The wise have given lessons to the world in different forms suited to the evolution of the people at a particular time. And the first and most original form of education that the wise gave to the world has been symbolical. This method of teaching has been valued in all ages and will always have its importance. That is not beauty, which is not veiled. In the veiling and unveiling of beauty is the purpose of life. Beauty is that which is always out of reach. You see it and you do not see it, you touch it and you cannot touch it. It is seen and yet veiled, it is known and yet unknown. And therefore words are often inadequate to express the beauty of Truth. Therefore symbolism is adopted by the wise.

The religions of the old Egyptians, of the ancient Greeks, of the Hindus, and of the Parsis, all have symbols which express the essential truth hidden under a religion; there is symbolism in Christianity and in all the ancient religions of the world. Man has often rebelled against symbolism. But it is natural, man has always revolted against things he cannot understand. There has been a wave of opposition to symbolism in both parts of the world, East and West. It came in the East in the period of Islam, and in the West it re-echoed in the Reformation. No doubt when the sacred symbols are made as patents by the religious people who wish to monopolize the whole truth, then it gives rise to that tendency in human nature which is always ready to accept things or reject them. However, one can say without exaggeration that symbology has always served to keep the ancient wisdom intact for ages. It is symbology that can prove today the saying of Solomon, "There is nothing new under the sun."

There are many thoughts relating to human nature, to the nature of life, relating to God and His many attributes, and relating to the path toward the goal, that are expressed in symbolism. To a person who sees only the surface of life the symbols mean nothing; the secret of symbols is revealed to the souls who see through life; whose glance penetrates through objects. Verily, before the seer the things of the world open themselves; and it is the uncovering of things in which is hidden beauty. There is a great joy in understanding, especially things that express nothing to everybody. It requires intuition, even something deeper than intuition -- insight -- to read symbols. To the one to whom the symbols speak of their nature and of their secret each symbol is a living manuscript in itself. Symbolism is the best way of learning the mysteries of life, and the best way of leaving ideas behind which will keep for ages after the teacher has passed. It is speaking without speaking, it is writing without writing. The symbol may be said to be an ocean in a drop.

1.2, The Symbol of the Sun

Light has the greatest attraction for the human soul. Man loves it in the fire and in things that are bright and shining, and that is why he considers gold and jewels as precious. The cosmos has a greater attraction for him than the earth, because of its light. As man evolves he naturally ceases to look down on the earth, but looks up to the heavens. The most attractive object that he sees is the sun in the heavens, the sun which is without any support and is more luminous than anything else in the heavens. Therefore, as man is attracted to beauty and surrenders himself to beauty, he bowed to the sun, as being the greatest beauty in heaven, and man took the sun as nature's symbol of God.

This symbol he pictured in different forms. In Persia, China, Japan, India, Egypt, whenever God was pictured it was in the form of the sun. In all ages man has pictured his Prophet, Master, Saviour, with a sun around his head. In ancient Persia there used to be a gold disc behind the head of the king, picturing him as the sun, and they used to call this disc Zardash. The name Zarathustra has the same origin; the word simply meant the gold disc. In Hindu temples and Buddhist temples around the image of different Avatars there is this sign of the sun, and this symbol was used both in the East and in the West in turbans and hats. There are now people in India who put on their turbans a brass band which represents the sun.

A deeper study of the sun suggests the four directions of lines that are formed round the sun. It is this sign that is the origin of the symbol of the cross. The ancient traditions prove that the idea of the cross existed in the East long before the coming of Christ, especially among the Brahmans. It is from this sign that the two sacred arms were made, Chakra and Trishula. Islam, the religion which allows no symbolism, has in the building of the mosques the same symbolism of the sun. Whether the name of the sun be written in Persian or in Arabic, it makes the form of the mosque.

Man, as is his nature, has blamed the sun worshippers and mocked at them, but he has never been able to uproot the charm, the attraction for human souls held by the sun.

1.3, The Symbol of the Cross

The symbol of the cross has many significations. It is said in the Bible, first was the word and then came light and then the world was created; and as the light is expressed in the form of the cross so every form shows in it the original sign. Every artist knows the value of the vertical line and the horizontal line, which form the skeleton of every form. This is proved by the teaching of the Qur'an, where it is said that God created the world from His own light. The cross is the figure that fits to every form everywhere.

Morally, the cross signifies pain or torture. That means that in every activity of life, which may be pictured as a perpendicular line, there comes obstruction, which the horizontal line represents. This shows the picture of life, and that, as it is said, man proposes and God disposes.

Somebody asked the great Master Ali what made him believe in God, Who is beyond human comprehension. Ali said, "I believe in God therefore that I see that when I alone wish, things are not accomplished."

According to the metaphysical point of view this shows the picture of limitation in life.

The symbol of the cross in its connection with the life of Christ not only relates to the crucifixion of the Master but signifies the crucifixion that one has to meet with by possessing the truth. The idea of the Hindu philosophy is that life in the world is an illusion and therefore every experience in this life and knowledge in this life are also illusions. The Sanskrit word for this illusion is Maya; it is also called Mithy, from which the word myth comes.

When the soul begins to see the truth it is, so to say, born again, and to this soul all that appears true to an average person appears false, and what seems truth to this soul is nothing to an average person. All that seems to an average person important and precious in life has no value nor importance for this soul, and what seems to this soul important and valuable has no importance nor value for an average person. Therefore such a one naturally hides himself in a crowd which lives in a world quite different from that in which he lives.

Imagine living in a world where nobody uses your language! Yet he can live in the world for he knows its language. And yet to him life in the world is as unprofitable as to a grown-up person the world of children playing with their toys.

A human being who has realized the truth is subject to all pains and torture in the same way as all other persons, except that he is capable of bearing them better than the others. But at the same time when, while in the crowd, everyone hits the other and also receives blows, the knower of truth has to stand alone and receive them only; this is in itself a great torture. The life in the world is difficult for every person, rich or poor, strong or weak, but for the knower of truth it is still more difficult than for others, and that in itself is a cross. Therefore for a spiritual Messenger the cross is a natural emblem, to explain his moral condition.

But there is a still higher significance of the cross which is understood by the mystic. This significance is what is called self-denial, and, in order to teach this moral, gentleness, humility and modesty are taught as a first lesson. Self-denial is an effect of which self-effacement is the cause. This is self-denial, that a man says, "I am not, Thou art"; or that an artist, looking at his picture, says, "It is Thy work, not mine"; or that a musician, hearing his composition, says, "It is Thy creation, I do not exist." That soul then is in a way crucified, and through that crucifixion resurrection comes. There is not the slightest doubt that when man has had enough pain in his life he rises to this great consciousness. But it is not necessary that only pain should be the means. It is the readiness on the part of man to efface his part of consciousness and to efface his own personality which lifts the veil that hides the spirit of God from the view of man.

1.4, The Two Forces

The Egyptian symbolism is the most ancient, and for the most part the symbolism of other nations originates from the Egyptian. The Egyptian symbol of wings with a center of circular shape and at the sides two snakes looking right and left is known to many as Karobi.

The word really means "spirit" or "angel."
This symbol represents the spirit and the power of the spirit, which differs in the two directions, the right and the left.
The heads of the two snakes show the direction of life and energy to either side,
and the central circular sign represents the light itself, the spirit,
and the wings on both sides represent three aspects of the power of the spirit.
One aspect of the spirit is sound, another is color, and the third is external action.
This symbol suggests that the spirit is not only a light in the center, but a light directed to the right and to the left, and that it shines out according to the degree of illumination.
The light of the spirit is in either direction a peculiar force.
The symbol also suggests that in either direction the sound, color, and activity change, according to the direction.

In the Hindu Vedas these two different forces are called Ida and Pingala. The Sufi names these two forces Jelal and Jemal.

The great Yogis have experienced the mystery of life by the study of these forces. The central point is called by the Sufi Kemal, in the Vedas this is called Shushumna.

