On January 5th, just following the Ardra Darshanam abhishekam, Brahmachari Vatshalan entered the Guru Pitham to sit before the monastics and take his Supplicancy Pledge. With Satguru currently in India, Vatshalan's Sacred Pledge was sign by he himself as well as by the monastic witnesses present. Having already taken the vow of purity, he now takes on two more vows, the vow of Humility and the vow of Confidence. This pledge declares his intention towards a life of monasticism, as he now begins the final process, by which he will ready himself for the life of the Postulant. From the Sacred Pledge:

"The supplicant's foremost objective is to strive for mastery of the charya marga, or path of service. This begins with the avoidance of wrongful actions and the overcoming of base instincts and emotions as he learns to transmute worldliness into the higher states of devotion and selflessness. At this stage on the path, the Saivite devotee is content not to strive for profound spiritual attainments but to work diligently with the faults and flaws that are stumbling blocks on the path, learning at the same time to depend not only on his own resources but on the limitless abilities of the Gods to resolve all difficulties and dissolve all obstacles. The Supplicancy is a time of profound worship of Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan and Lord Siva and of deepening commitment and service to Saivite Hinduism and to the Church. It is also a time of study, challenge and inner change. The supplicant is encouraged to strive for the perfection of service and for the monastic ideals of humility, industry and responsibility, renouncing personal needs for the benefit of others. In this service, he should strive for transparency, that quality of anonymous virtue in which the premonastic lives in full harmony with others, remaining centered within and not standing out or disturbing the surroundings. It is this ancient tradition of unseen service and unperturbable stability that the supplicant seeks to emulate, realizing that serving in unheralded ways and renouncing the fruits of even good deeds averts the pitfalls of the spiritual ego and nurtures the state of unpretentiousness. By putting great energy into premonastic life and by serving tirelessly for the benefit not of himself but of others, the supplicant opens himself to the inflow of Lord Siva's grace." Aum Namah Sivaya.

Jai Sivaya Subramuniyaswami!
Jai Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami!
Jai Kailasa Parampara!

Today we celebrate the completion of Sannyasin Brahmanathaswami's incarnation for this birth and his life's mission as a Sannyasin of the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order. On December 22nd at 10 PM, Swami left his body, transitioning from this physical world into Siva's inner world of light. Less than 24 hours after his transition, at 12:33pm on December 23rd, Swami's remains were given a traditional departure ceremony followed by a swift cremation—all overseen by an entourage of twelve Saiva sannyasins. As a Saiva sannyasin, Swami's funeral rites were conducted on the day he donned his kavi robes, many years ago. For our monks, this is not a time of mourning or grief, but a time to celebrate a long life well lived, brought to completion in a natural and noble way. As many of our mathavasis can attest, Swami is already living a very active existence on the inner planes. The Tirukural succinctly says, "Death is like falling asleep, and birth is like waking from that sleep."

Yesterday, on the 26th, the monastery held a Reflective Honoring, a small gathering to remember the life that Swami lived so beautifully. Monks and island devotees shared stories of their interactions with him throughout life, messages were read from around the world from those who knew him and worked with him on many projects, including his beloved SivaSiva app. To conclude, Satguru gave a meaningful short talk on the continuity of awareness from life to life, stating that while many see life as a book which, read once, comes to the end, Hindus see it as one chapter in a book, which leads not to the end but to the next chapter. Consciousness does not die. You are invited to add your own testimonies in the comments below.

"Wear the body like a sandal" - Siva Yogaswami

Two sunsets from today, one at the monastery and another at the ocean. A Wailua Mission member sent a sweet note to all the monks on this fifth and final day of Pancha Ganapati, added to all the kind wishes that arrived from around the world....


Happy Pancha Ganapathi Dear Monks

We couldn't help reflecting this morning on our Magnificent Gurudeva. He saw little children growing up in the West and might feel left out' of the biggest celebration on this side of the planet. Gurudeva wouldn't have it so He created something so big, so rich, that it took five days to embrace it. It also gave us the opportunity to celebrate this Great God within our neighborhood, go around with gifts in hand and refresh our bonds of harmony and respect. O Gurudeva! We are so grateful!

As Saivites Gurudeva taught us to worship Pancha Ganapathi
O Ruler of Heaven and Earth!
Sweet Lord with the Elephant Ears
Who is sacrifice surrendered Your beautiful Tusk!
O Great God with a slow gait
And a Mother's Love!
Guide us in the first world today!
Hold us to the path of Dharma with your mighty noose . . .
That Your five radiant Shakti's will flow through us
Freely out to the world.

Hope you all are ready because it's Moksha time! Today at the monastery we had a homa and raised the coral flag to signify our entrance into this new season, Moksha Ritau. Please share in the comments what on the physical plane you plan on streamlining this season!  

