Remember the fabulous lotus pond my friend introduced me to?
It wasn’t only the beauty of the lotus flowers that so touched me when I wrote that post. For decades (this is many years ago) I carried around a quotation from the Chandogya Upanishads, Hindu scriptures. I took pleasure in copying it out in my fairest hand into my current memo book, and would transfer it from memo book to memo book as each was filled. And then at some point the inner need which it addressed was evidently filled, because I moved on to another quotation, and then after a long time, to another. And another.
But I never quite lost track of the vision of the lotus, really. And now that I’ve come across an actual lotus pond, the wonder of the quotation has reappeared for me. So here it is. Perhaps it will touch a chord and sing for you as well:
In the center of the house of God, which is our own body, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotus flower, and within can be found a small space. We should find who dwells there, we should seek to know Him.
And if anyone asks: ‘Who is he who dwells in a small shrine in the form of a lotus flower in the center of the house of God? Whom should we seek to find and to know?’ we can answer: ‘The little space within the heart is as great as the vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun and the moon and the stars; fire and lightning and winds are there; and all that now is and all that is not: for the whole universe is in Him, and He dwells within our hearts.’
Chandogya Upanishads 8:1
Namaste!
Stunning waterlily.
Waterlilies and lotuses do look somewhat alike —
But this is truly a lotus. You can tell easier from the characteristic seedheads, which are round and stiff and pierced regularly with holes, visible here. Sometimes one eats them in Chinese cooking, although it’s been a long time around here since I’ve been able to eat Chinese food at that level
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Yes, on closer look it is a lotus… I do love them and missed that seed head….
That’s why I was so excited when my friend brought me to this pond — I don’t remember ever before seeing an actual lotus flower in “real life”!
Beautiful. They have a lotus pond at the botanical gardens near me and I took a series of photos there last year… Truly spectacular gift from Mother Nature
And our only responsibility is to look at them and say Thank You!
your picture of the lily pond is as beautiful as a painting. The quote you copied for so many years is as a painting on the heart – tender and filled with love and awe.
What an eloquent comment, Joss. No surprise that you would totally “get” it.
Love and awe, yes.
when I listen with my heart, I “get it”. It’s a life long learning in humbleness, releasing and acknowledging myself and others. Walk in beauty, dear one.
Thank you.
Lovely lotus. Thank you.
Namaste
(We need an emoticon for namaste!)
That photo is really stunning.
Thanks very much, Naomi. Happy you visited!
Such a beautiful, hopeful place, “the little space within the heart.” I think I’ll call it Smallpeace.
Sounds like an excellent name!
It certainly did “touch a chord and sing for you”. I hear and feel an entire symphony in this one.
Very happy!
What a beautiful and powerful quote.
It’s a good companion for the long haul —
What a wonderful post, J! It reminded me of a quote I copied years ago from Julian of Norwich, a reclusive English nun, about a hazelnut – “Also in this He shewed me a little thing, the quantity of an hazel-nut, in the palm of my hand; and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereupon with eye of my understanding, and thought: What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: It is all that is made.”
The picture of the lotus is stunning and such a perfect accompaniment to the text.
Next year we’ll travel to the lotus pond together —
I love Julian’s hazelnut-that-is-the-world. Another quote I copied out and carried around was also hers: All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
It was a mantra between me and discouragement many, many times.
There is so much comfort in the simple beauty of your picture and words . . . .
It made me very happy, after all these years, to match an actual image to the well-loved words.
I can imagine why it touched a chord with you Judith. Connecting or trying to connect with that infinite space within us is the aim of yogic practice. After three years I am not even close! But the process itself is immensely uplifting.
Thanks for these words, Madhu.
Namaste!
good medicine. thank you.
Namaste.
And Namaste to you, Susan.
I wish you always good medicine.
Beautiful lotus. Love the quote – “the little space within the heart” – amazing how vast that space is and how much it can hold in each of us.
Yes —
Yes.
Yes, those words really touched a chord within me…
Glad to hear it, Rebekah!
Missed you, glad you’re back —