It is difficult to picture the finer forms of nature, and as it has been the custom to picture the light in the face of the sage as the aura, so these two forces are pictured as wings, and not as rays or otherwise. As the body has hands, so the hands of the spirit can only be pictured as wings. Besides this, man, who without illumination is an earthly creature, after illumination becomes a heavenly creature.

The idea of the mystic about these two forces is expressed in calling one the sun-force and the other the moon-force. The mystic pictures them as seated in the two parts of the body, the right and the left. He names also the two nostrils by the same names. By some, the right direction of this force is pictured as male, the left as the female direction.

The serpent has been considered a sacred symbol because it is pictured as representing many secrets of mysticism. The Yogis have learned a great deal from the serpent, as there is a hint in the Bible, "Be ye wise as the serpent and innocent as the dove."

This sign shows that man is self-sufficient in his spirit, though incomplete in his body; that in every spirit there is both woman and man. It is the direction of the force of the spirit which makes the male and the female aspect. The central point represents the spirit, and the spirit represents God. As spirit is both male and female, so it is beyond both. It is limitation that turns one into two, but when man rises above limitation he finds that two become one.

So this symbol reminds man of the power of the spirit, that man may know that he is not only a material body, but that he is a spirit himself, and that man may know that spirit is not an inactive torch of life, but that spirit is full of activity, more than the body is. It also represents that man is not only an earthly creature, but that he also belongs to heaven. This symbol suggests that nothing earthly should frighten or worry man, for he may rise above the earth.

1.5, The Symbol of the Dove

The bird represents the wayfarer of the sky, and at the same time it represents a being who belongs to the earth and is capable of dwelling in the skies. The former explanation of the bird represents the idea of a soul whose dwelling-place is in heaven, and the latter that of the dweller on earth being capable of moving about in the higher spheres, and both these explanations give the idea that the spiritual man, dwelling on the earth, is from heaven; they explain also that the spiritual man is the inhabitant of the heavens and is dwelling on earth for a while.

The pigeon was used as a messenger, to carry a message from one place to another, and therefore the symbol of the dove is a natural one to represent the Messenger from above. Spiritual bliss is such an experience that if a bird or an animal were to have it, it would never return to its own kind. But it is a credit due to man that after touching that point of great happiness and bliss, he comes into the world of sorrows and disappointments and delivers his message. This quality can be seen in the pigeon also; when the pigeon is sent it goes, but it comes back faithfully to the master who sent it. The spiritual man performs this duty doubly: He reaches higher than the human plane, touches the divine plane, and brings the message from the divine to the human plane.

In this way, instead of remaining on the divine plane, he arrives among his fellow-men, for their welfare, which is no small sacrifice. But then again he performs a duty to God, from Whom he brings His message that he delivers to the human beings. He lives as a human being, subject to love, hate, praise and blame, passes his life in the world of attachment and the life that binds with a thousand ties from all sides. Yet he does not forget the place from where he has come, and he constantly and eagerly looks forward to reach the place for which he is bound. Therefore in both these journeys, from earth to heaven and from heaven to earth, the idea of the dove proves to be more appropriate than any other idea in the world.

1.6, The Symbol of the Sufi Order

The symbol of the Order is a heart with wings. It explains that the heart is between soul and body, a medium between spirit and matter. When the soul is covered by its love for matter it is naturally attracted to matter. This is the law of gravitation in abstract form, as it is said in the Bible, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." When man treasures the things of the earth his heart is drawn to the earth. But the heart is subject not only to gravitation, but also to attraction from on high, and as in the Egyptian symbology wings are considered as the symbol of spiritual progress, the heart with wings expresses that the heart reaches upward towards heaven.

Then the crescent in the heart suggests the responsiveness of the heart. The crescent represents the responsiveness of the crescent to the light of the sun, for naturally it receives the light, which develops it until it becomes the full moon. The principal teaching of Sufism is that of learning to become a pupil. For it is the pupil who has a chance of becoming a teacher; once a person considers that he is a teacher his responsiveness is gone. The greatest teachers of the world have been the greatest pupils. And it is this principle which is represented by the crescent. The crescent in the heart represents that the heart responsive to the light of God is illuminated.

The explanation of the five-pointed star is that it represents the divine light. For when the light comes it has five points, when it returns it has four, the one form suggesting creation, the other annihilation. The five-pointed star also represents the natural figure of man, whereas that with four points represents all forms of the world. But the form with five points is a development of the four-pointed form. For instance if a man is standing with his legs joined and arms extended he makes a four-pointed form, but when man shows activity -- dancing, jumping -- or he moves one leg, he forms a five-pointed star, which represents a beginning activity, in other words a beginning of life.

It is the divine light which is represented by the five-pointed star, and the star is reflected in the heart which is responsive to the divine light. And the heart which has by its response received the light of God is liberated, as the wings show. Therefore this sentence will explain in short the meaning of the symbol: The heart responsive to the light of God is liberated.

1.7, Symbology of the Dot and the Circle

The dot is the most important of all figures, for every figure is an extension of the dot and the dot is the source of every figure. You cannot let a pen touch paper without making a dot first of all. It is simply the extension of the dot in two directions which is called a horizontal and a perpendicular line. And again, it is the dot which determines sides; if it were not for the dot the sides, as above, or below, or right, or left, could not be determined. The origin of all things and beings may be pictured as a dot. This dot is called in Sanskrit Bindu, the origin and source of the whole being. Since the dot is the source of the perpendicular and the horizontal lines it is the source of all figures and characters of all languages that exist and have existed, as doubtless it is the source of all forms of nature. The principal thing in man's figure is his eye, and in the eye the iris, and in the iris the pupil, which signifies the dot.

At the same time the dot means zero, meaning nothing. It is nothing and it is everything, and the dot expresses the symbol of nothing being everything and everything being nothing. Amir, the Indian poet, expresses this idea in his well-known verse. He says, "If thou wilt come to thy senses by becoming selfless, free from life's intoxication, thou wilt realize that what seems to thee non-existent is all-existing, and what seems to thee existent does not exist." How true it is that in ordinary life we look at reality upside-down; what exists seems to us non-existent, what does not exist in reality, but only seems to exist, that alone we consider existent.

The dot develops into the circle, which shows the picture of this seemingly non-existent developing into all-existing. The iris of the eye is the development of the dot which is called the pupil. A dot added to one makes one ten, and with two dots the one becomes a hundred, and this shows that man is small when he is unconscious of God; when the knowledge of God, Who is the source of the whole being, although non-existent to the ignorant eye, is added to man, he becomes ten, or a hundred, or a thousand. As the dot enriches the figure so God enriches man; as all figures come from the dot so all things and beings come from God; and as destruction must in time break all things into dots so all things must return to God.

1.8, Symbolism of Lines --

The Upright Line

The upright line suggests the One, therefore also the one is represented by an upright line.
The upright line suggests heaven, or the world above, its extremity being upward.
The upright line is perfection.
Through all forms life has culminated in the end in the human form, which is upright.
The upright line also suggests straightforwardness, for it is straight upward.
The upright line also suggests firmness, for it is steady.
The upright line also suggests life, for it stands.
The upward line also suggests rising, for it goes upward.
The upward line also suggests unity, as it shows oneness and the oneness of the whole, all being one.
The upright line is the form of Alif, the Arabic A, and the name Allah in Arabic writing begins with Alif.

The upright line is the first line, and all forms and figures are nothing but the change of direction of that line, and as all is made by God and of God so by the upright line and of the upright line all forms are formed.

The Vertical Line and the Horizontal Line

The messenger is pictured symbolically as a Cupid. He is meant to guide the longing soul toward its Divine Beloved, and this part of his work is symbolized as the vertical line. He is also used by Providence to bring together two souls in light who are seeking each other through darkness, some knowing and some not knowing what they are seeking after, which is represented by the horizontal line.

The horizontal line and the vertical line together make a complete cross, which is the sign of Kemal, perfection.

