Dear VS and other friends who are spreading fragrance throughthis thread., Just readingthese posts brings such calmand happiness to mind. What VS has written as points are divine.Flowers are really intoxicating. This thread is very enjoyable. I liked the photograph Chithra posted. The details of flowers she has given is amazing. I liked the news about agarbathi also. I think I will try no 11 next time Regards, Meenu
Flowers & their significance as given by The Holy Mother <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=305 border=0>Bougainvillea <TD width=6>ProtectionGladiolus <TD width=6>ReceptivityHibiscus <TD width=6>PowerIris <TD width=6>Aristocracy of beautyIvy <TD width=6>Lasting attachmentJasmine <TD width=6>PurityOrchid <TD width=6>Attachment to the DivinePetunia <TD width=6>EnthusiasmRose <TD width=6>Love for the DivineWater lily <TD width=6>WealthZinnia <TD width=6>Endurance http://sabda.sriaurobindoashram.org/catalog/show.php?id=flowerENG ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <TABLE height=56 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=730 border=0><TD class=normaltext vAlign=top width=450 height=299>Garden Geranium-Spritual Happiness Calm and smiling, nothing can disturb it. Lily-of-the-valley-The Power of Purity Purity is the best of powers. Jasmine-Purity True purity gives a lovely fragrance. Neem-Spiritual Atmosphere Light, fluid, clear and transparent, and so clean! Marigold-Plasticity Always ready for the progress demanded. Dahlia (large variety)-Aristocracy Incapable of baseness and pettiness, it asserts itself with dignity and nobility. Lemon Grass, Citronella Grass-Help You bring help to him who knows how to use it. Garden Nasturtium-Promise of Realisation The best encouragement. Oleander (Nerium Oleander, single white)-Quiet Mind The best way of learning. Chrysanthemum (white)-Purified Dynamic Life Energy Superb, unconquerable, all-powerful in its purity. Water Lily-Wealth True wealth is that which one offers to the Divine. Eucalyptus-Abolition of the ego One exists only by the Divine and for the Divine. Rhododendron-Abundance of beauty A beauty that blossoms without counting, abundantly. Hibiscus -(medium-sized double, light salmon-pink with fine red veins and deep red center) Agni The flame of purification which must precede all contact with the invisible worlds. Aloe Vera-Dreams One can learn much by controlling one's dream. Rose-Love for the Divine The vegetal kingdom gathers together its most beautiful possibilities to offer them to the Divine. Plumeria-Psychological Perfection There is not one psychological perfection but five, like the five petals of this flower(sincerity, faith, devotion, aspiration and surrender). And for emergencies- The Mother says that we carry a paper flower. (from http://www.auroville.org/society/flowers.htm) <TD width=25 height=22><TD width=230 height=22><TD vAlign=top width=25 height=22>
A sweet smelling fragrant post indeed! Dear Vidyasarada, Thanks for sharing your thoughts about flowers here. In the bargain, all the info about Mother of Pondicherry was enjoyable and interesting. My knowledge about her is vague and many of my faded memories are being refreshed here, thanks to you, IL and its valuable members like Vidya, Chitra and Sudha. First of all, the flower show at Bangalore's Lalbagh fills me with nostalgie Secondly, the topic being flowers, it brightened me up as well. Like you say, flowers always bring cheer. I love flowers and my darling mom wore flowers in her hair every single day till my dad lived. There were atleast two flower vending women who vied with each other to make their 'boni' everyday by selling their first strand to my mom! If I am not mistaken, Germany, where I spent a big portion of my life, is the country which spends most on its flowers. One must see to believe the wonderful flower arrangements, a visual treat and magic, that they create with their flowers. Even a casual visit to a friend is embellsihed with a single rose atleast as a 'mitbringsel'!( a tiny something to take with you) I have the good fortune of receiving many such wonderful bouquets and bunches of flowers and giving them to others too. Sometimes, it became the center of attention and talk at get- togethers, just admiring those wonderful and fascinating flowers. As the seasons are so marked here, one starts recognizing their advent or end from the flowers that are abloom. The small and tiny white 'shneeglochken' that peep through the snow in January used to remind me of my first daughter's birth, also in Jan. Just as krokusses meant the beginning of spring and the blooming of winter asters meant the end of warm days. It is with heavy heart that I parted with all my indoor plants when I left Germany and am also happy in the knowledge that they are looked after by my many friends. One friend even sends me every year, the picture of my christmas cactus in full bloom! Even now, I am thrilled that my first orchids for this year have bloomed on the little plant I received from my daughter three years back! But I am anxious about the nishigandha plant which has not bloomed at all after our last move I love flowers and you see, I have got 'carried away' with your post about flowers Yes yes, flowers are angels and divine! L, Kamla
Dera Vidhya, Thanks a lot, for posting the link and such a detailed explanation on the flowers. I have saved the link and will go to it later. That was so kind of you to take the ttrouble to find the linka nd share it with us. And this thread has become all the more enjoyable and fragrant . Thanks once again...
