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light of the constellations'. It has thus a thousand different meanings. It is the womb of the universe, the seat of generation and regeneration; it is symbol of fecundity. It signifies prosperity and youth. It invokes images of purity and beauty. It suggests detachment and wisdom.
Lotus is a magical plant; no wonder it evokes such rich poetic and spiritual metaphors. Though it grows and blossoms on earth, in water and amidst light, it enacts their transmutation from earth to light, from mud to scent, through water to gleaming colour in the regularity of its shape and its movements, opening and closing with the measure of time, of days and nights. When the seeds of other plants are ripe, the bursting of the pod releases them, and they fall to the ground and germinate. For the lotus, however, it is different. The ripe seeds, instead of falling from the pod, remain in the cells where they have grown. Within these cells, whose openings are too small to let them out, the seeds send forth the young seedlings. The seed pot is their matrix until they are large enough to burst open their cells. The seedlings then sink to the bottom of the water where they take root in the mud.
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Detalle from a scroll-painting of the meditative centres, akras Ink and gouache on paper, 17th century, Rajasthan Courtesy: Allt Mookerjee, Yoga Art
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