Saturday, September 25, 2010

Saraswati

taken from FB Notes: Saturday, 01 August 2009 at 10:01




Today is Saraswati in Bali, special day that according to Balinese Hindu belief is descending the science from the god.

A special day of thanks for the gift of knowledge. The festive day is a time for making offerings to books and especially the sacred lontar palm leaf books. All books are subjects on this day. One is not supposed to read books, however schools have special ceremonies. Notedly, Pura Jagatnatha in Denpasar is jam packed with students praying for success in their studies in the early morning ceremony.






Here is a brief description of the Goddess Saraswati:

Saraswati is the Goddess of leaming, knowledge, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means “essence” and swa means “self.” Thus Saraswati means “the essence of the self.” Saraswati is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.

In Her popular images and pictures, Goddess Saraswati is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show only two arms), wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a rosary in Her rear two hands, while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (veena). Her right leg is shown slightly pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:

• The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswati signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white colour symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is the embodiment of pure knowledge.

• The four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand.

• The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.

• The rosary signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union with God. A rosary in the rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.

• The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. 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.

• Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destroy the world.

• A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is anxiously waiting to serve as Her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behaviour as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswati is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge.

Saraswati: Bali
By Barrie | November 9th, 2007




The day after Saraswati is called Banyupinaruh, which always falls on a Sunday and the first Pawukon week, Dasa Sinta. Banyupinaruh is a holiday in which Balinese celebrate the coming of the knowledge to the world. The word “Banyupinaruh” itself is derived from the word “banyu” means “water” or “holy water” and “pinaruh” or “pinaweruh” means “knowledge” so Banyupinaruh can be translated into “holy water of knowledge”. Balinese believe, the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati bestow knowledge to the humankind on this holiday.

This holiday is celebrated every 210 days, every six months in Balinese Pawukon Calendar and every seven-month on Gregorian calendar.

On this holiday, Balinese get up early in the morning to take a bath on the beach, lake, river or other holy water sources. Many Balinese offer small offering of flower in container made of young coconut leave to the God before taking the ritual bath. This ritual bath serves to purify the mind and body so they become good containers for knowledge that bestowed on this holiday.

After praying, they enter the water in their clothes or in a sarong wrapped around their bodies. They then cleanse and purify their bodies with the water to purge negative emotions. After bathing, people return home, change into clean traditional dress and pray.

These days, since most people have bathrooms in their houses, many just bathe at home in water and fragrant flowers (yeh kumkuman) whilst reciting a prayer or mantra, then put on traditional dress and pray in their family temple (sanggah).

Balinese say that compared with just taking a regular bath or shower, bathing on this holy day makes them feel refreshed and revitalised.


Fortunately, this time, Banyupinaruh falls on full moon that means the Banyupinaruh will be celebrated in a grand way. In Bali, if a holiday coincide with full moon it will be celebrated in grander way than the way it I usually celebrate.


On Banyupinaruh, beaches across Bali are packed with families—everyone from infants to the elderly; and whilst it’s not an ideal day for sunbathing, swimming or other watersports for tourists, you are blessed with some wonderful photo opportunities.

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