Faith Column | March 2, 2026

Different people have different desires, and there are devatas who can grant them their wishes, said Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse. Those who want their indriyas to function well propitiate Indra. Those who want wealth pray to Maya Devi, says Srimad Bhagavatam. While some people interpret this as a reference to Durga Devi, it can be taken as a reference to Mahalakshmi. There is a form of Lakshmi known as adhikararchai. When there is a separate shrine for Lakshmi in a temple, then we can pray to the Goddess enshrined there for wealth and worldly pleasures. One who wants grains in plenty should pray to Aditi. One prays to Varuna for riches. For good marital relations, one should pray to Uma, the consort of Lord Siva. For knowledge, one prays to Girisha. For longevity, the prayer is to the Asvini Kumaras. To destroy enemies, we must pray to demons. But if we keep praying for such things, when will we think of moksha? For moksha, we must pray to Lord Narayana, for He alone is capable of granting moksha.

When a person’s life ends, the atma can take a path to svarga or the path to Sri Vaikuntha. The path to svarga is called dumadi marga. It is the path of darkness. We generally conceptualise svarga as a place of eternal happiness and pleasures. The truth is that the duration of our stay in svarga is proportional to our merits. Once our punyas are exhausted, we have to leave svarga and take birth again. So svarga does not save us from repeated birth, death and all the ills of worldly life. The path that the atma takes to reach Sri Vaikuntha is called archiradi marga. This is the path of light. And once we reach Sri Vaikuntha, there is no question of being reborn. Our stay there is forever. No more births, deaths and involvement in the never-ending cycle of samsara.