The Lakshmi Principle

 

Goddess Lakshmi

Who is Lakshmi?

Put very simply, Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of Wealth.

In a Hindu family, when a girl is born, it is said that ‘Lakshmi has come in to the home’.  When a girl gets married, it is also said that ‘Lakshmi has come in to our home’.  – The latter bearing a lot of pressure! 😉

Unfortunately to most people, the term ‘wealth’ only relates to monetary wealth.  To have and to be able to possess luxuries.  And if we do not posses this form of wealth forever, we feel that ‘Lakshmi‘ has abandoned us for another.

What does ‘wealth’ mean to you?

I attended a lovely discourse last week, ‘Women without Walls’, by Swamini (Religious Teacher) Supriyananda at the Chinmaya Mission in Hendon.

The ‘Women’ in question were the Hindu Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati and how we can ‘take’ their attributes and strength and make them OURS.  How we can be ‘complete’ women when possessing these amazing characteristics of these lovely Celestial Beings.  They are solely there for us to learn from and relate to.  We read signs and books that say that all of us women are Goddesses or we have a Goddess inside us.  But, do we understand what that means?  What does it mean to be a Goddess?  And if we believed we are Goddesses or have a Goddess inside of us then we would perhaps not be prone to feeling like ‘victims’ of circumstance but instead always feel empowered by these special qualities of a Goddess. No?

(Durga:  Goddess of Power (Shakti) – she destroys evil forces that threaten the better good.  Saraswati:  Goddess of Knowledge – education, arts, music, intelligence.)

So, back to Goddess Lakshmi.  Why Lakshmi?  So much of the discussion resonated with me, my upbringing, it also gave me so much more adoration for my own mother.

What is ‘wealth’ to you?

Wealth to me has always been my health, my family, my friends, my values, my reputation. I would go further to say, I am blessed to have this wealth in ABUNDANCE.

Let’s go deeper in to Lakshmi and her ‘wealth’:

Resourceful, Virtues, Generosity, Devotion, Beauty, Compassion, Intelligence, Carefree, Pure, Charismatic-Charming, Radiant, Happiness, Love.

At the discussion it took as ages and prodding from Swaminiji  for us to come with the latter to, but the most important of them all:  HAPPINESS AND LOVE!

Did you think about it? 😉

Lakshmi is ABUNDANT in all of the above.  This is the Lakshmi principle.  Being resourceful, abundant, happiness, love, generous, virtuous, beautiful, devoted,  compassionate, smart, carefree, pure, charismatic, raidant.

Do we not aim to possess these qualities or to make these qualities in us shine?

Are we not resourceful as women?  We just know how to get the job done no matter where and what.  We never fall short of resources.

Which qualities of Lakshmi are you aware that you possess?  Which attributes would you wish to sharpen?

Namaste! The Goddess of me salutes the Goddess in you!

 

 

 

 

 

Marriage lowers a woman’s IQ

Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh  Bachchan)
Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan)

Does it?

On Sunday I watched ‘Piku‘, a new Bollywood movie starring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan and Moushumi Chatterjee.  The movie is directed by Shoojit Sircar, famed for Madras Cafe and Vicky Donor.

The story revolves around an ageing, widowed father (Amitabh Bachchan) and his single, career-driven daughter (Deepika).  It is a very well-directed movie, with an excellent cast who performed beautifully in a very simple story line.  It has all the right elements of a comedy, mild romance & adventure and is thought-provoking at moments.

Without revealing too much of the story for those who have not seen it yet, I wanted to focus on a statement that Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh) uses very often when speaking about his late wife, ‘Marriage lowers a woman’s IQ’.  

The character makes many references about his late wife not having a high IQ as a result of dedicating her life to look after him, their home and their daughter. (He also makes these statements to dissuade his daughter from getting married for two main reasons; one being that she too will lower her IQ by getting married.  It’s actually hilarious in context and there are plenty of jibes with other characters in the movie about this.

It does make one think however.

Is that a common perception of a woman who solely dedicates her life to marriage, home and children?

Is it common for women who leave a thriving career to do all the above to feel that they have been ‘dumbed down’ by the so-called mundane tasks?

Do working mothers feel ‘smarter’ when at work and less mentally competent at home?

Managing a home, the needs of a demanding and cranky man (Bhaskor) and a child surely requires a very intelligent and patient woman. N’est pas?

A wife needs to be in tune with all the members in her household, keep her household a safe and nurturing environment for them, understand the needs of both sexes and various age groups, and ensure that the mechanics of her household are in good order and running smoothly at all times.  Managing household staff should she have them, e.g. helpers, cooks, nannies, gardeners, etc.  It does require people skills, being on top of current affairs, and having eyes and ears all around her.

Another view that can be taken is, so she has lowered her IQ or her potential but there has definitely got to be some internal growth as a person as she plays and juggles all these roles?

Is there a disparity between IQ and Spiritual growth?

Different thoughts keep popping up in my mind regarding this statement.  I would love to hear the thought process and experiences of all you women out there.  How do you perceive marriage?  What has marriage done for you?

Going back to the movie, it was quite funny to hear a man repeatedly say that he thought his wife was stupid for taking care of him.  She should have done more with her skills and talents.  Granted, it’s a man and a view from a different generation, and fewer men now view their partners as their care takers, but view them as partners in every sense of the word.

Do watch the movie however as the story really has nothing to do with women, but a very simple and necessary daily function of our body!

How do you perceive this statement, ‘marriage lowers a woman’s IQ’?