Empire's Last Casualty: Kauai (Hawaii) Hindu Monastery

Kauai (Hawaii) Hindu Monastery

S. Ghosh Dastidar

At Kudavul Temple Entrance

To break from the Corona virus lockdown, and to fulfill the wishes of granddaughter Shriya Lakshmi, we headed to the Island State of Hawaii in the middle of Pacific Ocean during her 2022 Spring Break. Getting from the East Coast of the U.S. to Hawaii was almost as much time consuming as going to distant India, Subcontinent, or Southern Africa. And getting to Kauai took even longer. Kauai was a nice experience.

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Founder of the Monastery

Kauai is a small island with great beauty and lots of visitors. It has about 65,000 inhabitants, with many times more visitors. One of its residents, who would later be known by his ordained name of a monk as Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. And his dream of creating a space for meditation and spiritualism has come to fruition. Before Corona calamity the ashram offered visitors free viewing of morning puja (worship) from 9 am to 11 am, and then a tour of the 70-acre ashram from 11 am till 12 noon. Puja visitation is continuing, but group tour is now self-guided due to Corona.

Accidentally, we met a New York native who lived not far from my home in East Coast, and who was a regular visitor to the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, Queens, New York City, now a permanent resident of Kauai, and was able to buy the founding Guru’s home in Kauai when guru decided to build the monastery. New York native left for Hawaii permanently and now works for the monastery.

Kauai Island: The Monastery is Located in the Middle of Right Side of the Map.

What was really surprising and pleasurable was how the monastery has grown with trees, plants and flowers making it a place for retreat and meditation. In a few decades a banyan forest has developed with banyan trees which create new trees as its roots come down from upper branches turning into its trunk. Similarly, a huge forest of Rudraksha (a type of nut) tree has been developed just outside the ashram area.

At One Entrance of Rudraksha Forest

Sri Hanuman’s Statue at Rudraksha Forest

Banyan Tree Jungle

Kauai became well known worldwide not only for her beauty or for the monastery, but also as the headquarters for publication of Hinduism Today journal. The journal, as I believe, as “Hindus” in the Indian Subcontinent have identity problem they are not able to identify as Hindus and promote/discuss/learn of their rich heritage as the journal from a distant corner of the world has been able to do so. The journal has a non-political, non-partisan focus. We were very fortunate to be invited to meet with the Chief Editor Paramacharya Sadasivanathaswami. The editor presented a copy to Shriya Lakshmi of a book, Lion Sage: Merging with Siva for Kids, focused on child development authored by him. Incidentally, the editorial office has one of the most beautiful views from any office I have ever seen. It is the view of Mother Nature that makes it so attractive and peace loving.

The Author-Editor Presenting a Copy of His Book to Shriya Lakshmi

Book Cover: Lion Sage

Paramacharya Sadasivanathaswami’s Signed His Gift to Shriya Lakshmi

Editor with the Family

This small island is known for her beaches, harbors, trails, bike paths, hilly areas, mountains, and places to relax.

At every corner of the island there are hundreds of wild chickens who are not being hunted by locals. Locals are extremely tolerant and peace loving. An airport worker told us that after a storm several decades ago a chicken farm got destroyed letting loose the chickens. Since then wild chickens have grown everywhere. There are wild peacocks too.

Here are sample pictures from the Hindu Monastery of Kauai: