Today at Kauai Aadheenam

This morning in Kauai we observed Gurudeva’s Chitra Padapuja for the month of May. In California Satguru Bodhinatha was also given padapuja at a satsang.

And, below are livestreams of the final day of kumbhabhishekam ceremonies at the Concord Shiva Murugan Temple.

Satguru and swamis depart Kauai

The new temple entrance

The structure is built for all seasons, and houses its kodimaram inside

To adorn the temple vinamanam and gopurams

The yagasala has been going to several days already, building up power for the consecration

Pitchai Gurukkal was also present

Aum Namah Sivaya!

Several days ago, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, and Sannyasins Shanmuganathaswami and Siddhanathaswami boarded a flight bound for the Bay Area. They arrived in Concord to attend the Mahakumbhabhishekam for the newly completed Concord Shiva Murugan Temple that replaces the aging temple, which was established here from Gurudeva’s original Palaniswami Sivan temple in San Francisco. It was later managed as Himalayan Academy, California branch, by our monks and devotees, and then given over to the Hindu community when Gurudeva consolidated all his teaching activities at Kauai Aadheenam. It has come a long way, and the new temple is a beautiful structure, complete with more parking and a nearby community center which was built in tandem. Aum.

Jai Ganesha!

With the Aadheenam’s great many publications that are available to explore and share, we decided to present some here in a different format than usual. The idea was to convert the Path To Siva book into a shorter and simpler version for everyone—as a preview of what the chapter is all about. Something that works well for social media, for example. Below is the short-video format of Chapter 1. Who Am I and Where Did I Come From? Following that are nine slides with simple animations. You can download the video to view it in a better quality by clicking the vertical ellipses in the bottom-right of the video frame. Aum.

CLICK THE VIDEO TO PLAY

Below are the slides in image format

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

“What does it mean to “get centered” and to “be centered”? Actually, what it means is to feel the primal source within, to feel so centered that you are the center. And we always are something of what we feel, our hands or our legs or our bodies or our emotions or our desires. Most people on the path have the desire to get rid of their desires. It’s an impossible battle. Have you ever tried to get rid of your desires? If you would stop trying to get rid of your desires, then you would be centered, because you then take the energy out of desire. You take awareness away from that world of desire, and you get right in the primal source of the energy which flows through the physical body. It flows through the emotional network, right through the intellectual mind. That primal source of energy is flowing through the spine in each and every one of us this very moment. Feel it?“

Paramacharya gives his presentation, and offers valuable digital resources for all present

Flying over Germany reveals a landscape of countless small towns and farmland, separated by foothills and wind turbines

Several large buses take attendees from the airport to the ashram

Yoga Vidya Ashram in Bad Meinberg is one of Europe’s largest yoga centers, set in a forested campus offering classes, events and quiet retreat.

Each day of the congress included new speakers and topics. Here, Swamini Atmaprakashananda from the UK gives some inspiring words

Our monks got to stay in a 3rd generation, family-owned hotel in the German countryside, with farms on one side and woodlands on the other

After long flights, a walk among meadows and flowering cherry trees is greatly appreciated

There’s friendly, wild bunnies and deer everywhere you go

The air here is perfectly fresh, imbued with the smell of spring blossoms

A nice use for an old well as a flower planter

This pony lived behind the hotel, he wasn’t much of a talker. Maybe he only knew German.

Our monks gave their presentations on the final day. Here, Paramacharya begins his talk.

Earlier in the morning Tillainathaswami guided the group meditation. In the afternoon He gave a talk about personal practice and sadhana

Even the graffiti here is worshipful

Jai Ganesha!

Our two traveling monks have recently returned from a short trip to Germany, where they attended the 2025 European and World Yoga Congress. Paramacharya Sadasivanathaswami and Sannyasin Tillainathaswami made the eight-day journey across the globe and back. They arrived in Germany on the 24th to begin the event on the 25th. The venue was the Yoga Vidya Ashram in Bad Meinberg. This ashram is one of the largest in Central Europe and follows the Saivite Hindu teachings and lineage of Swami Sivananda. The event included speakers from Germany, Portugal, the UK, India, Venezuela, Iceland, the US and more. Of the hundreds of attendees, the majority were deeply devoted to their meditations and daily spiritual practice—not merely interested in asana (hatha) yoga, as one might have assumed from the name of the congress. When asked about the ultimate goal of their yoga practice, each responded, “Self-realization,” of course.

Aum Namah Sivaya