Thought of the week: Inviting the Goddess of fortune

[Guest guest]

When Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after an exile of fourteen years, the

delighted residents welcomes Him by decorating the city with lights. Sita devi

was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune and Lord Rama was

the supreme personality of Godhead, Vishnu. Factually, the denizens of Ayodhya

were welcoming their worshipable Lord and His consort back amongst them.

 

This tradition has been carried forth for thousands of years when during the

eve Diwali, people in India light their houses with diyas or small clay lamps

and decorate their homes to welcome all prosperity and auspiciousness.

 

Lakshmi and Vishnu

*******************

In the material world, wherever there is Lakshmi devi, there is opulence's and

wealth. That is why so many people pray to Her, to give them material comforts,

wealth and riches. Being merciful, She is easily pleased and quickly rewards

Her devotees by fulfilling their desires. However, these benedictions are of a

temporary nature. This is why we often see people enjoying great wealth, and

then may suddenly loose everything and become poor. Or despite wealth, they may

be in bad health, mental anxiety or physical stress.

 

In a conversation with the demigods in the Mahabharata, Lakshmi devi states

that being a woman, She is of a fickle nature. On Her own She does not stay

long any where. In the Brahma-samhita, Lord Brahma glorifies Krishna as being

served my millions of goddesses of fortune in His eternal Goloka dhama. As a

chaste and devotes wife Lakshmi devi is always by the side of Her husband.

 

So generally Lakshmi devi may come and go as She pleases, but where ever there

is Sri Krishna, Lakshmi devi will be invariably there. In the house of a

Vaisnava where Sri Krishna is being worshipped, Lakshmi devi will dutifully

reside with Her husband.

 

Indigent vaisnava

*****************

On of the popular mis-conceptions is that devotees of Lord Vishnu are generally

poor. Certainly there seems to be some empirical evidence to substantiate this.

However a closer look will show that this poverty is only superficial. The

devotees enjoy real opulence since they have the constant association of the

Lord and His faithful consort, Lakshmi devi. But in the mood of a devotee, they

remain detached or use it for the service of the Lord.

 

The Lord is always eager to fulfill the desires of His devotees. When Sudama

went to visit Krishna, even without his asking, Krishna made him rich beyond

measure. However the only change in the life of Sudama was that he increased

his service to the Lord and His devotees.

 

One of the earliest symptoms of devotion service is 'all-auspiciousness.'

Devotional service to the Lord not only burns away all past and present

reactions, it also infuses the devotee with all auspicious qualities. Where

then can there be the question of devotees of the Lord being miserable?

 

Mercy of the Lord

******************

Wealth, power, fame can interfere with one's spiritual advancement. As stated

in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.88.8), "yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam

sanaih." The Lord said to Maharaja Yudhisthira, "The first installment of My

mercy toward a devotee is that I take away all his possessions, especially his

material opulence, his money." This is the special favor of the Lord toward a

sincere devotee. If a sincere devotee wants Krishna above everything but at the

same time is attached to material possessions, which hinder his advancement in

Krishna consciousness, by tactics the Lord takes away all his possessions. An

example of this is the Lord in the form of Vamanadeva taking away all the

possessions of Maharaja Bali and bringing him to a point where he was

completely dependant on the Lord.

 

However the Lord only does this to bring the devotee closer to Him. If a

devotee would become bewildered or turn away from the Lord, then there is no

reason for the omniscient Lord to deprive him of his wealth. And the rewards of

the Lord are infinitely greater. Bali Maharaja was awarded everything that he

was striving for and much more. Such is the magnanimity of the Lord.

 

Material detachment

********************

The material wealth or its lack of is primarily a symptom of past karmic

reactions. Vaisanavas are well situated in this knowledge. They are aloof to

the miseries ordained by the laws of karma, since they simply depend on the

mercy of the Lord. They accept misfortunes as a result of their past mis-deeds

and good fortune as the mercy of the Lord. From such material detachment comes

protection from the fickleness of fortune.

 

In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Goswami advise men not to unnecessarily work

like asses for things that are not ordained by destiny. Factually the material

world is place of misery. True intelligence dictates that one must try a get

relief from this material distress rather than work hard and get temporary

relief by lording it over material nature. Thus, while the materialists are

working hard to get some wealth, the devotees are working harder to use their

precious form of human life to get lasting relief from material distress.

 

Enjoying Lakshmi without the Lord

**********************************

Ravana had a demoniac mentality since he tried to enjoy Sita separate from

Rama. For this he was killed. The same fate was also awarded to Hiranyakasyapu,

Kamsa and many others who had embarked on the same course. The proper way to

honor Lakshmi devi is by inviting Her worshipable Lord first and then with Her

help serve the Lord Then and only then will there be lasting opulence and

auspiciousness.

 

 

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----- Festivals over the next week ------

Dec 10 2001, Monday Disappearance Sri Narahari Sarakara Thakura (Fast)

Ekadasi Utpanna (Break fast 07:17-10:27)

Dec 11 2001, Tuesday Disappearance Sri Kaliya Krsnadasa

Dec 12 2001, Wednesday Disappearance Sri Saranga Thakura

 

*** NOTE: All times are for Washington D.C, USA, EST ***

For festival information for your city please go to http://www.iskcondc.org and

click on 'Calendar'

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