莲花—印度之国花
莲花,也被称为“ Kamal ka Phool”,是印度的国花,莲花被为圣洁之花,在古代度的艺术与神话中占有独特的地位,并在印度文化中尊为吉祥的象征。印度教和神话中,描绘掌管学习的 Saraswathi女神,就是端坐在一个莲花上。莲花不仅仅是一种花,它代表了美和超脱。有句话说的是,虽然莲花长在泥土里,但它闻起来却有没药的香味。
莲花生长在清水塘,湖泊地带、半热带气候里。它开花时一个花瓣一个花瓣的展开,直至阳光亲吻了花朵,它才全部盛开。这是一种多么非凡的美妙！在文学中,尤其是印度文学作品中,有数不尽的诗歌赞美莲花与太阳之间的爱恋,莲花有多种颜色,有白、红、蓝、粉和紫,莲花在许多亚洲家都能找到。
莲花可以食用,并且有许多药用功能。在很早以前,莲花就在传统亚洲医药中的被施用,历史悠久，莲花可以来沏莲花茶,以缓解心脏疾病症状,还能止血。莲花的根可以帮助身体清除有害毒素,强化肝脏功能,它还有清热的疗效。莲花的根和茎有助于治疗天花,喉咙并发症,皮肤上的色素沉积和腹泻。
烹饪过的莲花对胃和生殖器官有保健作用。它还可以收缩血管,防止血过多流失,像咳血、便血等症状。茎秆对胎儿的发育有好处,还可以用来治疗胸闷。莲花籽能用来调理脾、肾;当然,能直接作为食材。大多数情况下，莲花汤都是用莲花籽来熬成的,大的莲花叶子可用作凉席来缓解高烧和夏暑。莲花叶同时也被用在其他日常生活之中，比如用荷花叶包裹的东西可以持久的保持原有的香味。
莲花给人类传达了一种蕴意。虽然莲花代表着美丽,它更是超脱的象征。尽管莲花根扎于泥淖,却仍可以浮于水上,清白洁净,不沾泥水,莲花这一品质也向人们昭示着人在世间应有的存在方式,即辛勤劳作,但不执着于事务和周遭环境薄伽梵歌这样说道:“谁能不执著地履行自己的职务,把所有的结果都交托于至高的主,是不会受到罪的影响的,就像不沾水的荷叶一样。”
正是因为莲花的这些高尚含义和文化意义， 才使现代印度的开国之父把莲花奉为国花,并载入宪法。
LOTUS-NATIONAL FLOWER OF INDIA
The Lotus, also known as" Kamal ka Phool” is the national flower of India. Lotus is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture. Hindu religion and mythology portray goddess Saraswathi, the muse of learning, as being seated on a lotus flower. The lotus is more than a flower —it represents both beauty and non-attachment. There is a saying that although it grows in mud. it smells of myrrh.
The lotus grows in fresh water ponds and lakes and in semitropical climates. It blossoms gradually and magnificently -one petal at a time and reaches full bloom when the rays of the sun kiss the flower. There are innumerable poems praising the love between the sun and the flower in literature in general and Indian literature in particular. The lotus is found in different colours, namely, white,red, blue, pink, and purple and is found in many Asian countries.
The lotus is edible and has many curative properties: its use in traditional Asian medicine is as old as history. The flower is used to brew lotus teas, which relieves cardiac complications and helps to stop bleeding. The roots of the plant help in getting rid of the body's toxic wastes and in strengthening the lives: it also helps in reducing body heat. The roots and rhizomes are useful in treating small pox, throat complications, pigmentation problems in skin, and diarrhoea.
The cooked lotus root is good for the stomach and the reproductive organs. It also helps to contract the blood vessels and prevents blood loss and complications such as coughing blood and blood in stools. The stem helps in the healthy growth of the foetus and also used to treat tightness of the chest. The lotus seed is used to tone the spleen and the kidney and is also used as food. Soups are also made from the seeds. The large leaves are used as cold bed sheets to treat high fever and for the treatment of summer heat and further they are used to things. The things that are thus wrapped remain fragrant for a long time.
Lotus has a message to convey to humans. Although, lotus is an archetype of beauty. it symbolises non-attachment.Even though the lotus is rooted in mud. it continues to float on the water without becoming wet or muddy.
This aspect of the lotus dictates how humans ought to live in this world —work incessantly but be not attached to the work and to the surroundings. The Bhagavad Gita says, "One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results onto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.” It is because of these noble meanings
and cultural significance that made the founding fathers of modern India enshrine the lotus in our constitution as the national flower.
