custody till Feb 12 ...

Blogs Yoga Astrology News Bollywood Popular Cricket Health English  

Why Lakshmi goes to wrong people?

Monday, 11 February 2019
Photo Gallery
Religion > Hinduism > Gods/Goddess

Devdutt Pattanaik

It annoys us to nd Lakshmi with people we don’t like, people who we deem to be

criminals and sinners. We believe that Lakshmi should abandon amoral and
perverse people. But there she is, with them, and we nd it exasperating, irritating
and so unfair. In mythology, all villains seem to be rich. Ravana lived in the city of
Salman Khan joins tness
gold and Duryodhana lived like a king till the day he died. Contrast this with Rama
challenge
who had to live, for no fault of his, in the forest for fourteen years and the Pandavas
who were born in the forest and had to live in the forest, in abject poverty, for most
of their lives. Why is it so? Does Lakshmi like bad people? Or is she just indi erent
to the notions of ethics and morals and propriety and virtue that matter so much to
us?

Laxmi and
money"
20000+ styles & wide Shopping Discovery Made Advertise With India's Get the best of Kitchen &
range of clothing with Simple. Explore Online Largest Regional Native Dining products online at
best deals on Amazon Electronics Stores! Ad Platform. Low prices

width="608" />
Ancient Indian seers spent a lot of time contemplating on the nature of wealth. And
they compiled this knowledge through the stories, symbols and rituals of Lakshmi.
Laskhmi embodies the principles of artha, economic and political activity. She is
one of the four goals of life, said the seers, the other three goals being: dharma,
social order; kama, pleasurable pursuits; and moksha, spiritual practice.

Some scriptures say that Lakshmi follows Vishnu who is the upholder of dharma
and her son is Kamadeva, the god of pleasure. Is that wishful thinking? After all,
Lakshmi is often seen in the company of Vishnu’s enemies – the demonic Asuras
whose city located under the earth was called Hiranyapura, the city of gold, that
precious metal so closely associated with Lakshmi. And everyone knows that
Lakshmi’s arrival need not always be pleasurable. Her arrival is followed by
quarrels and strife. So what is this mystery?

To understand Lakshmi, we have to understand where wealth comes from. Wealth

in its most primal form comes from under the ground. Plants come from under the
ground. Minerals come from under the ground. Water comes from under the
ground. Even petrol comes from under the ground. Lakshmi is therefore called
Patala-nivasini, she who resides in the subterranean realm. Patala is also the realm
inhabited by the Asuras. The king of the Asuras is called Puloman, and his guru is
Shukra of the Bhargava clan. And this brings us to two names of Lakshmi – Pulomi
and Bhargavi, which means daughter of Puloman, and daughter of Bhrigu,
daughter of the demons and/or their guru! It makes sense, since wealth comes
from under the ground, she owes her origin to those who rule the realm under
(tala) our feet (pa). In some scriptures, Lakshmi is called Varuna’s daughter,
Varuna being the god of the sea. Varuna, incidentally, is also addressed as Asura in
Vedic texts. Asura applied to all forces that locked wealth. The sea locks wealth, the
subterranean realms lock wealth, trees lock wealth – until it is harnessed and
released. Those who release this wealth were called Devas. And Devas lived above
the ground as re (Agni), wind (Vayu), sun (Surya), moon (Chandra) and rain
(Indra).

Children’s books often translate the word Asura as demons. And the word demon
has a moral judgment. But this moral judgment is missing in Indian literature.
Asuras are the children of Brahma, just like Devas. The two sets of beings have
di erent mothers. Diti is the mother of Asuras and Aditi is the mother of Devas. The
former live under the ground and the latter live above the ground. The former
create wealth while the latter yank her out. This makes Lakshmi, Asura-putri
(daughter of Asuras) and Deva-patni (wife of the Devas). Indra’s consort, Sachi, is
a form of Lakshmi.

