Revisiting Śākta Advaita: The Monistic Śākta Philosophy in the Guhyopaniṣad

Śākti worship is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Autochthonous Śākta practices vary village to village, with differing rituals and theologies. It is therefore, not easy to identify a singular philosophy that binds all the practices and rituals together. Neither is the objective of this paper. While focusing on goddess Kālī, this chapter approaches Śākta philosophy in a different light, exploring how (1) the later mediaeval Śākta theology revisits its own past, (2) reads Upaniṣadic philosophy in the light of Śāktism, and (3) where the Āgamic Krama Tantrism and Upaniṣadic pantheism have been synthesized in the practice of Guhyakālī, thus articulating the new emerging paradigm through the fusion of the Smārta and Tantric traditions. Unique to this approach is (i) combining autochthonous rituals and (ii) integrating Tantric philosophies, as we can find in Krama and Mahārtha texts, while also (iii) infusing Upaniṣadic monism. This unique blend has the capacity to make the practices available to all the Smārta households in an attempt to mainstream the Śākta pantheon.