On February 10th, Mathavasis and devotees celebrated Thaipusam at Kadavul Temple in the presence of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. The event began at 3:00 PM and concluded at 5:30 PM. We started with an abhishekam, performed by Sannyasin Siddhanathaswami, of milk, yogurt, orange juice, panchamritam, honey, sandalwood water, vibuthi, chandanam and rose water. After completing the abhishekam, we performed the alankaram—dressing the Deity, which took about 30 minutes. Once the alankaram was finished, we continued the puja. Yoginathaswami sang Lord Muruga’s songs and the monks concluded with a final arati. A fun fact: Lord Muruga is considered the first and foremost renunciate—which is why this day holds great significance for us Mathavasis. Aum.
The Stone Bell and Dakshinamurti on the right (who said it never snows on Kauai island?)
Nandi Mandapam gomukai with palms in the distance
Infrared photography sounds like a secret spy technique, but it’s actually an amazing way to see the world through a whole new lens—literally! Recently a pilgrim with advanced photography skills captured previously unseen parts of the temple with her special lens.
This cool photography style captures light from the infrared spectrum, which is invisible to the naked eye. Here’s how it works: normal cameras capture the light you and I see every day, but infrared cameras use special filters to block visible light and only capture infrared light. This results in stunning photos with a surreal, dreamlike quality. Trees and grass turn snowy white giving our gardens the look of a deep winter in Norway. Skies can appear dark and foreboding, and everything looks just a bit magical.
Infrared photography has some practical uses too! It’s a handy tool in fields like environmental studies to monitor vegetation health, as healthy greenery reflects more infrared than the unhealthy or dead ones. (our trees are vibrant and robust, and thus the brilliant white look). Art historians use it to see underlayers of paint in old masterpieces to discover hidden secrets. Whether it’s for artistic expression or scientific investigation, infrared photography opens up a hidden world of unseen beauty and practical discoveries. It certainly gives a fresh look at Siva’s Sacred Gardens.
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.
“Occasionally, a devotee will come along in meditation and have sublime inner experiences. He’s experiencing the viśuddha chakra, and he has inner light experiences. He’s just on top of the world. A month later, he meets some karmic boomerang. He doesn’t have the stamina or the discipline to hold awareness within, and he starts flowing through the second chakra, and he’s saying, “I’ve never had any experiences at all. I wonder why? (the second chakra is reason) I wonder why I don’t have some inward experiences,” and why this and why that and why something else. “I wonder why I’m even doing meditation.” He’s wondering why all the way along, and he’s quite argumentative.“
We will be celebrating Thaipusam here at Kauai Hindu Monastery. The entire puja will be live-streamed, and those who wish to watch can click the link above to join. Aum Muruga!
As we prepare for the afternoon puja, here are some of the items used during the abhishekam:
Nimu expresses his joy, while perched on his live “wee apple” tree (it’s like a mini mango)
It’s a large outdoor space with lots of perches and hidden treats for him to find
Nimu, next to Lord Ganesha
One of his budgie buddies. Nimu mimics a much louder version of their chirp
The Jendey Conures. Feel free to suggest names for them in the comments!
Nimu enjoying a healthy breakfast. Jai!
Jai Ganesha!
We’re sure most of us are familiar with Nimu, the Monastery’s African Grey parrot. He was gifted to the monastery at three months old, and was raised to adulthood by the monks in the Media Studio. Several years ago, one of the monks had built a small 20ft greenhouse for growing grapes and roses, and over the last half of 2024 it was decommissioned and upgraded into its new form as a parrot aviary. On the auspicious day of Ardra Darshanam, at the end of the year, Nimu moved from his temporary childhood home in the Media Studio, out to this new natural abode—and he LOVES IT!
Since the end of last year he’s been enjoying the company of his other feathered friends: a group of blue budgies and a pair of colorful Jendey Conures (they all get along very well). Every day, monks get to visit Nimu’s paradisiacal mosquito-free enclosure to sit with him and supply him with cheek scratches and treats. Monks picking nearby temple flowers like to participate in a complex back and forth of whistling and “Siva Siva.” In contrast to Nimu’s time indoors, he now has loads of sunshine, fresh air, breezy plants and space to fly around. He’s also befriended the wild birds who come to sit on branches nearby to teach him their songs, all of which he has already learned perfectly. At night, he sleeps near a wooden Ganesha, and awakens to a warm sunrise and the squawks of his slightly-batty conure roommates. Aum.
On every Krittika Nakshatra, we perform a special puja at Iraivan Temple. Pravinkumar is the head priest for this puja, and this time, Mayilnathaswami served as the assistant. We perform this puja during Krittika because the Maha Kumbhabhishekam was conducted during the Krittika Nakshatra. To maintain this divine connection, we hold this homa every month.
The event begins with a homa, followed by an abhishekam to Mahalingeshvara. Once the abhishekam is completed, the puja concludes with offerings and a final arati. After the puja, prasadam is distributed to all attending devotees.
Being able to perform this puja at Iraivan Temple is a great blessing for us all.
