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A slightly over-saturated sunset is actually quite natural around here. Can you spot the moon?

Happy butterflies frolic in the foliage

Some fun with black and white

A staghorn fern. But how big is the rest of the plant?

Really. Quite. Big. As it turns out

Inside the layers of a fern

How has our Pillar Banyan been doing?

Yep, it’s still eating large pieces of stone

Fan palms reach to the sky

A grove of construction bamboo challenges the depth-perception of those that peer inside

A very special little flower that looks like a glowing paper lantern. It probably has a special name too…

Aum Namah Sivaya

This week the monks begin there two-week-long retreat known as Sadhu Paksha. This is the time leading up to our official change of seasons, from the Jivana Ritau we will enter the Moksha Ritau. Essentially, Sadhu Paksha involves more stringent rules regarding guests’ entry to the monastery grounds during this time, as well as our monastics change in their morning sadhana—performing their practice alone and often out in nature, rather than our usual group routines. During their extra time in our sacred gardens, monks can enjoy the many natural wonders of these sacred lands. The above photos include some recent images from our jungle-gardens, along with a little photo-editing freedom to play with colors.

The hydroponic growing bins, before the plants are planted

These are the new tomato plants

Ta-da! Planted where they belong!

In other news, Sadhaka Shankaranatha working hard to keep the weeds under control

Jai Ganesha!

A few months ago our greenhouse was affected by bugs, and the cost was our previous planting of tomatoes. All of them were affected and it required us to shut down the entire greenhouse and remove the plants. After the complete shut down the Siddhidata Kulam monks cleaned the space, inside and out. After that, the mathavasi started to work on growing the new tomatoes. Now the process of planting those vines has started, as you can see in the above photos. It’s just the beginning phase and very soon these little plant will start to produce tomatoes. Aum.

The Festival of Pancha Ganapati

Think of Pancha Ganapati as the Hindu Christmas, a modern winter holiday full of family-centered happenings, but with five days of gifts for the kids, not just one. From December 21 to 25, Hindus worship Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed Lord of culture and new beginnings. Family members work to mend past mistakes and bring His blessings of joy and harmony into five realms of their life, a wider circle each day: family, friends, associates, culture and religion. We are sharing this early, so families can make the necessary preparations for the end-of-year festival days.

Visit panchaganapati.com to learn more.

You can also download the full PDF with complete explanations here:

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/pancha-ganapati/

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During our 9am Kadavul Temple Siva puja, just before the 108 Ashtottara we chant the names of formal sishyas and some others who have a birthday or wedding anniversary on that day. Then we mail vibhuti along with a greeting card wishing them well. On the back of the card we have imagery of Aums, Ganeshas and scenes of Iraivan Temple. The scenes of Iraivan are out of date, so we’ve gathered more recent imagery in preparation for printing more cards. Enjoy the slideshow of what we’ve gathered.

‘The smallest thing in this world is an allegory for the whole universe”

“Chaos is just another pattern, one that’s too grand for our minds to interpret”

Vel Mahalingam visits Iraivan Temple

“The mind indeed IS this fleeting world; therefore it should be purified with great effort.”

Kavi Cat asks for a head-scratch

Freshly harvested, picture-perfect, bananas

A green gecko peers out from a tree trunk

Bubbles, our uninvited pet duck, enjoys the stream

“There’s no scripture that surpasses what you’ll find inside yourself” – Bodhinatha

“Desire is life, and the reason we desire things is because we are alive. Desire is energy expressing itself.” – Gurudeva

“The easiest way to create big things, is to plant little seeds”

“All that is perishable, is only a symbol of an inner form that is truly lasting”

Yali Cat finds guests to pet him..

“God can be discovered only by God.” – Yogaswami

Aum Namah Sivaya

Today is the last day of our six-day lunar phase (our aloha-Friday, if you will…). Tomorrow, the monks enter a two-day retreat—our lunar weekend—and then begin two weeks of Sadhu Paksha, a time when we observe some variation in our personal morning routines, followed by our official change of season. Until then, we wish you all a good weekend, and hope you enjoy these photos from around the monastery today, along with some words of wisdom. Aum.

Batteries and other panels of the new setup

The spot in the roof where wires bring in the captured solar energy

One of the battery stations

Hale Hana, the Siddhidata Kulam’s new maintenance and person workstation building, draws a lot of power from the electrical grid, which is expensive on Kauai due to remoteness. Therefore we decided to invest in solar panels and batteries. The process is complete; the building is now entirely running on solar energy and will soon be connected to the island grid so that excess energy can be sold to the utility company. This solar generation will also help power the noni building and greenhouses.