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Tattoo designs - B >> Brahma

Brahma Hindu Tattoos - Three Lords - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva- constitute the Hindu Trinity, or Trimurti, a philosophical symbol that depicts the three aspects of Absolute Reality.

Creation, Preservation, and Dissolution - these are the three cosmic functions within the Hindu religion. In all of India, however, there are only two temples devoted to Brahma, while thousands of temples have been erected for the worship of Vishnu and Shiva.

Each of the three gods has a consort - the female aspect of their being - from which they are inseparable. This female nature is known as Shakti, meaning cosmic force. Brahma's consort is Saraswati, goddess of wisdom and knowledge. According to the Bhagavad-Gita (sacred Hindu text), our human passions and desires are attributed to Brahma, from which comes procreation. Brahma represents the psychic/mental element and symbolizes intuitive or creative thought.

As Creator of all things in the universe, Lord Brahma delegates various duties to all other creatures. Brahma is depicted with four heads (originally, five), allowing him to observe the universe from the four directions - north, south, east and west. He wears a white beard to signify his eternal nature. Lord Brahma's hands hold a string of 108 prayer beads (a mala) representing the elements from which he formed the universe. These hands represent the protector, and also the giver of favours. Both palms face outwards, the fingers of one hand directed upwards, the other downwards. Sometimes Lord Brahma appears holding a bowl filled with water, the medium out of which all life emerges.

The concept of cyclical rejuvenations of the universe is interpreted in ancient Indian texts as Brahma reinventing the universe time and time again. When he sleeps, creation dissolves into the cosmos, and is restored upon waking up the next day. Everything that comes into being is sooner or later dissolved. Existence is forever coming and going, emerging and disintegrating again.

The creative aspect of Brahma's cosmic function involved - not surprisingly - desire and passion, which got him into trouble with Lords Vishnu and Shiva, the gods of Preservation and Destruction. According to some texts, Lord Brahma lost favour with Vishnu and Shiva when his desires went 'out of bounds'. In order to prove his supremacy over the other two, Brahma resorted to lies, but was found out. As punishment, he was deprived of his fifth head, which looked upwards, and consequently he became a less-popular deity. Brahma became associated with earthly passion and man's lower nature in general, the aspect of our humanity we are urged to transcend on the way higher consciousness.

See also: Religious Tattoos, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Kali, Krishna, Lingam, Religious Tattoo Index, Hindu Tattoos

Tattoo designs - B >> Brahma

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