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Use the calming Beauty of the Mandala to help you on your own personal Journey to Wholeness
Explore the magnificent patterns and textures. Rejuvinate and invigorate you mind!
WHAT IS A MANDALA? A Mandala is considered "A Sacred Circle." It's the focal point that symbolizes our spirit, which, like the circle, has no beginning or end.
Mandalas embody the transcendental qualities of the Ineffable -- the metaphysical principles from which the Universe is made.
The Word Mandala is thought to have been brought to european culture around 1900 by Dr. Carl Gustav Jung. Mandala means circle and community in the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit. The Doctor felt that his personal Mandala was much more than a geometric shape, he thought the Mandala represented the archetypal symbol of wholeness. The Mandala has existed throughout history in almost every culture's mythology and teachings of spirituality. The Doctor used Mandalas to help his patients uncover insights about their inner life and true nature.
The most popular definition of Mandala comes from Tibetan Buddhism, where the Tibetan Sand Mandala, the meticulous creation of the Mandala using colorful sand. In this process the creation of the Mandala is extremely meaningful and perhaps even more so than the finished result. The process is traditional and spiritually meaningful.
The Sand Mandala typically is square. Within are rings and rays eminating throughout. The outer ring, an intricate combination of designs symbolizes things like wisdom, fortitude, consciousness and total surrender to the greater spirit, all attributes necessary to approach the essential center of the Mandala, the center of Being, The Unity of Existance.
Within the rings appear more squares, representing a four-walled, gated palace. To pass thru the gates the supplicant must have the proper state of piety and conciousness. The center represents the presence of The Buddha, the representation of Freedom of the purest level of being that exists within all natural beings.
Once complete, the sands of a completed Mandala are swept up and released into a river, symbolizing the constantly changing nature of Life.
The Tantric Mandala, or Yantra, also incorporates rectangular symmetry. It surrounds a sphere, on which there can be an intricate web of triangles and lotus flower petals. This specific construction is likened to a musical instrument in that its geometry generates a tuned vibration helping the supplicant, or observer, to achieve higher planes of consciousness, and ultimately, The Absolute. This is why a Yantra is considered "visual music" by those observers of the meditative process.
The rectangular encasement is called the Bhupura. It represents the containment and preservation of the the energy of the Yantra. Within the Bhupura are rings called Chakra, within which are an arrangement of lotus petals, called the Padma. Further inside, are triangles, or Trikona whose position is as significant as the orientation of the Cross of Jesus Christ. These represent Shakti which is the feminine in all that Is. When pointing down, it represents Shahti Kona, the prime mover of Creatiom. When it points down, it represents Shiva Kona, the blaze of aspiration.
Surprisingly the Mandala, in it's basic sense, appears in Chritianity as well. There are three "Sacred Circles" in Christianity that stand out: the Halo, the Host, and the Celtic Sun Cross. Each can be thought of as the Mandala used as an aid to help followers focus on spirituality.
The Halo - can be thought of as the Aura, Holiness, and Grace associated with religious icons, people, and entities.
Communion Bread (the Host) takes on the form of a Mandala in that is it a a thin disc of bread. The Host is eaten in remembrance of the life, death, and rebirth of Jesus Christ.
The Celtic Sun becomes the Cross of Christianity. Early Christians and Celts intermingled and with this joining, the Celtic Cross was embraced in the teaching of Jesus.
Bailey Cunningham, in her book "Journey to the Center," circles in nature lend themselves perfectly to be subjects of meditation as they are pathways to a deeper understanding of the profound mystery of Life.
The Mandala symbolizes for all The Unity of Everything, just as a snowflake a part of the whole cycle and recycle of life in the universe. By focusing on this interconnection and cycle we begin quiet our minds and come closer to our own Unity with the Divine.
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