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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.

“Man is like an egg. He lives and moves within the shell of his own concepts; and within a certain area of the mind that is comfortable to him he finds security. Within this area of the mind there are certain strata of thought flow with which he becomes familiar, emotional stresses that he has adjusted to as he matured. Within the eggshell he finds the pressures of his maturing pressing upon the boundaries of his accustomed area of mind and emotion. One day the shell breaks, and man steps out in all his glory. “

This tree behind nearby Yogaswami is flowering

Another area of land that was getting overtaken by trees and brush is a mini-isthmus with a pond on either side, at the north end of the Path of the Satgurus, behind the statue of Chellappaswami.

An employee is gradually clearing the brush from the area, so visitors can once again view the banyan tree charmingly sending roots down into the pond, the large Australian Tree Ferns on the isthmus and a small waterfall exiting a culvert underneath, while listening to bird chirps and the gurgle of moving water. One of many pristine pilgrim-accessible areas of our grounds.

A radiant sunset paints the sky above our volcano

The same light, just an hour earlier, through the palm trees

Kavi Cat enjoys the sunrise the following day

Gurudeva silently greets guests as they arrive

A brief bout of moisture makes happy plants around Kadavul Temple

The plants in the Ganapati Kulam aquarium are starting to look like a cherry blossom tree

No one told them to do that…

The fish are happy too

the cherry shrimp love their bright green moss

And the playful guppies display their bright colors

Our durian tree produce a few of its coveted fruits. Can you spot it?

phone cameras don’t know what to do with this amazing color.

countless little lizards live in the stone gardens

Sivaratri night

Siva’s crescent moon aligns with Venus for the evening

Jai Ganesha!

Over the last week the Aadheenam has been enjoying some wonderful weather, with clear sunny days and colorful evenings. While events continually take place here, the monastics are under the discipline of simultaneously experiencing the feeling that “nothing is happening.” Perhaps these photos reflect that, in that most are not of projects or events, but simply the background imagery of life—something important to appreciate too. Is your life defined more by the events that take place, or by the simplicity in between?

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.

“Being on the path is a marvelous thing, but it is a path. There are jungles on either side, and if we wander off into the jungle, taking too many liberties, continuity of the vibration of our unfoldment will begin to wane. Suppose you are meditating regularly in the morning and at night, day after day. Perhaps they’re not long meditations, but they are regular. You are generating a certain vibration out of it. If you then stop that routine and take your awareness into feeling sorry for yourself or mentally arguing with a friend, you lose the subtle thread of superconsciousness. You’re going through an old, old pattern and it will be difficult to get back into the vibration of meditation. Your dreams at night may become nightmares. Your circle of friends may change. This is called, in a sense, spinning out into a different area of the mind. If you have not yet experienced this yet, it’s not a recommended experience on the path. And if you have experienced it, you know what I am talking about, and you know the importance of protecting yourself and your meditations. Psychic protection, to sensitive people, is extremely important. It involves every detail of life—your home, friends, clothes, diet, even your dreams. You should live in places that are clean, very clean. Paint your place. Assure yourself that the inner atmosphere is clean and unpolluted. “