White Lotus Day

Error runs down an inclined plane,

While truth has to laboriously climb its way up hill.

                           --proverb cited in The Secret Doctrine 

                    by Madame H. P. Blavatsky

Every day is a holiday somewhere in the world it seems.

May 8th is no exception. 

May 8th is the celebration theosophists call White Lotus Day,

in honor of Madame H. P. Blavatsky, 

a Russian-born spiritual leader in the theosophist movement.

photo: commons.wikipedia.org

Theosophy, according to Blavatsky.net,

is "a fragment of the ancient, once universal, wisdom teaching."

It has been described by some as "esoteric Buddhism,"

something Blavatsky denied, even though she studied extensively in Tibet.

Google Images: Madame H. P. Blavatsky, blavatsky.net

According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lotus_Day)

before Blavatsky died, she suggested to her followers

that they meet on the anniversary of her death

to read from the book Light of Asia and the Bhagavad-Gita.

When they gathered May 8th, 1891, 

white lotuses were blooming in profusion.

photo, 123rf.com

The lotus is an important symbol of spiritual development

in eastern philosophies

because it grows up from the  mud, through the water,

and blossoms into the air, toward the sky.

Each petal opens to reveal another.

photo, http://ziaenergetics.com/blog/

The seeds contain perfectly formed lotus leaves in miniature.

So Blavatsky's followers took the masses of white lotus blossoms as a sign.

Since, the observance has broadened to a day of meditation.

Regardless of one's beliefs, 

a day to contemplate the spiritual side of life,

as symbolized by a beautiful white flower

in the month of May, is a  good way to celebrate 

the beauty of spring.

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