The swan is an important motif in Advaita. It symbolises two things: first, the swan is called hamsah in Sanskrit (which becomes hamso if the first letter in the next word is /h/). Upon repeating this hamso indefinitely, it becomes so-aham, meaning, "I am That". Second, just as a swan lives in water but its feathers are not soiled by water, similarly a liberated Advaitin lives in this world full of maya (the veil of perception/ignorance) but is untouched by its illusion. The swan must fly with two wings - those wings are wisdom and devotion - jnani and bhakti.
To read more about the beautiful philosophy of अद्वैत वेदान्त (Advaita Vedanta), try here and here.
2 comments:
absentminded dreaming while awake is a very good name for your site. suggestive title that does not quite mean what one thinks.
Good for you.
Thank you for your nice comment. It's a pleasant surprise (lovely encouragement too) as this blog virtually just went live today!
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