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Acknowledgments I wish to express heartfelt gratitude to Sri Swami Chidvilasananda Gurumayi, for it was she who first suggested that my increasingly unresolved questions about the enigmatic goddess Lak∑m¥ might be turned into a book. The challenge to unfold even a small portion of the goddess’s mystery could not have been undertaken without great support on many levels, seen and unseen. I am extremely grateful to Nancy Ellegate, senior acquisitions editor at the State University of New York Press, both for her creative sensibility and her steadfast support of this project from seed of thought to fruition. Many thanks also to Laurie Searl, senior production editor at SUNY Press, for her excellent guidance throughout the production process. I gratefully acknowledge Eckerd College, the Sheva Arts Foundation, and the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute for their generous financial support in the form of research grants during the two sabbaticals that were required for the completion of this book. My sincere gratitude goes to the individuals in each of these institutions for believing in this project so wholeheartedly, most especially to Dean Lloyd Chapin at Eckerd, Janice Burney of Sheva Arts, and Hema Patankar of Muktabodha, who has lovingly held this project close to her heart from the beginning. I would also like to acknowledge the Rubin Museum of Art for granting permission to use the image of Siddhalakshmi, with special thanks to Helen Abbott for her gracious facilitation of the process. Many colleagues have contributed to my ideas and evaluated numerous drafts of my translations and their interpretations as this book has taken shape. I am grateful for the Works in Progress sessions at the conferences of the Society for Tantric Studies, most especially to the generous collegiality of Loriliai Biernacki, Marcy Braverman, Douglas Brooks, Glen Hayes, Jeffrey Lidke, William K. Mahony, xi June McDaniel, Paul Muller-Ortega, Charles Orzech, Bruce Sullivan, Sthaneshwar Timalsina, and David Gordon White. I am grateful for the opportunities to have presented lectures and workshops at Sri Muktananda Ashram during the early phases of this book’s development ; feedback from workshop coordinators as well as participants has been particularly helpful in making connections between theory and practice. Many other friends and colleagues have contributed to this project as it has developed over the years. For reiterating the value of a book on the goddess Lak∑m¥, as well for sharing their scholarly wisdom, inspirational conversations, and practical advice, I wish to thank Elisabeth Benard, Edwin Bryant, Carol P. Christ, Saraswati Clere, Thomas B. Coburn, Paula Christine, Barbara D’Angelis, Janet Dobrovolny, Laura Duggan, Mark S. G. Dyczkowski, George Franklin, John Friend, John Grimes, Rick Jarow, Angana Jhaveri, Sally Kempton , Valerie Leeds, Peggy Lipton, Rachel Fell McDermott, Patricia Monaghan, Beverly Moon, Vasudha Narayanan, Suze Orman, Tracy Pintchman, Carlos Pomeda, Diane Rhodes, Sujata Ringawa, Steven J. Rosen, Deepak Sarma, Graham Schweig, Miranda Shaw, Rita DasGupta Sherma, Frederick M. Smith, H. Daniel Smith, and Demetri Tashie. At Eckerd College, I extend warm thanks for the congenial support of Victoria Baker, Jewel Spears Brooker, David Bryant, Julienne Empric, Davina Lopez, Carolyn Johnston, Jared Stark, and Robert Wigton. At Hunter College of the City University of New York, I gratefully acknowledge Barbara C. Sproul, Director of the Program in Religion, for her foresight and generosity, as well as fellow linguists Vishwa Adluri and Alice Hunsberger for delightful explorations of ancient phraseology. Thanks also to my many students whose astute questions and comments have contributed to a richer understanding of the goddess. I am deeply grateful to Stephen C. Robinson, founder and director of the Holistic Studies Institute of New York, for creating new avenues to explore the ideas in this book, as well as for his wise counsel and continuous encouragement. Many thanks as well go to my amazingly gifted friends at H.S.I. for generously sharing their insights as this project has progressed. Countless others who have contributed their thoughts, insights, and inspiration remain unnamed. I am grateful to all, though of course any oversights or inaccuracies in this book are entirely my own. Constantina Rhodes New York City xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...

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