SPEAKER_04: Hi everyone, I'm Leah Thomas and I'm the founder of Intersectional Environmentalist and the host of the As She Rises podcast. Each week on As She Rises, we're connecting the power of poetry with the work of local activists to create an intimate portrait of climate change. This season, we're highlighting stories of resilience from the Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River is a vast and powerful body of water. It's the main source of water for 40 million people living in the American Southwest. But today, in its 23rd year of drought, the future of the river and the communities that surround it remains unclear. For stories of hope that personalize the elusive magnitude of climate change, listen to As She Rises wherever you get your podcasts.
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SPEAKER_05: Once long, long ago, gods and demons tried to create an elixir of immortality. They began churning up the ocean under the careful watch of the god Vishnu. As they stirred, something incredible happened. From the frothing, milky sea, a goddess emerged. She was glowing with beauty. Her name was Lakshmi, goddess of fortune and prosperity. Some of the oldest religious works in the world are the Vedas. The Vedas were first shared orally and then written down more than 3,000 years ago. Veda translates to knowledge, and the texts were passed down through generations to teach about existence itself. Today, the Vedas are an important text in the religion of Hinduism. In these Vedas, there are portions that praise Shri, another name that Lakshmi is known by. Shri was both a quality of beauty, skill, and ruling power, and a goddess who embodied qualities like nobility, righteousness, and holiness. Lakshmi is a beautiful woman, adorned with fine, red garments and valuable jewels. She has four hands. Sometimes one of her palms is overflowing with coins. Two of her hands are often holding a lotus flower, and she's seen sitting or standing on a lotus, too. The lotus is a potent symbol. Its roots are buried in the mud, but its stalk plunges through the muddy water so that the leaves of the flower can rest, clean and bright, on the top of the water. Like the lotus, Lakshmi can help her worshippers rise above hardship and negativity to emerge beautiful, prosperous, divine. She's also tied to royalty. Monarchs would call on her to help them with their rule and be seen as virtuous. Lakshmi is also shown surrounded by elephants wearing flower garlands. The elephants spray water from their trunks onto Lakshmi, a reference to the goddess's ability to water crops and ensure bountiful harvests. When she's not alone, she's most often pictured alongside Vishnu, the god who watched her emerge from the milky ocean. After Lakshmi came out of the water, she and Vishnu fell in love. They married and took up residence in Vishnu's heavenly court. They're a picture of the perfect couple, staring deep into each other's eyes, smiling, holding hands. In these images, Lakshmi adds to her symbolism. She's also the paragon of a devoted, loving wife. In one story, Lakshmi took human form in Sita, the wife of Lord Rama. Lakshmi chose to reincarnate herself to give humans an example of what a virtuous woman looked like. Lakshmi is also a mediator between humans and Vishnu, who can sometimes be harsh in his punishment. When Vishnu was planning to punish a known sinner, Lakshmi intervened, reminding him that he had a reputation to keep as a god of mercy. Today, Lakshmi is venerated during Diwali, the festival of lights. Diwali often takes place over the course of five days. On the third day of Diwali, families come together for Lakshmi Puja, a prayer to the goddess of good fortune. People place Deepa or clay lamps outside their homes in hopes that she will grant them prosperity in the coming year. All month we're talking about goddesses. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanika Podcast. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
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