Kamala, a typical name in India, is related to several deities and is an emblem of wisdom

Since Vice President Kamala Harris has been on the national stage, her name – a typical name for girls in India – has attracted loads of attention, especially for his pronunciation.

The three-syllable word needs to be pronounced “Come-a-laa” (Kamalā), with the ultimate long “a” indicating a female noun in Sanskrit. In the United States, it is commonly pronounced with the emphasis on the primary or second syllable.

The pronunciation of “Kamala,” nevertheless, is the least interesting thing about this beautiful name, which is just one in every of many words in Sanskrit for the radiant, fragrant, large-petaled pink lotus, or Pygmy Waxwing which is omnipresent within the Indian subcontinent. Scholar of South Indian religionsI would really like to elucidate the deep symbolism and lots of meanings of the Kamala or Lotus flower shared by different faith traditions across the subcontinent.

The “Kamala” in Indian literature

In many Indian love poems, the big, well-formed eyes of gorgeous women are in comparison with the Lotuswhile in devotional poetry the eyes of God that invite comparison.

The parable isn’t only limited to the eyes, but can be used to praise the wonder, softness and radiance the face, feet or hands of a beloved or divine person. The ninth-century Tamil poet Nammalvaruses the parable in his masterpiece “Tiruvaymoli” to explain the fantastic thing about the god Vishnu:

You are flawless light
You are immaculate wisdom
that neither blooms nor withers.
You are all the pieces. You rule over all the pieces.
When the king of the attractive gods
worships you, it doesn't get darker
the radiance of your lotus feet?

In some cases, love, whether mystical or human, is described as a lotus that blooms through the day and responds to the heat and brightness of the sun. At night, the lotus closes its petals, just as one would withdraw within the absence of the beloved. Likewise, the Lotus can arouse desire and intimacy by attracting a bee to drink from its nectar.

The lotus, each as an entire flower and as a single curved petal, is a typical motif in Indian art. A famous Indian miniature painting from the 18th century shows the divine couple, Radha and Krishnafacing one another, dressed entirely in lotus flowers.

The divine symbolism of the lotus

Most importantly, Kamala or lotus is closely related to Sri-Lakshmi: the goddess of sovereignty, luck, fertility, wealth and happiness worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. In fact, Kamala is just one other name for Sri-Lakshmi. This goddess sits or stands on a completely bloomed lotus and in addition holds it in her hands.

In Hindu temples in South India, she is commonly decorated with a garland of lotus flowers, so close is her connection to this flower. Lakshmi's divine husband Vishnu can also be closely connected to this flower. A lotus grows from his navel, giving birth to the god Brahma, who in turn gives birth to your complete universe.

Although Sri Lakshmi's association with the lotus is most evident, the religious traditions of Jainism and Buddhism also incorporate the flower. Buddhist and Jain divine figures sometimes hold the lotus of their hand, reminiscent of the Buddhist goddess Tara or the male Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara. The sixth great teacher of the Jain tradition, Padmaprabhu, is known as after a lotus, with “Padma” being one other name for the flower. Sometimes the lotus serves as a pedestal for the divine being within the Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions.

In all cases, the lotus is never a bud and almost all the time a lush, open blossom. This suggests its deep significance as an emblem of wisdom, of awakening to knowledge from the stagnation of ignorance. The symbolic meaning of the kamala is rooted within the incontrovertible fact that the lotus blooms in swampy waters but stays untouched by the dirt around it. Similarly, enlightenment and wisdom arise and bloom from the darkness of desire and attachment. But when one attains wisdom, just like the lotus, one stays above the dirt of deceptive ignorance and is untouched by it.

For this reason, Kamala is all the time depicted and described not as a bud, which merely suggests a possible for wisdom, but as a big, open, unfolded flower.

The name Kamala Harris evokes its significance in these religious traditions. One could argue that a lotus by some other name remains to be a lotus, but as these traditions show, additionally it is so rather more.