| Among the various flowers of Indian sub-continent,
the flower Lotus is regarded with divinity
and grace. Often, Goddesses Lakshmi
and Saraswathi are associated with the flower
lotus. Even Lord Siva, who wanted to escape the wrath of the
Lord Saneeswaran, morphed himself into the shape of a bee
and took asylum inside a lotus. Buddhists regard this flower
as a sacred one.
Lotus symbolizes purity, beauty, majesty, grace, fertility,
wealth, richness, knowledge and serenity. They are found in
white and pink colors in general and they grow in shallow
and murky waters. Some blue colored flowers are also sighted.
These flowers enjoy a warm sunlight and intolerant to cold
weather. Hence they cannot be seen blossoming in the winter.
The floating leaves and flowers have long stems, which contains
air spaces to maintain buoyancy.
The plant is having various uniqueness attached to it. Though
the large leaves of the plant are floating on the surface
of the water, even a drop of water is not accommodated on
top of the leaves. Perhaps, they are teaching the human beings,
to lead a life of non-attachment and avoid the worldly pleasures.
Depending upon the level of water in the tank, the stems
will rise. In this fashion, it is guiding the human beings
to rise upto the situation leading to a genuine elevation
in their lives. As the world famous 'Thirukural' says,
"Vellathanayathu malar neetam manthartham
ullath thanyathu ouyarvu"
signifying, in relation with the water level of a tank, the
stem will rise. In the same way, depending upon their ambitions
and thoughts, human beings can elevate themselves in their
life.
In Indian religious epics, references of lotus are made,
in relation with eyes and feet of divine persona. For instance
"Kamala Kannan" referring Lord Krishna with the
contextual meaning, a person having eyes with the color of
the pink lotus. Also, it is coupled with the feet of deities.
"Kamala Patham" means lotus feet implying the feet
of the god. "Charan Kamala Patham" implying, submit
oneself in totality, at the lotus feet of the god.
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