Many will know the dedication and Sivathondu done by one of Yogaswami's oldest devotees in Sri Lanka: Somasundaram Sanmugasundaran. "Dr. Shan" as he was affectionately called, was loved also by Gurudeva who brought him to the US to share Yogaswami stories and help Gurudeva in task of bringing the traditional Saiva culture to the west.

Dr. Shan lived in Colombo and would travel frequently to Jaffna to visit his Guru, Siva Yogaswami. After Yogaswami's Mahasamadhi there were only two centers in the North founded by him and his devotees. In Colombo, the devotees had for decades every month to honor Yogaswami, but they had no dedicated center of their own, which was a cherished dream of Yogaswami's Colombo family. Then came the war and the vision was way-layed for many years. But after the war, the devotees got to work and finally, the Sivayogaswami Trust of Sri Lanka, whose current president is Sri Ranjan, Dr. Shan's son, completed the new center: the Sivayogaswami Tiruvadi Nilayam of Colombo. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami wrote this report just before returning home, describing events of August 31 in Colombo, Sri Lanka


Jai Ganapati.

This morning was the opening ceremony for Sivayogaswami Tiruvadi Nilayam, Colombo. The event started from the adjacent Ramakrishna Mission. We arrived at RK Mission a little after eight AM which was just in time for a few minutes of the final arati of their morning puja to Ramakrishna. Next a short talk with the head swami Sarvarupanandaji.

We began the event with a parade of a Yogaswami photo from Ramakrishna Mission down the street and around the corner to the Sivayogaswami Tiruvadi Nilayam. An elaborate abhishekam was held to the tiruvadi. This was similar to what we do for Gurudeva. This was accompanied by beautifully sung Natchintanai. Then began the speeches. Speakers were from: Ramakrishna Mission, Sarada Ramakrishna Mission (women), All Ceylon Hindu Congress, Chinmaya Mission and the government minister for Hindu Culture.

Then the downstairs library was opened. It was donated by Jayanthi Nilakanthan in memory of her aunt Ma Navaratnam. And last, as usual, was the singing of Sivapuranam by Manikavasagar.

Om Namasivaya,
Bodhinatha
 

Paramacharya Sadasivanathaswami and Sadhaka Rajanatha are off on a month long mission. Their first stop will be Southern California for Satsang with devotees there followed by the Sages and Scientists Conference in LA on the 9th. Then off to Chicago for more satsangs, then to Atlanta for the Hindu Mandir Executives Conferences, 2016, 16-18, then more satsangs in Arizona, Victoria, Canada, Portland and San Francisco, arriving back home on October 2nd. Look for reports from the road in the days ahead.

Yesterday we celebrated Ganesha Chaturthi at Kauai Aadheenam in Kadavul Hindu Temple. This annual home-temple festival occurs on the fourth day ("chaturthi" means "fourth" in Sanskrit) after amavasya, or the new moon in the month of Simha, which is always in either August or September. In Hindu homes around the world in which Ganesha is worshiped, handmade Ganesha icons are fashioned and worshipped for ten days, culminating on the fourteenth day after the new moon in Simha, known as Ananta Chaturdashi. "Ananta" means eternal, and "chaturdashi" means fourteen. "Chatur" is four, "dashi" is tenth from the word "dasha" meaning ten in Sanskrit. On this day, the aforementioned Ganesha murti which the family made and worshiped for ten days is submersed in a body of water, be it an ocean, lake, river, pond, etc. Though in same families and communities, this submersion, called visarjana or a "farewell" is sometimes done on Ganesha Chaturthi day itself.