Jai Ganesha!
On the final day of Sadhu Paksha, we celebrate Chitra Puja. The puja was conducted by Natyam Shankaranatha and Yogi Haranandinatha. It was a very powerful and uplifting puja, during which all the monks and devotees could feel the strong spiritual vibrations. Below is the video of the final arati:
Gurudeva Pada Puja Read More »
The 11th India Day Festival is underway in Moscow, and our Himalayan Academy team is there in full force. Here is Dinanatha Bodhinatha’s short report sent to Kauai this morning with some great photos.
Namaste, dear Swamis!
We are having a wonderful event…
The 11th India Day Festival in Moscow is taking place at Gostiny Dvor (a historic 17th-century exhibition center in the center of Moscow near Red Square). This is the largest Indian cultural festival in Russia, created for those who appreciate Eastern traditions and seek inspiration: yoga enthusiasts, Ayurveda enthusiasts, fans of Indian cuisine, and all who believe that India is not just a country, but an entire world of wisdom, beauty, and spiritual discovery.
“Hinduism Today” in Russia held an event at the Festival’s children’s playground, providing the recently published book “Saivite Hindu Religion” for children’s creativity…
I am enclosing photos of the event and general plans of the Festival and the Gostiny Dvor building, including a photo of myself with the founder of the India Day Festival, Mr. Sammy Kotwani, President of the Indian Business Alliance (IBA) in Russia.
Jai Gurudeva! Jai Satguru! Jai Kauai Aadheenam!
Moscow Kids Discover Saivism Read More »
On August 12th, Satguru and Shanmuganathaswami departed for some cities in mainland USA and also to Montreal, Canada. First stop was Chicago to visit with Malhotra family who are SSC sishyas, and also meet a few other devotees. Aran Malhotra had a japa mala blessed as he prepares for his first year of university. From there they traveled to upstate New York to spend some time with the Satish family, longtime well-wishers.
Satguru’s August Trip, Part One Read More »
Jai Ganesha!
As part of celebrating the end of our Sadhu Paksha, here are some photos taken by our monks around the monastery during the Sadhu Paksha period. Aum.
End of Sadhu Paksha Read More »
As Mother Nature quieted down in the aftermath of the Lala tropical storm, small patches of blue sky began to peek through still-dense-but-fast-moving clouds as we enjoyed another Gurudeva Chitra nakshatra padapuja in the early morning. The puja coincided with the ending of our restful Sadhu Paksha period and entering the season of Jivana Ritau. Hence a small parade then occurred to change the flag. Sometimes there is little wind and the flag doesn’t unfurl as we change it, but the tropical storm leftovers brought a majestic unfurling in multiple directions.
Excerpts from Saiva Dharma Shastras about the this time of year:
“Beginning with Hindu New Year in mid-April, three seasons of the year divide our activities into three great needs of humankind the learning of scripture in the first season, Nartana Ritau; the living of culture in the second season, Jivana Ritau; and the meditating on Siva in the third season, Moksha Ritau. Thus we are constantly reminded that our life is Siva’s life and our path to Him is through study, sadhana and realization. In ritau one, we teach the philosophy; in ritau two, we teach the culture; and in ritau three, we teach meditation.
During Jivana Ritau, the rainy season, from mid-August to mid-December,Living with Siva: Hinduism’s Contemporary Cultureis the primary text. The key word of this season is work. The colors are rust, copper-maroon and all shades of red rust for earthy preservation, copper-maroon for fulfillment and red for physical energy. The Aadheenam’s flag pole flies the rust-colored dhvaja, symbolizing environmental care. Copper-maroon and all shades of red adorn our smaller flags. This is the season of honoring and showing appreciation for those in the vanaprastha ashrama, life’s elder advisor stage. The focus is on preserving what has been created, manifesting goals and fulfilling plans made in the past. Inwardly the emphasis is on direct cognition and caring for the practical details of the external world. Practicality is a word much used this season.”
Chitra Puja, & Jivana Ritau Begins Read More »
Yesterday and today, Hurricane Lala brushed against the big island of Hawaii as a level one hurricane. Thankfully, the strength of the big island’s large mountains quickly downgraded Lala to a tropical storm, but not without a large amount of damaging weather and flooding. Over the day, Lala passed beneath the island chain—its outer weather bands covering all the islands with heavy rains and some decent wind speeds. At certain points the rain was so thick that you couldn’t see the distant tree tops.
Thankfully for Kauai it was not a very difficult storm. All the monks are safe and well, and the Aadheenam didn’t suffer any real damage. Many small branches and countless leaves now decorate our roads, but only a few larger tree chunks fell in isolated areas. We did have our power out for most of the day (it’s back now), but the main monastery buildings have an emergency generator to keep them running. We look forward to a sunnier day tomorrow!
Aum Namah Sivaya
Living in Lala Land 🌀 Read More »
