Goddess Lakshmi is one of the earliest Goddess in Vedic civilization. Her first hymn the Shri Sukta was added to the earliest Veda, the “rig Veda”, the oldest and most revered of Hindu scriptures. Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fortune, power and luxury, beauty, fertility and auspiciousness. She is the divine power that transforms dreams into reality. She is prakriti, the perfect creation, self sustaining, self contained nature.

In Tantrik tradition She is “ Maha Lakshmi, the supreme Goddess. The concept of Goddess Lakshmi very much exists in Buddhist and Jain religion also. Not only that, the practice of personifying the beauty and bounty of earth as goddess was prevalent in all ancient cultures. For Greeks she was the corn-goddess “Core”. For the Romans She was “Demeter”. The Egyptians had Goddess “Isis”. Sumerians had “Inanana”. Babylonians had “Ishtar”. Persians had “ Anahita” and Vikings had “Freia”

They all symbolized the timeless mother goddess who nurtures and nourishes all life. The antithesis of Mother Goddess Lakshmi is goddess “ Alakshmi”. The Atharva Veda refers to two Lakshmis. It also provides spells and incantations to drive away the former.

“ Go away, go away Papi Lakshmi
Go and attach yourself to my enemies.
Oh! Savitar,
Use your golden hands
And pluck away this unenjoyable goddess
Who clings like a parasite to a tree”

“Alakshmi brings poverty and misery in her wake. Though she is ugly, she is the goddess of misfortune , nobody dares revile or abuse ‘Alakshmi, for she is Jeystha, Lakshmi’s elder sister. Instead people offer her prayers and respectfully request her to stay out of their lives.

Once when Alakshmi found Lakshmi living happily for ever with Vishnu as his consort in paradise, she cried, “though I am elder to Lakshmi ,I have neither husband nor home”
Feeling sorry for her Lakshmi decreed , Mrityu, god of death ,decay and degeneration will be Alakshmi’s husband and she will dwell wherever there is dirt,ugliness,slot , gluttony,envy rage, hypocrisy, greed and lust”. Hence those who want Alakshmi to stay out of their lives must clean their house and their hurts.

Thus the tradition of lighting and decorating and cleaning of houses during Deepawali festival arose along with the worship of Goddess Lakshmi. Lakshmi is fickle and she will leave us the moment she will discover dirt and filth in our surroundings and in our heart , and Alakshmi will take her place instead.

Lakshmi even disappeared from Lord Indra’s abode by the curse of sage Durbasha, because he found Indra totally drunk, amusing and indulging himself with his courtesans, and ignored the sage completely. Sage Durbasha cursed Indra “ You do not respect the wealth and power bestowed upon you. May you be deprived of it all. May Lakshmi abandon you”. No sooner did Durbasha utter his curse, Goddess Lakshmi dissolved herself in the ocean of milk.. Instantly ,a pall of gloom descended upon the three worlds: cows stopped giving milk,plants did not bear flower or fruit. The sun did not shine,gems did not sparkle. There was death and Alakshmi throughout the universe.

Lakshmi was finally churned out of the ocean under the guidance and leadership of Vishnu . It was an enterprise of cosmic proportions with both devas and asuras serving as the force and counterforce of the churn with Mount Meroo served as the spindle, the serpent Anantashesa was the churning rope and the turtle Akupura was the steady base as per the legend and mythology of “Samudra Manthan “. The project lasted for thousands of years, before they could churn “Lakshmi” out , for without efforts there is no reward.