We will be celebrating Thaipusam here at Kauai Hindu Monastery. The entire puja will be live-streamed, and those who wish to watch can click the link above to join. Aum Muruga!
As we prepare for the afternoon puja, here are some of the items used during the abhishekam:
Nimu expresses his joy, while perched on his live “wee apple” tree (it’s like a mini mango)
It’s a large outdoor space with lots of perches and hidden treats for him to find
Nimu, next to Lord Ganesha
One of his budgie buddies. Nimu mimics a much louder version of their chirp
The Jendey Conures. Feel free to suggest names for them in the comments!
Nimu enjoying a healthy breakfast. Jai!
Jai Ganesha!
We’re sure most of us are familiar with Nimu, the Monastery’s African Grey parrot. He was gifted to the monastery at three months old, and was raised to adulthood by the monks in the Media Studio. Several years ago, one of the monks had built a small 20ft greenhouse for growing grapes and roses, and over the last half of 2024 it was decommissioned and upgraded into its new form as a parrot aviary. On the auspicious day of Ardra Darshanam, at the end of the year, Nimu moved from his temporary childhood home in the Media Studio, out to this new natural abode—and he LOVES IT!
Since the end of last year he’s been enjoying the company of his other feathered friends: a group of blue budgies and a pair of colorful Jendey Conures (they all get along very well). Every day, monks get to visit Nimu’s paradisiacal mosquito-free enclosure to sit with him and supply him with cheek scratches and treats. Monks picking nearby temple flowers like to participate in a complex back and forth of whistling and “Siva Siva.” In contrast to Nimu’s time indoors, he now has loads of sunshine, fresh air, breezy plants and space to fly around. He’s also befriended the wild birds who come to sit on branches nearby to teach him their songs, all of which he has already learned perfectly. At night, he sleeps near a wooden Ganesha, and awakens to a warm sunrise and the squawks of his slightly-batty conure roommates. Aum.
On every Krittika Nakshatra, we perform a special puja at Iraivan Temple. Pravinkumar is the head priest for this puja, and this time, Mayilnathaswami served as the assistant. We perform this puja during Krittika because the Maha Kumbhabhishekam was conducted during the Krittika Nakshatra. To maintain this divine connection, we hold this homa every month.
The event begins with a homa, followed by an abhishekam to Mahalingeshvara. Once the abhishekam is completed, the puja concludes with offerings and a final arati. After the puja, prasadam is distributed to all attending devotees.
Being able to perform this puja at Iraivan Temple is a great blessing for us all.
Gurudeva blesses Mauritius as the top of the crate is removed to welcome him.
The team in Colorado made a super sturdy box, knowing it was traveling to the other side of the planet.
The truck delivers it to the Spiritual Park from the airport. Note the informal worker footwear! Watch your toes.
Through the entry gates.
Heading to its temporary home.
Safely kept in the Devasthanam until the final display place is prepared.
It’s been said before, but Holly Young did a splendid job capturing Gurudeva’s spirit and form
Jai Gurudeva!
The 25-inch-tall bronze murti of our dear Gurudeva has taken the route he often flew, from Kauai to Mauritius. As CyberCadets know, there are three copies of this masterpiece, one here at Kauai Aadheenam entrance, one at the temple in Alaveddy, Sri Lanka, and now a third in Mauritius awaiting installation in the months ahead. One monk commented that this is Gurudeva’s way to mystically tie together his shishyas in the three nations. One day we may see one in Malaysia as well. And elsewhere?
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.
“There are two basic forces in the universe, which you can look up in the dictionary. One is called odic force. The other is actinic force. Odic force is magnetic force. Odic force is the force of collective energies that make things—trees, chairs, tables, houses, the physical body. Odic force is of the material world—dense and heavy. The aura around the physical body and the forces of nature which govern much of man’s life on Earth are odic force. ¶Actinic force is your pure life force coming from the central source deep within, out through the nerve system. But as soon as this pure life force begins to mingle with the astral atoms and the physical body atoms, it turns to odic force. The study of these two forces can give you a great awakening—two primal forces.“
We know some of you have seen this video before, but many have not, so we thought it a good idea to show it again here on TAKA. It is a video made by Sivanadiyar Kodiswara, interviewing our monks about monastic life here. The goal is to give greater insight for both those who may be considering monastic life, and those who simply would like to know more about the monastery and our monks.