NAVARATRI - DEVI MAHATMYAM -SWAMI SRI CHIDANANDA

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Saturday, October 01, 2022. 07:30.
SIXTH NIGHT
GODDESS OF AUSPICIOUSNESS AT HOME AND AT HEART

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Divine Mother who is the one Power that sustains the universe. 

She is the source of Power manifest in and through the various names and

forms. Salutations again and again to Her who manifests within our hearts as aspiration, as

Sadhana-Shakti and preserves our Yoga and who ultimately manifests Herself as Pure Knowledge

in our consciousness and illuminates our entire being.

Today we come to the third sacred day of worship of the Divine Mother in Her aspect of Sri

Lakshmi or Vishnu Shakti or Narayani. On this sixth day of the Navaratra Worship ours is the rare

blessing and good fortune to dwell upon the Goddess Lakshmi as She manifests to the individual in

the intimate sphere of the home, the domestic sphere, at heart in Her very important and significant

inner aspect as the Daivi Sampat which are developed in the personality of the seeker and Sadhaka

and the Mumukshu. In these two aspects She is of a special and practical importance to us all in as

much as knowing the Mother in these aspects we shall be able to recognise both Her presence and

Her absence as such, and by recognising which we shall be able to strive to preserve those aspects in

which She is present and try to cultivate and bring into manifestation and expression those aspects

of Hers which we may find to be absent.

Glorious Indian Womanhood :

In the domestic sphere the conception of the Goddess Lakshmi is wonderful and unique in

this blessed land of Bharatavarsha. For the home itself is regarded as the Abode of Lakshmi where

the Mother manifests Herself in the worshipful form of the Grihini. Therefore, we are familiar with

the expression Grihalakshmi, the Mother who presides over the auspiciousness, welfare and

progress of the home-life and family. She is conceived of as the very embodiment of Goddess

Lakshmi. Herein we have a unique feature of the Bharatiya Samskriti which is a thing that is found

to be absent in the West. In the West the woman is more conceived of as the wife, an equal partner to

the man vying for privilege with him in all spheres of activity and trying to assert not only her

equality but even further her personal independence. Whereas, to the Hindu heart woman is the

mother. It is the motherhood of the woman that is ever present in the consciousness of the true

Hindu. This is the blessing of being born in this Punya-Bhumi for out of this conception we shall be

enabled to rise to the realisation of the Motherhood of God. This Matri-Bhav or the attitude and the

vision of woman as the Mother is a means of purifying our hearts and minds and elevating us to a

higher state wherein the descent of divine light becomes facilitated.

Thus, home is the abode of Lakshmi to the Hindu; therefore, every home in Hindu society is

a temple of auspiciousness, of Mangalya, presided over by Lakshmi in and through the pure person

of the Grihalakshmi. The greatness, the power and the radiance of the Mother as embodied in the

mother of the home is the radiance of chastity, Pativrata Dharma, which forms the grandeur, the

glory and the inner radiance of the Grihalakshmi. To her it is the power that is unsurpassed in the

whole world. The entire conception of Dharma for women may be summed up in this single word

Pativratya. To the Grihalakshmi in her sphere of the home, the husband or the Patidev is what to the

Sadhaka and the seeker in the Spiritual life, (in the sphere of Yoga) the Guru is. 

Even as the Sadhaka looks upon the Guru as the Supreme Being Himself, as identical with God, as brought out in the couplet:

Twam Hi Vishnur Virinchistwam Twam Cha Devo Maheshwarah

Twameva Shaktiruposi Nirgunastwam Sanatanah

Even so the Patidev is to the wife. Pativratya is the greatest treasure that a woman can

possess in this life that makes her not merely an exceptional woman but which makes her a veritable

Goddess-upon-earth. For, this power of chastity is the divine element of Goddess Lakshmi Herself.

Added to this, the external expression of this internal virtue of chastity, is in the form of modesty.

The ornament of the Hindu woman is modesty. She does not care to see others and be seen. This is a

craze, a disease, which is developing in the modern era. One likes that the attention of others may be

attracted towards oneself; and to this end colourful dresses and every device as invented by the

fertile brains of people who are immersed in the deepest of darkness, are utilised so that attention of

others may be attracted. This is the direct antithesis or contradiction of the sublime and noble virtueof modesty. If modesty is neglected and this craze for attraction is given place to, then it becomes a

denial of Lakshmi Devi. It is Alakshmi. We must always bear in mind that in the eyes of Hindu

idealism, modesty is a virtue of paramount importance and in this form the Mother manifests

Herself in and through the ideal of noble Indian womanhood.

Lakshmi also manifests Herself in the home in the personality of the Grihalakshmi as grace

and sweetness of manners, behaviour and speech. A woman should never be harsh. No harsh word,

no rude speech, no hard utterance should ever cross the holy lips of the presiding deity of the Hindu

home. This is the ideal, for graciousness and sweetness are a part and parcel of the Hindu

conception of the Grihalakshmi. Never to utter harsh words is one of the methods of honouring

Lakshmi and worshipping Her. This is to be borne in mind in all homes; for that alone conduces to

real happiness, peace and welfare of the home.

