Om Namah Shivaya

We recently received another set of photos from Rajen, who is currently here from Mauritius. He's been exploring around the Aadheenam, taking photos here and there. Enjoy!

We took SSC sishya and current taskforcer Rajen Manick out to see some more of Kauai, this time a oceanside walk in the area around Shipwreck's Beach in Koloa/Poipu. Stunning vistas awaited, and Rajen practiced his photography.

We have just finished our second pass through the 1,454 songs of Tayumanavar, a task that took almost daily sessions of two hours for over a year. Yea!

To celebrate, we offer you one of the songs in our English and also in the original Tamil. Plus a BEFORE/AFTER slider of one of the ten works of art our Kerala muralist completed for the project. This will give insight into the process from idea to sketch to final color on canvas. Just move the slider right and left.

CANTO FIFTY-FIVE அகவல்

The Call

Song 1

O perfection-fullness that came in guru's form, filled with knowledge supreme and replete with grace divine! You who stood undivided as One! You of blemishless form pure!

You, the ever undiminished Being and ocean of goodness. You are the beginning; You are the end. You are the bliss; You are the light. You are the truth; You are the endless first Being. Out of Your divine grace You created the earth and all the worlds. Out of the four birth sources 1 You created the seven life genera.2

And so that species could multiply, You created bodies from atoms to mountains, and time, from moment to eon. And as their past karmas deserve, You created the conditions for the life-mass to live for awhile, albeit they have no knowledge of their own and are helpless. Whatever bodies in which they were born, they are happy to be and wish not to part. Towards that end You instilled the love instinct in them and fostered growth, making them feel their body is they.

Thus were they filled with ignorance seeming like knowledge. You fixed time, karma and order, along with hell and high heaven, in impartiality to reach. In endless love You established innumerable faiths, that they might pursue the four ends: dharma, artha and the rest.3 Then, as guru, You imparted knowledge, with each faith contending their own stand as the ultimate truth. Thus arose disputations and scriptures numerous.

In all these You invariably stood beyond, above all faiths. All the celestials and the munis offered themselves. Praying for You to accept them in grace, they hankered for You. In return, You showed them the blemishless wisdom. And to me, who has no wisdom, it is for You to show Your compassionate grace.

Notes:

1. Birth sources refers to egg, sweat, seed and womb.

2. The seven genera refers to celestials, humans, animals, birds, reptiles, aquatic life and plants.

3. Dharma, artha and the rest is a reference to the purusharthas: virtue, wealth, love and liberation.

திருவருள் ஞானஞ் சிறந்தருள் கொழிக்குங் குருவடி வான குறைவிலா நிறைவே நின்ற ஒன்றே நின்மல வடிவே குன்றாப் பொருளே குணப்பெருங் கடலே ஆதியும் அந்தமும் ஆனந்த மயமாஞ் சோதியே சத்தே தொலைவிலா முதலே சீர்மலி தெய்வத் திருவரு ளதனால் பார்முத லண்டப் பரப்பெலாம் நிறுவி அண்டசம் முதலாம் எண்தரு நால்வகை ஏழு பிறவியில் தாழா தோங்கும் அனந்த யோனியில் இனம்பெற மல்க அணுமுத லசல மான ஆக்கையுங் கணமுத லளவிற் கற்ப காலமுங் கன்மப் பகுதித் தொன்மைக் கீடா இமைப்பொழு தேனுந் தமக்கென அறிவிலா ஏழை உயிர்த்திரள வாழ அமைத்தனை எவ்வுடல் எடுத்தார் அவ்வுடல் வாழ்க்கை இன்ப மெனவே துன்ப மிலையெனப் பிரியா வண்ணம் உரிமையின் வளர்க்க ஆதர வாகக் காதலும் அமைத்திட் டூக மின்றியே தேகம் நானென அறிவு போலறி யாமை இயக்கிக் காலமுங் கன்மமுங் கட்டுங் காட்டியே மேலும் நரகமும் மேதகு சுவர்க்கமும் மாலற வகுத்தனை ஏலும் வண்ணம் அமையாக் காதலிற் சமய கோடி அறம்பொரு ளாதி திறம்படு நிலையில் குருவா யுணர்த்தி யொருவர்போ லனைவருந் தத்தம் நிலையே முத்தி முடிவென வாத தர்க்கமும் போத நூல்களும் நிறைவிற் காட்டியே குறைவின்றி வயங்க அங்கங்கு நின்றனை எங்கு மாகிச் சமயா தீதத் தன்மை யாகி இமையோர் முதலிய யாவரும் முனிவருந் தம்மைக் கொடுத்திட்டெம்மை யாளென ஏசற் றிருக்க மாசற்ற ஞான நலமும் காட்டினை ஞானமி லேற்கு நிலையுங் காட்டுதல் நின்னருட் கடனே.

