Today we will learn a mystery, an ancient one, a mystery so deep that even while you are looking directly at it you can hardly penetrate it. Today we will look into the spiritual mystery of the 'White.'
We will look at the face of Laxmi, Queen of the Universe, mother earth, wife of Vishnu, King of the Universe.
Together they keep this joint up to date. They run it, figure out the logistics, fix the bugs, and give out all of the supplies. They are never far out of the world. They are manifest in every breath, every sip of water, every spark, every speck of matter. Laxmi, beloved of every Hindu household:
Think round. Think gold.
Think ripe, fat mangoes, juicy grapes, sunkissed berries.
Think the lushness of the jungle, the greens, the chirping birds.
Think pina colada and a perfect sunset.
Every one has seen Laxmi in her imaginary, human form: sitting on a perfect pink lotus flower, a conch shell and a lotus flower in two of her four hands. She is the bestower of all wealth, material and spiritual.
The key to the storeroom is in her hands, and she wants to give, in abundance. She only ask that you ask for it nicely.
No need to meditate naked in a rocky, snowy cave. Laxmi is softer than that. A good inviting heart, an offering of love, some respect will do; check your heart in its deepest places and see if the respect is there. Maybe there is a problem? Maybe your feelings towards her are a bit mixed, ah?
She knows, she knows us all like the back of her hand. Make sure you respect her, truely, and she will come.
Some people like to reach enlightenment through suffering, long hard paths, doing without. Laxmi smiles, she says - no need to suffer, you can get there by abundance as well.
All who love her, who call for her, who chase after her, do not really know where she came from, how she appeared in our world. She has been here from the beginning, but she did not appear until it was the right time.
She will never appear before it is the right time, and all that crave her, who are trying with all of their might to catch her in their embrace, must remember the beginning:
In the beginning, the primordial ocean of milk lay undisturbed, stretching from one end of the cosmos to the other. It was filled with potential, with treasures, but no one knew what they were, and it didn't really matter.
The citizens of that first, mythical world, were so busy with their every day dramas (hey! Just like us!) That the mysteries of the hidden white, the milky depths, did not call out to them.
Until, like in all good Hindu stories, someone hurt someone's feelings, and this happened and then that, and the dwellers of the heavens lost their powers, and the bad guys, the Rakshishas (demons) took over which was always such a drag, and all were despairing.
As usual, they all trooped off to Vishnu to ask him what to do. Vishnu had an idea:
It's time to churn the ocean of milk, it's time to see what will come out of it, time to separate things from each other the way butter comes out from the milk, time to get to work.
And this job was so monumental, so fascinating and adventurous, that even the kingdom of demons was enlisted to help and they happily agreed.
A mountain was sunk into the sea, and the king of all snakes tied to it, like a rope. And with all the heaven dwellers and the demons pulling the snake, some from his head and some from his tail, the churning began.
It was amazing what came out of there.
First of all, came the poison, so intense, so deadly, all of creation was immediately threatened into extinction. That's when Shiva came along, and motivated by love (and maybe just a bit of curiosity?) he swallowed it all, letting it come down only to right above his heart, the poison coloring his throat and face blue forever.
Then came many interesting treasures: Surabhi, the cow of abundance. Varuni, the goddess of wine. Rambha, the heavenly dancer. Chandra, the moon, (whom Shiva took immediately and planted her in his dread locks.)
And there was more - a celestial physician, a winged horse, an incredible conch shell, a pouch filled with ambrosia, a most precious stone, and a magical tree, giving wisdom and long life. Things like that...
And then, to the amazement of all who were there, a most beautiful woman appeared out of the white milky waters.
She radiated golden light. She was sitting on a lotus. She was absolutely fetching in every way. The sages bowed their heads and started chanting hymns to her. The elephants started to shower her with holy water. Indra, the king of the heaven, came to her, adopted her as a daughter, and dressed her in red and golden gowns.
She was then escorted to Vishnu (do you think he knew she was in there when he came up with the idea of the churning?) and she promptly jumped into his chest.
Her name was Laxmi, queen of this world, the seat of prosperity and wisdom and grace, the power source for Vishnu to rule the world justly, with abundant wisdom and bountiful grace.
Her name, meaning goal, gave birth to the word luck.
What can this mean? Is abundance the goal of our life? Is prosperity the path to enlightenment? Laxmi likes the wise, she wants us to think, look deeply at the mystery of the white, try to penetrate it, and surely you will find your queen.