947 – Who are Shaktas?

A Shakta is a devotee of the Mother Goddess and his/her prayer can be described like this verse:

May all my idle talk be your japa, sound divine,
May all my gestures be your mudras,
May all my steps be around your seat,
May all my lying down be your pranam,
May all your oblations be my only food,
And may all acts of mine be in joy for you.

Extracted from a hymn dedicated to Tripura Sundari from Saundarya Lahiri. Continue reading

479 – 10 Divine forms of the Goddess

Das Mahavidyas are the divine forms of the Goddess. They are very powerful forms of the Goddess and can be worshipped in their individual manifestations. Their origin is when Sati manifested herself into the ten forms of Adi Shakti because Shiva would not allow her to attend her father’s Yagna uninvited. Both Sati and Shiva had not received an invite. When Shiva found that he was surrounded by these Goddesses in every direction, he agreed to attend the function. Continue reading

314 – Tripura Sundari, Goddess of the three universes

Tripura Sundari is also known as Sodasi, Lalita, Sri Vidya and Rajarajeshwari. Her worship centers on the worship, meditation, mantra and Sri Yantra. Tripura Sundari is identified with three channels of Kundalini Yoga. She is the cosmic queen. Continue reading

313 – The origin of the 10 powerful forms of the Goddess

Sati (first avatar of Parvati) and Shiva were married much against her father’s will. She was her father’s favorite child. Her father Daksha organized a Yagna, a great sacrifice. All the Gods were invited, other than Sati and her husband Shiva. Sati was heart-broken and Shiva being Shiva did not care. She begged him to take her to the Yagna uninvited. He refused and then she transformed herself into 10 manifestations of herself and each form was more terrifying than the other. They surrounded Shiva and he had to agree to her demand. Continue reading

188 – Devi Ma and International Women’s Day

Swami Sivanananda respected all women and treated them as reflections of the Devi Ma. He conducted no formal worship of the Mother Goddess. A venerated scholar from South India visited Swami Sivanananda’s ashram. He was overwhelmed by the spirituality, piety and beauty of the ashram. He said to Swami Sivanananda that the spiritual wealth and vibrance were the blessings of Tripura Sundari. Continue reading