SHARANYA is a small and growing community-supported organization, run fully by devotee volunteers. All of our work in the world, from pujas and meditation circles, to project work in India, is carried out from a place of love and desire for engagement with Maa and Her creation through <i>seva</i> or spiritual service.<br><br>

We welcome new community participation in all of our endeavors. As a spiritual seeker, you are invited to attend our public services and to learn about the Sha'can tradition by sitting in circle and volunteering. If you wish to participate but are located far from our home, we invite you to enroll in <a title="Kali Vidya" href="http://sharanya.org/resources/kali-vidya/">Kali Vidya</a>, our online mystery school.<br><br>

Help deepen and expand our offerings as well as your own personal commitment to the Divine and spiritual community as you feel called. There are always opportunities to join us, and we welcome your participation and inspiration!<br><br>

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[toggle type="gray" title="What we do" active=""]We function on multiple levels to serve the overall mission and vision of the organization by:
<ul>
	<li>Offering worship services and helping to fulfill the spiritual needs of community</li>
	<li>Co-creating the Sha'can tradition as a spiritual evolution of Eastern and Western thought, the(a)ology, lived experience, and devotion</li>
	<li>Making the Divine Feminine/Divine Female in all Her guises, but particularly those of South Asian lineage honored by the Shakta Tantric path, accessible to Westerners</li>
	<li>Educating about South Asian culture and religion</li>
	<li>Offering rites of passage and life event ceremonies</li>
	<li>Facilitating transformation for girls and women in order to promote self-esteem and empowerment</li>
	<li>Providing spiritual pilgrimage opportunities</li>
	<li>Engaging in interfaith dialogue and promoting cross-cultural awareness</li>
</ul>
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[toggle type="gray" title="Volunteer" active=""]Visit our VolunteerMatch page to learn about current volunteer needs in support of the organization.
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.volunteermatch.org/results/org_detail.jsp?orgid=16615" target="other">
<img alt="[VolunteerMatch - Where Volunteering Begins.]" src="http://www.volunteermatch.org/images/2.0/new_logo.gif" width="207" height="102" border="0" /></a></p>
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[toggle type="gray" title="Services" active=""]

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<ol>Weddings, Handfasting &amp; Commitment Ceremonies</ol>
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<ol>Renewal of Vows</ol>
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<ol>Spiritual Guidance</ol>
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<ol>Birth Rituals &amp; Blessingways</ol>
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<ol>Coming of Age, Puberty Rites &amp; Menarche Rituals</ol>
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<ol>Croning &amp; Menopause Rituals</ol>
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<ol>Crossing Over, Burial Rites &amp; Funerals</ol>
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[toggle type="gray" title="Advisors" active=""]SHARANYA is supported by a Council and Board made up of adepts, devotees and academics from the US and India. We are grateful for their partnership and support.
<ul>
	<li>[tooltip tip="Rashbehari is a temple Panda, or approved facilitator, at Kalighat Mandir in Kolkata, West Bengal. In addition to guiding SHARANYA pilgrims at this famous Shakta Pitha (the sacred site where Maa Kali's big toe is said to have fallen to Earth) for over ten years, Rashbehari is a child of Maa, offering her bhajans (songs) and playing tunes to delight Her on his harmonium. Rashbehari's love of the Divine Mother is deep and infuses all he does. His graciousness, hospitality, delight in the Mystery, and care for those who seek to know Her is profound and has resulted in a long and deep friendship with the organization. He has also been instrumental in our discovery of the delight of Shyama Krishna, the Black Krishna, as found at Kalighat. <I>Hai Krishna Karuna Sindhu Dino Bhuntu Jagamapate Gopesha Gopeka Kanta Sri Radha Kanta Namo-stute!</I>"]Rashbehari Das[/tooltip]</li>
	<li>[tooltip tip="Shyam is the Founder and President, and residing Priest of the Maa Batakali Temple in Puri, Orissa (India). He has spent his life dedicated to the goddess Kali, and also organizes for social change in his hometown under the auspices of the Maa Batakali Cultural Mission-Puri. In conjunction with Chandra, who serves as the Chairman of the Puri Branch, Shyam has developed a Constitution that provides guidance for programs of transformation in a multiplicity of arenas."]Shyam Sundar Dash[/tooltip]</li>
	<li>[tooltip tip="Based in Kolkata (Calcutta), Milan is a Development Consultant and a researcher providing services to NGO/PVOs, research institutes, government bodies, universities, and donor agencies. He focuses on training, research, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, documentation, planning and budgeting. Further, he is a certified National Trainer and Researcher on HIV/AIDS, with qualifications as an abstract reviewer of different national and international conferences. Milan frequently presents papers at conferences worldwide on different issues of development, such as: the World Bank, sociology, demography, sustainable development and agriculture, women in development, children, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS."]Milan K. Dinda, Ph.D.[/tooltip]</li>
	<li>Ravi Jain, MPH</li>
	<li>[tooltip tip="Elena is a Hindu pujari, Christian minister, and Wiccan clergy. She founded the Circle of the Feminine Divine in Stockton, California, a worship and study group devoted to exploring the meaning of the 'Motherhood of God' and its implications for understanding the world's religions. She served for two years as President of the Interfaith Council of San Joaquin in Stockton, and is a guest lecturer at the University of the Pacific. Her first book, <I>Combating Inner Terrorism: Strategies of the Goddess from the Devi Mahatmyam</I>, is now available everywhere."]Elena Kelly[/tooltip]</li>
	<li>Jeffrey J. Kripal, Ph.D.</li>
	<li>[tooltip tip="Murray has been a regular Puja attendee since 2007 and has since become a valued volunteer supporting SHARANYA behind the scenes.  He provides logistical support as well as photography at nearly all of the organization's public activities.  A computer software engineer by trade, he has been donating his skills and resources to support SHARANYA's online presence, most recently focused on enabling the online school, <i>Kali Vidya</i>."]Murray Kucherawy[/tooltip]</li>
	<li>Nancy Leatzow</li>
	<li>William Moulton</li>
	<li>[tooltip tip="Initiated by her parents into Shakta Tantra and the mysteries of Tara Mata, Chitrika has been a dedicated practitioner of the faith from her youth and a beloved child of Maa for as long as she can remember. Today, she leads homa (fire ceremony) rites, puja, and Tantric ritual for community regularly in Kolkata and Tarapith, West Bengal. A jotish (astrologer), she also brings this ancient wisdom to bear on her work with those she advises in the ways of the Divine Mother. <em>Joi Tara!</em>"]Chitrika Nyayaratna, M.A.[/tooltip]</li>
	<li>James Ryan, Ph.D.</li>
	<li>Stuart Sovatsky, Ph.D.</li>
</ul>
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Review the rest of our website for information on our offerings and initiatives. <a title="Contact Us" href="http://sharanya.org/contact-us/">Contact us</a> if we may provide additional information about ways to participate in the SHARANYA community.