Koshta Murtis of Iraivan Temple
November 8, 2008Aum Namah Sivaya. One of the most important tasks our visiting Selvanathan Sthapathi has this time around is to participate in the installation of the Koshta Devata murtis, the directional forms of Siva. One of them has already been installed. An Agamic temple such as Iraivan is in itself the...
Bodhinatha Visits Lancaster, California
November 8, 2008Bodhinatha is in Lancaster, California, today. Antelope Valley, where Lancaster and Palmdale lay, is in the high desert about 2,400 feet in altitude. So, when we awoke this morning, it was 34°F outside! Quite a change from our temperate Kauai. Dr. Shun K. Sunder, our host in Lancaster and a...
Iraivan Temple's Rajagopuram Begins
November 7, 2008With Ganesha's blessings, today we put the northeastern corner of the rajagopuram's first course into place. These stones will provide support for the massive, gold-leafed marvel that will adorn Iraivan Temple's entrance, signaling to all that this is where Lord Siva manifests with great power. It is the structure behind...
3-Day Retreat
November 3, 2008We are now in a quiet three-day retreat at the monastery. TAKA will next be posted on Friday, November 7, Dasami Tithi.
Skanda Shashthi Festival
November 3, 2008Vetri Vel Muruganukku! Today is Skanda Shashthi, a festival when Lord Murugan rides really close to Earth. Lord Karttikeya, Skanda, is the first guru and Pleiadean master of kundalini yoga and was born of God Siva's mind. His dynamic power awakens spiritual cognition to propel souls onward in their evolution...
Brave New Postulants Join Muruga's Hosts
November 3, 2008Under the auspices of Lord Muruga's shakti of yogic striving and monasticism, three bright souls joined us today. They have been begging entrance at the wall for many weeks, attuning themselves to the inner vibration of our order. Bodhinatha reaches up for the power of the Parampara before every initiation....
Initiation of Three New Sadhakas
November 3, 2008After the vows are taken, it is time for the initiation. Paramacharya Ceyonswami feels the blessings coming forth. The swamis carefully review the Vow Books. They have been edited very carefully in the decades since Gurudeva started his ministry. Today they are some of the most beautiful texts we have...
TAKA Adopts WordPress Blogging Platform
November 3, 2008We're not sure, but we think TAKA may have been the first blog, begun on August 16, 1998, ten years ago. For all these ten years, we have been publishing TAKA using monk-crafted software tools, which have grown to be rather complex. Since the advent and popularization of personal and...