The lotus, the sacred flower of the Egyptians, as well as the Hindus, is the symbol of Horus as it is that of Brahma. No temples in Thibet {92} or Nepaul are found without it; and the meaning of this symbol is extremely suggestive. The sprig of _lilies_ placed in the hand of the archangel, who offers them to the Virgin Mary, in the pictures of the “Annunciation,” have in their esoteric symbolism precisely the same meaning. We refer the reader to Sir William Jones.[178] With the Hindus, the lotus is the emblem of the productive power of nature, through the agency of fire and water (spirit and matter). “Eternal!” says a verse in the _Bhagaveda Gita_, “I see Brahma the creator enthroned in _thee_ above the lotus!” and Sir W. Jones shows that the seeds of the lotus contain—even before they germinate—perfectly-formed leaves, the miniature shapes of what one day, as perfected plants, they will become; or, as the author of _The Heathen Religion_, has it—“nature thus giving us a specimen of _preformation_ of its productions;” adding further that “the seed of all _phœnogamous_ plants bearing _proper_ flowers, contain _an embryo plantlet ready formed_.”[179] With the Buddhists, it has the same signification. Maha-Maya, or Maha-Deva, the mother of Gautama Bhudda, had the birth of her son announced to her by Bhôdisât (the spirit of Buddha), who appeared beside her couch with a _lotus_ in his hand. Thus, also, Osiris and Horus are represented by the Egyptians constantly in association with the lotus-flower.