* A mandala is an integrated structure organized around a unifying center.

 

* The word "mandala" is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Loosely    

  translated to mean "circle," a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It     

  represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational

  structure of life itself--a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the

  infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds.

 

* Describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in    

  all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as  

  conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.

 

 

http://www.mandalaproject.org/What/Index.html