To attend worship at Kadavul Hindu Temple make a reservation here
FRONT GROUNDS ARE OPEN DAILY FROM 9AM to 12PM WITHOUT A RESERVATION

Landscaping Around Iraivan

It has been many years coming, but in the last few weeks we have finally begun to terraform the land right around the temple. All these years this area (see the red-dirt surrounding the temple in this photo) has been a storage and construction zone, with large trucks arriving to offload crates from India, giant cranes working to lift stones in place, all of which made it impossible to do much there. But wait! Now the wait is over and Dennis Wong is shaping the land. His primary goal is to make it even, so the abundant Kauai rain waters shed evenly away from the temple in all directions. Water is the mortal enemy of any building, and if we are to actually have a temple that lasts a thousand years, this water management plan is critical.

So Dennis (who has worked here for 40 years making the gardens and ponds) is out there morning to night in dozers, excavators, skidsteers, 12-ton compactors, cutting the earth to perfection. The slides tell the still-in-progress story.

New Rudraksha Malas

Here are some beautiful malas recently strung by local sishyas for selling in the Minimela giftshop. The malas move like hotcakes and we can barely keep up.

Shanmuga Banyan Offerings

Aloha everyone,

We hope this Sunday lived up to all of your greatest expectations! Our Sunday was not a retreat day so we were all working hard but thankfully a three-day retreat is coming up tomorrow. Anyways, on to our story... over the past few years visitors and pilgrims to the monastery have brought with them the very popular trend of leaving small offering to Kauai! It reminds us of Indian trees and temples where you will find thousands of notes, bells, pieces of colored cloth ties to a tree. Talk a walk under the Shanmuga banyan tree and you will see all sorts of small gifts people have left. Money is commonly left but it is not the only thing. Look closely and you will see bracelets, prayers and even small Ganesha murtis.

Banyan Branch Break

We're just sitting there on a recent morning at our computers in the Media Studio, minding our own business, when suddenly a loud "Crack, Crack, Whoosh!" We all rushed outside to find a sizable branch or two had partially detached from the Shanmuga Banyan tree nearby. Fortunately it fell just short of the Kadavul Temple water tank and didn't damage anything. We hired JP's tree trimmers to complete the detachment. Check it out.

The Last Day of Our Year

Aum Ganesha,

Today is the last day of our year of Plava Samvatsara. Tomorrow we move into Shubhakrita, which translates as the year of "auspicious actions," a time for doing good deeds.

Our wandering sadhus send us some photos from their early morning sadhanas. A peaceful end to a quiet day at Kauai Aadheenam.

"Even a great soul faces difficulties, but he does not take them personally. Generally people take problems too personally by identifying closely with them." - Gurudeva

Preparing a Garden Grove

Aum Namah Sivaya

Today we bring you the short story of a small area of nature near our Mini Mela building, which many might not notice as they walk by. After a good many years, plants do like they do here, grow a little wild (by gardeners' standards, that is). Sannyasin Kaivalyanathaswami has recently been adding a little refinement back into one of these areas. With the help of Jim, Swami has been making a small manicured clearing within a colorful hedge, returning it to its former glory as a serene sanctuary. Peruse the slideshow to learn more.

Widening the New Road

Our new concrete road down to Iraivan Temple is called Siva Saalai, “Siva’s Road” in Tamil. It is a 650-foot-long, 10-foot-wide entry, taking visitors through two rows of giant talipot palms, seven trees on each side. It is an awesome entryway.

After waiting a month for it to cure, heavy equipment can now use it. Today we are widening it with a skirt of dirt and gravel to vehicles can pass each other coming from opposite directions and so large delivery trucks can make the turns. Our employee Doug Noogle is bringing in loads and smoothing it out. This was once the most pot-holed road on the property. Today it is the Royal Road to Siva.

Sampling of Minimela Inventory, and Sunset Shots

Here's a small tour through some of the items kept in supply for the many visitors passing through our Minimela giftshop.

Siva’s Bonsai Gems

A long-awaited manifestation is taking place in Siva's Sacred Gardens. It is the brainchild of Tandu Sivanathan, a bonsai sensei who has cared for, nurtured, shaped and otherwise raised dozens of bonsais at his Kauai homestead. He has recently, with the help of Deva Seyon, brought twelve of his master works to the monastery. Together they placed display stands at each of the Satguru murtis, then hand-picked which guru should be honored with which style of bonsai. Now Tandu comes to the monastery every other day to water them all, since their super-shallow root system is hyper sensitive to drying out. Come with us on a tour of this marvelous addition to an already marvelous sanctuary.

Inspired the the beauty of the bonsai, Kartik Suresh wrote this short song (he's a bass player).

Bonzais of San Marga by Kartik Suresh, January 26, 2022

With Iraivan Temple just feet away, stand individual Bonzai for each Guru today. As each guru along San Marga’s path, each Bonzai’s shape colors their individual message. 

Whether lush with leaves, or a long branch as one, Siva’s grace is seen and expressed in rain, wind and sun.

Such as Sanatana Dharma, Bonzais have seen millennia, and as Santana Dharma, need meticulous care and discipline to wash away karma.

Jai Ganapathi, Jai Gurudeva, with these Bonzai at your feet, may Siva’s message and dance be shared with the world to see.


Click to play!

Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.

Subscribe to RSS Feed