SARASWATI Excerpt from Devi Saraswati is the Goddess of wisdom, learning and speech. In mythology, Saraswati is both the daughter and the wife of Brahma. It is a symbolic relationship. Brahma is the cosmic creator and Saraswati is wisdom and understanding, which are born of the mind. The mind is the father and knowledge is the daughter as the mind is the creator of knowledge. The mind acts with knowledge because it has knowledge in itself. Being the symbol of knowledge, Saraswati is born of the cosmic mind and at the same time is working with the cosmic mind. The cosmic mind is working with Saraswati and is the creator of Saraswati. The mind is the connecting link between our personality and cosmic consciousness. The cosmic mind is to be approached through intuition and intellect. Saraswati is the symbol of intuitive intellect, which is born of the cosmic mind and at the same time is part of the cosmic mind. So Brahma is not the father or husband of Saraswati in the ordinary sense; he is the creator of Saraswati, but at the same time he is living and acting and manifesting with Saraswati. Brahma is the deity of swadisthana chakra, and his consort Saraswati can again be seen in the form of Rakini, the devi of swadisthana chakra. Saraswati brings art, music, dance, literature and culture into our lives. She is dressed in white, and holds a veena in one hand and a book in the other. The book denotes knowledge and learning. In India school children, from primary to university, repeat the Saraswati mantra in order to pass their examinations. There is a special day when Indian students make a statue or idol of Saraswati and carry it through the streets singing her name. If you were to ask them why they do this, they would say, “To get the best marks in the examination.” The vehicle of Saraswati is the swan because the swan has the characteristic of discernment. Saraswati is the goddess of learning, and through learning one is able to differentiate between what is right and wrong, proper and improper. Saraswati represents the quality of viveka, discrimination, discernment, analysis. Now what does the swan do? According to tradition, if you give the swan one kilo of milk mixed with water, it will drink only the milk and leave the water. So the ability to differentiate between essence and non-essence is the characteristic of Saraswati. According to the tradition, Saraswati sannyasins were assigned the duty of preserving knowledge so that it could be utilized by future generations. As sannyasins of the Saraswati tradition, it is our responsibility to understand and absorb as many of the different sciences, systems and branches of knowledge that exist in the world as we can. Truth is one, but it is called by many names. Therefore, it is important to realize the link between the different philosophies and systems of thought, and to express them according to the need of humanity. To say that this path is better and that one is not suitable is not the purpose or the tradition of the Saraswati order. Having an integrated approach towards development and achievement in life is the main purpose of the Saraswati tradition. Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati /from rikhiapeeth.net/ ; 2010/
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:01:47 +0000
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