The fractal maṇḍala is a descriptor I use for dharma, alternately for the Indian civilizational consciousness. This is because dharma is a system where the same essential truths can be found embedded in every aspect of the tradition (to paraphrase Shri Rajiv Malhotra.) Another way to think of this is as a system that is multi-level coherent.
Take the concept of Agni. In the Vedic yajña, at the material level, agni is the fire that rises from the earth and reaches the skies. This is why it is also called rodāsi- the great connector. But as Shri Aurobindo showed, at the deepest level of the same Vedic hymns, agni is the lamp of consciousness within us. When fully kindled, it takes us from our bodies (analogous to the earth) and joins our consciousness with the supreme Brahman (analogous to the sky.) Here too it is the great connector, and this is why any practice dedicated to this journey is called Yoga, or union. This symbolism is found in the typical Hindu temple as well, where the domes are intricately carved with reticules to give them the resemblance of fire, their tapering reach symbolic of the Vedic agni’s journey.
Once you understand this, it becomes easier and easier to spot the fractals in the maṇḍala that is dharma, or Bhāratīya sāṃskṛtika cetanā.