On the day of Diwali, it is a tradition to worship Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha together. It is well-known fact that Goddess Laxmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity and Lord Ganesh is revered as the remover of obstacles and is the God of intellect and wisdom. Man needs both material and wisdom to lead a happy life. People worship these two deities together to welcome wealth along with aptitude. Since no celebration is considered complete without invoking Lord Ganesha, Diwali is no exception either. It is said that on the night of Diwali, Goddess Lakshmi visits each house and blesses everyone with wealth: the concept of wealth is understood as a plentiful supply of all desirable things. So, to be happy man requires good health, creativity and success.
For ages wise people have pondered on the question what is more impo
rtant wealth or intelligence? People have spent lifetime on searching the answer to this very tricky question. Both wealth and intelligence have almost similar usages in human life; If not used wisely both can turn out to be destructive. Both are disastrous when used imprudently. Many feel that intelligence always remains with a person which can help in real trouble; but, we have seen numerous examples of intelligent people who are helpless in troubled times without money. Intelligence also wipes out just like the wealth when someone is in real trouble. It only leaves a person left with his empty, dull and wild inner mind.
There is an interesting story why Goddess Laxmi is invoked with Lord Ganesha on Diwali day, read on:
According to the scriptures (scared writings) Goddess Lakshmi grew very proud about her supremacy in wealth and power. While having a conversation with her husband, Lord Vishnu, She kept boasting about herself in terms about her supremacy, claiming that she is the only one worthy of worship. She is the one who bestows everyone with money and wealth. On hearing her non-stop self-praise and boasting, Lord Vishnu felt she needs little humility and modesty and she must get rid of her feeling of superiority. Very calmly, Lord Vishnu said that in spite of having all the qualities, a woman remains incomplete if she does not bear children. Motherhood is the ultimate joy that a woman can experience and since Lakshmi did not have children, she cannot be deemed to be complete. On hearing this Goddess Lakshmi became extremely disillusioned.
With a heavy heart, Goddess Lakshmi went to Goddess Parvati (Lord Shiva’s wife and mother of Ganesha and Kartikeya) to seek help. Since Parvati has two sons, Goddess Laxmi expressed her desire to adopt one of her sons to experience the joy of motherhood. Parvati was reluctant to let Lakshmi adopt her any son because it is known that Lakshmi does not stay in one place for long. Laxmi is fickle by nature; Goddess Paravati felt that how would Goddess Laxmi nurture her son? Whether Laxmi would be able to give time to her child? But, Lakshmi assured Parvati that she would take care of her son in every possible way and bestow him with all the happiness in the universe. Parvati grew sympathetic towards Laxmi, Goddess Parvati let Goddess Laxmi adopt Ganesha as Her son.
Goddess Lakshmi became extremely overjoyed and said that she will bestow Ganesha with all her accomplishments and prosperity. Thereafter, those who worship Lakshmi for wealth must first worship Ganesha to seek her blessings. Those who will worship Lakshmi without Ganesha will not blessed by the Goddess. Hence, Lakshmi is always worshipped along with Ganesha on Diwali.
The rationalization of this story is universal: gaining wealth without intellect will only result in misusing the wealth. So, one must first acquire the intelligence to spend the wealth in the thoughtful and correct manner. Therefore, Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped together.
HAPPY DIWALI TO ONE AND ALL!!!