Land of South Asia is so rich in
its cultural heritage. Most of countries of this region once were follower of
Hindu faith. Later with the invasion of Islam, the ancient center of South
Asian philosophy of Hinduism and Buddhism went through a great transition. In spite
of that entire disturbance, it has survived through the ages. Today Hinduism
thrives in the heart of Nepali, Indian and some other countries of this region.
Each country represents the same Hindu culture on their unique way, but they
share fundamental similarities. And one of the similarities is the use of sacred
symbol. Symbol is the most significant element we notice in Hindu culture. Here
this research paper will look into the major symbol Aum, Swastika and Shatkona
used in Hindu culture.
Entering into the world of
symbol we need to know something about Hinduism. The historical meaning of the
term Hindu has evolved with time. Starting with the Persian and Greek
references to the land of the Indus in the 1st millennium BCE through the texts
of the medieval era, the term Hindu implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural
identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the
Sindhu (Indus) river. By the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents
of the subcontinent who were not Turkic or Muslims. “Hindu” was a word which
was uttered by foreigners referring to people living on the other side of Sindu
river. Between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages by
the help of poets and scholars the word Hindu was localized and the developed
the Hindu self-identity. So it is not original Indian Subcontinent. Originally
Hindu religion was known as “Sanatana Dharma”. It means Anadi (beginning-less),
Anantha (endless) and a-paurusheya (without a human funder). Dharma is comes
from dhri, meaning to hold together, to sustain. Its approximate meaning is
"Natural Law," or those principles of reality which are inherent in
the very nature and design of the universe. Thus the term “Sanatana Dharma” can
be roughly translated to mean "the natural, ancient and eternal way."
Thus, basically it was the path of life or art of living, which path, tradition
or culture have not fixed starting date or founder. To look into the symbols of
Hindu religion let’s see what Talksofindia – TOI says about Hindu iconography:
Hinduism is swarming with
symbolism, and a person cannot deny being introduced to any of its symbols in
one form or the other, at some point in their lives. These symbols, that
represent philosophies, teachings and the various gods and goddess are
contemporary representatives of a pulsating culture, with more and more people
from the western countries adopting them in their lives in some form. While on
the surface, many of these hindu symbols may seem absurd, they all carry deeper
symbolic meanings that are bound to draw attention to the rich cultural lineage
of Hinduism. (1)
Through the ages of its
development Hinduism has adopted several iconic symbols, forming part of Hindu
iconography, that are imbued with spiritual meaning based on either the
scriptures or cultural traditions. Significance accorded to any of the icons
varies with region, period and denomination of the followers. Over time some of
the symbols, for instance the Swastika has come to have wider association while
others like Aum are recognized as unique representations of Hinduism. As we
have known about the major root of Hinduism now we are ready to know about the
symbols used in this ancient tradition. As we have seen many industries and
popular brand also have their identical logo or symbol. But we don’t worship it,
use it as lucky charm or identify it with a culture. But there are definite
spiritual symbols like Om, Swastika and Shatkona, which are used for many
religious purposes and as lucky charm. Let’s look into Om first.
