The symbolism of the swan

The swan is particularly symbolic in Advaita. Its ability to move through water without wetting its feathers alludes to the life of the realized man living his life totally unaffected by the world. In its flight it represents the supreme spirit escaping the bondage of saMsAra. The Sanskrit for swan is haMsa and the title parama haMsa is given to the highest ascetics, as in Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. If the word ‘haMso’ is repeated as a mantra, it mutates into ‘soham’, meaning ‘I am he’. Since ‘aham brahmAsmi’ – I am Brahman – haMsa also stands for the non-dual reality, Brahman.

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