Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Happy Jayanti Satguru!

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  • Satguru stands across from Iriavan temple in the nearby sacred garden

Aum Namah Shivaya!

Today is Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswamis 84th Jayanti! Later today, monks will prepare a special meal consisting of Satguru’s favorite dishes. Below is included a inspiring talk given by Satguru inside Kadavul temple in 2011.

His talk is about the continuity of effort between our inner and outer life. There aren’t two of us, so the concentration and willpower we bring to meditation should carry into school, work, and everything we do. Meditation doesn’t end when we open our eyes, and control of the mind throughout the day is cumulative.

It’s about paying attention to what we’re doing and finishing what we start. The more we’re interested in something, the more energy we draw out to do it, and it seems effortless. Starting impulsively and then stopping before we finish creates a negative pattern in the mind.

It’s about meeting life with less emotional reaction. The biggest way to have difficulty handling something is to label it a problem. It’s just the next thing to do, and each challenge we meet strengthens our willpower. That is how we are able to go within more deeply.

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Jai Returns on Taskforce

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In the early morning Jai attends the morning monk siva puja.

Aum Namah Śivaya!

Recently, Jai returned to the taskforce program for several weeks. While he participates daily with seva, working alongside swamis and sadhakas in the Siddhidatta Kulam. So far, he has helped with digitally inventorying heavy equipment and machinery onto our maintenance server.

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Continual Clearing of the Sacred Grounds

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  • Pradeep easily move sections of the fallen palm
  • His big excavator makes clean up fast
  • More fallen palms are extracted
  • Pradeep uses the machine to clear both sides of the road
  • Camphor logs
  • Blue gum and camphor logs await future milling

Aum Namah Sivaya!

Recently, Pradeep and his team were continuing to clear fallen trees from other parts of the monastery property. Today we share photos of an enormous palm tree being cleared by a large excavator operated by Pradeep. The road these palm trees once grew on was the major path down to Iraivan temple. Clearing this area reopens a major throughway for monks and devotees. Nearby, fallen wild hardwoods were removed; they will be saved for future carpentry projects. These logs were perfectly straight, measuring twelve feet long and had a wide enough diameter to be milled into usable lumber. Once these blue gum eucalyptus and camphor trees are milled, they will spend many years curing before they can be used for future construction. The monks are grateful to find ways to use trees that fall on the monastery’s sacred grounds.

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Shreyas’ Seva Continues

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  • Shreyas digs a trench
  • The screen is very damaged
  • Pebbles, the garden duck (not to be confused with Bubbles the white duck)
  • Shreyas enjoys working with his hands
  • Here he disassembles the pallets

Jai Ganesha!

Not long ago, Taskforcer Shreyas spent his day cultivating his gardening and carpentry skills. He served in the monastery garden, removing soil around the footings of one of the high-tunnels. This high-tunnel was used for growing zucchini and summer squash year round. However, the hurricane damaged the screen of the structure, making it unusable until repaired. In order to replace the side screen, a small trench was dug near the high tunnel. Shreyas also disassembled a large wooden pallet that was used to ship some equipment to the monastery. The wooden 2×4’s he saved will be used for numerous projects in the future.

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333rd Chitra Pada Puja for Gurudeva

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  • Final arati of the puja
  • Monks and sishyas attend
  • Sadhaka cleans the stone sandals
  • He offers sacred herbs
  • More offerings are poured
  • Satguru and monks chant along together
  • Satguru honors his guru
  • Satguru takes blessing from the arati

Jai Gurudeva!

In the early morning today in Kadavul temple, the monks and many devotees worshiped Gurudeva on the auspicious day of Chitra nakshatra. This month’s puja was noteworthy because it was the 333rd (a memorable multiple of nine) pada puja performed since his Mahasamadhi in November of 2001. Sadhaka Sabanatha and Yogi Haranandinatha performed the powerful ceremony. All those who attended felt the blessings from the inner worlds flow out and energize them for the week ahead.

Below is a talk given by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami in 2017, he talks on the importance of having a Satguru. Aum Namah Sivaya!

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Arinien’s Daily Activity

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  • Sivanadiyar and Bhairava pose for a photo
  • Singing bhajans in Kadavul temple
  • Final arati of the Muruga puja
  • Off loading the compost bucket
  • The blessed temple flowers from Nataraja become our food!
  • lush Japanese pumpkin vine
  • This pumpkin will be ready to pick in the weeks to come

Vel Muruga!

Today, we shadow Śivanadiyar Arinien around the monastery. His day is filled with a dynamic balance of temple worship and selfless seva. He enjoys singing devotional hymns while the Muruga pujari adorns the Deity with fresh flowers and richly embroidered clothing. During the height of the puja—the final arati—Arinien receives Muruga’s blessing, encouraging his mind to become calm as a still lake. After the puja, he heads to the garden with compost buckets. He empties their contents into a large composting bin, layering the food waste with woodchips to help it break down into beautiful soil. Besides composting, he attends to many other garden duties, including growing food. He shows us a sprawling pumpkin vine that is harvested weekly. Walking the monastery’s German shepherd, Bhairava, is another duty he performs with a smile and enthusiasm.

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