Maat – Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Justice

Maat, in Egyptian language literally means ‘truth’. Maat is the Egyptian goddess of Truth and Justice. Besides truth and justice, she also represented law, order and a sense of balance. She was also credited by bringing a sense of stability to the universe, post creation. She was considered to be the opposite of Isfet who was credited to represent chaos, deceit and violence, all things that destroy the balance or equilibrium.

She has been depicted as a young woman with an ostrich feather as her headgear. She was considered to be the daughter of Sun-god, Ra and was the female counterpart of Thoth, who was the god of wisdom and learning. Together with Thoth, both represented divine wisdom and all aspects associated with it.

According to the Egyptian mythology, after death, Maat acts as the judge of morality. She would weigh the soul of the dead against her ostrich feather in a scale, and if the soul balances against the feather, then the soul reaches paradise. If it weighed heavier than the feather, a sign that it was a soul which harboured evil deeds, then it would be given to the crocodile headed goddess Ammut (some say she was lioness-headed), who would devour it and would be relegated to the underworld. This way the Egyptians believed that there would be balance, and just as the good would get rewarded, the evil would get punished. The concept of punishment after life is akin to many other cultures, including Hinduism. She was also said to regulate the movement of stars and the seasons, again leading to a sense of continuous change with balance at the core of all her activities.

The Pharaoh’s of the later day were often shown with the symbols of Maat, as they were seen as the upholders of the principles of Maat. Judges were also referred as ‘priests of Maat’. Many feel that Maat was less of a goddess and more of a concept. The concept of balance leading to equilibrium was passed on to the Greeks during the reign of the Greeks over Egypt. Many also feel that the present day image of the blind-folded Lady of Justice, holding the balance as the image of justice is a modern derivative of the Egyptian Maat.

                                                                                           

Unfortunately, Egypt today is fighting for the same, balance and justice.  The priest of Maat, who is sitting in judgement, has been sitting for too long now, and the children of Egypt feel that balance is tilted. The lack of equilibrium in today’s Egypt shows that the much needed concept of truth and justice is being thrown to the winds. Maat is much in need, and the sense of balance and justice and the resultant equilibrium needs to be restored soon.

Vasant Panchami

Vasant Panchami literally means the fifth day of the spring season (vasant ritu). This day is also considered as the day of Goddess Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning and wisdom. In earlier days, pre-school children were inducted to schools on this day, or were made to write from this day. In a country where education is a religion, this day has its own importance. In the Eastern parts of India, every household which has children in schools or colleges perform Saraswati Puja, besides the community ones held on this day.

Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe and the originator of all knowledge in the form of Vedas. In the eastern parts of India, Saraswati is considered to be the daughter of Shiva and Parvati. She is clad in white, symbolising purity. The vahana or the carrier of Saraswati is a white swan and this too has its own significance. The swan is supposed to have the ability to separate water from milk, signifying that learning and wisdom enables man to distinguish good from bad.

Mythologically, Saraswati is the sister of Goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth), but both are considered to be poles apart. Saraswati is permanent, where is Lakshmi is temporary (chanchala – fidgety, and thus does not stay anywhere forever). Worshipper of Saraswati is blessed for life, but the worshipper of Lakshmi is wealthy till the whims of the goddess.

Saraswati has her counterparts in other mythologies too.

Athena

According to Greek Mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and learning. She is the daughter of Zeus and is credited with inventing the flute, which symbolises her association with music and other fields of arts and craft.

Thoth

Besides the goddesses, the Egyptians had Thoth as the god of learning. Thoth was also associated with wisdom, writing, speech, etc. He was the chief counsellor to Ra, the King of all gods.



Odin



Odin was the god of wisdom in the Nordic mythology. He is supposed to have hung on the tree of knowledge pierced by his own spear to gain knowledge and wisdom. He is always depicted as one-eyed, as he is supposed to have traded his other eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, which enabled him to gain immense knowledge.

 Though there are many other mythologies which have gods and goddesses of wisdom, learning, poetry, arts, music, etc., the above are deities who are primarily associated with aspects of knowledge and wisdom.

We surely do live in times of dichotomy. Lakshmi or Saraswati? Wealth or Wisdom? To acquire wisdom, we need wealth, and the moment we acquire wisdom or learning, our objective turns to earn wealth. Somewhere, or the other, the pursuit of Saraswati seems to be to acquire Lakshmi. Serious worshippers of Saraswati have humble dwellings, and worshippers of Lakshmi live in palaces. Teachers travel in public transport while students come in chauffeur-driven cars. In the land of gurukuls and unflinching devotion to teachers, one needs to be a strong worshipper of Lakshmi to attain the blessings of Saraswati! Once the blessings of Saraswati are acquired, it’s time to appease Lakshmi again!

If this is not a serious dichotomy, then what is?