Devi Mandir

Temple of Divine Mother

Maa rings the bells


Photo of the week – Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2007
(Picture taken October 2007 at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)

May Divine Mother ring the bells that purify our souls

Story of Horse Sacrifice

~~OM~~

Ashwamedh means the use of wisdom for the benefit of society. It’s the horse sacrifice. The use of the wisdom of uccishrava, the horse of wisdom, which symbolized the dominion of the kingdom.

In the old Ashwamedha Yagya, a horse was set free, well adorned and decorated, followed by a great army. And wherever the horse roamed into the neighboring kingdoms, those kings would come out and they would either challenge and stop the horse which meant that they would do battle with the army; or they would accept the horse as an emblem of wisdom and they would surrender and unify the kingdoms into an empire.

And that way they reduced the amount of conflict in all the neighboring states by creating a unity in wisdom.

Story of Tantrik sadhak

~~OM~~ There was once a sadhak, a tapasyak, a tantrik sadhak. He was doing this tremendous Smashan Shav Kriya, where you sit in the cremation grounds upon a corpse and do recitation of the mantras of the Kali in the midnight. And he had to procure so many articles for his worship. And with great […]

Blessings All Around!


Photo of the week – Nov 9 – Nov 15, 2007
(Picture taken October 2007 at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)

Take Diwali blessings to all.

MahaLakshmi in all Her glory!

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Photo of Lakshmi Puja on October 25, 2007

At the end of the puja, Mahalakshmi was showered with flowers by all the devotees present!

Story of Lomash Muni and Kaka Bhushundi

~~OM~~ Let me tell you a story, if you don’t mind. Lomash Muni was a great devotee of Shiva. And he had one disciple who was so disrespectful, never did any work, always was laying around. The Guru would say, “Disciple, please, don’t act like that.” And the disciple said, “Eh! Who cares for you […]

How Kamadeva became Ananga

~~OM~~ Parvati took birth in Himalaya’s home, and She grew up to be a beautiful young lady, and all She could think about was Shiva. And She started performing tapasya, and meditation on Shiva, and in every way She tried to propitiate Shiva so that He would take her as His bride. Well, Shiva didn’t […]

Celebrating our ancestors


Photo of the week – Oct 12 – Oct 18 2007
(Picture taken October 10, 2007)

On October 10th we celebrated Mahalaya, the great Dissolution, and honored our ancestors thanking them for leading us here.
We performed puja with special ladhus that we offered at the altar, at the fire and then to nature.

Pranams to all the great souls that preceded us and brought us to the Devi Mandir!

Offerings for Navaratri

Question:
I would like to know what we can do at home for Navaratri, especially if there are offerings we can make to Shree Maa.
Swamiji says:
The following link gives the special offerings to the Goddess –
http://shreemaa.org/drupal/node/300 . You can offer all that you do to Shree Maa. Especially the food that you cook with mantra, offer with mantra. The other functions you perform can be accompanied by mantra. Picture her image in your mind, and conceive that you are doing for her.
Question:
Does the link http://shreemaa.org/drupal/node/300 mean that we make 3 offerings – one for the month, one of the lunar day and one for the day of the week ?
Swamiji says:
Yes, this does mean 3 separate offerings.

Santoshi Maa Vrat and Her Mahima

Question:
I’m about halfway through performing the 16-week Santoshi Mata fast,and now am starting to get a little worried about how I will be able to get the udyapan performed to conclude the fast. I am supposed to feed eight boys with kheer and gram curry and be sure that none of them eats any sour food for the entire day.
I don’t personally have any boys to invite/feed, and have no one among my family or friends who would understand or partake of this kind of thing. Does Swamiji have any suggestion on how to perform this udyapan? Is it possible to have this done at a temple in the US or India, or is there an alternative ceremony that I could do that doesn’t involve feeding Brahmin boys (since I don’t know any)?
Swamiji says:
Yes, you can perform this udyapan at a local temple. Call the priest and ask how he or she can help you organize the puja and what would be appropriate in their tradition.
If you choose, we could help organize the puja here.
Question:
I have a question about Santoshi Maa. Im confused as to whether she is a Devi conceived by the popular bollywood movie of the same title, or if there are historical references to Santoshi Maa before the movie. From what I had read, I had understood that the former was the correct assertion.
Swamiji says:
Santoshi Maa was a Goddess long before there were movies. The movie is a depiction of some of the main stories of her katha.
Question:
I was watching a program on Santoshi Maa and it was mentioned if one kept a fast for 8 continuous Saturdays, Santoshi Maa has never failed to give her devotees the desires of her heart. Could you please give me more information.
Swamiji says:
That is written in Her Katha, the story of Santoshi Maa. However, I don’t think that it would be enforceable in a court of law. The devotee requires the right motivation, the right concentration, the right planning and execution. But it is written.