Myths and Symbolism of Trees
I
What is a symbol? A symbol must be contained in the idea or ideas that it is intended to represent, writes Mr. Judge. A symbol of the house could never be a boat or a wing of a bird, but "it must be an actual part chosen to represent or stand for the whole." The word "symbol" is derived from the Greek word meaning "to throw with" or "to throw together." A symbol is a visible representation of an idea. "To be a just and correct symbol, it should be such that the moment it is seen by one versed in symbolism, its meaning and application become easily apparent." (The Heart Doctrine, p. 149) Every symbol must have a deeper meaning besides the obvious one. In fact, H.P.B. observes that each symbol has at least seven keys to its interpretation—physical, astrological, geometrical, metaphysical, psychological, allegorical, cosmological, etc. What does a tree symbolize to us? Sangharakshita, a Buddhist teacher, narrates that while taking a walk with a Nepalese friend in Kalimpong, they came across a magnificent pine tree with a smooth trunk and the mass of deep green foliage. He could not help exclaiming: "Isn't that a beautiful tree!" The Nepalese friend replied, "Oh yes, it is a beautiful tree. There's enough firewood there for the whole winter." Sangharakshita remarks, "He did not see the tree at all. All he saw was a certain quantity of firewood" (Vision and Transformation, p. 137). This shows that each one of us sees a thing from his/her own perspective, which is, mostly, materialistic, superficial, and utilitarian. We see plants and trees all around us and our day-to-day experience shows that some of these trees provide food, shelter, flowers, medicines, wood, etc. But are we ever aware of any deeper significance? Now and then, some poets intuitively grasp and convey the symbolic aspect of the trees. In the poem, "No More!", Alfred Tennyson, a great lover of nature, writes of a wild weed flower, growing all alone by the banks of a brook:
Like this flower, the present state of any of us is only a part of the total existence. There is an immortal aspect or Ego clothed in the present form, but the present form has arisen from, has behind it and is backed by, past experiences—good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant—of which we have little or no memory. A large and essential nature of each one of us remains hidden. Both man and universe have their roots in eternity. There is immanence of God in the infinitesimal atom and the vast system. This is well brought out by Tennyson in his little poem:
We observe that the life cycle of a tree begins with a seed that gives rise to a tree, a flower and a fruit, which in turn gives back the seed. A universe comes into existence and goes out of existence, periodically. Just as a seed gives rise to a new tree and has within it the entire tree, potentially, so also, on dissolution, the universe is held as solution in suspension in space—in the Laya centre—like the salt dissolved in water, which crystallizes on heating. This Laya centre is like a seed from which a new universe comes into existence at the dawn of every Manvantara—period of activity—and its energies are drawn back into the Laya centre at the time of dissolution orpralaya. Similar is the case with humanity. Manu represents humanity. There are 14 Manus in every Kalpa. A root and a seed Manu appear at the beginning and the termination of the human period on any particular planet. Seed-Manu—appearing at the close of a period of activity—represents the fruition of humanity and carries the seed for future humanity, i.e., the seeds for the human races of the forthcoming Round. (S.D., II, 307-8) The life cycle of the tree symbolizes the Law of Karma: "As you sow, so shall you reap." Thus:
But the causes of our actions, like the seeds of a tree, remain hidden, always making us wonder, "What did we do to deserve such a fate"? Sir Edwin Arnold expresses it thus in The Light of Asia:
Every form in our universe is a reflection of something existing in the invisible world. Plato called it an archetypal world that contains ideas or paradigms of all forms on our plane. Every form that we see is an embodied idea. Plato considered lower types (forms) to be concrete images of higher, abstract images. The meaning and the mission of any object in nature can be understood only when we are able to understand the higher abstraction which it ensouls, and of which it is a representative and a symbol on earth. (Studies in "The Secret Doctrine," Book II, p. 55) There are certain plants and trees that were specifically used as symbols to convey some deep truths. For instance, the Lotus plant is a very ancient symbol for both Kosmos and man. The Lotus plant grows up through the water, having its roots in the mud, and spreading its flower in the air above. "The root of Lotus sunk in the mud, represents material life, the stalk passing up through the water typifies existence in the astral world, and the flower floating on the water and opening to the sky is emblematical of spiritual being." The Lotus flower represents the abstract and concrete universe and symbolizes the dual creative power in Nature. It is said that the seeds of the Lotus (and of all phanerogamus plants) contain, even before they germinate, perfectly formed leaves and miniature shape of what one day as perfected plants they will become. "This typifies the fact that the spiritual prototypes of all things exist in the immaterial world before those things materialized on Earth" (S.D., I, 57-8). Even before the objective universe comes into existence, the ideal or abstract forms or prototypes of all objective things exist in the archetypal world. Similar to the Lotus plant, there is a special significance attached to the Ashwattha tree, the Banyan tree and many more. Thus:
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