A Prayer for Prosperity

Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya

Chanting a full-throated Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya, Bharat lit the customary Deepavali diyas on Dhan Teras to herald the Festival of Lights; and is burning bright, leading the global economy out of the gloom of Covid lockdown, Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas war, and similar minor hiccups. Global Hunger Index and other similar products of conspiracy to belittle our country have been unceremoniously swept away under pre-Deepavali cleanings, and sold to the raddi-wallah by the kilo. In this Amritkaal, all countrymen, women and children would hopefully listen only to auspicious news and see the glowing signs of prosperity.

Deepavali sales – real estate, automobiles, premium smart-phones, white goods, gold, and jewellery – have scaled record heights. Apple has reported highest ever sales in India for the quarter ending September, and iPhones would now be Made in India by an Indian Company!

The new kid on the block, blinkit - the 12-minute delivery app, is now selling sona along with sabzi; Laxmi Gold Coin 1 gm 24 Karat for INR 6549 at a discount of 18%! MMTC Silver Coins 10gm – Sold Out.

It is evident that Lakshmi is showering Her blessings on Bharat and a grateful country has lit lakhs of diyas and turned-on billions of China-made twinkling lights. On 12th November evening,  22.23 lakh diyas were lit at 51 ghats of Sarayu river at Ayodhya to create a new Guinness World Record, to verify which the GWR team deployed two drones. More than one lakh litres of mustard oil was used.

Deepavali is here, bright, resplendent, and blazing with glory. Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya!

Mata Rani Ka Darbar

You cannot fault me for feeling rather upbeat with so much positive vibe swirling around.

How about a short trip, I asked dear spouse, and mentioned the name of the town in western Madhya Pradesh which is not in the tourist circuit, religious or otherwise.

Why, she asked?

You would take out your most precious jewellery from the bank locker for us to carry and hand it over, temporarily, to the local puja committee for decorating Mata Rani’s Darbar.

I gave her the newspaper which carried a report on the annual custom by devotees from far and wide to offer for placement at the lotus feet of Maha Lakshmi their most precious ornaments and bundles of crisp, brand new currency notes drawn from the bank for this holy purpose. It is believed that wealth surrendered at the feet of the Goddess, once returned to the devotee’s home, is guaranteed to attract more wealth.

Is it safe, she asked?

No risk, no gain. But I understand that the local administration provides 24*7 police security, and CCTV is installed by the wealthy puja committee. Not a single item, not even a ten-rupee note has been stolen, or misplaced since the tradition commenced several decades ago.

How much would it cost us? I made a rough estimate (travel and hotel cost) and told her.

Considering the total value of the items owned by us, isn’t that a significant cost? Have you checked about entry barriers, if any? Maybe, only sarafa traders, or very wealthy persons participate in this custom ‘By Invitation Only!’

That did not sound very polite to me, but I kept quiet. Why sour the festive atmosphere?

Mantra and Yantra for Wealth

Everyone seeks wealth and prosperity. However, some seek it with greater fervour and desperation than others. For such seekers, many remedies have been recommended, including mantra-yantra-tantra.

 Lakshmi Mantra to Get Rich Quickly

I was looking for Lakshmi mantras for use during the Deepavali puja at home, got it readily from a Google search (Bija mantra: SHRIM, and a little longer one: Om Shrim Maha Lakshmiyei Swaha); but the search also led me to a portal offering a Lakshmi Mantra to Get Rich Quickly. It was too tempting to resist, so took a quick dekho.

The portal owner does not claim to be a Baba or a siddha purush, but offers several ‘solutions’ and ‘remedies’ based on ‘Vedic’ knowledge. He asserts his ‘Copyright’ to these solutions, and provides a ‘Disclaimer’ that there is no guarantee of success since the grace of the Goddess is unpredictable, and the ’karma’ of the practitioner is unknown. However, he is confident that 30028 chanting (use a rosary prayer bead to keep count, he instructs) of a very powerful mantra for a period of three days, beginning on a Wednesday at midnight, wearing yellow garment after a purifying bath, and with the image or idol of Devi draped in yellow garment is guaranteed to attract and maintain abundance.

