Is Lakshmi a Goddess in Name Only?

Is Goddess Lakshmi only figurative? Posted By: Poonam Srivastava/Atika Singh at NDTV Good Times
(November 11, 2012)

The festive season is a buzz with excitement, happiness all round, the city lit up, the sweet shops bustling, people rejoicing in the festive spirit. For a lot of us this festive season also becomes path to connect with the divine and pray to Goddess Lakshmi, who for us represents the epitome of bringing wealth and prosperity.

There is obviously notable furor of activities in the temples as people actively pray and ask for blessings. I was crossing once such temple and that’s when I observed something very disturbing right in the heart of all the festivities. There was this group of men, who had just come out of the temple and probably finished praying to Goddess Lakshmi for wealth and prosperity, and to my horror; start eve teasing two girls barely 25 feet away from Goddess Lakshmi’s abode!!!

I was left astounded with the stark irony where, in a country like ours on one side all of us including men pray to Goddesses like Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati and bow their heads in respect. And yet the living feminine form is treated so badly. Every day in the news we hear of rape, honour killing, dowry deaths; in fact we don’t even have to look outside, in our very own homes men and women are not treated at par. While times have changes and there is considerable liberalization especially in the upper strata of society.

Today’s working woman is not only supposed earn but also look after the home and the family irrespective of whether the man helps her or not in the household. A woman is expected to play the roles of a mother, wife, daughter-in-law, sister, daughter to perfection! Does a man have the same pressure of expectations?

I recently watched the movie ‘English Vinglish’ I’m sure some of you would have seen it as well. It was a beautiful interpretation of a middle class family and especially how woman of the house is expected to only give and if she makes the mistake of expecting something in return she is sure to be disappointed. What touched me most was the scene where the protagonist, says that she is not even seeking love from her husband and children but all that she wants is a little respect.

Is that also too much to ask for considering we are living in the 21st century and claim to be modern and free thinking? So while we rejoice, pray and seek blessings from our Goddesses’ lets also spare a little thought for the Goddesses’ in our family and bring in a little light into their lives this festive season!

(Poonam Srivastava is a Delhi based writer who has published books and articles on subjects of social innovation and practical spirituality. She also actively volunteers her time to promote causes related to these spheres.)

(Atika Singh is a post graduate in Counseling Psychology from Amity Institute of Behavioral & Allied Sciences and graduate in History from Delhi University. She has been actively involved in the emotional counseling space; and is passionate about empowering individuals to deal with their personal and professional issues, and achieve greater success. She is a certified Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner.)

Update on Miracle Baby Who Survived Tsunami

From The Malaysian Star December 27, 2009 Miracle baby still basking in fame SHE was named after a sacred plant, an incarnation of the Goddess Lakshmi, and her parents hope that S. Thulaasi would grow up bringing joy to those around her. When she was just 22 days old, Thulaasi achieved fame as a “miracle baby” when she survived the tsunami that destroyed her family’s wooden cafe at the Miami Beach in Batu Ferringhi, Penang. She was sleeping on a mattress when the waves came at 1.15pm on Dec 26, 2004. The mattress with the baby on it was washed out to sea, and washed ashore again by a second wave – with the baby still intact, and in sweet slumber! Since then, the media have kept track of the child’s progress every anniversary of the tsunami. Thulaasi is five years old now and is still basking in the limelight. She has become a hit among tourists who visit her family’s cafe after being told by taxi drivers of the “miracle baby”. Her mother L. Annalmary, 47, says her daughter was named after the tulasi herb (basil). “The Goddess Lakshmi transformed herself into the basil bush to help the people as this plant has many medicinal properties. Perhaps Thulaasi will one day help many people too,” she says, looking fondly at her daughter. Annalmary hopes Thulaasi, who is now attending kindergarten, will become either a lecturer or a scientist who will dedicate herself to helping people. “I really believe she was saved by God for a reason,” she says. Thulaasi’s father, A. Suppiah, 60, says his daughter is “wise beyond her years”.

