The day of the red string...

 

Greetings and salutations!

I thought as it is a religious day for me that I would write about what today is all about. It is by all means not a religious post just an informative one.

I won't be offended if you don't want to read any further, but if you're keen to know why I wear a red string on my right wrist, get your cup of tea, and get ready.

Today we Hindus celebrate Mother Lakshmi and offer her prayer, food and worship so that she will visit our homes and bless us with prosperity, love and joy.


So in preparation, I spent time getting the house clean which would have been difficult if not for The Husband who knows what is needed when I pray. So all I needed to concentrate on was cooking three curries, making vermicelli, getting my lamp ready, and preparing the prayer area. That's all. Oh, and making the strings which unless you're going fancy is just some good red string tied with at least three knots. Odd numbers are important.

I went a little bit big this year because I wanted to thank her for the happiness and life I was given. Things have been tough but for about a week now I have been in really high spirits and quite blissful. 

I don't often share my religion and spirituality because I get quite nervous about whether I am saying the right things. My mum is great with telling the tales of the Gods and Goddesses and I hope that one day I can be as great a storyteller as she is. That's why I dedicated this week's blog to her, the Goddess of Prosperity amongst many other things including, I will have you know Virtue!

She is one of the principal Goddesses making up the Tridevi with the Mothers Parvati and Saraswati and Vishnu, the Supreme Being is her consort. She helps him with his universal duties to create, protect and transform the universe and has accompanied him to Earth in various forms. I commented to my mum today that Lord Vishnu was the original Dr Who. That means Mother Lakshmi is his constant companion. The only thing missing is the TARDIS.

And this is a great way to explain their relationship actually. If you are not a Dr Who fan, read my blog on the show to get a feel before continuing.

Firstly let's tackle the Mother's origin story of which there are many. One tells of her appearing when the Gods and Demons churned the ocean for the power of immortality. She appeared on  Lotus and as she rose the world was filled with life and she was awed by all. But she only had eyes for Vishnu, the only God that could not be tempted by all the power she was able to provide. It's very similar to the reasons for me marrying The Husband except without all the superpowers and divine-ness. Our only devotees are our fur children.

Another origin is said to have been written between 300 BCE and 800BCE. It talks of a woman emerging with intense power after Prajapati, the Lord of Creatures and creator deity during Vedic times, has concluded meditating about Life, the Universe and Everything. ( This was pre-Douglas Adams).

She was said to be so powerful that the Gods wanted her killed but Prajapati forbade it and they had to learn that the only way to gain favour was to ask nicely. Even then men wanted to take and it is a theme in the epic sagas.

Okay so back to the doctor, er I mean Vishnu and Lakshmi. It has been quite difficult finding a lot of tales on her without Vishnu (I mean on Google). But there is one I came across about a greedy King who lost everything and his wife prayed to the Mother for help. 

But mostly think of the Doctor running around fixing things or getting called to help, being a little bit of a blunder at times and then needing her to help. I can completely relate to that.

I do need to research more and if anything writing this has made me quite curious so who knows, I might write more about this and or other Gods and Goddesses in the future.

Today I celebrate her and thank her for all the good in my life. As I publish this and light my lamp for the evening prayer know that I pray for everyone I know.

Now you know why I wear the red string.










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