Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Attains Mahasamadhi

[Jagat 1]

Saiva Siddhanta Church <gurudeva.list@hindu.org>

Tue, 13 Nov 2001 03:59:19 -1000

<gurudeva_list@hindu.org> (Saiva Siddhanta Church)

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Attains Mahasamadhi

 

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, World Hindu Leader, Passes Away at 74

 

KAUAI, HAWAII, USA, November 13, 2001: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, one

of Hinduism's foremost and globally prominent spiritual teachers, a prolific

author and publisher of Hinduism Today magazine, attained Maha Samadhi,

"Great Union," today at age 74 at his ashram home on the tropical island of

Kauai, Hawaii, USA. A spokesperson for the ashram said the Hindu master

discovered on October 9, soon after he returned from a 30-day pilgrimage to

Europe with 72 devotees, that he had advanced intestinal cancer. The disease

was diagnosed when Subramuniyaswami was hospitalized for severe anemia. A

battery of tests revealed the cancer and that it had metastasized to other

parts of his body. Three medical teams of radiologists and oncologists in

Hawaii, Washington State and California all concurred that even the most

aggressive treatment regimens would prove ineffective, and estimated he had

just a few months to live. The popular Satguru went into seclusion and after

several days of meditation declared he would accept no treatment beyond

palliative measures. He also made the decision to follow the Indian yogic

practice, called Prayopavesa in Sanskrit scripture, to abstain from

nourishment and take water only from that day on. His doctors endorsed and

fully supported his decision. He died on the 32nd day of his self-declared

fast, passing on quietly at 11:54 pm on November 12, 2001, surrounded by his

23 monastics.

 

News of his impending passage was first released to the Hindu world on

October 16. Immediately temples, ashrams and devotees around the world began

the "Mrityunjaya Yajna," a worship ceremony traditionally offered prior to

the passing of a great saint. The yajna was performed across the USA,

Europe, India, Malaysia, Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. In the Hindu

tradition, a saint's passing is considered an extremely auspicious and

exalted event, signalling the completion of his mission on Earth and his

return to the great inner heaven worlds whence he was sent by God and the

Gods to help mankind. Nearly a hundred devotees from all over the world flew

to the remote island of Kauai to be nearby during the passage. The

suddenness of the events stunned the 2.5 million Tamils of Sri Lanka, for

whom Subramuniyaswami, the successor of Lanka's great guru Yogaswami, is

their hereditary spiritual leader.

 

An outpouring of appreciation came from the local Kauai island residents

who, though not Hindus, had over the decades of his residence there

developed a fondness and profound appreciation of Subramuniyaswami, whom

they called "Gurudeva," the affectionate title he was most known by. They

valued his spiritual presence and his generously given guidance and advice

on local island matters.

 

Before his passing, Subramuniyaswami consoled his sorrowful monks, telling

them, "Don't be sad, soon I will be with you 24 hours a day, working with

you all from the inner planes." Bereaved devotees arriving at the island

ashram heard the same message, and by the time of the Great Departure, a

profound peace had descended upon the ashram and all connected with it.

 

At Subramuniyaswami's request, he was cremated the same day, at Borthwick

Kauai Mortuary in Koloa, Kauai, where a simple memorial service was held. In

accordance with his directions, his ashes will be ceremonially interred

tomorrow morning in a meditation crypt behind the sanctum sanctorum of the

ashram's Siva Nataraja temple. His designated successor, Satguru Bodhinatha

Veylanswami, 59, was installed immediately as guru of the ashram, formally

known as Kauai Aadheenam.

 

As is traditional, the passage of a saint is not accompanied by the Hindu

rituals of mourning. The release from the mortal coils at the time of the

saint's choosing is regarded as an auspicious event, one to be met with

gratitude for his life and not sorrow for his passage.

 

When notified of the Satguru's passing, Sita Ram Goel, one of India's most

influential Hindu writers and thinkers, wrote, "He has done great work for

Hinduism, and the recent reawakening of the Hindu mind carries his stamp."

Ma Yoga Shakti, renowned teacher and Hinduism Today's Hindu of the Year for

2000, said, "For more than five decades, Subramuniyaswami, a highly

enlightened soul of the West -- a Hanuman of today, a reincarnation of Siva

Himself -- has watered the roots of Hinduism with great zeal, faith,

enthusiasm and whole-heartedness." Sri Shivarudra Balayogi Maharaj of India

said, "By his life and by his teaching, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami has

helped make Hinduism an even greater gift to humanity." Swami Agnivesh of

the Arya Samaj wrote, "Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, our Gurudev, is a

great spiritual asset for humankind. I still carry with me the warmth of his

affectionate hug and his very kind words."

