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The aim of our site is to help people achieve financial savviness But discussion on financial independence and wealth creation is incomplete without a discussion of goddess Lakshmi; the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The word Lakshmi is obtained from the Sanskrit word Lakshya which means aim or goal.
Lakshmi is the wife of god Vishnu and has taken different names and forms accompanying him in each of his incarnations. With Vamana she was known as Kamala, with Parshurama she was his wife Dharani and with Lord Rama she was Sita.
Lakshmi is often depicted as a beautiful goddess of golden complexion with four hands sitting or standing on a lotus. Her four hands depict four ends of human life; righteousness, wealth, desires, and liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The vehicle of goddess Lakshmi is a white owl. Everyone would have observed that torrents of gold coins are seen flowing from her hand and this suggests that those who worship her will gain wealth. Two elephants are depicted standing next to her, spraying water, and this denotes that continuous efforts put in accordance with one’s dharma, lead to material and spiritual prosperity. Goddess Lakshmi wears gold embroidered red clothes; the red color symbolizes activity with the gold lining indicating prosperity.
Goddess Lakshmi has been worshipped in Indian households for thousands of years and is a domestic deity. She is worshipped by people who wish to acquire wealth, well-being, and prosperity. It is the belief of people that Lakshmi goes only to those houses that are neat and clean; people are hardworking and worship her sincerely, but leave those places when these qualities go missing. Businessmen offer goddess Lakshmi daily prayers and Friday is the day on which she is worshipped.
There is a story about the rebirth of the goddess Lakshmi. One day sage Durvasa meets lord Indra and offers him a garland of flowers. In his arrogance, Lord Indra threw the garland of flowers on the floor. An upset and angry sage Durvasa cursed Indra for not respecting the dwelling of the goddess of fortune. Lakshmi too is upset with the arrogance and enters the ocean.
Due to the curse of Sage Durvasa and subsequently Lakshmi leaving Indra’s city Amravati the gods begin to lose vigor and vitality. The minds of people became corrupted and they stop doing charity. No offerings are made to gods. Sensing an opportunity the demons invade the city and defeat the gods.
The defeated gods assemble and try to work out various ways to win back their city. They approached Lord Vishnu who listens to their woes and suggests the churning of the ocean to get the nectar that would make them immortal.
The churning of the ocean began and out started coming many things one after the other. After many years goddess Lakshmi too came out and selected Lord Vishnu as her master. In the battle that ensues between the gods and the demons, she prefers the gods, and the demons are defeated.
The lesson learned from the story is that goddess Lakshmi can leave even the gods when they become arrogant. Therefore the goddess is viewed as restless and independent. This fickleness of Lakshmi is responsible for the restlessness of fortune. Good times come without notice and can leave as suddenly.
Goddess Lakshmi is a popular goddess not only in Hinduism but also in Buddhism and Jainism. Though the people worship Lakshmi daily, the festival Diwali is considered to be the most auspicious occasion to worship her. People light their homes with lights in the hope that she would visit and bless them with good fortune.
Lakshmi has eight forms (Asta Lakshmi) which are as follows-
- Dhanya Lakshmi.
- Gaja Lakshmi.
- Dhairya Lakshmi.
- Adi Lakshmi.
- Vijay Lakshmi.
- Santan Lakshmi.
- Vidya Lakshmi.
- Dhana Lakshmi.
Goddess Lakshmi has been worshipped for thousands of years. People who wish to have the blessings of the goddess should work hard, be sincere in their duties, and they would definitely have the blessings of the goddess.