70 Mandala Tattoos For Men

Want to See the World’s Best Mandala Tattoo designs? Click here to visit our Gallery: http://nextluxury.com/mens-style-and-...

The mandala is one of the most universal spiritual symbols of any religion. Coincidentally, most symbolize the universe, consciousness, and the self all reconciled within one image.

Mandalas as most know them stem primarily from Hinduism and Buddhism, but religious and spiritual scholars have identified mandala-type symbols in a variety of other religions, primarily Christianity.

In general, they comprise of intricate patterns and details confined within a circle. Subsequent circles have subsequent meanings, and specific meanings differ between regions, sects, religions, and the media by which they are created.

The mandala was introduced to¬– and popularized in western society by the psychologist Carl Jung, a student and colleague of Sigmund Freud. The first mandalas the Jung discovered were those created by himself. “I sketched every morning in a notebook a small circular drawing,” Jung wrote in his book Memories, Dreams, Reflections, “… which seemed to correspond to my inner situation at the time. … Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is: … the Self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious.” Jung then related them to the similar spiritual images of Hinduism and Buddhism. Jung was the first to categorize these images as “mandala,” a word he took from an Indian dialect.

While the specifics of each mandala differ, Jung believed they touch on a universal reality shared by all people. He summed them up by writing, “The mandala serves a conservative purpose—namely, to restore a previously existing order. But it also serves the creative purpose of giving expression and form to something that does not yet exist, something new and unique. … The process is that of the ascending spiral, which grows upward while simultaneously returning again and again to the same point.”

Hindu and Buddhist mandalas differ slightly. In Hinduism, they are known broadly as yantra and are used in meditative rituals. Every yantra is unique and relates to a specific god. The subsequent rings of yantra help the individual call forth the qualities bestowed by a respective god, using it to summon him or her. In this way, the yantra connect to the heavens, but translate into lived practices of individuals and act as a guide.

In Hinduism, mandalas also have political significance. The ancient author Kautilya in his political work, the Arthashastra, used them to describe the makeup of the state. According to Kautilya, the Raja-mandala places the king at the center, and each surrounding ring describes different factions and groups that makeup his kingdom.

In Buddhism, mandalas function primarily in a religious context. Like in Hinduism, they act as a guide in meditation, but instead of leading their devotee in their daily life, they lead Buddhist monks in chant. They decorate temples throughout the Buddhist world.
In the Tibetan sect of Vajrayana Buddhism, it is common practice to create intricate mandalas out of colored sand. Jung probably received his conception of mandalas from the teachings of Vajrayana which, as one scholar writes, portray the pure, enlightened mind through the circular symbols. Manadalas in Vajrayana portray the mind as “”a microcosm representing various divine powers at work in the universe.”

The meaning of any mandala is often felt before it is known. Deeply spiritual people wear a mandala as a tattoo to represent their belief in the connection between all things. The mandala represents their consciousness, and the their consciousness represents the universe, and the mandala represents the universe. Though it is a permanent mark, they know that they themselves are as impermanent as the sand paintings of the Vajrayana monks, who upon completing each mandala, wipe the slate clean and start again.


If you like our video please subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/2CAyCCz
Visit our Website: http://nextluxury.com/
Follow us on Instagram:   / nextluxuryco  
Like us on Facebook:   / nextluxury