 

The American Swami

Few in the Hindu world would not recognize the tall, white-haired American

who had gained prominence over the decades for his practical and

clear-minded books replete with explanations of everything Hindu, from the

most basic beliefs and daily practices to the loftiest refined philosophy

and yoga techniques. He was equally famous as founder and publisher of

Hinduism Today, which evolved over 21 years from a simple newsletter to an

award-winning, international, full-color magazine, respected for its

authoritative reporting on Hindu events, institutions, personalities, issues

and controversies around the world. Among his innovative projects are the

creation of Iraivan Temple on Kauai, the first all-stone, hand-carved

granite Agamic temple ever built in the West, the founding of Hindu Heritage

Endowment to perpetually fund worthy Hindu institutions and his

participation in numerous international conferences on religion, peace and

interfaith harmony.

 

In 1986, the World Religious Parliament in New Delhi honored him as one of

the five Hindu spiritual leaders outside of India who had most dynamically

promoted Hinduism in the past 25 years. Among his other honors are being

named one of 25 "presidents" of religion at the 1996 Parliament of the World

Religions held in Chicago, and receiving the U Thant Peace Award while

attending the Millennium Peace Summit of World Religious and Spiritual

Leaders held at the United Nations in August, 2000. This award was

previously given to the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope

John Paul and Mother Teresa. On August 25, 2000, he addressed 1,200

spiritual leaders during the UN events in New York.

 

Subramuniyaswami was a study in elegance, grace and radiant spirituality.

People would instinctively make way when he walked through a public area,

immediately conscious that a saint was present. Total strangers who had no

idea who he was would approach him with reverence, anxious to meet this

unusual being with the silken white hair. He was a large man, six-foot two

inches tall, with deep hazel eyes. He maintained throughout much of his life

the chiseled body he had developed in his youth as an accomplished ballet

dancer. Even in his seventies he would occasionally dance for devotees, who

would be astounded by his strength and grace of movement. He had a keen yet

unpretentious sense of presentation, and when moving about in public was

always impeccably groomed and fashionably dressed. His devotees loved his

sense of fun, maintained even upon his death bed, for when asked by a monk

if they could get anything for him, he replied, "Well, yes, a new body."

 

A Mystic's Life, Decade by Decade

Subramuniyaswami as born on January 5, 1927, in Oakland, California, and

grew up near Lake Tahoe. He was orphaned by age 11 and raised by a family

with deep connections to India. In his teenage years he was trained in

classical Eastern and Western dance and in the disciplines of yoga, becoming

the premier danseur of the San Francisco Ballet by age 19. Increasingly

drawn to a spiritual life, he renounced his career at its height and sailed

to India and Sri Lanka in 1947, on the first ship to sail to India following

World War II. There he intensified his spiritual training under renowned

yogis. In 1948, in the mountain caves of Jalani in central Sri Lanka, he

fasted and meditated until he burst into enlightenment. Soon after that God

Realization at just 21 years old, he met his satguru, Sage Yogaswami, in

Jaffna, Sri Lanka. This was the single most respected Saivite Hindu guru for

the people of Sri Lanka. The 72-year-old sage gave him his Hindu name,

Subramuniya, and initiated him into the holy orders of sannyasa, or

renunciate monasticism. Yogaswami then ordained the young mystic into his

lineage with a tremendous slap on the back, saying, "This will be heard in

America! Now go 'round the world and roar like a lion. You will build

palaces (e.g., temples) and feed thousands." While still in Sri Lanka,

Gurudeva introduced the nation to the circular saw, worked with leading

Buddhist elders and founded Saiva Siddhanta Church, the world's first Hindu

church, now active in many nations, and the Sri Subramuniya Ashram in the

township of Alaveddy, just north of Jaffna.

 

Occasionally people inquired about the spelling of his name, which differs

slightly from the South Indian form. He explained that the name Subramuniya

is a Tamil spelling of the Sanskrit Subhramunya (not be be confused with

Subramanya). It is formed from subhra meaning, "light; intuition," and muni,

"silent sage." Ya means "restraint; religious meditation." Thus Subramuniya

means a self-restrained soul who remains silent, or when he speaks, speaks

out from intuition.

 

Gurudeva returned to America in 1950 where he went into a reclusive phase of

deep contemplation and developed the spiritual techniques imparted to him in

Sri Lanka, from which he wrote his first book, "Raja Yoga." This profound

masterpiece remains the core of his teachings. Yogaswami had told him not to

teach until he reached the age of 30, so it was in 1957 that he founded

Himalayan Academy, now with thousands of students, and opened America's

first Hindu temple, on Sacramento Street in San Francisco. In 1960 he

initiated his first monastic disciples and opened centers in Reno and

Virginia City, Nevada, and other areas of California. During this time he

welcomed Hindu swamis coming for the first time to America, including Swami

Chinmayananda, whom he extensively assisted in setting up his Chinmaya

Mission in California.

 

Subramuniyaswami developed an effective method of teaching through

"Innersearch" travel-study programs, which he conducted periodically to

different parts of the world until two months before his passing. Among the

most outstanding of these programs was his 1969 pilgrimage to India with 65

devotees, then the largest group from America ever to come to India. Similar

spiritual journeys took him and hundreds of devotees to dozens of nations,

where he would typically meet with political and spiritual leaders, master

craftsmen, Zen and Hindu abbots and yogis. In recent years his Innersearch

tours focused on connecting with the Tamil Saivite communities around the

globe, which he nurtured from Kauai.

