Lakshmi

Published on 27th October, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror When we read stories of Shiva, there is a constant reference to how he is forced to marry and produce his children, Kartikeya and Ganesha. When Shiva gets married, he comes down from the mountain Kailasa, which is cold, where no vegetation grows. He descends with his wife and moves to Kashi, a city on a riverbank, which is warm, wet and fertile, where there are markets, crematoriums and pleasure gardens. It is where life happens, trade happens, business happens. Why is this story being told? Why does Shiva, the hermit, turn into Shankara, the householder? Why ..

Published on 4th October, 2019, in Economic Times Everyone needs, and wants Lakshmi in Hindu mythology: Devas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Yakshas. But each one’s relationship with wealth is different. Some like Ram and Duryodhana are lucky, they are born in rich families. Ram is a positive, divine character, in the Ramayana but Duryodhana is a villain, a negative character, in the Mahabharata. Why does Lakshmi favour them? Is it good karma of past lives? That makes sense with Ram, but not Duryodhan. Ram, for no fault of his, loses his royal fortune and is forced to live in poverty in the forest. Pandavas, on the other ..

Published on 21st September, 2019, in Economic Times Buddhism is a religion where you are told that desire is the cause of suffering, where we hear of Buddha giving up his kingdom to become the great awakened one. Yet, at the stupa where he is remembered, we find some of the earliest images of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, Sri. Merchants and monks who venerated Buddha believed that desire is the cause of suffering; but they also respected Lakshmi, because they were pragmatic enough to know that without Lakshmi, life cannot function. Even Jains say that when Lakshmi appears in the dreams of women, they ..

Published on 23rd August, 2019, in Economic Times The word ‘Lakshmi’ comes from the word ‘laksh’ which means target. Inanimate objects don’t have targets: a rock has no target, the river has no target, clouds have no target, but all living creatures do have a target. All living creatures look for food; if they don’t get it, they will die. So, they have a target called food. Food, their laksh, becomes their Lakshmi. When they consume food, they stay alive. For plants, Lakshmi is sunlight, water, nutrients. For herbivorous animals, Lakshmi is grass and leaves. For carnivorous animals, it is the flesh of other animals. ..

Published on 18th August, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. Arthashastra, or economics, is today linked with Chanakya, even though he himself claims his knowledge to have come down from Shukra, the guru of Asuras, and Brihaspati, the guru of Devas. Since Chanakya eclipses Shukra and Brihaspati, arthashastra has become more statecraft, or dharmashastra, than economics. When we study the mythology of these gurus of heaven and netherworld we realise they conducted yagna for their patrons. Yagna grants success to Devas and Asuras. It enables Devas to live in Swarga, located above the sky, and Asuras to live in Hiranyapura, located under the earth. One who conducts ..

Published on 12th November, 2018, in First Post. In the Puranas, Lakshmi has three fathers: Varuna, Puloman and Bhrigu. Varuna is an asura in the Vedas, but in the Puranas he becomes a deva, a god of the sea, source of all water. The Puranas describe Puloman as the asura-king and Bhrigu as the asura-guru. This makes Lakshmi the daughter of asuras. The word ‘asura’ has been given a moral turn in recent times; they are visualised in children’s books as dark-skinned, fat, horned, ugly – the embodiment of evil. It is easy then to assume that Lakshmi’s association with asuras stems from the fear ..

Published on 5th October, 2018, in India Today. In Hinduism, god cannot be divine without the goddess. There is no Vishnu without Lakshmi. No Shiva without Shakti. No Brahma without Saraswati. But it is a mystery for many why Hindus, for whom divinity is both male and female, treat women so badly. Aren't women goddesses? Why are they then considered unclean when they menstruate? Why are daughters considered a burden, denied education and resources, sidelined in favour of sons? The question we have to ask is: are they treated better or worse in religions where god is avowedly male, where his messengers are male. Take ..

Published on 29th September, 2017, in The Economic Times. When the Vice President recently referred to Lakshmi as Finance Minister, he revealed a popular misunderstanding of Hindu mythology. Lakshmi is the embodiment of wealth, but she is not the one who manages the wealth. We want her in our house, but bringing her in is our responsibility, not hers. She is Finance, not Finance Minister. The Finance Minister, and more importantly the Prime Minister who guides him, needs to be one who knows how to ‘attract’ Lakshmi, in other words, Lakshmi-kanta, or Lakshmi-vallabha, which means the beloved of Lakshmi. In the Hindu Puranas, that status ..