The Complex Traditions of the Diwali Celebration

Article from The Times of India. Photo from an article in the Daily Mail Online, November 10, 2007, I could not find a photo credit. Caption: Workers could take time off for the Hindu celebration of Diwali - the festival of lights. October 18, 2009 Diwali celebrations: A melange of traditions By Nidhi Singhi LUDHIANA: While Diwali is celebrated all across the country with same enthusiasm and fervour, it holds different meanings for various communities. While Bengali community celebrated it by worshipping Goddess Kali on Diwali night, people belonging to south Indian community marked the day commemorating victory of Lord Krishna over demon Narkasur. Bengalis worship Goddess Lakshmi five days after Dussehra, but on Diwali, they worship goddess Kali. Devotees believe that Kali is the aggressive form or the destructive incarnation of Goddess Durga, but Bengalis celebrated the festival by worshipping goddess Kali, because she destroys the evil and in turn, she promises rejuvenation of life and justice on earth. Among south Indians, it is believed that Diwali celebrations are simply for commemoration of victory of Lord Krishna who killed Narkasur, a powerful king of Assam, who had imprisoned various inhabitants and had been freed by the Lord on this day so Diwali is also known as Naraka Chaturdasi. Some devotees also believe that Narkasur had requested the Lord to fulfil his last wish that he wanted to enjoy the last day of his life in a grand manner and the practice thus continued. Describing celebrations, TK Banerjee, secretary, Bangia Samsad, said it is a tradition in their community to decorate the house with 14 candles a day prior to festival to keep ghosts away from their houses. Since they could not use fried sweets in the worship, they used plain burfi solely prepared by ladies of their homes but one sweet called nadu, served after havana, is liked by all. R Sidhartan, a member of south Indian community, said it is just the traditions that differ but the purpose of festivals is to celebrate it with friends and family members. He said Diwali celebrations include a visit to the temple, gifts of clothes and jewellery, gorging on sweets and receiving blessings of elders.

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I did not know that Hindus believe in ghosts. If there is reincarnation of a decedent's soul, where do the ghosts comes from, or who are the ghosts? At another website discussing the Diwali celebration, the worship of Ganeha in conjunction with the Goddess Lakshmi is mentioned (from Duniyalive.com. Hindus worship Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi in Diwali, Posted on October 19th, 2009 in Latest India News) : Diwali, Festival of Lights is an auspicious occasion celebrated across India. During Diwali the devotees worship Lord Ganesha beore any other god or goddess. Traditionally on Diwali night, Ganesh shares the altar with Lakshmi. Shree Ganesh is the Lord of Wisdom and the remover of obstacles. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity and also personifies beauty, grace, and charm. In the Hindu pantheon, the two are unrelated, Ganesh being the son of Shiva and Parvati. However, when placed side by side, Lakshmi Ganesh hold out promise of a year of fulfillment, free from wants. During the Ganesh pooja, the idol of goddess Lakshmi is placed on the left and Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed god is kept on the right. Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped for wealth and prosperity, while Ganesh is worshiped first to ensure that any obstacles to obtaining wealth and prosperity are removed. Shri Laxmi-Ganesh Pooja takes place on Diwali by placing their idol on a platform, making various offerings of sandal paste, saffron paste, perfume(itr), haldi, kumkum, abeer, gulal, garland of cotton beads, flowers , especially the marigold flowers and leaves of Bel (wood apple tree). Incense stick and dhoop is lit and offering of sweets, coconut, fruits, and tambul are made. At the end, aarti dedicated to Lord Ganesh is sung by the devotees.

Ancient Lakshmi Sculpture Discovered in Kashmir

She's a beauty! Ancient stone sculpture of Goddess of 6th - 7th Century A.D. discovered in Indian Kashmir by Vijay Kumar August 01, 2009 Srinagar, August 01(Vijay Kumar) - In Indian Kashmir, J & K Police department discovered an ancient and magnificent stone sculpture of Goddess Lakshmi from an ancient spring at Village Nagabal Lesser in Kokernag area of South Kashmir. The sculpture is brilliantly carved in limestone (slightly brownish in colour) measuring 9-inches in height and 5-inches in width. The deity is seated on a lotus throne placed in between two lions. The main sculpture is enclosed in a stone frame and the top of which projects in the shape of elephant motifs, towards the head of the deity. However, the right top of the right side is missing. The deity is holding lotus stuck in her right hand, cornucopia in her left hand and shown with smiling face and wearing a very impressive dress. The deity is also shown wearing a necklace with a typical crown mostly seen in Kashmiri sculptures. The drapery covering the lower body of the sculpture does not pass through its shoulders but passes beneath the chest of the deity within series of folds and falls. The carving and costumes of the sculpture is a pure reflection of Gandhara Art, and speaks high of skilled craftsmanship of the ancient art of Kashmir. The preliminary study of the sculpture dates the artifact between 6th - 7th Century A.D. and places it very near to the sculptures previously found at Bijbehara, Anantnag, Kashmir. This is the only kind of artifact found from the Lesser Kokernag area of South Kashmir so far and the presence of pottery in an around Village Lesser reveals that there had been some ancient settlements which requires further examination. The department appreciates the efforts of the J & K Police department and Police Station Kokernag, in particular for recovery of the artifact which shall be shortly on display in the SPS Museum, Srinagar for the general public. http://www.scoopnews.in/ *************************************************************** Interesting points of similarity with much older goddess sculptures: (1) Seated on a throne between two lions - cf. "Mother Goddess" or "Queen" discovered at Catal Hoyuk (I don't have the exact date at hand - it's about 8,000 years old -- 6,000 BCE -- maybe older) (2) Lotus throne - while I am not specifically aware of a lotus throne sculpture from ancient Egypt or a tomb painting or carving, the Egyptians revered the lotus, as did the ancient people of India. I do not know if this is independent development of iconography that happens to be identical or if it demonstrates some as yet undiscovered connection between the two cultures. (3) Elephant "motifs" - This might refer to elephant tusks that were broken off this little sculpture - it appears to me that they would have projected outward over the head of the goddess. Interestingly, I believe that the earliest "house of pharaoh" was a wickerware structure covered by an elephant hide, and over the main entrance was hung a pair of elephant tusks. This is very ancient - predates Dynasty Zero - again, working from my (very faulty) memory, I believe it dates to the time before the climate in Egypt got much drier and the elephants retreated, placing it earlier than about 4500 BCE. I believe that the enclosure symbol (think two brackets facing each other with a small space inbetween) for "par-o" or "per-o" remained the same in Egyptian hieroglypics until the language went extinct. However, there are accounts into historical times that small herds of elephants continued to live in the land between the two rivers (Mesopotamia), long after climate change had driven them out of Egypt. There are accounts preserved of ancient kings hunting elephants in this region. I believe the ancient word used in Persia for elephant was "per-u." Coincidence? (4) The mode of costume - most interesting. In ancient Egypt, Crete and no doubt other places as well, a woman's breasts were not covered by her clothes. Garments were wrapped around underneath the breasts, leaving them exposed; in later Cretan dress, sleeves were added to a sort of blouse that covered the back but left the chest/breasts bare, tightly cinched underneath, providing a sort of platform that projected the woman's breasts forward. I don't know exactly when it became "shameful" for a woman to go about in public with exposed breasts - perhaps with the advent of Christendom???