“Om” also is written as Aum or Ohm and in
Devanagari as ॐ. It is a sacred sound and a spiritual
icon in Hindu religion. This word itself is mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism, and Sikhism. Om is part of the iconography found in ancient and
medieval era manuscripts, temples, monasteries and spiritual retreats in Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Jainism. The symbol has a spiritual meaning in all Indian spiritual
traditions, but the meaning and connotations of Om vary between the diverse
schools within and across the various traditions. In Hinduism, Om is one of the
most important spiritual symbols. It refers to Atman (soul, self within) and
Brahman (ultimate reality, entirety of the universe, truth, divine, supreme
spirit, cosmic principles, knowledge). The syllable is often found at the
beginning and the end of chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Hindu
texts. It is a sacred spiritual incantation made before and during the
recitation of spiritual texts, during puja and private prayers, in ceremonies
of rites of passages (sanskara) such as weddings, and sometimes during
meditative and spiritual activities such as Yoga. The syllable is also referred
to as omkara, aumkara, and pranava. Katha
Upanishad has explained the very essence of this supreme mantra. It says
that:
The goal which all the Vedas
declare, which all austerities aim at, and which men desire when they lead the
life of continuance, I will tell you briefly: it is OM. This syllable Om is
indeed Brahman. This syllable is the Highest. Whoseever knows this syllable
obtains all he desires. This is the best support: this is highest support. Whosoever
knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma.”(22)
The syllable Om is referred to
as praṇava. Other used terms are akṣara (literally, letter of the alphabet,
imperishable, immutable) or ekākṣara (one letter of the alphabet), and omkāra
(literally, beginning, female divine energy). Udgitha, a word found in Sama
Veda and bhasya (commentaries) based on it, is also used as a name of the
syllable. The syllable Om is first mentioned in the Upanishads, the mystical
texts associated with the Vedanta philosophy. We find many saints and sages talking about
the same Om with different other referrers like “Naam” (Name), “Ram” (One who is
pleasing), “Ram rattan dhan” (A valuable treasure), “Surati” (Memory of
divine), “Anhad Naad” (Music created by no friction or clap of one hand). In
this sense most of the word makes no sense to an ordinary mind that have no
idea of Hindu tradition. Fundamentally all these terms refers to some special
entity which is pleasing to hear, but can be heard without the use of any
instruments and is name of may be some extraterrestrial entity. In this way if
we look from the perspective of Barthes he utters
Of course, it is not any type:
language needs special conditions in order to become myth: we shall see them in
a minute. But what must be firmly established at the start is that myth is a
system of communication, that it is a message. This allows one to perceive that
myth cannot possibly be an object, a concept, or an idea; it is a mode of
signification, a form. Later, we shall have to assign to this form historical
limits, conditions of use, and reintroduce society into it: we must
nevertheless first describe it as a form. (1)
Therefore we will also look into
all the details that Barthes tells to look. So let’s look into another major
symbol used in Hindu culture that is “Swastika”.
Specially after the use of
Swastika by Nazi Germany world came to know more about it. But it is ancient symbol.
The “Swastika” is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in
either right-facing form or its mirrored left-facing form. Archaeological evidence
of swastika-shaped ornaments has been dated to the Neolithic period and was
first found in the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian Subcontinent. In
Hinduism, the two symbols represent the two forms of the creator god Brahma:
facing right it represents the evolution of the universe Pravritti, facing left
it represents the involution of the universe, Nivritti It represents the four
directions of the world (the four faces of Brahma) and thus signifies a
grounded stability. It also represents the Purushartha: Dharma (natural order),
Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (liberation). The swastika symbol is
traced with “Sindoor" (Vermilion red or orange-red colored cosmetic powder) during Hindu religious rites.
“Su” here means ‘good’. “Asti” means ‘to-be’.
Along with a diminutive suffix ‘Ka’, it becomes Su-Asti-Ka, which means “It is
good” or “All is well”. With time, it became the synonym of good health and
wealth. 5000 years ago, during the Indus valley civilization, this symbol was
established and widely used. It was a synonym for sun, power, strength and good
luck. Many believe that this symbol is actually the characters of Brahmi
Script, written in calligraphic form. While some debate that the symbol used for
Swastika is as old as 10,000 BC as it appears on a late Paleolithic figurine of
Mammoth Ivory in Mezine, Ukraine. However, most of the historians and
archaeologists confirmed that it is actually a stylized figure of stork in
flight and not a true Swastika symbol. Hence, the honor of oldest use of
Swastika is still with the Indus Valley Civilization. With time, people started
migrating from the Indus Valley. They went to lands far-far away and
established new colonies. With them, they also took this auspicious symbol of
prosperity and luck. It was spread across the globe and became popular with
many names. The swastika is considered extremely holy and auspicious by all
Hindus, and is regularly used to decorate items related to Hindu culture. It is
used in all Hindu Yantras and religious designs. Throughout the subcontinent of
India, it can be seen on the sides of temples, religious scriptures, gift
items, and letterheads. The Hindu deity Ganesh is often shown sitting on a
lotus flower on a bed of swastikas. Analyzing these symbols we need to think of
Roland Garthes utterance in “Myth today” he says:
In myth, we find again the
tri-dimensional pattern which I have just described: the signifier, the
signified and the sign. But myth is a peculiar system, in that it is
constructed from a semiological chain which existed before it: it is a
second-order semiological system. That which is a sign (namely the associative
total of a concept and an image) in the first system, becomes a mere signifier
in the second. We must here recall that the materials of mythical speech,
however different at the start, are reduced to a pure signifying function as
soon as they are caught by myth.