 

In the 1970s he brought his followers and organization entirely into

Hinduism, and established Kauai Aadheenam, a monastery-temple complex in the

South Indian tradition on Kauai, Hawaii, USA. His was the first major

Saivite Hindu theological center outside the Indian subcontinent. In 1975 he

founded the San Marga Iraivan Temple, and in 1979 he began publishing his

famed Hinduism Today magazine. He developed a large printing facility in

Virginia City, Nevada, and produced tens of thousands of his books and

courses for the general market, writing about Indian spiritual practices

long before they became popular.

 

It was during this decade that large numbers of Hindus began to emigrate

from India to the United States and Europe, encouraged by new immigration

laws passed by President John F. Kennedy. Once here, they often found

themselves cut off from the guidance of Hindu leaders in India.

Subramuniyaswami sought to fill the gap by inspiring dozens of groups to

build temples and perpetuate Hinduism in their new countries. Often he would

gift the temple founders an icon of Lord Ganesha, the Hindu God invoked at

the start of any project, with instructions to immediately begin His

worship. He made himself available to the founders when they encountered

difficulties, and counseled them on how to integrate with the local American

community. He helped major institutions like the Chinmaya Mission and

Sringeri Peetham to put roots down in America, and lent his monks and legal

staff to the Hindu cause. In many cases, he would assign one of his own

devotees to work closely with the temple until it was firmly established.

Thus were dozens of temples built under his direct guidance or indirect

influence in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Canada, England, Germany,

Denmark, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and elsewhere.

 

In the 80s, often as part of his Innersearch programs, he conducted Hindu

renaissance tours, meeting hundreds of thousands of Hindus in India and Sri

Lanka, to whom he spread a message of courage, regenerating pride of

heritage. In 1983 he traveled throughout Sri Lanka with a few of his

monastics, visiting hundreds of villages, giving powerful talks in all parts

of the country, even the remote tea plantations of central Lanka. Over

300,000 Hindus came to his discourses, which called for Hindus to have pride

in their heritage and to cling to their faith despite efforts of other

religions to make inroads and converts. During that Innersearch, Gurudeva

was paraded through towns and villages in the ancient way, seldom seen

today. White hand-woven cloth was laid before him to form a path on which he

would walk to each meeting, each temple rite, each lecture. Sometimes these

would go for miles, with devotees crowded on both sides of the roadway,

chanting and offering flower petals beneath his long-striding feet. In

Tuticorin, deep in the south of India, city elder and staunch Saiva

Siddhantin, A. P. C. Veerabhagu, lead Gurudeva and his 50-plus devotees from

the West through the streets in a marvelous procession of chariots and

horse-drawn carriages that could have happened a thousand years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of Saivites turned out that morning to welcome the

sage from America, and he was led for miles through the city streets with

hundreds of women with baskets full of flowers standing on the tops of each

building raining tons of flowers on the great guru below who had given

Saivite Hinduism back its pride of place among the religions of the world.

During this same journey, he was given awards from all the major spiritual

centers in South India, which he visited in person. He also arranged for

India's greatest Bharata Natyam dancer, Kumari Swarnamukhi, to dance in the

1,000-pillared hall at Chidambaram Temple in Tamil Nadu. Her performance was

the first in hundreds of years and marked the return of the sacred dancers

to the temples from which they had been banned for so long.

 

Also in the 1980s Gurudeva founded a branch monastery in Mauritius, whose

government had invited him to revive a languishing Hindu faith. "Please come

to our country," wrote one Mauritian at the time, "but do not just feed us

rice. Teach us how to grow rice. Teach us our ancient heritage."

 

Always an accomplished publisher, Subramuniyaswami came in on the ground

floor with desktop publishing, adopting the Apple computer in 1985, then in

its infancy, and instructing his monks to create a state-of-the-art system.

Engineers from Apple came to Kauai to marvel at the setup. Apple even sent a

team of documentary filmmakers to the monastery to show their employees the

world's first functional publishing network, amazingly created by Gurudeva's

monastics. He enjoyed the technology and proficiently used it for his work.

This super-efficient system supercharged his prolific outreach through

scriptures, books, pamphlets, art, lessons and later through CDs and the

world's foremost Hindu websites.

 

Subramuniyaswami had come by this time to be well-known throughout the world

as an articulate, insightful and forceful exponent of the Hindu faith. In

the late 1980s and the 1990s, in historic gatherings of spiritual and

parliamentary leaders, he represented Hinduism to discuss mankind's future

at the seminal Global Forum of Political and Spiritual Leaders 1988, Moscow in 1990, and Brazil in 1992. In 1986, the World Religious

Parliament in New Delhi honored him as one of the five Hindu spiritual

leaders outside of India who had most dynamically promoted Hinduism in the

past 25 years. In 1993 he was elected one of three Presidents of Hinduism at

the 100th anniversary of the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. It

was in 1994 that he founded Hindu Heritage Endowment to provide permanent

income for Hindu swamis, temples and orphanages worldwide and created a

stunning 3,000-page illustrated trilogy of sourcebooks on Saivism. The last

volume, titled Living with Siva, Hinduism's Contemporary Culture, arrived

from the printers in Malaysia shortly before his passing.

