Goddess Lakshmi is the consort of the god Vishnu. She is one of the most popular goddesses revered in Hindu religion and is known as the goddess of wealth and purity.
One of the most compelling stories is the churning of milky ocean, rebirth of Lakshmi. It is not only the story of fight between deities and demons but also an important and useful lesson to be learnt to be successful in our life.
Indra, King of Devas, was given the responsibility of protecting the world from demons and he did it very successfully for many years with the presence of Lakshmi, whom he revered very much.
One day, a wise sage offered Indra a garland of sacred flowers. In his arrogance, Indra threw the flowers to the floor. This display of arrogance highly disturbed Goddess Lakshmi and left the world of gods and entered into the milky ocean.
Without her, the deities were no longer blessed with success or fortune. The world became darker, people became greedy, and no offerings were made to the deities. The deities began to lose their power and the asuras (demons) took control.
Indra asked Vishnu what should be done. He told Lord Indra that the deities would need to churn the Milky Ocean to regain Goddess Lakshmi and her blessings. He then told them the Ocean held other treasures, which would also help them. This included the elixir of life, a potion bestowing immortality, which would enable them to defeat the demons.
The story of the Churning of the Ocean tells of how the deities worked together to churn the ocean. They churned for many years, but it was 1,000 years before anything rose to the surface.
Finally, the treasures began to rise to the surface. Among them was a beautiful woman standing on a lotus flower. This was Goddess Lakshmi, who had returned to the world. With her presence, the gods eventually defeated the demons and chased them out of the world.
Important Life Lessons from Goddess Lakshmi
There are many motivational concepts available today to become successful in life. This story highlights key elements that many concepts wouldn’t deny to be actually successful in life.
1. Hard work
The deities worked hard for many years churning the milky ocean and the accomplishment were Lakshmi reappears with treasures and fortune, and again deities overcome the demons. So without hard work, gaining success and fortune will be vague.
2. Purpose
Hard work without purpose will be insufficient. Working hard endlessly without any goal and proper planning will not bring success in. The deities work hard with a purpose that is why they accomplished their goal.
3. Belief
If you don’t believe it’s possible for you to achieve what you want, you can work day and night, but you will never succeed. Indra, although is an arrogant deity, he believed in Gods and with this agreed on Vishnu’s advice.
4. Persistence
The deities tirelessly hang on for many years working to churn the milky ocean. It is their persistence that compelled their purpose to have resulted successfully.
These are four basic but important life lessons you should learn to be successful in life or in other words to keep Goddess Lakshmi by your side always.