We had a nice rainbow over Iraivan Temple the other day as a storm was leaving. That's the first photo. Subsequent photos show final earthwork being done by Pradip in preparation for the second concrete foundation pour of the new Siddhidata Kulam workspace. The project was delayed for some days by wet weather, but now it's dry enough to continue. This second foundation will be for the new equipment maintenance shop adjacent to their new offices and storage space.

Today was the official placement of the first new stone for Kadavul Temple's Kodimaram! This is a momentous moment marking the official start of the work and providing blessings to ensure the rest of the project goes smoothly. Enjoy our early morning photos as well as this video of the Silpi's work chant-   Aum Namah Sivaya

No, this isn't Stonehenge in the UK. In this first photo are the final batch of cladding stones forklifted over by the Siddhidata Kulam for placement around the Dhwaja Stambha base.

Multiple concrete trucks arrived in the early morning and Ryan's team went about vigorously guiding the concrete pump and smoothing it out. After the concrete cooled for several days, the team returned to lay a cement block partial wall (see last photo), which they did quickly with a couple days. The next stage is to level adjacent ground and pour a concrete foundation for the new machinery maintenance shop.

The team installing the Iraivan floor in the second prakaram is gaining momentum. It has taken weeks to map out the puzzle (65 different sizes of tile) and prepare the surfaces. And now tiles are going down. Even today, which is Saturday, the team is on the job, pushing hard, arriving at 6:30am in the dark to get a quick start on the day. See a retro slideshow that goes back to tile arrival and floor prep.

Aum Aum, As you know the Silpis have been hard at work preparing the Nandi Mandapam for the installation of the new stone bases. Well, yesterday, the Silipis along with support from the Siddhidhata kulam moved the stones into place along the Mandapam where they will soon be installed in their final resting place! Look forward to the updates! Jai Ganesha!

Jai Ganesha!

Over the past year the monks of the Siddhidatta Kulam of been quietly and gradually working on a special project–the construction of a new shop area to work in. Currently, when a tractor bucket is in need of a good sledge-hammering, or a weed whacker is in need of fixing and testing, the location available is near the main monastery buildings. It's a little small for the amount of work it's used for and it also happens to be within an audible range of Satguru's office. After months of careful planning, the concrete foundation for a new structure has been poured! The monks of the Siddhidatta Kulam made sure to bless the area beforehand and to give a shawl and offerings to the team doing the cement work. The excavator then broke ground and the team successfully created a flawless foundation for the new building. Aum.

Aloha all! We are very excited to announce that after an absence of years the Silpis have recently arrived back from India and have begun to work on Iraivan Temple and the Nandi Mandapam in front of Kadavul Temple. Enjoy the photos of progress and look forward to more 🙂
Aum Namah Śivaya

Today was a day off for the busy tile setting team, so we took the opportunity to sneak inside the workspace to see what they've been up to.

Employee John is nearly finished placing the two rows of paver stones next to the seashore paspalum grass sprigs popping up. Underneath the grass is the geotile, and this will constitute the ground pradakshina path around Iraivan. Below the front of Iraivan Temple, employees Doug and Jim are nearly finished creating this lava rock pony wall around the steps up the hill.