Sadhana

Kadavul Guestbook, and Sadhu Paksha begins

Morning sunrise at Shanmuga Banyan

The first two weeks of April, August and December are called Sadhu Paksha here in the Aadheenam, during which the monks have a individualized early morning routine. We can do personal sadhanas on various parts of the grounds, and catch up on extra rest if needed.

For many years we had a handwritten guestbook in Kadavul Temple for visitors to leave their contact information if they wished. We consider the email address as the most useful information, as we can conveniently send a followup note sharing our services some time after they visit. While handwriting is consider quaint these days, we often find the letters written to be questionable at best, and illegible at worst. Too much time was spent trying to decipher email addresses, not to mention typing them into a computer list in the first place. Also, many people did not leave a email address at all. We finally decided to switch to a digital guestbook, which not only encourages correct spelling and is fully legible, but allows us to simply copy all the email addresses for a given period and paste into a followup note.

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Guru Puja, Vow Taking, Booklet Reprint

Today was our monthly Gurudeva Chitra Padapuja. Here is a random selection from Gurudeva’s audio archive–

Hindu view of diet items

A few days ago one of our local Master Course students, Katrina St Marie, took the Dasama Bhaga Vrata, or tithing vow. Text of the vow–

Oh! Divine Beings of all three worlds, let us bring our minds to rest in the darsana of Him who has one tusk, let us meditate upon Him who has the form of an elephant with a curved trunk, May He guide us always along the right path.

Vrata: I believe in You, the one Supreme God, Lord Siva, and the Gods of our Saivite faith, and in the Saiva Dharma. In love and trust I recognize Your goodness in providing for my every material and spiritual need. I accept the principle of Dasamamsha (giving one tenth of my gross income) as the method by which I may acknowledge my gratitude to you, Lord Sva, and share in helping You fulfill and perpetuate Your work on earth. As an act of dedication, I am resolved this day to begin (or continue) the regular practice of tithing.


We have a small booklet of fourteen lessons called Know thy Self. We finally ran out of copies and, following our new pattern of book publication, have set it up to be print-on-demand by Amazon KDP. In the process, we have shifted from the unusual horizontal layout to a typical vertical layout.

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Sadhaka Sabānatha Receives Samaya Diksha

Aum Namah Śivaya

During this month’s celebration of Ardra nakshatra, and following our special abhishekam to Lord Nataraja, Sadhaka Sabānatha received his Samaya Diksha. This diksha is the receiving of the sacred Panchakshara Mantra along with special instructions for daily japa from one’s Satguru. In the Saiva Siddhanta tradition, this moment of diksha marks a pivotal step in the soul’s long journey. It is when Lord Śiva’s Power of Revealing Grace flows through the Satguru, opening the inner door and granting the devotee both the opportunity and the means for liberation.

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