Today is the feast of Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, and it is appropriate that I dwell on what I consider is true wisdom, as a way of paying my humble tribute to this wonderful (and beautiful) Goddess. One way how I could pay her my respect is to fall back on the popular Saraswati Vandana, which some states had made it obligatory to be recited in all schools. Looking at the lyrics of the Vandana, one would feel that there is nothing which is averse to a person of other faith, except that it is addressed to a Hindu goddess. One may find it hard to understand the Sanskrit slokas of the Vandana, as is presented in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-5PhbqgJY0&feature=player_embedded.
I liked the words of the lyrics, which describe the goddess in a pictorial way, and at the end seeking her protection. Here are the lyrics: "Oh Goddess Sarasvati, who is fair as a jasmine flower, the moon or a snow flake, who is dressed in white and whose hands are adorned by veena, who is seated in a white lotus, to whom Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara pray, please protect us." If four names are replaced by some other equivalents, this can go as a beautiful prayer, and I would love to make it part of my prayer each day; it can as well become the prayer of every person who believes in the true wisdom which flows from God.
How would I make my own adaptation of this prayer addressed to the Goddess of Wisdom and knowledge? "O God of wisdom, who is fair... to whom all angels and saints pray, please protect us!" The different images that are used to describe her, jasmine flower, moon or a snow flake, dressed in white, veena, lotus, all represent different aspects of true wisdom that flow from her (have we not heard about God as a feminine, even in Christian tradition? Julian of Norwich, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, have referred to God as a female figure!).
Jasmine flower is representative of the fragrance that is natural, and which can fill the atmosphere with a heavenly presence; snow and white naturally represent purity; veena of all human artistic talents and endeavors, lotus of soft and gentle flower, which even while living on water, yet is not overpowered by it! It may be hard for us to become like Saraswati, because as mortals, we may only share a tiny part of the divine wisdom that flows from her; part of the wisdom is granted to us at the time of our birth, and the other part is to be cultivated during our life-time here on earth. Only when we synchronize these two parts of wisdom, do we become like true images of this God of wisdom!
Wisdom also implies a humility on our part which reminds us constantly that we are merely a shadow of all true wisdom, which flows freely and gratuitously from God, and as we receive his wisdom, we have the responsibility to nurture and produce fruits which can benefit the world around us. Thus all true wisdom has a purpose, a social responsibility. If someone were to claim that his wisdom and knowledge is only for his personal satisfaction and contentment, then we may assume that what s/he has gained is not true wisdom, and that may be merely a pigment of his/her imagination. For a jasmine cannot contain its fragrance to itself, and a veena cannot contain the music within itself, and a lotus cannot contain the beauty to itself - they are all oriented to reach out to the other! That is where true wisdom may be found!
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