Many moons ago, your columnist lived in a sprawling colony named St Patrick's Town. It was then as green as the robes that the Irish saint was famous for. It even had the Indian version of the three-leaved clover called Shamrock.
According to Irish folklore, St Patrick used the tri-lobed leaf to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, to his pagan audiences.
Ever since, St Patrick's Day, which falls smack in the middle of March, is traditionally celebrated by wearing of green ribbons and three-lobed shamrock leaves on the lapel.
The shamrock today serves as a national symbol for Ireland just as the rose stands for England, the thistle for Scotland and the leek for Wales. The Indic equivalentof the three-pronged clover would be the bilva or bael leaf, which can also be used to elucidate the non-dualistic philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism called Trika.
Although reality is said to be divided into the trinity of Pashu, Pati and Pasham, Trikavada is essentially non-dualistic: the seekers' ultimate goal is to recognise ( pratyabhidnya) their true nature as blissful manifestations of Parama-Shiva, or pure consciousness, and to embrace all of creation as being permeated by divine essence in its entirety.
This is also reflected in a famous Rigvedic verse that says, "The air, the breeze which is blowing, is giving bliss. The water is oozing bliss. The entire universe is full of bliss." Thus, the soul leaps from the humble leafto the cosmic connect, going beyond individual identityto a universal one.
According to Irish folklore, St Patrick used the tri-lobed leaf to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, to his pagan audiences.
Ever since, St Patrick's Day, which falls smack in the middle of March, is traditionally celebrated by wearing of green ribbons and three-lobed shamrock leaves on the lapel.
The shamrock today serves as a national symbol for Ireland just as the rose stands for England, the thistle for Scotland and the leek for Wales. The Indic equivalentof the three-pronged clover would be the bilva or bael leaf, which can also be used to elucidate the non-dualistic philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism called Trika.
Although reality is said to be divided into the trinity of Pashu, Pati and Pasham, Trikavada is essentially non-dualistic: the seekers' ultimate goal is to recognise ( pratyabhidnya) their true nature as blissful manifestations of Parama-Shiva, or pure consciousness, and to embrace all of creation as being permeated by divine essence in its entirety.
This is also reflected in a famous Rigvedic verse that says, "The air, the breeze which is blowing, is giving bliss. The water is oozing bliss. The entire universe is full of bliss." Thus, the soul leaps from the humble leafto the cosmic connect, going beyond individual identityto a universal one.
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