The vertical line is the sign of God, and the horizontal line is the world.
The vertical line represents heaven, the horizontal line earth.
The horizontal line represents this world, the vertical line that world, the next world.
The vertical line conveys the meaning Yes, the horizontal line the meaning No.
The vertical line denotes life, the horizontal line death.
The vertical line represents strength, the horizontal line powerlessness.
The vertical line spirit, the horizontal line matter.
The vertical line the masculine, the horizontal line the feminine.
The vertical line the sun, the horizontal line the moon.
The vertical line the day, the horizontal line the night.
The vertical line the positive, the horizontal line the negative.
The vertical line power, the horizontal line beauty.
The vertical line God, the horizontal line man.

1.9, The Symbolism of the Triangle

The triangle represents the beginning, the continuation and the end. The triangle is the sign of life which has appeared in three forms, of which the idea of the Trinity is symbolical. The idea of these three aspects of life has existed for a very long time among Hindus, who named it Trimurti. As in the Christian church the Trinity consists of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, so among Hindus the Trimurti consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer and Mahesh or Shiva the Destroyer. By the word "Destroyer", destruction is not meant, but change.

The triangle in all its forms is the basic outline of all form that exists in the world. The triangle has a horizontal line in it and a perpendicular line, and two triangles can very well form a square. The hand, the head, the leg, the palm, the foot all show in their form the triangle as the principal outline. In the leaf, fruit, tree or mountain the triangle is the outline.

The triangle is the riddle which has within it the secret of this life of variety. But for these three different aspects, which stand opposite each other, man would not be able to enjoy life; at the same time it is these three aspects again which are the cause of all the illusion; and if the riddle of the idea of trinity has been solved and out of trinity unity has become manifest, then the purpose of this idea of trinity is fulfilled.

One can understand this by realizing the truth that it is not three that are one but one that is three. The beginning and end of all things is one, it is the repetition of one which makes two and it is this division which produces three. In this riddle of the ideal of Trinity lies the secret of the whole life.

The three aspects in which life has manifested and of which the triangle is the symbol are the knower, the known and the knowing faculty -- the seer, the seen, and the faculty of seeing.

1.10, Symbology of the Mushroom

The Chinese philosopher is symbolically depicted holding a mushroom stem in his hand. The mushroom represents the earth and what comes from it and what is close to it, and keeping it in the hand means spirit handling or controlling matter.

At the same time it suggests a moral, that the sign of the sage is to be as tender, as refined, as meek, as humble as a mushroom. It teaches the same moral that Christ taught, "If one smite you on one cheek, turn the other cheek." If one strikes on the rock one's own hand will be hurt, but one will not have the same experience by striking the mushroom.

It also teaches the philosophy that all the produce of this earth, however precious, is in the spiritual sense no more than a mushroom, which is subject to destruction every moment.

It also teaches the idea of being in life as free and independent as a mushroom, which needs no special care and demands no great attention from others. If anyone will use it, it is ready to be used; if anyone will throw it away, ready to be thrown away without causing great loss.

It also suggests a mystical point: While all other plants and trees respond to the wind and storm and make a noise, the mushroom stands still without uttering one sound. When the body and mind of the mystic are trained to the stillness of the mushroom through all storms and winds of life, then the mystic achieves perfection.

2.1, "Die Before Death"

There is a symbolical picture known in the philosophical world of China that represents a sage with one shoe in his hand and one on his foot. It signifies the hereafter, that the change that death brings is to a wise man only the taking off of one shoe. The body of the philosopher in the picture represents his soul, or his person; the one shoe still on his foot represents his mind, which exists after death; and the withdrawal of the soul from the body is like taking one foot out of the shoe. For the mystic, therefore, the physical body is something he can easily dispense with, and to arrive at this realization is the object of wisdom. When, by philosophical understanding of life, he begins to realize his soul, then he begins to stand, so to speak, on his own feet; he is then himself and the body is to him only a cover.

The teaching of the Prophet is to die before death, which means to realize in one's lifetime what death means. This realization takes away all the fear there is. By the symbol of the shoe is shown also the nothingness of the material existence, or the smallness of the physical being, in comparison with the greatness of the soul, or the spirit. Hafiz says in Persian verse, "Those who realize Thee are kings of life," which means that the true kingdom of life is in the realization of the soul. The idea that one must wait until one's turn will come after many incarnations keeps one far away from the desired goal.

The man who is impatient to arrive at spiritual realization is to be envied. As Omar Khayyam says, "Tomorrow? Why, tomorrow I may be myself with yesterday's seven thousand years." He means by this, "Don't bother about the past, don't trouble about the future, but accomplish all you can just now." Life has taken time enough to develop gradually from mineral to vegetable, from vegetable to animal, and from animal to man, and after becoming man delay is not necessary. It is true that the whole lifetime is not sufficient for one to become what one wishes to be. Still nothing is impossible, since the soul of man is from the spirit of God; and if God can do all things why cannot man do something?

2.2, Fruitfulness

There is a Chinese symbol of philosophers carrying on their shoulders peaches, which means that the object of life is to be fruitful. However good or spiritual a person may be, yet, if his life is not fruit-giving, he has not fulfilled the purpose of life. A person whose life becomes fruitful does not only bear fruit to others, but every aspect of life bears fruit to him as well; for him life becomes a fruit. If life were only for what people call goodness, life would be very uninteresting. For goodness is dependent for its beauty on badness. As a form cannot exist without a shadow so goodness cannot be without badness.

If life were for spirituality alone, the soul had better not have been born on earth, for the soul in its nature is spiritual. The whole creation is purposed for something greater than goodness or even spirituality, and that is fruitfulness. Goodness and spirituality are the means, not the goal. If there is any goal, it is fruitfulness. Therefore it is the object of life which the symbol of peaches represents.

Fruitfulness has three aspects. The first aspect is when man benefits from his own life; the next aspect is when man benefits from the life outside himself; and the third aspect is when man is a benefit to himself and to the life outside, and the life outside is a benefit to him. That is the moment of the fruitfulness of life. It takes all the patience one has to arrive at this realization, but it is for this realization that God created the world, that man may enjoy fruitfulness therein. It is the absence of faith and lack of patience which deprive man of this bliss; if not, every soul is purposed for this.

For instance, when a musician begins to enjoy his own music, that is the first stage; when he enjoys the music of others, that is the second stage of realization; but when man enjoys his own music and makes others enjoy too, then his life has become fruitful. There is a great treasure of blessing within oneself and there is a vast treasure of blessing outside oneself, and when one has become able to find out the treasure one has within oneself and to exploit the treasure which is outside oneself, and when there is an exchange between his own treasure, and the treasure outside, then his life has borne the fruit for which his soul was born. There comes a time in the life of the fruitful souls when every moment of their life bears a new fruit, just like a plant which bears fruit at all times of the year.

2.3, The Symbol of the Dragon

The best-known symbolical figure of China is the dragon. The dragon represents life and death both; life in the sense of eternal life, death in the sense of a change from mortality to eternity. Very often a Chinese dragon has an appearance of a tiger, of a seal, its body that of a snake, together with wings of the birds and the paws of the carnivorous animals, also some appearance of man -- which means that life is one but it is manifest in many forms, that life lives on life and so hungers for life. The dragon suggests mortality standing by one's side, awaiting its hour every moment of our life, and yet man is unaware of it, building castles in the air, depending upon the life of this mortal world.

The dragon also suggests that there is an obstacle on the way to eternity and that obstacle is death, and that can be avoided by conquering the dragon. The dragon is also a picture of man's selfish ego, which is not only the enemy of others, but which makes man his own enemy. The dragon signifies the lower nature, and the conquering of the lower nature is the killing of the dragon, of which St. George also is the symbol. The dragon is a sign of material power, which has its transitory reign over things and beings; and often power can govern or cause difficulty even to spiritual beings, for the reason that even spiritual beings have matter which makes their being and which is dependent for its life and comfort on things of this earth. But all stories of dragons prove the dragon to be a failure in the end and the spirit alone conqueror over it. In Chinese art this symbol is kept to the fore, for this one symbol suggests and touches many things.

