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The Goddess Saraswati
Saraswati is the
Goddess of leaming, knowledge, and wisdom. The
Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and
swa means "self." Thus Saraswati means
"the essence of the self.".
Saraswati is
represented in Hindu mythology as the divine
consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the
universe. Since knowledge is necessary for
creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power
of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped by all
persons interested in knowledge, especially
students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.
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In
Her popular images and pictures, Goddess Saraswati
is generally depicted with four arms (some
pictures may show only two arms), wearing a white
sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book
and a rosary in Her rear two hands, while the
front two hands are engaged in the playing of a
lute (veena). Her right leg is shown slightly
pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as
Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing
at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following
spiritual ideas:
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The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and
a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By
sitting on a lotus, Saraswati signifies that She
is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and
symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color
symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari
that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is
the embodiment of pure knowledge.
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The four amms denote Her omnipresence and
omnipotence. The two front amms indicate Her
activity in the physical world and the two back
arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world.
The four hands represent the four elements of the
inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented
by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by
the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness
(chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankara)
by the rear right hand.
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The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities
of the heart and the right side symbolizes
activities of the mind and intellect. A book in
the rear left hand signifies that knowledge
acquired must be used with love and kindness to
promote prosperity of mankind.
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The rosary signifies concentration, meditation,
and contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union
with God. A rosary in the rear right hand
representing ego conveys that true knowledge
acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and
results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from
the bondage to the physical world.
*
The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument
that is held in Her front hands, which denote mind
and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker
must tune his mind and intellect in order to live
in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious
living enables the individual to utilize acquired
knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.
*
Two swans are depicted on the left side of the
Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak
that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a
mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore,
symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the
ability to discriminate between right and wrong or
good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as Her
carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and
apply knowledge with discrimination for the good
of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can
destroy the world.
* A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is
anxiously waiting to serve as Her vehicle. A
peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its
moods can be influenced by the changes in the
weather. Saraswati is using a swan as a vehicle
and not the peacock. This signifies that one
should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness
in order to acquire true knowledge.
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