Lakshmi - The Goddess of Wealth

Lakshmi is the divine feminine that complements Lord Vishnu or the Supreme Being. Lakshmi is seen in two forms - Bhudevi and Sridevi. Bhudevi is mother Earth or aparam Prakriti, representing the material world or energy.  Sridevi represents the spiritual world or energy called Prakriti. So she is also known as Sri. Lakshmi is the embodiment of the creative energy of Vishnu and the primordial Prakriti who creates the Universe. 

We can find mentions of Lakshmi in Rig veda and Atharva veda. The epics Mahabharatha and Ramayana has her references. In Mahabharatha she personifies wealth, riches, beauty, happiness, grace, charm and splendor. In Ramayana and Vishnu Purana, Lakshmi springs out with other celestial objects from the Ocean of Milk, when it is churned by the Gods and Demons for Amrut - the elixir of immortality. She appeared with a lotus, so she is also called Padma. According to Garuda Purana, Linga Purana and Padma Purana, Lakshmi is the daughter of Sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyaati and was called Bhargavi. According to another legend, in Shatapatha Brahmana, she is said to have emerged during the creation of the Universe - floating in the water on a lotus. Sri is described as a beautiful, resplendent and trembling woman at her birth with immense energy and powers. The Gods were bewitched at first, later became jealous of her powers. They asked Prajapati's (the Creator) permission to kill her and snatch her powers, gifts and talents. Prajapati told them that males must not kill females and asked them to seek gifts without violence. So the Gods approached her and she distributed different gifts/ powers to different Gods.

Lakshmi, the name is derived from the Sanskrit root-words laks and laksa. Laks means to perceive, observe, know and understand. Laksa means goal, aim and objective. So Lakshmi stands for 'know and understand your goal'. 

Lakshmi is depicted as either standing or sitting on a lotus and holding lotus flowers in two of her hands. Lotus is a symbol of knowledge and self-realization. Money / gold coins flow out of one of her hands or from a pot of gold held in the hand. Wealth manifested through Lakshmi is both material and spiritual. One of her hands show abhaya mudra that signify compassion and charity. She has a total of four arms. The four arms are symbolic of four goals of humanity: 1. Dharma - pursuit of ethics - moral life. 2. Artha - pursuit of wealth - means of life. 3. Kaama - pursuit of love - emotional fulfillment. 4. Moksha - pursuit of self-knowledge - liberation. She is clad in gold embroidered red cloths, which symbolizes beauty and wealth. Sometimes one or two pairs of elephants holding lotus flowers or spewing water are seen in the background. They represent strength, activity, fertility, abundance and prosperity. Sometimes an owl is also present in the picture. Owl represents the patience to see through the darkness. Lakshmi is also known as Ulkavahini meaning one who rides an owl. 

The Goddess of wealth is often depicted along with her husband Lord Vishnu. This implies that wealth and prosperity is coupled with maintenance of life, justice and peace. Lakshmi acts as the mediator between Lord Vishnu and his devotees. Lakshmi is the personification of spiritual fulfillment. She embodies the spiritual world, Vaikunta - the abode of Lord Vishnu. 

In ancient India, women were considered as the embodiments of Lakshmi. The bride and groom in Indian marriages symbolized Lakshmi and Vishnu. 

Lakshmi is worshiped on Sharad Poornima (Kojagari Poornima), the full moon night following Dussehra or Durga Puja,in the month of October. It is believed that Lakshmi visits the home of her devotees and showers blessings of wealth on that day. Lakshmi is also worshiped on Diwali night. Red flowers are offered to Lakshmi.  

Representations of Lakshmi are found in Jain temples too. A diety called Vasudhara who resembles Lakshmi is worshiped by Buddhist sects. 

Ashta Lakshmi is a group of eight secondary manifestations of Lakshmi. They preside over eight sources of wealth. Thus represents the eight powers of Sri Lakshmi. 