Moving forward let’s talk about
another major symbol “Shatkona”. The Shatkona is “six-pointed star”, a symbol
used in Hindu “Yantra” (is a mystical diagram) that represents the union of
both the male and feminine form. More specifically it is supposed to represent
Purusha (the supreme being), and Prakriti (mother nature, or causal matter).
Often this is represented as Shiva / Shakti. The Shatkona is a hexagram and is
associated with the son of Siva-Sakthi, Lord Murugan. Stylistically, it is
identical to the Jewish Star of David and the Japanese Kagome crest. Heinrich
Robert Zimmer in his book “Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization”
writes:
The God and Goddess are the
first self-revelation of the Absolute, the male being the personification of
the passive aspect which we know as Eternity, the female of the activating
energy (Sakti), the dynamism of Time. Though apparently opposites, they are in
essence one. The mystery of their identity is stated here in symbol. (42)
In Hinduism, the Hexagram is
more commonly known as Shatkon or Satkona (Shat = six, Kona = corner/angle). It
is the union of Shiva (Male) and Shakti (Female). Here, Shiva, Purusha (Male)
and Fire is represented by symbol “△”, which is a symbolic representation of male organ. Shakti,
Prakriti (Female or Nature) and water is represented by symbol “▽”, which denotes the female womb. They are both combined to
form “✡”.
This is called “Shanmukha” (Face to face) which represents “Origin”, or the
formation of life. Hindu deity Kartikeya, Shiv and Shakti’s progeny is also
represented with six faces. We also see the use of Sathkona in Tibetan and Jain
Mandala as well. Basically symbol Shatkona is used in many rituals and it have
a great cultural use. Any way in modern time this symbol is used in many school
and colleges logo as well. And it is continuously in use for spiritual and
religious purposes too.
After studying three important
symbols of Hindu culture I have realized I have only studied small part of the
symbolism of Hindu culture. There are so many other important symbols that each
symbol can be explained in a separate book. Even the explanation that I have
given is so brief that it is impossible to cover all the aspect of each symbol
in this small term paper. Symbols are used for ages, today too we see apple as
major symbol of I-phone which have become a major and popular symbol. If we
look into those symbols used in Hindu culture there are so many symbols which
were and are popular till this date. It is important to know that it’s the
intention and positive attribute given to that particular symbol it has been
more charged with massive amount of energy and vibration. With the course of
time it also was associated with many philosophies too. But the major thing is
the thought that we create when we think of that particular symbol. As thought
is the most powerful entity. By the force of the power intention and meditation
these symbols have become the powerhouse of positive energies. Thus, we come to
conclusion that letters are signs of things, symbols of words, whose power is
so great that without a voice they speak to us the words of the absent; for
they introduce words by the eye, not by the ear.
Works
Cited
Admin. "What is the Symbol
of Hinduism, Symbols of Hinduism, Hindu Iconography." 12 Dec 2017,
http://www.talksofindia.com/symbols-hinduism-hindu-iconography/. Accessed 26
June 2018.
Barthes, Roland. “Mythologies” Translated
by Annette Lavers, Hill and Wang. Les Lettres Louvelles. New York. 1972.
Chattrjee, Gautam and
Chatterjee, Sanjoy. “Sacred Hindu Symbols.” Abhinav Publications New Delhi.
1996.
Zimmer, Heinrich Robert. “Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and
Civilization“ Pantheon Books Washington D.C. 1946.
