Saraswathi - Tripura Rahasya: the Secret of the Supreme Goddess

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Tripura Rahasya: The Secret of the Supreme Goddess appears as one of our selections in The Spiritual Classics series.

This series includes seminal, but often neglected, works of unique spiritual insight from leading religious authors of both the East and West. Ranging from books composed in ancient India to forgotten jewels of our time, these important classics feature new introductions which place them in the perennialist context.

Cover image: Statue of Trimurti, Elephanta cave, South India. Back cover statue: The Goddess Um, Nepal, 9th-10th century.

Translated by
Swami Sri Ramanananda Saraswathi
(Sri Munagala S. Venkataramaiah)

Tripura Rahasya: The Secret
of the Supreme Goddess

The text, Foreword to the 1959 Edition, Introduction,
Introductory Note, and Index published by arrangement
with V.S. Ramanan, President, Board of Trustees,
Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai 606 603.
All rights reserved.

Preface and Foreword to the 2002 Edition
2002 World Wisdom, Inc.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner without written permission,
except in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tripurrahasya. English.

Tripura rahasya : the secret of the supreme goddess / translated by Ramanananda Saraswathi.

p. cm. (Spiritual classics series) (The library of perennial philosophy)

ISBN 0-941532-49-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Tripurasundar (Hindu deity) I. Ramananda, Saraswati, Swami, 1867-1936. II. Title. III. Series: Spiritual classics (Bloomington, Ind.) IV. Series: Library of perennial philosophy.

BL1225.T73T7513 2002

294.5514dc21

2002012898

Printed on acid-free paper in Canada

www.worldwisdom.com

The ancient Sanskrit text, the Tripura Rahasya: The Secret ofthe Supreme Goddess, is a dialogue of instruction given to the seeker Parasurma by his newly found guru, Dattatreya. The warlike Parasurma, after having challenged and having been spared by the Man-God Rama, now seeks Truth and salvation. He explains to the sage Dattatreya that despite intensive efforts to understand spiritual instruction, Even now I understand nothing of the workings of the universe. Where does it rise from, in all its grandeur? Where does it end? How does it exist? I find it to be altogether transient.

Surely such questions will resonate in the souls of modern seekers as well. Thus, this edition of Swami Sri Ramanananda Saraswathis English translation of the ancient text is intended to make available to modern seekers and scholars alike a valuable resource in their respective pursuits. The chronicler of the dialogue, the Sage Harithayana, concludes the Tripura Rahasya by observing that obstruction to wisdom is destroyed by reading it, but this certainly presupposes both a readiness for spiritual instruction and a grounding in Hindu thought and practice, as would have been the case for the ancient seeker Parasurma.

Modern seekers in the West will find in the Tripura Rahasya ancient wisdom in the form of numerous parables, aphorisms, and direct instruction in the principles of Advaita Vedanta, which is perhaps the most accessible presentation of Hindu thought for the Western mind. To assist those readers who seek in the Tripura Rahasya immediate nourishment for the soul, a index has been added at the end of this edition, as well as some comments below that are intended to provide additional keys to a deeper understanding and appreciation of this profound text.

Students of Hinduism, and particularly of Advaita Vedanta, will be pleased to have a new English edition of the ancient text available to them at last. The Tripura Rahasya has long been treasured by great expounders of Advaita Vedanta, for example by the ancient sage Shankara, and it was a favorite of the more recent sage Sri Ramana Maharshi, who often quoted from it. Readers especially interested in the philosophies of India will find in this book a beautifully realized synthesis of Advaita Vedanta and Tantra, two of the most important schools of thought which arose in ancient India, and whose two great exponents were Shankara and Abhinavagupta, respectively.

Because of its great antiquity and continued application through the ages, it can be argued that the Tripura Rahasya is thus one of the greatest classics of Hindu spirituality. Alert readers may detect themes common to certain classics of ancient Western literature but often with deeper metaphysical dimensions. For example, in his book Am I My Brothers Keeper?, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy compared it to Platos Republic, inasmuch as it outlines an ideal city-state, though of a characteristically Indian utopia. This is the City of Resplendent Wisdom ruled by a philosopher king, understood in Hindu terminology as the man who is spiritually liberated in this life (jivan-mukta). More deeply understood, this philosopher king is the uncreated Self (atman), or pure Intelligence (chit). The citizens of this city, seen allegorically, have all been illuminated by the Supreme Goddess.

The Sanskrit word Tripura refers to the Supreme Goddess envisaged as a manifestation of the most profound wisdom of the Self. Rahasya means secret, referring in this case to the spiritual Reality which cannot be understood by reason alone or through the life of the senses. The subject matter of the book comprises a series of wise and charming stories told by the ancient sage Dattatreya, which ultimately concern the nature of mans relationship with the Real, under the guise of the Supreme Goddess Tripura. This perspective finds fascinating parallels in Western traditions concerning Sophia, or the divine Mother. It also echoes the mystical traditions of Kabala and Sufism which make references to the Shekinah, or Sakinah as the Divine Presence, or the essentially merciful nature of God. For the student of comparative religion, and most especially comparative mystical traditions, further study of these relationships between East and West could bear much fruit. Striking parallels may also be discerned between the intellectual content of this text and other Eastern and Western traditions of non-dualistic spirituality, such as Taoism and the Rhineland mysticism of Meister Eckhart.

The reading of an ancient and foreign text like the Tripura