Padamasana is perhaps the most widely known Asana. It offers a stable position which allows for ideal alignment. Its name is a reference to the lotus itself, which thrives in the stillness of calm water. The lotus blooms in mud, but remains unblemished, thus representing purity and rising above dirt and stagnation. The water rolling of its petals signifies detachment. The sensuous unfurling of its petals that reveal its nectar which attracts bees represents fertility. Thus the lotus embodies paradoxical ideas of detachment as well as the pleasures of life.
It is said that when the world began it bloomed in the presence of consciousness like the lotus flower in the sun. The lotus is considered a symbol of creation and Brahma the creator sits on a lotus flower that rises from Vishnu’s navel. Vishnu, the Preserver of the cosmos is also shown as holding a lotus flower and Lakshmi his divine consort and the goddess of wealth is also associated with the lotus.
In Jain mythology, Padma is the name of Ram in Ramayana. Unlike the Hindu Ramayana, the Jain Ramayana, Padma is non-violent, leaving the killing of Ravana to his younger brother Laxman. In general, we also learn of a queen who loved a couch covered with lotus flowers. Her son was named Padma Prabha, one with the glow of a lotus. The son grew up to be the sixth of 24 Jinnas symbolised by a lotus flower.
One of the forms of Buddha is called Padmapani, who holds a lotus in his hand. Once a young man seeking to understand the meaning of a long discourse given by Buddha on Buddhism asked him if he could explain the discourse using a gesture or symbol. Buddha simply picked up a lotus flower and that is when the famous mantra came into being Om Padme Mani Hum, the jewel which is locked within the lotus flower. The jewel can be knowledge that pollinates the mind lotus. The jewel can also represent the man’s seed and the lotus represents the woman’s womb. The jewel can also symbolise consciousness in the lotus flower, the material world and the jewel can also be Buddha rising from the lotus flower, a common representation in Mahayana Buddhism art.
So perhaps the purpose of the Padmasana is to teach us to sit still in the midst of chaos, to resist stagnation and harness one’s energy towards growth, to bloom and thrive despite all odds.
