The bean of India

I’ve been very drawn to the symbolism of the lotus lately. I’m not sure what got me on this kick, except that I was having a hard time with school at the beginning of the semester and really latched on to the idea of blooming out of the mud, as lotuses do. It feels like a meaningful image to hold on to as I navigate the often-murky waters of graduate school.

I made this!

Some interesting things I learned about lotuses, or Nelumbo nucifera, from Wikipedia:

+ Other monikers include Indian lotus, sacred lotus, and bean of India (lol).

+ They are an aquatic perennial and can live for over a thousand years.

+ Native to tropical regions of Asia and Australia.

+ National flower of India and Vietnam.

+ Seeds can remain viable for a really dang long time; in the 1990s a “sacred” lotus seed around 1300 years of age was germinated successfully.

+ The lotus is one of only three known species with the ability to regulate its flower temperature (?!); one study in Australia found that the flowers maintained temperatures ranging from

86 - 95°F in 50°F weather. Researchers think this attracts cold-blooded insect pollinators.

+ All parts of the plant (roots, stems, flowers, leaves, and seeds) are edible.

Religious significance of the lotus, also ganked from Wiki:

+ “A person’s path in life is said to be similar to that of the lotus: starting at the seed stage, early in the karmic cycle, through to the bud emerging from the dirty water, representing a person following the path of spirituality and leaving attachment behind, and finally blossoming, when a person has become fully awakened and has achieved nirvana.”

+ The lotus appears throughout Hindu theology; my blurb here is by no means exhaustive. Its unfolding petals represent expansion of the soul, and “the growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual promise.” It is often associated with the gods Vishnu and Brahma, and the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati. Vishnu is sometimes called “The Lotus-Eyed One,” and the lotus is thought to have sprung from his navel while he was in yoga nidra, or yogic sleep.
+ In Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes purity of body, speech, and mind, and is one of the eight auspicious symbols of the religion. While rooted in the mud, lotus flowers “float above the muddy waters of attachment and desire” on long stalks. The Buddhist ideal of detachment is symbolized by the ease with which drops of water slide off lotus petals.

...A pretty nifty little plant, eh?