The serenely smiling four-armed lady sitting on a lotus in a lake of gold coins is Lakshimi, "the Eternal Goddess of Wealth & Prosperity." She was introduced to me by my friend Jan, just when I was feeling a major financial pinch this month and looking for a little serenity of my own. Everything I have undertaken in January has ended up costing more than I was originally quoted, from the ramada and flood control project to car repair and purchase of a daybed in the fervent hope that my son will visit.
I Googled Lakshimi, and was informed that the mere sight (or darshan) of her in the morning would bless me with wealth. I was advised to keep her picture in my purse, and I would "never face shortage of resources." That would be nice. I'm not wishing for fabulous wealth, but I wouldn't mind being able to meet the budget I've spent hours working out. And maybe that trip...
The entire back of my place is now a classic example of Earth in Upheaval. Piles of sand and stones, big holes in the ground revealing water pipes that we somehow have to protect and preserve access to, bags of cement... Not a serenity-inducing scene.
The ultimate goal is a roof extending over the entire back patio that will carry rainfall over and out into a canal which will pass around my condo and the one next door, and into the arroyo. A stone wall will block water flow from the parking lot (which is seven feet higher than my patio), with a metal gate that can be bolted shut against rising water, and a little bridge over the canal leading from my back steps to the parking lot.
Every time I begin asking myself if I really need all this, it rains—torrentially—and I'm back to mopping and sopping up the flow under my back door with towels. Last night was relatively mild, only a four-towel night.
Anyway, back to Lakshimi. After jumping into an ocean of milk when the gods were exiled, she was reborn and was so admired for her beauty (must have been all that milk) she was chosen to become the consort of Vishnu. She signifies not only wealth and prosperity but light, beauty, love and grace. To obtain her help (better take notes here) requires 100,000 japa or recitations of her mantra and 10,000 ahutis (offerings) of ghee (clarified butter) and samigri (a combination of 36 purifying herbs). Um, is that daily?
