The Lotus - What does it signify?

Hello all,

Namaste! Last week we discussed the underlying meaning of 'Samudra Mathanam' or the churning of our mental scape to bring out the butter called 'Amrit'. This week I was confused about what to write. Should we discuss Astrology, Mythology, Science or Philosophy; it was a big question mark? Then a picture of the God Krishna caught my view and the thing that suddenly came to focus was the Lotus he was holding in his hands. At that moment it dawned on me what I should write about. It should be about the flower Lotus and what does it imply in a Philosophical perspective.

To start with, what is the Lotus? The botanical name for the lotus seen particularly in south eastern parts of Asia is 'Nelumbo nucifera', which grows in aquatic, muddy areas with leaves floating over the water and the flowers are seen on stems that are thick and grow well above the water. The flower is usually light pink in color with a diameter of about 20cm. Science apart, we can see that it is used extensively in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Why is the lotus depicted extensively with Gods and Goddesses carrying or sitting on the lotus? Is there any underlying significance or hidden meaning associated with that? Can we investigate and see?

Lotus flower
Before proceeding any further, I would like to clarify something. The whole perspective discussed here is from a Hindu viewpoint. As I am not strong in Buddhist philosophy or mythology, this post is not related to Buddhist perspective. This is totally from a Hindu perspective about how we can interpret the hidden meaning and significance of the lotus. Now let us start with the Mythology.

Lord Brahma: In Hinduism, Lord Brahma, who is considered the creator of the Universe is sitting on a lotus that has arisen from the navel of another Lord Vishnu. Feels a bit weird, isn't it? A Lord coming out of the navel of another lord, absurd, isn’t it? If we analyze it just as a Myth it feels pure nonsense. But now let us analyze the hidden meaning. Remember in the last post we discussed how Vishnu, the God kept the 'Mount Mandara' from toppling while the churning was happening. The same way Vishnu is considered the preserver and maintainer of the Universe. Also, remember the post, 'Everyone of us is an Arjuna', where we discussed how Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu ) is always sitting in our hearts ready to help us. So now think that we have surrendered ourselves to the very power sitting in our hearts. We will come back to this scenario after a short discussion.

All of us have heard about the seven sacred chakras or energy centers, which is said to be there in our body. It is written that these centers hold enormous powers but remain closed in normal people. People like sages and spiritual masters who have done much Tapasya or penance have opened these energy centers. There is one center at the top of our head called 'Sahasrara', which means a thousand petaled lotus. This is the lotus on which Brahma is depicted as sitting. It is said that once this energy center opens in a person, he/she has the capacity to gain or acquire enormous spiritual knowledge or Vidya from the all-encompassing divine.

Okay, now let us come back to Brahma sitting on a lotus arising from the navel of Vishnu. Think that a person has opened all his/her chakras with deep penance that he/she has acquired so much of spiritual knowledge that he/she has become very close to Vishnu like status. Now there is another chakra just above the navel called the 'solar plexus chakra' or 'Manipura', which is considered the center for creating anything new, that which has never been created before. The enlightened person who has acquired Vishnu like status has opened all the sacred energy centers including the Manipura. This fantastic creativity that is acquired after the opening of the Sahasrara is the Brahma depicted as sitting on a thousand petaled lotus, that is coming out of the Vishnu. So what does all this mean? A person, who has managed to open the last chakra (Sahasrara) on top of the head, has acquired Vishnu like status and can start creating new and innovative ideas as if like the Lord Brahma himself sitting on the thousand petaled lotus, the ultimate creator. For him/her nothing or no creation is impossible and the Vishnu who is behind the Brahma is always there overlooking and guiding his/her creation. So see how a weird looking fact once we know the hidden meaning takes a fantastic dimension or perspective.

Another thing is like Vishnu, who is remaining underneath the Lotus and Brahma, is always there as a hidden influence if we totally surrender to the divine. This Vishnu like status is not even imaginable if we are constantly mired in the material realm trying to succumb to bad influences and negative emotions. We have to rise up above all that, do the constant penance and open the sacred energy centers to be one with the divine and be humble to our core. Only then we can think of the person as Vishnu and the Manipura or the creative center as the Brahma. This is one scenario where we see the Lotus in Hindu mythology.

Goddess Mahalakshmi
Goddess Mahalakshmi: Another fact is that many Gods in Hinduism are either holding a lotus in their hands or they are sitting on the lotus. The deities holding the lotus in their hands signify that each one of us has the capacity to be blessed with the ultimate spiritual knowledge if we put in the effort and totally surrender to the divine. That knowledge is so high in perspective and wisdom that it will take us to our ultimate truth. For example, the Goddess Mahalakshmi, even though has one hand showering gold coins, there are two hands that hold the lotus of eternal truth. In these material times, we only give importance to the one hand showering coins. But there are other three hands, which symbolize an entirely different thing. One hand shows us to surrender to her so that with one hand she showers the gold coins and with the other two hands she showers us with the ultimate knowledge of the truth (two hands holding lotuses). Isn’t it better to get both the material as well as the spiritual wealth than just the material wealth alone?

Now about the deities sitting on the lotus, it is signifying that once the Sahasrara opens then there is the constant communion with the God as if the divine is sitting on the Sahasrara itself or we acquire so much of spiritual wisdom that our insight and intuition grow tremendously.

Now another philosophical perspective we can come to is that the lotus grows on marshy, aquatic areas. If we consider the marsh as our chaos of the material realm and the water as our emotions, then like the stalk pushing out of the water and reaching high up in the air, we have to rise up above the chaos and emotions and should pursue the spiritual wisdom with single minded concentration and blossom into the lotus flower showing our true inner beauty and wisdom to the world. In other words, the Gods and Goddesses carrying the lotuses are urging us to lead an authentic life and show the world our true inner beauty than projecting our mask like personas.
 God Maha Vishnu

We have also seen pictures where deities are adorning the lotuses on their heads and this symbolizes that once we stand firm in our authentic self, then our place is on the crown of the Gods adorning their heads, not at a low status. Shouldn’t each one of us try to pursue that status than just living the life of an ordinary human being? This is the status the deities are urging us to pursue. Alas! If only we had enough focus or enough free time or enough interest! Worth consideration!

Foot note:  This is purely my perspective. There may be many other different ways of interpreting each of the philosophical concepts we discussed till now. I welcome other perspectives, comments and am always open to more knowledge. Thank you.

I wish you a good weekend and I'll see you next Friday! 😉

 Next week: The sacred Chakras - A modern perspective - Part 1

Note: Images taken from Wikimedia Commons. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance ; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried".  

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SwaroopaBlog.

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog. The opinions and viewpoints shared here are that of the author/owner only. Even though the author/owner will try to research well before posting the information, the author/owner of this blog does not make any portrayal of the accuracy or correctness of the content on this blog or the links provided. The author/owner will not be liable for any omissions or inaccuracies occurred. The author/owner will not be liable for any damages or losses due to the use or display of this blog. These terms and conditions can change at any time. This blog is purely for informational purposes only.
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Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 4, 2017 at 8:41 AM

    Very interesting ! Enjoyed it !

    ReplyDelete
  2. SwaroopaStarGazerAugust 4, 2017 at 8:43 AM

    Thank you, Reena. Doing a little to inspire all. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. MeganSeptember 30, 2017 at 12:15 AM

    Loved it! Our faiths are more similar than I thought :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. SwaroopaStarGazerOctober 6, 2017 at 10:31 PM

    Thank you,Megan.These are few of my interpretation. There can be another thousand.

    ReplyDelete

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