Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Sadasivanathaswami and Tillainathaswami fly off today on a 25-day mission to California, New York, London and Mauritius. As they pack to depart, the Songs of Tayumanavar book is taking shape, a work of some three years. You will hear more about it in the months ahead, but for now we share the graphic spreads that introduce the five cantos which are the organizational structure of the Tamil poet’s 1,454 songs. Amazingly, and not without climbing a steep learning curve, the five works of art were created by DALL•E, the AI partner of CHATgpt. Tayumanavar, we hear, is to be a major theme for the various satsangs, workshops, temple talks and seminars planned for the journey. Aum Namasivaya!

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.

“If you were to travel through India on a spiritual pilgrimage, you would undoubtedly hear much about the Sanskrit word darshan. The religious leaders of the Orient are categorized according to the darshan they give, for there are various kinds of darshan. Darshan is the vibration that emanates from the illumined soul as a result of his inner attainment, be he a yogī, pandit, swāmī, guru or a ṛishi. Usually the yogī, swāmī, saint or sage attracts his following not so much by what he says as by the darshan he radiates. Hindus travel for miles to receive the darshan of an illumined soul established in his enlightenment. Perhaps he doesn’t even speak to them. Perhaps he scolds some of them. Perhaps he gives the most inspired of talks to them. In any case, they feel the darshan flooding out from him.“

A collection of photos that Senthilathiban took while here at Kauai Aadheenam on our taskforce program

Aum Namah Śivaya

Yesterday, Senthilathiban Rajasankara finished his several week visit on our taskforce program. He has been doing some temple construction projects on the US mainland, and was able to take some time to come here. While at the Aadheenam he helped the monks of the Siddhidatta kulam with a variety of tasks, such as helping in the gardens, doing cleaning an maintenance projects, and much more. Aum.

Jai Ganesha!

On last retreat, Sannyasin Mayilnathaswami and Sadhaka Shankaranatha took out taskforcer Senthil and our Iraivan Temple priest Pravinkumar and our Head Chef Subramanium for an outing. They went to mahogany forest, located in the town of Kilauea on Kauai’s lush North Shore. This moderate 5-mile circuit meanders through Wai Koa Plantation, a working farm on 500 private acres. They had a relaxing walk and a wonderful time. Aum

The monks are working on the final stages of editing and designing the next Educational Insight for Hinduism Today, a 14-page feature on how to handle karmas in our life. It has Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami’s deep insights into the art and science of dealing with karma, something we can all benefit from. Satguru gives ten basic precepts. We share here a few of them, along with the art that attends the precept.

“Treat everyone as you would like to be treated. Because karma is watching.” 21st-century proverb