2.4, Water

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.
But one may ask, "Is the spirit hidden under matter as the soul in the body?" I will answer, "So the water stays beneath the earth." There is no place where water does not exist, [although] there are places where earth is not to be found. So there is nowhere in space where spirit is absent; only the absence of matter is possible.

The symbolic way of expressing high ideas does not come from the brain, it is an outcome of intuition. The beginning intuition is to understand the symbolical meaning of different things, and the next step is to express things symbolically. It is a divine art in itself, 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.

2.5, Wine

Wine is considered sacred, not only in the Christian faith, but also in many other religions. In the ancient religion of the Zoroastrians, Yima Jamshyd, the bowl of wine "from which Jamshyd drank deep," is a historical event. Among Hindus, Shiva considered wine sacred.

And in Islam, though wine is prohibited when on earth, yet in heaven it is allowed. Hauz ul-Kausar, the sacred Fountain of Heaven, about which there is so much spoken in Islam, is a fountain of wine. Although the bowl that was given to the Prophet in the Miraj, the authorities of Islam say, was filled with milk, yet I doubt it. I should not be surprised if it were not the invention of the authorities, to keep the faithful followers away from wine. For it is natural that the followers should like to begin drinking the wine on earth, which the Prophet drank in heaven.

Wine is symbolical of the soul's evolution. Wine comes from the annihilation of grapes, immortality comes from the annihilation of self. The bowl of poison which is known in many mystical cults suggests also the idea of wine, but not a sweet wine, a bitter wine. When the self turns into something different from what it was before, it is like the soul being born again. This is seen in the grape turning into wine. The grape, by turning into wine, lives; as a grape it would have vanished in time.

Only, by turning into wine, the grape loses its individuality, and yet not its life. The self-same grape lives as wine, and the longer it lives the better the wine becomes. For a Sufi, therefore, the true sacrament is the turning of one's own grape-like personality, which has a limited time to live, into wine, that nothing of one's self may be lost but, on the contrary, amplified, even perfected. This is the essence of all philosophy and the secret of mysticism.

2.6, The Curl of the Beloved

In the Sufi literature, which is known to the world as the Persian literature, there is much talk about the "curls of the Beloved," and many have often wondered what it means. The curl is a symbol of something which is curved and round. The curve denotes the twist in the thought of wisdom. Very often a straight word of truth hits upon the head harder than a hammer. That shows that truth alone is not sufficient, the truth must be made into wisdom. And what is wisdom? Wisdom is the twisted truth. As raw food cannot be digested, and therefore it is cooked, although raw food is more natural than cooked food, so the straight truth is more natural, but is not digestible, it needs to be made into wisdom.

And why is it called the Beloved's curl? Because truth is of God, the Divine Beloved, and truth is God, and that twist given to His Own Being, which is truth, amplifies the divine beauty, as the curl is considered to be the sign of beauty. Then what is not straight is a puzzle. So wisdom is a puzzle to the ordinary mind. Besides, the curl hangs low down; so the heavenly beauty which is wisdom is manifested on earth. In other words, if someone wishes to see the beauty of the heavenly Beloved he may see it in wisdom.

Wisdom is traced not only in the human being, but even in the beasts and birds, in their affection, in their instinct. Very often it is most difficult for man to imitate fully the work which birds do in weaving their nests. Even the insects do wonderful work in preparing a little abode for themselves which is beyond man's art and skill. Besides this, if one studies nature, after keen observation and some contemplation upon it one will find that there is perfect wisdom behind it. Once man has thought on the subject, he can never, however materialistic he may be, deny the existence of God. Man's individuality is proved by his wisdom and distinguished by comparison. The wisdom of God, being perfect, is unintelligible to man. The glass of water cannot imagine how much water there is in the sea. If man would realize his limitation he would never dare question the existence of God.

The symbol of the curl also signifies something which is there, attractive, and yet a puzzle, a riddle. One loves it, admires it, and yet one cannot fathom its length and breadth. It is that which is wisdom. Its surface is human, but its depth is divine. It could be hell or heaven, and the knowledge of it can enable man always to keep in touch with his heaven, instead of waiting for it till the hereafter.

2.7, The Glance

The Persian poets, in the Sufi literature, very often speak of the glance. And their symbolical expression for the glance is, very often, a sword, and it is called a sword for various reasons. In the first place the glance has a projecting effect. An intelligent glance has a crossways movement, like that of a sword. But besides this, from a psychological point of view a keen glance sees through an object, as though a thing had been cut open by the sword and manifested to view. The glance is a power, very little is known about it. The power of the glance can hold lions at bay. Therefore also it is symbolized as a sword. The glance of a brave person is very often more powerful than a sword, for the will-power works through the glance.

Besides its precious work, which makes the eye superior to every other organ of the body, it is the expression of the beauty of body, mind and soul. Sufis, therefore, symbolize the eye by a cup of wine; through the eyes the secret hidden in man's heart is reflected into the heart of another. However much a person may try to conceal his secret, yet the reader can read it in his eyes, and can read there his pleasure, his displeasure, his joy, his sorrow. A seer can see still farther. The seer can see the actual condition of man's soul through his eyes, his grade of evolution, his attitude in life, his outlook on life, and his condition, both hidden and manifest.

Besides, to the passive soul of a disciple, knowledge, ecstasy, spiritual joy, and divine peace, all are given through the glance. One sees in everyday life that a person who is laughing in his mind with his lips closed can express his laughter through his glance, and the one who receives the glance at once catches the infectious mirth. Often the same happens through looking in the eyes of the sorrowful, in a moment one becomes filled with depression. And those whose secret is God, whose contemplation is the perfection of beauty, whose joy is endless in the realization of everlasting life, from whose heart the spring of love is ever flowing, it is most appropriate that their glance should be called, symbolically, the Bowl of Saqi, the Bowl of the Wine-Giver."

2.8 The Myth of Balder

The Scandinavian myth tells that Balder, the god of youth, beauty, kindness and gentleness, was pursued by enemies who wanted to kill him. For his protection a spell had been cast upon all the trees of the forest and every plant that has a root in the ground and grows upward to heaven, that no weapon wrought from any of them should have power to harm him. But in this charm, the mistletoe had been forgotten, which has no root in the ground, and from its wood an arrow was made, with which Balder was hit and wounded to death.

Its interpretation is an answer to the question which often arises in an intelligent mind. "Why were godlike people treated cruelly, continually, through all periods of the world's history, and how could any person in the world think of causing harm to those who attracted the sympathy of almost every soul they met on the earth?" Their adherents spread their teachings and the beauty of their life and character among all, wise and foolish, kind and cruel. They all became more or less impressed by what they learned of the godly souls, even those whose soul had not yet risen to human evolution, who only live like trees and plants, living and yet dreaming, unaware of life, except their own activity.

But the one who could not be impressed by this spell, whom, even had the spell been cast upon him, it could not have reached, and had it reached only with great difficulty, is the godless, who is like the mistletoe, living without any root. The mourning for this is continued, in memory of the death of that god. In reality it is celebrating the birth of what was born from him, it was divine knowledge.

2.9 The Tree of Wishes

There is an old Hindu belief, found in the ancient myths of India, that there is a tree which they call Kamana Kalpavriksha, a tree that bears all fruits that one can imagine, and if a person is under that tree he has but to wish for what he would like, and in the same moment all fruits, all flowers, everything he can imagine, he will find brought forth by the tree as its fruits; he has but to wish and it will fall into his hands. If it is within one's reach one has to raise one's hand to pluck the flower or fruit of that tree; if it is beyond one's reach one has only to wish and the branch will reach one's hand, that one may pick it without any effort.

And there is a story about that tree, that a wanderer, while journeying in deserts, by chance happened to sleep under that tree. And when, after a good sleep, he opened his eyes and looked up at that tree, he thought, I suppose it must be a pear tree." No sooner had he thought that than two good ripe pears dropped near him. While lying there he picked them up. "Oh," he said, "what a wonderful tree! If it were a grape tree, what a splendid thing it would be!"

