A picture of bliss?

Recently, I had the opportunity to add to my collection of water lily pictures. This brought me to the problem of correctly identifying the flowers -- lotus versus water lily (which are incidently the national flowers of India & Bangladesh)?

From what I can gather the pink ones are water lilies and purple ones are lotus flowers (since they are raised above the water).









Lotus flowers (specific types of water lillies) make for excellent metaphors and have been the subject of poetry in several traditions. A lotus pond in my backyard might be just what I need to inspire me to rise above the ordinary.