Even the institution of the presidency has come to be associated with all kinds of symbols of sovereignty. Like the symbol of the tree, royal symbolism is found in most of the major religious traditions. Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God and was called the king of the Jews. The Buddha has been called the king of the Dharma and the king of physicians. Like the tree, light and water occupy prominent places in Vajrayana symbolism.
Fire often surrounds the deities.
Light is an important medium for identification between the meditator and the visualized forms of the deities. Fire and light are very important and meaningful elements of our human experience. It is probably through the discovery of fire that people became civilized. In the Vajrayana tradition, fire stands for the flames that consume and destroy ignorance. Water is more crucial to our existence than food and is, of course, necessary for the fertility of the earth.