Today at Kauai Aadheenam

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.

“Nowadays meditation is becoming very popular. Everyone is talking about being centered. If you’re right in the center of yourself, you don’t hear any of the noise or activity. You’re just peaceful within yourself. It’s only when we come into the cross-section, the cross-fire of life, that we feel we’re not all right. Then we begin living in the great lie of the universe, the great fear that if we die we might be gone forever. We forget all of the wonderful philosophy and beautiful teachings that we’ve been studying, and we’re just not all right.“

Jai Ganesha!

A day ago, Paramacharya Sadasivanathaswami and Sannyasin Tillainathaswami departed for Germany to attend a World Yoga Conference. There, Sadasivanathaswami will be giving a short presentation on yoga, while Tillainathaswami will be conducting a meditation class. The journey takes a grueling 50 hours, starting with a flight from Lihue to Honolulu, then from Honolulu to San Francisco, followed by a direct flight to Frankfurt, Germany, a short flight to Hannover, and finally a two-hour bus ride to their rural inn which is two minutes from the ashram where the event will take place. It’s quite a journey—with a mission. Monks on the road. Aum.

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.

“How do you avoid unhappy states of mind? By consciously flowing awareness into the radiance, the light emanating from the self-effulgent being within the lotus of the heart. Direct awareness through controlled breathing. Remembering this basic principle, tell yourself that it is there, and soon you will begin to feel it. You will actually cause to grow within yourself a subtle nerve force that will turn awareness into the inner being so that consciously you can feel the Self God, your Śivaness, and its emanation that even now exists within you. In this way you can experience true bliss, true happiness, blissful happiness that does not cycle or fade.“

Jai Ganesha

Today we explored around Iraivan Temple, and while doing so, we noticed that the previously muddy areas are now filled with grass. Our hired workers have been seeding and watering them every day, and now the grass is growing faster, filling in the gaps and making the area look beautiful. As you can see in the picture, there are still a few parts that need some work, so the team will be focusing on those areas soon. Aum.

For decades our welding tasks temporarily took over spaces dedicated to other needs, which wasn’t ideal. Now with the new Hale Hana metal building, the Siddhidata Kulam is able to dedicate a protected space just for welding, including storage for the equipment. The framing and outside walls are done; now the inside walls, ceiling and wiring are being intalled and covered up. To make the most of space, a staircase was built alongside so that the roof can be used for general storage.

Aum Namah Sivaya

Each season during Sadhu Paksha, the monks of Kauai Aadheenam enter a period of retreat and quiet reflection. Morning routines shift to include silent walks through the monastery grounds, offering time to observe and connect with the natural surroundings. This photo collection captures the peaceful environment during this season—sunlight filtering through trees, quiet pathways and the subtle changes in nature that mark this introspective time. It’s a glimpse into the stillness and focus that define these days at the monastery.

“The devotee’s path is to merge—in the totality of his I have seen myself, in a certain state of samadhi, as pure life force flowing through a jungle, through trees, through plants, through water, through air. That is superconsciousness. It is so permanent. It is so real., willpower and life force—into the Self, God, Siva.“

– Sivaya Subramuniyaswami