I don’t know when my trip to the American continents may happen, but I do know that there is a place in Kauai, Hawaii that I would like to visit if I am in the area. A Shiva temple with a Rudraksha tree grove – doesn’t that excite you too? I have earlier written about places to see the Rudraksha trees in India (read here) and Nepal (read here). As I was researching more into this, I came across a grove of 108 Rudraksha trees at an Hindu Saivite ashram based in Kauai, Hawaii.

Kauai’s Ashram aka Hindu Monastery

Founded by a spiritual leader called Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, this is an ashram with a place for the monks to live, temples and an ambiance. This is the first time I have heard terms like monastery, church and seminary being used by an Hindu organization.

The founding Guru passed away in 2001, since then his disciple, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami is leading the organization. I had never heard about this organization until my finding of their Rudraksha Grove. It always surprises me when spiritual organizations of such scale are bustling about and they are barely known to me or my circle. This ashram is fairly large at 382 acres and involved in a lot of activities from what I read. They have a new temple coming up in Kauai, which is being carved right now in Bangalore (where I am living right now). So, it is a strange set of serendipities taking place. 🙂

About the Rudraksha grove,

In 1978 Gurudeva (Sivaya Subramaniyaswami) planted 108 trees with his own hands. He dedicated this forest to pilgrims and all Kauaians, inviting them to sit among the sacred trees anytime from 8am to 4pm each day, to rest, meditate, have a picnic or tell stories to their children. Today the trees are fifty feet tall and produce hundreds of thousands of fruits each year.
Read more here: https://www.himalayanacademy.com/monastery/about/rudraksha-forest

Details About Nepal’s Rudraksha Trade, Impact of Chinese Fad & More

Another serendipity connection, as I started looking more into the organization. I found out about their magazine called Hinduism Today. Very recently published article on it was a detailed piece on the Rudraksha Trade in Nepal. It seems to be a very well-researched article with onground information on the Rudraksha trade of Nepal, Chinese dynamics shaping it and more. You can read it here: https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/jul-aug-sept-2023/sacred-rudrakshas/

Since, I am interested in understanding the practical, onground Rudraksha situation in the world – you can imagine how fascinating I was to find this article and also this organization with its Rudraksha grove on the other side of the planet, Hawaii!

Can We Take the Rudraksha Beads from Hawaii?

The article on the monastery website mentions “Rudrakshas suitable for export are available in our gift shop. If you collect beads from the forest, be aware that you may not be allowed to take them out of Hawaii.” I found this curious, but since then haven’t been able to find more information on this. I suspect this has been mentioned with regards to restrictions on bringing flora from Hawaii to the mainland US, as an attempt to avoid inappropriate species transfer. Know more here, https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Are-there-restrictions-on-bringing-back-food-and-agricultural-items-from-Hawaii-to-the-continental The site specifically mentions berries as a restricted item to take from Hawaii. So, Rudraksha seeds may very well fall in this category.

Other Places with Rudraksha Trees in Hawaii

A blogger Raji mentions seeing a few Rudraksha trees in the botanical garden at Princeville, Kauai. https://www.rajiwrites.com/post/2018/09/04/rudraksha-trees-and-a-shiva-temple-in-kapaa-kauai

Here someone found a Rudraksha tree in Haiku Maui while house hunting 🙂 https://activerain.com/blogsview/4704185/the-blue-marble-tree-growing-in-haiku-maui-hawaii

Feels fascinating that Hawaii has Rudraksha trees speckled around it. And a Hindu monastery with a sacred Rudraksha grove. Glad I decided to blog on Rudraksha tree locations which has led me to these discoveries.