Sarasvathi puja question

[Guest guest]

I thank Sri Ananta Padmanabhan (Anand), Sri Anbil Ramaswamy,

and most of all Sri Sadagopan for their comments regarding

Sarasvati Devi. To clarify, the question is not whether

paramaikAntins should perform sarasvatI pUjA, which would be

a kAmyArtha rite. Rather, I was curious as to who "sarasvatI"

is and how we should think about her.

 

The following is simply my understanding of what Sri Rangapriya

svAmi said, _not_ verbatim quotations. I don't want to wrongly

attribute anything to him.

 

I gathered that in the Vedas, which svAmi quoted, "sarasvatI"

is referred to often. This has also been pointed out in

Sri Sadagopan's emails. If such a name is defined as being

the "veda mAtA", we can only think of sarasvatI as a form

of Lakshmi. It does not matter that other entities may be

known as sarasvatI -- these names derive from the ultimate

source, which is Lakshmi (who is an aspect of the Parabrahman).

This is much like "Siva" in the SvetASvatara upanishad can

only refer to the one Ultimate Reality, and not any other

limited creature.

 

With this in mind, and given the white vastram worn by

the goddess (most appropriate, as Hayavadana, on whose

lap she sits is also white [*]), sarasvatI

as worshipped by us in this form is none other than Lakshmi.

And if we worship thinking thus, we are not worshipping

anything less than the Ultimate.

 

[*] recall "bhagavan-nArAyaNa-abhimatAnurUpa-svarUpa-rUpa-

guNa-vibhavaiSvarya..." of emberumaanaar's

periya gadyam.

 

[in other words, though Rangapriya svAmi did not say this,

Brahma's wife sarasvatI derives her reality from a higher

source, and is not the same as the original sarasvatI

defined in the Vedas. I believe this is what Sri Sadagopan

is getting at too.]

 

Finally, it seems that how we think during our worship is

most important. If we think of the goddess wearing white,

named sarasvatI, as Lakshmi herself, eternally associated

with Sriman Narayana, and not as another, lesser deity,

also associated with some lesser divinity, I think we

are worshipping correctly.

 

Mani