Gurudeva answers questions about "AUM", about the third eye, and about desire. Gurudeva advises: pray for direction, do puja for manifestation, exercise willpower and push . Questions about women Swamis and whether children, who do not know right from wrong, accrue bad karma are answered. Gurudeva also discusses Weavers Wisdom. He tells us that aspiring monks are sitting on the wall at Kauai Aadheenam. Gurudeva explains this practice and its significance. Saiva Siddhanta he tells us, is both external and internal worship, the balanced life.

Unedited Transcript:

Today at Kauai Aadheenam, December 15th. Greetings everyone.

Today we are working on a new edition of the ancient 2,200-year old 'Tirukural', or the new name, 'Weaver's Wisdom', in American English. I held the manuscript in my hand. I chanted Aum. Aa-oo-mmm, aa-oo-mmm, aa-oo-mmm.

In answer to the question from our cyberspace friend in Asia, "How do you pronounce Aum?", it is 'aa-oo-mmm'. True, it is also pronounced 'Om'. But the esoteric, mystical pronunciation is 'aa-oo-mmm'. Thank you very much for your question.

Back to 'Weaver's Wisdom', I opened it on friendship. Verse, which in Tamil language is 'kural', 784. It reads like this: "The meaning of making friends is not merrymaking, but a stern rebuke when friends go astray."

If you call someone your friend, this indicates you are friends for a long, long time. If your friend goes astray, it is your responsibility. It is your 'kukarma', which means bad karma, if you let your friend go astray without bringing his mind around, bringing her mind around, bringing their minds around, so that they are on the path of dharma.

We have two of our Mathavasis, Sanskrit for monk, sitting on the 'Wall of Rain'. What is that? You will see some pictures of the 'Wall of Rain', with them sitting there today. It means that they are begging entrance into Kauai Aadheenam, our monastery here on the beautiful island of Kauai. They are begging to take four vows for two years. They have permission from their parents in writing. Their parents are behind them. We are welcoming them in. But, why are they sitting there? They are tuning into a harmonious group of 25 mature men, and young men from several different countries, who are working together for the Hindu renaissance, for putting out our beautiful books, for teaching, preaching, worshipping and developing their inner life in Saiva Siddhanta. Saiva Siddhanta is external worship, then internal worship, which is meditation into samadhi. Both go together. That is a balanced life.

These young men are Jivananda, and Nilakantha. Jivananda was born in Saiva Siddhanta Church, as I said yesterday. Beautiful mother and father, Satya and Savitri. Nilakantha is also sitting there and he is from Wisconsin. He just came back from a tour of all the magnificent Temples of India for several weeks, with Paramacharya Bodhinathaswami.

Our art team has just finished today, the art for 'Weaver's Wisdom', which is being done by Manivelu, in Chennai, India. It has been a wonderful day and now we are going to answer some questions. I know you have been waiting for these answers.

Saraswati, you asked a question about the third eye and the burning experience that you are having there and have had for a number of years.

Well, that is very good news. But you really need a Guru, a Hindu Guru, and to become a Hindu yourself, fully. By your name, we would call you a ardha-Hindu, a half-Hindu. You need a Guru to go further in your spiritual unfoldment in the chakras, through Hinduism. Or, choose Buddhism.

From San Diego, is a question about desire.

Desire is a force within everyone. The greater the soul, the stronger the desires. However, the will of the soul can channel the energy of that force into any direction that he or she wishes it to go. It can go high or it can go low, depending upon your decision. The six P's go into action here. Prayer for direction. Puja for manifesting the prayer. A purpose. Where is that desire going to go? A definite plan, next month, the month after, next year, the year after. Persistence, keeping your desires on track. A lot of willpower, push. The six P's go into action here.

Well, here is another one from Saraswati. Very happy that you are communicating with us. "Please explain to me why there are no female Swamis at your Ashram. Do you believe that women can become monastics, the same as men?"

Yes, they can. In India and in America, there are wonderful spiritual leaders who are women. They live in ashrams. Only women live with them in ashrams. So, we are following a tradition in our Parampara and our sampradaya, like the Catholics, that divide the men and the women. If you are interested, we can send you the names and addresses of great women Swamis who run very large groups of women into spiritual unfoldment. I say "run them into spiritual unfoldment", because their disciplines are very strong, maybe stronger than men.

You ask, "Do children, who don't know any better, incur karma because of evil deeds. They are too young to know right from wrong. Do they accrue bad karma?"

Yes, they do, even if they see it on TV. The parents accrue bad karma too, for not directing the children and protecting them from the TV. Not only the parents, but the grandparents. Not only the grandparents, but all aunts and uncles in the entire family chain, because of their lack of responsibility for guiding the children properly. That bad karma can be very, very bad.

From Malaysia we have another question, and that is the pronunciation of Aum. I answered that question at the beginning. Aa-oo-mmm, aa-oo-mmm, aa-oo-mmm. That's the way 'Aum' is pronounced esoterically, by the siddhars. But the philosophers, who are on the path of words, they just translate it as 'Om'. This is not only a mystical, siddhar, metaphysical understanding, it is a linguistic understanding as well. But, those who are on the path of just words as I have said before, say 'Aum', like 'om'. That doesn't have the vibration. That doesn't have the impact. That doesn't lift the consciousness as 'aa-oo-mmm, aa-oo-mmm, aa-oo-mmm'. 'aa' should vibrate the manipura chakra, which is your belly button, the solar plexus. 'oo' should vibrate the throat chakra, and 'mmm', the head chakras.

Aa-oo-mmm. The instinctive blends with the intellectual, blending into the spiritual, and then off the page! There is no more to say. Into the divine of the divine.

This has been wonderful. Send in your questions. Also, let us go on Innersearch, to Alaska. Everybody onboard!

Aum Namah Sivaya!