 

What He Taught

Subramuniyaswami taught the traditional Saivite Hindu path to enlightenment,

a path that leads the soul from simple service to worshipful devotion to

God, from the disciplines of meditation and yoga to the direct knowing of

Divinity within. His insights into the nature of consciousness provide a key

for quieting the external mind and revealing to aspirants their deeper

states of being, which are eternally perfect, full of light, love, serenity

and wisdom. He urges all seekers to live a life of ahimsa, nonhurtfulness

towards nature, people and creatures, an ethic which includes vegetarianism.

From his ashram in Hawaii, Subramuniyaswami continued to follow his own

guru's instruction to bring Saivism to the Western world by teaching others

to "know thy Self by thyself" and thus "see God Siva everywhere."

 

His Monastic Order and the Future

Foundational to all of his work is the Kauai Aadheenam and its resident

Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order. This group of 14 initiated swamis with lifetime

vows and ten brahmachari, celibate monks in training, come from six

countries and include both men born into the Hindu religion and those who

converted or adopted Hinduism, Asians and Westerners. Made strong by decades

of Subramuniyaswami's strict and hands-on personal guidance, all of his work

will be carried forward and flourish in the future under the guidance of his

senior-most swami and designated successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami,

age 59, a disciple for 35 years.

 

This is an advaitic (non-dualist) Saiva Siddhanta order, a living stream of

the ancient Nandinatha Sampradaya. This lineage is bound by certain common

elements of philosophy including a belief in both the transcendent and

immanent nature of God, the value of temple worship and the need to work

through all karmas before liberation from rebirth may be obtained. It

teaches the principle philosophical doctrines of the Hindu religion,

including reincarnation, karma and dharma, vegetarianism, noninjury toward

all beings, the importance of the yamas and niyamas, the need for purity and

personal encounter with the Divine, gained through the several yogas and

through penance, pilgrimage and daily worship. Natha gurus refuse to

recognize caste distinctions in spiritual pursuits and initiate from the

lowest to the highest, according to spiritual worthiness. Swamis of the

Nandinatha lineage are often known as "market-place swamis," for they have

historically lived among the people, rather than in remote areas, and

interacted freely with all regardless of social status.

 

Publications

Throughout his life, Subramuniyaswami sought to establish, stabilize and

advance Hinduism throughout the world. Leading swamis of India marveled at

his ability to explain the most complex principles in a uniquely lucid and

straightforward English, perhaps the central part of his written legacy, for

until him the English representations of Hinduism were mostly Victorian in

style or academic and awkward. Swami Chidananda Saraswati, President of the

Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India, said, "All the Hindus of our global

Hindu brotherhood are verily indebted to Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami for

his super compendium of books on Hinduism so carefully compiled, classified,

carefully arranged, edited and published. Today it can be unhesitatingly

proclaimed that he is a genius of Hinduism. He has put millions under a deep

debt of gratitude by his unprecedented literary work."

 

His trilogy, "Dancing with Siva,Living with Siva" and "Merging with Siva"

are his foremost books. Each has been through several printings. All three

are popular around the world for their easy readability, and are used in

American universities for Hindu courses of study and comparative religion

classes. "Dancing with Siva" is a modern Hindu catechism and resource book

in question and answer format on the basics of Hinduism. Central to "Living

with Siva" are his lengthy explanations of the traditional restraints and

observances of Hinduism and his 365 guidelines for Hindu living, of which

115-year-old Swami Bua of New York recently commented, "These guidelines

unfold one after the other with stunning simplicity. There are instructions

for everybody, for every situation -- for men, women, parents, husbands,

wives, businessmen, politicians, scientists -- none is forgotten or left

out."

 

In the 365 sutras, Subramuniyaswami addressed many controversial issues of

our day, one of which came into play at the end of his own life. Hindu

tradition has always provided for fasting under strict community regulation

as a means of accelerating one's departure from the body in the case of

terminal illness. Upon hearing his medical prognosis, he meditated upon the

path ahead and considering the severity of his condition decided to fast to

death, a practice called prayopavesa in Sanskrit. He explained this

tradition in his final book, printed just days before his Mahasamadhi,

Living with Siva: "To leave the body in the right frame of mind, in the

right consciousness, through the highest possible chakra, is a key to

spiritual progress. The seers did not want unrelenting pain and hopelessness

to be the only possibilities facing a soul whose body was failing, whose

only experience was pain without reprieve. So they prescribed a kindly way,

a reasonable way, especially for the pain-riddled, disabled elderly and the

terminally diseased, to choose a righteous release. What wonderful wisdom.

