“This is the place where the world will come to pray.”
In the early hours of February 15, 1975, lying on a tatami mat in his Ryokan—the simple, oriental room where he slept—Subramuniyaswami was deep asleep.
He was in one of those profound states of slumber that are neither awake nor full of dreams, his conscious mind fully absent. In this clear space above physical consciousness, the 48-year-old satguru experienced a three-fold vision that would be the spiritual birth of the great Siva citadel called Iraivan Temple, and its surrounding San Marga Sanctuary.
"I saw Lord Siva walking in the meadow near the Wailua River."
"Then I saw His face peering into mine.”
"Then He was seated upon a great stone, His reddish golden hair flowing down His back. I was seated on His left side.
"This was the vision. It became more vivid as the years passed. Upon reentering Earthly consciousness, I felt certain that the great stone was somewhere on our monastery land and set about to find it.
Guided from within by my satguru, I hired a bulldozer and instructed the driver to follow me as I walked to the north edge of the property that was then a tangle of buffalo grass and wild guava. I hacked my way through the jungle southward as the bulldozer cut a path behind me.
After almost half a mile, I sat down to rest near a small tree. Though there was no wind, suddenly the tree’s leaves shimmered as if in the excitement of communication.
"I said to the tree, “What is your message?” In reply, my attention was directed to a spot just to the right of where I was sitting. When I pulled back the tall grass, there was a large rock— the self-created Lingam on which Lord Siva had sat.
A stunningly potent vibration was felt. The bulldozer’s trail now led exactly to the sacred stone, surrounded by five smaller boulders. San Marga, the “straight or pure path” to God, had been created. An inner voice proclaimed, “This is the place where the world will come to pray.”
By the spring of 1987 Gurudeva's vision for Iraivan Temple was evolving from a mystical revelation to a real-world plan. Working with sacred architects in South India, he was defining its physical form, establishing the principles of its creation and considering the style of the massive stone edifices built during South India's Chola Dynasty a millennium ago.
The Agamas say one can worship this Great God Siva in the form of a Lingam made of mud or sand, of cow dung or wood, of bronze or black granite stone. But the purest and most sought-after form is the quartz crystal, a natural stone not carved by man but made by nature, gathered molecule by molecule over hundreds, thousands or millions of years, grown as a living body grows, but infinitely more slowly. Such a creation of nature is itself a miracle worthy of worship.
Vision Made Manifest
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The Sivadarshanam paintings are created by artist Suresh Muthukulam, artfully depicting Gurudeva's powerful visions.
Credits:
Art: Suresh Muthukulam | © 2022 Kauai Hindu Monastery