The Saraswati Day
>> Sunday, October 5, 2008
Saraswati day is a Balinese Hindu festival to celebrate the birth of knowledge. It’s the day that Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, bestowed upon humans the ability to read, write and understand nature. These gifts enable humans to pursue science and the arts.
Recently, some people thought that Saraswati day was a celebration for students and teachers only. Actually, Saraswati day is for anyone who is seeking knowledge, so it is not only for students. In accordance with Balinese Hindu belief, knowledge is an essential medium to achieve the goal of life as a human being.
For the Balinese Hindus, this special day is a time for making offerings for books, especially the sacred lontar palm leaf books. Celebrations are mostly conducted at every family compound, temple, and academic institutions throughout Bali. Prayers are also held in school temples. Teachers and students abandon their uniforms for the day in place of bright and colorful ceremony gear, filling the island with color. Children bring fruit and traditional cakes to school for offerings at the temple.In a year there’re will be three times of Saraswati day celebration. Saraswati day is celebrated every 210 days on Saniscara Umanis Wuku Watugunung and marks the start of the New Year according to the Balinese Pawukon calendar.
The name Saraswati came from "Saras" meaning flow and "wati" meaning a woman. So, Saraswati is symbol of knowledge, its flow or growth is like a river and knowledge is very interesting, like a beautiful women.
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. Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge, Learning and Wisdom, symbolized by a beautiful woman with four hands, riding on a white swan among water lilies to tell humanity that science is like a beautiful woman.
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 (wina). 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 goddess is shown with four arms, representing the four aspects of human learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego. 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 conveysthat 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.
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 color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that she is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
Two swans are depicted on the left side of the dess. 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.
There are some rituals before and after the Saraswati day celebration. Pangredanan is the day before Saraswati. This is the day of preparation. All the books and lontar are collected together, cleaned and dusted. And after the pangredanan ritual done, the next day will be held the Saraswati Day. Saraswati day itself is celebrated by the Balinese people bringing offerings to their holy books and scrolls in their houses, while students celebrate it at school, usually in the morning, and the office workers in their office. In the afternoon of Saraswati day it is not permitted to read or write the book because all the books are offered. In the evening, called Malam Sastra, people read books (especially religious books) in their houses or in the temple. The philosophy of Saraswati day is that the most important thing for human life is knowledge.
Banyu Pinaruh is the ritual the day after Saraswati day. Banyu means water and Pinaruh mean wisdom. In other words, people must have wisdom which always a flow like water and which is useful for human kind. Hindu Balinese pray for Dewi Saraswati to give them cleverness and wisdom. The people usually take a bath in the sea or a lake or river and drink traditional medicine which is made from many various leaves which is very good for our health. The philosophy of Banyu Pinaruh day is the second most important thing for human life is good health.
After two days of the Saraswati celebration, Soma Ribek is the next ritual. The word of Soma meaning is Monday, and Ribek meaning full. On this day, Balinese bring offerings to the rice box. They thank God for food and beverage in their lives and pray to Dewi Sri (Goddess of prosperity, manifestation of God) to give prosperity. This celebration reminds them to be selective when choosing food and not to over eat to improve their health. The philosophy of Soma Ribek day is the third most important thing for human life is food and drink.
Three days after Saraswati Day, on Anggara is Sabuh Mas day. Sabuh means belt, and Mas mean gold. On this day, Balinese bring offerings to the deposit box or the place where they keep their jewelry. They thank Mahadewa (manifestation of God) for cloth, money, gold, etc in our lives. This celebration reminds them to be selective when spending money. The philosophy of Sabuh Mas day is the fourth most important thing for human life is cloth and gold, etc.
