Devipuram's primary focus is the Sahasrakshi Meru Temple, a unique three-story structure built in the shape of a Sri Meru Yantra; i.e., three-dimensional projection of the sacred Hindu diagram known as Sri Chakra, which is central to Srividya upasana (an ancient and intricate form of Tantric Shakta worship).

The sanctum sanctorum of the Sahasrakshi Meru Temple is reached by circumambulating inward and upward, past more than 100 life-sized murthis of various shaktis or yoginis (deities expressing essential aspects of the Devi) who are, in Srividya cosmology, said to inhabit and energize the Sri Chakra.

Now a noted spiritual guru, better known as Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati (and generally addressed as "Guruji"), Sastry reports that his creation of Devipuram was based on several visions of the Divine Mother, which specified both the design and mission of the temple complex.

Each of the many murthis within the Sahasrakshi Meru Temple was individually sculpted to Sastry's specifications, physically manifesting his meditative visions of these deities.

According to Devipuram's official history: "In 1983, during Devi Yajna, Guruji was approached by the brothers of the Putrevu family with a request to build a temple for the Divine Mother.

"[3] The history continues: "Having acquired the land, Guruji was looking for divine guidance, a sign of approval to commence construction of the temple.

On the slopes of the hillock, he noticed a formation [i.e., a cleft rock forming a natural yoni] very similar to that of the Kamakhya Peetam in Assam.

Through the trust, Sastry – along with other staff and volunteers at Devipuram – has undertaken a number of developmental initiatives focused on non-formal education, empowerment of women and low-cost housing for the rural poor.

Low-cost, fire-retardant, geodesic dome-houses for pilgrims and other visitors have been erected at Devipuram, using appropriate technologies to demonstrate the viability of such designs in rural India.

[10] In 2013, at age 78, Sastry announced that, upon his departure or passing, "Devi's padukas [symbolic of the goddess] will be in charge of Devipuram, not any human being.

The participation of women in Devipuram is largely due to the weakening of India's caste and kin communities, which is a result of rapid urbanization.

This belief, spread by adherents of Devipuram, that the mother goddess is the preeminent deity within Hindu dogma inspires many women to realize their own autonomy.

Through learning about and worshiping Devi, women understand that they can create homes that are mother oriented and that they can be respected as leaders within their social unit.

Rapid urbanization in India strained, altered, and in some cases destroyed the social systems of individuals, especially as it broke apart multi-generational households.

Anomie comes into play when society, and the individuals within it, are in a state of transition from mechanical to organic solidarity, generally in response to a large scale social change like urbanization.

No longer attached to the higher aims of their kinship group, she finds herself in a state of lawlessness without any tools provided to resolve her anomie.

Thus, even more than providing a home for Devi and an idol through which Hindus can worship her, this yantra teaches that while there are many aspects of the divine, the gods are ultimately all one entity.

Both the set-up and performance of the ritual demand substantial time and effort, so that the Navavarana naturally creates a shared experience for members present.

By the unity it both represents and demands through its practice, it inherently promotes inclusion of others, female leadership and ownership of activity, and an element of teaching and serving one another.

Guruji altered the religious traditions already in place within Hinduism in order to follow the instructions given him by the Goddess, and in so doing he created a system within which women could become agents to act for themselves.