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We have been sharing Saint Tayumanavar’s wonderful teaching of samarasam—the unitive amity between religions. The idea of such shared respect is no less relevant to our 21st century experience than to his time, some 300 years ago.

A real-life example took place a few days back at the Sri Subramuniya Temple in Sri Lanka. Here is the report from Rishi Thondunathan (who this morning is hunkered down in Colombo due to a massive cyclone passing over the island).

“Greetings! On Friday, a group of 120 Buddhist monks and devotees from Kandy visited the Yogaswami Samadhi Temple and our Sri Subramuniya Temple in Alaveddy. They shared that they had read about Yogaswami’s life and teachings in various books, and were deeply moved by his simplicity and the profound wisdom reflected in his words and way of life. This inspiration led them to visit the sacred places where the sage lived. They had already downloaded the English Natchintanai from the Himalayan Academy publication website, and they have translated the song “Engal Gurunathan” into Sinhala. They attended the pūja and then eagerly listened to the story of Yogaswami’s life.”

In Peace,

Rishi Thondunathan 

Mount Waialeale is one of Kauai’s greatest natural marvels, rising from the island’s emerald heart (more technically the island rises from its heart) and cloaked in near-constant mist. Its name means “rippling waters” or “overflowing water,” a reference to the countless waterfalls and ancient bogs that spill from its summit. Known as one of the wettest spots on Earth, Waialeale is revered in Hawaiian culture as a sacred wao akua, a realm of the gods, where clouds gather, nourish the land, and sustain life downstream. Its blue-green cliffs and perpetual rain have long inspired respect, marking the mountain as a living temple of water, fertility and spiritual presence at the center of the island.

We live with it daily and watch it change from hour to hour as the clouds come and go, as the setting sun sets it on fire. Gurudeva envisioned a futuristic coffee table book which would show all of its moods, and we share a few of those in today’s TAKA, taken by various monks over the years.

In December of 1968 Gurudeva brought 32 Innersearchers to Kauai and on the second day we hired Larry rivera, the island’s legendary singer/composer, to regale us all with his song about Waialeale. Larry warned us, as we gathered around what is now the temple pool, that the song makes it rain more often than not. We nodded politely, and asked him to continue. It rained before he ended!

Want to hear him sing it right now? Go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0voBezB05cw