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Vedic
Topics
- Goddess Lakshmi
is the divine consort of Lord Vishnu. She goes
wherever he goes because she lives in his heart.
She is the daughter of Goddess Durga, who is the
sister of the one and only Supreme Lord Krishna.
Sometimes Durga is also called Krishna. Durga
was created from Lord Krishna's skin. Lord
Krishna is the supreme father of the entire
creation and is the Chairman & CEO. The
Supreme Lord had no form till he took his role
as Lord Krishna on the earth. He also did not
have any consort and doesn't need one. Even Lord
Vishnu had not seen him, because he was
formless, leave alone his other creations like
Shiva and Brahma. Lord Vishnu knew he had a
superior, in a divine light form known as
'Brahmajyoti. The first person to see him
in a physical form is his sister Goddess Durga.
In the Vedas, she has an exalted position as the
Supreme Mother of the Universe. Lord Vishnu,
Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma all had to see his
form much later. Even they did not know that he
was the supreme lord till he proved it to them.
Even God had to prove himself to others in this
universe. He had to take the form of Lord
Krishna because he had to come to the earth.
When on earth,
he married two Princesses in his physical form.
The most beautiful Princess Rukmini, more
beautiful than Goddess Lakshmi, who eloped with
him and Warrior Princess Satyabhama, who fought
the demons by his side and helped him. Both were
his devotees and loved him dearly because they
knew he was the supreme lord and wanted him as
their husband. They are given a super divine
status though they were humans. Rukmini is soft
spoken and humble whereas Satyabhama is
aggressive and arrogant. There is a constant
rivalry between the two for Lord's affection.
Only the good lord can manage two or more women
in a life. Lord Krishna, Rukmini and Satyabhama
live in a universe called "Goloka
Vrindavana'. Only few exalted souls approved by
him can ever go there after death. Such souls
need never come back to the material world. Lord
Krishna personally took his friend and devotee
Warrior Arjuna to 'Vaikunth' to see Lord Vishnu
who is the COO for the material universe and the
Protector because Vishnu wanted to see his
physical form and played a trick on Arjuna. Lord
Krishna had to help him out because he is his
supreme devotee and he could not have done it
with his material body. Just outside his own
universe, Lord Krishna created a universe called
'Vaikunth' for Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi
to reside. Lord Vishnu is symbolically
represented with four arms to show that he is
the Protector. People must realize that Vedas
had to be made highly symbolic and graphical for
the ordinary, uneducated and simple people to
understand. The COO has to have enough powers
and money for the operations in the material
universe. He is next only to Lord Krishna in
terms of powers. This is of significance to
modern management. The COO shouldn't be running
around begging people for money. That is why
Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi is his consort and
always with him. He then created a universe
called 'Kailash' for Lord Shiva, the Destroyer,
and Goddess Durga, who is also expected to play
the role of a destroyer as and when needed, to
reside and created a universe called 'Satyalok'
where Lord Brahma, the Creator, and Goddess
Saraswati live.
He created a 8
mini universes, representing the eight principle
directions for 8 demigods who are the daily
observers of what is going on in the material
universe. They are known as 'Ashtadhik Balaks'.
These 8 mini universes are inhabited by angels
and respective followers of the demigods. These
8 mini universes are called as 'Devalok' though
each mini universe has its own name. The
respective demigods are:
- Indra - Rules
Power & Position and King of all Demigods
- Agni -
Rules Prosperity
- Yama - Rules
Death
- Varun - Rules
Sufferings and all Foreign things
- Nruti - Rules
Sins and Curses
- Vayu - Rules
Wanderings
- Kuber - Rules
Money
- Ishaan - Rules
Blessings
They are supposed
to give feedback in case of serious problems to the
Supreme Lord through Lord Brahma who in turn
contacts Lord Vishnu for advise and action. Lord
Vishnu than decides the action, when and who has to
carry it out, depending on the seriousness of the
problem. He may consult Lord Krishna but it is not
necessary unless he wants to. His job is to protect
the good from the evil. In cases of problems of very
serious nature, he does it himself. Otherwise, he
asks either Lord Shiva or Goddess Durga to carry it
out. Mother Durga is a Warrior and was required when
some demons had boon that they could not be killed
by males. The Supreme Lord Krishna was present only
once on this earth for carrying out a job because
Lord Vishnu was already incarnated as Sage Veda
Vyasa. He was playing the role of a learned and holy
man, a Brahmin, and could not fight in that role.
There was another problem. Both Pandavs and Kauravs
were his own kith and kin and blood descendents. One
cannot kill his own blood descendents, kith and kin,
even if some of them represent evil forces. This
rule applies to Gods also. This is management at its
godly excellence. Have the right people, at the
right place and for the right jobs.
Within these 8
universes of the demigods, he finally created the
material universe where we all live. All these
divine universes are inhabited by their respective
devotees and followers or demigods and angels.
