Harnessing the Stars: Navigating Life Transitions with Astrology
Since the beginning of time Hindu culture has popularized the worship of god and goddesses Infront of their idols, though it is believed that god or almighty is present everywhere the idol gives a path for devotees to follow while paying homage to the deity. Hindu culture has a perception of having 33 crores[330 million] god and goddess transcript in the religious history and each idol hold importance for a significant reason. For example: Durga is the goddess of power, Shiva is the almighty creator and destroyer of the universe, Vishwakarma can be termed as the god of Iron and machinery.
LAXMI: THE GODDESS
Today our article will revolve around the goddess Laxmi, its history and why it is worshiped by millions of devotees all over India. When dived into the history of Indian mythology it is discovered that Laxmi is the youngest daughter of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, married to Vishnu this goddess takes different forms when she descends on earth along with her husband as Vishnu himself has nine avatars. In simple language, it translates as Laxmi as Sita as Ram’s wife, Queen Rukmini wife of Krishna and Padma as the wife of Hari. When asked devotees it is favorably believed that Laxmi is the goddess of wealth and materialistic power though it is the partial truth the epic of Laxmi is more profound.
Laxmi the delightful goddess holds the ultimate meaning of goal, the Laxmi word originates from the term Lakshya. Mankind has eight types of goals to achieve and hence devotees worship goddess Laxmi to immerse their life in reflecting and accomplishing these set of objectives. The eight goals are Spiritual Enlightenment, food, knowledge, resources, progeny, abundance, patience and success and the eight or Astha Laxmis possess the different avatars of goddess Laxmi that devotees follow are:
· Aadi Laxmi
· Dhaanya Laxmi
· Vidya Laxmi
· Dhana Laxmi
· Santaana Laxmi
· Gaja Laxmi
· Dhairya Laxmi
· Vijaya Laxmi
In some devotees, it is also believed that Laxmi is the personification of beauty and fertility like Vikings had their goddess Freia, Shri Laxmi also termed as the goddess of nourishment and nurturer of life.
WHY IS LAXMI WORSHIPPED
Laxmi Puja occurs during Diwali in India where devotees embark on the beginning of a New Year, this is also the time when Ram rescued Sita from the captures of Ravana this is also a reason for the worship of Laxmi as Sita is an avatar of Laxmi. Laxmi is mainly worshiped for the protection of wealth and prosperity, it is believed that the purpose of worshiping Laxmi is to have the immense blessing of the goddess that can bring affluence and asset to the family. It also has to be kept in consideration that devotees should keep their house clean because goddess only approaches houses with cleanliness.
Another aspect very much associated with the worship of Goddess Laxmi is Gold, gold is a very pure material for the devotees of Laxmi sometimes gold materials in the house are worshiped along with Laxmi idol to protect them.
LAXMI PUJA 2020
This year the auspicious occasion of Laxmi Puja is on the 31st of October 2020. It is organized on the eve of ‘Amavasya tithi’ which falls on the third day of Diwali. Devotees and their family members dress up in new traditional outfits to maintain the purity were worshiping the deity. The completion of the Puja requires these scared five steps. First one studied is the worshiping of God Ganesha because every auspicious activity starts with Ganesh Puja to embark fortune. The next step includes paying homage to the three incarnations of goddess Laxmi. These are avatars are Mahalaxmi worshiped for wealth, Saraswati worshiped for education and treasure of all god lord Kubera depicting fields that fall under three important categories of life i.e. education, wealth and treasuring the wealth.
Candles or diyas are lit all around the house by devotees for a warm and optimistic welcome to god Laxmi. After the puja devotees go out to burn firecrackers the justified reason other than the entertainment factor but to keep malicious spirit away from the families. The ladies especially the daughter in law of the family is also given the pedestal of goddess Laxmi respecting them and treating them well can also be considered a form of worship to goddess Laxmi.
