Saraswathi

Wisdom Teachings
Sublime Beings
Book: Saraswathi - The Word

From a spiritual viewpoint every principle in creation is regarded as an intelligence and also understood as a deity. The ancient Vedic seers realised that there is a constant flow of energy emerging out of pure existence, the background of all created things, which they described as the Divine Word. They also called it Saraswathi, the Goddess of the Word. Saraswathi literally means the flow. When the source of the Word is understood as God, the springing forth is an expression of God and therefore continuously with God. The Bible also says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

When we speak, we play the role of the Creator. Ideas keep on coming from out of our subjectivity and as words they go out in various directions. Thus the same happens in the micro-cosmos as in the macro-cosmos.

In the Vedic symbolism it says that Saraswathi emerged from Brahma, the Creator, and immediately flew out into the vastness. When Brahma saw her beauty, he was so in love with her that he ran after her and made her pregnant. United as husband and wife, they brought forth the creation into objectivity. The mystery of creation is explained in a similar way in the Old Testament: Eve was taken out of the breast of Adam (wrongly translated as a rib) and humanity then came out of Adam and Eve.

It says that Saraswathi emerges through the four faces of Brahma. This is a pictorial explanation of the four dimensions of the Word. Three states of its emanation are hidden in subjectivity; the fourth state appears as objectivity. Only one fourth of the creation is visible, three fourth are in the invisible realm.

The manifest universe corresponds to the vocal utterance of a sentence and is called Vaikhari in Sanskrit.

Before we speak, the sentence is formed in the mind. It is called Madhyama and corresponds to the mental form of the universe in the mind of the Creator.

But even before the sentence is conceived in mind, the whole idea exists beyond speech in our subconscious and semi-conscious mind. This is called Pasyanthi, the state of the word which is with God. It is no longer dormant or static but it has emerged and is dynamic. This can also be compared to the emergence of the Light from darkness.

The state preceding to Pasyanthi is Para, ‘beyond’. Para is the state of pure Existence without an observer which cannot be described; it is the eternity from which the Word emerges as awareness.

The flow of the Word comes from the latent into the potential state. From there it goes to the level of grouping and then to utterance. The second state is also compared with the conception and the third state with the growth of pregnancy, until finally with birth the body comes forth into the objective world. If we understand the flow of the four stages of the Word and meditate on it we can understand a bit of Saraswathi.

Saraswathi is connected with the oceanic consciousness which exists in our head centre. On the planet this highest point corresponds to the Lake Manasarovar near Mount Kailash. In ancient times there was the river Saraswathi flowing down from this lake. Along the banks of this holy river, which disappeared and which was considered purely mythological for a long time, great civilisations had developed. It is said to flow still today subterraneously through parts of the Kashmir Valley, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat and to come fourth again in the future. Recent research and satellite pictures suggest the existence of such a dried-up river.

There is also a place at the confluence of Ganges and Yamuna, where the Saraswathi River is said to join as an undercurrent. The present name of the place is Allahabad; earlier, it was called Prayaga. Lord Maitreya meditated there for a long time. The three currents also flow in us as Ida, the power of materialisation, Pingala, the current of spiritualisation ascending from the dense physical to the subtle, and Sushumna, the current which brings the two others into balance. It stands, in turn, for Saraswathi. The Sushumna runs through the central channel of the vertebral column, from the head to the base centre. The place of union is in the Ajna centre: When the energies meet, the Light shines forth.

Saraswathi, the Goddess of Wisdom, is represented in resplendent white, the colour of purity. The energy of Saraswathi is purifying. Meditating on the principle of Saraswathi purifies the mind. In the body we can visualise the seat of Saraswathi on the tip of the tongue, where the word emerges. From the tip of the tongue to the throat there are many cosmic intelligences enabling speech, which is only possible for the human being. For the intonation of holy sounds it is important to keep the mouth and particularly the tongue pure and not to maintain impure speech.

Saraswathi is represented with a Vina in her hands, a seven-stringed instrument. The Scriptures say that the goddess continues to play eternally and thus keeps the creational process in harmony. People who listen to the enchanting sound of this music would like to hear it eternally. The seven strings and the seven notes of the scale are associated with the seven centres and the seven planes of creation. It is an age-old practice to utter the sacred word OM seven times, linking up to the seven centres. The Word which dwells in the Sahasrara, has its Light aspect in the Ajna centre and brings forth the Anahata sound in the heart centre can thus express itself through the throat. A soft, flowing music also has a healing effect on the vital energies.

Saraswathi does not sit on a lotus but on a resplendent white swan. ‘Swan’ in Sanskrit means ‘hamsa’. It stands for the principle of pulsation, the centripetal and centrifugal movement of respiration and of life. Saraswathi on the swan shows that consciousness presides over the activity of creation. The swans keep on coming out of her as the movements of the life force and the thoughts. Hamsa also means ‘Aham Saha’, ‘I am THAT’. Each one of us is an emanation from out of THAT, the absolute God. The mantram ‘Hamsa Siva Soham’ helps us to keep this in our awareness.

Whereas Saraswathi is the principle of speech pouring forth into creation, Brihaspati, the cosmic principle of Jupiter, stands for listening. In the Scriptures, speaking is described as the female or negative pole and listening as the positive pole, these being no value criteria. Brihaspati enables us to listen to the impression from higher circles, and Saraswathi allows us to express it into the lower planes. When we listen to the silence and speak in accordance with it, we express the Plan. Thus, the Masters receive the impulses and the Divine intention manifests through them. Many of our thoughts, however, come from the personality and our actions create the corresponding effects which bind us.

Astrologically, Jupiter stands for the subjective sound and Mercury for speech and the outer sound. Mercury is therefore associated with Saraswathi. If in the chart Mercury is not well aspected it can be manipulative, dispute causing, overcritical, and judging. Jupiter helps to get the right impression so that Mercury can express it harmoniously. A well aspected Mercury utters good words and the speakers express their inner intentions in a magnetic language and with joy.

We love speaking because the Creator also was enchanted by it. Brahma, however, also lost himself sometimes and thus he was pulled out into the world by Saraswathi. The Kumaras and Prajapatis then laughed about him. We also get easily lost in our words and ask, “What did I actually want to say?” Sometimes there is no logic and no coherence in what we say but we keep on talking. With all talking we are sometimes kept from what we wanted to do really. Then speech is like an overflowing river causing damage.

The current is regulated by dams in order to control the flow so that it can be used for fertilizing the fields. Thus we too should regulate our speech well and speak with care. When we want to grow spiritually, it is important to use the power of Saraswathi properly and not to hurt or harm anybody.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: Saraswathi – The Word / notes from seminars. E. Krishnamacharya: Spiritual Astrology. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.