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Sacred Symbols in Crises CHAPTER 9 ymbols adorn our world at every turn, in our spiritual, social and political experience. A ring or gold pendant silently strengthens Sand attests to wedded love. A sign with a truck silhouette on an angled line warns drivers of steep grades ahead. The red cross signifi es aid Sacred Symbols in crises. Golden arches tell vegans to beware. The best known symbols are simple numerals: 0 through 9, which originated in India in the ancient Endearing Icons of Mythology, Mysticism and Brahmi script. Historic images are etched in the mass mind; the mushroom cloud of the atom bomb forever represents nuclear destruction. But it is our Devotion Adorn Hindu Art, Architecture and Culture sacred symbols, icons of Divinity and higher reality, that wield the greatest power to inform and transform consciousness. Taoists gazing upon a vaq yin-yang symbol, Navajo Indians “pouring” a feather symbol in a sand painting, Muslims embroidering the crescent moon and star, Buddhists Vata, the banyan tree, contemplating a mandala, Christians kneeling before the cross, Hindus Ficus indicus, symbolizes meditating on the Aum, Pagans parading the ankh at Stonehenge—all Hinduism, which branches these are potent meditations on cosmic symbols that are gateways to inner out in all directions, draws truths. To societies of prehistory, living fully in nature’s raw splendor and power, symbols stood for supernatural states and beings—as they still can from many roots, spreads for us today. A stylized image of a snake coiled round a clay vase, for example, shade far and wide, yet represented cosmic life and regeneration. Wielded as tools by mystic stems from one great trunk. shamans, symbols can shape the forces of nature and invoke astral beings. Siva as Silent Sage sits To conjure power, a medieval alchemist would enclose himself in a magic beneath it. Aum. circle fi lled with geometric pictograms symbolizing inner realities. Today, as in olden times, religious symbols derive from the world around us. The sun appears in motifs across cultures from Mexico to Mongolia, including the Hindu swastika and the wheel of the sun, honored by Bud dhists as the eight-spoked dharma wheel. Hinduism has amassed a vast range of icons from thousands of years back. Coins found in the Indus Valley carry emblems of the cow and of a meditating yogi across a 6,000-year corridor of time. Images from the Vedic age are popular motifs in Kashmiri carpets and Chidam baram saris. These often serve to identify and distinguish members of a sect or community. The simple red dot worn on the forehead is both a mark of our dharmic heritage and a personal reminder that we must see symbols art by a. manivel symbols the world not only with our physical eyes, but with the mind’s eye, the third art by a. manivel eye, the eye of the soul. India’s adepts and seers have excelled at symbolic svafistak[ imagery, transforming mudras (hand gestures) into instantly recognized emblems and transmitters of a Deity’s power or a particular frequency Swastika is the symbol of of energy. Each accoutrement of the dozens of Deities in the Hindu auspiciousness and good pantheon conveys a cosmic function or force. Today this ancient magic fortune—literally, “It is well.” is with us everywhere, from the temple priest’s invocation to the Indian housewife’s drawing of multi-colored designs, called kolams or rangoli, on The right-angled arms of this the ground as auspicious auguries, household blessings and greetings. ancient sun-sign denote the indirect way that Divinity is apprehended: by intuition art by s. rajam; background photo of tiruvanamalai by thomas kelly photo of tiruvanamalai art by s. rajam; background Left, a deva holds above his head a golden vajra (a “thunderbolt” representing and not by intellect. Aum. indestructibility), a celestial weapon wielded by the Vedic God Indra and other Deities. Other symbols, clockwise: shakti vel, cudgel, sword, noose, fl ag, mace, chakra with four fl ames, an umbrella and trident. In the background, a scene at night of the 92 what is hinduism? magnifi cent Meenakshi Sundareshwara Temple of Madurai, a bastion of Hindu culture. chapter 9: sacred symbols 93 pa=Nava ‹ all sacred to Siva, liberation’s summit. Pranava, Aum, is the root mantra and Planting Aegle mar melos trees around primal sound from which all creation home or temple is sanctifying, as is issues forth. It is associated with Lord worshiping a Linga with bilva leaves Ganesha. Its three syllables stand at and water. Aum. the be gin ning and end of every sacred verse, every human act. Aum. paº Padma is the lotus flower, Nelumbo nucifera, perfection of beauty, Mayil, “peacock,” is Lord heart, means to “honor or