Today at Kauai Aadheenam

‘The smallest thing in this world is an allegory for the whole universe”

“Chaos is just another pattern, one that’s too grand for our minds to interpret”

Vel Mahalingam visits Iraivan Temple

“The mind indeed IS this fleeting world; therefore it should be purified with great effort.”

Kavi Cat asks for a head-scratch

Freshly harvested, picture-perfect, bananas

A green gecko peers out from a tree trunk

Bubbles, our uninvited pet duck, enjoys the stream

“There’s no scripture that surpasses what you’ll find inside yourself” – Bodhinatha

“Desire is life, and the reason we desire things is because we are alive. Desire is energy expressing itself.” – Gurudeva

“The easiest way to create big things, is to plant little seeds”

“All that is perishable, is only a symbol of an inner form that is truly lasting”

Yali Cat finds guests to pet him..

“God can be discovered only by God.” – Yogaswami

Aum Namah Sivaya

Today is the last day of our six-day lunar phase (our aloha-Friday, if you will…). Tomorrow, the monks enter a two-day retreat—our lunar weekend—and then begin two weeks of Sadhu Paksha, a time when we observe some variation in our personal morning routines, followed by our official change of season. Until then, we wish you all a good weekend, and hope you enjoy these photos from around the monastery today, along with some words of wisdom. Aum.

Batteries and other panels of the new setup

The spot in the roof where wires bring in the captured solar energy

One of the battery stations

Hale Hana, the Siddhidata Kulam’s new maintenance and person workstation building, draws a lot of power from the electrical grid, which is expensive on Kauai due to remoteness. Therefore we decided to invest in solar panels and batteries. The process is complete; the building is now entirely running on solar energy and will soon be connected to the island grid so that excess energy can be sold to the utility company. This solar generation will also help power the noni building and greenhouses.

“When heart and mind are freed of baseness, when desires have been tempered and excesses avoided, dharma is known and followed, and good conduct naturally arises.” – Gurudeva

“To accept one’s karma and the responsibility for one’s actions is strength. To blame another is weakness and foolishness.”

“It is wise to have a free mind, a clear, serene and relaxed attitude toward life before partaking of food. That is why people on the inner path traditionally meditate for a moment, chant a mantra or say a prayer before a meal.”

“Sacred is secret in all religions because if you talk about your inner experiences, you make them outer experiences and you stop the process.”

“We’re here to realize the Self, to have that one dramatic experience where everything that we thought was things is turned upside down, and our whole perspective afterwards changes. That is the purpose for living on this Earth.”

“The whole mind is finished, all complete, in all stages of manifestation. Man’s individual awareness flows through the mind as the traveler trods the globe.”

“The most important rule of honesty is to be honest to oneself, to be able to face up to our problems and admit that we have been the creator of them. To be honest with oneself brings peace of mind.”

“Have a view of the direction in which your mind is going, and you will have a good control over the direction of your life’s circumstance.”

“Siva is the God of love and nothing else but love. He fills this universe with love. He fills you with love. Siva is fire. Siva is earth. Siva is air. Siva is water. Siva is ether.”

“That goal is to realize God Siva in His absolute, or transcendent, state, which when realized is your own ultimate state—timeless, formless, spaceless Truth.”

Examine the word “I” and honestly see what it means to you.

There is a great wisdom in cultivated affectionate detachment. Let go of the past. Let go of the future. Be a being right now.

The energy within our body is the same energy that pervades the universe, and it’s all emanating right out of Lord Siva.

You don’t discipline yourself to attain the feeling of love. You attain the feeling of love and then you want to discipline yourself because you love the discipline, because it brings more love.

Jai Gurudeva!

During today’s chitra nakshatra, we observed our monthly padapuja to Gurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Monks and local members gathered in Kadavul Temple at 6:00am for the puja which was performed by Mayilnathaswami and Sadhaka Shankaranatha. Aum.

It’s easy to live in the now if you work with yourself a little every day and concentrate on what you are doing each moment.

– Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Yummy!

The pizza master Siddhanathaswami

Bagel Pizza!!

Vel is very busy cleaning all the dishes

Roshan giving some input on how to make the pizza more delicious

Mayilnathaswami comes to help too

Chandipati making the topping for the bagel pizza

Sadhaka Shankaranatha is guiding us on how to make the best pizzas

Jai Ganesha!

Once a month, here at monastery we break from our usual rice and dal, and we have a pizza night. The monks gather around and make fresh pizza using our wood-fire oven. This time it was very special because we had a lot of taskforcers to help the monks make pizza and have more fun for all. This, of course, made the event more memorable too. Here are some pictures of the process. Aum!

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami recounts his several visits to the BAPS temples and centers and his meetings with Pramukhswami Maharaj.

Swami Gnaneshwardas is given a shawl at the entry as our monks chant “Nakarmana.”

An aloha welcome at the entrance.

Walking along the garden path.

Visiting Kadavul Temple.

Off to the Media Studio. Seeing the view for the first time.

Informal sharing in the Cedar Room. Notice the small framed photo on the table. It is of Swaminarayan (1781-1830) who founded BAPS. They carry it everywhere they go to honor and remember him.

Swami Gnaneshwardas places a shawl on Satguru and offers gifts they have brought to hawaii.

Listening intently in the Guru Pitham.

A photo following darshan with the Satguru.

All aboard our solar-powered chariot for a tour of Siva’s Sacred Gardens.

Sadasivanathaswami answers their many questions about the monastery, our daily schedule and more.

Entering the temple

While a few swamis had to return to their quarters to prepare dinner, the senior monks visited Iraivan Temple just in time for darshan of Mahalingesvara.

With great joy, Kauai Aadheenam greeted the twelve BAPS Swamis on November 21. The most senior was Swami Gnaneshwardas who for years has been the mentor for young monks who go through a two-year “boot camp” in the city of Sarangpur in Gujarat. With him were monks from Chino Hills. After a formal greeting at the Aadheenam entrance, they paraded to Kadavul Temple and the Media Studio for some “talk story” time with the Ganapati Kulam. Discussions ranged from youth outreach (a real issue for all groups these days), ChatGPT and more. We shared the three reasons our organizations feel such closeness: Both are guru-centric; both build temples and place great significance on temple worship and attendance (including a home shrine); both have the monks as the leaders/administrators of the mission; both practice traditional sadhanas (e.g. monks travel in pairs always). It is always a joy when there is a confluence of these two orders. The slideshow follows their afternoon adventures.

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.

“We must be aware that it is only reawakening consciousness into a natural state, and that there is nothing mystical, difficult or inward that has to occur to hold an awareness of the inner and outer simultaneously from one central point in the mind. It is only because one is not accustomed to thinking in this way that it may seem difficult. But little children are in this state much of the time, and it is natural to them. ¶The beginning stages of watching the mind think I shall describe as similar to sitting quietly with your eyes open and, while not thinking about anything in particular, simply looking at what is around you—all of the time feeling somewhat empty on the inside, but seeing what is in front of you, to the left side of you, to the right side of you, above you, below you, and knowing what each object is, but not thinking about any object or collection of objects. Your eyes are watching; who lives behind them is the watcher. The objects that the mind perceives are similar to thoughts.”