On the final day of Mahasamadhi, during the final afternoon homa, Iraivan's long-awaited, priceless pieces finally arrived at the temple. Both parts of Iraivan's central Deity are now at the Aadheenam: The Spatika Lingam and now the Avudaiyar. Iraivan's Siva-Shakti.

For those who don't know, this shipment of containers has seen every form of delay and obstacle imaginable, including spending a few days run aground on a reef in the Saipan Channel, sitting atop undetonated World War II mines! Upon being freed and rerouted, the shipping containers saw delay after delay at each point they reached. Knowing when the containers would arrive was anybody's (probably wrong) guess. The fact that the shipment reached Kauai Aadheenam exactly when it did is absolutely extraordinary. Jai Gurudeva!

The two 40-foot containers brought us many precious items for Iraivan Temple, including the five-ton metal auvudaiyar, the four-foot Nandi and important sculptures for the Nandi Mandapam, the five metal Sadasiva bronzes that will be installed on three sides of the vimanam, the black granite statues of Rishi Nandinatha, Gurudeva, Bodhinatha and many other items.

"As I look into the future, I see Iraivan, fully completed, as a center where devotees will come to find the center of themselves. We will preserve it and maintain it so that it is the way Rishikesh used to be, a proper, pure, quiet place where devotees can go within themselves through the practice of yoga. There are very few such places left on the Earth now. Kauai's Hindu Monastery is one of them. I see Iraivan as a yoga citadel, a place of pilgrimage for the devout, sincere and dedicated. I see Iraivan as India's message to the world on visitors' day, when Hindus and non-Hindus alike come to admire the great artistry of the silpi stone carving tradition. I see Iraivan as a fulfillment of our lineage, our scriptures and our monastery. This is a place where you do not have to invoke God, for God is here, for this is where heaven meets the Earth." - Gurudeva

Above are photos from our final day of Gurudeva's 13th Mahasamadhi celebration.

The day began with a short padapuja, followed by a final satsang with Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, at which he presented each pilgrim with a copy of our new Guru Chronicles Audio Book USB drive. The afternoon began with an elaborate havana in kadavul performed by Kumar Gurukkal, and culminated with a final puja to Gurudeva's black-granite tiruvadi. The whole afternoon event lasted about four hours.

From Dancing With Siva:
The satguru is like the sun. He is just there, radiating this very pure energy like the sun evaporates water. The satguru hardly does anything at all. It is the seeker who opens himself to the great accumulated power of darshan which the guru inherited from his guru and his guru's guru, as well as the natural darshan he unfolded from within himself through his evolution and practices of sadhana and tapas. It's all up to the aspirant at first. A satguru doesn't do a thing. The guru can amuse himself externally with anything. It does not make any difference in his darshan when he is at a certain point in his unfoldment. If you are around him long enough, and if you are honest with yourself and persistent in the tasks he asks you to perform and directions he gives you, psychic seals lift after awhile. But you have to do your part. He does his in an inner way, and as he does, you will feel the psychic seals melt away under his fiery darshan, just like a blowtorch penetrates and transforms the metal it touches.

From the Kularnava Tantra:
Devotion to the Satguru is the one main prescription. Without this, all learning, all austerity, family status and observances are useless. They are only decorations, pleasing to the worldly eye. The sishya who has complete devotion, steady and constant, what has he to worry about? Moksha is in the hollow of his palm. For him who remembers, “My Satguru is Siva Himself who grants Liberation,” fulfillment is not far off. As the steady devotion for the Satguru grows, so grows one’s knowledge. Neither yoga, nor tapas, nor ritual of worship are sufficient for spiritual attainment. Only gurubhakti excels. Service to the guru performed with devotion, according to one’s means, holds the same merit whether offered by the wealthy or the impoverished. Even if you give the whole of your wealth to the guru but without devotion, the fruit will not accrue to you, for indeed devotion is the only cause. The sacred paduka of the guru are the ornament. Remembrance of his name is japa. Carrying out his command is duty. Service to him is worship.

Today, Vel and Roshan planted a Mauritian pumpkin plant. After placing some fresh mulch over the garden bed, and putting the young plant in the earth, Vel performed a short puja, giving it a blessed start to a productive life. This variety is known to grow very big, and it is prized because of its thick skin which protects it from kauai's hungry bugs.

"Whatever work you have to do, do it well. That in itself is yoga." Siva Yogaswami