No killer drugs. No violence. No involvement of another human being, with

all the karmic entanglements that inevitably produces. No life-support

systems. No loss of the family wealth for prolonged health care or into the

hands of unscrupulous doctors. No lapsing into unconscious coma. No loss of

dignity. No unbearable anguish. And no sudden or impulsive decision a quiet, slow, natural exit from the body, coupled with spiritual practices,

with mantras and tantras, with scriptural readings, deep meditation,

reflection and listening to favorite religious songs, with joyous release,

with all affairs settled, with full self-awareness and with recognition and

support from friends and relations."

 

The third book, "Merging with Siva," is on mystical Hinduism,

Subramuniyaswami's speciality. It is a summation of his yogic and

metaphysical insights gained through over 50 years of meditation and inner

practices. This master work, which is a kind of handbook for seekers of

light and serious aspirants wishing to follow the path toward illumination

and spiritual liberation, covers a wide range of subjects including karma,

the aura, the fourteen chakras or psychic force centers of the body,

understanding and transcending the various states of mind and the methods to

attain samadhi, or God Realization.

 

In addition to the trilogy, Subramuniyaswami produced "Loving Ganesha," a

work on Hinduism's favorite God; "Lemurian Scrolls," which explores the

origins of mankind on Earth; "Weaver's Wisdom," the best English translation

of the ancient Tamil ethical scripture, "Tirukural;Saiva Dharma Sastras,"

an administrative manual on his organization which has served to guide other

Hindu organizations in their efforts to transplant Hinduism on Western soil;

as well as dozens of pamphlets, posters and handouts. In response to a

request from the Hindus of Fiji, he prepared a children's course, Saivite

Hindu Religion, now taught to thousands of children around the world.

 

One book in particular, "How to Become a Hindu," published in 2000,

encapsulated one entire aspect of Subramuniyaswami's mission: clear and

ethical religious conversion. Unlike many other Hindu teachers in America,

he was adverse to hiding or minimizing the Hindu origins of his teachings.

He insisted that his devotees be boldly and proudly Hindus, and if they were

not born into the faith, that they sincerely convert to Hinduism if they

wanted to follow him, including legally changing their name to a Hindu name.

The book was well received in India, where people referred to it as "How to

Become a Better Hindu." The Shankaracharya of Puri, one of Hinduism's

foremost leaders, said it "will provide immense help to those who wish to

enter the Hindu fold, and also to the younger generation of Hindus." The

book also has greatly assisted with intermarriage of Hindus with those

outside their faith.

 

Subramuniyaswami enjoyed promoting his books, and in the course of his

travels for other events he would take time out to have book signings at

local book stores such as Borders and Barnes and Noble. These were always

wonderfully entertaining and informal events which allowed people genuinely

interested in his teachings an opportunity for a personal encounter with the

famed guru. The store would turn into a temporary temple as devotees and

readers piled flowers at Gurudeva's feet. His helpers quickly learned that

bookstores rarely stocked enough books for the relatively large numbers who

would come, and compensated by bringing dozens of extra copies. At the end

of the evening, Subramuniyaswami would joke with the store's staff, "Well,

do I get the job?"

 

Subramuniyaswami founded Hinduism Today magazine in 1979 to fulfill six

purposes: 1) To foster Hindu solidarity as a unity in diversity among all

sects and lineages; 2) To inform and inspire Hindus worldwide and people

interested in Hinduism; 3) To dispel myths, illusions and misinformation

about Hinduism; 4) To protect, preserve and promote the sacred Vedas and the

Hindu religion; 5) To nurture and monitor the ongoing spiritual Hindu

renaissance; 6) To publish a resource for Hindu leaders and educators who

promote Sanatana Dharma. The magazine is supplemented with a daily e-mailed

summary of Hindu news appearing in the world press called Hindu Press

International. The magazine is by far the most sophisticated Hindu

periodical and the only one which deals with all denominations of Hinduism

and all countries in which Hindus live. With a studied aversion to politics,

the magazine has successfully kept Hindus and non-Hindus alike appraised of

a wide range of issues, people and institutions. Its website, along with

that for Subramuniyaswami's teachings and a section for general Hindu

information, is by far the largest resource on Hinduism on the Internet

(start at www.himalayanacademy.com). A unique part of his website is "A

Daily Chronicle of Kauai's Hindu Monstery," at which his answers to

questions sent in by e-mail were posted in both audio and transcriptions.

Hundreds of such sessions are archived there (see http://www.gurudeva.org/)

 

Ma Yoga Shakti, renowned teacher and Hinduism Today's Hindu of the Year for

2000, said, "We are very proud of Hinduism Today. For more than three

decades, Subramuniyaswami, a highly enlightened soul of the West -- a

Hanuman of today, a reincarnation of Siva Himself -- has watered the roots

of Hinduism with great zeal, faith, enthusiasm and whole-heartedness." Sri

Chinmoy, famed for his peace efforts worldwide, said, "a uniquely powerful

and beautiful international magazine. Gurudeva has energized, inspired and

united Hindus throughout the world with his dynamic approach to an ancient

faith." Ram Swarup, perhaps India's most outstanding Hindu thinker, wrote,

"Hinduism Today presents Hinduism's new global face. It takes a strategic

lead in the effort to overcome the problem of self-alienation and growing

illiteracy among the Hindus of their heritage. It is easily the best

magazine Hindus have."

