Some days ago, our silpis installed hanging stone chains in the four corners of the Iraivan Temple mahamandapam roof. This constituted the final pieces of the temple to be assembled. Worthy of celebration! The silpis will return to India at year's end.

As it has around the world, the annual day arrived to celebrate Lord Ganesha's sweetness with pomp in Kadavul Temple.

Because our puja was early, at 6am, Iraivan Temple's priest Pravin Kumar was able to attend and also offer some chants and songs at toward the end. He wanted a few photos of himself to share with family, so you'll see those in this collection.

The puja livestream--

A major event was held at the historic Shakti temple in the South, complete with beautiful chants at the Sivalingam pavilion, darshan of Ganesha and Muruga.

The Mahebourg Temple is a vibrant Hindu temple, known for intricate carvings, colorful ceremonies, and a peaceful spiritual atmosphere. It has been here since 1804.

A large group came to hear the two swamis speak. Anazingly, the leadership here is close to the Nandinatha Sampradaya and to this day has vivid dreams and visions of Gurudeva. They spoke knowledgeably about Challappaswami and Yogaswami.

A special dinner followed, the famed "Seven Curries" of the nation. Difficult to make as it is super complex, it was done by a smalll army of ladies who serve at the temple.

Pradosha is a bimonthly occasion on the thirteenth day of every fortnight in the Hindu calendar. The auspicious three-hour period 1.5 hours before and after sunset is considered as the most suited and optimal time for worship of Siva on this day. Before the normal afternoon puja to Mahalingesvara, our priest, Pravinkumar, pays extra attention to Nandi. He starts by re-oiling Nandi and a bali peetha on opposite side, then performs abhishekam to Nandi with milk, turmeric, sandalwood and rose water while chanting Sri Rudram, then decorates with new cloth and garlands, and offers dhupa, deepa and naivedyam. Nandi gets the extra attention because of the following legend (quoted from Wikipedia)-- The devas (celestial deities) approached Siva in the most propitious moments of pradosha to get relief from the asuras- Danavas and Daityas. They ran around Kailasha, Shiva's abode hitherto on a Thrayodashi evening and were aided by Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull. Siva aided them in killing the asuras, which is why the practise of worshipping Siva on Thrayodashi along with Nandi emerged and continues in Siva temples. Metaphysically, this story could be interpreted as describing a specific prayer during this time twice a month to have one's aura purified of negative colors and vasanas.

With some helpful dry weather in the last week, our big equipment operator and engineer Dennis Wong was able to complete the process of laying down rocks and gravel for the farthest section of the Iraivan Temple pilgrims' path. This portion is the most challenging because of longer distance for transporting the material, and susceptibility to muddiness in wet weather. He will move on to the flatter sections in the weeks ahead. The rocks and gravel were laid a bit further than the temple entrance hill steps, over to a picturesque stream. Next, Dennis is working backwards, currently around the svayambhulingam area.

On this dry and sunny afternoon we get a few shots of more mondo sprigs (the dark green fluffy grass) being added on the west side of Iraivan Temple. We've hired some extra help to move the big project forward a little quicker. The silpis are up there making some corrections on roof stones.

Aum Namah Sivaya!

Today, Brahmachari Shankara is serving in the Ganapati Kulam. As one of his first tasks, he was sent to Iraivan Temple to take photos of the recently completed red granite tiles around the temple's foundation. Upon Shankara's arrival at the temple, Pravinkumar had just arrived to open the temple doors for the morning puja and abhishekam to Lord Mahalingasvara. Before opening the doors he does a small puja for Nandi, requesting Nandi's permission to unlock the inner sanctum. Also happening in the temple, the silpis are carving a special drain from the sanctum gomukai. Iraivan Temple's morning puja is not yet open to the general public because the area is still a construction site, but the worshipful vibration is no less palpable. Jai Mahalingesvara!

The path from rudraksha grove to Iraivan Temple is finally being paved so that pilgrims can walk safely. In between some rainouts and other responsibilities, our longtime earthworker Dennis Wong is making good progress with laying down rocks first, and then gravel on top. He is beginning with the most difficult section which stretches from the svayambhulingam (under white tent in photo), down the hill, through the rainbow eucalyptus grove, around a corner to the flight of steps leading up to Iraivan, and also a bit beyond that to a stream. After that, he will work backwards up the straight portion of San Marga path towards Muruga Hill and beyond.

After the rock and gravel is laid, the plastic grid will go down, which is then topped with soil and grass planted in it. It will look much prettier than a cement path, and also less expensive.

One of the requirements for a new monk is to learn and then perform the Saiva Atmartha Puja (home shrine puja) in front of Satguru and all the monks. Sadhaka Vatshalanatha recently did this at 5:30am in place of our normal puja for the monks. This accomplishment is a stepping stone towards him next learning the parartha puja (established temple puja), which he will eventually perform for Ganesha and Murugan Deities in Kadavul Temple.

It was time again for another island jaunt by our temple shilpis, and our Iraivan Temple priest, Pravin Kumar Gurukal, joined. It was his first opportunity since March to start seeing the beautiful environment of Kauai. On this sunny day they took a short walk around Nawiliwili Bay near the airport and visited a small lighthouse on the point.