Praful Kumar Web page

Lakshmi Pooja Lakshmi was the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and took refuge in the ocean of milk when the gods were sent into exile. Lakshmi was reborn during the Churning of the Ocean. As soon as the gods saw Lakshmi, they all fell in love with her beauty. Shiva claimed Lakshmi as his wife, but since he had already taken the Moon, her hand was given to Vishnu, whom Lakshmi herself preferred. Lakshmi is the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. While Laxmi is generally worshiped to achieve success, she does not reside long with anyone who is lazy or desire her only as wealth. Steps of Lakshmi Pooja Spread a new cloth on a raised platform: Place a handful of grains in the center and, on this, place a kalash (pitcher) made of gold, silver, copper, or terracotta. Fill three-fourth of the kalash with water and place a betel nut, a flower, a coin, and some rice grains in it. Arrange five kinds of leaves or mango leaves in the kalash . Place a small dish on the kalash and fill it with rice grains. Draw a lotus with turmeric powder ( haldi ) over the rice grains and place the idol of goddess Lakshmi over it, along with coins. Place the idol of Ganesha: In front of the kalash, on the right (South-West direction), place the idol of Ganesha. Also place ink and books related to your business or occupation on the platform. Light a lamp and begin the puja by offering haldi, kumkum, and flowers to the platform on which the kalash is placed. Then offer haldi, kumkum, and flowers to the water that is to be used for the puja. Invoke the river goddesses to be part of this water. Invoke goddess: Lakshmi by reciting the Vedic mantras addressed to her. One can also recite the mantras mentioned in the Puranas or simply take some flowers in your hands, close your eyes, and think of goddess Lakshmi being showered with gold coins by two elephants standing on either side of Her and chant Her name. Then offer the flowers to the idol. Place the idol of Lakshmi: Place the idol of Lakshmi in a plate and bathe it with water, panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, ghee or clarified butter, honey, and sugar) and then with water containing some gold ornament or a pearl. Wipe the idol clean and place it back on the kalash. Alternately, you can just sprinkle water and panchamrit on the idol with a flower. Offerings: Offer sandal paste, saffron paste, perfume ( itr ), haldi, kumkum, abeer, and gulal to the goddess. Offer a garland of cotton beads to the goddess. Offer flowers, especially the marigold flowers and leaves of Bel (wood apple tree). Light an incense stick and dhoop. Make an offering of sweets, coconut, fruits, and tambul. Make an offering of puffed rice and batasha. Pour some puffed rice, batasha, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds over the idol. Safe where you keep money and jewelry; Worship this safe as a symbol of Lord Kuber. Aarti: Finally, perform the aarti for goddess Lakshmi. Always remember that She abhors loud noise. So the aarti should be accompanied only by a small bell. Do not clap hands, as is the practice when performing aarti for other gods. A peaceful and sublime atmosphere should prevail during the pujan. Do not light crackers while the puja is on or immediately after it.

HINDU GODDESS OF WEALTH - LAKSHMI For obvious reasons, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, is more sought after than Saraswati, the goddess of learning. As the power and consort of Vishnu, the preserver, she is the power of multiplicity and the goddess of fortune, both of which are necessary for preservation. Sri or lakshmi, depicted in the vedas, is the goddess of wealth and fortune, power and beauty. One may suppose that Sri and Lakshmi are two separate deities. Since their descriptions are so similar, one may conclude that the two represent the same deity. Some scholars believe that Sri was a pre-vedic deity connected with fertility, water and agriculture. She was later fused with Lakshmi, the vedic goddess of beauty. Goddess Lakshmi According to the puranas, she was incarnated as the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyati. She was later born out of Ksheer Sagar (ocean of milk) while being churned. Hence, her appellation, Ksheera Samudra Raja Kanya. As consort of Vishnu, she is born as his spouse whenever he incarnates. When Vishnu appeared as Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, she appeared as Padma or Kamala, Dharani, Sita and Rukmini, respectively. She is as inseparable from Vishnu as speech from meaning or knowledge from intellect, or good deeds from righteousness. Vishnu represents all that is male and Lakshmi, all that is female. Lakshmi is enchantingly beautiful, and is standing on a lotus holding lotuses one in each of her hands and is called Padma, or Kamala. She is also adorned with a lotus garland. Often, elephants are shown on each side, emptying pitchers of water over her, the pitchers being presented by celestial maidens. She is variously described as dark, pink, golden, yellow or white. We attempt an explanation that is behind this highly symbolical picture. If Lakshmi is pictured as dark in complexion, it is to show that she is the consort of Vishnu, the dark god. If golden yellow, that shows her as the source of all wealth. If white, she represents the purest form of prakriti (nature) from which the universe developed. As she is the mother of all, the pinkish complexion reflects her compassion for creatures. Lakshmi Worship and Depiction Goddess Lakshmi In the company of Vishnu, she is shown with two hands only. When worshipped in a temple, she is shown seated on a lotus throne, with four hands holding padma, shankha, amritha kalasha (pot of ambrosia) and bilva fruit. Amritha kalasha also signifies immortality. Sometimes, another kind of fruit, the mahalunga (citron) is shown instead of bilva. Her four hands signify her power to grant the (chatur vidha) four type of purusharthas (ends of human life), dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (bodily pleasures), moksha (beatitude). The lotuses in various stages of blooming, represent the worlds and beings in various stages of evolution. Mahalakshmi, an aspect of Durga, is shown with eight hands. The bow and arrow, mace and discus are added. The fruit denotes the fruits of our labor. Without the grace of Lakshmi, out toil is of no avail. The coconut with the shell, kernel and water connotes that she is the origin of the three levels of creation, the gross, the subtle and the extremely subtle. When the fruit is a pomegranate or a citron, it signifies that the various created worlds are under her control and she transcends them all. A bilva fruit, incidentally, not tasty or attractive, but good for health, represents moksha - the pinnacle of spiritual life. Some sculptures depict lakshmi with an owl as her vaahana (carrier). This oddity can be appreciated when the symbology is unravelled. In Sanskrit, Uluka stands for an owl. Uluka is also one of the names of lndra, the king of gods, personifying wealth, power and glory. Thus, Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, could not have found a better person to ride on, than the king of gods. This comparison of Indra's glory to a partially blind and uncouth bird warns the seekers of secular instead of spiritual wealth. When the owl is compared to the sthitha prajna, the enlightened person described in Bhagavadgita (Ch.2.69), the symbol means that Lakshmi is the mistress of spiritual wisdom. Another interpretation is "Shut not thy eyes to the light of wisdom from the Sun of knowledge". Out of consideration for mankind, the all compassionate mother has kept this personification of ignorance under her control. Lakshmi pooja is performed differently in the different parts of India. In the North of India, Lakshmi is worshipped on the occasion of Diwali (festival of lights) while in the South of India, she is worshipped on Vara Maha Lakshmi vratham day, the first Friday of the month of Shravan.