Gaudy Mandala
Acryl on paper
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Symbolism of lotus
Lotus
The lotus
is an ancient polyvalent
symbol in Asian culture. Hindus revere it with the gods Vishnu,
Brahma and to a
lesser degree Kubera,
and the goddesses Lakshmi
and Sarasvati .
Often used as an example of divine beauty and purity,
Vishnu is often described as the 'Lotus-Eyed One'. The lotus springs
from the navel of Vishnu
whilst he is in Yoga
Nidra. The lotus blooms uncovering the creator god Brahma in
padmasana.
Its unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul. The growth of
its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual
promise. Particularly Brahma and Lakshmi, the divinities of potency
and wealth, have the lotus symbol associated with them.
The lotus flower is one of the Vajrayana Ashtamangala,
representative of creation and cosmic renewal and 'primordial purity'
(Wylie: ka dag) and shares in the chakra
and mandala
symbolism of the Dharmachakra,
is also cited extensively within Puranic
and Vedic
literature, for example:
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus is untouched by water.
—Bhagavad Gita 5.10:
This has also taken root in Chinese cultures with a famous
statement made by the 11th
century Confucian
scholar Zhou Dunyi:
"I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is
unstained."
The padma is held to be a flower with a thousand petals and is
therefore associated with the Sahasrara
and indeed all the chakra. The padma appears as an endemic dais upon
which deities rest and indeed upon which Hindu
iconography is founded.
In Buddhist
symbolism the lotus is symbolic of purity of the body,
speech, and mind as while rooted in the mud, its flowers blossom
on long stalks as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment
and desire. It is also symbolic of detachment as drops of water
easily slide off its petals.
It is also to be noted that most Buddhist,
Chinese, Hindu, Japanese, amongst other Asian deities are often are
depicted as seated on a lotus flower. According to legend, Gautama
Buddha was born with the ability to walk and everywhere he
stepped, lotus flowers bloomed.
Mandalas in Architecture
The Buddhist stupa
In architecture the Buddhist stupa is the oldest and most prevalent form to reflect the structure and flow of the mandala. Stupas are a dome shaped structure designed to hold sacred relics.
You can also see the structural representation of a mandala
in the construction of most cathedrals and churches of 12th century.
These are structures build around a center point and include beautiful
stained glass rose windows. These windows reflect a great spiritual
presence.
Tibetan Mandalas
Tibetan Mandalas
The Tibetan Monks are most famous for creating mandalas
from colored sand. Monks study for about three years to learn all the
symbols to be used in creation of a mandala. They learn the geometric
shapes to be used and strive to become one with their work as they add
sand to the creation. In most cases, four monks create four sections of
the mandala each, with a helper that colors in the outlines they make
in the mandala. The eight must work as one person and that is the
beauty of creating the mandala in the first place.
It is interesting to know that after spending weeks and weeks making the Tibetan sand mandalas
a broom is taken to the creation and the sand is collected and taken
to the nearest body of water. It released into the water so that all
that use the water will benefit from the blessings of the mandala.
Think of the mentality of those monks that created the masterpiece
only to have it brushed away. This would truly take a feat of
selflessness.
There are a set of plans and instructions for creating mandalas
within each spiritual entity. There are set symbols and set rituals
for creating the symbols. There is often a set order in which to place
the symbols. Constructing a mandala is sometimes painstakingly intense, yet that is the beauty of creating one.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Flower of life
Flower of life
The Flower of Life is the name coined by New Age author Drunvalo Melchizedek for a geometrical figure composed of multiple evenly-spaced,
overlapping circles. This figure,
used as a decorative motiv since ancient times, forms a flower-like pattern with the symmetrical structure of a hexagon.
A "Flower of Life" figure consists of seven or
more overlapping circles, in which the center of each circle is on the
circumference of up to six surrounding circles of the same diameter. However,
the surrounding circles need not be clearly or completely drawn; in fact, some
ancient symbols that are claimed as examples of the Flower of Life contain only
a single circle or hexagon.
New Age followers ascribe many forms of significance to the
Flower of Life and three similar figures, called the "Egg of Life,"
the "Fruit of Life," the "Seed of Life,"and the "Tree
of Life." Melchizedek and others assert that these figures are symbols of sacred geometry, that they represent
ancient spiritual beliefs, and that they depict fundamental aspects of space
and time. They claim that Metatron's
Cube may be derived from the
Flower of Life pattern, and that the Platonic
solids within it were
"thought to act as a template from which all life springs."
The Flower of Life and the Seed of Life are linked by New
Age authors with the Biblical prophet Enoch,
the Archangel Metatron, the six
days of Creation, the Vesica Piscis religious symbol, and Borromean rings.
Mandala painting - Tribal Mandala
Mandala painting
Tribal Mandala
Acryl on paper
Blue color means balanced existence, sustaining life, eased nerve system, transmitting forces and energy. Blue thought is a thought about relaxing the nerve system to achieve the balance of the mind or a thought about surviving. Electric blue can override any other color in the Aura.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Ganesha
Ganesha
Hindu art
Ganesha also known as Pillaiyar, Ganapati and Vinayaka, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped
deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations.
Devotion
to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to
Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although
he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him particularly easy to
identify. Ganesha
is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and
more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of
intellect and wisdom. He is
honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of
Letters during writing sessions. Several
texts relatemythological anecdotes associated
with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha
emerged as a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th
centuries CE, during the Gupta
Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly, and he
was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th
century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya
(Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; IAST: gāṇapatya), who identified
Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal scriptures dedicated to
Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana,
the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Mandalay Palace
Mandalay Palace
The Mandalay Palace, located in Mandalay, Myanmar, is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed, between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese palace design, inside a walled fort surrounded by a moat. The palace itself is at the centre of the citadel and faces east. All buildings of the palace are of one storey in height. The number of spires above a building indicated the importance of the area below.
Mandalay
Palace was the primary royal residence of King Mindon and King Thibaw, the last two kings of the
country. The complex ceased to be a royal residence and seat of government on
28 November 1885 when, during the Third
Anglo-Burmese War, troops of the Burma Field Force entered the palace and
captured the royal family. The British turned the palace compound into Fort Dufferin, named after the then viceroy of India. Throughout the British colonial era, the palace was
seen by the Burmese as the primary symbol sovereignty and identity. Much of the
palace compound was destroyed during World
War II by allied bombing; only
the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt
in the 1990s with some modern materials.
Today,
Mandalay Palace is a primary symbol of Mandalay and a major tourist
destination.Mandalay Palace has been vividly covered in Amitav Ghosh's
historical novel The Glass Palace.
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