Meaning of Lotus Flower

A Lotus flower is personified as, I am the being, who in spite of my miry surroundings, have remained untouched and stood up to be the exemplar of beauty and purity.

Lotus flower has influenced Hinduism, Buddhism and the ancient Egyptian culture since ages ago. The flower is considered holy and it occupies a significant position in religious mythology. The flower is known to have a strong mystic connection with life, death and re-birth. The different types of lotus flowers have specific meanings that are associated with spiritualism, wisdom and enlightenment.

Types of Lotus Flower

Each color has it own significance and meaning. The color is important for the symbolism. Check them out from the content written below.

Blue Lotus Flower: According to Buddhism, blue lotus is the bodhisattva of wisdom. The flower depicts wisdom and knowledge. It is also a symbol of unification and rebirth. It's an indication of victory of the inner spirit and determination.

Red Lotus Flower: The color is symbolic of passion, love, compassion and sympathy. It's connected with human being's feelings emanating from the heart. This flower is known as bodhisattva of compassion. It also represents the purest form of feelings.

White Lotus Flower: The color signifies that a person has attained complete spiritual perfection and his mind is absolutely pure. In one word we can define that the white lotus flower stands for purification. It's also connected with White Tara or the wish-fulfilling Wheel.

Pink Lotus: This sacred lotus flower is offered to revere deities. It's supreme, divine and purely sacred. People offer pink lotus to Buddha to shower their faith and love. Pink lotus is associated with goddess Laxmi and Krishna (Lotus-Eyed-One) in Hinduism. It's also symbolic of non-attachment from materialistic life.

Lotus Flower Symbolism

The lotus flower meanings have a very close attachment with followers of Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. The red lotus flower symbolizes fertility in Hinduism. The flower is a symbol of youthfulness and eternity. You will be able to find out the semblances with Buddhism after reading the Verse 5.10 written on Bhagavad Gita. It says, one who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water. Quite similar to this, the Buddhist teaching explains that although the lotus blooms in mud and its roots grow in mud, the flower blossoms above. The stem of the flower projects upwards and the sweet scented flower blooms in the sunlight. This theory is used to explain the pathway of purification of the soul. The materialistic human mind is compared with the root that grows in mud while the pathway that the stem follows is connected with the progression of the soul through experience and finally it receives sunlight like the flower, i.e. the soul is enlightened. The holy sect, Lalitavistara Sutra, further describes that the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it.

The mythology of ancient Egypt presents the creation of three legends. In the first creation you will find the sun projecting from the lotus flower growing in water and mud. In the second legend the sun was believed to have originated in the city of Heliopolis. People say that the lotus bloomed from a dirt mound in the infinite ocean called Nun, giving birth to sun God Atum. The third legend says that sun God Ra was created from lotus. Thus, from the legendary stories we come to know about lotus flower symbolism in different religions. In Hinduism, lotus flower also represents formation of chakras or the center of consciousness in human body. The Chinese say that the lotus flower is symbolic of neatness and cleanliness of surroundings that is devoid of filth and dirt. That was about the symbolic meaning of lotus flower.

Today people are getting lotus flower tattoos to retain its significance, meaning and sanctity.