A Daily Chronicle of Kauai's Hindu Monastery

Satguru Siva Yogaswami Jaffna, Sri Lanka		Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Kauai's Hindu Monastery, USA
	November 13, 1999 - Shubha

Hail to the Great Ones who know the Unknowable and hold Truth in the palm of their hand! Welcome to TAKA, "Today at Kauai Aadheenam." Most will know that it is Skanda Shasti, that wild, glorious, potent, energetic annual festival for Lord Murugan. Today's homa was for this Great God, Son of Siva, Master of Yoga, Healer of Healers, First Sannyasin and second in the race for the mango. New! Satguru Speaks Again! A new and powerful talk today, Gurudeva speaks of Lord Murugan. MP3 Streaming: Use the QuickTime controller above to listen to Gurudeva's upadesha in MP3 streaming mode. You must have the QuickTime plug-in installed in your browser. (Click here to get QuickTime.) Click here for Real Audio For those unable to play streaming MP3 or RealAudio: Option-click here to download MP3 file to your computer. Option-click here to download WAV file to your computer. Here Gurudeva offers flowers and nine grains into the homa fire, as members stand in reverent obeisance during the final moments of the pre-dawn ceremony. As the monks chanted, four good souls came forward to have their ears pierced on this auspicious day. It's an important samscara, a rite of passage in South Indian culture, akin to sacraments like name-giving, first-feeding, wedding and such. This is Diksha Kandar, a taskforcer from California. Here our very accurate Sannyasin Skandanathaswami takes aim at the ear of Sadhaka Jyothinatha. Vel Mahalingum is next. He was so happy afterwards, and looked so traditional. In the days of old ALL men and women had their ears pierced, usually when very young. It fell from popularity for many years, but now it is regaining ground as more and more men and boys adopt the ancient ways. Another view of Diksha Kandar. Our pujari on the left, Natyam Tyaganatha, spends many long hours each week preparing for the homa. He gathers special woods and flowers, grains and ghee, yogurt and more. He makes special naivediyam, food fit for the Gods, he decorates the temple and especially the homa area. And he chants so sweetly to lift the consciousness of all who attend. After the homa Gurudeva spoke of Lord Murugan. "This Great God puts dharma into action. In the ancient kingdoms when the maharajas held their court, Lord Murugan stood behind the throne and whispered into the right ear of the king, giving directions on how to rule justly and well." "Yes, He is known as Skanda, the God of War. Why is that? Because he controls those forces and can bring peace to warring peoples, even when that war is in their own home, which it often is." "Murugan is the Lord of Change, the Red God, and red is the color of change. He is worshipped throughout the world in public penances called kavadi. This penance involves the piercing of the skin, and the pain of this heals the inner mind so that karmas may be mitigated." Afterwards Muruga was bathed in milk and yogurt and dressed beautifully. Gurudeva spoke of the importance of peace in the home if ever we want peace in the neighborhood, in the city, in the nation and on the earth. All abuse must stop first in all the homes of those who strike their children or their wives. He spoke about husbands and wives getting along in perfect harmony, how to achieve that, and how to set a new habit in life of never going to sleep at night when there is the slightest disharmony between loved ones or friends. To learn to settle these things before sleeping, to never let them go, never let them fester and ferment until they one day explode. Welcome to Suntheram and Vatshala who are long-time devotees of Gurudeva's temple in San Francisco in the early years. We've known each other for more than 20 years, and we are so happy they have returned again to the island. Agumbaram and Poumagal from Montreal. We told their story a few days ago, but now we have special news for those visiting our electronic ashram today. This wonderful couple have been so inspired by their days at this holy site, so much so that they decided to sponsor one of the 24 giant pillars that will go around the perimeter of Iraivan Temple. Agumbaram's big smile was almost as big as Thondunathan's. Here he is signing his check for $21,000!. What a generous heart this couple has! they are such a example to all of selfless giving, of giving perhaps more than you ever thought you could. He later told us that such giving really made him feel joyous and uplifted. Welcome also to Sudhakar and Shoba Podilla, from Texas. They are on the right here in Gurudeva's office. They joined Gurudeva in April of this year for the Innersearch cruise to Canada and Alaska. It's great to see their bright faces again. They are long-time devotees of Swami Chinmayananda of the Chinmaya Mission. the two young men here are long-time friends from primary school and Jaffna Hindu College. Visakan (on the left of Thondunatha) lives in Australia now. Next to him is Bala who has recently moved to Honolulu. Bala is hosting his friend on a visit to Hawaii, and making an all-important stop on Kauai to drink deeply from the Spiritual Well. Our Church ladies, from left to right, Bhavani, Vasuki, Peshanidevi and Tara "talk story" in the Bangalore Gallery while waiting for lunch. Members and pilgrims enjoy a special lunch prepared by the mathavasis for today's Skanda Shashti festival. So they get to worship and stay out of the kitchen this morning. Another lunchtime view, with the life-size display of Gurudeva in the background. Sadhaka Nilakantha works at the copy machine. Year 2000 March Caribbean Innersearch Taking Reservations Now Don't Delay as the group is limited in size Gurudeva says, "Come with me to the Caribbean next March, on the Year 2000 Innersearch. Besides our wonderful study together, we are planning a gala gathering of Hindus in Trinidad for one day." We will depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 25th and return to Fort Lauderdale on April 4th and be traveling on Holland America's spectacular, brand new cruise ship, the MS/Volendam. For information contact our wonderful tour agent who will be conducting the Innersearch: Kailash and Indra Dhaksinamurthi of Search Beyond Adventures, Inc. ASAP at search11@mail.idt.net Very Important!: Be sure to include your mailing address and phone number in the body of your message! Kailash will be mailing you information, but if you don't send an address there is nothing he can do.
This page is updated every day at 5:30pm Hawaii Standard Time. Hindu Basics \| Hinduism Today \| About Gurudeva \| Books \| Hawaii Ashram Art & Aums \| Resources \| Saiva Siddhanta Church \| Himalayan Academy Hindu Heritage Endowment \| Home Contact Us Copyright © 1999 Saiva Siddhanta Church. All rights reserved.

New! Satguru Speaks Again!