• Adi Lakshmi - The first manifestation of Lakshmi. 
• Dhaanya Lakshmi - Granary Wealth. 
• Veera Lakshmi - Wealth of Courage. 
• Gaja Lakshmi - (Elephants spraying water) Wealth of fertility, rains and food. 
• Santana Lakshmi - Progeny, wealth of continuity. 
• Vijaya Lakshmi - Wealth of Victory. 
• Aishwarya Lakshmi - Wealth of Knowledge and Education. 
• Dhana Lakshmi - Monetary Wealth. 

Durga - The Invincible one

Shakti the divine feminine half of Shiva has two aspects: the benevolent and the fierce. She is worshiped in various forms of the above two aspects. The Benevolent forms are Uma, Gauri, Parvati, Jagatmatha. And the Fierce forms are Durga, Kali, Chandi, Bhairavi. We find mentions of Durga, the invincible one, in the Vedic literature, Mahabharatha and Ramayana.

According to Shiva Purana and Devi Mahatmiya, Durga first appeared, as a beautiful warrior seated on a tiger. This form of Shakti was created from the combined anger of the Gods and Lord Vishnu, for the annihilation of the demon Mahishasura ( buffalo demon ), who became invincible through great penance and unleashed terror on earth and defeated the Gods. Durga had eighteen arms and each hand held a different weapon, given by the Gods. She mounted a ferocious lion, fought with Mahishasura and vanquished him. So she is also known as Mahishasuramardhini. Symbolically Durga epitomises the victory of good over evil.

Another version of the story is that Shiva helped Parvathi to realise that she is Adishakti (the pure energy of the Universe). In times of great distress and helplessness, Adishakthi manifested in the Fierce forms to eliminate the evil: as Durga to kill Mahishasura and as Kali ( the Black one) to kill Raktabija. Thus Durga as the mother of Universe, provides humans with the opportunity for a peaceful life and Salvation.

Durga Puja is celebrated in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and all over the world. In India, generally it is celebrated from the sixth to the tenth day of the waning moon in the month of Ashvin (September - October). In Nepal the festival is known a Dashain and celebrated for ten days. Durga is worshiped in her ten forms, one form per day. The ten forms are Kushmanda, Chandraghanta, Brahmacharini, Shailaputri, Skandamatha, Katyayani, Kalarathri, Mahagauri, Mahakali and Durga. 

In North India the festival is known as Dussehra. Both Dussehra and Dashain mean 'victory on the tenth day'. In the North Dussehra is celebrated as the victory of Ram over Ravana. Gigantic straw effigies of Ravana are burnt on that day. Elsewhere,  Durga is worshiped on the preceding nine days (Navarathri) and her victory is celebrated on the tenth day ( Vijaya Dasami ). As in Dashain different forms are worshipped each day. In West Bengal, huge Durga Pandals are put up. 

In Telengana, Durga is celebrated as Bathukamma - a flower festival during Navarathri. Bathukamma is the cultural icon of Telengana. 

Durga Puja, also, commemorates the annual visit of the Goddess with her children ( Ganesh and Karthikeya) to her parents' home (Himalaya) and leaving on the tenth day to be reunited with Lord Shiva. The immersion of the Durga idols on the tenth day symbolizes this. 

Now, in the Northern States of India Durga is worshiped as a gentle bride epitomizing family unity and in the Southern states and elsewhere as a warrior. 

A part of the Durga Sloka / Devi Mantra : 

Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Matri rupena samsthita 
Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Shakti rupena samsthita 
Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Shanti rupena samsthita 
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namoh Namah 
Meaning: 
The Goddess who is omnipresent as the personification of the Universal mother
The Goddess who is omnipresent as the embodiment of Power 
The Goddess who is omnipresent as the symbol of Peace 
I bow to her, I bow to her, I bow to her.

Goddess of Knowledge - Saraswathy

Saraswathy is worshiped as the Goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning from ancient Vedic times to this day. Like Shakti to Shiva , Lakshmi to Vishnu, Saraswathy is to Brahma. Thus she is one of the Tridevi. Tridevi  is the feminine part of the Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma creates, Vishnu maintains and Shiva Destroys (recycles and regenerates). 

In Mahabharatha, Saraswathy is called the mother of vedas. She is the celestial creative symphony who appeared when Brahma created the Universe. 

