What sort of relationship do we want to cultivate with Lakshmi ? I have
deliberately used the neutral, rather informal “Lakshmi”, rather than the
respectful Lakshmiji because everyone has a different relationship with
“wealth”. Across cultures, across time, people have different ideas of
what they consider to be “wealth”. Across cultures, across time, people
have different ideas of how to acquire, retain and use wealth. All of this
defines what sort of relationship we have with Lakshmi.
Unlike the Semitic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, wealth in
Hinduism is seen as a goddess. She is an independent divine being with
powers to grant blessings to those she deems worthy. Hence in Hinduism,
wealth is not a curse, nor is it seen as ill-gotten, but a blessing of the
divine. Hinduism sees Lakshmi, wealth, as a female aspect of the divine
because like a mother, wealth provides comfort and nourishment for all of us.
Lakshmi, wealth comes in many forms. Health, happiness, peace, land,
animals, supportive family, good friends, great looks, strength, power,
influence, wisdom as well as conventional wealth of gold, silver and money are
all forms of Lakshmiji.
Lets have a look at some type of the relationships we can cultivate with
Lakshmi. We will look at scriptural examples and you can decide which one
of these resonate with you.
Daughter:-
Bhrigu and Samudra
What sort of father do you want to be for your “little Lakshmi” ?
Scriptures give us two excellent examples to choose from.
Sage Bhrigu was given Lakshmi to raise and nurture as his own daughter.
The great sage’s pride and ego estranged her from him.
Samudra was a more understanding, accommodating father, willing to share his
resources with Laskhmiji and her husband by providing a place for them to stay
within his vast waters.
Brother:- Chandra,
Dhanvantari and Bali
Of the three brothers scriptures narrate, what sort of brother do you want to be
towards your sister Lakshmi ?
Chandra is calm and cool, unfazed by constant waning and waxing of fortunes.
Dhanvantari embodies ideas of health and healing.
Bali, though an Asur, has won immortality and fame through his good works.
Impressed by his dedication to the welfare of his people, Lakshmiji has herself
chosen him to be her pseudo brother.
Sister:- amrit,
sura, poison, kalpavrusha etc
When Sur and Asur churned the ocean, various items arose from its frothy waters.
All these can be defined as siblings of Lakshmiji.
Poison & Nectar, Kama-denu, Airavat & Ucchaishrava, Sura (alcohol), Apsara &
Kalpataru (tree that grants wishes) all came out of the ocean along with Chandra
and Dhanvantari. There are many aspects of wealth. Which one(s) do
you relate to ? Is wealth intoxicating for you ? Is it killing off
the humanity that resides in your heart out of greed and desire to dominate ?
Are you using your wealth to “show off” ? Are you using your wealth to be
benevolent or malevolent ? How you use your wealth and how it effects you
will define your relationship with Lakshmiji.
Wife:-Vishnu
There are many suitors who would like to marry Lakshmiji, but she consistently
chooses only Vishnu as her husband. His benevolence, his grace, his
calmness, his desire to sustain the universe through constant action and his
equanimity in all matters has endeared him to her. Even when she walks out
in a huff, she will return and return only to Vishnu because she loves him.
The world sits at Lakshmiji’s feet, seeking her favours. Lakshmiji sits at
the feet of Vishnu, seeking his approval. Many have tried to abduct and
forcefully bind Lakshmi to themselves and be her husband, but, how can a limited
personality contain the unlimited power of Adi Shakti as Maha Lakshmi !
Co-wife:- Pruthvi
(Earth)
You have to be as patient and as forgiving as the Earth itself to have the
saubhagya of sharing your beloved with Lakshmiji.
Mother:- Kamadeva
Doting mothers do not deny their beloved children any thing they want.
Being the child of Lakshmiji is a privilege that comes with many perks and
responsibilities.
Kamadeva is the handsome, happy-go-lucky son of Lakshmi. His main in life
is to make people happy. Yet, be careful ! Don’t let the privilege
of being Being the son of Lakshmiji get to your head and overreach yourself.
You are not immortal and the austere Shiva can burn you to ashes !
Friend:-
Sarasvati and Parvati
Friendship requires you to be open, honest and always be there for your friend. Friends have no agenda. Friendship should be for friendship
sake.
Boss:- Humans,
people who labour “for” wealth”
Do we serve Lakshmi or does Lakshmi serve us ? Most of us would like to be
the boss of Lakshmi, but sadly, we are its servants. We go hither thither,
toiling for a few favours of this most capricious of bosses.
To be loved:- Devas,
those who love money.
Devas bear platonic love for Lakshmiji. In turn, she makes their heaven a
happy place because the Devas are generally benevolent and use their divine
powers for the good of the universe. Lakshmiji loves those people who are
happy to share their good fortune with others. Contrary to popular
believe, wealth (not money – but wealth in all its various aspects) increases as
you share it.
To be lusted:- Danavas,
those who want money and would do anything to get it.
Danavas lust for wealth and will happily kill their own step-brothers the Devas
for the wealth that they have. Its not that the Danavas are poor or have
no wealth, infact, they have as much wealth as the Devas. But, goaded by
greed, they seek to deprive others of their wealth so as to be the sole masters
of wealth. Lakshmiji detests such people and brings only misery, mistrust
and sleeplessness to such fools.
To be hoarded:- Yakshas,
those who believe in accumulating wealth and keeping it locked away
Yakshas can not bear to share their wealth with anyone – ANYONE ! Knowing
themselves to be mortal and knowing that they can’t take the wealth with them,
they still wish to keep hold of every copper coin they have and more !
To be enslaved:- Rakshshas,
those who want to control ALL sources of wealth
Rakshashas like Hiranyakashyapu want to enslave wealth and force it to “work for
them”. They can not bear anyone else to have any wealth and wand to be the
sole owners of all wealth. In their megalomania, they are willing to do
anything to anyone to acquire as much wealth as they can. To such people,
wealth is not acquired for pleasure or leisure or peace. Wealth is
acquired simply because it is wealth. In their ceaseless pursuit for
acquiring, hoarding and working their capital, they do not see how miserable and
lonely they have become. How can they then realise the misery they spread
to others ?
Is your relationship with wealth that of the Devas, Danavas, Yakshas or
Rakshasha ?
To be harnessed:- Vaishyas,
those who believe money should be used to generate more money.
Vaishyas are those who use wealth to produce more wealth. They see wealth
as the means and the end. Do you want your wealth to replicate ad
infinitum ?
Fear:-
some people fear wealth will spoil them, make them materialistic, and hence they
try to avoid wealth. Some people
feel wealth will be a barrier to being a spiritual person.
Udaseen:- Sadhu,
don’t care about wealth in any form.
There are those in this world who do not care for wealth – wealth of any form.
They do not seek wealth nor do they care about other people’s wealth. They
accord Lakshmiji the same respect they would give to any other creature in the
universe. To them, other people’s pursuit of wealth is drudgery at best
and self-imposed-slavery at worst. Such contented souls are happy just the
way they are.
So which one of these descriptions reflects your relationship with Lakshmi ?
Analyse your current relationship with “wealth” and decide if it is the type of
relationship you want with Lakshmiji. Good news is, if you want, you can
always transform your relationship with Lakshmiji for the better !
© Bhagwat [email protected]