Aum Lakshmyai Namaha!

21

Lakshmi

Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu, lakshmi rupena samsthita,

Namasthasyai, namasthasyai, namasthasyai namo namaha!

O Goddess who resides in all creatures in the form of auspiciousness,

Hail to thee, hail to thee, all hail to thee!

There are four aspects of the Divine Mother by which she guides and deals with the world. Two of these, Maha Devi and Maha Kaali, we have already discussed. Her third mask, Maha Lakshmi, is one of sweetness and harmony and beauty. She has a compelling attraction and flair for affluence of all types. She opens to our vision the miracle of eternal beauty, divine harmony, and the irresistible charm of God’s creation. Lakshmi is the most attractive aspect of the Divine Mother, and that is why she is one of the most popular of the Hindu goddesses. Maha Devi can appear too calm and distant for the earthly nature to approach, and Maha Kaali is too formidable and swift for our weakness to bear, but Maha Lakshmi throws over us the intoxicating bliss of the sweetness of the divine. We feel profoundly happy when she is close to us. Existence becomes rapture. Grace, charm, and tenderness flow from her like an inexhaustible fountain, and the one on whom she smiles is plunged into bliss. Her delicate touch refines the body, life, and soul of the human being.

Monastic systems of Hindu philosophy like Advaita Vedanta and Patanjali’s Yoga are responsible for giving the general impression that Hindus look down upon wealth and give it a secondary importance in their social structure. But the contrary is true. Lakshmi or Sri, as she was initially known, has been revered from Rig Vedic times to the present day. Only by appreciating the true nature of Lakshmi can one hope to attain moksha or liberation, which is the goal of all Hindu philosophy. Initially both names, Sri and Lakshmi, meant anything that was auspicious and brought good luck or bestowed riches. Just as the word aum is associated with the spiritual side of life, the word sri is associated with the material side. It has been the sacred symbol of cosmic auspiciousness and abundance since Vedic times. So it was but natural that the two words eventually became connected and Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and prosperity, came to be known as Sri Lakshmi.

The Sri Suktam found in the Rig Veda is the most ancient invocation to this goddess:

Invoke for me, O Agni,

Lakshmi who shines like gold,

Is brilliant like the sun,

Who is wonderfully fragrant,

Who wields the rod of suzerainty,

Who is the form of supreme rulership,

Who is radiant with ornaments,

And is the goddess of wealth.

In the Lakshmi Tantra, the goddess herself says,

I am inherent in existence,

I am the inciter, the potential that takes shape.

I manifest myself; I occupy myself with activity,

And finally I dissolve myself.

I pervade all creation with vitality, will, and consciousness.

Like ghee that keeps a lamp burning,

I lubricate the senses of living beings with the sap of my consciousness.

Wisdom and force are not the only manifestations of the Divine Mother. Above them is the miracle of eternal beauty, the secret of eternal harmony. Lakshmi is the one who transforms dreams to reality. To realize her is to appreciate and rejoice in the wonders of life. It is due to her kindness that life on earth is made bearable. Due to the inherent transience and mortality of all things, our journey through life is filled with sorrow. Destruction haunts the footsteps of the jiva from birth to death. It is due to the radiant and joyful aspect of Sri Lakshmi that life becomes endurable.

Lakshmi is often called fickle or chanchala. It is not easy to meet the demands of this captivating divinity. She goes only where there is harmony and beauty of mind, thoughts, and feelings. She is drawn to harmony and loveliness of surroundings also. She consents to abide only with those who are responsive to the rhythms of the infinite, who respond to the call of her lord, and who strive to keep everything clean and neat both internally and externally, ever ready to welcome the advent of the divine. Her delicate steps will not tread where there is meanness or ugliness or among those who are coarse and brutal. Where there is no love and beauty, she will not deign to come. This enchanting goddess will not linger in the house and heart of one who is filled with greed, jealousy, and hatred. Neither ascetic bareness nor harshness are appealing to her, nor the repression of the soul’s natural desire for love and beauty. It is through love and beauty that she yokes the human to the divine. Life is turned into a work of art and existence into a poem of delight by her touch. Even the simplest things are made fragrant by her breath.

