Sacred lotus Flower

The lotus was of great significance to many ancient cultures,

and in particular to the Eastern religions. From ancestral times,

the lotus regularly appears as a symbol of purity, peace,

transcendence, enlightenment, rebirth, beauty, and fertility.
In India, the lotus flower is considered to be of divine origin and

is viewed as sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists. Buddha was

said to sleep on a lotus six months of the year, and Shambala

(Buddhist heaven) is sometimes represented as a field of

flowering sacred lotuses.


The idea of enlightenment is symbolised by the life cycle of

the sacred lotus plant because it begins its life humbly in the mud

of ponds but soon grows and sends stems and flowers well above

the surface of the water (up to 50cm), thus showing the path of spiritual enfoldment.
It also has unusual flowering habits; its flowers ‘wake up’ (open) at dawn and go to sleep (close) at about 2pm. Some lotuses are even known to open up at night and close during the day, ignoring the normal sunlight hours favoured by the majority of flowering plants, and effectively transcending normal time cycles.