J.G. Bertrand
Becca Tzigany
THE BLESSING
by Becca Tzigany
How to confide in the world
A love that straddles names,
Too spacious to contain,
The love that pried us open?
(You have to open!)
Reinvented by this love
A new Venus steps ashore
With her God of Sublime Force
We invite the Goddess of Fortune
To join in
Lady Lakshmi carries forth
An infinity of riches
From Lord Vishnu’s long nap
In the richness of Infinity
Pouring out onto the Earth
Libations to sustain us
– Or temptations to chain us –
She grants to those who ask
(You have to ask!)
What alchemy she performs
Through the marriage of the elements!
With her wish-fulfilling jewel
The Goddess manifests the Universe
We can receive her bounty
But there is no way to own it
For once we’ve come to know it
We can only let it flow
(You have to let it go!)
Showered by lotus blossoms
And with the splash of gold on water,
Venus and Mars
Do each other the honor
And confide our love
To all who will accept it.
And the blessings rain down!
They rain down!
Artists’ Notes
THE BLESSING
41×58″
Photo: Bryan Miller
James: The sacred nature of the couple’s love and loving has never been so apparent in our work. The Goddess Lakshmi agrees, and gives the partners her divine blessing. Venus blesses her lover Mars. Mars blesses the goddesses before him. Radiant and peaceful, loving attains a new high for the archetypal characters. I love it.
In harmony with traditional Hindu iconography, Lakshmi pours out gold coins and holds her flower, the lotus. The lotus often depicts the opening of the chakras, especially the heart chakra. Just as Greek myth has Aphrodite (Venus) arising out of the sea on a scallop shell, Hindu myth has Lakshmi arising out of the sea on a lotus. In this painting, Lakshmi, Venus, and Mars are all on the lotus. She is associated with the element of Water, and there’s plenty of it in this work. Earth, Air, and Fire (and Wood, too) complete the Basic 4 (or Basic 5) elements. Lakshmi wears a golden yoni crown. The elephant blesses the whole scene.
Becca: This painting commanded the space on our bedroom wall for some time as I contemplated its message. Although I made references to her traditional associations – with the Hindu God Vishnu, with prosperity and riches, her ability to grant wishes (“wish-fulfilling gem”), water, etc. – my focus was on the exuberant emergence of the liberated couple. Indeed, after the difficult winter of our artistic process with Kali, the springtime arrival of Lakshmi gave us cause for celebration!
The poem begins with a question: how do we present this intimate portrayal of our relationship in a way that people might accept? The line “Reinvented by this love” refers to the subtitle of The Pillow Book of Venus and Her Lover – Reinventing the Myth. “Venus steps ashore” ties the Greco-Roman goddess’ birth myth in with that of Lakshmi (“the Goddess of Fortune”).
“Lord Vishnu’s long nap” refers to Hindu cosmology, which portrays Vishnu as reclining on the coils of the serpent Ananta (Sesha), eyes closed, deep in meditation as he imagines the next iteration of the Universe. When he opens his eyes, another round of Creation becomes manifest. The alternating cycles of rest and activity are considered the god’s in-breath and out-breath (or eyes blinking shut and blinking open). Thus he dwells in the “richness of infinity” while Shri Lakshmi brings into reality “an infinity of riches”. This stanza illustrates the Hindu masculine principle of the essence and the feminine shakti principle of manifestation in the world.
The reference to “marriage” is an inside joke about James’ and my “secret marriage” while under the influence of this work. Lakshmi’s “wish-fulfilling jewel” is the chantamani, one of the boons that arose out of the Ocean of Milk with her.
I wrote the poem as if Venus and Mars were speaking to a student of this process who was receiving their advice: “You have to open!” “You have to ask!” You have to let it go!” These recommendations are appended to quatrains rhyming abbc. The conversational style of the poem overcomes any adherence to form, however, culminating in the envoi: “And the blessings rain down! They rain down!”
As the last work to be completed before forsaking our Caribbean home and jumping off to a new life in Europe, “The Blessing” was for both of us an affirmation of hope and belief in the generosity of the Universe.
© 2004 Copyrighted material
Mythology Notes
LAKSHMI
(Shri, Sri, Kamala, Padma, Laxmi,
Sridevi, Rama, Indira, Kamalika)
Indian/ Hindu, Jain
Vishnu – imperceptible, perceptible, eternal, beneficent, most pure – the god who sustains the Universe, reclines on the coils of the multi-headed serpent Ananta (whose name means “Endless”) and beside him sits the most glorious goddess, Lakshmi. Now listen to the tale of how she came to be.
