What the Brahma Kamal Knows About Wholeness And Contradictions

In one of the group chats this week, the information posted alongside a picture of a beautiful flower was intriguing.

“Flowers have both the male and female reproductive parts — the stamens and the pistil. In the Brahma Kamal, both feminine and masculine forms coexist within a single blossom.”

That reminds me of one of the forms of Shiva that’s depicted as “Ardhanarishvara”, half male and half female. Shiva represents consciousness, stillness, and the unchanging principle, while Shakti is the dynamic power through which that consciousness becomes manifest.

The symbolism is about the union of consciousness and form, stillness and movement, eternity and change. So, the Ardhanarishvara represents the Shiva-Shakti relationship and the wholeness that comes from their union.

And nature too keeps bringing seemingly opposing forces together. Like the Brahma Kamal holding two reproductive forces as one in its delicate structure. That,

• Strength can coexist with softness.
• Stillness can coexist with movement.
• Giving can coexist with receiving.
• Darkness can hold the possibility of light.

Goes to say that wholeness is never about having to choose a side. It is about embracing both of sides of you with zest!

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About Sanatana Dharma

ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः॥

Brahman alone is real; the universe is mithya – neither fully real nor unreal, but an appearance. The individual self (jiva) is none other than Brahman itself, not separate or different. This is the true teaching of the scriptures, as revealed by Vedanta. ~ Verse 20 from Brahma Jnānavali Māla