Read Shree Maa's story.

1. of Kamakhya, India
Meet Shree Maa

2. Shree Maa was born into one
of the most extraordinary
families in India, which
included both extremely
wealthy businessmen and
highly advanced yogis. Her
family was descended from
RamprasadSen, the famous
Bengali poet, whose songs
are still popular throughout
the Northeast of India.

3. From her earliest years, her only desire was to
meditate and to merge her own being into God. Her
spiritual radiance was such that as a young
child, when local fishermen saw her walking along the
beach, they would leap out of their boats with an
attitude of great faith and prayer, and would race up
the sand to ask this young goddess for her blessings.

4. Inspired by the 19th century
Bengali mystic, Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa, Shree Maa left
her family’s home for the forests
and foothills of Kamakhya, and
performed sadhana in the
regions of the State of Assam
and in the Himalayan foothills in
India. She sat most of the time
in one asana in the silence of
deep meditation, speaking very
little. She ate practically nothing,
only sandal paste mixed with
water, Tulsi leaves, and
occasional juice fed to her by
disciples and devotees.

5. Because of her intense tapasya, her body weight
reduced to little more than 60 pounds. People who
saw her in samadhi for hours and days at a time
called her the Goddess of the Mountain, The
Goddess of the River, or simply Shree Maa, the
Respected Holy Mother.

6. After several years, she
began to roam
throughout
India, visiting
temples, forests, fields
and homes, conducting
pujas and archana
(offering) to the Divine
Mother, and reading
from the Chandi
Path, one of the most
frequently recited
scriptures in India

7. During her journey through India, she also
began to sing. Sometimes she would sing
bhajans all night, and devotees, filled with
bhakti, would gather to be in the presence of
this holy woman whose voice can melt stone,
whose entire life is worship.

8. In 1980, in a small temple in Bakreswar, West
Bengal, Shree Maa met Swami
SatyanandaSaraswati. Swamiji immediately
recognized her as the embodiment of the
Goddess he had been actively worshiping for
so long.

9. The two traveled together throughout India,
sharing dharma, even when, due to cultural
clashes and unrest, their own lives were at
risk. It was in the early 1980s that Shree
Maa, in communion with her guru,
Ramakrishna, was instructed to move to
America to share divine love and to teach
the meaning of dharma.

10. In 1984, with no capital and
few possessions, Shree Maa
and Swamiji left the shores of
India for the West Coast of
the United States. Shunning
self promotion and publicity,
they lived a very simple life
dedicated to daily worship,
preferring to own little and to
offer all to God.

11. They have established temples to the Divine
Mother in every place they have visited
around the world. Together, they have
undertaken the SahasraChandiYajna at least
four times, each a three year fire ceremony
and worship of the Goddess, without setting
foot outside from the humble temple grounds
that they established. The temples have
contained numerous beautiful murtis, statues
fashioned from clay by Maa and Swami’s own
hands, depicting the forms of the Gods and
Goddesses described in the Chaṇḍī worship.

12. Devi Mandir
Temple of the Divine Mother

13. Shree Maa has given
programs around the world,
sharing her songs, stories,
and giving loving blessings
for all who have attended.
She, herself, has been the
subject of numerous
magazine and newspaper
articles and several
biographies have been
written about her. She is
also featured in many other
books, as well as TV and
radio appearances. Even
with all this recognition, she
remains as a humble
servant to her children, who
she blesses with her

14. As word of Shree Maa’s presence in the San
Francisco Bay area spread, thousands of
seekers found their way to the humble grounds
of the Devi Mandir. Her realization is an
example, an inspiration, a gift. Her bhava
comes from pure intuitive experience. Her
message transcends all boundaries and

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