Nymphaea

Water lilies

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

All wealth belongs to the Divine and those who hold it are trustees, not possessors. It is with them today, tomorrow it may be elsewhere. All depends on the way they discharge their trust while it is with them, in what spirit, with what consciousness in their use of it, to what purpose.

Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother: The Mother - IV

Most spiritual disciplines insist on a complete self-control, detachment and renunciation of all bondage to wealth and of all personal and egoistic desire for its possession. Some even put a ban on money and riches and proclaim poverty and bareness of life as the only spiritual condition. But this is an error; it leaves the power in the hands of the hostile forces. To reconquer it for the Divine to whom it belongs and use it divinely for the divine life is the supramental way for the Sadhaka.

Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother: The Mother - IV

The ideal Sadhaka in this kind is one who if required to live poorly can so live and no sense of want will affect him or interfere with the full inner play of the divine consciousness, and if he is required to live richly, can so live and never for a moment fall into desire or attachment to his wealth or to the things that he uses or servitude to self-indulgence or a weak bondage to the habits that the possession of riches creates. The divine Will is all for him and the divine Ananda.

Sri Aurobindo, The Mother with Letters on The Mother: The Mother - IV

Varieties

Message of the Flower

Wealth

The Mother’s Comment

True wealth is the wealth that one offers to the Divine.

Colour

White and shades of yellow, red, pink, blue, lavender, and purple

Message of the Flower

Supramentalised Wealth

The Mother’s Comment

Wealth placed at the service of the Divine.

Colour

Pink, golden yellow

Message of the Flower

Wealth in the Mind of Light

The Mother’s Comment

Open to all higher ideas.

Colour

Blue, golden

Message of the Flower

Wealth under the Psychic Influence

The Mother’s Comment

Wealth ready to return to its true possessor, the Divine.

Colour

White, pink

Message of the Flower

Emotional Wealth

The Mother’s Comment

The only true emotional wealth is love for the Divine.

Colour

Lavender

Message of the Flower

Wealth in the Most Material Vital

The Mother’s Comment

Can be stable only after conversion.

Colour

Deep rose red

Message of the Flower

Generous Wealth

The Mother’s Comment

Likes to be given and spread far and wide.

Colour

Yellow

Message of the Flower

Integral Wealth of Mahalakshmi

The Mother’s Comment

Wealth in all domains and all activities, intellectual, psychological, material, in feeling, and action.

Colour

Pure white, golden

Family

Nymphaeaceae

Cultivars

Mayla' and 'Pygmaea Helvola'

Flower Size

3 to 12 inches diameter

Flower Texture

Smooth and waxy

Number of Petals

Varies, some more than 20

Floral Symmetry

Radially symmetrical

Fragrance of Flower

Many are fragrant

Leaf Texture

Waxy and glossy

Leaf Arrangement

Radial on water surface

Leaf Color

Green, sometimes with purplish/burgundy undersides

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Aquatic herbaceous plants

Life Cycle

Perennial

Blooming Period

Spring through fall

Climate

Temperate to tropical

Water Requirements

Need submerged conditions

Soil Type

Loamy, aquatic soils

Temperature Ranges

Prefer warm conditions

Sun or Shade

Prefer full sun, some tolerate partial shade

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

Susceptible to aphids, rot under poor conditions

Pollinators

Mainly insects like beetles

Habitat

Freshwater bodies like ponds and lakes

Role in the Ecosystem

Provide habitat, regulate water ecosystems

Quotations

Associated with serenity and enlightenment

Ornamental

Limited culinary use