Equating Asuras with demons is a legacy of early European scholars, blindly

adopted by later Indian academicians. Since Asuras were enemies of Devas, and
since Devas were worshipped and hence considered gods, Asuras became demons,
a natural conclusion for people who were obsessed with force tting everything
into the binary framework of good and evil.

The reason why Devas were worshipped was not moral, it was material; they
released wealth and made it available to all – they released rain from clouds, trees
from seeds, water from earth, metals from rocks. Asuras were not worshiped
because they hoarded wealth, locked it away from humans. They had to be killed if
Lakshmi had to be released.  The sun-god’s sunlight, wind-god’s air and the rain-
god’s water makes the plants come out. The re-god’s heat released metal from
rocks.  Without violence, wealth could not be secured: the eld has to be ploughed,
crops had to be cut, grains had to be threshed, rocks had to be broken and
smelted….in other words, ‘war’ had to be declared on Asuras and their daughter
had to be taken forcibly.

Indra and the Devas live a life of luxury surrounded by wine and women and music
and dance. Indra is very blessed. Unlike humans who have to work for a living he
can get anything he desires by simply wishing for it for in his realm, Amravati,
exists the wish-ful lling tree, Kalpataru,  wish-ful lling cow, Kamadhenu,  and
wish-ful lling gem, Chintamani, and even the elixir of immortality, Amrita. That
is why Indra’s abode is called Swarga or paradise. Still Indra is extremely insecure.
He fears he will lose his wealth. For unlike Asuras, he does not know how to create
wealth; he can only procure and distribute wealth. A sage’s curse can cause
Lakshmi to leave his side in an instant. And this invariably happens, no thanks to
the megalomania stirred by wealth.

Once again Indra leads the Devas to ght and kill the Asuras and get Lakshmi back.
The Asuras can keep creating Lakshmi because they are blessed with something the
gods do not possess – Sanjivani Vidya, the secret of regeneration. This can bring
the dead back to life, in other words make the barren land fertile. This is a gift
obtained for the Asuras by their guru, Shukra, a devotee of Shiva. So the Asuras
keep generating wealth and the Devas keep snatching wealth away from them.
Which is why every where during harvest times we narrate stories of demons being
killed – in Dassera Mahish-Asura is killed by Durga; in Diwali, Narak-Asura is
killed by Krishna and in Onam, Bali-Asura is killed by Vaman.

The battle of Devas and Asuras is the battle between spenders and hoarders,
distributors and creators. It begins with defeat of Devas and the loss of Lakshmi
and ends with victory of Devas and return of Lakshmi. That it is never-ending
indicates it is not a battle of good over evil. It is a fertility cycle.

The funny thing is, neither the Devas nor the Asuras are happy. They try hard to
hold on Lakshmi but she slips away. In folk tradition Lakshmi is described as being
squint – one never knows where she is actually going. She is also called Chanchala,
the whimsical one, eternally restless. They say one should never keep the image of
Lakshmi standing in the house; she will get tired and run away. One is advised to
keep images of Lakshmi comfortably seated, preferably next to Saraswati, goddess
of knowledge.

While Lakshmi brings prosperity into a household, Saraswati brings peace. The two
goddesses are described as quarrelling sisters. Lakshmi loves to go places where
Saraswati resides. But her arrival marks the end of wisdom and peace. With wealth
comes quarrels, bickering over money-matters, annoying Saraswati who runs
away, which is why they say prosperity and peace rarely coexist. The only god who
can bring them together is Ganesha. In some scriptures, he is described as their
brother. In others, Lakshmi and Saraswati are forms of Riddhi and Siddhi, wives of
Ganesha.

Typically everyone chases Lakshmi. As for Lakshmi, she is drawn to only one god,
Vishnu, who is not a Deva, but greater than all Devas, who is actually God (spelt
with an upper case) or Bhagavan. Vishnu is the only one who got the Devas and
Asuras to cooperate and serve as the force and counterforce of a churn that got
Lakshmi and other magical treasures to rise from the ocean of milk.

