Butterfly Significance and Sri Chinmoy’s Samadhi

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photo by Sharani - Monarch Butterfly
photo by Sharani - Monarch Butterfly

photo by Sharani - Butterfly at Roger Williams Park Zoo

A poignant moment during the New York observance of the 2nd anniversary of Sri Chinmoy’s Mahasamadhi (passing from the Earth plane) came in the form of a butterfly.

A group of the late spiritual leader’s students were standing in formation facing the samadhi shrine and a butterfly came up from behind them and lingered over their heads before finally flying towards the shrine.

This was actually the second time a butterfly appeared and hovered nearby at this location – the first being during his interment in October 2007.

These butterfly moments seemed to carry an aura of significance on their wings. That it happened twice made me stop and wonder what is the symbolic significance of a butterfly in various cultures?  When I pursued my curiosity about the meaning associated with a butterfly, what I discovered gave me goosebumps.

Butterflies are symbolic in many cultures with transformation, death, rebirth, resurrection, the soul and everlasting life.

These butterflies served as symbolic messengers to remind all present that while the body dies, the soul is eternal and everlasting. Don’t forget this inviolable truth spoke God in the form of a butterfly. I am awed and humbled to receive this profound message in the form of a butterfly blessing.

In Animal Kingdom, a book of Sri Chinmoy’s commentary on various creatures, he writes the following about butterflies:

Butterfly: Prosperity

Butterfly, my butterfly,
You are the harbinger
Of man’s prosperity-life.
Your sweet arrival
Devours immediately
Man’s ceaseless strife.

Excerpt from Animal Kingdom by Sri Chinmoy.

As a delighted observer of the natural world around me, I focused in on a different kind of insect during a week’s memorial observances in 2007 directly after Sri Chinmoy’s passing. Read about a praying mantis which also appeared carrying a mystique of symbolic significance.

Here, too, is a slideshow of some photos I took at the Roger Williams Park Zoo Butterfly Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island last May.

This entry was posted in butterflies symbolism, butterfly, mahasamadhi, samadhi, Sri Chinmoy by Sharani. Bookmark the permalink.

About Sharani

Bio: I am a public librarian in Massachusetts and an avid meditator, writer, photographer - mostly on Sri Chinmoy Centre websites. As a librarian and bibliophile, I especially resonate with the written word. I began studying meditation as Sri Chinmoy's student in 1985 and my spiritual strivings and creative expression are primarily a spirit of delight in the supernal beauty of God. I often find an act of centering prayer in artistic expression, especially when harmonising with Nature. I am happiest when the writing of prose and poetry or the taking of photographs leads me to a hushed place of kneeling in awe of a universe of oneness much vaster than myself. I live and work in adjoining New England states, both located near the Atlantic Ocean's coast. As a transplanted New Englander, I find that living near the sea nourishes me deeply and sparks creativity on many levels.

3 thoughts on “Butterfly Significance and Sri Chinmoy’s Samadhi”

  1. Lovely photos and comments on the symbolism of butterflies, Sharani. Do you have a camera which uses a special lens to get such sharp close-up photos? In India butterfly pictures are often used to decorate wedding cards.I guess that is linked with the prosperity mentioned in the poem.

    • Thanks for appreciating the photos Durga-Mata. I actually use a digital all-in-one camera with a built in zoom of 17x – the Olympus SP550Z. It’s not even a digital SLR but I am fond of its convenience and ease to use.