Book Presentation

"The White Lotus"

by Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar

 

The booklet speaks of the symbolism of the Lotus. The Lotus is a profound Vedic symbol that enchants the student of symbolism. The booklet is a spontaneous talk flowing through the author.

Dhanishtha, Visakhapatnam 1993

 

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Sample:

Extract: The White Lotus

The topic "The White Lotus" is very sacred; it is so sacred that we have to make the entry into it with much humility and humbleness.

We are all instinctively and inexplicably pleased when we see a lotus. We cannot explain why, but there is the happiness the moment we see beautiful white lotus. Did we ever think why it is so?

A white lotus reveals many secrets if we can stop for a while and keep looking at it and speak to it. If you speak to it, it smiles, which means an answer, because all those who are fulfilled with Consciousness, they only replay through the smiles and not through speech. The white lotus is one such Consciousness. If we have the eyes to see it gives us many answers; hence it is considered sacred and it is worshipped and adored.

How is it that among metals we like certain of them more than others? Instinctively we prefer gold to iron. What is that makes us prefer gold or silver or iron? What is it that makes us feel so pleasant when we see a beautiful white cow? The eyes of a cow which you see in India, gives you instinctive stillness. That is the beauty of the white cow.

Just like there is the instinctive liking for the horse and the cow, there is also the liking for precious stones in preference to any stone. Why is it that we pick up some crystals and put them into costly showcases and not some stones from the street? Why don't we pick up anything from the plant kingdom and keep it in the house, why do we keep only flowers? If we make an observation like this, there are certain things which spread happiness and freshness to the human being spontaneously. There are also some human beings who are always welcome, their presence gives happiness and make people cheerful. In their presence total quietitude and equilibrium is attained effortlessly.

Tranquility becomes the common way of life in the Ashram of a Master. A tiger and a deer live in good friendship in the aura of the Master. That is because the Master spreads such harmony through his Consciousness. So is the case with the consciousness that is spread by gold and silver, precious stones and crystals, white horses, white cows, white doves, white swans, elephants etc. Such of these formations spread much light which we call: "The Light of the Consciousness".

We are instinctively drawn to people who carry magnetism of Love in them. In the same way we are instinctively drawn to all those beings that I mentioned from the other kingdoms.

The lotus stands as an outstanding example of consciousness. It has a single point programme of unfolding as a flower. The process is not so tiresome as it is the case with other flower plants. Other flower plants have may other details than the flower. We have roses but there are also many thorns and leaves. The leaves and the thorns are often greater in number than the roses the rose plant carries. That means that there are many non-essentials and among them there are some essentials.

An ordinary man has many non-essentials among few essentials. If you see a Master of Wisdom, he has only essentials but not non-essentials.

There are also big trees which give quite a number of flowers, but even in that case there is the laborious process of the growth of the tree, the forming of branches; form the branches the stalks and from the stalks may leaves, but only few flowers.

Thus, the formalities are more and the essence is less. That is why those trees are a good representation of the human life.

We also live more in formalities than in the essence. We are so much engrossed in formalities that we often miss the essence. There are so many non-essential speeches, movements and actions, and only sometimes there will be maybe a pearl coming out of a speech.

If you look to the lotus it is a totally different situation. It has no such things as non-essentials, if has only the single pointed programme of unfolding and showing us the beauty of its fragrance and light. It doesn't conceive anything else other than the beauty of its petals and its unfolding. It does not reveal the stalk, which is the basis for the flower.

The stalk is like the personality, which the lotus doesn't show up. The lotus shows up that which is essential and conceals that which in non-essential. It gives a good message for all human beings to keep away from all our non-essentials and remain with the essentials when we interact with other beings. If we can only spread Light and Love at all times, if we can only spread smiles at all times, then we can be considered lotuses. But we have many other things to show other than Love and Light. There is the vulgar display of many things by an average human being.... That is why the lotus has a good message. It tells us:

"Show up that which is beautiful in you, show up that which is light in you, and show up that which is the unfoldment in you, show up that which is tender in you, and let the show be in stillness and in silence".

The white lotus can give us so many messages if only we keep looking at it, even if it is only a picture.