However, the souls from Satyalok, Kailash and
Devalok have to take rebirth because Lord
Shiva, Lord Brahma and other Demigods cannot give
salvation but can give boons and often get into
trouble because of it. Only Lord Krishna and Lord
Vishnu can give salvation. All these divine
universes are covered by an ethereal light called
'Brahmajyoti' which emanates from the body of Lord
Krishna. Nothing can penetrate it. The entire
billions and billions of stars in the universe we
live in cannot match its brightness and at the same
time its coolness and softness. No human eye or
telescope can ever see it. No man or similar species
made rockets or objects or spaceships can ever reach
it. There is no hunger, no thirst, no disease,
no death or any want in these divine universes.
Except Goloka Vrindavana, Vaikunth and Kailash which
exist permanently, all other universes have a life
span of 4.2 billion solar or earthly years which is
the life span of Lord Brahma. After that a new
Brahma and all the demigods and species are created.
These are the universes of 'Param Satyam' or the
'Absolute Truth'. Lord created the material
universe of which we are a part, out of the cosmic
dust that emanated, while creating these divine
universes. Creating various forms of life in the
material world was delegated by him to Lord Brahma,
hence he is known as the Creator. According to the
Vedas, there are billions of planets in the material
universe where intelligent species like homosapiens
live. Some of them may be more intelligent and
capable than us. The creation and destruction of
material universes is never stopped by the Supreme
Lord. It is foolish to look for the beginning of the
material universe because it has no beginning and no
end. The universe will keep expanding, new ones
are created and old ones are destroyed. If there are
billions of stars being created, there are billions
of black holes devouring everything around them, all
the time.
Goddess Durga is
the holy mother of all creations. She has a similar
status as Mother Mary in Christianity. Durga
symbolizes Valor and Energy. Durga became the divine
consort of Lord Shiva. Both are known for their
anger and temper but are very easily pleased.
Both are great boon givers. Anything materialistic
you want, you pray to them. Mother Durga is also
called as Shakti or Parvati or Kali or Maya or Uma.
Lakshmi was created by Durga out of her skin.
Lakshmi has a younger sister called Saraswati. She
is the Goddess of Learning, arts, music, all
knowledge and skills under the Sun. She was also
created by Mother Durga out of her skin. Saraswati
became the divine consort of Lord Brahma.
Symbolically,
Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati represent two major
aspects of life - Money and Learning. Lakshmi is
egotistic like any rich people but unstable and
fickle minded and hence she is called 'Chanchal'.
She will go wherever she is invited because she is
simultaneously humble. But she might desert one and
go away. She is like water and will flow anywhere.
She is the most loved Goddess for obvious reason,
but like a shadow cannot be caught. Strangely, she
has a habit of chasing you like a shadow, when you
run away from her. She is always symbolically shown
seated in the cross legged yoga posture on a Red
Lotus with gold coins dripping from her hand. She is
always shown dressed in Red Silk.
Goddess Saraswati,
on the other hand, is learned, wise, very stable,
haughty and arrogant. She is also good looking and
handsome but not as beautiful as Lakshmi.
Symbolically, Lakshmi represents Lust for Life and
Saraswati represents Honor. Where you have honor,
you will have arrogance. Saraswati is too choosy.
She will only go where she wants to go. Nobody can
force her. Because she is not as beautiful and rich
like her sister Lakshmi, Mother Durga gave her a
boon that money will come to her and she need not
ever go after money. She need not bend or stoop
before anyone. She is always shown seated, right leg
crossed and other resting on a floor rest or
hanging, on a White Lotus with a book symbolizing
the Vedas in her right hand and a four stringed
musical instrument called 'Veena', similar to Sitar,
but a more difficult instrument to play, in her left
hand. She is always shown dressed in White/Creamy
Silk. Goddess Saraswati is the most respected
because without her blessings we cannot acquire any
knowledge or skills.
This is the reason
that where you have money you may not have learning
and wisdom but where you have learning, wisdom and
skills, you will always get money. It may not be
large but will be sufficient to meet your needs.
That is why most learned, wise and skilled people
appear to be arrogant. It is the Kings who have to
call upon learned, wise and holy men, who are
generally in a pecuniary state. They wait for money
to come to them and Lakshmi being egotistic takes
her own time, but she has to come one day,
grudgingly. She has no choice because that is her
destiny. The various Demi Gods in the Holy Vedas are
created by the will of the Lord Krishna and his
authorized agents, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Mother
Durga and Lord Brahma. The Demi Gods and Angels are
never born out of the act of coitus. They are all
created by the will of above five. In the Vedas, the
women are given an equal status as men and sometimes
even higher. Vedas stipulate that all women have to
be looked at either in the form of a mother,
wife, sister or daughter of someone else. Vedas also
stipulates that any society which does not treat its
women well and with due respect will never survive
for long.
In the Bible,
Lucifer, who was second in the hierarchy, challenged
God for appointing Mother Mary as the Queen of
Heavens and became the Devil, whereas in the Vedas
there is no mention of the Devil or Satan, though
there is mention of evil ghosts, goblins, spirits
and souls. Lord Shiva is given the portfolio of
controlling them. He is often symbolically shown as
the ruler of graveyards and cremation grounds. Vedic
people bury only the holy and godly men and such
places are called Samadhi. Babies below the age of 3
are buried, not cremated. All others are cremated
because the dead bodies can be dug up and used for
black magic and other evil purposes by evil men and
demons. That is why evil men, demons and demoniacal
persons who want evil powers always pray to Lord
Shiva.
Vedas specifies the
existence of Heaven and Hell. Lord Yama, the demi
god in charge of Dharma, Death, Justice and
Righteousness, decides who goes to heaven or hell
and for how long. All humans after death have to
spend their time in hell first, for their sins. They
are than then sent to heaven for spending time there
for their good deeds, if any. As per Vedas, since
all souls called 'Atma' are permanent and part of
the supreme lord called 'Paramatma', they can
never die. As a result, they have to take rebirth in
some form after completion of their time in hell and
heaven, respectively. Depending on their previous
deeds called 'Karma' they can take birth as
any of the 8,400,000 species of life anywhere in the
material universe. This is the basic principle of
reincarnation, as specified in the Bhagvat Gita
which was pronounced by Lord Krishna himself and no
human being. Even Sage Veda Vyasa, the author of the
Vedas and Srimad Bhagavatham and an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu, just wrote it down verbatim for
posterity. The body is temporary. The soul is
permanent. That is the gist.
Lord Yama's
portfolio is like that of St. Peter at the pearly
gates in Christianity. Most demons were previously
angels or demigods and misused their super powers.
The rules of God are very clear. One cannot misuse
the powers that are granted by him. They were
eventually killed by either Lord Krishna or his
authorized agents. In the Vedas, it is a boon and a
privilege to be killed by Lord Krishna or Lord
Vishnu or any of their incarnations, because the
soul achieves eternal salvation and merges
permanently with them. Only a handful of souls have
this distinction because even though they considered
Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu as their enemies, they
were always thinking about them. That is good enough
for God. You must always think about God and his
Godly creations and he does not care whether it is
with love or hate. If you love him, he gives you a
peaceful death. If you hate him, he gives you a
violent or unnatural death. Death is inevitable in
this material universe which is called 'Mrityulok'
which means the universe of death. However, in both
cases he gives you salvation. That is why he is the
Greatest. In view of the above, it will sound
paradoxical, people who hate God have a better
chance of salvation, because they are always
thinking about God, though not with love but hate
and how to counter him and talk bad about him. But
they must be prepared for a violent or unnatural
death anywhere in the material universe. The
Supreme God has strange ways. He does not kill such
sinners in the early stages. He does not nip the
problems in the bud. He waits for them to keep
sinning further and accumulate their sins and then
he moves in when he thinks enough is enough. They
cannot ever escape the fury and wrath of the one and
only Lord.
The Vedic example
of the above rule is now given. Jay and Vijay were
the personal guards to Lord Vishnu's place. Four
holy souls known as Brahmakumars, a creation of Lord
Krishna, wanted to enter his place when he was
resting and both Jay and Vijay stopped them. They
were doing their duty. The holy souls got angry and
cursed both to take birth in the material universe.
Jay and Vijay appealed to Lord Vishnu for mercy.
Lord Vishnu said to them that he cannot nullify the
curse of holy souls, who were the creations of his
superior, but offered two choices to them. The first
was that they take seven births as good men in this
material universe but undergo the pangs of hunger,
disease and death like all human beings. The second
choice was take three births as demons with super
powers and none of the earthly afflictions but
eventually get killed by him and attain salvation.
Both Jay and Vijay preferred the second choice. In
the first birth they were the demon brothers
Hiranyakshak and Hiranyakashipu. In the second birth
they were demon brothers Ravan and Kumbhakaran. In
the third birth they were demon brothers Shishupal
and Dantavakra. All were killed by Lord Vishnu in
his various incarnations. The last two were killed
by Lord Krishna himself when he was present on
earth. Both Jay and Vijay are guards to Lord
Krishna's place now. In all Lord Krishna's and Lord
Vishnu's temples you will find their statues
just outside the main door. They are both considered
amongst the greatest devotees and guards of Lord
Krishna and Lord Vishnu, though they do not need any
guards. Vedas strictly prohibit cursing of anyone,
especially by holy men. This is a sin and reduces
their holy powers. The evil and powerful men also
curse and it has an effect on the cursed. It
increases the sins of evil men and they have to pay
for it at some point of time.
Om Tat Sat
References: 'Srimad
Bhagavatham' and 'Bhagvat Gita As it Is' by Srila
Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, Founder of ISKCON
and many other Vedic literature. |