Day fourth after the Saraswati day is Pagerwesi. The word of Pager is meaning fence and Wesi meaning iron. On this day, Balinese pray to Sang Hyang Pramesti Guru (manifestation of God). All Balinese have offerings to their Sanggah (temple in their home) and at all of their temples. This is the second biggest holiday after Galungan day for the Balinese. The philosophy of this celebration is that they must keep knowledge, health, food, cloth and gold high in their lives to keep the universe in balance.www-explore-indo-com
Recently, some people thought that Saraswati day was a celebration for students and teachers only. Actually, Saraswati day is for anyone who is seeking knowledge, so it is not only for students. In accordance with Balinese Hindu belief, knowledge is an essential medium to achieve the goal of life as a human being.
For the Balinese Hindus, this special day is a time for making offerings for books, especially the sacred lontar palm leaf books. Celebrations are mostly conducted at every family compound, temple, and academic institutions throughout Bali. Prayers are also held in school temples. Teachers and students abandon their uniforms for the day in place of bright and colorful ceremony gear, filling the island with color. Children bring fruit and traditional cakes to school for offerings at the temple.In a year there’re will be three times of Saraswati day celebration. Saraswati day is celebrated every 210 days on Saniscara Umanis Wuku Watugunung and marks the start of the New Year according to the Balinese Pawukon calendar.
The name Saraswati came from "Saras" meaning flow and "wati" meaning a woman. So, Saraswati is symbol of knowledge, its flow or growth is like a river and knowledge is very interesting, like a beautiful women.
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. Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge, Learning and Wisdom, symbolized by a beautiful woman with four hands, riding on a white swan among water lilies to tell humanity that science is like a beautiful woman.
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 (wina). 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 goddess is shown with four arms, representing the four aspects of human learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego. 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 conveysthat 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.
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 color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that she is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
Two swans are depicted on the left side of the dess. 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.
There are some rituals before and after the Saraswati day celebration. Pangredanan is the day before Saraswati. This is the day of preparation. All the books and lontar are collected together, cleaned and dusted. And after the pangredanan ritual done, the next day will be held the Saraswati Day. Saraswati day itself is celebrated by the Balinese people bringing offerings to their holy books and scrolls in their houses, while students celebrate it at school, usually in the morning, and the office workers in their office. In the afternoon of Saraswati day it is not permitted to read or write the book because all the books are offered. In the evening, called Malam Sastra, people read books (especially religious books) in their houses or in the temple. The philosophy of Saraswati day is that the most important thing for human life is knowledge.
Banyu Pinaruh is the ritual the day after Saraswati day. Banyu means water and Pinaruh mean wisdom. In other words, people must have wisdom which always a flow like water and which is useful for human kind. Hindu Balinese pray for Dewi Saraswati to give them cleverness and wisdom. The people usually take a bath in the sea or a lake or river and drink traditional medicine which is made from many various leaves which is very good for our health. The philosophy of Banyu Pinaruh day is the second most important thing for human life is good health.
After two days of the Saraswati celebration, Soma Ribek is the next ritual. The word of Soma meaning is Monday, and Ribek meaning full. On this day, Balinese bring offerings to the rice box. They thank God for food and beverage in their lives and pray to Dewi Sri (Goddess of prosperity, manifestation of God) to give prosperity. This celebration reminds them to be selective when choosing food and not to over eat to improve their health. The philosophy of Soma Ribek day is the third most important thing for human life is food and drink.
Three days after Saraswati Day, on Anggara is Sabuh Mas day. Sabuh means belt, and Mas mean gold. On this day, Balinese bring offerings to the deposit box or the place where they keep their jewelry. They thank Mahadewa (manifestation of God) for cloth, money, gold, etc in our lives. This celebration reminds them to be selective when spending money. The philosophy of Sabuh Mas day is the fourth most important thing for human life is cloth and gold, etc.
Day fourth after the Saraswati day is Pagerwesi. The word of Pager is meaning fence and Wesi meaning iron. On this day, Balinese pray to Sang Hyang Pramesti Guru (manifestation of God). All Balinese have offerings to their Sanggah (temple in their home) and at all of their temples. This is the second biggest holiday after Galungan day for the Balinese. The philosophy of this celebration is that they must keep knowledge, health, food, cloth and gold high in their lives to keep the universe in balance.www-explore-indo-com
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