Tripura Rahasya: The Secret of the Supreme Goddess

234 Pages·2003·0.85 MB·English

by  Sri Ramanananda

World Wisdom
The Library of Perennial Philosophy
The Library of Perennial Philosophy is dedicated to the exposition of the
timeless Truth underlying the diverse religions. This Truth, often referred to as
the Sophia Perennis—or Perennial Wisdom—finds its expression in the revealed
Scriptures as well as the writings of the great sages and the artistic creations of
the traditional worlds.
The Perennial Philosophy provides the intellectual principles capable of
explaining both the formal contradictions and the transcendent unity of the great
religions.
Ranging from the writings of the great sages of the past, to the perennialist
authors of our time, each series of our Library has a different focus. As a whole,
they express the inner unanimity, transforming radiance, and irreplaceable
values of the great spiritual traditions.
Tripura Rahasya: The Secret of the Supreme Goddess appears as one of our
selections in The Spiritual Classics series.
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 Umâ, Nepal, 9th-10th century.
Tripura Rahasya:
The Secret of the Supreme Goddess
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 Tripurârahasya. 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. Tripurasundarî (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
294.5’514—dc21
2002012898
2002012898
Printed on acid-free paper in Canada

For information address World Wisdom, Inc.
P.O. Box 2682, Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2682
www.worldwisdom.com
Preface to the 2002 Edition
The ancient Sanskrit text, the Tripura Rahasya: The Secret of the Supreme
Goddess, is a dialogue of instruction given to the seeker Parasurâma by his
newly found guru, Dattatreya. The warlike Parasurâma, 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 Saraswathi’s 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 Parasurâma.
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 Brother’s Keeper?, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
compared it to Plato’s 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 man’s 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 Rahasya, with its
many levels of symbolism and meaning, would perhaps be greatly illuminating
for the Western reader if that reader could see it through the eyes of our own
ancient sages such as Plato or Plotinus. An open and questing mind that is
receptive to symbolism in its many forms, and that welcomes the wisdom it
conveys, should find itself transported through the text into the ancient soul of
India where men viewed the question of spiritual liberation in this life as a
necessary and vital part of existence. This was a world of wandering
contemplatives and men who sought out direct spiritual guidance because they
had a profound need to know the Real. In the pages that follow, the reader will
encounter the wondrous tale of the soul itself, where the personification of Pure
Intelligence interacts with personifications of Ignorance, Delusion, Mind, Desire,
Passion, Greed and all the various aspects of human nature. The story unfolds
through the medium of tales which delight and amuse, but they also open the
door to the cave of wisdom and invite entry to all, regardless of specific religious
affiliation.
For whatever reason they come to the Tripura Rahasya, readers who appreciate
the wisdom literature of the ancient worlds will discover in it that irresistible
combination of depth and simplicity which characterizes the best examples of
that literature.
World Wisdom
Bloomington, Indiana
March 2002