Understanding Pratika (Symbols in the Indian Tradition)

'The images, crosses, and crescents are', says Swami Vivekananda.' Simply so many symbols–so many pags to hang the spiritual ideas on.' Indeed out lives are full of symbols. National flag is a symbol, and so also the zebra crossing. Be it political parties or business houses or symbols in the periodic table, we live amidst a host of symbols. The greatest role of symbols, however, is in spiritual and cultural lives of our lives. Man needs symbols, and needs to understand them too. This book attempts to unrevel the meaning of some such symbols from an Indian perspective.

'The images, crosses, and crescents are', says Swami Vivekananda, 'simply so many symbols-so many pegs to hang the spiritual ideas on.' Indeed our lives are pervaded by symbols. National flag is a symbol, and so also the zebra crossing. Be it political parties or business houses or symbols in the periodic table, we live amidst a host of symbols. The greatest role of symbols, however, is in spiritual and cultural aspects of our lives. Man needs symbols, and needs to understand them too. The following pages are an attempt in this direction.

Sometimes in 1998, at the request of some readers, The Vedanta Kesari, the spiritual and cultural monthly published from this Math, began to serialise short monographs on some of the well-known symbols in Indian tradition. For six years, from 1998 to 2003, this column continued and was well received by one and all.

These monographs were prepared by Sri CS Ramakrishnan, Swami Brahmeshananda and Swami Baneshananda-all editors of The Vedanta Kesari. We are happy to present these writings in book form. We have included a few quotations from Swami Vivekananda on symbols, compiled by Swami Atmashraddhananda, the present editor of The Vedanta Kesari, who has also edited the present book. To appendices at the end are from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda.

Our thanks to Sri P.S. Sundaram of Mumbai and Sri Mukundan, Sri Raghu and Sri Srikanth of Vedanta Kesari Office at Chennai Math for their help in preparing the book.