Padma (“lotus”) - One of the finest symbols in Hindu and Buddhist Indian philosophy and iconography, and a dependably auspicious item.
The lotus is one of the most attractive Indian flowers due
to its size and hues, but it is also a powerful metaphor for spiritual
awakening.
Its roots are under the mud, suggesting the corrupted world
with which all creatures must battle, yet it blossoms above the water's
surface, symbolizing transcendence.
The submerged stems of the lotus plant grow as far as they
need to bring the flower bud above the water's surface—three, five, or ten
feet—symbolizing the human power to transcend spiritual hurdles.
Finally, lotus leaves have a waxy covering that causes water
to bead up and run off; one religious source, the Bhagavad Gita (5.10),
utilizes this as a metaphor for the man who has renounced all attachment and is
unaffected by the world's goods.
Aside from its metaphorical significance, the lotus is a
prominent emblem in Hindu imagery.
Along with the conch shell (shankha), club (gada), and
discus, it is one of the four distinguishing items held by the deity Vishnu
(chakra).
It is also borne by the Goddess, both in her fierce goddess
forms as Durga and associated deities, and in her beneficent and benign form as
Lakshmi, who is generally shown standing on a lotus.
A lotus emerges from Vishnu's navel and opens to reveal
Brahma, who then continues to construct the world, according to one of the
popular Hindu creation stories.
The identical process occurs in reverse when the cosmos has
run its course and is ready to be destroyed.
