Unveiling True Vedic Essence Of Wealth Goddess Lakshmee In Business

Business/ Money: - The third caste of VARN is VAISHYAS that mean business community like businessmen, industrialists also they are responsible to create well and symbolically Lakshmee has been shown him as the symbol of wealth. It has been and is, will be a very important factor to run a house, society nation etc. 

The moot point is the symbolic representation of Lakshmee with four hands each hand is explaining as to what it denotes usually she is worshipped even at Diwali so that wealth comes into the family. Unfortunately, this is not what it means. 

Let me explain the real ethos of Goddess Lakshmee.

Our economists, to avoid such undue accumulation and stagnation in trade and industry, personified wealth as a goddess, called ‘Lakşmee’. Wealth was epitomized as a woman because in our culture women command greatest esteem and adoration. This Deity of wealth is presented as having four arms and four hands. In her two hands she holds two (lotus) flowers, In her Third hand she denotes wealth and the fourth hand she is giving blessing.

1. The pose of the first two hands she holds lotus flowers which represents the rich class comprising of businessmen, industrialists and agriculturists.

What the rich people need is symbolized by a lotus flower and not by any other flower like a rose etc.

First of all the rich needs softness in seat, beds, clothes etc., which softness is best expressed by the petals of the lotus flower. They need colourful dresses and coverings, which are bound in different colours of the lotus. They look for extra-ordinary energizing sweet, rich nourishing food, which one finds in the lotus as honey and in its seeds. Besides, they desire to have scenic environment and cool atmosphere which is only obtained in a lotus flower, because it grows in most scenic surroundings as in cool pools, ponds, lakes etc. Before the air conditioning machines were invented and installed, rich people used to have their mansions in lakes, or on coasts of rivers and seas for this comfort. In short, lotus provides all what the rich people need. Thus the rich who are the traders, the industrialist or great agriculturists, are wisely represented by a lotus in the hand of Lakshmee. The analogy is beautiful.

2. The pose of the third hand is as if she is pouring some of her wealth to the needy. 

3. The pose of her fourth hand is raised in a prone position as if she is blessing and giving shelter to the helpless. 

Our concept of wealth is not complete till there is a donation at least of some percentage of the savings (say 25%) for generating shelter for the homeless, charitable hostels called Dharmshalaas, dispensaries, Hospitals, temples, wells, ponds and community centres etc. for the public. 

It was not “one for oneself”. Each should feel to donate his share to the needy. This way, they mitigated the financial load on the Government. 

To sum up, these functions of this third section of the society was not for ostentation or pride but as social duty and love. This class of the society is named Vaishyas, that is the class that will pervade into the needs and feelings of people, understand their difficulties and remedy them. They were thus to generate the necessities of needy people by trade, industry and cultivation and meet all the needs of people and fulfill their “vow” of removing abhaava – scarcity of all kinds.

They were most respected people and were addressed as Shrşţha, now called Setha. Shrşţha means most noble and esteemed people. When such respected people were meant to feed and flourish the nation, there would be no occasion of making illegal black money. Black money raisers, lose their title of being Shrşţha, the respected Nobles. 

The three (Varņas) sections of society are the intelligent ones and have undergone, relative education. The Veda has laid more responsibilities on these three sections and their social obligations which can be summarized in 3 ‘A’s:-

1. The (Brāhmaņas) intellectuals, the teachers, the preachers etc. have taken a vow to fight out “Avidyaa” ignorance, illiteracy in the society.

2. The (Raajaanah) the administrators, protectors, right from the head of State to a sepoy, have taken a pledge to totally remove “Anyaaya”, injustice, nepotism and favours in society.

3. The (Vaishya), the business class, has taken the responsibility to remove “(Abhaava)” all kinds of wants, scarcities and provide all necessities of life to all people.

The author is Founder Trustee, Dr. Satyakam Bharadwaj Vedic Research Foundation