For years, I dabbled around aimlessly on the spiritual path .It was only when I found the tradition and path of Sri Vidya that my heart and mind finally settled into a sadhana /spiritual practice with so much intensity that it bore great spiritual fruits of unconditional love, bliss and clarity.

Whenever I think of Sri Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari (The blissful divine mother of the cosmos)my heart melts like butter placed on a hot stove and my eyes brim and overflow with tears of devotion and gratitude .

I always felt that there was no juice of devotion in my spiritual practice . It was only when I connected with the divine feminine that I could express and receive love, develop true compassion and gentleness in my otherwise detached and indifferent persona.

True detachment is a total blossoming of love and total involvement without any expectation . Wanting unconditional love is the biggest condition . To receive love, one has to first embody and share it because we become love incarnate when we strip away the layers of illusion .

Divine mother/Kundalini automatically by her grace takes you to the state of total spiritual emancipation. This whole world of illusory images is her creation and by surrendering at her lotus feet, she will ferry you across the ocean of samsara into a state of transcendental bliss where all sense of separation dissolves and this world of suffering is seen as the most beautiful dance of life .

She will fulfil all your desires; both spiritual and material but it is best to invoke her for spiritual liberation . Ma Tripura Sundari is a very gentle and extremely loving deity but can be fierce too in helping you confront your shortcomings and layers of ignorance.

The love of Ma Kali, Ma Tara and other fierce forms of divine mother has its own sweetness and flavour but for a householder who is entangled in his worldly responsibilities and attachments, their ways can be overwhelming sometimes . Thus, the worship of Man Tripura Sundari is great for householders. Having said that, many monks also practice Sri Vidya but the intensity and way of worship is slightly different .

It is always best to get initiated by a guru who has got the siddhi(perfection )of the mantra and is associated with a traditional Sri Vidya lineage .

I was instructed by a guru who learnt under an adept Sri Vidya practitioner . When he initiated me into the mantra, It almost felt like a seed was implanted in my third eye which would germinate, sprout and mature with years of dedicated practice . I was initiated into panchadasi mantra first, followed by shodasi and finally the mahashodasi mantra . Usually the Bala mantra is given as the primary initiation .

I am ever grateful to my guru for initiating me into this divine and ancient practice .The Sadhana of Sri Vidya can involve worship of the Sri chakra, detailed rituals, various Nyasas and poojas in addition to the saguna upasana(worship of the form of divine mother ) and most importantly the devotional and dedicated Japa(mental recital )of her powerful mantras .

I have personally not done the poojas and elaborate rituals though they are taught in the lineage in which I was initiated . I mainly visualised the form of divine mother and chanted her divine mantra lakhs of times . I am not very good at sitting for long hours so I made it a practice to keep chanting Mahashodasi mantra throughout the day, although it is best to sit dedicatedly on your asana(spiritual seat) in your meditation room . Eventually the chanting continued in the dreams and was the first thought that popped up in my mind when I woke up .