduism Today work for the April issue of Hinduism’s foremost English-language magazine. Files were sent to the printer yesterday and officially proofed in digital form and signed off to go to press in Missouri.

That makes our team of editors and journalists and web-techies free to complete the project they have been working on for the past three weeks: installing a new floor in the publications building.

After a giant storm which caused the recent flooding of the building, the carpet began to grow strange and unusual creatures and was condemned. We ripped it out, scraped off the old glue, leveled the concrete and are now installing a new flooring, called “Hawaiian Bamboo.”

It is a lot of work! Once the floor is prepared, Tyvek sheeting is placed on the floor as a moisture barrier followed by a thin green layer of soft foam. Here we are this morning as the middle section is being worked on.

The conference room we refer to as the Cedar Room since the entire roof is made of cedar wood has been completed and is being used to hold everything that normally inhabits the space now being re-floored.

The front section of the kulam where we do all our video processing was also completed. It too is piled high….

By noon we had one quarter of the middle bay completed and it was finished by sunset. The other areas are walled off with plastic to prevent concrete dust from getting into the equipment. We hope to be finished sometime next phase. It is a major upgrade, and so much cleaner than a carpet.

We begin a new phase today with a powerful homa.

Bodhinatha read from Gurudeva’s commentary on the Mamasani — Monthly Shum Meditation. It was about the esoterics of going deep into pure awareness, aware only of itself and the importance of refining the outer nature so that when the power of inner states flows, as it naturall does, back out to the outer nature, we are not de-stabilized in our meditation. For more, stay tuned for the audio and transcript in the days ahead.

We bring you a few photos from Shama Kumaran’s hosting last phase.

She writes:

Throughout January visitors and pilgrims continued to arrive almost daily from all parts of the globe to witness the great Iraivan Temple in progress.

Three couples arrived from Canada on the recommendation of Hindu friends and were, by their own words, “amazed” by all they saw. All agreed “we had no idea such a beautiful and peaceful place existed here on Kauai – its heavenly!”

Still basking in the Darshan from the powerful morning puja in Kadavul Temple, pilgrimaging Hindu families were taken on a tour of the Iraivan Temple and gardens.

Today Sivakumar and Abirami Lakshmanan (right) and Vijay Kumar and Lalitha Sridhar (left) braved spontaneous showers to tour the temple property.

Sivakumar and Abirami Lakshmanan are originally from Karaikudi and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. They now live in Boston, MA. Lalitha is from Bangalore and Vijay is from Delhi. They now live in Beaumont, TX. All spoke Tamil and were able to chat with the silpis much to their delight. Both couples said they found out about our center here on the internet

Kulamata Isani and Brahmacharini Lilashaki Devi go for a mini-yatra on San Marga. Isani is trying her hand with a new camera.

Here we are at the entrance road, with what tour guides will tell visitors are the famous native Hawaiian Guinea Jungle Fowl (otherwise known as wild chickens)

Paying homage to Lord Ganesha

Muruga Hill

Vel Muruga, Vel Muruga, Vel Murga, Vetri Vel Muruga

Coming down from Muruga Hill we proceed towards the Third World section.

This stream, part of the canal system flowing through the San Marga and Aadheenam lands. It comes from a nearby reservoir and flows into the Wailua River.

Moss Lava rocks eventually to be placed around the base of Iraivan

A sacred Konrai, sacred to Siva, in bloom

Arriving at the outdoor sanctum where Gurudeva had his visions, we are met by Lord Ganesha.

Maha Ganapati, Jai!

Svayambhu Lingam

Om, Om Muruga

Linga in the morning sun before puja

In the still bliss of the darshan after puja

Iraivan roof work

Young Crocodiles ready to drain the water off the roof for 1000 years.

Carvings of perfection on the back of the inner sanctum

This reminds of the fairy lands or where hobits might dwell.

We always feel so refreshed after our visit to San Marga.
Thank you Gurudeva, Bodhinatha and all the Matavasis for making a vision manifest.