As soon as he said it, the tree seemed full of grapes, and before he raised his hands, the branches bent low and, without any effort, he was able to pick the grapes. But when he thought, "What a wonderful tree!," he wondered if the tree would yield some roses. And no sooner had he given a thought to it than the whole tree seemed to blossom into roses. This man became so surprised, so amazed and perplexed at this magical tree that he wondered if it was true or if it was only a dream. As soon as he thought of a dream and he looked up at the tree, the tree vanished in a moment.

There cannot be a better example to demonstrate the idea behind the symbolical tree than this story. For this tree is this whole universe, the miniature of which is one's own self, and there is nothing that you ask that this universe will not answer, for it is the nature of the universe to answer your soul's call. Only, if you ask for the pears, there are pears, if one asked for a cactus, there is a cactus, if you ask for the rose there will be the rose and its thorns together. And it is the lack of knowledge of this great secret hidden in the heart of the universe which is the only tragedy of life. When a person seeks for something in the universe and he cannot find it, it is not true that it is not there, the fact is that he does not see it.

Besides, he sees something within his reach, he sees something which he desires, and yet he thinks whether it is possible for him to get it or whether it is beyond the reach of his effort and power. And at the same time the end of the story solves the whole question of life, and that is, it is all there and nothing is there. If we think it is everything, it is everything, but if we realize that it is nothing, it is nothing. It is something of which you may say that it is and it is not. However, beyond all things of this universe, above all things that this life can offer, there is only one thing and that is God. And what is God? God is truth.

2.10 The Hindu Symbolical Form of Worship

Puja is the name of the Hindu form of worship, which is from the beginning to the end a symbolical expression of what the seeker has to perform in the path of spiritual attainment. After bathing in the running stream of water, which the Hindu calls the Ganges (whatever be the name of the river he at that time believes that it is the Ganges, the sacred river), he proceeds with flowers to the shrine of the deity. He puts on to the deity the flowers, and repeats the mantrams, and stands greeting the deity with folded hands, and prostrates himself before the deity. Then he rings the bell and repeats the sacred word. Then he takes rice in his hands and puts it at the feet of the deity.

Then the red powder, Kumkum, he touches with the tip of his finger and makes a mark with it on the shrine of the deity and then on his own forehead. Then he touches the ointment with the tip of his finger and, after touching the deity, he touches his forehead with the ointment. He then prostrates himself and makes three circles around the shrine. Then he rings the bell, and thus the service is finished. Afterwards he goes and stands before the sun and does his breathing exercises while adhering to the sun, and that completes the next part of his worship.

However primitive this form of worship, at the back of it there seems to be a great meaning. The meaning of the bath in the Ganges is to become purified before one makes any effort of journeying on the spiritual path.

The purification of the body and of the mind both are necessary before one takes the first step towards the God-ideal. One must not approach the deity before such purification, the outer purification as well as the inner purification, for then alone, when once a person is pure, he will find it easy to attain the desired presence. The meaning of the flowers which he takes is that God is pleased with the offerings which are delicate, beautiful and fragrant. Delicate means tenderness of heart, beautiful in color is fineness of character, fragrance is the virtue of the soul. This is the offering with which God is pleased. He stands with the thought that his self is devoted in perfect discipline to the supreme will of God. His hands folded express no action on the part of himself, but complete surrender.

The meaning of prostration is self-denial in the right sense of the word, which means, "I am not -- Thou art"; whispering the words and ringing the bell is that the same word is rung in the bell of one's heart. His touching the red powder means touching the eternal life and when he touches the deity with that powder it means that from this source he is to gain eternal life. When he touches his forehead with it, it means he has gained it for himself. And the ointment means wisdom, and the touching of the God with it and then to his forehead means that true wisdom can be obtained from God alone, and touching his own head with it means that he has gained it. Then making three circles around the shrine is the sign that life is a journey and that journey is made to attain his goal which is God, that "Every step I take in my life," the Brahman thinks, "will be in His direction, in the search of God." In the second part of the service when he stands before the sun, by that he means that God is to be sought in the light. And by the breathing exercises he welds that link of inner communication between God and himself.

Questions and Answers

Q: Do the Vaishnavas and Shiva-followers and the worshippers of all the different deities worship in the same way?
A: It is almost the same. There may be little differences; not much. Just some differences which will perhaps distinguish one from the other. But at the same time mostly this is the form.

Q: Have they all the same sacred words and breathing exercises?
A: No, perhaps the words of the Vaishnava (followers of Vishnu) differ from the words the followers of Shiva use. Of course, the meaning is the same. And breathing exercises do not differ much. For the reason that the yoga is one yoga for all the Hindus. There are four different yogas, but one system.

Q: Who gives them the words and breathing exercises? Are the priests Murshids?
A: First of all, a Brahman is a priest by birth; a Brahman is a born priest. Therefore the first lesson he receives is in his own family, of the sacred word. But when he takes an esoteric path, at that time he needs the guidance of a Murshid. What the Brahman calls a Guru. And it may be the same word perhaps which he has learned from his parents. Still when that word is given by the Guru, that has a different value again. Perhaps he has repeated that word in his life, but when it is given by the Guru the value of the word is different.

Q: And for the non-Brahman?
A: The manner of their worship is the same. But the worship of the other persons is done by the mediumship of a Brahman, because only a Brahman was entitled to perform the service. Brahmans were the community of priests. And for Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, and Shudras, which are three different castes of the Hindus, the Brahmans had to perform services. The others had no power to perform the service anywhere.

Hindus are all those who live in Ineia. They have to take Brahman as a medium; through Brahman they are entitled to have a service. Brahman is the one who will perform the service; and they will have to stand there and partake in the service.

Q: Do they know the meaning of all the different actions they perform?
A: Not everybody. An advanced Brahman knows it.

Q: Has it not changed the customs of the other classes?
A: Yes, they do prostrate. But going near the deity, and putting the red powder and the ointment, that they do not do. Sometimes they bring for the Brahman the red powder and the oil, and leave it there. But that is Brahman's work to do.

They have many different marks of the caste. But the caste-mark denotes the third eye, the inner sense.

Q: The Catholic Church . . . ?
A: One thing is very admirable in the Hindu religion. It is so very vast in its ways of worship, and in its doctrines and ideal and forms and philosophy, that it gives a scope for a person of every grade of evolution; he has an answer in the religion of the Hindus, whatever grade of evolution he has reached. For every person Hinduism will give an answer, because it is very vast. If a person will try in the philosophical field, he will find an answer; in worship, in symbology. Therefore it is something which answers the demand of every individual's life. If one takes the whole religion of the Hindus, from the beginning to the end, so vast and deep, and yet so simple that it answers the need of every person. Hinduism is not one religion; Hinduism is many religions itself.

Q: Is that the reason that the Jains and Sikhs have so grown?
A: The religion of the Jains is Buddhistic, and of the Sikhs is a modern reform of Hinduism.

Q: Does the ancient . . . ?
A: There is no direction of life which is not expressed.

Q: . . . . A: It is the spiritual effort of the word. At the same time when the Guru gives it, at that time the Guru has charged this word with his own spiritual power. That is the same thing in Sufism.

Q: What is the meaning in the worship of the Brahmans of putting rice at the feet of the deity?
A: That all the love and light that they will gain from the deity, they will spread in the world, as the seeds thrown in the furrow. The name of the red powder symbolizes eternal life.

3.1, Layla and Majnun (1)

The legend of Layla and Majnun is a story which is known throughout the East, and the Sufi poets have used the characters of Layla and Majnun to express, in this symbolical legend, the philosophy of love.

