Today Gurudeva talks all the visitors to Kauai Aadheenam today--the Kapaa merchants association of 20 plus people, as well as a film crew from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. He answers a question about maya, advising to stay in "middle consciousness," neither too high nor too low for everyday living. Finally he talks about "time out" for adults, when husband and wife, and sometime parents and older children, need a time apart, how to do it as a religious retreat really capable of changing one's perspective.

Unedited Transcript:

Today at Kauai Aadheenam, March 22nd.

It is a very busy day. We had about twenty business people from the Kapaa business community group come to visit Kauai Aadheenam. They had a wonderful time. They saw everything that we are doing - 'Hinduism Today', publishing books, building a temple.

Also, it was 'Guest Day'. We had a lot of other very beautiful guests come to sit in front of the sphatika lingam. 700 hundred pound, perfect, crystal Sivalingam.

We have a question about maya and we want to thank you for sending this question.

Maya, the grand illusion when in higher consciousness, is very real when in lower consciousness. In higher consciousness, there are no good and there are no bad things. In lower consciousness, we see good and we see bad. It is our choice, where we want to be. I think just in the middle is a good place, between lower consciousness and higher consciousness and see things for what they are when in everyday life.

This was a very good question and you went on to answer the question yourself and you gave a very nice answer for me, and we want to thank you very, very much.

When things get tough in a home, a religious separation is very good. It is called 'time out'. If a husband and wife are fighting, a religious separation is very good. If children and parents are fighting among themselves, a separation for time to cool off is also very good. But these kinds of separations should not be looked at as punishment. They should be mutually agreed upon. A cooling off time, a time of reflection, of talking to oneself or talking to one's best friend so the mind can adjust itself to the responsibilities of living in a home, performing the duties that we have to perform while living in the home, and being a good citizen on planet Earth.

Many families are breaking up because of misunderstandings and unresolved problems, and they separate for good. But, I am talking about a religious separation. Going off to an ashram, performing sadhana, taking a pilgrimage to a far off temple, worshiping there, and then returning. That is a religious pilgrimage.

Just to go away with no particular purpose, just to get out of the home or away from another individual, serves no real purpose. So religion plays a very important part in a person's life because that is higher consciousness and everything else other than religion, is lower consciousness.

Well, here we are again in Cyberspace Ashram and tomorrow and the next day are retreat. We had a film group come from Honolulu today to make a film on Kauai Aadheenam, what we do, how we live here. They were attracted to us and this was their second visit from the University of Honolulu to get to know us better, I guess, and take us in digital cameras over to Honolulu so others can get to know us better.

Aum Namah Sivaya.