It is Sun 3 of a short phase. Both the Pillaiyar Kulam “PK” and Siddhidata Kulam “SK” gave their news today.

In the PK, Shanmuganathaswami has been working closely with creators of five new Hindu Heritage Endowments, trying to get them set up before the HHE Planned Giving seminar in California in August.

Muruganathswami has been working on travel arrangements and also with our book seller accounts.

Yogi Jothinatha has been focused on his Hinduism Today ads as he only has one day left to complete them.

Yogi Jivanandanatha has been doing a lot of accounting, first for the quarterly finance meeting of Saiva Siddhanta Church, Himalayan Academy Publicatons, Iraivan Temple and Hinduism Today. Financially the Aadheenam and all mission areas are strong and growing. Then he turned right around and started work to settle all the Hindu Heritage Endowment accounts for the quarterly meeting at which endowments are reviewed and grants will be issued.

The Siddhidata Kulam has been focused on Iraivan as well as our garden and food production. Almost all of the roof stones are up on the temple and they are preparing for the final lift in a few days.

Sun Three today. The Ekadanta Kulam was busy with tour day, guest management and is still processing in coming Guru Purnima Rededications.

Over 90 souls came to see Siva at the 11 am tour spot!

Young children love to try their hand at carving granite.

Wow! That’s really hard!

An update from our Sivathondar’s in Malaysia:

Ganesha Saranam,
Satguru Saranam,
Vanakkam Prostration Swami,
Swami may want to look at today’s

http://sivatondar.blogspot.com

I’ve updated with a slick slide show and made the blogspot more animated and lively. Slowly with other team members (especially Madhu), we’re moving to make this blogspot as lively and as interesting to read and get them come forward to know more about SSC, teachings, Guru Parampara and Iraivan

Hope Swami likes it.
Aum Sivaya,
Ravichandran Ceyon

These are some pictures from our son, Arunesh Eswaran’s Chudakarana Samskara when he was 3 months old in conjunction with the Chitra Purnima celebration in Malaysia. It was done at 6.30am on Saturday, April 19, 2008 in the Nattukottai Chettiar Sri Dandayuthapani Temple, Waterfall Road, Penang, Malaysia. The traditional Indian barber came to the temple and did the shaving in a room at the back of the temple. He used the traditional knife and did a perfect job–without even a single cut. Arunesh was calm and quiet throughout. After the head shaving he was given a bath in the temple itself and was dressed in new white clothes ready for the temple puja and an elaborate archana offering for Lord Muruga. Finally, a variety of prasadam was given to all who were in the temple.

Arunesh sits on his father, Sivaram Eswaran’s lap, ready for the shaving.

The barber uses a traditional straight razor to shave off the hair.

The shaving begins with the top of the head.

The top is almost finished.

Now on to the side of the head.

Arunesh’s grandmother, Thana Lakshimi Kuppusamy, collects Arunesh’s birth hair as the barber removes it, one lock at a time. We will later offer it into a river next to the temple.

Now for the back of the head…

Arunesh is quiet and concentrated…

He even seems to like it…

This is great! So nice to have a bare head and share it with family.

After a full-body gath in the temple itself, Arunesh’s mother, Devika Eswaran, dries him off and dresses him.

Complete with vibhuthi and pottu and chandanam on his head.

Arunesh sits on his maternal uncle, Punitharaja Nadaraja’s lap, awaiting for the temple puja to start.

Arunesh Eswaran in his white kurta suit. Congratulations, little one as you begin your spiritual journey on the Earth.

Sun One begins a short 4-day phase. Bodhinatha gave a talk this morning on how awareness, will power and the life force are one and the same. One should develop will power by finishing each task undertaken and by doing it well. He explained how will power was unusual in that the more you used of it, the more you had.

Senthilnathaswami performs the homa today.

Yogaswami serenely overlooks the guru peedam where the monk’s morning meditation takes place.

Outside the peetham, Saint Tiruvalluvar writes the Tirukural and Saint Tirumular sits in meditation.

