Happy Navaratri! Learn how to connect with Goddess Lakshmi on the 3 nights of Navaratri dedicated to the Goddess of Prosperity.
Pillai Center Teacher Gina (Jai Radha) hosted a free call to share the importance and how-to of connecting with Goddess Lakshmi during Nights 4-6 of Navaratri (9 Nights of the Goddess).
Experience the teachings and guided meditation in the audio recording.
Listen and download the audio recording here.
Highlights from the Call:
- Lakshmi is the Goddess of Abundance. She can provide you with material wealth, beauty, and happiness.
- Lakshmi is the wife of Vishnu, the Sustainer. Sustainers give us what we need to sustain our lives on the earth plane.
- You are deserving of a 200% life: 100% material + 100% spiritual, which Lakshmi represents. She can help you realize your full potential.
- During Navaratri Nights 4-6, Mother Laskmi visits the earth plane in her fiercest form to destroy poverty consciousness. Lack of prosperity is a real issue for many of us in the world, but this is curable.
- Call on Lakshmi during Nights 4-6 of Navaratri to destroy the disease of poverty and live your most abundant life.
Goddess Lakshmi and her Significance
Lakshmi or Maha Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of Wealth, is one of the popular deities of Hinduism. She is one of three important female trinities, the other being Saraswathi and Parvati. Maha Lakshmi worship exists all over India, along with Lord Ganesh and Goddess Saraswathi are worshipped before the commencement of any new venture or the start of a project. Goddess Lakshmi symbolizes fortune and prosperity; in ancient India, several coins were minted with her images.
Lakshmi is the wife of Lord Maha Vishnu and is accorded equal importance in his worship. Devotees going to the Vishnu temples first have the darshan of Maha Lakshmi, and only then do they proceed to have the darshan of Lord Maha Vishnu. Almost every Vishnu temple has a separate shrine dedicated to her. It is said that Maha Lakshmi resides in the heart of Lord Maha Vishnu, and thus he got the name ‘Srinivasa,’ the one with Lakshmi in his heart.
If the Narasimha and Hayagriva avatars of Lord Vishnu hold her with them, they are christened as Lakshmi Narasimha and Lakshmi Hayagriva. Additionally, during the Rama and Krishna avatars, Goddess Lakshmi too accompanied them as Sita and Rukmini, respectively.
She is the Adi devata to Lord Kubera, the divine custodian of Wealth. It is because of her grace, Kubera became the caretaker of the divine treasure. It is a custom that if you are performing Kubera puja, you should first perform Lakshmi Pooja and only then commence the Kubera Pooja. Many perform the Lakshmi pooja and Kubera pooja together.
Worshipping Maha Lakshmi on Fridays is considered very auspicious. On Fridays, women worship her at home and shall visit nearby Lakshmi temples. She is also worshipped on Tuesdays. Vara Lakshmi Pooja, Dhanteras, and Navaratri (three days out of nine are dedicated to Lakshmi) are the important days for Lakshmi worship.
The Depiction of Mahalakshmi
Maha Lakshmi has wide eyes and features a golden complexion, and is depicted with four hands. She holds lotuses on her two upper hands, and in her one lower hand, she holds a golden pot full of gold coins, the coins continually drip from the pot, but the pot never becomes empty. On the other hand, she blesses the devotees.
Lakshmi is seated on a red-colored lotus and usually wears red garments and wears many ornaments. She uses an elephant or an owl as her mount. Maha Lakshmi is worshiped in several forms Ashta Lakshmi (eight forms of Lakshmi) and Vara Lakshmi are her most popular forms.
Ashta Lakshmi and Vara Lakshmi
Ashta Lakshmi refers to the eight different manifestations of Lakshmi. Each of these Lakshmis’ is the custodians of a particular type of Wealth. Devotees pray to Ashta Lakshmi to be blessed with eight important forms of Wealth.
The names of Ashta Lakshmi and the type of Wealth they bless with are:
The Ashta Lakshmi Stotram, praising each form of the eight Lakshmi, is chanted to invoke the blessings of these eight wealth goddesses.
Vara Lakshmi, the Lakshmi who grants boons, is worshipped during the Vara Lakshmi pooja. A woman performs this pooja for the well-being of the family. The woman performing Vara Lakshmi pooja invites her female friends, relatives, and neighbors and gives them the sarees, blouses, and prasad kept in the Vara Lakshmi pooja.
How to invoke Goddess Lakshmi
During Vara Lakshmi Pooja and Dhanteras, people invoke Goddess Lakshmi at their homes and pray for their well-being and betterment. The following are the steps to invoke Goddess Lakshmi.
- First, worship Lord Ganesha and do a small pooja to him.
- Place the statue or portrait of Goddess Lakshmi on a pedestal.
- Take a Kumbh (a small pot) and pour some turmeric water into it.
- Place mango leaves on the outer edge of the Kumbh.
- Close the mouth of the Kumbh with a coconut smeared with turmeric.
- Decorate the Kumbh and the coconut with vermillion. You may draw a Swastik or some lines.
- Light a lamp using ghee and light some incense sticks as well.
- Put some flowers on the Goddess statue and portrait and on the Kumbh too.
- Pray the Goddess to come and enter the Kumbh.
- Place some prasad (divine offering) for the Goddess (fruits, milk, or sweets).
- Recite the mantras, slokas, and chants of Maha Lakshmi.
- While reciting the mantras and slokas, perform Archana (putting flowers) to the Kumbh with flowers and Kum Kum.
- Pray sincerely to the Goddess and request her to solve all your problems.
- Once the pooja is over, you can eat the prasad and distribute it to your family members.
Offerings for Lakshmi
This section throws light on the offerings that please Goddess Lakshmi.
On normal days you can offer any bright flowers to do pooja and offer pure fruits and sweets to the Goddess. However, on special days like Dhanteras and Vara Lakshmi Pooja, you can offer the below to Goddess Mahalakshmi.
Objects in red, green, gold, hot pink are favorites for Goddess Lakshmi. During Lakshmi pooja, you can offer sarees and blouses of those colors to the Goddess.
- Lotus flowers are very sacred and perfect for Lakshmi Pooja. Performing Archana with lotus flowers will bring more benefits.
- Roses are also ideal for worshipping Lakshmi.
- Sandal paste, kumkum, and rose water are also ideal to be used for worshipping Goddess Lakshmi.
- You can place currency notes and gold & silver ornaments on the pooja altar.
- Pure honey is ideal to be used for Lakshmi as a prasad.
- Sweets made from pure milk are the favorite of Goddess Lakshmi.
Ritual to Connect with Goddess Lakshmi
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- Lakshmi’s mantra is ‘Shreem Brzee’.
- Choose an object to represent Lakshmi – a statue (such as this one), yantra (such as this one) or picture and invite her to embody that object. Or simply visualize her in your mind’s eye.
- Light a candle or ghee lamp and incense in front of your Lord Lakshmi object, either on your altar (if you have one) or on a plate or something fire safe.
- There are a number of offerings you can present to Goddess Lakshmi that will invoke her energy and presence in your life, including:
- pink flowers
- raw white rice with some turmeric sprinkled in
- chocolate or other sweets
- fruit
- water
- Place your offerings in front of your representation of offerings for lakshmi as you chant her mantra.
- The love and devotion you put into the ritual are key to making it work. You are encouraged to be in a place of love and devotion when calling upon Lakshmi.
Proper worship and sincere prayers to Goddess Lakshmi will improve your life and boost your finances.
Warm Regards,
Your Pillai Center Team
Connect with the Goddess with our 9 Nights of the Goddess Program from Pillai Center Academy. Click the button below for details.
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