Another custom which is not properly understood is the adornment of the person with two

important things, besides the Mangalya-Sutra which is the distinct sign of the Grihalakshmi. In two

more aspects Lakshmi is present in the Hindu home; that is in the form of two factors of adornment

of the ideal Hindu woman—in the form of flowers and in the form of Tilak. A Hindu woman should

never go without the Tilak. There is a special significance and a deep and important reason for the

wearing of a sizeable Tilak upon the forehead which is not understood. But it may be accepted

without any doubt that there is a very real necessity and importance for this Tilak both from the

subjective point of view of the lady wearing it, as also from the objective point of view of all people

who have to contact her during Vyavahar. Also, flowers. Flowers are the very manifestation of

Lakshmi and they are also to be worn. But, at the same time we should not forget that Mother

Lakshmi acts both as the Vidya Maya as also the Avidya Maya. Therefore, in this aspect as the

Avidya Maya she is always to be worshipped from a very safe distance and we should daily pray to

Her that she may save us from that aspect of Her play and She may only bless us as Her Vidya

aspect.

Apart from the manifestations of the Goddess Lakshmi in the person of the Grihalakshmi,

She is also manifest as a continuous attitude of worshipfulness to the Patidev and a continuous

willing self-sacrificing service of the Lord in and through the husband.

Goddess Lakshmi Herself is the greatest exemplar of this sublime Pati-Seva. For, the

Vaishnavite conception of the great Mother is as an Eternal Sevika of the Lord in Vaikuntha. She is

ever at the feet of Bhagavan Vishnu, ever intent on the perennial eternal service of the Lord. This

conception of the Goddess Lakshmi is very significant one, that is to be borne in mind and

translated into action in the personal life of each model Hindu woman.

Manifestations of Lakshmi in the Home :

Coming from the person of the Grihalakshmi to the surroundings of the house, cleanliness is

the one important way in which Lakshmi is Present. The very dust and dirt about the house is

Alakshmi. It is referred to in South India as Daridrya.

Then, lamps. The moment the time of twilight and sunset comes we will immediately find

that every Hindu Home will at once have a lamp lit and saluted and thus brightness and illumination

will at once come in before darkness sets in. This is a practice which is followed in every Hindu

home where it is recognised that light or illumination is an aspect of Lakshmi as She is manifest in

the domestic sphere.

Then the worship of the gods. This is of paramount importance. Where the gods are not

worshipped, there Lakshmi does not stay. She may of course come and take Her abode in Her

extreme Avidya aspect; money may be accumulated, but ultimately prosperity will go from the

home, and grief, suffering and sorrow will be the ultimate fate of those homes where the gods are

not worshipped. This is a very important factor which people of this sacred land, who have come to

be increasingly influenced by occidental thought and Western ways of living, will have to bear in

mind and to beware of if they really wish their ultimate happiness and the prosperity of the family.

Gods have to be worshipped; that is to be the most important part of domestic life and observance of

the traditional forms of festivity and sacred days. For if these days like the Janmashtami,

Rama-Navami, etc., which are observed in this holy land, are neglected, we remark that there is no

auspiciousness in that house.

Charity. This is also an important manifestation of Mother Lakshmi in the Grihasthasrama.

The Grihastha has the unique privilege of sharing what he has with others of the three

Ashramas—the indigent Brahmacharis who wish to carry on their studies, the wandering

Sannyasin and also the Vanaprasthin who has renounced home and is living a holy life and

preparing to qualify himself for the fourth order of Sannyasa. To give charity to these three classes

of beings is a rare privilege of the second Order and to utilise this privilege is to manifest the power

of Goddess Lakshmi in the domestic sphere; for, it is by this that preservative aspect of Vishnu is

exercised, by which Dharma is preserved and the other Ashramas are helped to be perpetuated.

Hospitality to the Atithi (guest) is an important aspect of Lakshmi. Where a stranger or a

guest is turned away, there Lakshmi does not abide. But where there is a welcome for the beggar,

and the unexpected guest, there Lakshmi dwells in all Her radiance and blesses that home.

Hospitality, charity and generosity are also important aspects of Goddess Lakshmi which have to be

diligently and religiously preserved by the devout Hindu Grihastha.

Two things which are peculiarly Indian, and I may say peculiarly Hindu, which are also

important factors in which the Goddess Lakshmi manifests Herself in the Hindu home are these.

First, as the sacred basil (Tulsi) plant. No home should ever be without the Tulsi plant. For this is

one of the living forms in which the Goddess Lakshmi is present upon earth. She is the direct

Vibhuti of the Divine Lord. In this respect I may say that the Maharashtrians are very particular

about this; no matter where they might live, they may be millionaires and they may be living in

materialistic surroundings in big cities; they may be living in tenements where hundreds of families

live together in four or five-storeyed houses; yet you will find that every Maharashtrian home will

have a small pot where the Tulsi plant will grow. The moment you enter the house, you will see the

Tulsi plant. It is thus that the Mother blesses such families where She is worshipped in this very

special form. No Maharashtrian Grihalakshmi will ever take anything until she has at least offered a

flower at this Tulsi plant or burnt a little camphor or done one Pradakshina and bowed her head in

devout salutation to Tulsi-Devi.

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