Who are the Gods of Fortune in the Hindu Religion?

Why Myths are a great vehicle for learning

  The human brain can’t distinguish between “true” stories and the “fabricated” stories.  In this sense, the human brain interprets all stories as real. It’s for this reason that these prosaic stories about the nature of the cosmos attract a level of devoted adherents.  You can tack on every story with a little bit of divine revelation and bingo, you’ve got religion.  Mythological stories enhance the brain and make it malleable for learning experiences. 

If you want to check out how to learn from myths go here.

 The Curse of Negativity

Sometimes to gain an insight into how to get the things we want we need to look at things upside down. This technique is inversion. Instead of asking ourselves “how do we get a fortune.”  We can ask ourselves “how do we fall short of fortune.”  Better yet, we can ask ourselves “How do we lose a fortune?”

How Shiva’s bad day nearly destroyed the Universe

When Shiva gets angry, the entire cosmos goes into violent disarray.  Likewise the same can be said for all beings.  We saw this in the confrontation between Shiva & Brahma about Shatarupa. A false idol the Brahma molded for his own pleasure. Shiva also lost his cool when Ganesh denied him access to Parvati’s bathing room. As we see here Shiva is apt to fly off the handle from time to time. The problem is that Shiva is the destroyer of the universe.  When he begins into a negativity death spiral coincidentally the cosmos react in a big way.

The story that has to do with the Hindu Gods of fortune is an old one.  It happened during a time of one of Shiva’s massive negativity slumps.  You see after once again getting into a heated argument with his buddy Brahma, Shiva just couldn’t let it go.  As a result of him holding onto this anger, the Gods started ignoring him. This unbridled negativity on Shivas part was even pushing away his beloved wife Parvati. Massive negativity alone began to dissolve the bonds of the Gods.

Negativity is a natural deterrent.  It has a formulation and usage in the substance of things and its main charge is to repel. When beings like ourselves use negativity it t nudges away from the flow of positivity. It acts as a natural resistant and all positive influences flow away from it.  They are repulsed by it and even Parvati herself had a nickname for Shiva during this time.  She called him “the difficult one.” This was the beginning of the repulsion of the Hindu Gods of fortune.

The birth of Durvasa “the difficult one”

The first law of thermodynamics is known as Conservation of Energy. It states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. So that means energy is never lost. Negative energy abides by the same principles. For Shiva getting rid of this pent up negativity was proving harder than he had thought. He understood that one must transmute it in some way. This means turning it into something positive. So the only way for Shiva, the Lord of the Universe to bring balance to the cosmos was to redirect this energy into something or someone.

Shiva impregnated his negative anger into the wife of a great guru named Atri.  Her name was Anasuya. Because of Shiva impregnating Anasuya with pure anger and negativity she gave birth to one of the most negative people who’d ever existed. His name is Durvasa which also means “the difficult one.”

You see because negative energy is never destroyed, it can only be transmitted back into the cosmos.

What is a Major Turn Off for the Gods of Fortune?

Sri Lakshmi leaves Indra

Durvasa now wielded the power of Shiva’s negative mind. When he came upon Indra riding an elephant he paid his dues to the great God.  He gave him a flower garland as a sacrament.  Lord Indra placed the garland around his Elephants head.  The elephant, however, was too arrogant. He thought it below him and shook it off.

Durvasa took great offense to this gesture and used his power to speak magic words that cursed the Gods. This curse stole all of the immortality of not only Lord Indra himself but all the Gods. This is because Durvasa’s power was deep for it originated from Shiva.

Indra is the Indian god of war.  He was given the task of defending the universe against the demons. For many years he’d been successful in this endeavor.  That is thanks to the presence of the goddess Lakshmi. She is one of the Hindu gods of fortune and ensured the ongoing successful endeavors of Indra. However, when Lakshmi saw Lord Indras arrogance began to wane.  Lord Indra tried to beg Lakshmi to come back to him but that only pushed her further away from.  Lakshmi took off entirely and disappeared into the ocean.

After Lakshmi had left him Indra realized who he was dealing with.  He begged Durvasa for forgiveness and maybe Lakshmi would return to him.  Durvasa wouldn’t have it and the curse continued.

One simple act of pride (Indras elephant) set the cosmos back into disarray.  Being pompous and arrogant is not the way to attract abundance into your life.   If you try and grab at it, it will flee from you. If you get on your hands and knees to beg it will walk away from you.  So Lakshmi was gone without her, the gods were no longer blessed with success or fortune.

Because of Indras folly, the world became a more sinister place.  People stopped making offerings and the gods lost their powers.  This was a ripe chance for the Demons to take control.

Vishnu teaches how to attract the Hindu gods of fortune

The gods went to Vishnu and asked him how they could obtain the substance of fortune and immortality again.  They had taken their powers for granted. Many of them had been so accustomed to their fortune that they’d forgotten how to come upon it altogether.

Vishnu issued a set of instructions that would be interpreted as one of the first edicts to capitalism.  Essentially what he decreed was a form of commercialism.  He told the gods that to obtain wealth and fortune lost they would have to work.  Not only would they have to work with each other but they would have to set aside their differences with the demons. Commercialism means to work with one another.  The war would therefore no longer be the standard for worshiping the Hindu gods of fortune but working together.

