Hindu Temple and Monastery

Kauai is not that large so over the years we have visited most of the most common sites. Cindy discovered the Hindu Temple and has been trying to pay a visit with some of our guests but it takes a while to get there and public access closes at noon. Yesterday, we made a stronger commitment with the closing time in mind and it turned out to be a very nice experience.

The Temple and Monastery have been around in some form since the late 1940s and while I am guess most of the folks who read this blog have little exposure to the Hindu religion, the presence on Kauai makes a lot of sense given the heavy presence of people from Asia. The grounds now total 380 acres and contain two temples - one open to the public and the other being renovated which is not. While open to the public, this is location is not intended as a tourist attraction and you can tell this from the makeup of the visitors who made this journey to spend time at a holy site. 

I did not enter the Temple because I was wearing shorts and did not take a robe when I entered the grounds. Photos are not allowed within the Temple.

One of the more interesting areas to me was a large meditation area built under a giant banyan tree. The area contained a centerpiece and smaller adjacent areas with chairs with several deep in meditation.

I sat on a bench while Cindy and Natasha visited the Temple and discovered that the Temple estate not only had nice WIFI, but even a blog. I read several entries and one described a recently inititated Monk. The post said "After six months in the Supplicancy program and several months sitting by the wall, begging entrance to the monastery". I tried to identify the wall described, but found nothing that fit the image in my head.