Thursday, March 4, 2010

Whenever we write about Eastern religion we say "soul or self", as if these were interchangeable. I am very sure of what the self is, but I only have a dimly lit view of what the soul might be. This symbol, sacred to 8000,000 Hindus, was described as a symbol of the soul or self. Isn't there a huge difference between these two things, or is it that what this is a symbol of is something that cannot be described by Westerners in the terms we use to describe what is sacred to us? I do know that Buddhists, who derived their beliefs in part from Hinduism, like lotuses because they represent something that has its roots in the mud at the bottom of a pool and flowers above the water in the same way that enlightenment can emerge from the body.

2 comments:

AphotoAday said...

What a beautiful image and thought.

Golomar said...

I love that photograph so much I have copied it and will be using it as my 'avatar' image. In common parlance, to be "stuck in the mud" has negative connotations (i.e. stodginess) but here in Hinduism we see the idea of "rootedness" being one half of enlightenment; unseen and uncelebrated but just as important. Namaste.