Eight million years ago the 555-square mile island of Kauai, oldest of the Hawaiian chain, erupted and sputtered into lava-flow existence, jutting up like a green gem in the blue Pacific sea. By 1 to 1-1/2 million years ago, Kauai was part of an island formation sacred to the Lemurian peoples. Through stone temples and cliffhugging monasteries, through crystals, gold and the minds of advanced masters, these islands locked in a powerful beam of spiritual force deep down into the molten magma of the planet itself. Kauai was the epicenter of this ancient Lemurian power point located at 159.30 degrees longitude and 22 degrees latitude.

Fifteen thousand years ago, during the ice age, snow and glinting ice carved and capped the central peak of Kauai, Mt. Waialeale: an extinct volcano half worn away by the planet's greatest annual rainfall, exposing what is now a lush, green interior cliff that rises 5,143 feet. A thousand years ago, as the waters of the Pacific Ocean concealed the Lemurian continent, the Polynesians came. They found evidence – taro cultivation and temples – of an unknown, earlier civilization. The Polynesians, or Hawaiians as we would come to know them, were a deeply mystical people, giant in stature, generous of heart and so attuned to the forces and beings of nature that the two worlds of physical and astral were one. Their religion was an echo of Hinduism, replete with rectangular temple precincts from which a tower of the Gods arose. The Supreme Being, Kane, was worshipped through a single, elongated conical or triangular stone, similar to the Siva Lingam shape. This is not surprising, as they migrated from Southeastern Asia.

The Polynesians were well aware of the spiritual aura of Kauai. They built many temples around the island, but pinpointed Kauai's power point as the land lying in the evening shadow of Mt. Waialeale. That land became the exclusive domain of the Hawaiian royalty and priesthood and was named Pihanakalani, "where Earth is impregnated by heaven." A string of seven temples, correlating to the principle seven chakras, was established up the course of the Wailua River which flows from the Mt. Waialeale watershed.

The San Marga spiritual sanctuary spreads over eleven acres parallel to the Waialeale mountain range. The southern boundary of San Marga is the rock-hewn course of the Wailua River, the most sacred river in Hawaii. A 2,300-foot path running straight as a laser beam slices down the length of the eleven acres. At its termination lies a natural array of six sacred stones, dominated by a central one, a Siva Lingam, that symbolizes God's Absoluteness. From the Sanskrit, San meaning "good or straight" and Marga, "spiritual path." They combine to designate the "Straight Path to God."

San Marga is the most recent fruition or unfoldment of the inner energies permeating this sacred land. It was founded in 1975 by Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a Hindu master who, five years earlier, had established his central monastery and international headquarters for Saiva Siddhanta Church precisely at the fifth Hawaiian temple site.

In February, 1975, in the early hours before dawn, Gurudeva was deeply meditating in his private quarters. Suddenly, in the vivid, three-dimensional depth and electrifying color of a spiritual vision, he was viewing an expansive wild-grass meadow with people in the distance gracefully striding through the foliage, then pausing to look down a sloping hill. It looked like a gathering of bright, youthful devotees surrounding a very tall, luminously beautiful being. The being had long auburn-red hair flowing down over the shoulders of a white robe that softly swished as He walked. As Gurudeva's perception moved closer, he cognized that the central figure was God Siva, Lord of Lords, Sovereign of the universe, the Primal Soul who creates all worlds and souls in the mystery of His Omniscient Mind.

Immediately, the vision sequence shifted and Gurudeva was in front of Lord Siva, each looking into the other's face. Delicate and mesmerizingly beautiful, Siva's face was perfectly androgynous, discernible as neither male nor female, but encompassing and transcending both polarities. As Gurudeva described it, Siva's luminescent white skin had a "peach fuzz" quality to it and His blue/violet eyes beheld the totality of many universes.

In the concluding vision. Lord Siva sat on a large, rounded stone, Gurudeva seated to his left on a flat, elongated stone. As the vision progressed. Lord Siva reached back and lifted His thick, red hair from the nape of His neck, saying to Gurudeva, "This is where the source of my power lies," indicating a chakra location. With that, the vision ended, indelibly imprinted in the mind of Gurudeva.

At the vision's conclusion, there was a strong superconscious knowing that the land and stones seen in the psychic ethers of the vision had a physical plane counterpart on the property Saiva Siddhanta Church had just bought in 1974 that is contiguous to its monastery acreage.

Guided by his intuition, Gurudeva, along with several of his monks, went to the northern edge of the land that was then a thick tangle of buffalo grass, guava and hau trees. He headed south, along the axis of the Waialeale mountain range, toward the cool waters of the Wailua River at the southern end of the property. A monstrous, growling D-9 bulldozer followed, chewing a straight path behind him.

