Monday, Jul 26, 2010 This week’s Food for Thought – July 26, 2010

Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodahah — Yoga is the uniting of consciousness in the heart.

The lotus flower has long been a symbol for the unfolding of Spirituality. It is one of the most elegant illustrations of the meshing of our human and Divine natures.

The lotus seed is planted and grows in muddy waters, below the surface of the lake, far from the light. Though the light is murky and unclear, the flower blossoms by drawing energy from within. As the bud passes through the muddy waters, it lifts its face to the sunlight and finally emerges. Miraculously, not a trace of soil remains on the flower. It lives in the mud yet is unaffected by it. This is an example for us to be in the world but not be adversely affected by it. The lotus flower teaches us that no matter how muddied the waters of our consciousness may become, clarity can always emerge from our spirit if the Divine Light guides us—even if it is only one tiny lotus blossom at a time.

—Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga

“I looked in temples, Churches, and Mosques. I found the Divine in my heart.” —Rumi

Why is the Lotus the national flower of India?

The lotus always grows in ponds with a layer of moss or mud on top of the water. This symbolizes that, even when it is surrounded by dirt and impurity, it can still grow proud and beautiful. A single lotus growing in a pond can make even the moss and mud look beautiful. In the same way, Indians should strive to rise up and grow proud and beautiful even when they are surrounded by impurity or ill faith. In this way, we should endeavor to make our surroundings, not just our physical but also our mental, emotional and spiritual surroundings, more beautiful. —Wikipedia

“As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled,

so I, born in the world, raised in the world, having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world.”

—Buddha