Volume
Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
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The Symbology of Religious Ideas
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Water
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Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals
The Symbology of Religious Ideas
Water
In the old Scriptures, such as the Vedanta and the Old Testament, spirit is symbolized as water. One wonders why something which is next to earth should be considered as spirit. The nature of water is to give life to the earth, and so the nature of the soul is to give life to the body. Without water the earth is dead; so is the body without soul. Water and earth both mix together; so the spirit mixes with matter and revivifies it. And yet the spirit stands above matter, as water in time lets the earth go to the depth, and stands itself above the earth. But one may ask: "Is the spirit hidden under matter, as the soul in the body?" The answer is: "So does water stay beneath the earth." There is no place where water does not exist; there are places where earth is not to be found; so nowhere in space spirit is absent; only the absence of matter is possible.
The symbolical way of expressing high ideas does not come from the brain; it is an outcome of intuition. The beginning of intuition is to understand the symbolical meaning of different things, and the next step is to express things symbolically. It is in itself a Divine Art, and the best proof of it is to be found in the symbol of water, which is so fitting to express the meaning of spirit.
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