<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-66" title="SHARANYA's Yoni Puja" alt="6th Annual Yoni Puja (2012)" src="http://sharanya.org/mandala/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/021.jpg" width="250" height="282" />

There was nothing that could have prepared us for the way in which Maa manifested on Sunday night for SHARANYA's 6th Annual Yoni Puja. Devotees gathered in San Francisco from near and far for the celebration that joins us with tens of thousands of devotees as the time of Goddess' menstruation and Ambubachi Mela approaches at the shrine of Maa Kamakhya in Assam, India.

Our temple full, invocations were chanted and songs to the Divine Mother sung as drum beats proclaimed our sincerity and heart's yearning. Many had never uttered her names, but tonight, we filled ourselves with love and honored She Who Resides on the Blue Mountain as Universal Mother. At the same time, we did the essential work of looking within to initiate a more personal process, one of connecting to the vibrations and essences of Truth and Beauty that She embodies as each part of creation.

After our meditation and deeper dive into the internal landscape, we surfaced to reflect in Her holy waters, cleanse, make offerings and let our intentions be known. Maa was there as Her praises rippled in tones and through movements around community. We approached with care, deliberately and with humility, anointing Her and accepting blessings.  Red and pink flowers encircling her murti, devotees sipped of Her nectar and bowed low in respectful obeisance.

Our time for individual prayers and darshan done, the air filled with the beat of the drum once more, and with bells ringing in celebration, we sang, danced and shouted with joy for the presence felt, surrender achieved, and all the moments filled with meaning yet to be revealed.

Jai Maa Kamakhya ki Jai!

<a title="Pilgrimage to Kamakhya" href="http://sharanya.org/events/pilgrimage/">Read</a> about one of our past pilgrimages to India during Ambubachi Mela to learn more about the Goddess.