Our Beliefs & Values

The Sri Kamakhya Mahavidya Mandir, Inc. is a devi mandir (goddess temple) that practices the Shakta Tantra tradition of Sri Sri Kamakhya.

Our primary purpose is to establish a mandir (temple) for worship and encouraging personal realization of ananda (bliss) via the Mother Goddess Sri Sri Maa Kamakhya and the Dasa Mahavidyas (the Ten Goddesses of Great Wisdom). We also respect all life-affirming manifestations of Truth.

We respect the power of the sacred texts (the Vedas, Upanishads, Tantras, etc.), of the lineage (parampara), the tradition (sampradaya), and of personal insight through joyful, disciplined practice (sadhana).

We respect the power of meditation, ritual, mantra and prayer.

We respect the power of community as well as the power of individual faith and spiritual progress.

We value diversity, and are open to all. We serve to the best of our ability any and all who seek their spiritual truth, regardless of ethnicity, gender, caste, social or economic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, background, religious affiliations, or any other factor.

We look compassionately on all genuine spiritual effort, and believe that all souls are ultimately moving through many lifetimes toward the Divine.

We believe in learning through practice, sharing and diversity. Through our learning program, Kaulini Shakti Vidya, we explore non-dual Shakta Tantra and Hindu philosophy as the foundation of our worldview, and also welcome the wisdom of the many faiths, philosophies and belief systems of the world that may inform our practice and widen our perspective.

As children of the Mother Goddess, we live with compassion and strive to make a better world for all and affirm our responsibility to heal and protect Her living body, Earth.

We strive for spiritual progress toward ananda (bliss), but our philosophy affirms our place and responsibilities in the mundane world. Freedom from attachment does not mean freedom from personal responsibility.  As such, we believe in religious freedom, and in personal choice balanced with personal responsibility.