The Guru Chronicles: The Making of the First American Satguru

Anyone on the spiritual path knows it's rare that the illumined lives of yogis and gurus are laid before us. We have but a handful: Autobiography of a Yogi; Milarepa: Tibet's Great Yogi; Ramakrishna and His Disciples and a few of others. Now comes an amazing book, The Guru Chronicles, filled with the magical and highly mystical stories of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, his Sri Lankan guru Siva Yogaswami and five preceding masters, who all held truth in the palm of their hand and inspired slumbering souls to "Know thy Self." The swamis at Kauai's Hindu Monastery in Hawaii began this masterpiece 39 years ago, so they can't be accused of hurried effort. Yes, this is the same team that produces the sought-after international magazine Hinduism Today and the popular books Loving Ganesha, Dancing with Siva and What Is Hinduism? Their writing and design skills explode in this 832-page ride through 2,200 years of yogic history. The swamis know how to tell a tale, but to their credit they know also when to step aside and let the great sages speak for themselves, quoting directly and often from the seven masters' oral and written legacies. This brings an intimacy and immediacy to the stories. You are hearing about God directly from those who knew God within. The book would be a triumph if that was all there was, but the precious illustrations are wind under the wings of the words. The late S. Rajam sequestered himself for two years in a tiny studio in Chennai, India, crafting hundreds of paintings, all grounded in the ancient South Indian art language, all speaking subtly of the Hindu culture and the mystic's ways. Parents will find this gives a child immediate access to and interest in the stories. As the book begins, a young man, who will one day become Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927 2001) sails for India and Sri Lanka in 1947, aboard the first vessel to leave America after World War II. He is off to find his guru. After years of arduous training, he falls at the feet of the Tamil master, Siva Yogaswami. Following his guru's orders, the enlightened yogi returned to America to teach the path to God Realization. Ultimately, he was recognized and befriended by India's spiritual leaders as the first Hindu guru born in the West. Gurudeva, as he was affectionately known, founded the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order and established Kauai's Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. Hinduism's many guru lineages are the spiritual rivers that pass the power on through the ages. The lineage that he joined extends to his guru's guru, an unkempt sage named Chellappaswami, and before him to the magic-making Kadaitswami, then to a nameless rishi and countless others, back to Rishi Tirumular and his guru, Maharishi Nandinatha, some 2,200 years ago in the high Himalayas. Hindu history is replete with stories of noble, courageous, high souls who are born to uplift and guide mankind, men and women who come "from up down" in response to humanity's needs the more dire the need, the greater the soul sent to meet it. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was such a soul. He was born in modern times to meet modern challenges born, he would say, "to protect, preserve and promote the Saiva Dharma," to bring the knowledge, worship and realization of God Siva into the 21st century. How he did that is revealed in a collection of stories. But he would be the first to caution that this is not about him. He was only the latest guru in a lineage that had preserved the knowledge of the Self within man since the dawn of history, a lineage that existed before him, thrived during his lifetime and carries on today in his successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. Those close to Gurudeva saw his communion with the inner worlds, experienced his life of revelation and realization.

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami is the spiritual leader of Kauai Aadheenam, known less formally as Kauai's Hindu Monastery. He has been the monastery's head since the founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, attained mahasamadhi, his great departure, in 2001. Subramuniyaswami, known affectionately as Gurudeva, designated Bodhinatha, a disciple for 37 years, as his successor.

Most of the year finds him on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where he oversees the varied publications of Himalayan Academy and serves as publisher of the international magazine Hinduism Today. At the 363-acre monastery-temple complex, he trains the younger monks in their service duties and spiritual practices, and guides the lives of hundreds of families around the globe. Following in Gurudeva's footsteps, he works informally with Kauai leaders to perpetuate the island's aloha spirit of love and friendliness and to help the community achieve greater sustainability.

Bodhinatha is immersed in a series of educational projects and international seminars that focus on bringing religious instruction to Hindu youth, and on pamphlets and books that present Gurudeva's teachings in thoughtful, step-by-step style. A recent project produced the first two books of the series Hindu Children's Modern Stories. Volume One, Ten Tales About Self-Control, and Volume Two, Ten Tales About Religious Life, are based on the yamas and niyamas, Hinduism's ethical restraints and religious observances.

Bodhinatha travels intensely, teaching Hinduism and consecrating major Hindu temples around the world. He has personally blessed the openings of temples in North America, Australia and India. Communities across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, South Asia and elsewhere have brought him to speak to their devotees. Every few years he conducts Innersearch Travel-Study Programs, taking pilgrims to India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Hawaii.

In 2011 he was honored by the Sivacharyas of India for overseeing a three-year project that digitized over a million inscribed palm leaves to preserve and share with the world ten thousand deteriorating manuscripts, including Saiva Agamas and other important scriptures. At home he guides the financial and administrative staff of four major nonprofit organizations, including the ten-million-dollar Hindu Heritage Endowment, for which he was the principal architect under Gurudeva's guidance.