Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Cleaning Rudraksha Forest Ganesha

A small prayer after cleaning

Getting blessings from Hanuman

Vel cleaning the Vel

Jai Ganesha!

Iraivan Day is a day each month that the whole monastery devotes to work related to Iraivan Temple and the San Marga Sanctuary. First thing in the morning, we all gather around in the Guru Pitham and prepare the month’s paper newsletters to be mailed to devotees. Once done with that each monk and taskforcer is assigned to do another task, by Yogi Haranandinatha. Here is a look into what Vel was doing for his Iraivan Day. He began by cleaning the Rudraksha Forest Ganesha which hadn’t been cleaned for quite a long time. Vel was very thorough, and Ganesha is now looking very neat and clean. Once done with that, he went to Murugan hill and cleaned the area around the granite Vel in top of Muruga Hill. Once finished, Vel took the Nataraja statue from the Saivite Satguru Path and washed and shined it well. It also hadn’t been touched for a very long time. As you can see, Vel took his tasks seriously and gave 100% effort. Aum!

For the last couple weeks a contractor has been here to install sheetrock on the walls and ceiling of all the rooms in the new office. There is plenty of cutting involved to fit the sheets around all the windows, light fixtures and electrical outlets, and then he applies joint compound where one sheet meets another. He is nearly finished, and then a painter will come in for the next stage.

A slightly over-saturated sunset is actually quite natural around here. Can you spot the moon?

Happy butterflies frolic in the foliage

Some fun with black and white

A staghorn fern. But how big is the rest of the plant?

Really. Quite. Big. As it turns out

Inside the layers of a fern

How has our Pillar Banyan been doing?

Yep, it’s still eating large pieces of stone

Fan palms reach to the sky

A grove of construction bamboo challenges the depth-perception of those that peer inside

A very special little flower that looks like a glowing paper lantern. It probably has a special name too…

Aum Namah Sivaya

This week the monks begin there two-week-long retreat known as Sadhu Paksha. This is the time leading up to our official change of seasons, from the Jivana Ritau we will enter the Moksha Ritau. Essentially, Sadhu Paksha involves more stringent rules regarding guests’ entry to the monastery grounds during this time, as well as our monastics change in their morning sadhana—performing their practice alone and often out in nature, rather than our usual group routines. During their extra time in our sacred gardens, monks can enjoy the many natural wonders of these sacred lands. The above photos include some recent images from our jungle-gardens, along with a little photo-editing freedom to play with colors.

The hydroponic growing bins, before the plants are planted

These are the new tomato plants

Ta-da! Planted where they belong!

In other news, Sadhaka Shankaranatha working hard to keep the weeds under control

Jai Ganesha!

A few months ago our greenhouse was affected by bugs, and the cost was our previous planting of tomatoes. All of them were affected and it required us to shut down the entire greenhouse and remove the plants. After the complete shut down the Siddhidata Kulam monks cleaned the space, inside and out. After that, the mathavasi started to work on growing the new tomatoes. Now the process of planting those vines has started, as you can see in the above photos. It’s just the beginning phase and very soon these little plant will start to produce tomatoes. Aum.

The Festival of Pancha Ganapati

Think of Pancha Ganapati as the Hindu Christmas, a modern winter holiday full of family-centered happenings, but with five days of gifts for the kids, not just one. From December 21 to 25, Hindus worship Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed Lord of culture and new beginnings. Family members work to mend past mistakes and bring His blessings of joy and harmony into five realms of their life, a wider circle each day: family, friends, associates, culture and religion. We are sharing this early, so families can make the necessary preparations for the end-of-year festival days.

Visit panchaganapati.com to learn more.

You can also download the full PDF with complete explanations here:

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/pancha-ganapati/

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During our 9am Kadavul Temple Siva puja, just before the 108 Ashtottara we chant the names of formal sishyas and some others who have a birthday or wedding anniversary on that day. Then we mail vibhuti along with a greeting card wishing them well. On the back of the card we have imagery of Aums, Ganeshas and scenes of Iraivan Temple. The scenes of Iraivan are out of date, so we’ve gathered more recent imagery in preparation for printing more cards. Enjoy the slideshow of what we’ve gathered.