Swami Satyananda Saraswati of Napa Valley, CA is both a scholar and a true son of his beloved Divine Mother. He and Shree Maa have brought the traditions of puja (ceremonial worship) and path (recitation of Sanskrit scriptures) to the West in a big way.
The Chandi Path, also called the Durga Saptashati, part of the Markendaya Purana, holds a central position in the Shakta tradition, though it is relatively unknown to Western yoga practitioners and those interested in Hindu practices.
In this Story, Divine Mother manifests in various forms to do battle with ashuras (demons) like lust, anger, passion, too much, and too little. Of course, she wins in the end and there is great celebration.
The magic of Chandi recitation (at the very least), is that as one chants the mantras of the text the activity of the mantra shakti corresponds to what occurs in the story -- so the story of the Chandi is really the story of you (and me).
This book contains the original sanskrit in devanagiri, an English transliteration (Sanskrit in English alphabet), and an English translation.
Though the sheer size of the text is daunting at first, if one is serious about experiencing its profound nature, one may begin small and work up to the full text. It does get easier over time.
Chris Kirner, Pacific Northwest