Indra, God of Thunder and War, while walking in the world, slights the rishi Durvasas, who casts a severe curse on the Lord: “Indra, you shall be brought low, and so shall your kingdom!” And so it comes to pass. Indra feels increasingly weak and listless, and one by one the other gods, the Devas, begin to lose their powers. Meeting together, they realize they need help to overcome the curse, and so approach the mighty Vishnu.
Vishnu tells them what to do: “Make friends with your enemies, the Asuras, because you will need your combined strength for these tasks. Gather plants and herbs from the four corners of the Earth and cast them into the Ocean of Milk. Then rip up the mountain known as Mandara and place it in the sea to use as a churning stick. Wrap the world serpent Vasuki around the mountain to use as a rope (I will make sure that Vasuki agrees), and then churn! Churn the Ocean of Milk!”
Overcome with the enormity of the tasks, the Devas remain speechless. Vishnu encourages them, saying, “Go on! Do as I say, and your efforts will yield many boons, I promise. Your strength will be restored.”
Making an alliance with the Asuras, the Devas gather the herbs and then, staggering under the weight of the mountain, move it to the sea. Upon convincing the snake Vasuki to act as a churning rope, they start slowly turning the upside-down mountain, which lists . . . and begins sinking! When it seems that all is lost, Vishnu appears in the form of a gigantic turtle and places himself underneath the peak of the mountain, thus providing a pivot point on which the mountain can turn. With the gods pulling the tail of the snake and the Asuras pulling the head, soon the mountain is thrashing the waves.
So violently do they heave the snake that venom spews out of the mouth of Vasuki (it occurrs to the Asuras that they have been given the bad end – literally – of the deal), and it seems that all will die of poisoning. Then suddenly Shiva – the Magnificent One of ash-covered skin, matted hair, and tiger skins – the Almighty Lord who meditates wearing snakes for a necklace – appears carrying his trident. With one forceful in-breath, the god sucks in all the venom and swallows it. It is so poisonous, it turns his throat blue! And that is why we call Shiva Nilakantha, the Blue-Throated One.
But back to the story. Churning, churning, the Devas and Asuras continue whipping up the milky waters of the sea for many celestial days and nights. Then, wonders appear! Rising out of the Ocean of Milk, amazing new creations burst into the world. Let me tell you what some of them are . . .
♦ Surabhi, the sacred cow, with her innocent brown eyes and lovely hump on her back. All cows proceed from her, so we always have milk and curds to feed us.
♦ Varuni, with her intoxicating half-slit eyes, the goddess of wine.
♦ The Parijata tree, whose blossoms emit such a strong perfume, all in attendance swoon. This is known as the Tree of Paradise.
♦ Chantamani, the wish-fulfilling gem.
♦ Ucchaishrava, a flying horse.
♦ Airavata, the divine white elephant.
♦ The Moon, with his silvery, cool light. This Shiva seizes immediately and places it on his forehead.
♦ The Apsaras, those heavenly nymphs who love water and plants, and best of all: the dance. That is why we call them Daughters of Joy.
♦ Dhanwantari, an avatar of Vishnu, appears as an old man with a long white beard. He brings the medical science of Ayurveda into the world. In his hand he holds a pot:
♦ The Chalice of Amrita – the nectar of the gods!
As if everyone is not astounded by these miracles, then, arising out of the frothy foam, emerges the most glorious boon of all:
The Goddess Lakshmi, her shapely body resplendent in a red and gold sari, luxuriously adorned with gold and jewels, seated on a hot pink lotus. In two of her hands she holds pink lotuses, with her other two hands she shows her palms to the crowd, and gold coins flow from them! Celestial choirs sing her praises, the Apsaras dance around her, the Ganges River herself showers her holy water upon her, and elephants trumpet their devotion. Overwhelmed by the radiant abundance she has brought, the Devas bow before her, for truly now everyone’s needs will be met!
Around her neck, Lakshmi wears a garland of never-fading flowers with a perfume so heady, it is as if beauty itself bears this aroma. Stepping off the lotus onto the Earth, she surveys the crowd and walks over to Vishnu, who stands there in his godly form, and places the garland over his head. Thus Lakshmi chooses the most virtuous man in all the realms, Vishnu, to be her husband.
The Asuras, however, have not taken their eyes off of the chalice of amrita. Snatching it from the old man Dhanwantari, they flee with the precious potion. Vishnu sees that the Devas, on the verge of abandoning their worship of Lakshmi and the many wonders, want to give pursuit. “Leave this to me,” he tells them, and flies after the Asuras.
Taking the form of the seductress Mohini, Vishnu sweet-talks the Asuras out of the chalice and returns it to the Devas. Each god then sips of the ambrosial drink; their power returns, and with it, their immortality.
