Why does Laksmi devi ride an owl? The answer is going to make a laughing-stock of the conditioned soul bound by lobha (greed). Though it is humorous as well as tragic, the following should nonetheless be accepted as perfect siddhanta. On whom does Laksmi devi ride and who is the recipient of Her kripa?
She bestows Her mercy so that some become rich. But this very opulence makes the beneficiary blind like an owl who cannot see during daylight. Deep darkness is favorable for the owl and that is why the rich man becomes maddened and blind and often develops a misguided yet fanatical belief in self-sufficiency. This can in turn lead to the audacious condition of not being able to see the excellency of Sadhu-Guru-Vaishnava. Of course the pastimes of Druva Maharaja, Prahlada Maharaj, Prithu Maharaja, Ambarish Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja or Yudhisthir Maharaja do not fall in this same category. They all became fortunate and were blessed to receive the direct feeling of parama tattva by the mercy of Guru-Vaishnava-Bhagavan. On the surface the situations might appear similar but Sri Krsna kripa and the kripa of Mayadevi are never one and the same. This can be known by the result.
By Shri Shyam Das Baba