THE MEANING OF THE COLOURS AND SYMBOLS IN MANDALAS

Pomen barv in simbolov v mandalah Namen naloge je bil raziskati pomen barv in simbolov v mandalah. Temeljni simbol mandale je krog, ki pomeni celoto. Mandala navdušuje človeštvo že tisočletja s svojo sporočilnostjo in s svojo preprosto obliko – krog. Cilj naloge je bil prikazati mandalo v prvobitni pojavnosti, njene spremembe v različnih kulturah in kakšno moč ima v Zahodnem svetu. Pri delu so bile uporabljene metode analize pisnih virov. Ugotovili smo, da se za prvobitno mandalo skrivajo nauki budizma. Ostale kulture so glede na namen in sporočilnost prikazovale simboliko barv in oblik na drugačen način. V Zahodnem svetu pa se psihološki globlji pomen izgubi, saj mandala nima budističnega ozadja in ne potekajo molitve k Budi, kakor je praksa v vzhodnjaški kulturi. V Zahodnem svetu mandala ponuja večinoma le etstetske užitke.The meaning of colours and symbols in mandalas The purpose of my diploma work was to research the meaning of colours and symbols in mandalas. The circle, fundamental symbol of mandala, represents wholeness. Mandala is known by the humans for thousands of years and inspires us with its simple form – the circle. The goal of my diploma work was to show how mandala appears in its primal form, its changes in different cultures and its power in the Western world. At my work I used the method of analysing written documents. I discovered that behind the primal mandala the lessons of Buddhism are hidden. All the other cultures adopted mandala and showed the colours and forms in different ways according to the purpose and the expressed content. The deep psychological meaning of the Eastern mandala is lost in the Western world as it lost the Buddhist background of prayers to Buddha, the purpose of mandala in Eastern cultures, and it offers only aesthetic pleasures in the Western world