The name Saraswathy is a combination of two sanskrit words sara meaning essence and swa meaning oneself. So Saraswathy means 'essence of oneself'. Another explanation is Saraswathy is a composite sanskrit word Surasa-vati, meaning "one with plenty of water". This is in reference to a verse in Rigveda, where Saraswathy is referred as the 'best of mothers, of rivers, of goddesses'. In book 10 of Rigveda, she is celebrated as a feminine deity with healing, purifying powers and abundant flowing waters (River Saraswathy). In the Brahmanas which was written after Rigveda, Saraswathy's importance grew from the water that purifies to knowledge that purifies. She was celebrated as the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom, learning, speech, creativity and to anything that purifies and clarifies the essence and self of a person. 

Saraswathy is depicted as a beautiful woman with four arms, dressed in white and seated on a white lotus. The color white symbolise satva guna - represents purity, insight and wisdom.   White lotus is a symbol of enlightenment. Thefour arms symbolically represent the four heads of Brahma - manas, buddhi, chitha, ahamkara. Brahma is the abstract and Saraswathy, the experience of the highest reality. Saraswathy holds a book, a mala (rosary), a water pot and a veena ( a musical instrument) in her hands. The book represents Vedas and all forms of learning. The mala represents the power of meditation, inner reflection and spirituality. Pot of water represents purifying power or Soma - the drink that liberates and leads to knowledge. Veena represents all creative arts and sciences (the knowledge that creates harmony).

A hans or swan at her feet symbolises the ability to discriminate between good and bad. Swan is also a symbol of spiritual perfection, transcendence and moksha. Sometimes a peacock is also seen beside Saraswathy, which represents the colourful splendour and celebration of dance and also symbolises the transmutation of the poisonous self (peacock being a snake eater) into the radiant plumage of enlightenment. Saraswathy is always depicted as sitting near a river. 

In North India Vasanth Panchami is celebrated in her honour, the fifth day of spring in the month of Magha (February). Young children start their education on that day. In Kerala and TamilNadu, the last three days of Navarathri is celebrated as Saraswathy Puja.

Saraswathy is revered by the Jains and Buddhists as well. She is also worshiped in Nepal, Japan, Bali and Myanmar.

Onam - Festival of Kerala

Onam is the state festival of Kerala. It is a very ancient festival that has transcended the times. It is a harvest festival celebrated annually and lasts ten days. Onam festival is celebrated in the month of Chingam (meaning Leo /Lion ), which is the first month of the Malayalam Calendar. Onam is celebrated on the day of the ThiruOnam Nakshatra (Sravana), in the month of Chingam (August - September ). It is celebrated to commemorate the golden rule of King Mahabali, who is supposed to visit his former subjects from the nether world. So lots of pomp and splendor and cultural elements are added to the festivities to please the former King who always cared very much for the well being of his subjects. Onam could be an allegory of the ideal kingdom. The festival has a secular fabric, which is a great solace, in these times of great divides. 

Mahabali or Bali was the grandson of Prahlada, son of Asura King HiranyaKashipu who was killed by Lord Vishnu's Narasimha avatar. Like grandfather Prahlada, Bali was also a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. Bali, when he came to power, conquered all the realms with the help of his Guru Shukracharya. The Devas became envious and scared of Bali and wanted to get rid of him. They approached Lord Vishnu and he agreed to help them. He incarnated as Vamana (Dwarf ). Vamana was born to Aditi, the mother of Devas and wife of Kashyap. Kashyap had two wives, Diti and Aditi. Diti was the mother of Asuras.

At this time Bali, now Mahabali, was reigning high. With the aid of Shukracharya, he planned to perform Ashwameda Yagam, which would enable him to bring all the three worlds under him. The generous Mahabali declared that anyone was free to ask anything from him. At this juncture, Vamana visited Mahabali with a small demand. Vamana asked for land equivalent to three paces of his own feet. Hearing this Shukracharya became suspicious and warned Mahabali, but Mahabali was not the one to go back on his words. He agreed and then Vamana started growing in size, to such a size that with one step he covered the entire earth, with the second he covered the Heavens. There was no space to put down the third foot. Mahabali (means great sacrifice), as his name suggests, readily bowed before Vamana and asked him to put the third foot on his head. Vamana obliged, and thus Mahabali was pushed down to the nether world Sutala, the heaven like underworld. The place where Vamana set his foot is the present Thrikkakara (place of holy foot) near Kochi. Vamana was extremely pleased with Mahabali that he made him the ruler of the underworld, Sutala and on Mahabali's request allowed him to visit his former subjects once a year. And his former subjects started celebrating the visit as a month long festival, reliving the prosperity of the olden days. Nowadays Onam is celebrated for ten days. 

