My Hindu Page Glossary - L

Lakshmi,Goddess, Leela, Lekhana Sadhana, Lotus Pose, Luminous

Lakshmi, Goddess: One of the forms of Goddess Shakti. She is the Goddess of wealth and 'mangalam' or auspiciousness. Lakshmi is often pictured sitting or standing on a lotus flower on a lake flanked by two white elephants holding lotus flowers with their trunks. From one of her hands an unlimited shower of gold coins pours. Goddess Lakshmi is paired with God Vishnu as His Consort in the depiction of the Trinity.

Leela: The Divine Dance, or the Dance of God. It is said of the constant and interconnected processes of God’s functions of creation, preservation and dissolution. From a mystical perspective this unceasing flow of activity is seen as a dance. This dance is also called the tandava. In Vaishnavite theology, leela is also used to describe Lord Krishna’s plays, pranks or adventures that allude to spiritual teachings.

Lekhana Sadhana: The practice of writing a mantra over and over again for a period of time or until a certain number of the mantra has been written. It is a form of penance. For instance writing the mantra “Om Namasivaya,” 108 times daily for one week.

Lord Shankara: A form of God Shiva as the meditating ascetic.

Lotus Pose: A posture described in hatha yoga (padmasana) that is the most optimum seating posture to use when meditating. It is sitting on the floor cross-legged with the left foot on the right thigh and the right foot on the left thigh. It takes practice and perseverance to become comfortable sitting in padmasana. However, once mastered it is the most comfortable pose to sit in for meditation, especially for extended periods of meditation. It causes the least fatigue on the back muscles to keep the spine erect while meditating.

Luminous: Full of light, shinning, bright. A quality of the body of God and the soul.