Swami Prasad Maurya, former Uttar Pradesh minister and Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party (RSSP) chief, is in the spotlight again after questioning the worship of Goddess Lakshmi. In a tweet on the social media platform X, he referred to housewives as the real "Ghar ki Lakshmi", while calling Goddess Lakshmi the "outsider Lakshmi." Following the backlash over his tweet, Maurya clarified his position and elaborated on his views, emphasising respect for women who manage households and contribute to family welfare.
What was Swami Prasad Maurya's tweet?
In a tweet on X, Maurya said, "Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all fellow citizens on the grand festival of Deepotsav. Let us all light lamps, but ensure that a lamp is lit at our neighbor's place as well.
Let us worship and honor the true Griha Lakshmi (housewife), who, in the true sense, keeps the home clean, tidy, beautiful, and turns it into a paradise throughout her life. She threads all family members, young and old, with the bond of love and teaches the lesson of unity. She makes the home even more beautiful than heaven, which is why the "gharwali" is called Griha Lakshmi.
The outside Lakshmi comes from the market every time and then leaves, which is why our dire situations never improve, because the outside one remains just that—an outsider."
If the goddess of wealth Lakshmi, truly blessed us, then 80 crore people in the country would not have to endure a life of destitution, poverty, helplessness, and despair, surviving on just 5 kg or 10 kg of rice.
Crores of unemployed youth would not be struggling for their daily bread. India would not be among the world's poor countries," he added.
Swami Prasad Maurya clarifies
Highlighting widespread poverty and unemployment in India, Maurya said that if prayers alone could generate wealth, the country would not have around 80 crore people dependent on subsidised food grains. Clarifying his stance, Maurya stated that he is not against religious worship, and his comments were intended as a rational appeal rather than any form of religious provocation.
"Offering prayers to Goddess Lakshmi might be a tradition, but this is miles away from practicality. Had praying to Goddess Lakshmi made one rich, India would not have been one of the poor nations in the world. 80 crore people in the country still lead a life of poverty...People may or may not accept it, but can those 80 crore people who survive on 5-10 kgs of rice send their children to Universities? Can such people make their children doctors, engineers, professors, advocates, IAS, IPS or scientists? Never," Maurya said.
"Crores of youths are unemployed today. Had praying to Goddess Lakshmi eradicated poverty, 80 crore people would not have survived on just 5-10 kgs of rice and crores of youth would not have been unemployed...I didn't oppose any form of worship, I just said that 'Ghar ki Lakshmi' (should be worshipped) because she keeps the house tidy round the clock and makes it heavenly...If you have to pray, pray to 'Ghar ki Lakshmi' so that there is joy and prosperity at home. This is an appeal. If people take this otherwise, it depends on their mindset...," he added.
(With ANI inputs)
Also Read: 'We lit lamps, they fired bullets': Yogi Adityanath vs Akhilesh Yadav over deepotsav celebration
