Thread: Tell me what this symbol means

Someone sent me this and I don't have the slightest clue as to what it means.

Look like the Hindi religious symbol "Om."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om

And - http://www.vedmandir.com/modules.php...article&sid=78

It's a Hindu (maybe Buddhist too) symbol, and it is a sacred sound "Om" or "Aum." The flower looks like a lotus, which has it's own symbolism, but I don't know jack about that. Aum represents a bunch of stuff depending on who you're asking. I've heard that it is the sound that the Godhead makes, that it is the first sound ever uttered. I've also seen it represent the three main deities of Hinduism, as well as Ganesh by himself. It is often combined with Ganesh, like this for example:

Wikipedia will most definitely have an article about it, maybe some Hindu posters can shed some further light on it.

The eight-petal lotus suggests a Buddhist configuration, denoting the Eightfold Path. Om or aum is a major constituent of nearly every Hindu or Buddhist mantra.