Though we think of Lakshmi as the consort of Vishnu, originally she was supposed to belong to the demons. Demons, however, have the reputation of plundering and hoarding wealth, thus hindering its flow. This is why Lakshmi deserted them. She is said to have then gone to Indra, the king of the gods, but when he overindulged in wine, wealth, and women at the cost of his duty, she was disgusted and left him. Lakshmi has also been linked with many other gods of the Vedic pantheon like Varuna, Soma, Agni, and Kubera. It was only in Puranic times that she was truly domesticated and became the consort of Lord Vishnu. In Vishnu she finally found the perfection she was looking for, as Vishnu is the embodiment of dharma. Though married to the goddess of affluence, he is totally uninterested in the acquisition or hoarding of wealth. The true nature of wealth was known to the ancient rishis. Their formula for keeping riches was to allow it to flow, unobstructed, in the desired channels, never to obstruct its flow, never to hoard, and never to plunder. This deep understanding of the nature of money is found in all the stories of Lakshmi. She appears fickle only because she will not stay with one who hoards and plunders wealth. But what her devotees should realize is that Lakshmi has a decided partiality for those who worship her husband Vishnu and will always go to them unsolicited.

Lakshmi has four hands. One hand shows the abhaya mudra (sign of grace and fearlessness), and another has the palm pointing downward to show that she showers her devotees with wealth. Another hand holds the akshaya patra, the vessel of plenty that flows gold and grain and is never exhausted. Her fourth hand holds a lotus.

The lotus is the most popular flower in Hindu mythology, and Lakshmi is strongly connected to it. In many representations she is shown sitting on a red lotus, and many of her appellations are associated with the lotus. She is, for example, sometimes called Kamala and Padma, both of which mean “lotus,” and Padmavati, which means “lotus born.” The lotus takes its birth and strength from muddy waters. It symbolizes the growth of existence that is distilled from the life-giving property of water and mud. The lotus growing from the navel of Vishnu, for example, marks the beginning of another cycle of cosmic life. The lotus gives a picture of a growing, expanding world, imbued with vigorous, fertile power. This is the power that is revealed in Lakshmi. She is the essence of creation and gives it flavor and splendor. Organic life is impelled by her mysterious power to flower into the rich tapestry of the world as we know it.

Lakshmi is extremely beautiful because she is the goddess of fertility. Beauty is a life-propagating necessity and a true component of fertility. If flowers were not beautiful, pollination would not take place. Red is the color of potential energy, so Lakshmi always wears red. Gold never rusts or becomes polluted, so she is adorned with gold ornaments.

Some pictures of Lakshmi show her flanked by two elephants that shower water on her through their upraised trunks. Elephants represent life-giving rains as well as royal authority. They imbue her with those qualities, which she possesses to the highest degree.

Lakshmi gives us the best of physical life so she has eight forms, known as Ashta Lakshmis, that portray the eight things in material life that are most prized by human beings. These are Bhagya Lakshmi, or the one who gives good fortune; Dhana Lakshmi, or the bestower of wealth; Dhanya Lakshmi, or the provider of food; Gaja Lakshmi, or the one who gives power; Santana Lakshmi, or the granter of offspring; Vara Lakshmi, the granter of boons; Vidya Lakshmi, or the bestower of knowledge; and Virya Lakshmi, or the one who confers strength. These figures are very popular in southern India.

Lakshmi also has a supreme form, known as Maha Lakshmi or Adi Lakshmi, in which she is a totally independent deity of Maha Shakti. In the Pancharatra and Tantric schools she is given this independent status. While Lakshmi is the consort of Vishnu, Maha Lakshmi is the embodiment of the divine Shakti. Her nature is very much like that of the virgin goddess Durga.

One of the Tantric schools considers her to be the root of all creation. In this story, Narayana (Vishnu), the cosmic soul, was lying on the cosmic waters. The idea of objectifying his divine bliss in the form of creation appeared in his mind and his Shakti lying dormant within him burst forth, manifesting herself as Maha Lakshmi. She placed the seed of his divine desire in the palm of her hand and unleashed the dynamic forces of creation, which emerged in the myriad forms of the universe that we know.

Another story describes Vishnu sleeping on the coils of the serpent of time known as Adi Shesha or Ananta (endless time). Brahma, the creator, emerged from the lotus sprouting from Vishnu’s navel and Shiva burst forth from Brahma’s forehead. Ananta was conceived as floating on the cosmic waters. But what was the container of these waters? The sages declared that the waters were contained in the womb of the primeval Divine Mother, Adi Lakshmi or Adi Shakti. Adi means “first,” implying that she existed before everything else.

The Puranas have hundreds of interesting stories that describe creation. The Brahmanda Purana states that Adi Lakshmi laid three eggs. Durga and Vishnu emerged from the first, Lakshmi and Brahma from the second, and Saraswati and Shiva from the third. She paired off Saraswati with Brahma, Lakshmi with Vishnu, and Durga with Shiva and sent them forth for the purposes of creation, maintenance, and dissolution.