A truly beautiful day brought many Hindu pilgrims for the morning puja in the Kadavul Siva Temple.

On the left is Shirish Patel with his wife and son. And from the United Kingdom – Harish, Sushil, and Rahar Gupta with their families. Also Braham R. Aggarwal who is a Professor from the University of Orlando accompanied by Avanish M. Aggarwal and Vishaal Gupta with their families – all from Orlando, Florida.

Following a tour of the Iraivan Temple, Professor Braham Aggarwal met with Arumugamswami in the Offices of Hinduism Today and Himalayan Academy (affectionately known as the “Press Shop”) accompanied by Avanish Aggarwal and Harish, Sushil, Vishal, and Rahar Gupta. –
Prof. Braham Aggarwal is on the right of Arumugamswami. Braham is the chairman of the Hindu University of America. Vishal is part of the Hindu Student Council in Florida. They discussed the need for education of Hindus in the United States, the presentation of Hinduism in American schoolbooks and how best to fund Hindu academic studies that useful to the religion.

Here are a few photos from our Wailua Mission gathering to continue work on the rudraksha project

Following Sun 1 homa our, members gathered filled with Siva’s blessings and Satguru darshan to pool their creative energies.

Here is Uma Sivanathan helping with keychains, bracelets and earrings.

Lila Devi and Valli Sendan share mission news while they work on the ever popular rudraksha bead on a string and bracelets.

Valli Sendan is always ready to help with sweet words and a cheerful smile. Notice the beautiful tropical flowers she grows, cuts and arranges for her sons’ (Jothi Sendan) family business “Kalani Tropicals.”

Tandu Sivananthan, Aran Sendan and Rajadeva Alahan completed filling the power washing racks and enjoy a moment of peace after a very busy morning.

The key element of rudraksha production is to use seeds which still have the fruit attached. These are then cleaned on these racks with a pressure washer. Seeds that are allowed to dry on the ground tend to crack open after a while.

Durvasa Alahan has been processing and drilling beads the past month. He has also been creating new racks for the smaller beads used in earrings and for special orders. They should be ready by next month.

Uma’s earring and bracelet designs.

A closer look at the mornings creative manifestations.

The proceeds from sale of the rudraksha items goes toward Iraivan temple.

With the Grace of God, Gods and Guru, let’s help build Iraivan Temple and visualize the Mahakumbha Abhishekam in 2012!

A group of ladies from Toronto vacationed in Hawaii and made sure their first stop was to visit Kauai’s Hindu Monastery and have darshan with Bodhinatha.

