The Banyan is a magnificent symbol of connectedness, as its multiple fused trunks branch out in all directions and strike root. New trunks and roots develop from the branches!
This amazing specimen, surrounded by an immense circular bench seat, is in the precincts of the Matri Mandir, the Mother Temple, in Auroville, near Pondicherry, India.
The Banyan is a semi-parasite (like Ivy) when it grows wild in the rainforest, where its many slender trunks use other trees for support. It may eventually strangle a host but continue growing as a freestanding tree.