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

Everything is Her grace

Who has the ability to know you unless you consent to teach them? There is no end to the books of wisdom; I find no end. But no matter how much I search, I don't find your light.

Worship, sacrifices, asceticism are all various forms of action. But can you be known through action, you who are beyond every action?

The entire creation is bound by your illusion. No one knows more than reflections. But to see the Mother who holds aloft the sky, who could hope to travel such a distance?

You are the Lord of all desires. And if it should become your desire, an individual can become infinite if you bless him with your grace.

So I hope for your grace, and want to continue throughout this life anticipating that the Lord of Grace, filling me with grace, will come and purify my heart.

From Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess, p 102-103

Swamiji on Maa Kali

'Kal' means Darkness; Kali takes away that Darkness. She takes away the darkness from every individual who strives in the path of perfection by performing the spiritual disciplines of purifying austerities. Just as all the colors of the spectrum mix into black, yet still black remains black, so too, Kali, who is completely Dark, Unknowable, takes away all the Darkness, yet She, Herself, remains unchanged.

Learn more about Maa Kali

We continually bow to Her

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of True Wealth, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Activity, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Recollection, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Compassion, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Mother, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Confusion, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

From Chandi Path, Chapter 5, Verses 20-37

We continually bow to Her

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Patient Forgiveness, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of All Living Beings, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Humility, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Peace, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Faith, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Beauty Enhanced by Love, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

From Chandi Path, Chapter 5, Verses 20-37

We continually bow to Her

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Intelligence, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Sleep, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Hunger, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Appearance, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Energy, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of Desire, we bow to Her, we bow to Her; we bow to Her, continually, we bow, we bow.

From Chandi Path, Chapter 5, Verses 20-37

Sri Ramprasad on Surrender

Everything is your desire,

Supreme Desire, oh Dear Mother.

All action you perform, Maa,

still people say that I have done.

Everything is your desire,

This bird of mind, it roams about,

flies from mountain peaks and dales.

Bring him down Maa and make him stop,

resting at your lotus feet.

Everything is your desire.

I am a tool, you are the craftsman,

I am a house, you are the master.

I am a car, you are the driver,

Just as you drive, just so I run.

Everything is your desire.

From Shree Maa: the Guru and the Goddess

Swamiji on Surrender

Watch these videos where Swamiji explains the essence of peace and surrender:

How to find Peace?	What is Surrender?

From Shree Maa's life: Inspiration on Taking Refuge

One day she traveled to the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Gauhati with a number of disciples. Seeing her approaching, the boatmen along the river ran u and bowed before her on the sand of the river bank. They asked in most respectful terms, "Maa, Maa, where are you going?"

Shree Maa replied, "I want to take my disciples to the Umananda Temple, on the island in the Brahmaputra River opposite from the Kamakhya Temple."

"Maa, Maa", the boatmen called. "Please ride in our boat."

As the boatmen rowed out to the island in the center of the river, one middle-aged man told his story in coarse and rustic Assamese language. He said that when he was a young man, one day there was a great storm in the area of Gauhati. "I was working on the boats with my family that day, and Shree Maa was a passenger. The boat began to toss about on the rough waters of the river, and everyone began to cry with fear. Only Shree Maa sat silently at the front of the boat uttering prayers. All of the other passengers were struck with terror, fearing that the boats would be sunk or capsized in the howling winds and turbulent waters. But seeing Shree Maa's composure, everyone took courage, and suddenly, as quickly as the storm had arisen, the winds subsided.

By the time we reached the shore, everyone knew that it was Shree Maa's blessings by which we were all saved. Since that time, all of the boatmen regard her as the Goddess of Kamakhya." - from "Shree Maa: Life of a Saint".

With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered more than 350,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of March 15th 2008 are as follows:

Ambika	7,174
Ananda Kaanta	141,480
Aparna	8,964
Brindavanshakti	5,508
Devi	50,652
Eric	2,484
Jennifer	9,936
Jun	5,508
Kalachandra	5,724
Kaliananda	6,048
Kanda	6,048
Leela	7,452
Morningsong	7,128
Nanda	1,080
Parvati	7,344
Ramya	4,860
Rosario	4,860
Sivakumar	3,132
Srini	7,344
Tapomayi	1,080
Usha	58,488
Total	352,834

From Swamiji's life: Inspiration on Taking Refuge

Swamiji recited the entire Chandi Path in the morning while sitting in the hot springs. Then he performed yoga exercises. By dawn he returned to the banyan tree and organized his puja. At first he performed his puja with whatever he could find: leaves, grass, grains of rice. Later, once we got to know him, the village children delighted in bringing him flowers for worship first thing every morning.

His worship lasted until 9:30 or 10:00. Then he took a short break for half-hour or so before sitting down to sing the Chandi again. It was usually sometime after sunset that he rose from his seat. Then he took the two bells, one in each hand, and rang them so loudly you could hear them resounding all the way across the village, while he sang the songs of arati. Soon the whole village came to recognize the sounds of Swamiji's evening arati, and it became a topic of conversation around the whole village. Simply through his own constant, pure and unwavering private daily worship, this lone Sahib sadhu had begun to change our lives. - from "Sahib Sadhu".

With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered more than 250,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of February 29th 2008 are as follows:

Ambika	3,240
Ananda Kaanta	90,396
Aparna	6,804
Brindavanshakti	3,888
Devi	36,072
Eric	2,484
Jennifer	8,100
Jun	5,508
Kalachandra	5,724
Kaliananda	3,888
Kanda	4,536
Leela	5,832
Morningsong	5,508
Nanda	1,080
Parvati	5,724
Ramya	5,400
Rosario	4,860
Sivakumar	3,132
Srini	5,724
Tapomayi	1,080
Usha	41,424
Total	250,404