Another story states that Lakshmi, Durga, and Saraswati were the personification of the three gunas that emerged from Adi Lakshmi. Rajas or activity was the essence of Lakshmi, tamas or negativity was that of Durga, and sattva or harmony was that of Saraswati.

Another interesting story about Lakshmi tells us how she got the name Bhargavi. Brahma created the seven sages at the dawn of time and taught them the Vedas. He charged these sages with seeing to the well-being of the world. Six of them used the mantras they had learned from Brahma to invoke Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, through whose grace alone humanity could gain enlightenment. However, they soon realized that wisdom does not appease the hunger of the body and mind.

The seventh sage, Brighu, learned from Varuna, god of the waters, that ultimately all things are composed of food. There are only two categories of living things: those that eat and those that are eaten. He realized the extreme value of food. He used this knowledge to invoke Lakshmi, the goddess of bounty and wealth, through whose grace human beings could get food as well as anything else they wanted. Some of the impoverished sages went to Brighu and asked him to help them attain riches. He taught them the science of astrology, palmistry, and how to make use of the bounties of the earth in the correct way, by which they could acquire wealth. The collection of his works is known as Brighu Samhita. Since he was the one who taught them the science of material prosperity, the sages concluded that Lakshmi was his daughter, and thus they added another name to her collection and called her Bhargavi.

Later on Lakshmi was invoked by the demons and went to stay with them, and thus the asuras became very powerful. But when they resorted to hoarding and cheating and licentious living, she deserted them and went to Indra, king of the gods.

At this time Durvasa, the sage who was known for his irascible nature, took a celestial garland to Indra’s court. Indra was totally inebriated and carousing with the heavenly damsels. He took the garland the sage offered and carelessly threw it over his elephant’s head. The garland fell off and was trampled by the elephant. Durvasa was infuriated by this behavior and cursed Indra, saying that all the gods would lose their health, wealth, and youth and become decrepit. No sooner did the sage utter this curse than the gods lost their virility and Lakshmi disappeared into the Ocean of Milk (another name for the Sea of Nectar). Instantly the world lost its appeal. Everything became dull and listless. The earth refused to yield and the cows to give milk. The gods ran to their savior, Vishnu, who advised them to get the help of the demons and churn the milky ocean and thus get back both Lakshmi and amrita (the nectar of immortality), which they could take to regain their lost youth.

It was an enterprise that needed cosmic preparations. The churn was the huge mountain called Mandara (representing space) and the rope was the serpent Ananta (representing time). The positive and negative forces of life—the gods and demons—combined to churn the ocean of causality. Vishnu had to help them many times, whenever misfortune overshadowed this gargantuan enterprise. When the mountain started to slip down into the ocean, he took on the form of a gigantic tortoise and held it up. When both parties started to tire, he took a form with thousands of arms and stood in the middle and helped both sides to churn vigorously.

Many wondrous things came out of the cosmic waters. At last, pleased with the determination displayed by both parties, Lakshmi emerged from the ocean in all her glory, seated on a glowing red lotus. She was clad in a splendid red and gold sari and resplendent with jewels from crown to toe. Both parties stopped their exertions just to gaze at her. Along with her came the wish-fulfilling tree called kalpavriksha, the wish-fulfilling cow called Kamadhenu, and the desire-fulfilling gem known as chintamani. Thus Lakshmi brought with her everything that would give pleasure to humanity.

The gods, demons, and sages all wanted to please the goddess and begged her to accept them, but after inspecting them, she found some fault with each of them and refused their advances. Looking around, she saw one being who was totally disinterested in what was going on. He was sitting alone, dangling his foot in the milky ocean and gazing out over the waters. This was Vishnu. Taking her vanamala (garland of wildflowers) in her hands, she glided slowly toward him and placed the wedding garland around his neck. Hence it is said that Lakshmi blesses those who don’t run after her. She goes unsolicited and places her garland of plenty on those who worship her husband. Vishnu accepted her and gave her a place on his chest next to his heart. He also declared that she was his Shakti and thus her name should be said before his own. So he came to be known as Lakshmi-Narayana.

As Vishnu’s consort, Lakshmi lost her reputation for fickleness. She became the model Hindu wife, loyal and submissive to her husband. She is usually shown sitting at the feet of her lord and massaging his feet. The picture of Lakshmi at Vishnu’s feet gives the message that one should not allow worldly power and riches to go to one’s head. Wealth has the subtle ability to corrupt, and so one should always be careful in handling it. We have seen that Lakshmi’s early history connected her with teeming vitality and prolific fertility. In her role as the wife of Vishnu, however, she is more involved in helping her husband keep the order of dharma in the world. Whenever Vishnu incarnates himself to uphold dharma, she incarnates along with him as his helpmate and consort.

