09/19/2026
Jai Ganesha!
Firstly we’d like to mention that, following our very-recent storm, our monks are all doing well. During the night of September 7, 2026, Hurricane Lowell was at peak intensity around midnight as it passed by our island, delivering ~80-90 mile-an-hour winds or more. Ever since Hurricane Iniki leveled the whole island in the 90’s, the Kauai's Hindu Monastery has taken disaster preparedness very seriously, and we were quite well prepared for this storm. For example, all of our buildings have quickly deployable metal hurricane shutters on doors and widows. On September 7, in between moments of sleep, the large and loud wind gusts could be heard, flying debris through the air, all with the sound of a falling tree every 10-20 minutes.
The next morning we awoke to a stunning sunrise, accented by the extra light now filtering through our many de-leaved trees. The first order of business was damage assessment. The Aadheenam’s buildings were for the most part completely unharmed. The winds were strong enough, however, to fully uproot many huge trees. Nearly every road around the aadheenam acreage had been blocked. The whole island was temporarily without power, but the monastery has a big generator and our fiber internet connection remained unbroken. The island’s utility water was also out, but again we are well prepared while county teams work tirelessly to bring everything back online. The day was spent making sure our basic utilities are up and running, as well as chainsawing trees, clearing our vital roadways and removing debris.
Aum Namah Sivaya
Read the monastery daily blog at: https://www.himalayanacademy.com/taka
