The Beautiful Meaning of Lotus Flower

The lotus flower is a beautiful plant that has been used in art, spirituality, and to decorate homes and gardens for millennia.

It’s incredible how such a delicate flower can survive in swamps and polluted places, fixing roots at the bottom of ponds’ mud and blooming to the surface.

During the night, its petals close, and the flower submerges. The lotus flower reappears above the water with the first sunlight rays and opens its petals again.

This beautiful flower represents a mystery to science, which cannot explain its characteristics of repelling microorganisms and dust particles. Moreover, the lotus flower controls its own temperature, staying around 35°C.

The lotus flower holds several health benefits; as a result, we see it in many natural medicines compositions:

• Relieves coughing;
• Alleviates diarrhea;
• Controls blood sugar and cholesterol;
• Mitigates inflammation;
• Its roots are very nutritious;
• Prevents acne;
• Regulates the menstrual cycle.

The lotus flower is a sacred symbol for many cultures. Although the meaning for each culture is slightly different, they are usually metaphors for the flower’s physical and behavioral characteristics.

Lotus Flower Colors: Meaning & Symbolism

We find it in many colors: purple, orange, yellow, white, pink, blue, green, and red. However, only five colors have special meaning:

Blue Lotus

Refers to the triumph of the spirit over the senses and signifies wisdom and knowledge. This flower never reveals its interior because it is almost always totally closed.

White

It is related to the perfection of the spirit and the mind, a state of total purity. Usually, we represent it with 8 petals.

Red

Reveals the sincerity and original nature of the heart. This flower corresponds to the qualities such as love, passion, and compassion. It is also known as the Flower of Compassion, Avalokitesvara.

Pink

Although it is often confused with the white lotus flower, the pink lotus is related to divine avatars, such as Buddha.

Yellow Lotus

When we attain true spiritual enlightenment, the golden lotus appears.

Lotus Flower in Ancient Greece

In Greek mythology, the Lotophagi lived on an island near North Africa and, as the name implies, used to eat lotus flowers. These plants have a narcotic effect that causes peaceful sleep and also amnesia.

In Homer’s Odyssey, there is an episode in which three men are sent to the island to investigate it. However, they forget to return to the boat because they eat the lotus flowers like the other inhabitants.

The amnesia caused by the lotus flower is a metaphor for the possibility of starting over, being reborn, and erasing the past.

In Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, white and blue lotuses are most common. The flower was known as Seshen and was associated with the Egyptian gods. Because the lotus follows the sun’s movement, it’s associated with the sun god, Ra.

They believed that the lotus symbolized creation, rebirth, strength, and power. Perhaps for this reason, during childbirth, Egyptian women tended to wear lotus amulets with an image of Heqet, a fertility goddess.

Lotuses were present in art, hieroglyphics, and paintings to represent fertility, a new beginning, and purity.

Lotus in Buddhism

In Buddhist symbolism, the essential meaning of the lotus flower is the purity of body and mind.

The muddy water that hosts the plant is associated with attachment and carnal desires. The flower blooming over the water seeking light is the promise of purity and spiritual elevation.

It is symbolically associated with the figure of Buddha and his teachings. Thus, it is a sacred flower to Buddhists. When the baby Buddha took his first steps, everywhere he stepped, lotus flowers bloomed.

• Patience
• Purity
• Mysticism
• Spiritual Direct Contact
• The Emptiness of Desire
• Victory over Attachments
• Enlightenment and the “Buddha State”
• Love and Compassion for All Things
• Self-Knowledge
• Fidelity during Spiritual Development
• Resurgence from Suffering

In Hinduism

It is common for gods to sit on a lotus flower to meditate and reflect.

The lotus is associated with prosperity, fertility, and beauty in Hindu symbolism. The lotus is also associated with various Hindu gods and relates to the sacred Padma lotus.

The Padma is the part of the soul that drives people to spiritual enlightenment, even through struggles. This drive is similar to how the lotus flower emerges from the mud to reach the surface.

It is associated with several Hindu gods, including Lakshmi, Brahma, and Vishnu, known as the lotus-eyed. Other gods are depicted with lotuses in works of art because of their association with purity and divinity.

Another association given to the lotus, according to some followers of Hinduism, is creation. Similar to how the lotus blossoms with sunlight, Hindus believe that the world blossomed in the presence of consciousness.

Lotus Flower: Number of Petals Meaning & Symbolism

The 7 Petals Lotus

7 petals of lotus reflect aspects of your psyche.

First comes choice; it’s all about free will. Choices we face in our daily lives help us build awareness.

Direction. By building awareness, you move in a purposeful direction. Clarifying your life’s meaning and purpose puts you in the direction of self-realization.

The third aspect is Order. After understanding your life’s mission, you need to get organized and prepared in all areas of life to support your life direction. Properly organizing your project ideas and living space maximizes your living experience.

The next step is prioritizing your duties, so you can focus on the right things and get them done fast.

Order and prioritization bring harmony to your body, mind, and spirit. It helps develop clarity, mindfulness, and creativity to flow the river of life.

The Sixth aspect is synergy. Finding the right partners is crucial for achieving more than you can do by yourself. Collaboration is key to success.

Last but not least is giving your best to the world through art, science, and business. Deliver maximum value to the society achievable only through a solid self-responsible ego and integrity built in the initial Petals.

Are you ready to explore each petal and become limitless?

The 1000 Petals Lotus

For Yogis, the lotus flower with 1,000 petals is related to the Sahasrara Chakra, the seventh Chakra.

The Sahasrara is the Chakra system that runs from the top of the head to about 20 centimeters above it. Besides the Sahashara itself in this region, we also have the Nirvana Chakra and the Guru Chakra.

Breaking down Sahasrara in Sanskrit:
Sahasra: means thousand
Ara: means radius of a wheel

The Thousand Petals Lotus opens in the Nirvana Chakra, and it is also where Shiva resides.

The 7th Chakra opens our divine consciousness, awakening our spirit and bringing us closer to God.

As we saw, the Lotus Flower is born from the darkness of the swamp, from the mud, and yet, it is pure and immaculate.

We can emerge in a new enlightened consciousness even with worldly desires. The Sahasrara is the integration of everything with the All.

When we open our crown chakra, we rise above all desires often unsuitable for our evolution.

It becomes natural to overcome struggles and differences. We enter a realm of heightened consciousness, spirit consciousness; we see everything as unity; there’s no more separation and duality.

Moreover, we begin to feel the divine power, the power that creates everything, that is in everything. We feel a coolness in the top of our heads, vibrations.

We receive messages from another dimension, showing us how we can correct ourselves and find creative solutions for our lives.

And at the end, we come to silence our mind, a deep silence that lifts us above our thoughts, above our mind.

We raise our energy, our Kundalini, from the base of the sacrum to the top of the head. Because the pinnacle of human spirituality is to open the 1,000 Petal Lotus.

Under the light of the Sahasrara, we feel harmony and unity; we respect animals, plants, all nature, and all humanity.

Let the magic happen!

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