Vishnu is typically shown siding with the Devas. He o ers Amrita, nectar of
immortality only to the Devas and he ghts alongside them in the battles against
Asuras. This seems unfair until one steps back and observes Vishnu’s role as
preserver.

Brahma, as creator of both Devas and Asuras sides with both of them equally. Shiva
as destroyer is indi erent to both Devas and Asuras and will give both of them
equal power. This equality does not result in movement or dynamism; it produces a
stagnant destructive statement. Vishnu creates an imbalance that causes the forces
of the cosmos to ow, for day to follow night, summer to follow winter. He
balances the Sanjivani Vidya given to Asuras by Shiva with Amrita which is reserved
only for the Devas. So while one group can regenerate themselves after being killed,
the other group is immortal. One groups keeps dying and being reborn while the
other group stays alive forever. When the Asuras are killed, the Devas win and
Lakshmi is with them. When the Asuras are brought back to life by Shukra, the
Devas lose and Lakshmi is back with her fathers.

While Indra seeks Lakshmi for himself, Vishnu does not. Vishnu seeks to create
order in the cosmos by the rhythm of nature and order in society by rules and
regulations. The story goes that when the earth complained that the kings of the
earth were plundering her wealth in greed, Vishnu promised her to take care of her
by instituting the code of civilized conduct known as dharma. The earth turned into
a cow and Vishnu became her cowherd and caretaker, Gopala. He protected her
with dharma and she, in exchange, gave artha and kama.

Dharma is all about balance – taking only as much as one needs, and sharing the
excess. Parashurama kills Kartaviryarjuna who steals the cows which are given as
gifts to sages. Ram kills Ravan who disregards the laws of marriage. Krishna kills
the Kauravas who are unable to share wealth with their own family. This makes
Vishnu a deity intent on making the world a better place. Perhaps that is why
Lakshmi sits coyly at his feet. He is Shrinivas, the eternal abode of Lakshmi.
(From : devdutt.com.)

Related Article

 Lakshmi and Saraswati are not opposite

 Was Kubera a thief in his previous birth?

 Wealth is good

 OMG! This heroine will sizzle in Pahlaj Nahlani’s ‘Julie 2'

 Trio rapists of minor handed over 20 years of imprisonment

VIDEO : Is Expecting People To Come For Hockey Match As Well- Oltmans

Related Videos
Is Expecting People To Come For Hockey Match…
Sports Sports 00:38

652 views

Zaheer & Agarkar Att…

Sports 02:16

Would Like To See Ka…

Sports 02:45

Nothing Has Changed…

Sports 01:47

No Pressure On Me F…
You May Like Sponsored Links by Taboola

11 Month PG Diploma in Free Yourself On Our 2019 Kanakia Codename Future: Gated community living with
Business Analytics &… Harley Touring Bike. Test Ri… 2/3 BHK in Powai @2.02… 3 & 4 bed residences in BKC…
Amity University Online Harley-Davidson India Kanakia Codename Powai Rustomjee

Indians Over 55 Can Try Going Bald? This ’10 Days’ Why borrow from someone Health Insurance Coverage
Innovative New Hearing Aid… Ayurvedic Hair Oil can Help… else? Borrow from your own… That You Can Trust !
Hearing Aid Trial 10 Days Hair Oil EarlySalary Quickbima.com

Brilliant Product Melts Belly Asia’s Top Online MBA The Future of Business Got a sweet tooth? You'll love
Fat Overnight (Do This… Program for a Global Career.… Accenture this Healthy Dessert!
Laventrix Amity Online bigbasket.com

Read more on : Laxmi Saraswati Diwali Hindu Mytology Goddess Of Wealth

Comments

0 Comments Sort by Oldest

Add a comment...

Facebook Comments Plugin


Religion Astrology Philosophy Yoga Literature Blogs

Hinduism Astro Articles General Philosophy Yogasana Book Writer's Corner

Islam Today's Birthday Applied philosophy Yoga Sutra
Sikhism
Buddhism
Others

Main Page About Us Feedback Advertise Disclaimer Contact Us

Copyright 2016, Webdunia.com