MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING PART 2: SARASWATI 1 MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING 2 MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING SARASWATI Awaken Creativity ———— . Aum Aim Sarasvatyai Namah . I bow to the flowing one whose essence is wisdom and the power to manifest ———— 3 GODDESS OF SPEECH, KNOWLEDGE, SOUND AND THE ARTS ———— Saraswati’s grace is that she will awaken knowledge and inspiration in others and grants the ability to express oneself. She is the mother of the Vedas, the source of all ancient wisdom, revealed to ancient sages in the form of mantra. She not only embodies knowledge but also the experience of the highest reality. Her iconography is typically in white themes from dress to flowers to swan – the colour symbolizing purity, discrimination, true knowledge, insight and wisdom. She’s the river of inspiration that flows through us. Invoke her to fuel your creative pursuits and to alight the intellect. When Saraswati energy is present in us we will feel an awakening of creativity. Her Shakti is refined and felt in the precision of mantra, language and the written word. Words come to us more readily and our eloquence lands in a more powerful way with those who are listening to us. She is also the ability to comprehend speech and the written word. But as the embodiment of intuitive knowing she is also that subtle voice from the depths of your being that springs forth in the form of insights and new solutions or ways of expressing or doing or creating that you didn’t even know were there. Laura Amazonne describes Saraswati beautifully: Saraswati is memory. She is intuition, inner knowing, and the flow of idea. Saraswati is precognitive thought, embodied knowing, and critical thinking. She is the spoken and written word. She is the sound that dances off our tongues and is comprehensible as speech. She is the power to comprehend. Saraswati teaches us to transcend the limitations of the phenomenal world. Saraswati, as Her name dictates, teaches us to flow with our thoughts, to follow our intuition, to listen to the inner voice that is asking us to do or say something. The more we listen to Her the louder and more confident our Saraswati voice will be. 4 MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING SYMBOLISM OF SARASWATI ———— Dressed in white Purity and subtle nature. Book — the Vedas Association with the universal, divine and true knowledge as well as all forms of learning. Veena (instrument) Represents her affinity with music, sound and the arts. Saraswati is also associated with anurāga, the love for and rhythm of music, which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music. Swan Discrimination (Hansa is also her vahana, vehicle, and the story goes that when given a mixture of milk and water, the bird will only drink milk which symbolizes the ability to distinguish between the good and the evil. Peacock — the Ego Being held in right relationship by the Swan (discrimination) Peacock is also representative of being able to turn poison (experience) into beauty (wisdom) A mālā Representing the power of meditation, inner reflection and spirituality. A pot of water Represents the purifying power to separate right from wrong, the clean from the unclean, and essence from the inessential. (In some texts, the pot of water is symbolism for soma - the drink that liberates and leads to knowledge) Peaceful, serene and beautiful Representing her immaculate nature and clear mind White lotus A symbol of an absolute truth, experience and wisdom Four arms Four Vedas INVOKE SARASWATI FOR… ———— • Inspiration • Study • Learning • Musical skill • Eloquence in speaking or writing • Answers to questions • Help expressing yourself • Learning languages • Intuition SARASWATI 5 WAYS TO STEP INTO THE GRACE OF SARASWATI ———— Japa . Aum Aim Sarasvatyai Namah . Kirtan Gayatri Mantra Aum sacred syllable Bhuh Bhuvah Suvah the material world, the mental world and the celestial world Tat Savitur Varenyam The Supreme Being, the source, to be worshipped Bhargo Devasy Dhimahi The Divine Light it’s sacred truth we deeply meditate Dhiyo Yo Nah Pracodayat The intellect which to us may Light be endowed Aum Aim Saraswati (Krishna Das arrangement) (C) (Dm) (C) Om Aim Saraswati Namaha Om (Dm) (Em) (F) (Dm) (C) Om Aim Saraswati Saraswati Saraswati Nama Namo 6 MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING ———— Asana Saraswati is the energy of inspiration, intellectual enquiry and knowledge, which we can link to the element of air or ether (a dextrous mind is swift like the wind). In Ayurveda an imbalance of air is called a Vata imbalance which looks a bit like being scatterbrained and airheaded - unable to bring all our good ideas into manifestation. So it’s great to ground yourself when working with this inspiring Goddess. Try passive hip openers such as supta baddha konasana (supine butterfly) and sleeping swan to stimulate the creative energy of Chakra 2 but also to create groundedness. There is also the theory that Saraswati, as a river Goddess, is associated with water. Water is the element of Svadhistana Chakra, Sacral Chakra, so if you feel her as a watery energy that can work too. To strengthen our ability to communicate we need to awaken the energy of Vishudda Chakra, the throat Chakra, which is associated with the right to be self-expressed and understood. Postures that will bring you into an awareness of the energy of the throat include: Sarvangasana (shoulderstand), Setu Bandhasana (Bridge), Karnapidasana (Deaf Man’s Pose) and Matsyasana (Fish pose) and Purvottanasana (Reverse table top). Pranayama Pranayama practice is a gateway to our subtle body, the realm of Saraswati. Make a daily practice of 5 to 10 minutes of Nadi Shodhana - alternate nostril breathing. Sense the breath as a river of energy flowing through the body. This practice is said to balance the energy channels of the body and to bring us into the Sushumna channel - the place in the body where Saraswati resides. To make this practice extra potent, do your pranayama at dawn and dusk. These are Vata times of the day, the element of which is ether, which is associated with inspiration. SARASWATI 7 ACTIVITIES ———— Choose some words that inspire you. It might be a poem, song lyrics, a passage from a book or mantra. Bring a copy of it to the Satsang and be ready to share your words with a small group. CONTEMPLATION ———— Where in your life are you feeling Saraswati’s Grace could be most useful to you? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Do you make time to be by yourself on a regular basis? What would your ideal amount of ‘alone’ time per week look like for you? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ What fuels your creative pursuits? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ 8 MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING ———— Saraswati is Grace is purity in speech and clarity in communication. We invoke her to strengthen our Vak Siddhi (our power of manifestation). Consider the purity of your speech. How true is your word? Do you do what you’ll say you’ll do? What’s your self talk like? Is it congruent with your values and aligned with your intention? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ SARASWATI 9 10 MAGIC, MYTH + MANTRA TRAINING NOTES ———— __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________