~~OM~~

The Sanatana Dharma defines eight forms of behavior called "achara" which are appropriate for spiritual life:

• Vaishnavachara which means find our inspiration.
• Vedicachara which means learn about that which we love.
• Shaivachara which means practise that which we learn about.
• Vamachara which means, "Beloved Behavior," perform every action in life efficiently.
• Dakshinachara which means, "Preferred Path," reduce our necessity to perform worldly actions.
• Siddhantachara which means make our behavior correspond to the activities spoken of in the scriptures. These are primarily seven
• Puja (Worship)
• Path (Recitation)
• Homa (Sacred Fire Ceremenony)
• Sangeet (Singing)
• Nrit (Dancing)
• Pravachan (an explanation of the meanings and applications, how to integrate these various activities into our lives)
• Arpana (offering)
• Yogachara means "Behavior of Union".
• Kulachara means "Behavior of Excellence," whether sitting still in meditation or actively pursuing some objective, the attitude toward life remains the same in every circumstance.

In the Devi Mandir we cultivate the knowledge and practice of the eight different forms of behavior performed by spiritual seekers. We seek contentment, peace and happiness from the world around us. Sanatana Dharma (The Eternal Ideal of Perfection) teaches us that the peace is within us. Shree Maa and Swamiji as Gurus of this temple can help us find this peace. Sanatana Dharma is a way of living each moment of our lives in fulfillment of the highest ideal of perfection. The essential ingredient is attention, attention to any task at hand. Discriminating attention, where the consequence is evaluated before we act or react to circumstances. Efficient evaluation leads to a focus on the central purpose of our existence, to know and realize that we are divine beings, privileged to have the capacity to worship the divine in us and around us. This absorbed attention when applied to daily life becomes the seed that can bloom into concentration, in turn leading to meditation and at its pinnacle in samadhi.

Shree Maa & Swami Satyananda Saraswati's basic teaching is that every home is a temple, and all of the occupants within are the priests; that a Guru is an example of inspired leadership, and wherever there is teaching the Guru is present; and that whenever anyone performs any action with respectful attention, sincerity and devotion, that person is performing worship. We must live efficiently to worship well. This is fundamental to our evolution in progress towards any ideal we maintain. Sanatana Dharma becomes a way of life by emphasizing the development of the faculties and inspiring the commitment required to move towards realizing divinity in and around us. Swamiji says, "Worship itself means paying attention. Learning takes place when one pays attention. When we love something or someone, we pay attention. We offer respect through paying attention. The practice of concentrating our attention is called meditation. Through the practice of meditation we learn how to learn, we learn how to love, we learn how to respect, how to worship, how to pay attention -- how to increase the efficiency of every function in our lives." So respectful attention is a primary qualification of this lineage and anything worthwhile done with respectful attention is worship. By this explanation of Sanatana Dharma there is worship in every church, mosque, temple, every place of work and every home where sincere respectful attention is practiced.

In order to pay attention, we must concentrate our efforts. This demands control of the mind to focus its attention. The teaching of Shree Maa and Swamiji is practical in this regard. Their work teaches us the empirical methods to gain control of the mind. To control the mind we must understand its relationship to our soul and our lives. On page 135 (verse 35) of the Devi Gita is an excellent illustration of these relationships. Swamiji's translation says "The Soul is known as the master of the chariot, and the body is the chariot. The Intellect is known as the driver, and the mind is the reins. The organs of knowledge and action are the horses, and all perceivable objects become concerns for attention". When the Soul is united with the organs of knowledge, action and the mind, then It becomes the enjoyer of all experience. Whoever is Ignorant (of this), unmindful (not attentive) and always impure, has no capacity to attain (this Wisdom). Such people remain in bondage to the objects and relationships of the world.

There is an absolute guarantee from rishis thousands of years ago in the Chandi that its practice will yield control of the mind. Swamiji spent three years in Rishikesh virtually locked up in a small room, painstakingly translating this scripture in English (1981). A word can mean several things in Sanskrit. Swamiji demonstrates that it requires attention and bhava to translate the words of a rishi written a millennium ago. This bhava is visible in the translation and practice for those who can hear Swamiji speak to Mother Chandi through the chanting.

Controlling the mind has obvious practical applications in our lives in addition to its value in prayer to the divine. Thus Swamiji says, the Chandi Path - also known as the Durga Saptasati is a practical training Manual. As human beings we have become habituated to being beset with thought. Through the study and practice of this work according to the prescribed procedure, we seek to free ourselves from this habit, to take the "EGO I" out of thought, to find the remedy of that all too chronic disease, Attachment, and to expand our awareness beyond the relationships of this physical body so as to intuit by direct perception the Bliss of the Universe.

Saptasati is a Way. Daily reciting the verses, we offer to Mother all our troubles, afflictions, all manner of thoughts and perturbations -- even the very Ego itself; and one by one She cuts them down, purifies them with the vibrations of Her mantras, until we, too, become the One of Intuitive Vision who only desires the Highest Wisdom which removes the attachments of the Ego. Shree Maa says, "Be like the fish at the bottom of a pond. The fish lives in the mud but is never dirty". The mind is drawn in different directions by the constant stimulation of the senses, torn between options, possibilities, and anxieties and on and on. Where is the focus? This attention to the priorities is what mother emphasizes through this example. By being efficient we can endeavor to worship and develop the desire and the BHAVA to realize we are divine. By controlling the mind we can be the fish which is not soiled by the mud of confused and undirected thoughts caused by the stimulus from the world.

Shree Maa and Swamiji provide us an example, an inspiration and the scriptural tools to prioritize our objectives, taking a greater perspective than only goals for this life. Their work provides us with the understanding of the techniques to focus our attention with a loving bhava. Their translation of scripture offers manuals that lovingly train us in the methods of offering attentive respect. These tools help define the criteria by which to discriminate which actions will take us closer to the goal. Shree Maa and Swamiji provide us an example, an inspiration and the scriptural tools to prioritize our objectives. Their work provides us with the understanding of the techniques to focus our attention with a loving bhava. Their translation of scripture offers manuals that lovingly train us in the methods of offering attentive respect. These tools help define the criteria by which to discriminate which actions will take us closer to the goal.