You might have seen these kinds of colored strips worn on motorcycles. Mostly, these strips can be seen on Royal Enfield bikes. You can see a motorcycle group wandering with a load of luggage attached behind the bikes and bikers wearing helmets, gloves, and shoes, etc. You will definitely observe these kinds of strips on them. Also, you will observe something written in Japanese or Chinese on these strips. But what actually indicates these strips?
Today, in this article, I am sharing the facts behind these strips.
These strips are called 'Tibetan Prayer Flags'. These are shaped in a rectangular shape and one string is attached on one short-side of the rectangular flags. Basically, these flags have 2 types,
Lungta Tibetan Prayer Flags
These are the horizontal prayer flags and are connected with a long string or cloth thread at the top edges. Lungta means Wind Horse!
These are normally hung in a diagonal way i.e. one end is hung a little higher than the other end and these are hung in between two objects such as poles. These are generally hung in high places such as tops of temples or mountain passes.
Darchog Tibetan Prayer Flags
These are vertical prayer flags and are connected with their vertical edges. Darchog means Flagstaff or Holy Flag.
These flags are normally attached to a pole and planted in the ground or placed on rooftops.
The ones which we observe on bikes are the Lungta Flags. These are mainly worn as a symbol of Good Luck. The written things on the flags are not Japanese or Chinese, but these are words written in the Tibetan language. The letters on the flag are basically a mantra in Tibetan and Buddhism. (This prayer is found on most of the Prayer Flags.)
The mantra is - ॐ मणिपद्मे हूं! (Om Manipadme Hoon!)
If this mantra is chanted with a calm mind, the mind comes to peace and man can overcome anger, greed, jealousy, hatred.
These flags mainly have 5 colors in them. These 5 colors indicate 5 natural things found on Earth. White color indicates Wind, Red color indicates Fire, Green color indicates Water, Yellow color indicates Mother Earth, and Blue color indicates the Sky.
The main reason behind placing these flags on bikes is, These Prayer Flags should not be stable or they should not be placed on the ground, and as we know bikes move at a certain speed which keeps them flickering constantly. Also, you might notice that some colors are erased or some letters are erased. This particular aspect is considered auspicious or fortunate. This aspect indicates that the prayers of your flag are spreading in all four directions with the wind and you will definitely get the opportunity to achieve success.
Another reason is, Biker hung these flags on his/her bike, which indicates that the biker has successfully completed the tour of Leh Ladakh on his/her bike. This gives him/her pride and satisfaction of the extreme efforts which he/she took during the tour.
I hope, I have covered almost everything in this article. If I have missed some points, please mention them in the comments below.
Thank You, I really appreciate your time.
Comments
Post a Comment