 

Iraivan Temple

The Iraivan Temple, now under construction at Kauai Aadheenam, was conceived

shortly after Subramuniyaswami had a powerful vision of God Siva walking on

the Aadheenam land in 1975. To permanently capture the power of this great

vision, he commissioned the construction of a large temple to be entirely

made of hand-carved granite. The land was prepared for fifteen years, money

raised, and India's greatest living architect, V. Ganapathi Sthapati, was

hired to design the edifice in the thousand-year-old Chola style. The actual

carving commenced in 1990 at a work site in Bangalore, India, a ceremony

blessed by the presence of Sri Sri Sri Trichyswami and Sri Sri Sri

Balagangadharanathaswami, the two foremost spiritual gurus of Karnataka

State, who so loved Gurudeva's vision of a temple carved in India and

erected in America that they gave him 11 acres of land and supported every

phase of the work as though it was their own temple being built. On the arid

desert lands, Gurudeva founded an entire village for the project. Homes were

erected for the 75 carvers and their families, wells were dug, kitchens

assembled, blacksmith facilities were built along with enormous sheds to

protect the stone sculptors from the Indian sun. A Malaysian family,

devotees of Gurudeva, Jiva Rajasankara, with his wife and sons, were brought

to Bangalore to supervise the workers. The family oversees even today the

stones which are quarried, carved and trial-fitted, then shipped to Kauai

where starting in May, 2001, a team of seven master stone carvers from India

arrived to begin assembly. They are presently on the sixth course of the

temple; the work is expected to take several more years to complete. At the

time of Gurudeva's passing, they had just completed the floor of the inner

sanctum. This is the first all-stone temple ever built in the Western

Hemisphere, and one for which Subramuniyaswami has insisted upon the most

careful craftsmanship. He directed the carvers to do everything by hand, and

even when efficiency experts urged him to permit hydraulic tools to speed up

the time-consuming and expensive project, he said no, telling them that by

having it done in the old way we would be passing along the ancient,

hands-only craft to one more generation. The entire temple, which is taking

hundreds of man years to complete, is being produced in the same way that

great carvers like Michelangelo and Rubin did their masterpieces, with a

simple hammer and an array of chisels. Enshrined in the temple will be a

700-pound single-pointed quartz crystal, possibly the largest in the world,

to represent God Siva in His transcendent state.

 

Special Issues

Subramuniyaswami actively opposed deceptive and coercive proselytization

methods by other religions in India and other parts of the world. He put his

concerns directly before leaders of other faiths in public forums and in

private. He also raised these controversies at various international

conferences and demanded standards be established for "ethical conversion."

At the moment when Nepal changed from a monarchy to a democracy in 1990, his

influence was instrumental in countering veiled threats to foreign aid that

would be held back from this needy nation should Nepal declare itself

"Hindu." As a result, Nepal remains the only officially Hindu nation in the

world.

 

In the 1990s Subramuniyaswami became aware of the pervasive use of corporal

punishment in the homes and schools of Hindus. He immediately began a

campaign to "Stop the War in the Home" (see source for this talk at end) and

to change the policies of schools. He directed his own followers in many

nations to stop hitting or abusing, even verbally, their children under any

circumstances, and instructed them to begin teaching nonviolent methods of

positive discipline within their local community. For this, he partnered

with Dr. Jane Nelsen, one of the great voices of enlightened discipline for

children. She visited him on Kauai and together they worked out programs in

Hindu communities around the world. This campaign, which is paralleled in

other parts of the world among people of other faiths, is bearing fruit,

with dozens of schools in India now forbidding corporal punishment, and

thousands of Hindu parents reconsidering their own methods of child rearing.

 

When he addressed the 1,200 delegates to the Millennium Peace Summit of

World Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations in August, 2000,

he said in part, "To stop the wars in the world, our best long-term solution

is to stop the war in the home. It is here that hatred begins, that

animosities with those who are different from us are nurtured, that battered

children learn to solve their problems with violence. This is true of every

religious community."

 

Within his own tradition of Saiva Siddhanta, Subramuniyaswami worked

throughout his life to create "pure Saivites," as he said shortly before his

passing. He accomplished this both through his publications and through his

personal teaching. Relying upon his own intuition and profound mystical

powers, he clarified and purified all of the Saivite teachings of his

tradition, discarding that which could not be substantiated through his own

inner experience. His staff researched thousands of topics and consulted

regularly with hundreds of scholars, linguists, historians, theologians and

other experts, all of whom enthusiastically assisted this great spiritual

leader. He never engaged in theological dispute with other sects of

Hinduism, but rather encouraged each to be true to their own traditions and

philosophy. For decades he worked to create a Hindu solidarity by

encouraging all shared beliefs and practices, rather than emphasizing areas

of disagreement. As a result, spiritual leaders of all traditions embraced

him and counted him a friend and ally. There has never been a guru so

beloved by other gurus, nor one so fond of a brother swami. Over the years

hundreds were either visited by him in their ashrams or found their way to

his ashram in the Pacific Ocean.

