A person that ever observed a lotus flower coming out from a murky pond cannot do that without noticing the beauty of this exquisite plant. The lotus flower always looks so clean, as well as pure against the background of the dirty pond.
As a result of that, the lotus flower has come to be connected with purity, as well as with beauty in the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism too; scholars from ancient Egypt observed that during the night-time the Lotus closed its flowers and sank into the water, and it came up with a different association with the flower related to rebirth and the Sun. With this, we can assume that the meaning of the lotus flower within cultures is different, but there are similarities too.
For instance, for ancient Egyptians, there were two main types of Lotus that grew, consisting of the white and the blue one. Then, sometime during the late period of their civilization, the pink lotus flower was introduced. The Blue Lotus was the most commonly portrayed among the hieroglyphics.
As we already mentioned, this plant is often connected with rebirth. This is as a result of it supposedly retracting into the water at night, and emerging fresh in the Sun the next day. For ancient Egyptians, it symbolized the Sun and creation. As something which is connected with rebirth, it is no surprise that the lotus flower is also connected with death.
On the other hand, in Buddhism, this beautiful flower is associated with purity, spiritual awakening, as well as faithfulness. The flower is considered as a pure one, as it has the ability to rise from the cloudy waters in the morning and be perfectly clean.
In Buddhism, there are also more colors of the Lotus to be seen. Because of this, it is not a surprise that the many different colors are associated with various aspects of Buddhism. The different colors of Lotus in Buddhism are:
- Blue Lotus, which is associated with a victory of the spirit over that of wisdom, intelligence, as well as knowledge;
- White Lotus, which symbolizes Bodhi (being awakened), and also represents a state of mental purity and spiritual perfection;
- Purple Lotus, which is associated with esoteric sects;
- Pink Lotus, which is considered the true Lotus of Buddha;
- Red Lotus, which is related to the heart, associated with that of love and compassion.
Maybe one of the most powerful and strongest associations of the lotus flower with religion is in Hinduism. In Hinduism, the lotus flower symbolism is associated with beauty, prosperity, fertility, as well as spirituality and eternity.
It is no wonder that all these civilizations have found wonderment in such a beautiful flower, as a result of its wonderful nature.
