For those who venture for materialistic gains, Sri Lanka will not offer much. But those who are attentive to the last detail, it is Utopia. It was here that I discovered a flower not of this era; one that transcends others in both its beauty and wisdom: the Divine Lotus.

After landing in Colombo, our guide Hassantha took us for lunch at Negambo; a most humble area of loving people. My family alongside another enjoyed dinner by a lagoon, and soon we set off for Kandy, a historical wonderland. We visited the Elephant Orphanage and a vast temple among a few others. Oddly enough, every place of contrast had a small but significant similarity: the flower of Utopia, the Lotus.

And so I ask Hassantha its story: “In Buddhism, the lotus holds great significance. If you notice the waters that it floats in, some are clear waters in earthen bowls while others are ponds that hold filth.

The water beneath does not affect the lotus, nor make it any less beautiful; the flower simply floats above it. Buddha was like the lotus. He had around himself ills of all kind. But he rose above it and never drowned… just like the lotus exists in dirty waters but never drowns, ” he uttered. “It simply floats.”

“Like the lotus, we will see waters of all kind. We may live with people devoid of compassion, people addicted to plain horrible thoughts, bad people…who hurt others.  But we can always choose whether to let it affect ourselves or not.”

“We can either drown in the waters, or simply float above all things. We can choose to become like the lotus.”

With a local offering the Divine Lotus. At Temple of the Tooth, Kandy.

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka.