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'Shri' or 'Lakshmi', as depicted in the Vedas, is the goddess of wealth and fortune, power and beauty. In her first incarnation, according to the Puranas, she was the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and his wife Khyati. She was later born out of the ocean of milk at the time of its churning. She, being the consort of Vishnu, is born as his spouse whenever he incarnates. When he appeared as Vamana, Rama and Krishna, she appeared as Padma (or Kamala), Sita and Rukmani. She is as inseparable from Vishnu as speech from meaning or knowledge from intellect, or good deeds from righteous-ness. He represents all that is masculine, and she, all that is feminine.
Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck to Hindus. The word 'Lakshmi' is derived from the Sanskrit word "Laksya", meaning 'aim' or 'goal', and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. She is the goddess of prosperity, wealth, purity, generosity, and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm.
Worship of a mother goddess has been a part of Indian tradition since its earliest times. Lakshmi is one of the mother goddesses and is addressed as "mata" (mother) instead of just "Devi" (goddess). Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped by those who wish to acquire or to preserve wealth. It is believed that Lakshmi (wealth) goes only to those houses which are clean and where the
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The reappearance of Lakshmi after Samudra manthan and her marriage to Vishnu thereafter, remain the same. Laxmi is the power and Maya of Lord Vishnu. In some places She is seen in two forms, Bhudevi and Shridevi, both either side of Vishnu. Bhudevi is the fertility form in which She is Mother Earth. Shridevi is the wealth and knowledge of Her which is seen with Narayan. Most people are mistaken that they are separate beings although they are one,
At home in Nepal, Ama was Lakshmi’s role model, and even though she wasn’t able to provide Lakshmi with the luxuries that their neighbors had, “her slender back, which bears all troubles- and all hope- was still the most beautiful” to Lakshmi (McCormick 7). Even though she was not dynamic, I fell in love with how she inspired Lakshmi through her trials and her representation of the strong, hard-working women in Nepali culture. There were also a few other static characters, most of which I did not like at all. Her stepfather, Auntie Bimla, Uncle Husband and Auntie Mumtaz were the figures of authority that Lakshmi associated with her tortured existence in India, but in the midst of the hardship, there were characters that provided just as much light to Lakshmi’s life as there was darkness. For example, the young tea vendor lifted Lakshmi’s spirits with his polite gestures of free tea when she couldn’t afford it, as well as keeping her on the right path when Lakshmi was tempted to buy alcohol to soothe her misery (McCormick 224). Along with Lakshmi’s friend Shahanna, he too was taken away and I was convinced of Lakshmi’s impending doom even more than she herself probably was. All seemed dark until the second American came with his “digital magic”. By using his camera to show her pictures of rescued girls, this brave man was able to convince Lakshmi
Selvadurai uses an allusion to demonstrate his grandmother’s role as a negative mentor in Shivan’s life. His dream of seeing his grandmother “incarnated as the demoness Kali” running after him (in the body of his mother) is very telling of what Shivan subconsciously thinks of his grandmother. (Selvadurai 371) The demoness Kali is the Hindu goddess of destruction. Though she is seen as a god, her physical appearance is quite appalling. Her dark skin, red eyes, fangs and necklace made of human heads are all quite terrifying. When portrayed, she is often seen standing on top of the Hindu god Shiva as well. Kali’s frightful appearance, paired with her relationship with the god Shiva is very telling of Shivan’s relationship with his aachi. He fears her with every fibre of his being. In said dream, he imagines himself as his mother, carrying a child, running from his grandmother, but proving to be unfruitful when Kali, “snatches the infant from [his] arms and opens her mouth wide to consume him”. (Selvadurai 371) This baby is Shivan, and Kali eating the baby shows how as a mentor, she has taken away all the innocence from Shivan and taken him away from his mother. Shivan’s ammi shows how even negative mentors can push their mentees into
Yemaya is the spirit of maternity, mother of all wealth, rules over witches, and is comparable in Catholicism to the Virgin Regla. Her real name is Yey Omo Eja, or Mother of Fish, which comes from the idea that life begins in the sea, and that developing babies are like fish. Similar to the oceans and the rivers, she has mysterious depths, but at the same time she exhibits nurturing maternal qualities. Her colors are blue and white, and she is sometimes referred to the spirit of mercy because of her loyalty to her children.
In Greek mythology, there are many, many gods and goddesses that the people prayed to on a regular basis for everyday things we take for granted. There was usually a different deity for anything a person wanted to pray for: love, money, children, success or almost anything else one could think of or want. People today are amazed at the number of gods there were and how people could remember which god did what. We study these today but still get easily confused, which is understandable. Athena was a very prominent goddess, especially in Athens and she is also featured throughout Homer’s Odyssey. Many confuse her with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Actually, Athena is known as the goddess of war, practical reason, wisdom, and handicraft. She was also known as the protector of the city of Athens.