gaNaexa Murugan’s mount, swift and associ ated with Deities and the celebrate.” It is our Hindu 1,000 Ganesha is the Lord of Obstacles beautiful like Karttikeya chakras, especially the -pet- greeting, two joined as one, and Ruler of Dharma. Seated upon His Himself. The proud display of aled sahasrara. Rooted in the the bringing together of mat- throne, He guides our karmas through the dancing peacock symbol- mud, its blossom is a promise of ter and spirit, the self meeting creating and removing obstacles from izes religion in full, unfolded purity and unfoldment. Aum. the Self in all. Aum. glory. His shrill cry warns of our path. We seek His permission and mahak[ala gaaee blessings in every undertaking. Aum. approaching harm. Aum. Mahakala, “Great Time,” presides Go, the cow, is a symbol naind above creation’s golden arch. of the Earth, the nourisher, Nandi is Lord Siva’s mount, or the ever-giving, undemanding i}apauNz+ Devouring instants and eons, with Tripundra is a Saivite’s great mark, a ferocious face, He is Time beyond three stripes of white vibhuti on the time, reminder of this world’s brow. This holy ash signifies purity and transitoriness, that sin and suffering the burning away of anava, karma and will pass. Aum. maya. The bindu, or dot, at the third eye quickens spiritual insight. Aum. A\ku[xa Ankusha, the goad held in Lord art by a. manivel Ganesha’s right hand, is used to vahana. This huge white bull provider. To the Hindu, all animals are sacred, and we naqraja with a black tail, whose name remove obstacles from dharma’s means “joyful,” disci plined acknowledge this reverence of Nataraja is Siva as “King of Dance.” path. It is the force by which all animality kneeling at Siva’s life in our special affection Carved in stone or cast in bronze, His wrongful things are repelled from feet, is the ideal de votee, the for the gentle cow. Aum. ananda tandava, the fierce ballet of us, the sharp prod which spurs pure joy and strength of Saiva bliss, dances the cosmos into and out the dullards onward. Aum. Dharma. Aum. kh';nfhyk; of existence within a fiery arch of Mankolam, the pleasing pais- flames denoting consciousness. Aum. A˝ila ibalva ley design, is modeled after a Anjali, the gesture of two kapy; Bilva is the bael tree. Its hands brought together near the mango and associated with fruit, flowers and leaves are Lord Ganesha. Mangos are 94 what is hinduism? chapter 9: sacred symbols 95 the sweetest of fruits, symbolizing aus- k[laxa piciousness and the happy fulfillment Kalasha, a husked coconut circled by of legitimate worldly desires. Aum. man go leaves on a pot, is used in puja to represent any God, especially Lord Sa˜k[aeNa Ganesha. Breaking a coconut before Shatkona, “six-pointed star,” is two His shrine is the ego’s shattering to interlocking triangles; the upper stands reveal the sweet fruit inside. Aum. for Siva, purusha and fire, the low er for Shakti, prakriti and water. Their GaNqa i}ak[aeNa Fj;Jtpsf;F union gives birth to Sanat kumara, Ghanta is the bell used in Trikona, the triangle, is a Kuttuvilaku, the standing oil lamp, whose sacred number is six. Aum. ritual puja, which engages all symbol of God Siva which, symbolizes the dispelling of ignorance senses, including hearing. Its like the Sivalinga, denotes His mauiSak[ and awakening of the divine light ringing summons the Gods, Absolute Being. It represents within us. Its soft glow illumines the Mushika is Lord Ganesha’s mount, the stimulates the inner ear and the element fire and portrays temple or shrine room, keeping the mouse, tradi tion ally associated with reminds us that, like sound, the process of spiritual ascent atmosphere pure and serene. Aum. abundance in family life. Under cover the world may be perceived and liberation spoken of in of darkness, seldom visible yet always but not possessed. Aum. scripture. Aum. at work, Mu shika is like God’s unseen grace in our lives. Aum. k[maNzlau Kamandalu, the water vessel, is car- bfhd;iw ried by the Hindu monastic. It sym- Konrai, Golden Shower, blossoms are bolizes his simple, self-contained life, the flowering symbol of Siva’s honeyed his freedom from worldly needs, his art by a. manivel grace in our life. Associated with His constant sadhana and tapas, and his shrines and temples throughout India, oath to seek God everywhere. Aum. the Cassia fistula is lauded in number- less Tirumurai hymns. Aum. gaaepaur nrty; haemaku[Nz Gopuras are the towering jpUto Seval is the noble red rooster stone who the fire altar, is T i r u v a d i , the sacred Homakunda, gateways through which heralds each dawn, calling the symbol of ancient Vedic rites. It sandals worn by saints, sages and sat- pilgrims enter the South all to awake and arise.
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