Sri Bharatamata

Ashtottaram 67

 

 

67) OṀ BHĀGYA BHŨMYAINAMAH:

             OṀ (AUM) - BHAA-GYA- BHOO- MYAI- NA-- MA- HA

 

             (Bhāgyam: means-Wealth, happiness, luck)

 

 

 

 

'Bhāgyam' has many meanings including wealth, luck, prosperity and many more. There is no one in the world who doesn't want wealth and happiness. If possible, everyone wants to enjoy pleasures and wealth without working for it and it is especially true in America. They want to enjoy and indulge in materialism without hard work and hardship. That's why many jobs are being sourced out to other countries like China, India, Philippines, and Mexico. They sue anybody, everybody including their own family members and parents to make a free buck. Their philosophy is that 'it's somebody else fault' and they don't want to accept responsibility for their actions. They enjoy vacations and recreations all the time and attend sports, watch TV 24 hours a day, and eat humongous amounts, and that is their 'bhāgyam'.

 

Bhāgyam can be in many forms and not necessarily the money. People who lack something dear to them, and getting that is their utmost 'bhāgyam'. For example, a rich and wealthy couple may feel that they are not lucky and fortunate that they don't have any children to enjoy and they feel utmost joy and happiness when they conceive a baby; at the same token having health is wealth for someone who was told he/she is going to die from a terminal illness. There is a sūkti called 'ārogyame' mahābhāgyam' meaning 'having health is wealth'. We can go on and on with many life examples what 'bhāgyam' means to someone.

 

Hindus worship goddess 'Sri Lakshmi', the divine consort of 'Lord Sri Vishṇu'. They pray to her for wealth and also worship her in eight different forms. Especially Indian married women worship 'Lakhmi' every Friday and it has been a tradition and culture for millennia. Our ancient sages assigned an entire month for Indian women to worship 'Lakshmi' and one special day for a strict religious observance called 'Varalakshmi Vratam'. In addition to praying and worshipping, observing religious rituals and festivals; Hindus work very hard and try their best to be prosperous and happy; unlike westerners and other cultures looking for easy money with litigations, and invasions. Of course, there is always some exceptions to everything and we cannot generalize. To answer the question frequently asked by the westerners about India that, 'why there are so many beggars on the streets'. I always answer that 1) We don't have entitlements from government in the form of food stamps, medicaid, social security, disability, 2) our politicians are getting richer and richer by taking bribes and enjoy their power, perks, prestige, privileges at the expense of the citizens and voters, 3) It's also individual's 'prārabdham' (the doctrine of karma), contributing to their poverty.

 

Despite all this, we have the spiritual wealth and our land is 'Bhāgya Bhūmi'.