It is not always that the sufferings come/increase because the old karmas are burnt away. I have seen in my lifetime many cases of sadhakas being afflicted by various types of problems, including madness, after they started Srividya Upasana. One reverred elder (who is no more) who was a Srividya Upasaka told me that it is a very risky matter; he likened it to the state of an army jawan in the battlefield and told me that such Srividya Upasana which is essentially Tantric (not vaideeka) is supposed to be very secret and not intended to be given to anyone and everyone. Any small mistake in any aspect of observation of the rituals and more especially the "shuddhi" that is required, cannot be ensured by most people who are having office work or other jobs. He used to discourage even putting up Srichakra picture in the pooja room without all the required observances. The only thing he allowed was Rajarajeswari/Lalitha's picture and the recitation of Lalithambal Sobhanam (Tamil) by the women of the house and other ordinary sthothras.
He used to decry even the recitation of Lalitha Sahasranamam en masse or loudly and by females. Nowadays, however, all such stipulations have been thrown to the winds and many self-styled gurujis give Srividya upadesam to several people with the result that this Vidya which was reserved for the extremely few qualified people, has become very commonplace, so to say. Probably Shakti does not tolerate that.
As an example, the above-cited elder told me once that the "Bhagavathi Seva" which is very common in Kerala, is to be completed within some 'yaamam' of the night; after this time, the deity becomes "ugraroopini" and usually does not give beneficial results. He advised me to avoid attending such Bagavathisevas if the priest is in the habit of allowing the function to extend, say beyond, 8.30 P.M. due to the (then emerging) practice of several people singing before the Arathi is performed.
Thus one has to be very careful with Srividya Upasana and it should not be equated with the Bhakti sampradayam. That is my humble view. There are, of course, very many other ways of doing Bhakthi of Devi.
