Navratri-Goddess Saraswati And Vijayadasami

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The worship of Goddess Saraswati is observed during the last three days of Navratri. Read Swami Tejomayananda's explanation on the significance of Goddess Saraswati worship during Navratri.

Victory over the mind can be gained only through knowledge, through understanding; and it is Goddess Saraswati who represents this highest knowledge of the Self.

Although there are many kinds of knowledge in the Vedas - phonetics, astronomy, archery, architecture, economics and so on the real knowledge is spiritual knowledge. Lord Krishna Himself says in the Bhagavad Gita: 'The knowledge of the Self is the Knowledge": and He adds, "It is My Vibhuti, My glory". In other words, we may have knowledge of many other subjects and sciences, but if we do not know our own Self, then that is the greatest loss! Therefore, the supreme Knowledge is the knowledge of the Self that is represented by Goddess Saraswati.

Vijayadasami

Thus, during Navaratri, Goddess Durga is invoked first to remove impurities from the mind. Then Goddess Lakshmi is invoked to cultivate the noble values and qualities. Finally, Saraswati is invoked for gaining the highest know ledge of the Self. This is the significance of the three sets of three nights, and when all these three are gained subjectively, then on the tenth day there will be Vijayadasami, the day of true victory!

To be continued

Swami Tejomayananda

Swami Tejomayananda the Chairman and spiritual head of Chinmaya Mission worldwide, is one of the foremost disciples of Swami Chinmayananda. This article is an excerpt from His Navratri-Symbolic Significance. In this article Swamiji talks about the significance of Goddess Saraswati worship during Navratri after having dealt with the significance of Goddess Lakshmi and significance of Goddess Durga in the previous articles.