Layla and Majnun, when young, were schoolmates, devoted to one another. Whenever the teacher looked at Majnun's slate there was the picture of Layla drawn upon it. And when the teacher asked Layla to read from the book she repeated the name of Majnun. So, disappointed with the school, the parents had to take them back home. When difficulties arose owing to the caste differences, so that they could not be married to one another according to the caste ideas, in order to make either forget the other, by changing the direction of their minds, someone asked Majnun, "What is there especial in Layla that you love her so much? There are many other maidens in the world." Majnun answered, "In order to see Layla you must borrow Majnun's eyes."

With great difficulty Layla's people consented, on condition that Majnun did not show himself odd in his love, but would behave sensibly. On the day for which the visit had been arranged, for Layla's people to meet Majnun, Majnun entered the room with his parents, who had told him to behave sensibly. It happened that Layla's dog, which Majnun had known for years, came into the room. Majnun could not for one moment hold to his dignity; he bowed at the feet of the dog and kissed its paws, and the visit became a failure.

Disappointed at Majnun's action, his parents took him to the Ka`aba, and told him to pray as they would pray; he said yes. The multitude followed, to see what prayer was going to take place. On hearing the name of Majnun, Majnun's parents first prayed, "God, take away the love of Layla from the heart of Majnun." All the others listened. Then they asked Majnun to come and pray as they did. He said, "Then shall I have Layla if I pray?" They urged him to come and pray. He said, "God, give me Layla." And all present said, "Amen."

When the parents became hopeless, then they let Majnun roam about as he wished. Majnun in the end arrived near Layla's town and stayed outside the town in an old ruin where nobody lived. Being tired he was taking shelter there, under that worn-out roof. Layla, hearing that Majnun was near the town, sent some of her portion of food by a confidential maid, who was to carry it to Majnun. When the maid came and looked in that place for the beloved of Layla there were two persons there, one a person thin and drowsy, the other person rather good looking. The maid thought certainly this person must be the beloved of Layla.

With the basket of food in her hand, she asked this man, "Are you Majnun?" "What is it you have brought?," he asked. She said, "Some food for Majnun." He said, "I am Majnun, give it to me. He was glad to partake of it, and said, "I shall be glad to have it every day." So Layla starved for days, sending her food, and that food was given to this man, who for the time became Majnun. One day Layla asked, "How is my Majnun?" The maid said, "He is looking better every day." Layla said, "It cannot be." The maid said, "Certainly, be sure of it. He is looking better every day." Layla said, "Today you need not take the food; take a knife and a saucer, and tell my Majnun that I need a drop of his blood."

When she came the man came with anxiety, with eagerness to have the dish, but there was a knife. He said, "What is this?" She said, "Layla wants a drop of your blood." He first looked perplexed, then he said, "I am not Majnun; that may be Majnun, he who is sitting in that corner." By that time Majnun had grown so thin; yet when she asked for a drop of blood Majnun tried by striking the knife on different parts of his body, if he could get out a drop of blood to be sent to Layla. "Ah," he said, "there cannot be anything more delightful for Majnun than to give a drop of his blood when it is asked for by Layla."

3.2, Layla and Majnun (2)

The end of the story of Majnun is that he sat a long time under the shade of a tree and he grew in time like the tree; being near the tree his body and the tree became one. And when a woodcutter came and instead of cutting the wood his axe struck Majnun, Majnun said "Layla," for that was the only thought there. Layla, on hearing this, when she had freedom for a moment, was drawn by some way to Majnun at his last moment on the earth, and called him, "Majnun!" He answered, "Layla." She said, "I am Layla." But he said "I am Layla." And so Majnun fell and died, and Layla followed him instantly.

The path of the Sufi is the path of devotion, and therefore Layla and Majnun is the symbol that a Sufi takes for God and man. The soul who journeys in the path of God does not need much learning. What he writes on his slate is the name of God, what he reads in his book is His name. That is the only learning which is most essential in the path of God. And no one can distract the mind of the godly toward anything, however attractive; though he may find not one reason to give for his devotion to God, he can only say, "In order to become the lover of God you must borrow my eyes."

While people think of the differences of their religions and creeds the godly bows before the humblest person, as Majnun to Layla's dog. And when the prayers of different people will be for themselves, the prayer of the godly is only to attain to the presence of God; and therefore, whatever be his religion, his prayer will be followed by every sincere soul. Besides, the path of God and of love both, if sincerely trodden, need sacrifice from beginning to end; and the one who is not ready for sacrifice is like that pretended love of Layla who was ready for the food but was not willing to suffer. Verily who pursueth the world will inherit the world, but the soul that pursueth God will attain in the end to the presence of God.

But to what does the love of God lead? It leads to that peace and stillness which can be seen in the life of the tree, which bears fruit and flowers for others and expects no returns, not even thanks in return. It serves, and cares for nothing else, not even for appreciation. That is the attribute of the godly. And the godly in the end of his attainment of God forgets himself, as Majnun said even to Layla, "I am Layla." And what happens then? Instead of man pursuing God, God follows man.

3.3, Christ Walking on the Water

The phenomenon of Christ's walking on the water, from a mystical point of view, is suggestive of a much greater philosophy than only a phenomenon. The whole universe in all its forms is one single vision of a continual activity. From beginning to end every aspect of life represents motion, and it is the perpetual motion of the whole universe which is called life. Therefore the universe is, so to speak, an ocean of vibrations, and every movement represents a wave.

Therefore the wise have called it, in Sanskrit, Bhava Sagara, the "Ocean of Life," and the great devotees have constantly prayed to be liberated, that they may not sink in this ocean but that they may be able to swim in it, which is called Tarana. And it is the master-spirit that can rise above these waves of the enormous ocean of life, in which generally the souls are drowned. To be in it and to be able to stand above it and to walk on it is the phenomenon of Christ's walking upon the water.

3.4, Shaqq us-Sadr, the Opening of the Breast of the Prophet

There exists a legend in the world of Islam, and some believe that it really did occur -- some say once, and some say it happened more than once -- that the angels from heaven descended on earth and cut open the breast of the Prophet; they took away something that was to be removed from there, and then the breast was made as before. According to the Sufi point of view this is a symbolical legend. It explains what is necessary in the life of man, to allow the plant of divine love to grow in his heart. It is to remove that element which gives the bitter feeling.

Just as there is a poison in the sting of the scorpion, and as there is a poison in the teeth of the snake, so there is poison in the heart of man which is made to be the shrine of God. But God cannot arise in the shrine which is as dead by its own poison; it must be purified first and made real for God to arise. The soul who had to sympathize with the whole world was thus prepared, that the drop of that poison which always produces contempt, resentment and ill-feeling against another, was destroyed first. So many talk about the purification of the heart, and so few really know what it is.

Some say to be pure means to be free from all evil thought, but there is no evil thought. Call it evil or call it devil, if there is any such thought it is the thought of bitterness against another. No one with sense and understanding would like to keep a drop of poison in his body, and how ignorant it is on the part of man when he keeps and cherishes a bitter thought against another in his heart. If a drop of poison can cause the death of the body, it is equal to a thousand deaths when the heart retains the smallest thought of bitterness.

In this legend cutting open of the breast is the cutting open of the ego, which is as a shell over the heart. And taking away that element is that every kind of thought or feeling against anyone in the world was taken away, and the breast, which means the heart, was filled with love alone, which is the real life of God.

3.5, Miraj, the Dream of the Prophet

A story exists in Islam about the dream of the Prophet, a dream which was as an initiation in the higher spheres. Many take it literally and discuss it, and afterwards go out by the same door by which they came in. It is by the point of view of a mystic that one can find out the mystery.

It is said that the Prophet was taken from Jerusalem to the Temple of Peace, which means from the outer temple of peace to the inner temple of peace.

A Buraq [donkey] was brought for the Prophet to ride on.

Jibrail accompanied the Prophet on the journey to guide him.

Buraq is said to be an animal of heaven which has wings, the body of a horse and the face of a human being. It signifies the body together with the mind. The wings represent the mind, and the body of the Buraq represents the human body; the head represents perfection. Also this is the picture of the breath. Breath is the Buraq which reaches from the outer world to the inner world in a moment's time.

