Lotus flower as a decorative element
The lotus flower - that fragrant flower with its blue, red and white colors that blooms for only 5 days from dawn until dusk and then begins a new life cycle, and which was sacred in the life of the ancient Egyptian since the beginning of ancient Egyptian history in the third millennium BC - was not an aesthetic decorative element that the Egyptian depicted. On the walls of temples only, or used in the manufacture of perfumes, cosmetics and adornment tools, rather it was the symbol of creation for the ancient Egyptians.
The origin of the name of the lotus flower is generally traced back to the Greek word “lotaz,” while the ancient Egyptian gave each color of the flower its own name: the white one is “seshen,” the blue one is “sarbad” or “serbti,” and the pink one is “nukhba” or “we love.”
Lotus as a decorative element
The lotus flower appeared as a decorative element since the third millennium BC. The ancient world was influenced by the use of the Egyptian lotus in artistic decoration. The lotus flower appeared in Assyrian decoration since the first millennium BC. It moved west to Syria and Greece in the seventh century BC, and remained present in Ancient art until the Mongol invasion was absent for a long historical period, and returned in the 13th century AD, coming from China, which was influenced by its cultural and commercial relationship with Mesopotamia and Iran.
Dr. Abdel Hamid Azab, professor of Egyptian antiquities and civilization, says in his book “Lotus Flowers in Ancient Egypt,” that “the ancient Egyptian artist was influenced by the delicacy and beauty of lotus flowers, so he represented them in his statues and columns as an aesthetic element in ancient Egyptian architecture.” The ancient Egyptian imitated lotus flowers among cosmetic tools, forming mirrors, anklets, dishes, jewelry, bras, and utensils in the form of an exquisite lotus flower.
Lotus and healing diseases
Lotus was included in the manufacture of perfumes in ancient Egypt. The flowers were soaked in an upside-down position in a fatty substance to obtain the desired fragrance. The lotus flower contains a colored substance that is analgesic, anti-spasmodic, and has a strange ability to heal infections.
Dr. Jihad Salem says: “The lotus flower was also used in aromatherapy, which is a type of treatment that relies on the use of certain flower oils to activate energy centers in the human body, to help the body heal itself. Blue lotus flower oil is considered one of the most powerful types of oils that It is used in this type of treatment and has a magical effect on improving the body’s immunity.”
The lotus and the Egyptian creation myth
In a special statement to the “Al-Ain” news portal, Professor Safaa Muhammad, a researcher in Egyptology, says: “It was stated in the Thamun of the Ashmonites, which is one of the five main theories of the origin of the universe in ancient Egypt, that the lotus flower was the first thing to emerge from “Nun”, which is the eternal waters that exist. Since the beginning of creation."
Safaa adds, "There are some deities associated with lotus flowers, such as the god Ra, as it represented a symbol of resurrection and manifestation at the dawn of the new day, and Nefertum, where he was born and emerged from a white lotus flower. Perhaps we remember here the wooden head of King Tutankhamun, which depicts him emerging from a flower." Lotus like Nefertum again, in addition to the “four sons of Horus” who were born from a lotus flower in the waters of eternity.”
Some texts also clarify that the issue of “smelling the flower” and bringing it closer to the nose means “inhaling the nectar of eternity,” as recorded in the texts of some tombs, and in the texts of some coffins, this flower was represented below the throne of Osiris in the waters of eternity within the court of Osiris “the dead.”
Lotus flower and cosmic consciousness
The scenes of inhaling blue lotus flowers depicted on the walls of temples and tombs were not merely decorative. Rather, it is considered one of the meditation poses that we can compare to “yoga” exercises in Asian culture. Research conducted on the Egyptian blue lotus flower has proven that it has an effect on the human brain that leads to a state of mental relaxation that enables a person to reach what is known as “enlightenment,” that defining moment between sleep and wakefulness.
Physicists say that the percentage of working cells in human DNA is only 3%, and that the remaining 97% of it is inactive and non-functional, and that the function of the 97% has not yet discovered all its secrets, and physicist Paul Davies claims that there is information about our cosmic history that exists. Within human DNA, it is in a dormant state and is recorded in a coded manner that needs stimulation to bring it into consciousness and realize its existence. This stimulation of dormant DNA, which enables humans to obtain supernatural sciences, occurs through meditation exercises.”
Davies adds, "One of the methods of meditation in ancient Egypt was inhaling the lotus flower, which helped the ancient Egyptians stimulate part of their dormant DNA, and realize very advanced sciences that had previously existed within them but were dormant."
From the ancient Egyptian’s reverence for the lotus flower for its presence in the process of creation to the moment of enlightenment by inhaling the flower comes the ancient Egyptian’s cosmic awareness, his awareness of primary existence, and his access to what is beyond nature with its various sciences.
Source: websites