Skip to main content

News & Events

  • News

Vishwaguruji visits Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre in Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

On the holy occasion of Sharad Purnima, the Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre in Albany, Auckland was fortunate to host HH Vishwaguruji for the first time.

After a warm welcome with a beautiful flower mala (garland), Rick Hotere performed the Whakatau, a Māori welcoming and settling ceremony. Then, after some bhajans, the guests enjoyed Vishwaguruji’s wisdom.

The peaceful and harmonious gathering ended with a visit to Matua, a master carver on the site, who requested Vishwaguruji’s blessings for his current carving, a Pou Whenua (land pillar), a female pole, which should help cleanse and heal the land.

Leaving the function, Vishwaguruji was gifted with a Rākau Kōrero, a speaking stick, in Māori tradition this is a ceremonial carved walking stick representing authority and the status of a speaker on a Marae – a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in the Māori tradition.

2022 10 10 Purapura 62022 10 10 Purapura 52022 10 10 Purapura 92022 10 10 Purapura 8