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

Inspiration on Taking Refuge

Sri Ramakrishna demonstrated the meaning of devotion and achieved the epitome of its success to such an extent that it could be defined only by one word. In the Bengali language it was termed Vyakulata, sincerity, deep sincere longing, so intense that one can think of nothing else.

Sri Ramakrishna speaking on surrender says, "In this world of objects and relationships we want to surrender our soul. This is God's desire. He has placed us in this world of objects and relationships. What can we do? We want to surrender it all to God, even our own souls. If we do so, there is no more confusion or conflict. Then you will see that He is doing everything. Everything is God's desire." -- Ramakrishna: the Nectar of Eternal Bliss

With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered more than 150,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of February 14th 2008 are as follows:

Ambika	3240
Ananda Kaanta	56160
Aparna	5076
Brindavanshakti	2268
Devi	19332
Eric	2484
Jennifer	6156
Jun	2376
Kalachandra	4104
Kaliananda	2592
Kanda	3024
Leela	4212
Morningsong	3996
Nanda	1080
Parvati	4104
Ramya	2592
Rosario	2052
Sivakumar	2592
Srini	4104
Usha	24948
Total	156492

Inspiration on Taking Refuge

This fortnight we share with you some inspiring quotes on taking refuge (sharanagatam):

"Take refuge in God - one's friends or relatives will not take a person to heaven. Salvation is gained through wisdom." - Shree Maa

"Whoever is able to do atma samarpan (surrender of his or her own soul in equilibrium) to the Sri Guru's Feet - giving up all their attachment - this is samadhi and siddhi (attainment of perfection). This is the path of the Guru." - Satsang with Shree Maa and Swamiji

"Maintain the association of true people, take refuge with devotion in the Supreme Divinity, and with all your capacity try to befriend the universe, and very quickly renounce the fruits of your labors." – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D., from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered more than 80,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of January 31st 2008 are as follows:

Ananda Kaanta	26460
Aparna	3348
Brindavanshakti	2268
Devi	7776
Eric	2484
Jennifer	3888
Jun	2376
Kalachandra	2592
Kaliananda	2592
Kanda	1512
Leela	2484
Morningsong	2484
Nanda	1080
Parvati	2592
Ramya	2592
Rosario	2052
Sivakumar	2592
Srini	2592
Usha	11664
Total	85428

Shree Maa and Swamiji's Message

"Dear Beloved Children, Thanks for helping to bring peace to yourselves and this universe. We are very proud of you. This year please recite the following mantra: "saranaagata diinaarta paritraana paraayane sarvasyaarti hare devi naaraayani namo-stu te" (Translation: For those who are devoted to you and take refuge in you, even though helpless and perplexed, you save them from all discomfort and unhappiness. All worry you take away, Oh Goddess, Exposer of Consciousness, we bow to you." Please do at least one maala (108 times) each day for 2008. With your prayer this world will get peace."

Blessings,

Shree Maa and Swamiji

With the blessings of our Gurus, we have begun making japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008. The Japa totals as of January 17th 2008 are as follows:

Aparna	1836
Devi	3888
Leela	864
Morningsong	756
Nanda	1080
Ramya	1080
Rosario	540
Srini	1080
Steve	4536
Total	16660