Jai Ganesha!

Recently, Tirthadeva took his Aspirancy pledge, taking the vow of purity and thus becoming Brahmachari Tirthadeva. Bodhinatha signed his pledge book and blessed him on his path towards a life of monasticism. May his inward journey along the San Marga be guided and blessed by the gurus of our lineage, the devas, Mahadevas and God Siva Himself.
Aum Namah Sivaya.

The monks have an official Fictionary, a place to honor and preserve those creative moments when the tongue and the brain conspire to create a new word that really should be in the dictionary, but isn't. We offer today our latest entries, and we welcome Fictionary entries from you. We will keep them, use them, be entertained by them. 

thyping: typing with two thumbs, the new form of the now antiquated typing.

projectory:  The arc along which projections move

bloomy: adjective to describe a plant that is in full flower.

simplicated: taking something complex and making it simple

conduce (vt) - to be conducive.  Example:  I have read that peanuts do not conduce to tooth decay.

sbaw (adj., usually enclosed in parentheses) - actually a lowercased acronym for "should be a word."  Example:  I have read that peanuts do not conduce (sbaw) to tooth decay.

Holycowiferous: The famed expletive in adjectival form

Venture philanthropist: A savvy person of means who strategically invests in projects (especially non-profit initiatives) expecting the returns to not be monetary, but dharmic and karmic.

A Homa was held today as the monks begin their new phase. Natyam Nandinatha was the pujari for this ancient and sacred ritual, invoking Siva through fire. The monks chant Sri Rudram as prayers are burned in the flames and the deva's and Mahadeva's blessings felt. Following the final arati, Satguru Bodhinatha discussed today's lesson from Dancing with Siva:

Sloka 29 from Dancing with Siva
Why Are We Not Omniscient Like Siva?

The three bonds of anava, karma and maya veil our sight. This is Siva's purposeful limiting of awareness which allows us to evolve. In the superconscious depths of our soul, we share God Siva's all-knowingness. Aum.

Bhashya

Just as children are kept from knowing all about adult life until they have matured into understanding, so too is the soul's knowledge limited. We learn what we need to know, and we understand what we have experienced. Only this narrowing of our awareness, coupled with a sense of individualized ego, allows us to look upon the world and our part in it from a practical, human point of view. Pasha is the soul's triple bondage: maya, karma and anava. Without the world of maya, the soul could not evolve through experience. Karma is the law of cause and effect, action and reaction governing maya. Anava is the individuating veil of duality, source of ignorance and finitude. Maya is the classroom, karma the teacher, and anava the student's ignorance. The three bonds, or malas, are given by Lord Siva to help and protect us as we unfold. Yet, God Siva's all-knowingness may be experienced for brief periods by the meditator who turns within to his own essence. The Tirumantiram explains, "When the soul attains Self-knowledge, then it becomes one with Siva. The malas perish, birth's cycle ends and the lustrous light of wisdom dawns." Aum Namah Sivaya.

This morning's the sun rises to a rare spectacle. Mount Waialeale stands clear and cloudless above the Wailua river and Iraivan temple.

"All life, all the elements, all the variety of existence-all are like the streams flowing from the mountain top. All streams ultimately merge in the sea."
Yogaswami