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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 June 2012, Cape Town, South Africa, Bhagavad-gita Lecture)

The 5th Chapter of Bhagavad-gita gives us a metaphor of the lotus flower that sits on water but yet is not affected by the water. The water just runs off and the lotus is blossoming in that condition.

In this analogy of the lotus in water, the water represents the struggle for existence that everyone is facing  and the lotus is a symbol of one who is not affected by that struggle for existence. A lot of people are under the weather, a lot of people have a story to tell about how tough it is.

But here, we see a lotus – a symbol of beauty and a symbol of being the best while the conditions are difficult. The lotus is representing a self-realised soul, a person who is in this world but at the same time not in this world – who may be physically here but who internally lives in another reality, in another dimension.