Questions for Lakshmi worshippers

[Sirona]

Namaste,

I hope you all had a nice start into 2017 ! I'm back with some new questions:

1. What are the basic scriptures for people who predominantly worship Lakshmi?

2. What role do Lakshmi worshippers assume towards Her? Is there something like "rasas"? (With the Gaudiya Vaishnavas there are five "rasas" you can assume with regard to God: neutrality, servitude, friendship, being God's parent, being God's lover)

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[Kirran]

Most Lakshmi worshippers don't have some particular scripture. Most will take the role that comes naturally out of their bhakti.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I do not think there are rasas in Devi worship. She is the mother all the time, whether Laxmi, Parvati or Sarswati. She plays only one role.

 

[Terese]

I suppose the Laksmi Tantra...?

 

[निताइ dasa]

Yeah Lakshmi Tantra, and other Pancaratras. Lakshmi is usually never worshipped independently. It is always Lakshmi Narayan. Where one is, the other must be. Like Sita Rama or Radha Krsna.

Actually in terms of rasa, Lakshmi Devi is worshiped in Aishwarya (mood of opulence) and those that serve Her (Her maidservant), have a mood of Dasya (servant). or Sakhya (friendship). towards Her. In Vaikuntha, where Lord Narayana is, it's more dasya, but in other places like Vraja (in personalities like Lalita or Visakha) there is a mood of friendship towards Her (Radha). Some Sakhis actually also have a tinge of Vatsalya towards Radharani, like Lalita whom Radharani considers Her Guru.

For some reason, I've seen that a lot of Karma Khandis worship Lakshmi Maa. They approach Her for material wealth and prosperity.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

I suppose Lakshmi is like my Tyche. I have an image of her on my altar and keep the third day of the month as a festival.

Approach, queen Tyche, with propitious mind
And rich abundance, to my prayer inclined.
Placid and gentle Goddess, mighty named,
Imperial lady, born of Pluto famed.
In thee our various mortal life is found,
And some from thee in copious wealth abound;
Be present, Goddess, to thy votaries kind,
And give abundance with benignant mind.

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

There is the Lakshmi Tantra, a Vaishnavite text but Lakshmi also plays a key role in the Devi Mahatmayam, a Shakta text.

While it is true that Lakshmi is often worshiped alongside Narayan (Rama, Krishna etc) There are also temples dedicated just to her, such as the MahaLakshmi mandir in Massachusetts. In these singular contexts, MahaLakshmi is the AdiShakti and her consorts are part of her emanations. She is the energy and will behind the universe and the Lord is the instrument of action or fulfillment.

As far as the devotee's relationship to her, I'm not knowledgeable enough to have specific, vedic vocabulary for it, but from my own personal experience I think most people approach her as a mother or trusted guide and friend.

 

[Shantanu]

Namaste,

I hope you all had a nice start into 2017 ! I'm back with some new questions:

1. What are the basic scriptures for people who predominantly worship Lakshmi?

2. What role do Lakshmi worshippers assume towards Her? Is there something like "rasas"? (With the Gaudiya Vaishnavas there are five "rasas" you can assume with regard to God: neutrality, servitude, friendship, being God's parent, being God's lover)

Thanks in advance for your replies.

The central focus of Lakshmi worship is the acquisition of wealth.

 

[Kirran]

The central focus of Lakshmi worship is the acquisition of wealth.

With some of the pujas I've been to and some of the sannyasins I know, I can assure you this is not necessarily the case!

 

[Shantanu]

With some of the pujas I've been to and some of the sannyasins I know, I can assure you this is not necessarily the case!

Wealth is not necessarily financial/monetary but can take the form of things like having children. Of course among Hindus people choose dieties thinking that it will be good for all kinds of things. I would say that to become a sanyassi/sanyassin one needs to abandon female form worship other than Durga worship because Durga alone is the incarnation of Sri Krishna as the Supreme God.

 

[Kirran]

Wealth is not necessarily financial/monetary but can take the form of things like having children. Of course among Hindus people choose dieties thinking that it will be good for all kinds of things. I would say that to become a sanyassi/sanyassin one needs to abandon female form worship other than Durga worship because Durga alone is the incarnation of Sri Krishna as the Supreme God.

True, many Hindus worship so as to ask for material benefits of some kind or another. But that's not tied to any particular forms.

I will have to respectfully disagree r.e. your thoughts on sannyasins and worshipping feminine aspects!

 

[Shantanu]

True, many Hindus worship so as to ask for material benefits of some kind or another. But that's not tied to any particular forms.

I will have to respectfully disagree r.e. your thoughts on sannyasins and worshipping feminine aspects!

If you say devotees worshipping Lakshmi as Maa/Mother do so because she is God the creator and preserver or represents something else in the universe then there would be any point in discussing it. The question I ask is what does a devotee want from Lakshmi? Why worship Her? From my childhood I have been under the impression that she is a goddess that brings good fortune. She is also the cosort of Vishnu. It is therefore unlike worshipping Sri Krishna because devotees of Sri Krishna revere Him for the guidance He gives on how to live one's life as the God who clarifies what dharma is.

