~~OM~~
Nine Steps of Devotion
The first step is to associate with Saintly people, and the second is to enjoy stories of divinity and divinely inspired beings. The third step of devotion is the feeling of privilege to perform selfless service as an expression of love, while the fourth step is to sing of divine qualities or characteristics without any selfish motivation.
The fifth step of devotion is to recite mantras with full faith. The sixth step is to perform all actions with tranquility, and to see every circumstance as an opportunity to manifest perfection. The seventh form of devotion is to see the world as equal to God, and to regard the company of saintly beings as a greater opportunity than the perception of God.
The eighth step is to be satisfied with whatever one receives as the fruit of one's actions, and not to contemplate the faults of others. The ninth step of devotion is to remain with simplicity all the time, to renounce conniving for selfish ends, and to take delight in faith in God with neither exultation nor unhappiness. For whomever even one of these forms of devotion is practiced, that person is most beloved by God.
From Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess, p 31-32
******
With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered over 900,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of July 15th 2008 are as follows:
| Ambika |
17,280 |
| Ananda Kaanta |
310,608 |
| Aparna |
22,572 |
| Brindavanshakti |
8,856 |
| Devi |
132,192 |
| Eric |
21,870 |
| Janitri |
7,856 |
| Jebani |
7,000 |
| Jennifer |
23,868 |
| Jun |
12,096 |
| Kalachandra |
6,264 |
| Kaliananda |
19,124 |
| Kanda |
17,928 |
| Leela |
9,936 |
| Morningsong |
20,520 |
| Nanda |
1,080 |
| Parvati |
20,520 |
| Ramya |
14,654 |
| Rosario |
24,732 |
| Sivakumar |
7,992 |
| Srini |
20,196 |
| Tapomayi |
8,016 |
| Usha |
170,034 |
| Total | 905,194 |
