Some say mandalas are the footprints left by ancient astronauts flying Vimanas.

To see the base of a Vimana overhead it appears to be a flying saucer,

yet from the side it is like a flying pyramid.

 

We’ve learned in recent years that sand sprinkled on Chladni plates

creates beautiful geometric patterns, more complex as the tonal frequency rises.

Another type of mandala, equally mysterious.

 

Tibetan Buddhists labor for weeks with brightly colored sand or rice grains

to help draw certain energies into the earth realm as they pray,

only to sweep it all away in minutes.

 

South Asian rulers commission extravagant works of art for mandalic jewelry

to be used on turbans and cloaks. Arab jewelers use complex geometric patterns

from nature to enhance their homes and mosques.

 

There’s something hypnotic about a pendulum swinging over a sand tray,

back and forth, circling round. Gravity or magnetism they say is the force,

but it looks a lot like magic.

 

Regardless of culture or purpose, a thing of beauty brings joy forever.