The Jewel in the Lotus
“A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30)
May 3
Mani stones are a ubiquitous feature of the shrines of the Himalayan mountains. The Sanskrit that is written on them reads, “Om Mani Padme Hum”. The exact meaning of these words of continual mantra have been understood as, “the jewel in the lotus”. This mantra is said to reflect the heart of all spiritual truth. Each syllable holds a specific meaning that practitioners are to meditate upon. Reciting this mantra is said to purify the ego of lust and passionate desires and rid the heart of prejudice, greed and hatred. Generosity, patience, perseverance and wisdom is said to be gleaned from those who practice this form of meditation. Statues of veneration often depict the enlightened as sitting in the center of a lotus flower as embodying this jewel of purity and spiritual truth. Pacifying our hearts is a monumental task that not even years of concentrated dedicated meditation can completely extinguish. Lust, greed and envy create insufferable offkey shrills that resonate from our unsound hearts. A soul that is saved may still be untuned to the peaceful contentment that is theirs in Christ. Desires for carnal pleasures still wage war against the desires of the Spirit of God within us. Though we have a good shepherd that cares for our needs we still find it difficult to say, “I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) Deep unsettled places within us reverberate loudly into the caverns of our emptiness. Carefully crafted lies ring out inciting adulterous and murderous thoughts within these unfurnished chasms. Satan exploits this vulnerability offering unlawful and quick gratification for our unfulfilled desires. Christ calls us to come to Him and allow Him to satisfy us. Rottenness in the bones is a vivid description of a heart that has found itself trapped in the cycle of unfulfillable lusts. No substitute exists that will quench your heart’s thirst outside of an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the only satisfier of your soul’s longing, the only object of meditation that yields any benefit in redeeming your life from envy. In Christ we have been offered this astounding gift of soundness of heart and mind, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) The rottenness of sin that has infected us can be treated by the penicillin of Christ’s blood eradicating this infection’s ability to continue to spread death and decay. Your warring dissatisfaction can be pacified, your flailing anxieties He is able to subdue. Offer your turbulent and petulant heart to Him in confession and He will restore your peace, for Christ alone is the true jewel in the lotus.
Daily Prayer
Pacifier of my petulant heart,
attune my desires to seek after that which is most precious.
You are the true jewel in the lotus who has conquered sin and
offered us power to overcome our covetousness.
You have accomplished what no mantra or religious observance
had the power to fulfill in my life.
Rid me of the rottenness of greed, lust and envy.
Satisfy my soul in the unmatched worthiness of knowing you.
Grant me the power to receive the soundness of mind
which can only come from walking in the truth of your love.