Goddess of the Week: Saraswati, the goddess of mentoring

Having been tagged by Susan Kitchens to blog about mentoring, I give you the Hindu goddess Saraswati.  Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music, creativity, and the arts.  She has four arms, each of which symbolize the qualities we must possess if we are going to learn:  We need a mind, we need the intellect to use it, we need alertness and focus, and we need a balanced sense of self.   Saraswati is considered the mother of the vedas, which are the sacred texts of Hinduism, and the study of which are viewed as essential for enlightenment.

Now the fact is, every goddess has something to teach you, but perhaps not every goddess would be a good mentor.  Mentors need patience and enthusiasm and the ability to maintain a sustained interest in someone who is human, and thus inherently imperfect.  This is a lot to ask of a goddess, but Saraswati is up to the task.  Her entire existence revolves around opening minds and helping people find their own true path.  That being said, she is not one to coddle.  Good mentors know that nothing good can come of that.  She does not give you enlightenment.  She does not give you genius.  You must work for it.  It takes study and hard, time-consuming effort.  But she is not one of those hard-ass teachers either, the ones who yell and scream and fill young minds with fear and judgment.  No.  She waits for you.  She grants you the knowledge you need when you are ready for it, which is no small gift.  Indeed, we should all be so lucky to learn what we need to learn when we need to learn it.

Had I channeled a mentor like Saraswati in my youth, I hope I would have learned the value of perseverance and the importance of keeping an open mind, especially about my own future. 

You should channel Saraswati: when you need a mentor, when you become a mentor, and when your creative well has run dry.  After all, all of us need the help of a goddess from time to time.