The Wonder of Colors

The mystery of creation is everywhere, and nowhere quite as abundant as in light.  Why is the speed of light constant?  Is it made up of particles, or is it a wave?  It gives life through energy, and it destroys life by damaging DNA.  With our eyes, we only see a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we call light, which spans from gamma rays to radio waves.  Within that band, we see the visible light spectrum, and even there we take the mysteries for granted.

What color is grass?  Green right?  Well… actually what we see with our eyes is the frequency of light that bounces off objects.  Grass absorbs all frequencies of light except green, so we see green.  So, grass is really every other color except green!  That apples is everything except red, and that carrot is everything except orange!  Life is full of mystery if only we have eyes to see it.  There is awe and wonderment everywhere… and you knew it… when you were a small child.  Remember?

Light is energy, and it can be absorbed or reflected.  We know that wearing white on a sunny day is much more comfortable than wearing black.  White reflects light, black absorbs it.  This simple notion has more profound implications – if you are in a setting where you want to absorb the energy, then wear black, however if you are in a setting where you do not want to absorb the energy, then wear white.  Perhaps we should think twice before wearing black in very tight, public spaces or even at funerals!

Color has significance in yoga too, let’s take a brief look.

• Red is vibrancy and draws your attention. Red is the color of exuberance.
• Blue is the color of all-inclusiveness. Consider, the sky is blue, and the ocean is blue.  There is expansiveness.
• Orange is the color of a shift in vision, in outlook. Monks wear orange to signify that they have dropped everything and are in a shift of perception.
• Yellow is related to orange but as more of a foundation. So yellow signifies the preparatory path towards the eventual shift.
• White is the absence of color, or really, all colors are reflected. Spiritual people still involved with everyday life wear white to signify that nothing sticks to them.

Here is a link to what color means in yoga:  https://isha.sadhguru.org/us/en/wisdom/article/meaning-of-colors