blooms and petals Hi Kamla, Your post rekindled so many fond memories in me too. This thread by VS has blosommed into a diverse one, from flowers to the Pondy Mother and back. I guess I got a bit carried away, and made three posts in a stretch. Yup, my mom also used to wear a fragrant kodamullai strand every evening on her hair, till Dad was round. We had a creeper in our porch and it used to yield the loveliest flowers. Dad loved kodamullai, as we call them in TVM. Some of the happiest memories of my childhood are stopping in Madurai enroute to Karaikudi, buying the divine Madurai mullai/malligai and wearing it till it drooped and browned away. Even then, we used to save the strand. And tell ourselves that our hair smelt of the flowers for long after.And then there were the ubiquitous gajras in Matunga market of Bombay. Each memory beings a whiff of joy and childhood back. And as you rightly said, Germany spends most on its flowers. Guess what, Germany is the biggest buyer in the world and Holland is the biggest grower exporter. I could close my eyes and conjure up Keukenhoffen(The Royal Tulip Gardens) and Aalsameer (the worlds largest flower action), everytime I hit a long,brown patch in Africa. (We have the Harmattan season now, red dust blowing from the Sahara. It is beautiful too). But my most humbling memories of flowers are from Latvia where the people are supposed to be the world's largest per capita consumers of flowers. The nation is so grim and bedraggled after Communism, still people buy flowers for each other liberally,joyfully. It must be the only contry in the world where men buy flowers for other men( all so straight). Am getting carried away here,must be the age.Must beam myself back to 17 years again! cheers Vidya
Dear vidya 24 Thank you for the wonderful posts. I spent almost 3 hours surfing the net yesterday , reading up everything available on The Mother. I like your Direct , No-Middlemen approach to communing with The Mother. I read in a site that she was Half Egyptian , so maybe she got all those vasanas from that civilization. How nice to have a Soul-mother who guides you in your life decisions as well as in choosing the right eye make up ! That, I think is what can be called "Sameepyam", one step away from "Sayujyam". Indeed you are blessed.
VS thank you for starting the thread. After reading it, i spent time searching the net for info. about the Mother. Since Pondi is close by., I think I will make a trip soon. Manjula
Dear Chitvish Madam Thank you for the picture. And the explanations. Madam, I am awed by your versatality and knowledgability. :wave Manjula
Dear Induslady, Help ! When posting replies to individual members, they are getting overlapped. What am I doing wrong? Manjula
Flowers all over... Dear Vidya, It was absolutely refreshing to read your nostalgic post on flowers...Looks like flowers accompanied you all through your life, besides Mother's blessings. It was a fragrant travalogue of flowers, starting from our own verdant soils of Tamilnadu to the arid Africa. A variety of scenario was passing by my eyes as I read your post. What you wrote about Latvia was most interesting, once again, learnt something new. I am surprised that men too greet each other with flowers, amazing. Besides, given their economy, they must really be lovers of flowers to want to spend their precious money on it so lavishly. Na! L, Kamla
