Mandala Art Within Hinduism, Buddhism and Contemporary Society
'Mandalas' are thought to be one of the worlds oldest of all art forms. The word 'Mandala' is Sanskrit and has been defined as "whole world", " circle", "round" or "wheel". They could be seen as a landscape of the mind.and have been described in the Columbia Encyclopedia as "expressing a microcosm embodying the various divine powers at work in the universe." Attempting to quantify exactly what a Mandala is, is a difficult task. However they have been widely used in different forms of meditation.
The form of a Mandala on the primary level is purely visual, the meaning they possess is unique to the creator and the beholder. In their earliest forms within Hindu and Buddhist art works, they were graphic symbols of the universe. In latter manifestations they arose off the parchment and gave inspiration to western church architecture in the shape of great multicolored "Rose" windows throughout the cathedrals of Europe. Here, the new element of light came into glorious effect, literally illuminating the spiritual and religious representations of the church.
Mandala in Hinduism
In Hindu cosmology, the surface of the earth is represented as a square, which, after the triangle is the most fundamental of all Hindu forms. The earth is seen as having four corners which relates to the horizon's relationship with sunset and sunrise and the north and south direction. The earth is thus called 'Caturbhrsti' (four-cornered) and is represented in the symbolic form of the Prithvi Mandala.
Mandala in Buddhism
Mandalas are commonly used by tantric Buddhists as an aid to meditation. Some monks spend hours creating temporary sand mandalas which are painstakingly created on the temple floors using small tubes of differently colored sands. In these mandalas they use the various traditional designs to represent symbolically the objects of worship and contemplation of the Tibetan Buddhist cosmology. To symbolize impermanence (a central teaching of Buddhism), after days or weeks of creating the intricate pattern, the sand is brushed together and is usually placed in a body of running water to spread the blessings of the Mandala.
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