Kauai's Hindu Monastery — Attraction in Kauai

Beautiful, and serene. Limited access, as expected. I happened upon it by chance, but found out that you can call an 800 number to get a guided tour. Not sure the tour is really the way to go as they miss a lot of the nooks and crannies. I came in just as they were starting an introductory lecture about the history of the religion and this monastery and the founders. A longish lecture, with little time for questions. The docent tried his best to include some humor, but it was pretty predictable. But a nice try. They then take you to the 'new' (currently under construction) temple -- you cannot go in, but are allowed to view it from a nearby bluff. The entire complex is very large -- filled with a variety of buildings, farmland (they grow noni plants and sell the elixir), a gift shop (filled with some very expensive items that they will ship for you, as well as the usual souvenir type of stuff you might want, such as bracelets, necklaces and religious artifacts and books). The tour continues along a defined path to show you the fields, etc. and you might 'get lucky' and see some of the monks wandering around. It's a cooperative and everyone who lives there does a variety of tasks and works the farms, etc. At least two gurus live there (or were purported to be there to sign books, if you ask for them). I left the tour and went down a meditation pathway and found the first temple where a religious rite was taking place. They allowed me to enter (no shoes inside any of the buildings, including the gift shop) and to observe and/or pray with them. Outside was a large (about the size of a Volkswagen Bug car) carved cow, a tall golden oblisk, and a pot filled with flowers and a large blue crystal. Inside is an altar at the back, with a fountain filled with flowers and where the guru (priest?) was standing with his back (only men are gurus - of course....) to us and lighting candles and incense (it smelled wonderful and it was quite beautiful) and throwing more flowers in as he chanted. Music was playing. in the main part of the temple is open space with pillows if you wish - or perhaps used for other ceremonies and meetings. But the few people inside stood quietly in single lines and prayed along or stayed silent. Along the side walls are bronze statues (I counted 109) of gods (or variations of the Siva/Shiva?) and tapestries and a photo of one of the gurus. The whole place is very serene and mystical - no doubt about that. If you come in wearing shorts, you'll be given a lovely cloth to wrap around your waist and cover you legs (men and women receive one). Wear sandals for the many times you must remove your shoes; or just remove them at the entrance and get them back when you leave. security guard guides you to...

There is no way to express in words the amazing experience of visiting Kauai's Hindu Monastery and meeting long-time online friend, Sannyasin Yoginathaswami. Yogi, as he is nicknamed, is the head of construction for the Monastery.

Several years ago, he needed some surveying advice -- he looked online and found RPLS Today (a community website that I built for Land Surveyors). He became somewhat of a celebrity on the website, and we began chatting with him privately. He found all the advice he needed on RPLS Today and it helped him achieve some goals for the Monastery in regards to their property ownership and placement of the new temple they are building.

Fast forward to now, we took him up on his multiple invitations to visit the Monastery. Wow. We were there for a little over 3 hours -- from the moment we arrived and met Yogi in person for the first time, I felt total peace and calmness. I cannot explain the feeling completely, you'd have to be there yourself and open your mind and heart to the experience to truly "get it". I didn't want to leave, despite the fact that I was being eaten alive by mosquitos -- that didn't even matter.

Although I've been to many different denominations of churches, I've never felt truly at home at any of them. The best way for me to explain the better ones would be to say that they were good enough, since I didn't really know what my denomination was. At some point, I realized I had my own thing going and didn't need to select a denomination or, for that matter, a religion. Our visit to the Monastery was only 3 hours, but Yogi spent a lot of time explaining what they believe and why they believe it. He answered all of our many questions and was obviously happy to do it. I can honestly say that their form of religion is the closest thing I've ever felt to my own beliefs. In a nutshell, they don't believe that there's a single figure that you focus on as God -- they believe that all things are divine and contain divinity, and it is up to us to see beyond the outer shell to see what is truly inside, whether it be a human being, a plant, or an animal. I love nature and am always fascinated by it -- in fact, I saw a crab spider for the first time in my life while at the Monastery and I spent a lot of time just looking at it and observing its behavior. Yogi seemed fascinated that I was...

I was disappointed that the temples are off limits to non-Hindus and that visitors are not even allowed near the main temple, which was the main thing I wanted to see. As a Christian, it is so strange to see a place of worship ban non-affiliates, as Christian churches are open to everyone. But this seems to be common practice in the Hindu faith. However, I still give this place 5 stars, because it was still a very powerful experience to visit. I've always been fascinated with Indian culture/architecture, and I certainly left with a lot more than I came for. The monks were actually very friendly and welcoming. One saw us taking pictures, and pointed us towards a viewing area where could get a great views of the mountains, river and temple.

It was nice to visit this place after visiting the Sacred Forest. There was a bit of confusion about the dress code, even with Indian visitors, as we read that you must wear long sleeves, though some people did not do this. It also wasn't necessary to remove your shoes, as long as you remain on the path to the left. However, I decided to go barefoot anyways, as I wanted to get the full experience. I feel it makes the experience much more intense, as you feel a spiritual connection with the earth and gods. The setting was very tranquil and relaxing, and the vibe was very peaceful. Again, I would have loved to have seen the temples, but I think the grounds on their own were worth the visit, as they were far more fascinating...