girl, with blue or greenish skin and three eyes,
wearing red clothing and accoutrements, seated
on a corpse. She has two or four hands. In one tale
she emerges from leftover food that Shiva, Parvati,
Vishnu, and Lakshmi have just eaten.
Another myth calls Matangi a sister of Shiva,
cursed by Parvati to be reborn in an untouchable
(Dalit) family, forced to survive on leftovers and
other polluted things. Matangi is also sometimes
associated with the giving of magical powers.
The final of the 10 Mahavidyas is Kamala. She
is identified with Lakshmi and carries Lakshmi’s
typical characteristics and iconography, except
that she is never shown in conjunction with her
husband, Vishnu.
Further reading: David Kinsley, Tantric Visions of the
Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas (Berkeley: Uni-
versity of California Press, 1997); Sarbeswar Satpathy,
Dasa Mahavidya and Tantra Sastra (Calcutta: Punthi
Pustak, 1992.)
Datta Yoga Center (est. 1986)
The Datta Yoga Center in West Sunbury, Penn-
sylvania, is a center of KRIYA YOGA practice and
teaching. It was founded in 1986 by Sri Ganapati
Sachchidananda Swami (b. May 26, 1942) as the
American branch of Avadhoota Datta Peetham
in Mysore, India (see AVADHUTA). The swami also
founded the Datta Temple and Hall of Trinity in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1997.
As a child, Sachchidananda was fond of the
religious life and became a devoted yoga practi-
tioner. As a young adult he became known as a
healer in his home village of Mekedati, Karnataka,
in southern India.
To his devotees, Sachchidananda is considered
an avadhuta, or liberated one, following in the tra-
dition of Lord DATTATREYA. His teachings empha-
size kriya yoga, which focuses on breath as a
means of turning attention toward one’s inner self
and the realization of God. The Datta Yoga Center
is a nonmembership organization. Centers serve
as temples for worship services and dissemination
of the avadhuta’s message of love, peace, freedom,
and service and provide a place where devotees
can develop spiritual values.
Music, in the form of bhajans (songs) and
instrumentals, many of which have been com-
posed by Sachchidananda, are a significant part
of worship services. He says, “Music is my reli-
gion, music is my language, music is my soul and
music is my expression.” Sachchidananda has
organized Music for Healing and Meditation con-
certs throughout the United States and Europe.
He is also an advocate of ayurvedic medicine (see
AYURVEDA) and the sponsor of a hospital for the
underprivileged in India.
The Datta Yoga Center publishes books by
Sachchidananda, a monthly newsletter called
Bhakti Mala, and CDs of Sachchidananda’s perfor-
mances of his musical compositions.Further reading: Swami Ganapati Sachchidananda,
Dattatreya the Absolute (Mysore: Sri Ganapathi Sach-
chidananda Ashram, 1984); ———, Sri Guru Gita
(Machilipatnam: Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Publica-
tions Trust, 1988).Davis, Roy Eugene (1931– ) founder of
Christian Spiritual Alliance
Roy Eugene Davis is an American teacher of
KRIYA YOGA. He is associated with the Christian
New Thought movement and teaches metaphysi-
cal Christianity along with Indian thought and
practice through lectures and a large publishing
program.
Born on March 9, 1931, in Leavittsburg,
Ohio, Roy Eugene Davis was raised on a farm.
He attended the Church of the United Brethren
as a child and early on became interested in yoga
through reading. In 1948, at age 18, while still
in school, he read the influential book Autobiog-
raphy of a Yogi by Paramahansa YOGANANDA and
inwardly accepted Yogananda as his GURU. He
began to take the mail-order yoga lessons offeredDavis, Roy Eugene 121 J