Sri Suktam to overcome financial hurdles

The Sri Suktam is a mantra or hymn that is chanted to invoke prosperity, health, fertility, and the well-being of an individual and his/her family. Goddess Lakshmi is the Archetype of wealth, good fortune, and prosperity. Hence, the mantra seeks her blessings to solve problems like poverty, financial instability, and debts. 

Sri Suktam is the most commonly used Vedic Mantra and is a part of the Rig-Veda. It describes the Goddess, who is the consort of Vishnu or Narayana, and praises her attributes and glory. The Sri Suktam is recited especially on Fridays, along with formal worship of Lakshmi. 

Often, spiritual seekers assume that one should reject material pleasures and pursuits in favor of spiritual pursuits. But this is not the case. The world and all that it contains represent the glory of God in the same way that light reflects the glory of the Sun. We cannot disassociate light from the Sun, either. Likewise, the creations of God cannot be separated from the Almighty, so there is nothing wrong or sinful in loving or desiring them.

Vishnu/Narayana represents God, while his consort Lakshmi represents his abundance, magnificence, and grandeur. According to tradition, especially Vaishnavite tradition, Vishnu can be approached only through Lakshmi. This means that the Absolute can be accessed only through the relative, and the invisible only through the visible. It is an over-enthusiastic devotee who thinks that he is outside the world and rejects the beauty and abundance of life. By rejecting them, he rejects himself, as he, too, is a part of creation. God is not only transcendent; he is also immanent, so a truly transcendent devotion to God is not possible.

The Hindu Scriptures talk about the four Purusharthas—dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. They have laid down the principles of an integrated life. We need to be properly aligned inwardly (body, mind, and spirit), but also outwardly (in respect of all the articles of creation, be they animate, inanimate, organic, or inorganic). In the Sri Sukta, the invocation to Goddess Lakshmi is a supplication to God, and it is made through the universe, which is the visible form of His magnificence and glory. Lakshmi signifies prosperity, which is also all the wealth of life. Wealth means more than money, property, gold, silver, etc. Things like joy, satisfaction, and status also come under Lakshmi. All forms of glory, grandeur, and greatness signify Lakshmi. How can they be undesirable when they reflect God himself? Lord Krishna has said in the Gita that wherever there is grandeur, glory, and excellence in a superb manifestation, it is He who is manifest there. 

To sum up, there is nothing in the world that deserves to be rejected. Meditation and yoga do not imply the rejection of reality either. They include all existence. It is harmony between ourselves and all around us. Thus, the earth’s glories need not be an obstacle to God-realization. On the contrary, all that makes up life actually indicates God’s majesty and beauty. If a ray of the Sun indicates what the Sun is, everything in the world indicates what God is. Prakriti and Purusha are not two separate entities. God is inseparable from the world.

The Vishnu Purana says that Narayana and Lakshmi are like flower and fragrance, fire and heat, oil and greasiness, sun and light, water and liquidity, and so on. These comparisons suggest that the two are One Being. The Sri Sukta invokes God as the glory of His creation. Men, under the influence of religion, may regard the world as an evil to be shunned and God as an other-worldly goal. Such people overestimate the path that is to be trodden while underestimating the world. Neither approach is sound. What is needed is a golden mean between the two. The Sri Suktam can be chanted by those who wish to overcome money problems like lack of money, debt issues, etc.

The benefits of Sri Suktam Path include:

• Goddess Lakshmi’s blessings for gaining wealth

• Relief from the negative effects of malefic planets

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