Now the festivities of onam start ten days before the supposed visit of Mahabali on the day of thiruonam nakshatra (Sravana ), which is also the birth star of Lord Vishnu. Onam celebration starts on the day of Atham nakshathra (Hastha ). So it is called Athachamayam. Pookalam or Floral designs akin to Rangoli, are made in front of the houses. Small obelisk shaped mounts made of clay, representing Lord Vamana and King Mahabali, called onathappan are also kept in the pookalam. On the day after thiruonam, on the day of avittom nakshathra (Dhanishta ) Mahabali returns to the underworld. On that day onathappan is immersed in water. 

Very elaborate and sumptuous meals, onasadya, are prepared and consumed on these days. 

Onam is a time of gaiety, music and dance. Thiruvathira dance, kummattikali, puli kali, thumbi thullal etc are some of the ancient and traditional dances showcased during the festival. A ritual worship dance known as theyyam is also showcased. In it the character of Mahabali is played by onathar. Oneswaran and onapottan are other characters. 

Onavillu is a bow-shaped musical instrument that accompanies kummattikali. Another kind of onavillu has dashavatharam painted on it and embellished with tassles and displayed. So that Mahabali can see Lord Vishnu and his avatars whenever he visits earth. 

Kazhchakkula samarpanam to the Guruvayoor Temple is a ritual associated with onam. The banana bunch of the changali kodan variety is given as offering.

Onam is a time of team games. The most famous are the Snake boat races, vallam kali, conducted during this time. 

People purchase new clothes, onakkodi, during onam. This is symbolic of shedding the old and embracing the new. 

Another legend about Onam is that it is the comemmoration of the formation of the land of Kerala. It is said that Parasurama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, threw his axe into the sea and reclaimed the land from Gokarna in the north to Kanyakumari in the south. 

Malayalees celebrate this festival with great joy and fervor. 

Dashavatara - Theory of Evolution

Dashavatara refers to the ten avatars or incarnations of Lord Vishnu to restore the cosmic order, The  Avatars being Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Kalki and either Balarama or Buddha are included to complete the list. 

Some modern interpreters see Dashavatara as a great great grand father of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The gradual evolution from the simplest to the most complex.

In 1877,Theosophist Helena Blavatsky in her opus Isis Unveiled proposed the following order of Avatars:

• Matsya or fish - the first class of vertebrates, evolved in the water. This indicates the origin of fish in the Silurian Period.
• Kurma or Tortoise - living in water and land. Indicates the origin of Amphibians in the Devonian Period. 
• Varaha or hog - wild land animal. Indicates the origin of mammals in Triassic Period. 
• Narasimha or a being that is half human and half animal. Indicates the emergence of human thoughts and intelligence in powerful wild nature, 
• Vamana or a short, predecessor of human beings. 
• Parasurama represents early human beings living in forests, who uses weapons. 
• Rama represents humans living in community - beginning of civil society. 
• Krishna represents a period when animal husbandry is practised and also a politically advanced society. 
• Buddha is a representation of humans attaining enlightenment. 
• Kalki represents advanced  humans with great powers of destruction. 

According to Keshub Chandra Sen, a prominent figure in Brahmo Samaj, "The Hindu Avatar rise from the lowest scale of life through the fish, the tortoise, and the hog up to the perfection of humanity. Indian Avtarism is,indeed, a crude representation of the ascending scale of Divine creation. Such precisely is the modern theory of evolution". 

* Since Krishna and Balarama belonged to the same period, and Balarama depicted as carrying a plough, i think. it was also a period when agriculture was practised. 
*Split the word Kalki into Kal , Ki. In hindi 'kal ki' means tomorrow's / of tomorrow.