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  112 Introduction Beginning with Hindu New Year in mid-April, three seasons of the year divide our activities into three great needs of humankind--the learning of scripture in the first season, Nartana Ritau; the living of culture in the second season, Jivana Ritau; and the meditating on Siva in the third season, Moksha Ritau. Thus we are constantly reminded that our life is Siva's life and our path to Him is through study, sadhana and realization. In ritau one, we teach the philosophy; in ritau two, we teach the culture; and in ritau three, we teach meditation. 120 The Third Season: Moksha Ritau The third period of the year, Moksha Ritau, the cool season, is from mid-December to mid-April. It is the season of dissolution. The key word is resolution. Merging with Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Metaphysics is the focus of study and intense investigation. The colors of this season are coral-pink, silver and all shades of blue and purple--coral for the Self within, silver and blue for illumination, and purple for enlightened wisdom. High above flies the coral flag, signaling Parasiva, Absolute Reality, beyond time, form and space. Moksha Ritau is a time of appreciation, of gratitude for all that life has given, and a time of honoring elders, those in the sannyasa stage of life. Moksha Ritau is excellent for philosophical discussions, voicing one's understanding of the path through an enlightened intellect. In finance, it is the time for yearly accounting and reconciliation. On a mundane level it is a time of clearing attics, basements, garages, sheds, warehouses, workshops and desks, getting rid of unneeded things, of pruning trees, of streamlining life on the physical plane--of reengineering. Aum Aum 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

Recently our inspired team of taskforcers got together to cook a wonderful and tasty meal for all the monks and Satguru. Encouraged by their fearless culinary-leader, Vatshalan, the group embarked on a quest to create a banquet of traditional Sri Lankan dishes including idiyappam, coconut and tofu curries, onion sambar, coconut chutney and carrot sambal. The meal was served on traditional banana leaves and deeply enjoyed by all!

Happy Ardra Nakshatra!
Aum Namah Sivaya!

On Siva's most auspicious nakshatra of the month, we welcome one of our newest monastic candidates into the pre-monastic aspirancy program. Vatshalan Santhirapala has been on taskforce for several months at the aadheenam and has long been interested in monastic life. In several days he will be returning to the UK, and while there as an aspirant he will continue to work towards his supplicancy vows. While someone must usually be under 25 years of age to enter our monastic order, if they are born into the Saivite Tradition and meet certain other qualifications, they may be eligible to take monastic vows provided they are under the age of 35--as per an adendum added by Gurudeva in 2001. Aspirancy is one of two major steps as a pre-monastic before qualifying to take vows as a postulant Sadhaka.

As stated in the aspirancy pledge:
"Saiva Siddhanta Chruch has established the Aspirancy to offer a pre-monastic training through its theological seminary for those who aspire to follow the monastic path. By this agreement aspirants affirm their commitment to deepen their study of the Saivite Hindu religion, particularly the Advaita Ishvaravada philosophy, also known as Advaita Siddhanta, enunciated in the Saiva Siddhanta theology of the Himalayan rishi Tirumular. They have chosen Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami as their satguru and the Kailasa Parampara as their heritage of faith and awakening. Aspirants come to monasteries and temples to learn through example and observation, and to be trained and taught the principles of religion, theology, philosophy and yoga. The primary objectives of aspirants are to emulate Saivite monastic life, intensify their Master Course study by studying the trilogy each day and to become thoroughly immersed in the tradition which they aspire to serve as a Saivite monastic."

Visitors come daily, some from far lands, many who have been planning their trip for ten or more years. Such was a group of seven from Calgary, Canada, today. One was celebrating her 70th birthday, and all the others were, amazingly, all having an unbirthday. What are the chances. The elders told of going every Saturday to Yogaswami's hut, and of meeting Gurudeva at a Ganesha temple in Sri Lanka in 1974.

Jai Gurudeva!

This week the monastery has been enjoying Gurudeva's 2022 Mahasamadhi celebrations. Each day begins with an early morning puja at Gurudeva's shrine in Kadavul Temple. Many devotees from around the world have come for these few weeks to celebrate Gurudeva's life and mission. Throughout the day attendees join in Kadavul for the Siva Puja, followed by an event or class. On the first day everyone gathered in the Media Studio for presentations about current projects that the publications team has been working on. Afterward they had lunch, cooked by the monks. In the afternoons devotees enjoy access to the 3pm Ganesha puja followed by time to wander the Aadheenam grounds to perform sadhana and take in the beauty of nature.

Three silpi craftsmen from India were supposed to return to Kauai a couple months ago, but could not due to visa issues. The issues have now been resolved and we expect them here shortly, so a team headed today to the house where they stay, for a second round of cleaning and food supplies preparation.