All of Swami Satyananda Saraswati's puja books are excellent. The "beginner" puja books (Durga, Shiva, etc.) are so clearly written, with instructions for each part of the puja, that one can immediately begin to do puja in the traditional way. After practicing for a while at the beginner level, one can then begin to explore the more complex rituals of Cosmic Puja or the Advanced Pujas translated by this same Swami. The fact that his main practice, both as a student in India and then as a Swami both in India and the US, has been puja is part of what makes the puja books published by Devi Mandir so valuable. The material is accurately translated, not "watered-down" or "Westernized" and very accessible.
Melinda Sadhvi Sokoloff, Boston