It is the last day of our phase and the Ganapati Kulam gave their report. The whole team is almost 100% focused on finishing up the editorial work for the October edition of Hinduism Today.

~~~~~~~~~~~
END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming two-day retreat,
until Dasami Tithi, Sun One, Sunday, July 26th.

It is always an inspiration to see the young growing up in our Church. Some who we have known since they were little ones are now grown young men and women, the leaders of our future.

The Hotranatha Ajaya family has carefully nurtured their family in Gurudeva’s teachings. This is a review from California on seventeen-year-old Yatrika Ajaya’s recent solo performance there. Gurudeva would be proud to hear the following story.

A Pilgrim into the world of Carnatic Music
“Yatrika in Sanskrit means “pilgrim.” Yatra is a pilgrimage to a temple or holy destination for thanksgiving or seeking divine favors. Carnatic music is an arduous pilgrimage towards achieving “Nada Brahma Aikyam,” (union with God). Yatrika Ajaya began this pilgrimage with her vocal guru, Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan, over ten years ago. On May 4, 2008, she gave a solo carnatic vocal concert at a temple in Sunnyvale to a standing-room-only audience. Most in this group knew and appreciated Carnatic music. She was given excellent musical support by Rangashree Varadarajan on violin and Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan on mridangam.

“The compositions Yatrika sang were gems in praise of many godforms in the Hindu pantheon: Vinayaka, Siva, Sakthi, Vishnu. This emphasizes Thyagaraja’s affirmation that music without devotion to God is not virtuous.

“(Sangeetha gnanamu bhakthi vinaa sanmargamu galadhe manasaa.) The selected kritis were from great composers in different Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit, and Kannada. Yatrika’s rendering in all of these was flawless and meaningful. Raga and Tala are basics, mastered with practice, but Bhava can only come with involvement and understanding of the meaning, even though music can transcend barriers. To say the least, she did full justice.

“One listener commented that Yatrika’s performance was the obvious fruition of hard work, discipline, dedication, and devotion to her beloved teacher. Having know Yatrika for many years and having watched her blossom into a beautiful and talented young woman, this listener found it an especially moving experience to see her sari-clad and so “grown-up” looking, smiling, a bit nervous perhaps but confident, eyes on her teacher and so focused on the music. Ah–the music, Thyagaraja’s Mokshamu and Papanasam Sivan’s Paratpara were two of her favorites, and although they lulled her young granddaughter to sleep, they were exquisitely performed. Another devotee in attendance at the concert also selected Mokshamu and said that though it was difficult to choose the best, this difficult kriti with its soft Saaramathi rendered in slow tempo stood out as the “winner”.
“At the end of Yatrika’s performance, the audience gave her a standing ovation. How great to find this talented person born in the West taking up this beautiful art which enshrines the religious sentiments of millions of Hindus past, present, and future. We wish and pray for Yatrika’s continued success in her Carnatic music pilgrimage.”

Sun Four at the Aadheenam. The Pillaiyar Kulam gave their news today. Shanmuganathaswami continues work on the major upgrade of our 4D data base. He’s also doing research on the possibility of a small scale hydro-electric generation unit for the Aadheenam. Muruganathanswami handle the Minimela sales over the web and describe how it all works. Yogi Jothinatha is working on the advertisements for the October issue and only has a few days left to finish and Yogi Jivanandanatha has been finalizing a lot of accounting and getting reports together for the month finance meeting with the stewards.

Today the last two sketches came from India, a series of nine that will be repainted by Kerala’s master muralist to adorn the ceiling of the Swayambhu Mandapam on Kauai. These tell the story of Gurudeva’s mystical encounter with Lord Siva, an encounter that was to be the seed of Iraivan Temple. Gurudeva wrote:
“One early morning, before dawn, a three-fold vision of Lord Siva came to me. First I beheld Lord Siva walking in a valley.”

Then I saw His face peering into mine.

“Then He was seated on a large stone, His reddish golden hair flowing down His back. That was February 15, 1975.”

“Upon reentering earthly consciousness, I felt certain that the great stone was somewhere on our monastery land and set about to find it. Guided from within by my satguru, I hired a bulldozer and instructed the driver to follow me as I walked to the north edge of the property that was then a tangle of buffalo grass and wild guava.”

