New Books in Indian Religions · Marshall Poe

Ruth Perini, "Varaha Upanishad: The Path to Supreme Knowledge" (2025)

·30 min·2 clips

Discover how the ancient word 'Upanishad' reveals a method for sitting near a master to uncover your permanent true self.

This episode of New Books in Indian Religions features an interview with translator and scholar Ruth Perini about her 2025 translation of the "Varaha Upanishad." Host Marshall Poe engages Perini on her journey into Sanskrit and the specifics of this late medieval text. Perini explains she began studying Sanskrit at the Australian National University after encouragement from friends of teacher McComas Taylor. Her translation work started when a yoga acharya in Sydney asked her to translate 21 Yoga Upanishads, beginning with the Yoga Tattva and Yoga Darsana. The Varaha Upanishad, named for Vishnu's boar incarnation who defeated the demon Hiranyaksa, was composed between the 13th and 16th centuries. Perini describes the text as a significant integration of Vedanta philosophy and tantric practices, previously considered incompatible. It focuses on esoteric yogic practices for manipulating hidden forces within the subtle body, including chakras, koshas, prana, and kundalini. The text outlines a dialogue where the sage Ribhu, a son of Brahma, humbly asks Vishnu to explain the supreme knowledge of Brahman. Vishnu's teaching starts with the material world, analyzing sensory organs, elements, and states of consciousness to point toward a pure consciousness beyond waking, dreaming, and sleeping. A memorable practical framework from the text involves the three gunas: tamas (dullness), rajas (activity), and sattva (purity). Perini shares how she uses this framework to self-reflect during interpersonal conflicts, assessing whether her actions or reactions stem from a desire to win, compete, or seek wisdom. The text's goal is to guide one toward becoming a Jivan Mukta, a being liberated while still living and acting in the world. Perini's translation process involves transcribing Sanskrit by hand, consulting existing translations, and allowing meanings to simmer subconsciously, sometimes leading to insights in the middle of the night. She highlights the text's emphasis on direct experience and lists the yogas it synthesizes: mantra, hatha, laya, karma, bhakti, jnana, and raja. The episode has an educational and conversational tone, blending scholarly detail with personal anecdote. Listeners interested in Hindu philosophy, Sanskrit translation, yogic practices, or the synthesis of Vedanta and Tantra will find this episode deeply rewarding. Those seeking a purely narrative or casual discussion might find the detailed textual and linguistic analysis too specialized.

As heard by us

A careful translation discussion that treats Sanskrit as a philosophy of practice and interpretation.

This episode stays tightly focused on the work of translation, where choosing one word over another carries real weight. It treats translation as interpretation rather than a mechanical swap, and that framing gives the discussion its larger philosophical edge.

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Hear how translation becomes a philosophical act.

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