Our Sanctuary is your sanctuary. Everyone is welcome in Maa's house!
SHARANYA/The Maa Batakali Cultural Mission, Inc., is a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) Devi Mandir (Goddess Temple), nestled near the ocean in vibrant San Francisco.
In our Sanctuary, we hold a sacred intention to break dualistic constructions of spirit open into a paradoxical cosmology riding the edge of chaos and order; for we know that this is the place where everything is created. Together, we work to un-demonize the Sacred Feminine in service to an embodied, integral spirituality and work for life-affirming transformation by radically engaging the disciplines and spiritual technologies of energy and consciousness, as well as awareness of the combination of ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology that encompasses the formation of a new worldview. Ours is a (R)evolutionary Shakta Tantra!
In the sacred texts of Tantra, we learn of Her expression of virtues. She is Divine Mother, and we honor Her as such. Yet, it is also true that sexuality, the fecundity of menstrual blood, the wild and untamable nature of reality, and all things antinomian come together in Her. Through Her, Dark Goddess, we see the potential for liberation because Devi is able, as dictated in the scriptures and by the lineage of the ancients, to lead aspirants to the highest and most engaged reality.
Our sanctuary is our home temple where we contemplate Her mysteries. We gather regularly for active worship (puja), meditation, satsang, community building, rites of passage work, life-event ceremonies, lectures, and classes. Join us! In addition, for those seeking deeper work we also provide opportunities for study, initiation and ordination. Our regular wheel-of-the-year calendar of services may help orient you to our tradition and offerings. Other community rituals and work provided in service to our commitment to engaged spirituality include spiritual counseling, divination (tarot), amavasya (new moon) and purnima (full moon) celebrations, and personal healing through energy work. Take a look at our offerings, and join us in expanding Spirit in the world!
The SHARANYA community is proud of our temple space, and yet we are growing into a community that yearns for a private space large enough to accommodate us. To that end, we have launched a fundraising campaign in order to create a public Goddess temple in San Francisco that will celebrate Her in all Her guises, and especially in Her most powerful forms. It will be a space open to public and private use by and for the community and will be a center for interfaith dialogue that includes the Goddess community. All donations to the effort are tax-deductible. For more information, see our fundraising information.
Come visit us and check out our puja schedule and classes for more on our monthly Kali Pujas and upcoming opportunities to learn with us in circle. We look forward to seeing you soon! Click here for temple etiquette information in preparation for your visit to our temple's next Kali Puja.
If you are interested in more in-depth study, including apprenticeship training, initiation into the Sha'can tradition, and ordination as a Rashani (Priestess) or Rashana (Priest) in our temple, please see our tradition pages.
For more information on services provided by our Rashani (ordained temple clergy), please see our page of community services.
Our Sanctuary
Our sanctuary is our home temple where we contemplate Her mysteries. We gather regularly for active worship (puja), meditation, satsang, community building, rites of passage work, life-event ceremonies, lectures, and classes. Join us! In addition, for those seeking deeper work we also provide opportunities for study, initiation and ordination. Our regular wheel-of-the-year 