Sagun Nirgun
29: bhāratī
‘bhāratī’ means ‘Saraswati’, ‘speech’, ‘lecture’. ‘Sa+rasawati’ means something that has the elixir. Goddess Saraswati resides on the tongue and produces speech.
Speech allows us to deliver lectures, kirtans and sermons to raise awareness in the society. A powerful, truly motivational speech leaves a listener elated, joyous. He exclaims, “Very good! Congratulations!” When this happens, we can understand that the speaker has not merely delivered a lecture but has spread the elixir of devotion. Such ‘lectures’ are devotional and pleasing to the listener. Just as our physical body does not exist without prana, similarly ‘lectures’ are useless without bhakti.
To achieve mastery, elegance and power in our speeches, one needs the grace of Goddess Saraswati. P. P. Shree Vasudevananda Saraswati Swami Maharaj describes a beautiful incident in the Shree Datta Mahatmya. When King Ritadhwaja lost his wife Madalasa he was depressed. When questioned by his two friends the Nagaputras, he tells them the reason for his sadness. The Nagaputras plead with their father Ashvatara to help Ritadhwaja. Ashvatara and his brother Kambala go to Plakshavaranatirtha, in the Himalayas, which is the place of Goddess Saraswati. There they do penance to please ‘Goddess Saraswati’ and earn her grace. She blesses them, “May you gain mastery and elegance of speech.” As a result of this grace, they were also able to please Lord Shiva and they asked the Lord to allow them to bring Madalasa back. The Lord granted them this boon. Thus, King Ritadhwaja was reunited with Madalasa.
Shree Swamimaharaj has blessed all of us, especially the students with a beautiful hymn of Goddess Saraswati. Scientists and scholars all over India have gained fame as a result of their outstanding intellect by reciting this stotra. In today’s competitive era, this hymn will help to achieve success in any field –
“devo mati jī sadgati tī saraswati |
stutī gātī jicī kīrti tica bhāratī ||
cinmaya tū vāngmaya tū asasī bhāratī |
karvīsī tū vadvīsī tū tū jagadgatī ||
ye dhāunī stuti parisunī bho saraswatī |
mati devunī jādya harunī tārī bhāratī ||”
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