04th February 2014 is Vasant
Panchami birthday of Goddess “Saraswathi Devi”. Though
we hindus perform sarswathi pooja/Vidyarambham pooja on Navarathri days most
people will perform Vidyarambham pooja on Vasant Panchami also as it is
celbrated as saraswathi devi’s birthday. We pray to her to gain knowledge,
dispassion, devotion and prosperity. We also believe
that she bestows on us clarity of thought and nobility of ideas.
For Hindus, Goddess Saraswathi is the
Goddess of learning and we pray to her for
academic as well as spiritual
knowledge. Literally
Saraswathi means, “the flowing one”. In the Vedas she represents a river and
the deity presiding over it. Hence she is connected with fertility and
purification.
she is represented with four hands (representing four aspects of
human personality in learning: mind power, intellect, attentiveness and self
worth. Alternatively, these four arms also
represent the four Vedas, the primary sacred books for Hindus. The Vedas, in turn, represent the three forms of literature:
Poetry
— the Rigveda contains
hymns, representing poetry.
Prose
— Yajurveda contains
prose.
Music
— Samaveda represents
music.
The four hands also depict this thus—prose is
represented by the book in one hand, poetry by the garland of crystal, and
music by the veena.
Being
the consort of Brahma, the creator, she represents his power and intelligence,
without which organized creation is impossible.
The goddess Saraswati
is often depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white, often seated on a
white lotus, which symbolizes her wisdom, truth and purity that she founded in
the experience of the absolute truth. Knowledge is the antithesis of the darkness of
ignorance. Hence she is depicted wearing white dress and the white color symbolizes
purity and knowledge which denotes that she is the embodiment of pure
knowledge.
Lotus represents detachment(Vairagya).The water touches it but
cannot make it wet.Similarly, the spiritual mind endures all adversities with a
smile(sorrows around but not sorrowful). The lotus is a symbol of the
Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. Thus, she not only has the knowledge but also the
experience of the highest reality.
Two
mounts, the swan and the peacock are attributed to her. White swan stands for Vidya or spiritual illumination.swan is known for its peculiar capability of separating milk from the water. This is literally known as,
water-milk wisdom in Indian philosophy and signifies that people should have the ability to discern the good from
the bad.The peacock represents a colourful life and also represents arrogance and pride over its beauty.By having a peacock as her mount, the goddess teaches not to be concerned with external appearance and
to be wise regarding the eternal truth.It is to teach this great truth to us that
Mother Saraswati has chosen the two mounts, the swan and the peacock.
Being the goddess of
learning, that she is shown holding a book in her left hand reflect
knowledge and wisdom, which are the basis of the
sixty-four art forms. These art forms express the supremacy of the Indian
culture that can never become extinct or be destroyed. The akshamala in the right hand symbolizes all
spiritual sciences.
The veena she holds,
shows the need for cultivation of fine arts to show that higher feelings, sentiments
and emotions are necessary besides intellectual learning. This symbol conveys that
the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony
with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize
acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.
Some potraits depicts holding pen in her hand, which
represents the power to manifest truth through words, thus making the written
word immortal for ages to come.
SIGNIFICANCE OF VASANT PANCHAMI:-
Vasant Panchami is a festival full of religious,
seasonal and social significance and is celebrated by Hindus all over the world
especially by the people who are in arts and music. The most significant aspect of Vasant Panchami is that it is most auspicious
day to begin laying one’s foundations of
education – of how to read and write. Pre-school children are given their first
lesson in reading and writing on this day. It is also a great day to inaugurate
training institutes and new schools. The great Indian guru Pandit madan mohan
malviya laid the foundations of Kashi Hindu Vishwa Vidyalaya on Vasant Panchami.
Traditionally during this festival children are
taught to write their first words. This ritual of initiating education to
children is known as Akshar-Abhyasam or Vidya-Arambham which is one of the
famous rituals held during Vasant Panchami. Children are taught their first
words on this day (as an auspicious beginning to learning). Schools, colleges
etc., (places of learning) organize special worship of Saraswati. With Her
grace, the mute, it is believed, have been able to speak and people have been
blessed with the ability to write or compose poems. Musicians sing here and
many even choose to perform here first. Instrumentalists have puja performed
for their instruments here. Apart from art and culture, Goddess Saraswathi also
showers Her blessings for the education of children.
This festival is especially significant for
lovers of art and education. Goddess
Saraswathi presides over and protects every form of art. So, on this day,
consecrated to Saraswathi, the musical instruments in the house are cleansed,
placed on an altar and devotedly worshipped, these being the abode of this
Goddess.Devotees believe that worshipping of goddess
Saraswati will lead to spiritual enlightenment. It is generally said that there
is no comparison between a king and a learned person as the king is honored
only in his kingdom but a learned person is respected everywhere.
