Pongal Celebration
Jai Ganesha!
On January 13, we celebrated Pongal at our monastery with our Head Chef, Mani. He also prepared a delicious festive feast for the monks to enjoy throughout the day.
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Happy Thai Pongal, Everyone!
Usually a private event in the family compound, sometimes entire communities boil rice and milk together.- Young girls sing and dance to honor the harvest
- Cows are bathed, garlanded and fed on this day
- It is a good sign if the froth from boiling rice and milk overflows to the East, auguring an abundant year in the fields.
Yes, today is Thai Pongal. Each year, during January/February, the Tamil month of Thai, millions gather to worship and honor Lord Murugan with fervor. In North America, He has temples in Arizona, Maryland, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and California.
HOW IS THAI PONGAL CELEBRATED?
Thai Pongal is a sacred observance of gratitude, discipline and alignment with cosmic order. It is very much a harvest festival The sadhana of this day is simplicity and reverence: rising before dawn, cleansing the home and body, restraining excess and turning the mind toward thankfulness. Cooking the Pongal becomes a meditative act, each movement an offering of humility and care. As the sun rises, devotees honor light, warmth and sustaining energy through prayer and silence. The focus is not celebration but consecration—acknowledging dependence on nature, time and divine law. By cultivating gratitude, restraint and mindful action, Thai Pongal renews harmony between human effort, natural cycles and spiritual awareness.
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Esoterics of Worship, Part Three
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.
“This is one of the reasons that religious tradition is very, very important. Modern existential thought tells us that we can do anything we want to; we don’t have to follow tradition. Out of such a belief comes a great sense of loneliness, a schism between the individual and all his ancestors, all the generations that preceded him on this planet. Out of such a belief comes the breaking up of culture, society, religion and families. ¶Tradition allows you to go through life’s experiences in a controlled way, rather than just throwing yourself into life and upon life without forethought and preparation. When you respect tradition, you call upon the collective wisdom of tens of thousands of years of experience. When you follow tradition, you share the solutions of untold problems, solved once perhaps before recorded history began in order that future generations might avoid them. Tradition is wisdom of the past inherited by the men and women in the present.“
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Building Support Posts
When we acquired an adjacent 17 acres of land many years ago, it came with a wooden house built on stilts. The thick wooden stilts at the outer four outer corners gradually began to disintegrate at the base due to rain damage. It was reaching a state of potential danger, so we hired a team to temporarily prop up each corner of the house so they cut off the bottom section of each wooden pillar and fill that space with concrete. The photos show the nearly-final results, with just some concrete staining left to match the color of the remaining wood pillar.
The third photo shows one of our large banana stalks heading into ripening stage.
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A Sunrise from the Sky
- A Garden Island
- As the Sun first lights the day, we get some wonderful purples and pinks behind the mountain
- The half moon above Waialeale
- “If you remove illusion, you will see that Śiva pervades everything.” – Yogaswami
- At this hour the sun shines right inside the front doors of Kadavul Temple, lighting the tandavas
- “Everything will turn out successfully, when the mind is not agitated” Yogaswami
- “On the highest level, where is the guru? Where is the disciple? Everything is Brahman” – Yogaswami
- “We must taste God just as we taste sugar-candy” – Yogaswami
- “God and you are inseparable” – Yogaswami
- “Only you can do it. Nobody can do it for you, nor can anyone give it to you.
Why can’t they give you the Self? Because it’s already there. You already have it.” – Gurudeva
Aum Namah Shivaya
When our Kauai Sky is spotted with higher-altitude clouds just before sunrise or sunset, it’s time to grab your camera! Or in this case, our quad copter. While we adjusted exposure, clarity and saturation, there’s no ai touch-ups here. The world really is this beautiful.
“God can only be discovered by God” – Yogaswami
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99th Jayanthi Celebrations at Alaveddy Sri Subramuniya Temple
- Jai Gurudeva!
Jai Gurudeva!
On Monday, the 5th of January 2026, Gurudeva’s ardent devotees celebrated his 99th Jayanthi at Alaveddy Sri Subramuniya Temple. Although Gurudeva is no longer with us physically, he continues to live on through his profound and timeless teachings.
If you live completely each second, you will experience many days inside each twenty-four hours.
Gurudeva
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