73 Spiritual Songs, The Natchintanai of Siva Yogaswami
An anthology of wisdom-filled Tamil songs expressing the devotion and enlightened insights of one of the most remarkable Saiva yogis of our times.
The profound tradition of South Indian Saivism migrated to Sri Lanka centuries ago. It was transmitted in recent times through a lineage of siddhars of the highest order. Siva Yogaswami of Colombuthurai (1872-1963) left a rich heritage of Tamil songs known as Natchintanai (“Good Thoughts”) that contain the essence of Siva worship and Saiva philosophy. This anthology of 73 devotional hymns stands as a rich introduction and learning tool for those who would integrate his gold mine of divine wisdom into their hearts and lives.
These high tunnel green houses produce and protect our more vulnerable vegetables
Mayilnathaswami mulches the beds while Nirvani maintains the coverings
Vivshvanathaswami fertilizes the beds
Nirvani Tejadevanatha is watering the keiki (baby) plants that will be planted in the future
Sadhaka Shankaranatha uses the tractor to bring more mulch to the garden
Panchamukha Ganesha in the garden
All these beds will be used to plants more vegetables
Our pumpkin harvest! We have have about 153 pounds of pumpkins here. Kudos to the team!
This thorny tree, when full grown, produces massive amounts of beautiful flowers!
Here it is! This large one just produced its first round of flowers earlier this year. Just like our inner spiritual growth, no matter where start, we can always grow greater!
Jai Ganesha!
On Sun One (which is like our Monday in our Panchangam calendar) the monks of the Siddhidata Kulam enjoy their weekly Garden Day. This week the team of monks joined together to sprout seeds, plant beds, add compost and other nutrients to the soil, weed, mulch and harvest today’s organic lunch. Thanks to an orderly system of maintenance the garden only needs to be worked intensely on once a week in order to go on producing all the vegetables we need. Aum!
As you know, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami spent several active days in India, called there to attend a massive conference in Bengaluru that brought together some 500 swamis, gurus, madhapatis, yogis and teachers. It went well.
To welcome Satguru, the Velayudham family created this marvelous art, depicting the passing of the power of parampara from Siva down to the present. Madan created it, and had copies prepared as a poster Satguru could hand out in Malaysia and Singapore on his way back to Kauai.
Passing on the Power
From The Guru Chronicles
A parampara is like a mighty river, its waters ever fresh, its vitality unremitting. Branching out and winding through the centuries, through many nations and cultures, the Kailasa Parampara brings life-giving waters to all who thirst for Truth.§
We have glimpsed seven lives in this story—seven great beings who strode the Earth, who spoke of the inseparability of man and God, the unity and perfection that pervades every atom of the universe, seven satgurus who realized God and exemplified spiritual life as few have. What we have not seen is their yet-to-be-known impact: the illumined satgurus of millennia to come, who will meet in wisdom challenges these seven did not know would exist; and those who, upon encountering monistic Saiva Siddhanta, will fall at their feet, only to learn that they are the All in all. They are the Truth they seek. §
No one can say how a guru should initiate another. In some traditions, such as the Dashanami orders, sannyasa diksha is a formal ritual following rigid protocols. In others, such as the Natha orders, it is usually more spontaneous and unstructured, a potent awakening that can be transmitted by a thought, a word or a touch. The Kailasa Parampara gurus commonly pass on their spiritual power through touch. Kadaitswami was touched by the rishi and passed his power on to Chellappaguru by placing a large rupee coin in the disciple’s open palm. At the auspicious moment, Chellappaguru knocked a cup and a bowl out of Yogaswami’s hands. Yogaswami nearly knocked Gurudeva to the ground with that resounding slap on the back at his compound gate. By such otherwise mundane gestures, spiritual power is transmitted from one generation to the next. §
That special touch, full of purpose at the crucial moment, acknowledges the realization and maturity already unfolded in the disciple and confers upon him the mantle of spiritual authority of the parampara, much as a father might pass a family business to a worthy son. The full weight of this responsibility is assumed only when the initiating guru leaves his physical body. §
To assure the continuity of the parampara, each successor leaves the lineage in the illumined hands of the next, thus fulfilling his part in a chain extending from the grace of Siva, a chain that began with man’s first search for the realization of the Absolute and will continue ineluctably to the end of time, and a few days beyond. §
The next Kauai’s Hindu Monastery monthly newsletter wrapped up editing, and now it’s being printed and folded. Today Yogi Haranandinatha is learning how to manage the finicky folding machine. In a few days, many of the monks will gather at our monthly “Iraivan Day” to stuff the newsletter in envelopes along with vibhuti packets.
The final image is of another addition to our hybrid hibiscus collection.
For a long time our English-only version of Tirukural, called Weaver’s Wisdom, has only been available in black and white. Our editors decided to upgrade to full-color, using artwork by the late S. Rajam for each chapter, and new art created through AI to begin each section of the book.
This second edition is in hardcover for durability. The photos above show a “proof” copy we received from Amazon to check for any final issues to fix. We found several mistakes, fixed those and the book will shortly be available at amazon.com and our minimela.com website.
The final [bonus] photo shows one of our new hybrid hibiscus harvests.
Satguru arrives in India and is greeted by the Rajasankara and Madan Ganesh Sumathi families
Satguru arrives at the event
Recently Satguru was asked to attend the first Bhārateeya Santa Mahaa Parishshad event which brings together hundreds of Hindu leaders in Bengaluru. An estimated 800 saints were in attendance plus 500 other attendees and several hundred volunteers.
