Kamalatmika is one whose nature
is of the lotus. She is sometimes just called Kamala, which is one
of the many Sanskrit names for lotus. The lotus Goddess is Lakshmi,
the consort of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the universe. Lakshmi
arises out of a lotus from the cosmic ocean. Kamala is Lakshmi among
the Ten Wisdom Goddesses. Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth, beauty,
fertility, love, and devotion, like Roman Venus and Greek Aphrodite, who,
like Lakshmi, is born from the ocean, but on a sea shell rather than a
lotus. Lakshmi is the great Mother in her role of fulfilling all
desires. She represents the water of fulfillment, the flowering of
Divine grace and love.
Kamala is similar to Sundari
in that both rule over love, beauty and bliss. Sundari, however,
rules over the subtle form of bliss born of perception of the Self.
Kamala governs the outer form of beauty, not merely as pleasure but as
the unfolding of the Divine nature into the realms of action and creation.
Kamala causes us to create forms in the outer world, while Sundari allows
us to withdraw the outer world into our own consciousness. Kamala
thus relates to the Earth, which contains the maximum manifestation of
the Divine in the material word. The Earth Goddess, Bhu Devi, is
considered to be the second consort of Lord Vishnu.
Kamala nourishes and supports
whatever we truly aspire to do. She aids in all projects and ever
seeks to promote their fulfillment, allowing layer upon layer of Divine
grace to come forth in various degrees of wonder. She can be propitiated
both for ordinary worldly goals and for spiritual realization. But
the ordinary goals we seek through her – wealth, progeny, or success –
should be part of seeking Divine fulfillment in life, an unfoldment of
our souls desires through an organic process of evolution, not a mere
satisfying of neurotic wants.
Kamala is the form of the Goddess
most worshipped by people in this world, as we are mainly cognizant of
outer beauty and abundance. Most of us are engaged in the pursuit
of pleasure, fortune, talent, fame and so on, which are nothing but superficial
or limited aspects of the power of Lakshmi. Since we naturally pursue
Lakshmi, we might as well pursue her highest form. The most beautiful
thing in life is devotion to the Divine. Lakshmi also gives this.
When we have that spirit of devotion for the Divine presence everywhere
we find incomparable beauty and wealth in everything.
Kamala is a little different
from Lakshmi. Kamala is the aspect of Lakshmi that is part of the
Wisdom Goddesses. She is the form of Lakshmi which relates specifically
to the practice of Yoga. Hence she is also a form of Kali.
Kali or the beauty of the void is also the basis of Kamala or the beauty
of life. The spiritual lotus, which is the basis of the universal
energy, blooms in the void. It comes forth in the space of pure consciousness.
Hence to allow it to come forth we must first make ourselves empty and
clear. Only the non-attachment of Kali enables us to enjoy life and
find our fulfillment through Kamala.
Kamala as the tenth and last
of the Wisdom Goddesses shows the full unfoldment of the power of the Goddess
into the material sphere. Kamala is the beginning and the end of
our worship of the Goddess. We first approach the Divine seeking
help in achieving ordinary human wishes, like health, prosperity, and a
happy family. We complete our understanding of the Divine by seeing
its presence even in the ordinary things of human life, in the forms of
nature and the Earth, discerning a Divine urge toward union hidden even
in worldly desires.
