|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Painted Eucalyptus (below)
|
Kadavul Hindu Temple This was the first Siva temple established at Kauai's Hindu Monastery in 1973
General Introduction Kadavul Hindu Temple is a traditional South Indian style Siva temple. It is part of Kauai Aadheenam, a 458-acre monastery/temple complex also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery. As it is the primary temple for the 20 resident monastics, the monks rotate in three-hour-long vigils round-the-clock during which time they worship, meditate and perform other spiritual disciplines. This sadhana has been maintained in unbroken continuity since the temple was established in 1973, adding to the temple's profound power which changes the lives of many a visitor, much like the ancient temples of South India.
Supreme God Siva, in the form of Nataraja and a crystal Sivalinga, is enshrined in the main sanctum. In front of Siva's sanctum is the temporary abode for the 700-pound, 3-foot-tall, naturally formed crystal Sivalingam (the largest known sphatika svayambhulingam in the world) which will one day become the primary image of worship in the hand-carved white granite Iraivan Temple now being built nearby on the monastery property. Six-foot-tall black granite murtis of Lord Ganesha and Lord Murugan (Karttikeya, riding on a peacock and thus called Shikivahana) are installed in two large side shrines. There is also an Ardhanarishvara murti and an elaborate, full-size silver trident (trisula), symbol of God Siva's three fundamental powers of desire, action and wisdom.
Lining the main walls of the temple is a rare collection of Siva's 108 tandava dance poses in 16-inch-tall bronze icons covered with gold leaf. A shrine for the temple's founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva (1927-2001), was established on the first anniversary of his mahasamadhi. Just outside the entryway is a pavilion for Nandi the bull, Siva's mount and devotee, a giant form weighing 32,000 pounds, carved from a single stone. |
|
Hindu Temple in Wailua A temple is rising on Kaua‘i’s eastside — the first all-stone, hand-carved, granite Hindu temple ever built in the West. It’s been 13 years in the making so far, requiring the efforts of an entire village of 75 stone carvers and their families in Bangalore, India, where stones are quarried, carved and trial-fitted before they’re shipped to Kaua‘i’s lush windward side. At the Kaua‘i Aadheenam’s 458-acre monastery/temple complex, master stone carvers receive and assemble them.
When the pay-as-you-go, $16-millon Iraivan Temple project is completed, perhaps in 2012, a 700-pound, single-pointed quartz crystal, one of the largest in the world, will be enshrined in the temple to represent God Siva in His transcendent state.
The semi-rural, bedroom community of Wailua Homesteads has quietly become a hotspot for American Hinduism, where monks of the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order quietly conduct major works.
The monks host tours of their smaller, Kadavul Nataraja Temple weekday mornings between 9 and 11:30 a.m., and two-hour tours of the ashram and its gardens are offered weekly. Visitors are required to dress modestly, however, which means no shorts and tank tops. Call 808-822-3012 for recorded information or go to gurudeva.org. (by Joan Conrow) |