For fabrication of his copyrighted Yantra, to be hung from the ceiling of the kitchen, he has provided a list of ingredients, and the procedure. The Yantra is effective for a period of one year only, after which it is to be consigned to a river or waterbody (just like visarjan of a murti after puja), and a new Yantra must be fabricated.

There is a link for a seeker who is in urgent need of money, and can not even wait for three days. It leads to apps and agencies providing instant loans without any guarantee!  

I refrain from providing the link for this portal. If some of you are desperate for wealth, a Google Search will lead you to the portal. However, proceed further at your own risk; I seek full indemnity for your actions, if any.

Daridrya Dahana Mantra

A mantra for incineration of poverty. This mantra is a prayer for Shiva, and not specifically for attainment of wealth. Shiva is a Yogi, a renunciant, and has little attachment to wealth; so, you may offer your prayers to Shiva, but not for wealth, I guess.

Sri Sukta

Sri Sukta (Rig Veda) is an ancient and elegant prayer for Lakshmi. The core prayer is in 15 verses, and the remainder is phalasruti – the benefits that are expected to accrue from chanting this prayer.

This Sukta may have been instrumental in defining the iconography of Maha Lakshmi, and the identification of the deity with wealth, prosperity, and abundance in general, and gold and silver ornaments in particular. The opening verse says:

श्रीसूक्त (ऋग्वेद)

ॐ ॥ हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् ।

चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥ १॥

O, golden-hued Goddess bedecked with gold and silver garlands; I invoke You to visit my home and bless me!

However, this Sukta is not obsessed with the glitter of gold. Later verses praise Lakshmi as the Mother of kardama (mud, soil, Earth), and kardama as the nourisher of all life. Lakshmi is also venerated as ardra pushkarini (an abundant body of water), and the energy or power (dhan) behind Surya (heat and light), Agni, Vayu, and all other divinities. Thus, the Goddess is not limited to chunks of precious metals, she is the giver of dhanya (grains), dhana (prosperity of all kinds- material, health, fame, etc.), and Shri (auspiciousness, bliss).

Maha Lakshmi, Raja Ravi Varma

(Wikimedia Commons)

Beyond the glitter of Gold

Ishopanishad has a beautiful prayer:

हिरण्मयेन पात्रेण सत्यस्यापिहितं मुखम्‌।

तत् त्वं पूषन्नपावृणु सत्यधर्माय दृष्टये ॥

(Ishopanishad, Verse 15)

Truth is concealed within a vessel with a golden lid. O Sun, please uncover it for us to behold Truth and pursue the path of truth and dharma.

Wealth beyond material prosperity

Pursuit of Artha or material prosperity is a valid goal of life, sanctioned by the shastras. However, wealth is not limited to material prosperity alone.

A Subhashita says:

न चौरहार्यं न च राजहार्यं

न भ्रातृभाज्यं न च भारकारि।

व्यये कृते वर्धत एव नित्यं

विद्याधनं सर्वधनप्रधानम्॥

Vidya (Learning, Knowledge, Skill) is the most precious wealth, for it can not be stolen by thieves, nor confiscated by the rulers, nor claimed for partition by a brother, nor is it ever a burden for the person who carries it, and the best part of it is that the more you spend it the more it grows.

Lakshmi: Supreme Healer

Lakshmi blesses her devotees with health and wellbeing. She is amritadharini, the custodian of amrit. She is niramaya, the remover of all diseases and distress. She is also the Supreme Healer – sarva vyadhi chikitsaki. She is mritasanjivani (power to revive the dead), vishalyakarani (antidote to all poisons), and paramaushadhi (unfailing medicine).

Choose the wealth you need, Dear Reader.

Let me end with a well-known Shanti Mantra - a secular invocation not addressed to any deity but voicing the longing for a higher non-material, intangible need, one that in modern times Maslow would put at the top of his hierarchy of needs.

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chapter 1, Shloka-28)

Lead me from untruth to Truth, from darkness to Light, and from the ephemeral to Eternal.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous Deepavali.

***

 A response in verse by G.Subbu, a friend:

If you've acquired sufficient wealth ,

Whether by hard work or by stealth ,

A goddess in MP assures a return gift ,

And ensures that your finances get a face lift,

But now , at our age ,all that we wish for is good health!

**"