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The two masterful bonsai trees gracing the Kadavul Temple pool are a delight to all pilgrims. But their beauty comes with great discipline and care. The roots are so shallow, even 3 days of no rain/water can stress them and so Tandu Sivanathan has to be constantly aware of their needs.

Two days back he and his friend and bonsai sensei, Abe, gave the two a haircut. Why? Without continual pruning, the carefully developed miniature proportions and artistic structure gradually disappear. We share the happening in our slideshow today.

Bonsai, the sacred art of shaping living trees in miniature form, carries a history of more than a thousand years, passing through generations as both a refined craft and a contemplative discipline. It quietly reflects profound spiritual truths long cherished in Hindu thought. The gardener does not force the tree but guides it with patience, restraint and loving attention, working in harmony with nature rather than against it. In this gentle partnership we see the path of sadhana itself—steady effort joined with divine grace.

A bonsai reminds us that spiritual maturity is not measured by outward size or display but by balance, rootedness and inner beauty. As branches are trimmed and growth directed, the practitioner is inwardly taught the same lesson: refine the mind, steady the heart and allow life to unfold according to dharma. Thus the tending of a bonsai becomes a quiet meditation, a daily reminder that with patience, humility and devotion the soul too can be shaped into a work of living harmony.

Some CyberCadets enjoyed the old photos we shared a few days back, so we thought to dig up a few more. We seldom reflect on the far past, choosing instead to follow Gurudeva’s teachings of staying in the now, or an extended now he defined as four days in the past and four days in the future. Below is his full statement from Merging with Siva about living there.

GURUDEVA: When we forget who we are, who we really are, we live in a consciousness of time and space, and we relate to the future, to the external us, to the past, and to our subconscious internal us. This can be rather confusing. Most people are therefore confused and seek to distract themselves in an effort to find peace. A conscious awareness of now only comes when we remember who we really are. This doesn’t mean we cannot plan for the future or benefit ourselves by reviewing experiences of the past. It simply means that we always remember that we are the essence of all energy, the source.

Return to the source. Merge with Śiva. At the source there is always peace. The key to this entire practice is to become consciously aware of energy. In this constant remembering we have the feeling of being the center of the universe, with the whole world functioning around us. To be fully anchored in the knowledge of the source of our being, the eternal now can and must be a constant experience. 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. To begin to work toward establishing yourself in the eternal now, first limit time and space by not thinking about or discussing events that happened more than four days past or will happen more than four days in the future. This keeps awareness reined in, focused. Be aware. Ask yourself, “Am I fully aware of myself and what I’m doing right now?”

Once you have gained a little control of awareness in this way, try to sit quietly each day and just be. Don’t think. Don’t plan. Don’t remember. Just sit and be in the now. That’s not as simple as it sounds, for we are accustomed to novelty and constant activity in the mind and not to the simplicity of being. Just sit and be the energy in your spine and head. Feel the simplicity of this energy in every atom of yourself. Think energy. Don’t think body. Don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow. They don’t exist, except in your ability to reconstruct the yesterdays and to create the tomorrows. Now is the only time. This simple exercise of sitting and being is a wonderful way to wash away the past, but it requires a little discipline. You have to discipline every fiber of your nerve system, work with yourself to keep the power of awareness expanded. Regular practice of meditation will bring you intensely into the eternity of the moment. Practice supersedes philosophy, advice, psychology and all pacifiers of the intellect.

We have to practice to keep awareness here and now. If you find yourself disturbed, sit down and consciously quiet the forces in yourself. Don’t get up until you have completely quieted your mind and emotions through regulating the breath, through looking out at a peaceful landscape, through seeking and finding understanding of the situation. This is the real work of meditation that is not written much about in books. If you can live in the eternity of now, your life will be one of peace and fulfillment. Aum