Chandi Path

The Chandi Path

The Chandi Path is the most ancient and complete system of mantra worship for the Divine Mother Goddess in the Hindu tradition. The name Chandi comes from the root word “Chand,” which means “to tear apart, cut asunder.” The meaning of the name of the Goddess Chandi is “She Who Cuts Duality, Tears Apart Thought.” The recitation of the Chandi Path is designed to guide our awareness into the presence of the Divine Mother Goddess Chandi, so that all conflict is resolved and Consciousness becomes absorbed in the greatest Peace.

The Chandi Path comes from the Markandeya Purana, one of the greatest spiritual epics of Hindu spirituality. It tells the story of how a Businessman and a King performed sadhana to discover the Glory of the Goddess. It describes what sadhana they performed, and ultimately what they found from its practice.

About the Author

Swami Satyananda Saraswati is among the foremost scholars and translators of Sanskrit traditions in modern times. He is the author of nearly 60 books in nine different languages, representing a significant contribution to the understanding of Hinduism and Vedic religious practices.

Swamiji was initiated into the Saraswati group of the Dashnami lineage of Adi Shankaracharya in 1971. He is a scholar living a life of worship with both spiritual knowledge and its practical application. His sadhana includes the Chandi Path and sacred fire ceremony as his primary systems of spiritual discipline.

He practiced the recitation of the Chandi Path in the snows of the Himalayas and in the hot springs of Bakreswar. Through this rigorous penance, he moved beyond the influences of heat and cold, and practiced long asana sadhana, sitting in one posture reciting the texts for more than 16 hours at a time without moving. Through his experiences of walking the length and breadth of the Himalayas in India, Swamiji fell in love with Sanskrit and became proficient in numerous languages including Bengali and Hindi. He performed the Sahasra Chandi Yajna seven times, with 21 years of continuous worship without break. Wherever he went, he would learn the local systems of worship and inspire those around him to participate.

Swamiji’s expertise and experience span many different religious traditions, and his realizations and teachings make him a living example of Ramakrishna’s Gospel, “as many as there are individuals, so many are the paths to God.”

In 1979, Swamiji met Shree Maa when he was performing a vow of worship in a small temple in the interior of West Bengal. They toured India together, spreading their divine love and inspiration by performing pujas, homas, and sharing their realizations and teaching the methods of spiritual practice.

In 1984, they traveled to America and established the Devi Mandir in Napa, California, where he and Shree Maa performed three Sahasra Chandi Yajnas, over nine years of continuous chanting without break. Today they have ashrams in North America, Central America, South Americ