Satguru’s Recent Visit to Singapore & Malaysia
It's been two or three years since Saiva Siddhanta Church sishyas and well-wishers in Singapore and Malaysia could visit with Satguru, so that was nearly the sole focus of his recent week spent there, minus one day due to a flight cancellation from Honolulu.
Malaysia was the first stop, with multiple padapujas. Satguru met with many families individually, presided over some brahmacharya vratas, held a group satsang at the Iraivan Illam center, met with current leadership at the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, and stopped by longtime supporter Dr. Arjunan's home where he also touched base with the current Swami posted at the local Divine Life Society branch.
Singapore was the second stop, with padapuja satsang at Dohadeva and Nagavathy's home and another satsang at the hotel complete with a dance offering.
Completing Taskforce Visit
Vani Takes Vrata Shishya Vows
This morning, Vani, who visiting here from London, took her vrata shishya vows with the blessings from Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. She's here with her parents who are on pilgrimage to Kauai Aadheenam for the first time from Mauritius. The family gathered in the Guru Pitam following the morning's Siva Puja in Kadavul Temple. Vani read from her new vows and signed them, as did her parents and Satguru. Many blessings from the Kailasa Parampara for this new stage on the path! Aum Namah Shivaya
Cement Pour for Siddhidata Kulam New Maintenance Building
Ganesha and Murugan Murtis Grace Our Front Entrance
Ganesha and Muruga Cleaning
Our Postulant Monastics Renew Their Vows
In our monastic order, a monk can only take lifetime vows once he becomes a sannyasin. Until then he is under short term vows that must be renewed every two years on the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima. He is known as a "Postulant" monastic. Some days ago our postulants all gathered in the Guru Temple to renew their four vows of Humility, Purity, Obedience and Confidence. Below are the introductions to each vow.
HUMILITY IS THE STATE OF profound maturity in which the soul, immersed in the depths of understanding and compassion, radiates the qualities of mildness, modesty, reverent obeisance and unpretentiousness. There is an analogy in the Saivite tradition that compares the unfolding soul to wheat. When young and growing, the stalks of wheat stand tall and proud, but when mature their heads bend low under the weight of the grains they yield. Similarly, man is self-assertive, arrogant and vain only in the early stages of his spiritual growth. As he matures and yields the harvest of divine knowledge, he too bends his head. In the Tamil language this absence of pride or self-assertion is known as pannivu. Pannivu also means "jewel." In the Tirukural it is said that "Humility and pleasant words are the jewels that adorn a man; there are none other."
PURITY IS THE PRISTINE and natural state of the soul. It is not something which the monastic attains as much as that which he already is, and which becomes evident as the layers of adulterating experience and beclouding conceptions are dissipated. Purity is clarity and clearness in all dimensions of being. It is innocence as opposed to familiarity with the ways of the world. It is for monastics the observance of chastity, called brahmacharya. In Tamil purity is given its fullest expression in the term tirikarannasutti, which means "purity in mind, speech and body." These three--also called thought, word and deed--convey the fullness of the ideal of purity.
OBEDIENCE IS THE STATE OF willingness and cooperation in which the soul remains open and amenable to enlightened direction. For the monastic it is an unbroken pledge of trust in and surrender to the satguru, the guru parampara and the mystic process of spiritual evolution. In the Tamil language this definition of obedience is expressed in the term taalvu enum tanmai, which denotes "the quality or state of humble submission." Obedience does not consist in blind submission and yielding to authority, nor in weakening our own will that it may be dominated by the will of another. Yet it is, in another sense, submission to a sacred purpose and the divine authority of the Second and Third Worlds. It is, for the monastic, an inner quality that allows him to remain consciously tractable and responsive.
CONFIDENCE IS THE STATE of trust in which the sacred teachings and sensitive or personal matters are not divulged to others. Spiritual matters must be protected and preserved by those to whom they are entrusted, never wantonly or indiscriminately revealed. When we confide in another, we do so with the assurance that sensitive and serious information will not be inappropriately disclosed. In the Tamil language confidence is known as rahasiyam, meaning "secret or mystery." Confidence as applied to these Sacred Vows does not mean "certainty," "a belief in one's abilities" or "self-confidence." Rather it is a confiding, a trusting and a relying upon. It is the controlled sharing of privileged teachings or information that should not be disclosed, but held in confidentiality. In its most simple form it is the keeping of a secret. Confidence for the monastic may be defined as wisdom in handling information.
Mauritius Satguru Purnima, and Gurudeva Pavilion Unveiled
Monastic Family Visit
“Big Brother” Loner Excavator is a Boon
Recently, the small Caterpillar excavator we own went to the shop in Puhi industrial park for maintenance and replacement parts. Because the process is taking a lot longer than anticipated, the CAT headquarters in Honolulu agreed to loan us a slightly larger excavator for free because our projects need to continue moving forward, especially on drier days.
Here are a few photos of the larger machine (with our part time employee Dennis Wong and long-time friend of the monastery) which is a boon since it can make quicker work of some types of projects.
From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.