Jai Kailasa Parampara!

We recently received a note and these photos from Rishi Thondunathan. Utilizing a donation from the Aadheenam, Sri Lankan craftsmen renovated the small shrine to Chellappaswami (the location of his hut) which is near Nallur Temple.

"With your kind contribution, we were able to renovate the Chellappa Swami Temple in Nallur. We replaced the marble tiles in the shrine with granite, repaired the walls and painted the temple. Additionally, we replaced the old pictures of the Guru Parampara with new ones. Thank you so much for your love and generosity. Enclosed are a few pictures of the temple." - Thondunathan

Aum Namah Sivaya

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.

"The sixth force center is ājñā, or the third eye. Ājñā chakra means “command center” and grants direct experience of the Divine, not through any knowledge passed on by others, which would be like the knowledge found in books. Magnetized to the cavernous plexus and to the pineal gland and located between the brows, the ājñā chakra governs the superconscious faculties of divine sight within man. Its color is lavender. Of its two “petals” or facets one is the ability to look down, all the way down, to the seven talas, or states of mind, below the mūlādhāra and the other is the ability to perceive the higher, spiritual states of consciousness, all the way up to the seven chakras above the sahasrāra. Thus, ājñā looks into both worlds: the odic astral world, or Antarloka, and the actinic spiritual world, or Śivaloka. It, therefore, is the connecting link, allowing the jñānī to relate the highest consciousness to the lowest, in a unified vision. This center opens fully to the conscious use of man after many experiences of nirvikalpa samādhi, Self Realization, resulting in total transformation, have been attained, although visionary insights and, particularly, inner light experiences are possible earlier."

Aum Namasivaya!

Aditya Vinadhara, from Utah, arrived on the island last night for a 26-day stay. During his Taskforce time here, his considerable construction skills will be put to good use. He is teamed up with Acharya Kumarnathaswami to move the Stone Bell Tower forward. Today also marked the 297th Chittra Pada Puja for Gurudeva. The full report will be in a couple of days, but today we share a photo from Colorado of the puja done in a shishya's shrine room. Also, showing some recent visitor shots.

Recently the massive project of creating and installing 35 bronze panels around Iraivan Temple's perimeter wall was completed. Each Panel measures 14" by 47" and encapsulate a distilled library of information for future pilgrims. They include the history of the temple, from vision to chisel; the founder and architect; the simple technology used; the story of Mahalingeshvara; the monastery and its Satguru and monks; the philosophy of Saiva Siddhanta represented by the temple; the scriptures and beliefs in multiple languages, and more.

On many of the panels you'll find a bas-relief, sculpted by Holy Young, and later cast in metal. Rajen Manick was asked to photograph the panels for our digital archival use. Here are his first batch of photos.

Nearby the monastery, in upper Kapaa, is a wondrous walk through through lush rainforest and along a stream to visit a couple beautiful waterfalls, mainly Ho'opi'i Falls.

SSC sishya Rajen Manick, from Mauritius, is with us on taskforce and this was his first outing to see some of the island. Ho'opi'i Falls was a set piece for one of the Jurassic Park movies where they were mining amber that contained Jurassic DNA.

Over the last year, our publications team in Kauai has been quietly working on a sizable side project sponsored by the Uberoi Foundation. The project is intended to assist in the presentation of the four Dharmic faiths, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, as per the foundation's goal. This particular video is meant to teach the Buddhist religion in California 6th grade social studies classes. The ten-minute video is hosted by Rimban William Briones who describes the temple’s origins and basics of their beliefs. The temple was begun in 1905 by the Japanese community of Los Angeles. It belongs to Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, one of the largest denominations of the Pure Land stream of Mahayana Buddhism, and the largest Buddhist denomination in the United States. The video is the first to be released. Each one will allow students to experience these temples as a digital school tour, when visiting them in person might not be possible.

Directed by Mainak Dhar, Produced by Gabriel Bruskoff.

For many moons we have wanted to upgrade the floor of the Banyan Mandapam, an important gathering place for visitors. But it was hard to find the hours to do it. Then Rajen Manick came, a senior member from Mauritius who brings with him considerable graphics and translation skills, and not a few practical abilities. Rajen just finished painting the floor of the 40 by 40 tent, and the 50 foot long walkway. It took about a week (not full time) to paint two coats of durable paint. He was helped a bit by Doug. A big upgrade to the entry of the monastery.