Jibrail in this story represents reason.

It is said that the Prophet saw on his way Adam, who smiled looking to one side and shed tears looking to the other side. This shows that the human soul when it develops in itself real human sentiment rejoices at the progress of humanity and sorrows over the degeneration of humanity.

The Buraq could not go beyond a certain point, which means that breath takes one a certain distance in the mystical realization, but there comes a stage when the breath cannot accompany one.

When they arrived near the destination Jibrail also retired, which means that reason cannot go any further than its limit.

Then the Prophet arrived near that curtain which stands between the human and the divine, and called aloud the name of God, saying, "None exists save Thou," and the answer came, "True, true."

That was the final initiation, from which dated the blooming of Mohammed's prophetic message.

3.6, The Flute of Krishna

Krishna is pictured in Hindu symbology with a crown of peacock's feathers, playing the flute. Krishna is the idea of divine love, the god of love. And the divine love expresses itself by entering in man and filling his whole being. Therefore the flute is the human heart, and a heart which is made hollow, which becomes a flute for the god of love to play. When the heart is not empty, in other words when there is no scope in the heart, there is no place for love. Rumi, the great poet of Persia, explains the idea more clearly. He says the pains and sorrows the soul experiences through life are holes made in a reed flute, and it is by making these holes that the player makes out of a reed a flute.

Which means, the heart of man is first a reed, and the suffering and pain it goes through make it a flute, which can then be used by God as the instrument to produce the music that He constantly wishes to produce. But every reed is not a flute, and so every heart is not His instrument. As the reeds need to be made into flutes, so the human heart can be turned into an instrument and can be offered to the God of love. It is the human heart which becomes the harp of the angels, it is the human heart which is the lute of Orpheus. It is on the model of the heart of man that the first instrument of music was made, and no earthly instrument can produce that music which the heart produces, raising the mortal soul to immortality.

The crown of peacock's feathers leads to a further revelation, that it is the music of the heart which can be expressed through the head; it is the knowledge of the head and the love of the heart that express the divine message fully. Peacock's feathers have in all ages been considered as a sign of beauty, as a sign of knowledge; beauty because they are beautiful, knowledge because they are in the form of an eye. It is by keen observation that man acquires knowledge. Knowledge without love is lifeless. So with the flute the crown of peacock's feathers makes the symbol complete.

Questions and Answers (July 20, 1923)

Q: What is the meaning of the peacock feathers?

A: The peacock feathers are considered by the poets and mystics as a symbol (sign) of beauty, and a sign of vanity. And they are included in all the kingly grandeurs. And the peacock is the bird upon which rode the goddess of music and literature, Saraswati. Also the peacock feathers are used at the tombs of the Sufis, by the guardians of the tomb. Also by the healers, that by the pass of the peacock feathers, which is the pass of harmony and beauty, the bad influences may be taken away. Also in India they use peacock feathers in the necklace of a child, and that is a little psychological trick. A child who is susceptible to evil eye is saved from its severe influence, because it is natural that the first glance of a person, instead of falling upon the child, will fall upon the peacock feathers, because it attracts the curiosity of everyone. In that way the first severe glance is, so to speak, shielded by the peacock feathers. And the same thing is done by the lion's nails which are put in the necklace of a little child.

Q: Why can we only have knowledge of God through the heart? What part of the mind does the heart represent?
- A: The heart is the principle center, not the heart in the body, but the heart which is the depth of the mind, for the mind is the surface of the heart.
- The heart and mind are as one tree: the root is the heart and the branches, fruits, flowers, and leaves represent the mind.
- The heart is at the bottom of thought, imagination, and all.
- Feelings always belong to the heart, thought to the mind; so what belongs to the mind can be expressed in words, what to the heart cannot.
- Everything in the mind is intelligible, but what is intelligible but not expressible, or beyond what is intelligible, that is the heart.
- Deeper feelings, mirth, kindness, sympathy, all fine feelings which cannot be expressed in words are all activities of the heart.
- The heart is like the sea, and the waves are its emotions.
- The brain is all over the body, this fact is admitted by modern science; brain is that susceptibility which is sensitive, such as nerves which are the sensitive feelers of the brain.
3.7, Tongues of Fire

The symbolic meaning of the legend -- of the myth -- is that there is a period when the soul of the earnest seeker is seeking; which means that it has not yet found the object it is seeking after. In the lifetime of Jesus Christ the beauty of the Master's wonderful personality and the great intoxication of His presence and the constant outpouring of the Message that He had to give was so much for his disciples that it was beyond what may be called a joy or a happiness or something which is explainable, and all the blessing that they received and experienced during His presence was covered by the Master's personality. And the time of realization of that which they had constantly gained came in their lives after that great change when the external person of the Master ascended and the capacity of realization became open.

But after the resurrection, when they had sufficient time to recover from the feeling that had overtaken their hearts, the seeming separation from their beloved Lord prepared them, so to speak, in time and opened the doors of the heart, giving capacity for that illumination which was constantly pouring out from the Spirit of Guidance, the Alpha and Omega, Who always was and is and will be.

The symbolic interpretation of the tongues of flame rising from their foreheads is the light of the Message, the rays of the Christ-spirit in the form of thoughts, which were expressed in words. There is a stage in the life of the seer when the tongue of flame becomes not only an interpretation of the reality but a reality, his own experience. The head is the center of knowledge and when the center opens, the light, which was covered, becomes manifest, not only in idea, but even in form.

And the phenomenon that was shown the next day, when the apostles spoke all different languages, can be rightly interpreted in this sense, that every soul hears its own language. For every soul has its own word, as every soul has its peculiar illusion. And it is therefore that one person cannot understand another person in this world, and it becomes more than a miracle when one friend, perhaps one person in the world, can understand one fully. Which means, in this world the language of each one is not understood by another, and if someone understands a little one feels at-one-ment with that one.

It was the illumination of the Christ-spirit which brought exaltation in their lives, so that they began to see in every soul the Master and they became at one with every soul, inspired by sympathy and love of Christ. And they understood the souls as they saw them, and so they spoke with souls whose language was never understood. Plainly speaking, they heard the cry of every soul and they answered every soul's cry.

The Message means the answer to the cry of every soul. Every great prophet or teacher had in his life many followers attracted to his personality, to his kindness and love; but those who became as the instrument of his Message, whose hearts became as a flute for the Master to play his music, have always been some chosen few, as the twelve apostles of Christ.

3.8, The Story of Lot's Wife

The ancient method of giving the mystery of life was to give it in the form of a legend. The legend of Lot's wife is that it was to Abraham that Lot was related, and it was by the love and help of Abraham that the two angels were sent to Lot, to warn him of the coming destruction of two cities and to advise him to go to the mountains. And Lot was not willing to leave the cities, but in the end he agreed to. His sons-in-law failed him by not accompanying him, but his wife and his two daughters accompanied him on the journey to the mountains. And they were told that his wife must not look back; and when she did, she was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters remained, and they reached the cave of the mountain, which was Lot's destination.

The two towns that were to be destroyed represent the North Pole and the South Pole, the two poles of the world. For all the treasures of the earth, all possessions and power and fame that belong to the earth are subject to destruction. And that was taught to Lot, the human soul, who was the relation of Abraham -- the human soul which is from Brahma, the Creator. The relationship of Lot with Abraham represents the relation of the human soul to the Creator. The two angels were the angels of light and of reason. When the light comes to man its first teaching is to warn the soul of the disaster that awaits all that is subject to death and destruction. It is this lesson that is called in Sanskrit the lesson of Vairagya -- when man's eyes open to see all that he loves and likes and wishes to hold and possess is subject to destruction and death.

There are five bodies considered by the mystics of old to be the vehicles of the soul, which are called:
- Anandamayakosh, body of Joy,
- Vignanamayakosh, body of Wisdom,
- Manamayakosh, body of Mind,
- Pranamayakosh, body of Ether,
- Annamayakosh, body of Earth.
This last is the receptacle of food. It lives on earthly food; and if it is starved of that it dies, for it is made of earth, it lives on earth. Another is the receptacle of ether. That part of man's being lives by breath and by taking in the air. If it is starved of air it cannot live. These two bodies form the material part, the physical part, of man's being. And it is these two receptacles which are termed in the legend the sons-in-law.