“I hacked my way through the jungle southward as the bulldozer cut a path behind me. After almost half a mile, I sat down to rest near a small tree. Though there was no wind, suddenly the tree’s leaves shimmered as if in the excitement of communication. I said to the tree, ‘What is your message?'”

” In reply, my attention was directed to a spot just to the right of where I was sitting. When I pulled back the tall grass, there was a large rock the self-created Linga on which Lord Siva had sat. A stunningly potent vibration was felt. “

“The bulldozer’s trail now led exactly to the sacred stone, surrounded by five smaller boulders. San Marga, the ‘straight or pure path’ to God, had been created. An inner voice proclaimed, ‘This is the place where the world will come to pray.’ San Marga symbolizes each soul’s journey to liberation through union with God.”

“This was the fulfillment of the quest for a vision of what the future might hold, which led me and my followers to the lovely Garden Island of Kauai, held the most sacred of all by the Hawaiian peoples long, long ago. It is alongside the sacred Wailua River, leading to the top of Mt. Waialeale, that this place of pilgrimage is being built, a temple of kaivalya, granting freedom from the past and a vision for the future.”

“The temple’s 700-pound 50-million-years-in-the-making crystal icon is a kalpaka (spiritual wish-fulfilling) ever-giving Sivalingam. So many blessings await each pilgrim. None is ever neglected.”

Remember, these are just sketches for the final art!

It is Sun Three today. The Siddhidata Kulam reported on their work. A major initiative is the drawing and upgrade of all the structures on the Aadheenam to comply with the county building permit process. After the last hurricane we built and installed a number of structures and containers. To move forward with new construction we need to get all the existing structures stamped. It’s a long process and the county officials are very supportive. Yoginathaswami is himself making drawings. Other tasks include anchoring some structures to make them more hurricane proof. We should complete the work by the end of the year. Its all part of getting ready for our next stage of growth here.

Meanwhile we are taking a little step into history today.

First a link to Bodhinatha interview with a radio station on his recent trip to Illinois.

Second, a retrospective from Malaysia, showing some of the activities behind the scenes where our team of devotees and sevaks worked to prepare the major public event in Kuala Lumpur on the way through during last innersearch.

Third, a link to a PicLens slide show from the 2006, Australia innersearch.

A late posting of some photos from early this year… Our events in Kuala Lumpur are a major mission activity there and our sishya, students and sevaks are responsible for putting these events together. They do a really fantastic job. Here is a retrospective on the big night in KL on the last Innersearch. One facet of the event is that the members there are conducting a fund raising drive to cover the expense of the floor stones of the Iraivan temple.

“Sales (of Himalayan Academy items) began briskly early in the evening.”

Malaysian Hindu Sangam President, Dr Vaithilingam (guest of honor) being welcomed.

Kulapathi Guhan, all smiles while waiting the arrival of VIPs, Swamis’ and Satguru.

Participants informations being stored via a special interface software.

Filling up registration note/form.

VIP, Mr Athimulam being welcomed.

Another prominent VIP, Mother Mangalam grace our event.

Our Kulapathis waiting for VIPs.

Dr Maruthu explaining to an earger participant on how to pledge/sponsor Iraivan’s floor tiles.

Satguru mingles with organising team members before ushered to main hall.

Dr. Maruthu explaining Iraivan’s floor plan and how to contribute to an eager participant.

Satguru having a keen look on displayed items at Iraivan floor sponsor drive corner.

HH Satguru Bodhinatha arrives and then gave a wonderful presentation and blessed everyone till stroke of midnight.

Participants flocked at sales booth.

Parampara posters and photo frames for sales.

Sister Gowri and Selvavathy are always there to have their sales items on display.

Satguru made a quick tour of all the display corners before ushered to main hall.

Iraivan floor donor corner support members.

Kulamatha Agila brought pots of plants (rudraksha) for sales as part of donation drive.

Dr. Maruthu and Kulamatha Agila at Iraivan temple floor sponsor section.

Dr. Maruthu and Kulamatha Agila.

Mother Mangalam in conversation with Dr. Maruthu.

Shanmuganathaswami arrives together with rest of monastics.

Click here to go to the Maha slideshow for the 2006, Australia innersearch.

Take look on the side bar today to hear and read Bodhinatha’s latest Upadesha. Don’t miss it!

Sun Two brought us news today from the Ekadanta Kulam. Saravanathaswami has been continuing to handle all the Guru Purnima dedications that came in and he is also working on setting up Bodhinatha’s future travels.
