The Hindu Goddess Saraswati
May Goddess Saraswati,
who is fair like the jasmine-colored moon,
and whose pure white garland is like frosty dew drops;
who is adorned in radiant white attire,
on whose beautiful arm rests the veena,
and whose throne is a white lotus;
who is surrounded and respected by the Gods, protect me.
May you fully remove my lethargy, sluggishness, and ignorance."
~ Hymn to the Goddess Saraswati
As the Hindu Goddess of knowledge, learning, and the creative arts, the Goddess Saraswati empowers the mind and all processes related to it. She is speech, understanding, insight, research, wisdom, music, education - the Shakti of all that enhances, elevates, and enables the mind. Her power extends through the spoken word and all subtle speech. Her influence reachs the highest spiritual realms and grounds into the practical and includes the power of discernment. Saraswati is the Shakti, creative power, of Brahma, the creator of the universe.
Her name means "the one who gives the essence (Sara) of our own selves (Swa)" and also "the flowing one".
Saraswati is frequently depicted with four arms, a carved stringed instrument called a veena (an Indian lute), a book, and a mala or rosary. She is surrounded by swans and a peacock. The sari that She wears is usually white as is the lotus that She sits upon to remind us of Her purity.
Shakti Goddesses with four arms usually represent the influence within the practical, physical world and also within the spiritual world. Saraswati's four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. In Her rear hand (above), She holds the mala or rosary. The mala symbolizes Saraswati's connection with mantra, focus, meditation, and the idea that the love and devotion of mantra can unite us with Goddess/God. The book is the representation of the Ancient Vedas, the earliest Indian scriptures.
Swans are sacred animals and symbolize the discernment of Saraswati as well as spiritual transcendence. They are able to separate the milk of wisdom from the water of material existence. The peacock is also considered Her "mount" and sometimes She is shown riding on the swan.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the Creator, and the Word was the absolute" Rig Veda
Saraswati is frequently mentioned in the Rig Veda, the earliest scriptures of Hinduism, that date back thousands of years. The Vedas contain hymns, stories, poems, and texts that were initially orally translated to the Sages. Saraswati is sometimes called the "Mother of the Vedas" and She is referred to as Vac - the Word. We remember as well the power of Saraswati here because of the oral history of the Vedas.
Throughout the texts, Saraswati is referred to as a river Goddess and called "the great Goddess stream". While the "Saraswati River" does not exist today, an ancient riverbed was identified in the 1800's by archaeologists that flowed from the Himalayas to the West to the sea and it matches the description in the Vedas of Her river. Here is a great article about the Saraswati River.
Her nourishing river is said to have sprung up to save the world. Shiva opened his third eye to destroy the world by fire and Saraswati transformed Herself into the sacred river that carried the fire from the Heavens (the Himalayas) to the sea.
In reading Sally Kempton's chapter in Awakening Shakti on Saraswati, I have been deeply impacted by what Sally calls "the Saraswati Woman". She describes the divorce of Brahma and Saraswati. Brahma is irritated by Saraswati's continued distraction to carrying our Her traditional role as wife. She is deeply immersed in Her studies, meditation, and creative pursuits to the detriment of Her marriage. When She is supposed to come to a religious ritual with Brahma and again forgets to show up, he is furious and divorces Her. And since then, She has been alone.
Here is the interesting part ....
"As an archetype of the feminine, Saraswati is the solitary woman, the scholar at her desk, the yogini or the nun who gives up conventional life for something subtler, more pure. She's Jane Austen, writing her novels in the drawing room. She's the lonely women scientist married to her lab, the dedicated violinist, the artist in her studio, Dian Fossey choosing her Rwandan gorillas over her Australian lover."
Sally Kempton goes on to delineate how the "Saraswati Woman" may choose to remain unpartnered in order to dedicate her life more seriously to her writing, her practice, her creative and spiritual pursuits. I fell more in love with Saraswati when I was reading that because it affirms my own decision to be unpartnered (happily) in dedication to my own creative life and dedication as a Priestess.
As we speak truth, as we intuit, as we seek knowledge and wisdom, we are invoking Saraswati. She leads us in our studies, our communication both in the day-to-say world and in the spiritual realms. With Her, we have all beginnings.
Goddess Blessings, Kimberly
BIJA MANTRA
The bija mantras are also called the Shakti Mantras and are used to align with individual Shakti energies. The seed sound for Saraswati represents the energy of sound.
AIM (pronounced aym or i'm)
As OM is the force of the universe, AIM provides the form of the universe and is considered to be the feminine counterpart to OM. AIM represents Adya Shakti, the Cosmic Mother and is specifically the seed sound for the Goddess Saraswati.
Saraswati is the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Sacred Speech. Use this mantra to facilitate artistic urges, creative manifestation, communication, learning, research, wisdom practices, study, and education.
Aim is also the mantra of the guru and helps us access all higher knowledge. It can be used to call or to invoke wisdom and understanding. It indicates motivation, direction and will-power. It can orient us toward whatever we are seeking. It increases concentration of mind and awakens our higher intelligence (Buddhi). Relative to other mantras, Aim is often used to direct our awareness or intention to the deity, to function as our call to draw in the higher knowledge so the mantra can work.
In terms of Ayurveda, Aim strengthens the voice and the vocal chords. It helps open the lungs and clear the senses. Astrologically, Aim connects to the planet Mercury and to some extent the Moon, both planets that govern speech and expression.
Dr. David Frawley, Mantra Yoga & Primal Sound
Books:
Awakening Shakti – the Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga by Sally Kempton
Shakti Mantras – Tapping into the Great Goddess Energy Within by Thomas Ashley-Farrand
Shakti – Realm of the Divine Mother by Vanamali
Shakti Coloring Book by Ekabhumi Charles Ellik
