Flower of gods

Dr Satish K Kapoor

The lotus, nelumbium nucifera, represents purity, tranquility, virtue, wisdom, spiritual power and supreme awareness. It is glorified as sacred, admired for its beauty and presented on altars. Known by various names such as kamala, padma, arvinda, pankaja, nalina, jalaja, shri-pushpa and pushkara, lotus is the national flower of India. It epitomizes the essence of the Indian culture and has been profusely depicted in works of art, architecture and literature across religions. The Bahai temple, New Delhi, which is made in the shape of a lotus, is a living testimony to this fact.

Lotus in religious texts

Vedic and Agamic texts refer to different varieties of lotus like, shveta (white), kuvalya (blue), raktavarna (red), patala (pink), shona (crimson), or mixed, each with different symbolism and uses. Lord Rama is called kamala-nayana, having eyes like the lotus. According to a legend, he resolved to propitiate goddess Durga with one hundred lotus flowers, to gain victory over Ravana. Since he could procure only ninety-nine, he offered his own eyes, in a symbolic way, to complete the number. Shrimadbhagavatam (I.8.22) describes Shri Krishna’s glance ‘as cool as the lotus’and his feet ‘engraved with lotuses’. 

Lotus and Hindu deities 

Hindu deities are associated with the lotus in many ways. The four-faced Brahma is called abaja-ja, lotus-born, for the reason that he emanated from the golden lotus arising out of the navel of Vishnu. Vishnu’s consort, Lakshmi, is known by many names like padma-sambhava (lotus-born), padma- sthita (based on lotus), padma-priya (to whom lotus is dear), and padmakshi (lotus-eyed). She is shown as sitting or standing on a lotus, wearing a garland of lotus petals, and holding a lotus in her hands. Saraswati, seated on a lotus or carrying a white lotus in her hand, symbolizes supreme knowledge. Durga, holding a red lotus- bud in her right hand, is a sign that she would make it bloom by eradicating negativity. Lotus is associated with Surya, sun-god (identified with Vishnu), because its petals open as the sun rises and close as the sun-sets.

Symbol of vairagya and 

life-force

Lotus has been regarded as a symbol of vairagya (detachment), so essential for remaining in god-consciousness. In esoteric traditions, lotus denotes the rhythm of life-force cascading through chakra-s, wheels or energy-centers, in the astral body. Chandra-kamala-vedha is the process of piercing each chakra one by one from muladhara (base chakra), upwards. In yoga, padmasana or lotus-pose, is considered to be the best for meditation.  

Buddhism and Jainism

In Buddhism, lotus stands for self-creation, inner-purity, the fundamental nature of all beings, and ashta-marga (eight-fold path).    After birth, Gautama, the Buddha, is said to have taken seven steps; at each step bloomed a lotus flower in his honour. Lotus is the flower of Maitreya, the last of the five great Bodhisattvas. In Jainism too, lotus is valued as a symbol of purity. An eight-petalled lotus is drawn in Jaina temple-rituals.

Guru Nanak Dev advised that one should remain pure amid the impurities of the world, like the lotus that grows in muddy waters but remains untouched by it. 

(Dr Kapoor is a noted author, 

historian and spiritualist)