 

Influence

In addition to his work within the global Hinduism, Subramuniyaswami also

had special relations with a number of communities including the Sri Lankan

Tamils, the Saivites of Mauritius, Malaysia and Fiji and his fellow

Kauaians.

 

In South India, these theological centers, known as aadheenams, perform many

functions. They found and manage temples, hold endowment investments and

land, train swamis and priests, maintain libraries, support pundits,

arbitrate theological issues, give spiritual counseling and teach. They have

the authority to clarify and reinterpret scripture and to revise customary

practices of their communities. They also deal with worldly matters and are

called upon to settle disputes in the community, to advise politicians, even

to help arrange marriages. Subramuniyaswami was called upon to perform all

these functions in these various communities.

 

By far his greatest efforts and most focused energy went toward the 2.5

million Sri Lankan Tamils, especially after a disastrous civil war struck

the country in 1983. Just prior to its onset he toured the country,

addressing hundreds of thousands of Tamils. After 1983, Tamil refugees

poured out of Sri Lanka and made their way to Canada, America, Germany,

England, Australia and dozens of other countries. He founded the first

Refugee Relief Fund for Sri Lankans in 1985, collecting money in the West

and sending it to the war-torn region of Jaffna. He established and

maintained contact with each of these communities, advised them on how to

adjust to their circumstances and to remain staunch Saivite Hindus. In his

last Innersearch travel-study program, he visited many of these communities

in Europe, and celebrated with them their successful adaptation to their new

homes. In Denmark in August of 2001 he laid the foundation stone for an

Amman temple and visited other temple communities in Sweden, Norway, Germany

and the UK.

 

No group of Hindus counted Gurudeva their champion more than the noble

Saivite temple priests. Most especially he encouraged and defended the

Sivacharya priests of South India, who are traditionally attached to the

aadheenams. He helped restore the dignity of this priesthood and encouraged

young men born in the priest families to follow in the profession of their

fathers instead of opting for higher-paying but totally secular jobs. He

instructed the trustees of these temples outside of India he helped get

started to treat their priests with respect, pay them decent wages and

provide proper living facilities. He encouraged priests to start their own

temples, which a few have done in Canada and Europe. He has always

considered the status and well-being of the Hindu priesthood to be the most

accurate measure of the well-being of Hinduism in general, and his successor

and monks will continue to champion the cause of Hindu priests around the

world. The priests in turn assisted Subramuniyaswami's mission at every

turn, for example, by sending young Sivachariya priests to train his monks

in temple worship, a training heretofore never imparted to anyone outside

their caste.

 

Subramuniyaswami first visited Malaysia in June of 1980 with two of his

swamis, and then again in January, 1981, traveling with 33 devotees for an

Innersearch program which included India and Sri Lanka. Over the next few

years, Hindus attracted to Subramuniyaswami's teachings started the

country's very first classes in Hinduism, held after-hours at public

schools. These classes and the widespread distribution of Hinduism Today

magazine had a huge impact on Hindus in Malaysia, a Muslim nation where

Hindus are just 10% of the population. Gurudeva's dedicated members in this

country disseminated clear Hindu teachings to the youth and instilled a

pride in Hindu religion as a result. He sent one of his monastics to teach

classes all over the country. In 1986 the first Hindu youth camps in

Malaysia were conducted by his devotees, which inspired all the other Hindu

organizations to also hold youth camps. More recently, he's advocated

abolishing corporal punishment in the homes and schools, directing his

devotees to teach classes for other Hindu parents in nonviolent means of

parenting and to change school policies regarding corporal punishment of

students. At a national level, the cumulative impact of his work has been a

dramatic increase in the pride of Hindus. One person said, "He has breathed

new life into Hinduism for the Hindus of Malaysia." Today three of

Gurudeva's swamis are from Malaysia.

 

Manon Mardemootoo, a long-standing devotee of Subramuniyaswami and a

prominent attorney, offered this summary of Subramuniyaswami's work in the

island nation of Mauritius:

 

"Subramuniyaswami came to Mauritius in the 1980s at the request of Hindu

elders who were worried about the high rate of conversion from the Hindu

fold. In January, 1982, he spent an entire month there traveling from

village to village with one of his swamis. Then Gurudeva sent a

French-speaking monk who at one time was holding 25 classes around the

island. He conveyed Subramuniyaswami's teachings on the three worlds, the

story of our soul, our great God and Gods, the pillars of Hinduism, karma,

dharma, etc., all of which gave us a glimpse of our incomparable heritage,

the greatness of Hinduism and the oneness of mankind. He removed

misconceptions in the Tamil Saivite community. Many of us came to understand

that Sivaratri was not a festival of our Hindi-speaking brothers only, nor

was Ganesha Chaturti a purely Maurati festival, but rather both were major

festivals for all Hindus.