After almost half a mile of hacking through the brush, Gurudeva sat down to rest near a small, spindly tree. Though there was no wind, suddenly the tree's leaves shimmered as if in the excitement of communication. Gurudeva asked the tree what it was trying to say. In reply, his attention was directed to a spot a little ways in front of him, where some black rock was peaking through tangled grass. As Gurudeva cleared the grass, he immediately recognized the stones where Lord Siva and he had sat. He felt a stunningly potent vibration. The bulldozer's straight path led exactly to the sacred stones, the central one which Lord Siva had graced was recognized as a swayambhu (naturally-formed) Siva Lingam, just as the Earthkeeper crystal is. Gurudeva gave the name San Marga to the Lingam area, the sloping hill down to the Wailua River, the straight path and surrounding acreage. It symbolized man's most direct route to realizing his identity with God, undistracted by the pitfalls of worldliness or side-tracks of psychic experimentation. Worship of the stone Siva Lingam began immediately, a water, fire-and-flower (puja) ceremony being performed every evening at 6.00, rain or shine, uninterrupted since February, 1975. The Lemurian power point of Kauai was open to the public. Eventually, Phase II plans of San Marga were developed, calling for a white granite temple to enshrine the stone Siva Lingam and Earthkeeper Crystal Lingam.

Iraivan, "He who is worshipped," is the name of the proposed temple as depicted in the wood model photographed below. Each block, pillar and cornice of the temple, which covers 108 feet along its length and rises 40 feet at is tower, will be carved in South India, following a sacred architectural design that is 3,000 years old. The thousands of pieces will then be shipped to Hawaii and assembled at San Marga. The very design of such a temple is meant to resonate the rarified energies, capturing them in a field so they won't disperse. When complete, Iraivan's main sanctum will house the Earthkeeper crystal. Underneath that sanctum a subterranean chamber, entered through the side of the temple, will cross the face of the stone Lingam, unmoved from its original position. Three meditation chambers will form part of this lower level of the temple. Iraivan will be open to all seekers of Truth of all religions, all faiths and personal paths. It is a planetary temple where each individual may explore the within, communing with God and his or her own divinity. Fund-raising for Iraivan Temple is now underway.

In spirit and physical reality, San Marga is a sanctified place of pilgrimage. Like the Druids journeying to Stonehenge, the Egyptians to the Karnak Temple, the Zuni Indians to the Blue Lake of Taos, New Mexico, or Hindus to Rameshwaram Temple, South India, journeying to San Marga is a pilgrimage for each soul. It is a pilgrimage that will heal, uplift and unfold. And as Hawaii is half-way between East and West, San Marga is easy to visit for those crossing the Pacific in either direction. Ultimately, after Phase III of the San Marga Project is complete, San Marga will capture in architecture and landscape the soul's sojourn to Godness. It will begin with the Rudraksha Meditation Forest where the pilgrim visitor can become centered, detaching awareness from cares of the world. Then, the Pavilion of Religion where all Truths are represented and taught by guest spiritual leaders. Next is Ganesha Bridge. It represents Lord Ganesha, Guardian of virtuous conduct and intelligent discrimination. As such, the bridge spans a swampy abyss indicative of irreligiousness and a maze of dead-end trails symbolic of psychic experimentation that doesn't lead to God-Realization. Continuing along San Marga the pilgrim comes to Muruga Hill, a pagoda-like temple to Lord Muruga or Sanat Kumar, the great Soul who guides the seeker in the art of meditation. From Muruga Hill – as in meditation – there is the first true view of God, represented by Iraivan Temple. The main path architecture will be supplemented by a large public lecture hall, small lakes, meditation areas interwoven by winding paths.

We conclude with a testimony from Annette Cassidy, member of the San Marga Kauai Citizens' Committee that is helping in the development of San Marga. It was written after her experience of the Earthkeeper Crystal Lingam on its first day of worship, August 16th. Harmonic Convergence Day.

"The personal experience of being with the crystal was beyond what I had imagined. I arrived with a small group a little ahead of the ceremony time and went into the temple to "just look." Most crystals, as you may know, have idiosyncrasies – long and short sides, etc. The Earthkeeper is perfectly formed coming to a sharp clean point. I found myself thinking of a great swirling energy contained within this form. It felt to me as though this crystal was most glad to have arrived here on Kauai. I had never attended a fire ceremony [puja] before so was intrigued by the arrangements-the fire pit, brass pot, all decorated and connected by red cords to the crystal. The red cords were running from directly in front of the fire, all around the pot and then up to the crystal.

There were two moments that seemed especially powerful during the ceremony. The first was the raising of the fire. Many ingredients were placed in the fire and then the celebrant-a Hindu monk/priest – "drew" the fire up into the air. The energy in the temple was intense, both in heat and vibrations. Soon after, the priest took a crystal wand and followed the cord from the fire to the bowl to the crystal. The energy in the room [Kadavul Hindu Temple hall] was electric; I expected to see blue sparks all along the cord. It seemed very clear that energy had been brought to the crystal. When the ceremony was complete, we were each invited to come up and greet the crystal. I was surprised to find the sides of the crystal were, though very smooth, not cold. I found a small rainbow area (indicative of healing properties) just below the point – a very fitting sign for Kauai which is becoming known as a "healing island." The energy field surrounding the crystal was very strong and reminded me of the field I felt on an ancient statue in Greece that had been honored for thousands of years.

It is exciting to look into the future, to visualize the experience of this magnificent crystal when it is in its intended location over the (Siva Lingam) stones at the vortex where the meditation temple (Iraivan) is to be built. The golden ray is already very strong, and with the added force of the crystal to both magnify and focalize these energies, it will be an awesome place to meditate and pray."

Article copyright Himalayan Academy.