The Vishnu Purana says, “As Hari (Vishnu) descends in the world in various shapes, so does his consort Sri (Lakshmi). When Hari was born as a dwarf, the son of Aditi, she appeared in the form of a lotus. When he was Raghava (Rama), she became Sita, when he was Krishna, she became Rukmani. In his other descents also she is his associate. When he takes a celestial form, she appears divine, if a mortal, she becomes a mortal too, transforming her own person to suit the character her husband enacts.”

In her role as a model wife Lakshmi upholds the social order. Thus it is said that she is always present in a house that is clean and beautifully kept and lives with those who observe the correct social observances like telling the truth and who are generous and kind. In the Mahabharata she says, “I dwell in truth, gifts, vows, austerities, strength, and virtue.”

All Vaishnava schools of philosophy insist that Lakshmi should always accompany Vishnu and be invoked along with him. In fact, the devotee prays to her to intercede with her lord on the devotee’s behalf. She is the embodiment of divine compassion and she ensures easy approach to Vishnu.

Lakshmi is worshipped in every house, temple, and shop around the length and breadth of India, but one festival closely connected with her is Navaratri, or the nine-days’ worship of the Divine Mother in all her forms-During the first three nights of the festival the goddess is worshipped as Durga or Kaali; in the next three nights she is worshipped as as Lakshmi and in the final three nights as Saraswati. The actual method of worshipping her has already been described in chapter 10. It is said that the festival symbolizes the act of Maha Devi standing on a point of a needle and doing terrific tapas for nine nights, transforming herself from the fierce, tamasic Kaali to the ravishing, rajasic Lakshmi and finally to the serene, sattvic Saraswati. Esoterically speaking, these nine days are to be divided by spiritual aspirants in the following fashion: During the first three days we concentrate on Kaali and beg her to remove all our negative tendencies of hate, fear, anger, and jealousy. For the next three days we worship Lakshmi and beg her to replace these negative qualities with the positive qualities of cheer, joy, and love. In such a purified heart, Saraswati, the goddess of spiritual success, may deign to come and give liberation, and we pray for that over the final three days. When we want to plant a garden we must first root out the weeds, and for this we need the help of Kaali. When the ground has been prepared we can invite Lakshmi to come and plant the flowers. Only then will Saraswati appear to give us the fruit of Supreme Knowledge.

Diwali or Dipavali, the festival of lights, is another celebration closely connected with Lakshmi. The actual festival falls on the new moon of late autumn, in October or November. But the two days preceding and two days following are also celebrated. On the thirteenth day of the waning moon, all types of shining vessels—gold, silver, copper, or steel, according to one’s capcity—are brought to the house. These vessels are the tangible manifestations of the goddess. The next day is known as Naraka Chaturdasi, which is the day on which Lord Krishna defeated the demon Naraka and rescued the ten thousand damsels who had been incarcerated in Naraka’s dungeon.

Diwali falls on the day of the new moon, which is the darkest night of the lunar cycle. At this time every house is lit with hundreds of little lamps to welcome the goddess. It was on this day that she is supposed to have risen from the milky ocean. On this night the sun enters the constellation of Libra, the scales. Hence all businessmen balance their accounts on this day and invite Lakshmi to come and take up her abode in their shops and houses. On the next day it is usual to distribute new clothes and food to everyone, especially the poor.

The basis of Hindu religious life is to discover our true nature. Before we do this, however, we have to experience life as it is—to know both its bounties and its pain. For this we need to worship Lakshmi, for she is the divine provider, the source of all nourishment. Adi Shankaracharya, the exponent of Advaita Vedanta, which asserts the ephemeral nature of life, wrote a famous hymn to Lakshmi known as the Kanakadhara Stotram, which means, “The hymn that will make gold flow.” This shows that even he, ascetic though he was, realized the necessity of the blessings of Lakshmi in temporal life.

May the eyes that are spellbound by the beauty of Vishnu,

Fall on me and bestow upon me prosperity and happiness.

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Salutations to the lotus-faced goddess who emerged from the ocean of milk, along with the moon and the elixir of immortality and became Narayana’s bride.

May the breeze of her compassion bring the clouds of prosperity

And pour rain on the barren life of this poor bird

And wash away its accumulated demerits.

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With my impoverished heart I surrender myself to your compassion

That you may watch over me, bless me and forgive me.

—FROM THE KANAKADHARA STOTRAM

BY ADI SHANKARACHARYA

Thus ends the twenty-first chapter of Shakti, known as “Lakshmi,” which describes Lakshmi, the goddess of auspiciousness.

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