 

"The establishment of Subramuniyaswami's mission was made official by the

Saiva Siddhanta Church Act passed in Parliament in July, 1988. He instituted

the printing of a local edition of Hinduism Today in 1986 on the island and

set up a monastery on a 12-acre parcel at Riviere du Rempart. Hundreds of

people would come for the weekly homas held at that time. Today the major

part of this land has been dedicated to a spiritual park, a present of

Subramuniyaswami to the people of Mauritius and the only one of its nature

in the country. It is now regularly visited by pilgrims from the world over.

The Spiritual Park was created at a cost of several million rupees, all

donated by local Hindus. The most elaborate part of it is the Ganesha

Mandapam, with its nine-foot tall Pancha Mukha Ganapati. As well, equally

large granite icons of Lord Murugan, in His form as the six-faced Arumugam,

and Lord Siva, in the form of Dakshinamurthi, the silent teacher, also grace

the spiritual park.

 

"We have had a regular flow of monastics from our headquarters in Hawaii,

Kauai Aadheenam, to the monastery. They created the Spiritual Park and held

retreats and seminars for thousands of youth around the island.

Subramuniyaswami advised his family members to use ayurvedic medicine and

adopt a healthy diet, including raw sugar, brown rice and brown bread. As

well he encouraged the wearing of Hindu dress at home, temples and during

festivals. Several Mauritians have completed a six-month training at our

headquarters in Kauai, where we presently have a Mauritian monk, Sadhaka

Tyaganatha, hailing from the same village of Rempart, who is one of the

Aadheenam's foremost priests.

 

"Since 1999, Subramuniyaswami has been training our members in positive

discipline, the concept of education without violence at home and school and

the only way to completely eradicate violence from our society. Gurudeva

will be remembered for the sense of discipline in spiritual life and

excellence at work which he instilled among his members and the need to

pursue daily sadhanas for spiritual progress and peaceful living in the

spirit of ahimsa in all aspects of life. This is the present sadhana of

members, to take these teachings into the public and make it a living

reality. Subramuniyaswami succeeded in creating a sense of self-respect and

a new-found identity among the Hindus of Mauritius.

 

"He will also be remembered for two meetings to promote community harmony.

The first was with Hindu leaders to strengthen the ties within the Hindu

community. Then in 1995, under the auspices of the municipal Council of Port

Louis, he met with religious leaders of all faiths to strengthen the bonds

of friendship, respect and harmony among the people of Mauritius. Today, in

significant part because of Subramuniyaswami's contribution, Mauritius is

cited everywhere, including on the floor of the United Nations, as an

example of peaceful coexistence in a multi-racial, multi-religious nation."

 

Over his 52 years of ministry, Subramuniyaswami has helped the Hindus of

England, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Trinidad, Guyana, Canada, New

Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Singapore, and many more countries. Indeed, there

is probably not a corner of the Hindu world which has not been impacted by

his work.

 

Even though Subramuniyaswami's Kauai Aadheenam is located outside of India

and in a largely non-Hindu community, still he found himself performing the

traditional functions of an aadheenam for the local community. He was a key

member of "Vision Kauai," a group of community leaders including

politicians, business people and spiritual individuals wanting to create a

positive future for the island's community. He worked monthly with the mayor

of Kauai, with county council members, the university provost, the

superintendent of schools, business and agricultural leaders, to bring a

unity to the ethnically diverse island of 55,000 and to offer his vision for

a secure, drug-free future for the children. It was a message he carried

forward on local TV and radio programs, at Rotary Club breakfasts to which

he was invited to speak, and in person. He would from time to time be sought

out for advice by community leaders on the important issues facing the

island. Hundreds of residents, well-to-do and not so well-to-do alike,

counted him as their easily approachable friend and counselor, remaining

only remotely aware of his stature in the Hindu world. He was, in fact,

Kauai's most renowned citizen, the only one with an extensive global impact.

This was recognized in formal ways by the governor of the state, the mayor

and county council. Indeed, the outpouring of gratitude and appreciation

from island residents upon his passing was at times as deep and as heartfelt

as for those of his close disciples.

 

"Just before his passing," said the monastery spokesperson, "He asked

devotees worldwide to carry his work and institutions forward with

unstinting vigor, to keep one another strong on the spiritual path, to work

diligently on their personal spiritual disciplines and to live every moment

in harmony and love for all peoples. His monks, forged in the fires of his

wisdom and love, are well-prepared to keep his mission potent and effective.

Equally, his family devotees are pure, one-minded and deeply committed.

These two communities will continue the work together: building the Iraivan

Temple, managing the Spiritual Park in Mauritius, shepherding souls on the

Saivite path of enlightenment, continuing the many publications, teaching

children their Saivite Hindu religion, preserving traditional culture and

art, protecting Hindu priests and the indigenous faiths of the world,

contributing to our local Kauai community, guiding the future of Hinduism

around the globe and working to reduce violence, child-beating and spouse

abuse."