Lotus - Journeying into Spirituality
Om Mani Padme Hum - A Buddhist chant, that encompasses all the tenets that connect us with ourselves. Being in tune with oneself requires being attuned to factors that beguile us to enlightening experiences. The seek is always from within. Seekers understand being dormant at rock bottom and emerging in time after journeying through pain, endurance, and reflection. A Lotus flower is a great analogy to this concept. A flower that exudes beauty and simplicity. Lotus is one of the extant aquatic species that is botanically named Nelumbo nucifera.
Lotus known as the Padma in Sanskrit symbolizes purity, resilience, enlightenment conveying a message that even when it grows in the murkiest of waters, it resurfaces exuding beauty and simplicity.
Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop several thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. Some of these seeds sprout immediately, some are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extended period as the pond silts in and dries out.
Seeds of this aquatic perennial remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination of seeds from 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China. During conducive conditions, the dormant seeds rehydrate to begin a new lotus colony. Eastern cultures attach spiritual significance to the Lotus flower due to its quality of resilience, longevity, rebirth, and regeneration.
Cultural significance of Lotus
In Hindu culture, it is often seen that God Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, and Saraswati sitting upon this virtuous Lotus flower. Lotus blooms with the rising sun and closes with sunset the same way our minds open and expand with the light of knowledge.
The seekers of spirituality find their way through practice and discipline. Our bodies comprise seven energy centers or Chakras. Each of these chakras is associated with a certain number of petals. The Sahasra chakra (1000 petals) located at the top of the head is said to be the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness, and it is from this chakra that all the other chakras emanate.
When a yogi is able to raise his/her kundalini (energy of consciousness) up to this point, the state of Nirvana is experienced. It’s only natural that the Lotus posture (Padmasana) is recommended when one sits for meditation.
A shloka from Bhagwad Geeta states:
Brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani
Sangam tyaktvaa karoti yaha
Lipyate na sa paapena
Padma patram ivaambhasaa
Lotus leaves never get wet even when it is always in water, symbolizing he who remains unaffected by the change, finds a medium to remain joyous or in the mindset of Sat-Chit-Anand.
Om Mani Padme Hum
Knowledge is required to understand intelligence
This six-syllable Buddhist mantra aligns us with a Zen state of mind. The turning of the prayer wheels, the high-altitude mountains, the Buddhist monks chanting with calmness and tranquility. This mantra is chanted at the speed of a heartbeat 70-72 beats per minute. When chanted with a calm mind, the benefit of this mantra is said to radiate the light within that defies all boundaries
OM- A U and M, a confluence of mind, body, and speech, a path that transforms impure body, speech, and mind into that of the pure and exalted.
Mani – Represents compassion and altruism, like a light that’s shone through a well-cut diamond.
Padme – Symbolizes wisdom. Like the lotus flower that feeds off of the dirt and mud in the water, to exude its beauty when it blooms, the ask is to transcend the mundane and attain peace. His Holiness Dalai Lama also states knowledge is essential to understanding human intelligence.
Hum – A combination of altruism and wisdom that leads to a transformation of the impure mind, body, and speech
Every part of the lotus yields itself functionally. The flower, the seeds, the leaves, and tubes. It is without a doubt that many religions consider this flower sacred and auspicious. Just like the flower itself, we can transcend the dirt and murkiness of life and be the lotus of the human realm being the benefactors of radiating positive energy.