Saturday, February 20, 2021

Understanding the essence of Ma Saraswati through Guruji's discourses


Out of the 3 divine shaktis, while Kali represents Kriya shakti (energy related to action), Lakshmi represents Icchhya shakti (energy related to will power), Saraswati represents Gyana shakti (energy related to knowledge or wisdom).

Without gyana shakti kindled within us, we cannot make progress in the world, spiritual or material. 

That Gyana comes from blessings of Saraswati. Her root mantra Aim or Aeng also represents the root mantra associated with our soul (Atma Beeja). 

Atma kripa (kripa meaning grace) is the 4th and final stage of kripa. Shastra kripa (blessings from scriptures, the first stage) is followed by Ishta kripa (blessings from Ishta devata, the deity you associate with), which leads to Guru kripa (Guru, the form of Parabrahman the immortal). After one becomes worthy of Guru's blessings (requires very long penance), Guru clears the path for Atma kripa, through which you merge your Atma (soul) into the ParamAtma (the all pervading super-soul of Parabrahman). Your final effort, that leap, is Atma kripa, which is only possible by constant flow of Gyana within our consciousness. 

That Gyana is pure just like a river coming from Himalayas, naturally flowing and is healing and cleansing. The word Saras means "flowing". Guru's knowledge transferred into our consciousness is Saraswati, which awakens our kundalini. Saraswati and her beeja mantra are directly connected with Kundalini jagaran.

When our consciousness starts traversing from the gross states to subtle states, i.e. from Annamaya kosha (physical body) to Manamaya kosha (mental realm) to Pranamaya kosha (breath and life force), then we are ready to enter the Vigyana maya kosha (scientific state, that quest for divine knowledge where tantra actually begins), and culminates into the final state of Anandamaya kosha (The state of union, where Shakti meets Shiva). 

This is the culmination of our spiritual journey where kundalini rises from the gross muladhara (earth, Lam), and enters other bhootas (water, fire, air) and merges into the Akash (ether) element which is all pervasive.

This journey is only possible by the grace of Guru who invokes the shakti of Saraswati within us. That gyana shakti also gives us wisdom so we can use the other 2 shaktis (energy of will and action). Only when we have wisdom, we can work according to divine will and use our actions to do meaningful work.

That gyana also provides us light so we can understand our Dharma. "Kula dharma prakashaya tasmai Shree Gurave Namaha". Dharma sums up the principles that govern our life. Those principles are instilled and awakened within our consciousness by Shree Guru in the form of Gyana shakti. 

It enables Pragnya within us that gives us the divine power to discriminate between right and wrong, so we can follow our dharma. We are always in dilemma battling with the concept of what is right and wrong. That duality concedes when the power of pragnya dawns within us. 

Shree Krishna explained this amidst the backdrop of a battlefield. Gurudev explains to us saying our life is a battleground as we are always in a confused state like Arjuna. 

Thus, we need that higher wisdom of Mother Saraswati, Gyana shakti, with which we can awaken our latent energies and proceed toward higher realization.

Jai Gurudev