Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 707: Shri Guhya rupini (ōṃ guhyarūpiṇyai namaḥ)

From Nama 684 to 741 the glories of the Divine Mother were discussed.

The Divine Mother has a secret form. She is hidden from a plain view and is not easily understood. (A devotee has to be properly initiated by a Guru to begin understanding Her.)

What is not understood by normal or common sense is called Guhya. One example, when water is in steam form, it in Guhya form. The sea on its surface has constant waves, yet the bottom of the sea is calm and stable, which is in non-understandable, guhya form. The Divine Mother’s form is like that guhya form. For people without all the wisdom, She is in guhya form; what is seen outside is a very small fraction of the Divine Mother, yet Her full form is hidden as Guhya, which cannot be visualized; She is Guhya Rupini.

As we have seen, Guhya means hidden, which is a secret not easily understood by humans. Without Guru’s guidance, we cannot understand the Divine Mother’s hidden form. Even though the sastras give good details on the Divine Mother’s form, without wisdom, one cannot get to understand Her. So, She is in Guhya form. Those sages, who understood the guhya form do not want to inform others about it. So, they are also Guhya, like the Divine Mother.

In describing the Divine Mother as the Mother of Guha (Subrahmanya or Muruga), it may seem though we are accepting concepts rooted in duality. The present Nama helps to establish that even though such descriptions are followed by us, common sense and worldly approach tells us that duality is not the result of an analysis of truth. Ultimately, one non-duality survives. And that is in turn the most secret or not easily perceived. That is why the Divine Mother is described as having a secret or hidden form.

Suta Samhita makes it clear: we worship the Divine Mother who has assumed the form of the Guru, who has the form of secret knowledge and who is beloved of Her secret devotees and who resides in the secret place’.

The Divine Mother, who is perceived by external sense has the form of the material universe; She who is known only by the inner form of wisdom, jnana. The Divine Mother is ‘Guhya Rupini’ because She is in her nature of wisdom. ‘Among all the Upanisads, the Divine Mother is the Guhyoupanisad’, according to Kurma Purana.

(In Tantric worship, Ghuya means the female reproductive organ. In Tantric, worship the female organ is worships as symbol of fertility.)

 

The Divine Mother is in secret or Guhya form.

 

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 01 January 2022; updated 02 March 2025

References:

1.      The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.      Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.       The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar