Buddhist Pancharang depictions

The Buddhist Pancharang Concept:
The Buddhist Pancharang concept consists of Blue/ Black, White, Red, Green and Yellow.

Meditating on these colours helps you tranform your feelings

Blue/Black: From anger to wisdom/ hate to compassion (depicts the element air)

White: From ignorance to knowledge (depicts water)

Red: Worldly attachment to discernment (depicts fire)

Green: From jealousy to peace

Yellow: From pride to humility (depicts earth)

The colours are also used to depict the various directions - east, west, north, south and central (white, red, green, yellow and blue/black respectively)

These colours are brought to life in the Buddhist Tangka paintings as well. 

Colours of Duality

There is an inherent duality in almost all cultures. Masculine traits usually make up one part of the duality discourse and the other is made up of feminine traits. 

The ultimate symbolism of these two parts of the duality coming together is a marriage. Interestingly we see that the colours most commonly seen in marriages in the West, are white and black (white for the bride, and black for the groom), while in India, we see red and white (red for the bride and white for the groom). 

In the white and black weddings, white for the bride symbolises purity/chastity and black for the groom symbolises power/wealth.

In the red and white weddings, red for the bride symbolises fertility(menstrual blood) and white for men symbolises virility(semen). 

The Colour Theory of Shigenobu Kobayashi

Interesting...

What is the festival of colours all about?

Yesterday, across India, the festival of Holi (the festival of colours) was celebrated.

So what is the significance of all the colour splashing and merrymaking? Where did it all begin, or rather, what is the reason behind this festival?

There seem to be different versions of how Holi originated, and why Holi is celebrated/ observed. Two out of the three popular versions are about stories around Vishnu avatars. And the other is a story about Shiva.

Vishnu appeared to save Prahlada (son of Hiranyakashipu). Hiranyakashipu (who was finally killed by Narasimha) did not approve of his son worshipping Vishnu. He was so miffed by this, that he asked Holika (Prahlada's sister, and in some cases mentioned as his aunt), to burn him to death in a fire. Holika had the boon which would save her from being burnt. But it so happened that Vishnu appeared and saved Prahalada. Holika burnt into ashes, and every year they agreed to remember her on one day, known as Holi. And for Holi, a fire is lit to symbolise the burning of Holika, and the victory of good over evil.

Krishna, apparently used to be upset that he was darker in complexion as compared to Radha. His mother advised him to smear some colour on Radha, in order to ensure that her complexion would also become darker. This is celebrated today as Holi, and the general mood and fun nature of the festival is also in sync with the nature of Krishna.

The third version, says that the Holi fire is in fact symbolising the fire that came out of Shiva's third eye, which burnt the god of desire, Kamadeva or Rati, when he tried to awaken Shiva from his deep meditation.

In general, Holi is meant to symbolise the beginning of spring and the end of winter, in other words, the beginning of some colourful moments after a bland and dreary winter.

Who is the authority on colours in India?

Pantone has established itself as the authority on colours. The Pantone Colour Forecast pretty much drives the colour trends in fashion, interiors, lifestyles and much more. The colour forecast for fall 2013 is as given below:



This is the international colour forecast. Now what about an Indian Colour Forecast? Surely, Colour in India, is very different from Colour in the west. Is there an authority on Indian Colours? The only one that I see, which is making Colour Themes Forecast is the Asian Paints Colour Next. The 2013 Colour Forecast is not yet out, or so I gather. But here they seem to specify that this is a colour forecast for Indian interiors, specifically designed from the perspective of Asian Paints.

Is there a need for an Indian authority on Colours? Colour Forecasts? Colour Symbolism derived from Ancient Indian Concepts?