Since the beginning of time, the demons (asuras) and the Gods (devas) were at war. They both were fighting over how.  This command from Vishnu was an eye-opener.  It suggested cooperation and not all-out war. Because the Gods desired to obtain the nectar, and because there was no other way together. They decided to work with the demons.

Churning the Ocean of Milk

Sagar Manthan is the name given to the period when the Gods took on the enterprise of Vishnu. The Gods employed the Demons’ help. They wrapped the great snake Vasuki around a mountain at the center of the universe.  There they used Vasuki as the churning rope and the mountain as the churner. With Vishnu as the overseer and CEO of this enterprise, he commanded the Gods and Demons (his employees). With his guidance, they could call out the Hindu Gods of fortune from the ocean.  Vishnu promised that this undertaking would eventually return Lakshmi’s abundance to the universe and retrieve the nectar of immortality.

 The path to fortune requires error

The first substance to spurt out of the milky ocean was not the substance of abundance.  It was not the nectar of immortality or the Hindu Gods of fortune.  The first thing that gurgled out of the ocean was poison.  It was most notably a highly virulent and potent type of poison. Instead of bringing the Gods of fortune this error almost destroyed the universe.  Shiva, however, luckily drank the poison to save the universe from succumbing to the venom.

Another is stepping This action also brought forth Alakshmi who is the goddess of misfortune. She is the opposite of Lakshmi. You can imagine what kind of havoc she caused.

We can learn from this first result. Expect error on your quest to find the Gods of fortune. The path will not always be easy.  Part of getting wealth and fortune is overcoming obstacles that lie in your path to get there.

One of the greatest inventors of the 20th century was Thomas Edison.  He could even be considered a modern saint in some respects.  Thomas Edison was renowned for his optimism.  It was said that before inventing the lightbulb he’d failed 10,000 times.  Often we expect our first trial to succeed but when we fail we give up.  The key to finding your fortune is to work through the errors and trust the process.

Vishnu starts a Business

Vishnu turned himself into a giant turtle.  He had the gods lay the mountain on top of his back and use him as the fulcrum for the business undertaking.

Vishnu is always at the center of this undertaking.  As CEO Vishnu understands his position as the heart of the project.  As the turtle a turtle the bottom of the Ocean he could be literally at the center of it all.    On top of that, Vishnu remained wholly dedicated to the work itself.  Devas and demons liked concerned themselves primarily with gaining wealth. On the other hand, Vishnu was more invested in the work and the work alone. He understood that focusing on the process is what will cause a fortune to arise.

He is the sustainer of the universe.  In one of his hands is a constantly spinning wheel.  This aspect of his persona is a testament to how Vishnu was the force behind the oncoming of this reemergence of fortune & wealth.

Summoning the Hindu Gods of Fortune

It was this hard unwavering work that summoned forth the Hindu gods of fortune.  The churning of the ocean took millennia to complete.  It is a testament to what hard work and dedication can bring.  This is because, after many years, the hard work of the demons and the gods paid off.  Out of the churning sea sprung forth the forms of Hindu gods of fortune.

Khamadenu – This is the cosmic cow.  She is the mother of all cows and one of the universal forms.  Khamadenu has the power to grant any wish.

Kalpavriksha-This is the tree of life. It is the “wish-fulfilling tree.”

Aspara– Super attractive water nymphs.  These were super hot women.

Varuni-Goddess of alcohol

Dhavantari-God of the elixir of life and immortality. He is god of healthcare.

By dedicating themselves to the work the Gods were able to gain fortune.

Lakshmi reemerged from the ocean & restores fortune

Lakshmi was also reborn out of the churning of the ocean. They said that her beauty was indescribable. At the moment of her ascension, both demons and gods alike were unable to grasp her radiant beauty. Even the elephants that hold up the universe came down to bless her with holy water.  You can see just how much the natural world itself worships the life-giving force of fortune.

Lakshmi is the embodiment of wealth and beauty.  The entirety of the cosmos sings to her glory.

The #1 Secret to Wealth from the Hindu Gods of Fortune

Lakshmi embodies abundance, fortune & beauty.  When she was reborn out of the churning of the ocean the nectar of life again flowed to all corners of the universe.  After she was born she sought out the purveyor of this undertaking to thank him.  The Gods and Demons lead her to Lord Vishnu who was quaintly seated at his throne.

Immediately Lakshmi, the Hindu God of fortune herself, was wholly captivated and enchanted by Vishnu.  He seemed unphased by her beauty.  She immediately fell in love with him and became his consort.

This is how fortune arrives for the entrepreneur.  Vishnu didn’t chase after Lahskmi as Indra did. Vishnu made of himself the object that attracts wealth.  When he turned into the turtle he was at the center of the process. He put in all the efforts and expected nothing. He is the sustainer of the universe. His whole duty is around pleasing others to attain their desires.  It was this element of giving that originally attracted Lakshmi.

Vishnu put all of his efforts without expecting anything.  He simply did his duty. What he needs is to feed others. It was Vishnu’s unassuming quality which best attracted Lakshmi to him.

Prosperity desires to be with someone who creates for others

A young boy once asked his father:

“How do I find the right woman.”
to which his father replied.

“You should focus on being the right man.”