Dr. A. V. Srinivasan: Mahalakshmi

Mahalakshmi personifies the concept of a life of health, happiness and prosperity

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Mahalakshmi personifies the concept of a life of health, happiness and prosperity. Hindus consider Mahalakshmi as JAGAJJANANI, Mother of the universe, and representation of the female energy of the Supreme Being. She is the Goddess, of fortune and prosperity and bestower of wellbeing and wealth. Mahalakshmi was one of the fourteen precious items emerging from the ocean of milk with a lotus in Her hand during Amritamanthana, the churning of the ocean. She is the consort of Vishnu and plays that role in every re-incarnation of Vishnu. For example, She was Sita in the Ramavatar, Radha in Krishnavatar and Dharani, the earth, during Parashuramavatar.

The familiar visualization Hindus have, of Mahalakshmi, is that of a beautiful, graceful Devi, full of love and compassion sitting on a lotus or standing on a lotus pedestal as it were. Some believe that the lotus in this context is symbolic of pure knowledge. Sometimes, pictures of Lakshmi show Her anointed with water poured from trunks of elephants on either side. A wide variety of prayers depicting these various attributes may be found in the Sree Sukta.

It is the Hindu practice to meditate first on Mahalakshmi upon waking up at the beginning of each day. We are asked to look at our palms and recite the following shloka:

Karaagre vasate Lakshmi karamadhye Saraswati
Karamoole tu Govindaha prabhate karadarshanam

At the top of hand resides Lakshmi and at the center Saraswati
And at the base resides Govinda. Thus we should look at our palms in the morning.

The practice of worship of Sri Mahalakshmi is a testimony to the importance our ancestors placed on the practical aspects of life. That they regarded money as an important medium essential for leading a good life is evident when we study the dialog in the Mahabharata between Yudhishtira and the Yaksha in the Yakshaprashna episode. Yaksha's question Mrtah katham syaat purushaha (when is a man dead?) is answered by Yudhishtira as follows: Mrto daridrah purushoh (men are to be considered dead when they are poor!). Thus our ancestors warned against abject poverty and made that practical necessity a part of their religion through worship of Lakshmi. In certain parts of India, it is a practice of merchants and businesses to worship Mahalakshmi during the Divali festival. As always, there is the simultaneous requirement to keep the reins of dharma in order to keep control of their lives even as they strive for acquisition of wealth. It is a brilliant, practical, sensible scheme devised by our ancestors and it works when we recognize that we are all entitled to enjoyment of this life as long as we possess the skill to maintain a balance among Dharma, Artha and Kama.