Circle of life

Be it a spider web or the cosmic web of creation, both are represented by the art form of ‘mandala’. The word mandala has its origins in Sanskrit (meaning circle) and it is an integrated structure organised around a unifying centre.

A mandala can be a painting on a wall or a pattern using sand on a table, or a visualisation in the mind. The “circle with a centre” pattern of mandala is seen all around Nature, as in an atom, a cell, a flower, the rings found in tree trunks, a snail’s shell and the solar system to mention a few.

In Hinduism, Mount Kailash is viewed as the symbolic central point of earth. Buddhists consider this mountain as a three-dimensional mandala, the hallowed circle from which the sacred rivers flow like the spokes of the eternal wheel. In the ancient Mayan civilisation, calendars were presented in mandala form.

In Tibet, sand mandalas are created whenever a need for healing arises among the living beings and the environment. The process starts with prayers and the floor plan is created. A team of monks bend over the piece for many hours/days placing sand grains and powdered gem stones creating ancient symbols, which come alive in vivid colours.

As per Buddhist scriptures, sand mandalas transmit positive energy all around and create awareness of something larger than our small world. When the mandala is finally finished, irrespective of the time taken to create it, the monks start to dismantle the same. They chant prayers as they sweep it all up into a jar and empty it into a nearby water body, to be swept into the ocean and spread the healing energy to the whole world. The dismantling of a mandala soon after it is made also symbolises that nothing is permanent in this life.

The captivating beauty of the centric orientation of a mandala has deep spiritual meaning. Our life is represented by a mandala, a vast limitless circle. The radial symmetry of mandala symbolises that we stand in the centre of our own circle and everything we see, hear and think forms the mandala of our life. The circle also means that we always get back to where we begin. The very nature of creating mandalas is therapeutic and helps in exploring one’s inner self.