Sadhaka Dandapani did a thorough review and upgrade of the Innersearch site, upgrading outdated photos and links. If you have not see it yet, click to see the fabulous slideshow he prepared of the recent Asian Odyssey

Quiet days at the Spiritual Park of Mauritius are enjoyable moments of appreciating natural beauty. The visitor can enjoy the soothing peace of the place. Sishyas are usually there to attend to some karma yoga, lovingly helping on various chores…

Today we bring you some photos from our Master Course students doing karma yoga at our center here.

Here are Bala, a Level Two MC student and Soundiren cleaning at the small Ganesha Shrine.

The Narmada Lingum ….. Lord Siva’s mystic presence around the whole place…

Veena cleaning the Ganesha Mandapam wooden railings…. Veena is an accountant at the Cyber Tower and is part of the HA team helping with the computer other MC students working on their new digital versions of the Master Course.

This week the Saivite Hindu Religion class was held in Flacq region where most of the youth live.

The lessons covered were on Brahmachariya and Hindu clothing..

Kulapati Mougam has kindly made his Hotel and Culinary Training Center (see it on the web here.) available to Himalayan Academy.

A view of one of the Keynotes…

Time for a little break…

The youth are happy. They have been explained in detail with examples, the importance of the Brahmachariya Vrata which many are planning to take on next Satguru Bodhinatha’s visit to Mauritius.

The next Lessons from SHR Book V will be on (a) Family Life and (b) How is Hinduism Organised.

All youth classes will be held in Flacq until completion of the BooK V syllabus in two months.

Sriram Vishwananathan and Alpa Patel were married recently, on July 10th. Sriram heard about the Siva Temple on Kauai from a friend and so they came for their honeymoon and pilgrimage. They were in attendance at the Guru Purnima ceremony on San Marga last phase.

Today they attended the 9am Siva puja, met with Bodhinatha and wandered our grounds performing sadhana at the various shrines.

Today was Sun One with homa as usual this morning.

Bodhinatha gave a talk introducing the Twelve Monthly Meditations booklet, focusing on the subject of “Taming Distraction.” Watch for it in the side bar tomorrow or the next day.

He explained how from the Shum perspective, awareness moves and the mind remains stationary. All states of mind always exist, it is our awareness which travels from one to the other. For meditation, one does regular hatha yoga and pranayama. As one gets more involved in meditation and more control over awareness, distractions are experienced less often.

Durgam and Subha Chakrapani are on pilgrimage from Portland, Oregon. They pause in front of the exquisite and beautifully hand-carved granite Umbrella Ganesha along the well-worn path to the Iraivan Temple.

This sacred Swayambhu Lingam was where Gurudeva experienced his threefold vision of God Siva. In future years, the sacred Swayambhum Lingam will be housed in a beautiful pillared temple building. This is the sacred site where devotees honored Gurudeva and now Bodhinatha during the most auspicious annual festival of Guru Purnima – which was held just three days ago!

Ramesh and Sujata Sachdeva on their yearly pilgrimage with son Shiva and daughter Simran. Hugging rudraksha trees and bathing Narmada Lingam.

It was a magnificent day at the Aadheenam as we celebrated Guru Purnima with an early morning home and worship of our beloved Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami.

And don’t miss his latest Upadesha posted today. (see right side bar for links)

~~~~~~~~~~~
END OF PHASE
Today is the last day of our phase.
This edition of TAKA will remain posted
over our coming three-day retreat,
until Dvitiya Tithi, Sun One, Sunday, July 20th.

Light showers in the early morning brought an auspicious rainbow to bless the annual celebration of the greatness and blessings of having a living spiritual preceptor.

Yogi Jivanandanatha and Sadhaka Satyanatha perform the sacred ceremony, attend by the monks and sishya on Kauai.

Jai Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami ki Jai!

Sadhaka Dandapani and Sivakatirswami have been working on a new slideshow presentation and technology, using PicLens (FireFox or Internet Explorer only). Click here to view the Maha Innersearch Asia Odyssey Show.

It is Sun Five today. The Ganapati Kulam gave their report. The team is very focused on the final work of the October issue of Hinduism Today and also on video production.

This afternoon we all decorated for Guru Purnima puja tomorrow morning.

The big news for the day was yet another successful stone lift at Iraivan. Sun shade and some other roof stones were hoisted.

Kulapati and Kulamata Aran and Valli Sendan watch from a distance with their grandchildren. These children are second generation born American Hindus.

Some shots from a different vantage point.