This morning we conducted pada puja to Gurudeva on Chitra nakshatra. Enjoy this randomly selected Q&A with Gurudeva in his final year, 2001–
What the soul learns; Being on the right path
Author: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Description: A cyberspace devotee from India wants to know if the soul is also learning when the mind is being educated. Gurudeva says we are the soul and anything that is taken in through the layers of the mind the soul will be aware of it. In today’s second question a cyberspace devotee wants to know why there is sin and suffering. Gurudeva says the first thing to do is to define the path that you are on. The Saivite path looks at suffering and happiness as different intensities of the emotions.
The heavily used back road going towards the new Siddhidata Kulam building has a culvert to channel downslope rainwater. It’s easy for gravel and debris to be pushed off the road and start blocking the culvert. To prevent this, and also for the safety of vehicles crossing the narrow space, a thick cement barricade was created on the edge. The other side is being prepared for the same.
In the new Siddhidata Kulam building office, SSC sishya Easvan Param was just here with a team to install electrical materials for the office and also plan for a solar panel installation on the roof. After he finished, our employees and monks are just finishing installation insulation in all the walls.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami’s October 2024 Publisher’s Editorial from Hinduism Today Magazine.
“We all know individuals who don’t connect their inner life to their outer life. They give meditation a high priority when they sit to meditate and want to go within. Outside of meditation, when they are at work or school, they don’t apply the same level of willpower and concentration. Some even belittle ordinary life, taking a “whatever” attitude: “It doesn’t matter as much. The inner life—that’s what’s important. The outer life—that’s something to be endured.” What’s wrong with such an attitude?”
A very familiar face (Guess who is it). No? The Dalai lama.
With a Japanese Zen master
At the boarding gate, ready for our adventure.
Guruderva’s upadesha in Jaipur
Shum Meditation class during the round-the-world Innersearch
Gurudeva carefully observing a master Japanese calligrapher at work
Roshi Kabori later visited us in Kauai
Deva Rajan with a cobra around his neck bravely playing the flute in India
We look down at Tiruvannamalai Temple from the hilltop
Jai Ganesha!
As we were going through our photo archives, we stumbled upon a wonderful episode of Gurudeva’s old Innersearch. In this captivating journey, Gurudeva traveled with his devoted members and a few of his monks across various countries, including Sri Lanka, India and Russia. The images we found from this time evoked a wave of nostalgic memories, transporting us back to moments filled with energy and inspiration.
In these photographs, we see a young and vibrant Gurudeva, full of life and passion, leading his group with an infectious enthusiasm that is hard to forget. The smiles on the faces of the monks and members capture the essence of their shared experiences, revealing a deep bond forged through spirituality and exploration. It’s intriguing to see how some of the monks have changed over the years, and you might find it a bit of a challenge to guess who they are, as time has gracefully transformed their appearances while their spirits remain unchanged.
During their travels, Gurudeva and his group immersed themselves in the rich cultures and traditions of the places they visited. In Sri Lanka, they engaged with the local communities, learning about their customs and rituals while sharing the teachings of Saiva Siddhanta. The vibrant festivals and colorful ceremonies provided a beautiful backdrop for discussions on spirituality and the universal values that connect all of humanity.
The images from this journey remind us of the transformative power of travel, especially when it’s infused with purpose and intention. Gurudeva’s ability to connect with individuals from various walks of life underscores the universality of spiritual principles. The joy and curiosity on the faces of those who participated in his sessions reflect a longing for connection that is inherent in all of us.
As we reminisce about these travels, we are reminded of the importance of cultural exchange and the sharing of knowledge. Gurudeva’s commitment to spreading the teachings of Hinduism while also embracing the traditions of others serves as a beautiful example of how spirituality can flourish in diverse environments. This legacy inspires us to continue exploring, learning, and growing, while honoring the rich tapestry of beliefs and practices that exist in our world.
In reflecting on Gurudeva’s journeys, we not only celebrate his contributions but also acknowledge the ongoing journey of each individual who seeks to deepen their understanding of themselves and the world around them. These archives serve as a testament to the impact of his teachings and the bonds created during these transformative experiences.
Now enjoy these nostalgic memories from decades ago.
There is an art (and hard work) to working on ourselves, and most don’t want change enough to make the effort. But some do, especially those on the evolutionary path. A couple of years back Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami wrote a most earthy and unusual book with the above title. He developed it as a tool to help children and adults build, transform and improve their character. He created a list of sixty-four character qualities and presented them in such a way that anyone could pick a trait and work to improve it. He includes examples of each trait, and its opposite. For instance, attentive/distracted, compassionate/uncaring, grateful/thankless, selfless/selfish. For families with pre-teen children old enough to understand the concepts, the booklet can be used in a simple way by choosing one character quality at a time, posting it in big type somewhere in the home and discussing it now and then for a few weeks. It’s a way to get everyone in the family to focus on improving life by improving themselves. Recently, a devotee in Bengaluru put the entire book into Tamil and we have now posted it online. You can find it (and download the pdf or epub) here: bit.ly/TamilCharacter
If you know Tamil-speaking families looking for good tools for improving our habits, reactions and nature, please share the link with them.
Sample pages from the book are shown below.
Table of Contents showing all of the traits
A typical spread from the book is shown below. It’s about being hospitable.
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.
“The grand old man of the East who ordained me, Jnanaguru Yoganathan, Yogaswami of Jaffna, used to say time and time again, “It was all finished long ago.” It’s finished already. The whole mind is finished, all complete, in all stages of manifestation. Man’s individual awareness flows through the mind as the traveler treads the globe. ¶Now we come to the real study, and this applies right to you and to you personally: the five steps on the path of enlightenment. What are they? Attention, concentration, meditation, contemplation and Self Realization. Those are the five steps that awareness has to flow through, gaining strength each time, on the path to enlightenment. When we first start, awareness is flowing through many areas of the mind. And if it is a mature awareness, we will say it’s a great big ball of light, flowing through the mind. And if it’s not a mature awareness, it’s like a little ping-pong ball, bouncing around. The little ping-pong ball awareness is not going to walk the path of enlightenment, so to speak. It’s going to bobble around in the instinctive mind, incarnation after incarnation, until it grows to a great big ball, like a great big beach ball. Then finally it will have enough experiences flowing through the mind to turn in on itself. When this happens, certain faculties come into being. One of them is willpower. And we learn to hold attention. We learn to hold awareness at attention. Awareness: attention! “
