We are now putting together another great Aloha Luncheon for you. Come meet Bodhinatha, two of his swamis and about 100 supporters and friends of our monastery–among the most inspired and inspiring people on the planet. 

Please consider joining us, even if you are far from California. Every year, some do travel great distances to attend and find it was well worth the effort.

Attendance is via RSVP (click here) only and space is limited, so please RSVP  by May 1, 2014. For more info, please contact us at email jothi@hindu.org or 808-634-5407.

On the following day, in the same hotel, there will be another event, which you are also warmly invited to attend: a whole-day seminar led by Bodhinatha, again free of charge. Attend both events and be greatly uplifted. Again do contact us if you have any questions.

[Click here to go to the Embassy Suites Website]

In the first photo are Gurudatta and Saipriya Shamain from Arizona. They're connected with the Mahaganapati Temple there.

Today the monastery began its new phase with an early morning homa. This phase is a short one, of only four days, and it's followed by Sadhu Paksha. Sadhu Paksha is a time when the monks take a several week retreat, without the normal morning temple routine and instead practice their personal sadhanas. The two weeks are followed by the Ratau change. Today there were some new guests at the homa, all on pilgrimage to the aadheenam.

Following the homa, Satguru Bodhinatha read from Living with Siva lesson 344:

"I believe that this oldest religion of the farthest past is also the religion of the future, the religion best suited to the technological age. I think we should present Hinduism as it is today, as a vibrant religion of the present. Then it will survive into glorious futures. We need inspired people to serve Saivism with a strong will and a positive mind. In this effort, all differences must be set aside so we can work together on powerful programs that will bring progress; and that progress will inspire others, make them enthusiastic, show them that Saivism can be brought into the technological age for the good of the next generation, the next and the next. 

What happens when a religion is lost in yesterday and not brought forward to guide its followers today and on into the future? All kinds of problems arise. The youth begin to think religion is obsolete, abandon it and become immersed in worldliness, often in activities that are adharmic. They leave the Saivite path, the Saiva Neri. Families break up, friends argue, and people fight within themselves and with one another. Poor citizens are raised in the absence of ethics. Unrest and discontentment reign, and the entire nation suffers. So many problems arise when religion is lost, when people don't know the right things to do. They become unhappy, restless, unstable. They have nothing to lean on, no place to turn in difficult times. This leads to abuse, to divorce, to suicide, to disease, to murder and dozens of sad experiences and hellish states of mind."

Then, in a very positive and inspiring way, Bodhinatha elaborated on the power of the temple and the ways in which Saivism is relevant to our current age of technology. We'll have this inspired talk online soon, available on our "Guru's Talks" page.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6-tQya_YB4

Our March 2014 news video covers events in February 2014, including: The monastery's celebration of Mahasivaratri, Satguru Bodhinatha's travels to Trinidad and Texas, including his participation in the 2014 Midland Interfaith event, improvements to the monastery's vegetable gardens and new decor in Kadavul Temple.

We are very happy to announce the release of the German edition of Gurudeva's Toolbox, translated by Professor Devarajan Sankaran. PDF, Kindle, Nook, ePub and Web viewing versions are available here: Gurudevas Werkzeugkasten. Thanks to our Digital Dharma Donors for their support which sponsors the cost of these productions.

Gurudeva's Werkzeugkasten für ein spirituelles Leben wurde von den Mönchen des Kauai Hindu Klosters anlässlich Gurudeva's Todestages 2005 als Andenken und zu Ehren seines Vermächtnisses und seiner Lehren zusammengestellt. Bei dem europäischen „Innersearch " Treffen verkündete er: „Ich habe Ihnen alle Werkzeuge zur Verfügung gestellt und es liegt an Ihnen, ob Sie sie nutzen oder nicht." Seine wesentlichen Lehren beinhalten eine vollständige Sammlung von Werkzeugen (Hilfsmitteln) und Vorgehensweisen, die den Fortschritt auf unserer spirituellen Reise bewirken. Er hat diese Methoden ab 1949 über eine Periode von 52 Jahren Praxis als Guru entwickelt. Er hat immer betont, daß es keine Notwendigkeit für zusätzliche Werkzeuge und Methoden gibt – die vorhandenen Werkzeuge sollten wirklich genutzt werden.

The desktops for the new Media Studio are being made of a special mango wood. The tree, a giant one, was gifted to the monastery a few years back, and we recently milled the massive trunk for the new desks for the monks. Today they are receiving their finish, creating stunning contrast and bringing out their beautiful designs.

This ancient tree had such color inside, and after being planed and sanded, the wood looks more like some exotic art form. Check out the closeups in this slideshow. Notice one of them has a natural edge, so you can still see the shape of the tree.

Which one should we send off to MOMA?

Jiva Rajasankara sent us photos today, along with a story about the worksite neighborhood. When we moved into the area in 1990 it was out in a desolate, almost desert-like area. There was a highway half a mile away, but little else.

But Bengaluru is growing, and apartments have been built right on the other side of our temple worksite walls. As happens, the new neighbors are unhappy with the noises from the equipment. To assuage their discomfort, our team is building an 18-foot-tall wall, for which the photos here show the supporting steel structure. Plus, they have planted a hedge of bamboo, not just any bamboo, but Bheema Bamboo, one of the fastest growing in the world. Within two years there will be a wall of bamboo to further muffle the noise. Big job for our team.

CyberCadets know that the monks maintain a Fictionary: A lexicon of words that should be in the dictionary but are not. This grows from time to time as we stumble on the moment we have all known, those awkward (and fun) moments when we know the word but the world has not yet discovered it. Is this not how language has always evolved? Are Shakespeare and street kids the only ones who can make this stuff up? No, we cry out. Not now. Not ever. Which is precisely how the word "never" evolved.

So today we share the latest inclusions in the Fictionary, and again invite submissions in case you have a word or two that should be immortalized.

play-pretend: A Gurudevaism (sbaw);  describing when an adult is doing something serious in a frivolous or foolish way. "The swami was married, making his life mere play-pretend."

sbaw: Should be a word

dutious: Different from dutiful, parallel to study and studious. Doing something with a conscious sense that you are executing your duty, achieving a high standard in one's work.

emptillness: Describes the state of seeing all existence as simultaneously infinitely full and totally empty.

microtyaga: A small letting go, renunciation, surrender, such as letting someone else be right, or skipping that second helping at the dinner table, our accepting something that you don't like. As opposed to major sacrifices and acts of tyaga.

coolth: The missing noun for cool, as warm is to warmth.

nonbreviation (or nontraction):  Two words which would ordinarily be abbreviated or contracted, but which in their current context must remain separate.  Example:  You can not only see it, but touch it as well.  Here, "can not" is a nonbreviation, since "can" is being used in its positive sense and "not" relates to only.  Therefore, neither cannot nor can't is appropriate here.

biasist: One who is not neutral, and who holds a bias

casuality: an arrived state of being casual, mentally and physically. 
"His general casuality about life made him easy to get along with."

spectacularity (n) - the quality of being spectacular.  Usage:  The view of Iraivan Temple from the drinking fountain is unsurpassed for spectacularity.