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Why there is no priest in Shakti Peetam?

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Om Shakti! This question, " Why there is no priest in Shakti Peetam similar to other Hindu Temples? " is often asked by devotees and visitors. In the first place, let's make it very loud and clear that Shakti Peetam is not against priest system. In fact there is 'Priesthood' that we have in practice. Although a Hindu Temple, Shakti Peetam is the abode of Supreme Mother AdhiParaShakti, where She is Mother of all creations. Our Spiritual Guru Bangaru Adigalar fondly known by devotees and followers as 'Amma' (meaning Mother), as part of His Spiritual Mission, brought in a transformative change to our system of worship. The change included - allowing all irrespective of caste, creed, religion, age, gender, language, nationality, etc. etc. to enter Sanctum Sanctorum and worship Supreme Mother AdhiParaShakti directly. The idea and objective is that for a child to approach and reflect with its Mother, there needs no medium. The connection and reflection can be di

Annadhaana is Mahaadhaana

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Om Sakthi! 'Giving' is one of the greatest acts of kindness. All of us have been created with this gift of being able to 'Give'. Even animals and other species have this ability to 'Give'. The primary nature of the cycle of creation, sustenance, and dissolution is designed based on the foundational principle of 'Giving'. If this act doesn't exist, everything will cease to exist or perish. It is also how the law of karma works.  If sun doesn't give its light, or nature doesn't give its rain, or fails to provide air, and our soil doesn't give life to plants, none of the life can sustain. The law of karma basically 'gives' rewards for our good deeds and thoughts. Similarly, it gives 'punishments' for our bad deeds and intentions. You 'give' and you will 'get'. Simple as it is. All life forms need food for survival and this need surpasses all others. Without food, we cannot live. Period. Annadhaana is not just

Pooja Room at homes

It is an age-old practice in all Indian families to set aside a pooja section in their houses. It can be either a separate room, a closet, a small shelf or even a table on which portraits and / or idols are kept for daily worship at home. The size and magnanimity of this Pooja section depends on the economic conditions, and more to do with belief. In India, people of other religions (non-Hindu) also have taken up to this practice of maintaining an area for worship of Divine as per their belief system. A question often arises, how should this worship (Pooja) section be setup? What kind of portraits or idols to keep and how to maintain them?  Oftentimes, a Bhaktha (Devotee) has tendency to pick up beautiful portraits of Gods / Goddesses when he / she visits temples. Simply because the portraits seem attractive to their eyes and mind, they just buy and bring home and keep them in their Pooja area. What is forgotten or missed to be realized is that when they grow old and pass away, who is

Why do we greet everyone with "Om Sakthi"?

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  On this Guru Purnima Day (13-JUL-2022), it is a soul soothing exercise to contemplate on Guru and Mother. For all those in / from India, it is customary to greet each other with our two palms folded (touching each other) saying 'Namaste', 'Namaskar', 'Vanakkam', 'Namaskaramu', etc. All this in some way or the other means, "I bow to you". It is a beautiful way of respecting another person, by placing that person above one's own self. No matter the other person is older or younger, richer or poorer, literate or illiterate, this type of greeting just puts the self, below and elevates the person being greeted above. No other society, as far as we know has this kind of greeting. In Sanatan Dharma, it symbolizes the recognition of something higher than self in others. In Shakti Peetam & Spiritual Center, everyone is greeted with term 'Om Sakthi'.  This even goes further in recognizing Mother AdhiParaSakthi who is present in every li

What Deities are there in Shakti Peetam?

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  Shakti Peetam & Spiritual Center is the Divine Abode of Universal Supreme Mother AdhiParaSakthi. This Mother is the Source, and Destination of all creations. In this multiverse, there is nothing as 'non-created'. Everything emanates from This Mother AdhiParaSakthi, as the name implies Adhi - Origin, Para - Time and Space Transcendent, Sakthi - Energy. This Energy is 'Mother' as It is the Creator. Can it be 'Father'? Why not? The gender is only biological and is only in the comfort of our minds. Being the very origin of all things created, known & unknown, matter & anti-matter, living & non-living, the only Deity housed in Shakti Peetam is that of this Mother . She has taken a form very same as a normal human being - just two hands and a head with beautifully sculptured figure representing the cosmic beauty of Her creation. In this form, She holds a Lotus Bud in Her right hand and Chin Mudra on Her left hand. She is seated on a Lotus Pedestal wi

What does "Self-Service" mean in Shakti Peetam? Can you please elaborate!

Om Sakthi! Shakti Peetam & Spiritual Center in Chester Springs, PA USA operates on Self-Service mode. In simplest form, this means most of the regular religious services can be performed by all devotees , while adhering to laid out protocol. Shakti Peetam is the Abode of Mother AdhiParaSakthi where all Her children can visit Her and be connected to Her directly. The interaction between child (us) and the Mother is uninhibited. The conversations and exchanges of thoughts between the Mother and Devotee is private, personal, and so is direct. Shakti Peetam is established with the objective of enabling this Direct Divine Connection between individual Soul (Jeevathma) and Universal Soul (Paramathma). It finds no barriers in languages, national boundaries, religions, race, color, gender, age, etc., etc. So, a 'Self-Service' model is established here to enable this connection and interaction.  All visitors and individuals irrespective of belief systems, can engage in simple serv

Why wear red attire while visiting Shakti Peetam? Is this mandatory? Is this a cult?

Om Sakthi! In general, most of the newcomers to Shakti Peetam & Spiritual Center wonder about devotees wearing red color dress. I mean all red. Why and what is the reason? Are all visitors mandated to be dressed in all red? What if I don't wear red color dress? Will I be still allowed inside? We don't see such mandates in other Hindu Temples. Can you please provide some insight into this? Shakti Peetam is all about  total equality  without any sort of discrimination. The Shakti Path - AdhiParaSakthi Consciousness we believe and follow in Shakti Peetam is that Mother AdhiParaSakthi resides in all life and lifeless forms. There is no time and space Mother AdhiParaSakthi is absent. All are children of  One and the Same Mother AdhiParaSakthi,  irrespective of religion, belief systems, spiritual paths one takes. The color of blood in all human beings, (and for that matter in almost all living beings) is red in color. Visitors and devotees wear red color attire to signify the irr