In the old scriptures such as the Vedanta and the Old Testament, spirit is symbolized as water. One wonders why something which is near to the earth, as water is, should be considered symbolically as spirit.

• The nature of water is to give life to the earth, and so the nature of the spirit 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 spirit stands above matter, as water in time lets the earth sink to the bottom and stands itself above the earth.