Stolen Goddess Recovered in Belgium

From Newindpress.com Idol of Goddess Laxmi worth Rs 10 cr recovered Saturday February 2 2008 13:10 IST BELGAUM: The city police have arrested three people and seized an ancient idol of Goddess Laxmi, estimated to be worth Rs 10 crore in Belgaum on Friday. Superintendent of Police Hemant Nimbalkar said that the seized idol is figured to be of Trichy town in Tamil Nadu, and is about 800 years old. He said that the three accused have been identified as Asgarali Mohammadali Tahashildar (35) of Uchagaon, Laxman Balawant Kuri 42) of Kaulge village, Kolhapur district (Maharashtra), and Vilas Laxman Patil(45) of Uchagaon. During the inquiry, it was disclosed that the three accused were attempting to sell the idol to a tycoon in Mumbai, he added. Nimbalkar said that on a tip off, Tilakwadi CPI Mahanteshwar, Market CPI S K Marihal, Camp CPI S M Nagaraj and PSI Vishwanathrao Kulkarni and team kept a watch on the movements of the accused and grabbed them, seizing the idol and two Hero Honda bikes near Hindalga Ganesh temple. There were five of them, but two managed to escape, he said. Nimbalkar said that the idol, weighing about 50 kg, is made of copper and bronze.

A Legend About the Goddess Lakshmi

From The Times of India Goddess of East, wealth for all 30 Dec 2007, 0201 hrs IST, Prashant Dayal,TNN AHMEDABAD: Saumyak Shah started a saree store in Ratanpol area of the Walled city in 1953 and called it "Deepak Stores". As the city grew westward, Shah opened another shop on Ashram Road in 1983, now known as 'Deepkala'. Today Shah has his third showroom on the Shivranjani crossroads, in new Ahmedabad, but has not closed the Ratanpol shop. These are the traders of old Ahmedabad who had small beginnings and believe that the Walled city brought them prosperity, because the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, resided there. Folklore has it that nearly 600 years ago, a guard of the ancient city of Ahmedabad, Khwaja Siddiqui, posted at Teen Darwaza had stopped the Goddess from leaving the city without the permission of Sultan Ahmed Shah. The Goddess promised that she would stand right there till the guard returned after seeking permission from the Sultan. When the guard met the Sultan, he was so enraged at the idea of the Goddess leaving, he beheaded the guard. The Goddess stayed. In memory of the guard's sacrifice and honour of the Goddess, a lamp burns 24x7 to this day at Teen Darwaza, one of Ahmedabad's most beautiful gates. It is said that the Mahalakshmi temple at Dhana Suthar ni pol in Kalupur is dedicated to this Goddess. The priest of this temple, Bhupendra Bhatt, is the tenth descendant. The local mujawar has been lighting this lamp for the last 50 years and says this place is revered by both Hindus and Muslims. The traders who launched businesses here owe their prosperity to this belief that Lakshmi (wealth) is more stable here than outside the fort wall. Many businessmen retailed to West Ahmedabad but still have their original shops in the Walled city. West Ahmedabad still hears of several cases of fraud, and businesses winding up, but nothing of this sort for ancient family businesses. Shah of Deepkala says, "There is also a section of people on that side of the river who never cross the river to the western bank and these are our dedicated clientele". Dilip Rochwani of Azad Sweetmart, who set up his first shop in 1958 in the Revdi bazaar area of Kalupur, does not want to leave this area. He has other shops in West Ahmedabad but he says, "we had started on a very small scale for the middle class and they are our dedicated customers whom we don't want to leave".