What with the commotion of the theft of the amrita, many do not notice that after Lakshmi was born, another goddess has appeared, also: Alakshmi. With beady eyes, sunken cheeks, shriveled breasts, and grabby hands, Alakshmi seeks households where envy, greed, and laziness dwell. For those who will not keep their houses clean nor do honest work, Lakshmi will abandon them, leaving Alakshmi the opportunity to foment a turn of fortune for the worse.
((( )))
As one of the Trimurti, the Hindu Holy Trinity, the Vishnu-Lakshmi pair embody the sustaining, preserving forces of the Universe. Since maintaining the material world is important to anyone living in it, it should come as no surprise that Lakshmi is one of the most enduringly loved and worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. Appearing early in the Rig Veda (1000-500 BCE), Lakshmi lent her image to coins during the fourth century BCE in the Gupta Dynasty. Shrines have been built to her for centuries, usually in Vishnu temples.
Her devotion to her counterpart Vishnu is unwavering and long-lasting. It is said that Vishnu created the Universe, and then discovered that having a female partner to share it with made his lila (play) in the worlds worthwhile. According to myth, so faithful is the goddess that whenever Vishnu has incarnated, alongside him has incarnated Lakshmi also. She is, after all, the shakti (feminine energy) of Vishnu. Famous avatars of the pair include Vamana the Dwarf and Padma the lotus; Rama, King of Ayodhya, who rescues his devoted wife Sita when she is abducted by Ravana, King of Lanka; and the blue divine child Krishna, who grows into a righteous and attractive young man, and falls in love with the gopi (cowgirl) Radha. Radha’s romantic relationship to Krishna was compared to the power of love emanating from love itself. Later he marries Rukmini, also considered an emanation of Lakshmi, and makes her his queen. Krishna is the legendary charioteer of Arjuna, whose philosophical dialogue form the Bhagavad Gita. The elaborate tales of Rama and Krishna are perennial favorites in India when they are re-enacted in comic books, plays, festival theater, and television series.
The following passage from the 13th century Tamil (South India) poet Parashara Bhattar describes the manifest Universe as love play between Vishnu and Lakshmi:
O Lord who fulfills desires!
Like a peacock
Shaking loose its brilliant feathers
And holding them high in front of a hen,
By your wish
You spread out
The expanse of souls and matter
That are [hidden and] one with your body
During the time of dissolution,
And playfully display your glory
Before the eyes of Shri.
– Sri Rangaraja Stava, 2.44
[as quoted in Devi – Goddesses of India, p.91]
Kama, the Cupid figure in Hindu mythology, is the son of Vishnu and Shri. As rulers of the watery element and emotions, the Holy Family sustains existence through erotic desire and love.
Because Lakshmi is so close to Vishnu, she is often petitioned with requests for protection. Devotees conceptualize her as “the jewel on the breast of Vishnu” [Devi – Goddesses of India, p. 94] and therefore the perfect mediator between lowly humans and the divine Father figure. Even more often, however, she is seen independently reigning atop her lotus, bestowing fortune upon her worshippers. As such, she is considered the goddess of the household. Newlywed brides are called Lakshmi to bring order to the new home. Shri also sits on altars in businesses to insure prosperity of the enterprise, and is a ubiquitous figure in colorful calendar art.
From Shri’s four hands issues support for the four aims in life:
- Dharma (religious devotion, pursuit of truth in life)
- Artha (economic gain)
- Kama (pleasure in the material world)
- Moksha (ultimate liberation)
[Beauty, Power, and Grace, p. 56]
Shri Lakshmi’s worship is alive and well throughout the Asian subcontinent. As recently as the 1970’s a new practice of worship developed in South India and was propagated through audiocassettes. The new “Eight Lakshmis” have become very popular. In the new prayers, the goddess appears in eight fresh forms (primeval goddess, grain fertility, fearlessness, elephant honoring, reproductive fertility, victoriousness, knowledge and wealth). In 1974, the Asta Lakshmi Koil (Temple of the Eight Lakshmis) was built in Chennai (Madras) on the Bay of Bengal. Defying tradition, it has eight shrines to the goddess and only one to Vishnu and Lakshmi, giving the impression that the god is her consort, instead of the other way around.
Throughout India, the Festival of Lights (Diwali or Deepavali) is celebrated in the autumn with fireworks, lights, and lanterns. Well-lit houses are opened so that Lakshmi visits and bestows her blessings. On that day merchants open the new financial year’s accounts with the hope that Lakshmi will grant them success in their business.
As Vasudha Narayanan states, “ . . . [Lakshmi] has it all. And not only does she have it, but she gives it away to all who worship her: good fortune in this life, and liberation in the next.”
[Devi – Goddesses of India, p. 105]
§§ See also: KALI, SARASVATI, SHAKTI
§§ Appears in: The Blessing
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© 2004 Copyrighted material