Sapthami - Wealth
Wealth is a universally consented illusion. Yet, it has become an inseparable part of our life. Wealth in ancient times had a wider connotation than it has today. Cattle, grain, certain skills, land, trees all these were considered as wealth as equally as currency. Yes, all these are considered as wealth even today. But, they are no longer are as important as currency.
When we take the wider meaning of wealth into account, it keeps a person well fed, well clothed and well sheltered in a society. Cattle
provide with milk and fuel. Land can be cultivated to grow food. There is no need to explain the importance of grain and other food materials. Trees and other plants provide with food, fuel, medicines, building materials and so much more. Therefore, wealth provides and protects a person just as a mother would do.
Hence, Indians have shown gratitude towards wealth and worshipped as a manifestation of the Divine Mother. So much so that Mahalakshmi is one of the three deities worshipped by the Shaktas. Even the Rig Veda invokes Mahalakshmi thus, ‘Invoke for me, O Agni, that Goddess Lakshmi who is ever unfailing, being blessed by whom I shall win wealth in plenty, cattle, servants, horses, and men’.
