Oct 19, 2015
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji - day 7 Navaratri - Sri Saraswati Devi - October 19, 2015 - Mysore
It is our tradition to worship Mother Goddess in the form of Mother Saraswati on the seventh day of Navaratri. The presiding deity of Knowledge is addressed as
Saraswati. She should be envisioned as a two year old girl and offered worship. She dances on everyone’s tongue in the form of speech. Those who worship her are blessed with good oratory skills. She should be prayed to as follows: ‘O daughter-inlaw of Sri Lakshmi, please grant me the gift of speech.’
Mother Saraswati not only gives a knowledgeable perception of the world, but also grants the transcendental Knowledge of Truth. Her name, ‘Sarva Mohinee’ implies that all differentiations are merely an illusion and that only the undivided Truth exists as Reality. It is Mother Saraswati who inspires the realization of that unfragmented Truth. A mind that is deluded sees two things and considers them as separate from one another. Ignorance and delusion are responsible for such a false perception. The enlightened individual views the world differently. He does not see any differences. He sees everything as one and the same. Seeing the oneness in all is wisdom. It is Mother Saraswati who blesses this enlightened vision.
What is vision of unity or oneness? It is the vision of Paramatma, the Supreme Consciousness. Seeing that Supreme Consciousness as all-pervasive is true
Knowledge. Mother Saraswati is an Ocean of Knowledge. In Knowledge about her, and in the Knowledge that she grants, there will be no separate subjects. It is Knowledge that transcends fragmented knowledge about things.
‘ajnanenavritam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavaha’ says the Bhagavad Gita. Jnana gets covered under the veil of ignorance. That is why living beings succumb to
ignorance. Here Jnana means the vision of non-duality. Ignorance is seeing duality. Non-duality gets obscured by duality. That is why creatures are under delusion. It is only when one is able to differentiate between duality and non-duality and choose and obtain the vision of non-duality that all misfortunes will end.
Until that happens, this sorrow and the sequence of misfortunes will continue. Liberation is none other than the attainment of the experience of non-duality.
Those sinners who are deprived of the grace of Mother Saraswati will certainly be under the spell of ignorance, in the form of perception of duality.
Mother Saraswati is praised as Mohanasinee because concerning the Knowledge about Parabrahma, she destroys the delusion of duality and grants the Knowledge of non-duality. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that delusion is that which destroys the knowledge of non-duality.
One should not be under the false impression that among worldly things one should consider two separate things as being one and the same.
To those who remember and praise Mother who destroys delusion, addressing her as Mother Saraswati, she grants good education, excellent communication skills, and clarity of expression.
Yoga Vasishtha says: 'saranaat sarvadrishteenaam kathitaishaa saraswatee'
Everyone’s perception or awareness glows and flows through Mother Saraswati. The flow of Knowledge is itself the form of Saraswati.
Today among the Nava Durgas, Mother Goddess is praised as Kalaratri.
Kalaratri Devi has a ferocious form. Her form is pitch black like intense darkness. Her hair is let loose. It is not tied up. She has a brilliantly shining necklace around her neck. She has three eyes. They are immense like three Universes. They emanate brilliant rays like electric lighting. With her inhalations and exhalations raging flames emerge. She has a donkey as her vehicle. Her upper right hand shows the gesture of giving boons. The lower hand shows the gesture of granting protection. Her left upper hand holds a weapon with iron thorns. The lower left hand holds a sword. One of her feet is left dangling as she is seated on her vehicle. The foot that is dangling has an ankle chain consisting of iron thorns.
May Mother Kalaratri bestow her blessing on everyone and grant them all auspiciousness.
Sri Guru Datta
Courtesy: Avadhoota Dattapeetham