 

[Kirran]

If you say devotees worshipping Lakshmi as Maa/Mother do so because she is God the creator and preserver or represents something else in the universe then there would be any point in discussing it. The question I ask is what does a devotee want from Lakshmi? Why worship Her? From my childhood I have been under the impression that she is a goddess that brings good fortune. She is also the cosort of Vishnu. It is therefore unlike worshipping Sri Krishna because devotees of Sri Krishna revere Him for the guidance He gives on how to live one's life as the God who clarifies what dharma is.

I myself have worshipped her, and most people I know have worshipped her, simply as the feminine aspect of God, as a form of Mother. Worshipping God is very much its own reward.

 

[Shantanu]

I myself have worshipped her, and most people I know have worshipped her, simply as the feminine aspect of God, as a form of Mother. Worshipping God is very much its own reward.

True; in real life, if people are attracted to a diety of the guna consciousness energy they worship that diety and get whatever rewards they are looking for from their practices. I have no problem understanding that.

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

The central focus of Lakshmi worship is the acquisition of wealth.

It can be. Certainty she is popular with businessmen of all stripes. However I think it's worth pointing out that "wealth" takes many forms. A wealth of good spirit, humility, compassion etc, are all within MahaLakshmi's domain.

 

[DeviChaaya]

It is therefore unlike worshipping Sri Krishna because devotees of Sri Krishna revere Him for the guidance He gives on how to live one's life as the God who clarifies what dharma is.

Eeeeh. I reckon plenty of people worship Krishna for madhurya bhava and not guidance, @Shantanu, my coconutty friend. Fact is I reckon most do. Most Hindus have never read ANY Gita whether it be the Bhagavat Gita (over hyped) or the Avoodut Gita (bit obtuse) or the Shiva Gita (sung by Shiva to Rama) or the Devi Gita (best Gita hands down, sorry not sorry). And even more of them haven't read the Mahabharata or Bhagavatam Puranas. they worship Krishna because he is all attractive. But guess where he gets that attractiveness?

AMMA! AMMA! GIVE KRISHNA YOUR FLUTE, ELSE I SHALL COLLAPSE RIGHT NOW IN BLISS AND BE UNABLE TO PERFORM MY DUTIES.

 

[Shantanu]

Eeeeh. I reckon plenty of people worship Krishna for madhurya bhava and not guidance, @Shantanu, my coconutty friend. Fact is I reckon most do. Most Hindus have never read ANY Gita whether it be the Bhagavat Gita (over hyped) or the Avoodut Gita (bit obtuse) or the Shiva Gita (sung by Shiva to Rama) or the Devi Gita (best Gita hands down, sorry not sorry). And even more of them haven't read the Mahabharata or Bhagavatam Puranas. they worship Krishna because he is all attractive. But guess where he gets that attractiveness?

AMMA! AMMA! GIVE KRISHNA YOUR FLUTE, ELSE I SHALL COLLAPSE RIGHT NOW IN BLISS AND BE UNABLE TO PERFORM MY DUTIES.

I was looking for God intensely and this Deity appeared before me: I described Him because He made it clear to me that He wanted to be known as Sri Krishna and was there for me to use as a guide on realtime actions in life that I needed for my survival in dignity. That is the reason for my reverence of this God. I looked for wealth and fame but Lakshmi did not come before me. Only this God who was making clear that wealth and fame are not worth pursuing. The greater pursuit of importance is the pursuit of truth and only He could provide this to me. And He did. I am still a poor man but rich in knowledge I believe. For every issue, every bone of contention was to be dissected, elaborted, and published.

And of course you are saying even this God/Deity must have a mother (Amma) right?

 

[DeviChaaya]

I was looking for God intensely and this Deity appeared before me: I described Him because He made it clear to me that He wanted to be known as Sri Krishna and was there for me to use as a guide on realtime actions in life that I needed for my survival in dignity. That is the reason for my reverence of this God. I looked for wealth and fame but Lakshmi did not come before me. Only this God who was making clear that wealth and fame are not worth pursuing. The greater pursuit of importance is the pursuit of truth and only He could provide this to me. And He did. I am still a poor man but rich in knowledge I believe. For every issue, every bone of contention was to be dissected, elaborted, and published.

And of course you are saying even this God/Deity must have a mother (Amma) right?

Nah, mate. I'm saying that when we have direct neural access between our brains and computers there's no way anyone would see the same thing. There'll be a room and the interface will say to your brain 'there is a chair and a glass table. The chair has curlicues and the carpet is thick' but every. Single. Brain. Will conceptualise that and perceive it in a different way.

You're seeing Krishna, I'm seeing Kali. The essentials are the same, the visualisation is different.

 

[Shantanu]

Nah, mate. I'm saying that when we have direct neural access between our brains and computers there's no way anyone would see the same thing. There'll be a room and the interface will say to your brain 'there is a chair and a glass table. The chair has curlicues and the carpet is thick' but every. Single. Brain. Will conceptualise that and perceive it in a different way.

You're seeing Krishna, I'm seeing Kali. The essentials are the same, the visualisation is different.

Yes, I follow that. But did Kali give you some concrete foolproof evidence of her availability as a great Goddess?

 

[Nyingjé Tso]

Yes, I follow that. But did Kali give you some concrete foolproof evidence of her availability as a great Goddess?

Vanakkam,

She did for Sri Ramakrishna and she still do to a lot of devotees everyday. What is implied here ?

I don't see where this discussion is going to be honest

Aum Namah Shivaya