Ganesha was one of two children to Parvati and Shiva, he had another brother named Skanda who represented grace, love of virtuous deeds, and bravery. Along with one brother, Ganesha had two wives, Siddhi who represented success and Riddhi who represented prosperity.
She is stil worshiped to this day by the Indian people. Her story is quite different from Athena’s, she was not the goddess of war and had nothing to do with violence. Instead she was also the goddess of knowledge helping people learn things such as the Alphabet. The Indian people hold a festival every year in her honor on the fifth day of spring in which the Hindu children are given their first lesson in reading and writing (Das).
Hindus believe that when a soul expires, it acquires rebirth in a new body. This cycle is called samsara. To be set free from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth one must discover their true nature in order to be with the Brahman in Nirvana. In figure G a picture of a Cambodian statue of the A.D. 900 of Brahma meditating is presented. Nirvana is a state where pain, worry and the outer world do not exist. When a person in Hindu religion has bad Karma, they must take rebirth multiple times. The sacred source of all existence is divided among three gods. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer. All three contribute to a person’s life and death and afterlife. In figure H a picture of a Vishnu sculpture is shown, and in figure I a picture of a sculpture of Shiva is
Although according to Islam both masculine and feminine equally have their origin in the Divine, it does well to take a look at the feminine in Islam and remember that the feminine is not to be viewed as weaker than the masculine. In fact, in sources of Islam and in the Sufi tradition growing said sources, there is a strong preference for the feminine aspect of Allah, and often women are portrayed of being most accepting of the truth that the Devine is the only thing of true importance in the world (Galian, “The Centrality of the Devine Feminine in Sufism”).
Athena is a Greek Goddess of art, literature, wisdom, courage, strength and intelligence. She is the daughter of the Greek God Zeus, but she did not have a mother. Instead she was born from Zeus' forehead, fully grown and dressed in armor. However, Zeus' first wife, Metis ( who was a Titan), considered Athena to be her daughter. This is because Zeus swallowed Metis under the advice of Gaia and Uranus. It was believed that Zeus was afraid that Metis had conceived a son to take over Zeus' throne and the kingdom of Olympia. Another account says that Hephasteus split open Zeus' head, thus making Athena to be born. She is a fierce Goddess, but brave and skilled in battle. In order for men to tame their horses, Athena invented the bridle. She also
Athena is a female deity. Female symbolizes the origin of wisdom within a family. Also, she teaches the household the wisest and the wrong. It teachers bravery through heroic stories to their young ones. Also, she teaches the art of weaving and cooking to the youth. Females take care of the households and males in most instances consult with them as confidants hence the roles tied to Athena.
...ieties only do so due to their cultural views and not their religious views. Mothers in Islam are not given as much importance as those in Hinduism are. In Hinduism a mother is very well respected and viewed as a prestigious person. But, Hindu mothers who fail to deliver a boy to her husband will live her life feeling as if she failed her husband, but Islam women won’t live with that resentment. Another difference in the two religions and cultures is that Islam women may be as loyal as Hindu women during marriage, but after marriage the Islam woman will remarry another man, while the Hindu women won’t remarry even if her husband has perished. Noticing the similarities of Hindu and Islam beliefs, as well as their cultural beliefs, we can observe that Hindu and Islamic societies observe men as being superior over women, making both religions and societies patriarchal.
Hera, is the goddess of family and marriage. She is married to Zeus. Her Roman aspect is Juno. Durin...
Wilderness. Childbirth. Hunt. The Greek goddess, Artemis, ruled over these things, along with many other aspects on earth. Artemis is a strong, independent, and protective goddess who had a powerful desire to care for others, didn’t need a man to complete her, and wasn’t afraid to be intense when it came to defending herself or others.
“India is the meeting place of the religions and among these Hinduism alone is by itself a vast and complex thing, not so much a religion as a great diversified and yet subtly unified mass of spiritual thought, realization and aspiration”(Sri Aurobindo). Hindus believe in karma, which means that the actions that are made will affect this life or the lives to come (Fisher 120). Reincarnation is a rebirth in a new life (Fisher 120). In Hinduism the roles that the women play in their society is similar to Rukmani’s in Nectar in a Sieve. Hindu women take care of the children and help the husband with farm work or any other work ("Hindu Beliefs"). The three main themes in the book that connect to the Hindu religion are Humans choose their actions which cause happiness or sadness, suffering purifies for the soul, and truth is the most important moral value to have. Every action made by humans is based on a choice the outcome could be happy or sad.