Express Yourself by Taniya
Om Vaakdeviyai cha Vidhmahe
Virinji Pathniyai cha Dheemahe
Thanno Vani Prachodayath.
Om, let me meditate on the goddess of speech
Oh wife of Lord Brahma, guide me towards a higher intellect
and let Goddess Vani illumine my mind.
Growing up in a Bengali household, I was familiar with most of the Hindu gods and goddesses from a young age. They were romantic beings that swept me away to lands with demons, fires, and animals who could fight and talk. Some intrigued me more than others- especially the dual forces known as Lakshmi, the goddess of plenty, and Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and art. They were both so alluring with what they offered my imagination. Lakshmi enchanted me with her beauty and the promise of riches. Saraswati intimidated me with her skills in the arts. Now, having been inspired to write about nada yoga, the yoga of sound, I asked myself to look at the lovely water goddess, the smart sister, who championed the rights of expression. I am now thoroughly beguiled by Devi Saraswati.
I was raised thinking (because of my Sanskrit Professor Grandfather’s dogged beliefs in the myths) that Saraswati was the eldest daughter of Parvati (manifestation of Durga) and Shiva. However, like so many of these mythologies there are multiple stories of her birth.
In another story, Brahma, the creator of the universe, found himself surrounded by chaos- cacophony and disorder and nothing solid surrounding him. How to bring about order? Ah Ha! Wisdom. Out from his mouth emerged Saraswati in her full form (a full bodied woman in white). Saraswati then used words and music to bring about order in the Universe. In yet another story, an even more ancient one from the Rigveda, she is thought to have emerged from the Saraswati river (hence her other name, Vagdevi-water goddess). In any case, her birth ensured her importance in the world as a symbol of purification and nourishment.
Saraswati wears only white to emphasize her austerity. She has four hands representing mind, intelligence, alertness, and the ego. She holds Vedic scriptures in one hand and a mala in the other. The other two hands are used to play the Veena, that emanates the sound of OM (eternity and love). She sits on a white lotus (goodness and purity) and has her ride of choice- a swan or two next to her- a symbol of the discernment between good and evil. A peacock is often depicted in her presence representing hubris. Since Saraswati is anything but arrogant, she chooses to not ride on the peacock but have it around to prove a point-learn and grow, but don’t let it get to your head. Like her mother, Durga, she is a fierce warrior who controls the world for order’s sake. One tale goes that Shiva was furious with the injustice he was seeing in the world. So he decided to destroy everything he could see with his third eye. Explosion and devastation lay everywhere until the goddess came around and stated that Shiva only destroyed what was impure and corrupt. She took folds of water and gathered up the agni (fire) that was shooting out of Shiva, took it to the bottom of the ocean and lay it there to lie dormant. It would only rise up, she said, if mankind were to become corrupt and ignorant. Hopefully, for us, the fire will stay asleep for a while…
In another tale, she brings back the stolen soma (nectar of life) plants from the Gandharvas, the celestial creatures who stole the soma plants from the Gods. In return, she teaches them ragas and raginis (musical notes that is the basis for Indian classical music). Hence music was her gift to turn these wayward creatures from bad to good. She forgave them using beauty. What a woman!
Saraswati is a paragon of independence and non-attachment. She is wise, well read, and needs no one. Although Brahma eventually wins her heart (it takes him a few tries to get there including losing a head-the one he created just to look at her all the time). Their union is one of understanding and professionalism instead of passion and romance. Saraswati only wants freedom to express herself and for others to have that sense of liberation or moksha. She doesn’t care for saris, gourmet cuisines, or 6000 square foot castles in the Himalayas. She is said to have written the Vedas, the ancient spiritual texts, encouraged the creation of music, and saved the world from evil and misunderstanding with her mind. We all have ego, as Saraswati admits, but we don’t have to lie victim to it. We can also forgive and heal others with what we say and create. The words we choose to speak can bring about peace. The music we choose to write and perform can transpire joy and love.
Saraswati doesn’t look down on wealth and success. She just stands for intellectual growth–there’s nothing wrong with helping to better our wealth. She is a symbol of the affluence of knowledge. We can learn more, study histories and languages, write books, sing songs and find freedom with these modes of expression. For her, repression and hatred are the evils. Music and poetry are manifestations of the divine within us.
Now having some life experience in the background, I can fully start to appreciate the glory of this Goddess. The examination of these deities can be complicated. None of them are superficial. None of them are easy to define (although I just attempted to do it with one in a short space) and no one really has the story correct. All we can do as spiritual followers is learn and grow from what we read. Saraswati’s message- we don’t have to be austere and abandon pleasure. But we do have to be aware of excess and do the things that make us grow into more learned and fuller human beings. Finally, we can ask the question: what and how can we contribute to the world for its betterment?
Om Aim Saraswatiya Namaha
