Mourning Lotus

It is a day of mourning across the Kingdom of Thailand as it marks the day of the passing King Rama IX. During the passing year, millions of Thais have come to the Grand Palace to pay tribute to their passing King, who ruled the country for 70 years. The Press says there were 13M. 
The royal cremation will be held on October 26.
Today's blip is an appropriate tribute to King Rama IX for two reasons: first, I retouched the original capture to adapt it to the circumstance; then I chose a lotus as a symbol. As the extra photo shows, the original photo of this lotus is purple and yellow, two typical colors of Thailand. 
Some more, the lotus has a very specific meaning in Hinduism and Buddhism. To quote Joseph Campbell in 'The Power of Myth': "Brahma sits on a lotus, the symbol of divine energy and divine grace. The lotus grows from the navel of Vishnu, who is the sleeping god, whose dream is the universe."
But since the Thais believe in the power of numbers, let me bring forward three more thoughts regarding numbers. First, King Rama IX had a very special significance in the Thai culture, where nº9 has a symbolic value. Then today is Friday, the 5th day of the week. Last but not least, it is Friday 13th!

Blog article on #9 (in French)