Saraswati, anyone?

[DandelionDame]

I'll spare you the details (and there are many) of how I came to be extremely interested in the Hindu Goddess Saraswati, but suffice it to say, it's been a proverbial wild ride.

I'm wondering
1) Any experiences anyone has had with her (I can find plenty of by-the-book information on Google, but I'm interested in any personal experiences/encounters anyone may have had with her)

2) And I feel really stupid asking this, but what is the correct way to say her name? I've been thinking it's something like "Sah-rahs-VAH-ti" but I'd like to know for sure.

3) Anything else you'd care to add!

[Toby Stimpson]

Hey dear :D....on the pronunciation...there are several...Saar-ass-waatee...Saar-ass-vatee...sawaswati is also one i've heard, although I think the person just had a lisp lol. Other than that...have you looked into her legends form the Vedas/Puranas? Namaste

Tobias

[DandelionDame]

Hey darlin'! :wave: This afternoon is supposed to be rainy, so I'm thinking I'll settle in and read what I can find of her in the Vedas/Puranas (gotta love sacred-texts.com!); I've read small summaries here and there, but I'm sure going to the source will be more enlightening. Thank you so much for the pronunciation assistance!

Hey dear :D....on the pronunciation...there are several...Saar-ass-waatee...Saar-ass-vatee...sawaswati is also one i've heard, although I think the person just had a lisp lol. Other than that...have you looked into her legends form the Vedas/Puranas? Namaste

Tobias

[Ron]

Me! I've been interested in Her too. If anyone wants to share anything with me, please please do so! +kisses toes+ Otherwise... Tobias (Galadraal) will probably repromand me on msn for "revamping my religion every week" lol... muhahah

[DandelionDame]

Ron, I know what you mean about the revamping your religion - perhaps not every week ;) - but in the past week and a half I've somehow gone from being a hard polytheist continuing studies of the Irish deities to... er... not so much! Heh. And the Indian goddesses & gods seem to be getting louder and louder with each word I read about the Hindu philosophy, especially Saraswati. Quite unexpected, to say the least! How could you not be drawn to her? Wisdom and creativity - very good!

Today I took a little drive to an Indian imports store to see what I could find of this fascinating lady, and I found a beautiful framed picture of Saraswati! It looks kind of old and the frame's glass is cracked and will need to be replaced, but she's looking GORGEOUS! I'll try to remember to take a picture and post it here. Yay!

[Toby Stimpson]

This one I just found...it might not be the same as the one you found but hey, it's all good :D. One perk of having an image is they can be moved during ritual...while a Murti has to stay stationary or the God won't choose to inhabit it.

Sarasvati (http://www.ambaa.org/images/sarasvati.jpg)

Namaste

Tobias

P.S. As for Ron revamping his religion every week...i'm proud of him...hje's actually stuck to one belief system for more than a month now, koodos for Ron ;)

[DandelionDame]

Ooooh! Pretty! Thank you for sharing, Galadraal!

That's very good to know that murtis don't like to be moved but that it's ok for pictures; everything in my house gets moved around a lot.

Sadly, the lighting is pretty low in this picture, but you can kinda see what she looks like below. The colors are very vibrant and not subdued as they look here, but here she is...

[KissMeImIrish!]

:rollingla >>Revamping your religion!
Now I know exactly what I am-I'm a Pagan Revamper!
I'm guilty of the same thing, swinging from irish-indian-egyptian.
As for Saraswati, I'm not as knowledgeable on indian religion as others like Galadraal, but I do have some personal experience with Saraswati who I worked with for some time (and still do). If you want specifics (i have a few chants, etc.) then feel free to PM me, and I'd be happy to share (I'm at work right now and I don't have any of my info handy! sorry! :bangyourh )
blessings,
KMII

[DandelionDame]

KissMeI'mIrish, I think I will take you up on your kind offer! PM coming soon. :) Spiritually and mentally, this has been a heck of a week - 10 days (me: :awilly: ) and I'll gladly scoop up any words of wisdom I can get!

[Paracelsus]

She sits on my altar too ...
A bronze image that I brought on my last visit to India. One cool goddess.

[KissMeImIrish!]

Glad to be of some help, I'll be waiting for the message :)

[Mercedes]

Well, I'm not sure if one would call it an 'experience' or what, but I prayed to her before and during an important exam. I'm sure I messed up a few questions due to my own fault, but I think I did better than I would've had I not asked for help.

I've always said it 'Ser-uh-swa-tee' (for lack of better spelling).

[Agaliha]

I too, am interested in Saraswati-- for many reasons. I'd be happy to talk to anyone who is as well. :)

[Witchy Redhead]

Goddess Saraswati (Sarasvati) is the wife (consort) of Lord Brahma and possesses the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning; mind, intellect, alertness and ego.

She has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus (a symbol of true knowledge) in the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on the violin (veena).

She is dressed in white (sign of purity) and rides on a white goose (swan).

She represents the union of power and intelligence from which organized creation arises. Saraswati posseses all the learnings of the the Vedas, scriptures, dancing, musical power and poetry. She revealed language and writing to man. Her origin is the lost Vedic river Saraswati. This is the source of her profound connection to fluidity in any aspect (water, speech, thought...). She is wisdom, fortune, intelligence, nourishment, brilliance, contentment, splendour and devotion.

Hope this helps you!!

[Toby Stimpson]

One thing that Amethyst didnt mention was how important she is when it comes to spirituality. In the story of creation, it is Sarasvati that comes to the aid of the lustful Brahma...focusing his mind on the inner relaity rather than on the outer excesses. It is said that when Brahma created the universe, he was spilt into two beings...one male and one female. The male Brahma saw his daughter and was filled with so much lust he pursued her (I forget her name right now, Subramata?). He sprouted five heads originally to view her from every direction. When he went after her, she would change herself into an anuimal and try to run away, where Brahma would then change into the corresponding male....after the long chase the world was filled with every creature from this union. However, when his fifth head was cut of by Bhairava (Shiva) at the defiled sacrifice of Daksa, Brahma was sobered and took Sarasvati as his consort instead. Through her guidance, he attained an inner looking attitude...and became more enlightened from it. She thus also represents the focus of the spiritual mind over the bodily excesses. Namaste

Tobias

[Agaliha]

One thing that Amethyst didnt mention was how important she is when it comes to spirituality. In the story of creation, it is Sarasvati that comes to the aid of the lustful Brahma...focusing his mind on the inner relaity rather than on the outer excesses. It is said that when Brahma created the universe, he was spilt into two beings...one male and one female. The male Brahma saw his daughter and was filled with so much lust he pursued her (I forget her name right now, Subramata?). He sprouted five heads originally to view her from every direction. When he went after her, she would change herself into an anuimal and try to run away, where Brahma would then change into the corresponding male....after the long chase the world was filled with every creature from this union. However, when his fifth head was cut of by Bhairava (Shiva) at the defiled sacrifice of Daksa, Brahma was sobered and took Sarasvati as his consort instead. Through her guidance, he attained an inner looking attitude...and became more enlightened from it. She thus also represents the focus of the spiritual mind over the bodily excesses. Namaste

Tobias


I remember reading that in my sources, as well as tons of other infomation...I have pages and pages and pages of notes, lol