what-are-flowers

What are flowers?

Are they not messengers of love, prayers of the vegetal world, the aspiration and adoration of Nature, the smile of the Divine?

Says Sri Aurobindo in his epic poem, Savitri:

“The world’s smile is senseless beauty mirrors God’s delight.

That rapture’s smile is secret everywhere;

It flows in the wind’s breath, in the tree’s sap,

Its hued magnificence blooms in leaves and flowers.”

Flowers may appear frail and fleeting, but for a brief moment they bring a touch of eternity, of joy and beauty which lie beyond the sorrows and cares of the human world. In the beautiful words of Sri Aurobindo,

“ Earth’s flowers spring up and laugh at time and death.”

In all countries flowers have been associated with religion and worship, with myths and legends. And to people all over the world they have been symbols of love and remembrance. A flower contains all the elements of Nature – air, water, fire, earth and ether. Apart from its beauty of form, colour, fragrance and texture there is something more – an indefinable, subtle and mysterious quality about it. In the words of Liselle Raymond, “in its simplicity, it carries the vibrations of the Akasha the ethereal element itself, - that is all that is most abstract, pure and perfect. It is, above everything else, the form, behind which is the sound, the all powerful creative Mantra.”

This is why flowers have charmed and attracted men and women alike, down the ages. It is this subtle element, their soul which has given them a very special place in  the life of men and of communities. This is very evident in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at pondicherry, where the Mother has revealed the spiritual meaning of flowers, where the flowers are tended with great love, affection and care and are looked upon as powerful means of finding oneself and community with the Divine.

Life must blossom like a flower

Offering itself to the Divine.

- The Mother.

Be like a Flower

Be like a flower. One must try to become like a flower:

Open, frank, equal, generous and kind. Do you know what it means?

A flower is opening to all that surrounds it: Nature, light, the rays of the sun, the wind, etc. It experts a spontaneous influence on all that is around it. It radiates a joy and a beauty.

It is frank: it hides nothing of its beauty, and lets it flow frankly out of itself. What is within, what  is in its depths, it lets it come out so that everyone can see it.

It is equal: it has no preference. Everyone can enjoy its beauty and its perfume, without rivalry. It is equal and the same for everybody. There is no difference, or anything whatsoever.

Then generous: without reserve or restriction, how it gives the mysterious beauty and the very own perfume of Nature.

It sacrifices itself entirely for our pleasure, even its life it sacrifices to express this beauty and the secret of the things gathered within itself.

And then, kind: it has such a tenderness, it is so sweet, so close to us, so loving. Its presence fills us with joy. It is always cheerful and happy.

Happy is he who can exchange his qualities with the real qualities of the flowers. Try to cultivate in yourself their refined qualities.

                                                   The Mother