Then there is Manamayakosh, which is mind, the mental body. And this body has its action and reaction on both sides; it acts and reacts on the earthly bodies, and it acts and reacts upon the soul. Therefore when Lot left the two cities, which represent the physical plane, to journey toward the goal of immortality, his wife was still with him. For it is not necessary that the mental body should stay behind when the journey towards illumination is begun. It is capable of going with the soul towards eternity. And yet its attachment to earth and the physical plane is great, because it is made, it is built, of physical impressions, of all impressions that come from the physical world; and of necessity it wants to turn to see if the physical being or the spiritual being is leading it aright.

The principal nature of mind is doubt, whether one is doing right or wrong. And doubt and faith are enemies. While faith leads to the destination, doubt pulls back. When the mind was so pulled back, attracted by all the impressions of earthly life, it could neither take hold of the earth nor journey with the spirit, and remained, neither earth nor water, but salt. The only two bodies which are close to the soul followed the soul. Naturally they would follow, for they are closely related to the soul, Vignanamayakosh, the body of Wisdom, and Anandamayakosh, the body of Joy.

The soul bound towards the eternal goal -- as it is called, the top of the mountains -- then proceeded towards the mountains. And before they reached the top of the mountains there was the cave, which is called heaven (in metaphysics, "capacity;" in Sanskrit, Akasha) which has the power of holding the soul from going to the top and using the soul for some purpose. And the soul which was bound for the eternal goal remained, so intoxicated by the ecstasy that it received from the plane of joy and the plane of wisdom. And as it ever happens that ecstasy produces purpose, so this joy resulted in a great purpose, in the birth of the Messenger, which in Sanskrit is called Bodhisattva. The Messenger was born of the soul's experience, the knowledge and the happiness, to bring good tidings to the world.

A question may arise, why Manamayakosh should be the mother, and Anandamayakosh and Vignanamayakosh should be the daughters. And the answer is that they are born of mind, born of mind and soul. If there were only the soul there would be neither joy nor wisdom. Mind and soul both produce joy and wisdom. Therefore the latter are the daughters, because mind is the mother. The two lower planes are represented by the sons-in-law because they were not directly born of mind and soul; it was a separate substance mind and soul have taken into their life.

By this story the process is taught how the soul can journey from mortality to immortality and what experiences the soul has to have on its way. But when the Messenger is so created then the father, the soul, rests in peace. It is therefore that the Messenger was called the Son and the original soul the Father.

3.9, The Symbology of Religious Ideas

The idea that is meant in the Bible by the words of Christ, "Eat my flesh and drink my blood," is suggestive of the inner being of the Master. It is the eternal life which he meant by his blood, and it is the omnipresent existence which he meant by his flesh. The idea of the Master was to make his disciples know that his physical form that they were attracted to was not his being, his true being was the all-pervading, everlasting life of God; and it is in this meaning that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one.

Christ said to the fishermen, "I will make you fishers of men," which meant, "As you spread the net and the fishes come into it, so by spirituality your personality will spread in the atmosphere, and the hearts of men hungering for love will be attracted to you as fishes."

The love of Christ for the lamb symbolically expresses that to the Master that soul made a greater appeal which was simple and harmless as a lamb.

And the crown of thorns represents tolerance of the thorn-like personalities of which there are so many in the world, constantly pricking their thorns, consciously or unconsciously, and it is this which makes the sensitive annoyed with life in the world. But the teacher, whose heart represents the divine mother and father both, cannot but be tolerant, and can take willingly all the thorns that would come to him, for that is his crown, the sign of his sovereignty in the kingdom of soul.

Christ said to Peter, "Thou wilt deny me three times before the cock crows." It explains human nature. The faith of man is generally dependent upon the faith of the multitude; if the multitude calls the pebble a diamond, then man calls the pebble a diamond, everyone will begin to consider it and say it. And if the multitude thought that the diamond was a pebble then everyone would follow the belief of the multitude.

The soul of the Messenger, that comes from above (which the dove represents), which is not made by the world nor known by the world, remains unrecognized till the cock crows and the sun rises.

His words shine and spread the light to the world; and the souls privileged with some little recognition, but with a great deal of doubt, may believe for a moment, impressed by the power and grace of the Master's personality, and yet may deny a thousand times, and doubt and suspect, being impressed by the influence of the multitude.

How true it is, the saying in Hindustani that, "Generally a soul follows the multitude."

There are rare souls who believe in their conviction, and remain steady even if it were that the whole world was against their own inner conviction.

Verily, to the faithful belongs every blessing.

3.10, The Ten Virgins

There is a story in the Bible about ten virgins, the five wise virgins and the five foolish. It was said that the bridegroom was to come and they were to light their lamps; and five were in time and brought the oil and lighted their lamps, and the other five waited until the bridegroom came, and when the bridegroom came then they went to the five who had lighted their lamps and asked of them oil and were refused.

This story is a symbol of receiving the Message of God. By virgin is meant the soul which is awaiting illumination, innocent and responsive to the light; and by five is meant the multitude. And there are two classes of people; one class are those who have prepared themselves and made ready to receive the Message of God, which is pictured as the bridegroom; and the five foolish are that class in mankind who wait and wait until the Message has come and gone. In all ages there have been these two kinds of souls, one kind who are called in the scriptures "believers", the others who are known as "unbelievers".

In every age the prophecy has been by the Messenger of the time as to the next advent. Sometimes it is said, "I will come," and sometimes, "He will come." "I will come," has been told to those who would recognize the same Spirit of Guidance in every coming of the Messenger; "He will come," has been told to those to whom name and form make a difference, and who cannot recognize the same Spirit in another name and another form.

For example, the coming of Jesus Christ was the coming of that Spirit, which was expressed in this myth as the bridegroom, and how few at that time recognized Him and how few received illumination. Only those whose lamps were ready to be lighted. Oil in this parable is love and the light is wisdom. And when their lamps were lighted then so many came afterwards; but that blessing and privilege which had come with the personality of the Master had then gone. They had to take the benefit of the light that came from the lamps of those whose lamps were lighted, but the chance of lighting their own lamps was lost.

The same is with all things in life. Every moment in our lives is an opportunity which brings a benefit and blessing. And the one who knows how to be benefited by it and how to be blessed by it receives the benefit and the blessing. Everyone seems living and awake, but few souls really are living and awake. There are opportunities of benefit and blessing on every plane of one's life, on the physical plane, on the mental plane, on the spiritual plane, and every opportunity is invaluable. But often one realizes the truth when it is too late. There is no greater and better opportunity than the moment that can give a spiritual illumination, a moment when one can receive the blessing of God. It is a priceless moment. Who knows it and understands it and tries to be benefited by it, is blessed.

Vol. 13, Gathas

Symbology

-ALL-

Vol. 13, Gathas

Symbology

1.1, An Ocean in a Drop

1.2, The Symbol of the Sun

1.3, The Symbol of the Cross

1.4, The Two Forces

1.5, The Symbol of the Dove

1.6, The Symbol of the Sufi Order

1.7, Symbology of the Dot and the Circle

1.8, Symbolism of Lines --

The Upright Line

The Vertical Line and the Horizontal Line

1.9, The Symbolism of the Triangle

1.10, Symbology of the Mushroom

2.1, "Die Before Death"

2.2, Fruitfulness

2.3, The Symbol of the Dragon

2.4, Water

2.5, Wine

2.6, The Curl of the Beloved

2.7, The Glance

2.8 The Myth of Balder

2.9 The Tree of Wishes

2.10 The Hindu Symbolical Form of Worship

3.1, Layla and Majnun (1)

3.2, Layla and Majnun (2)

3.3, Christ Walking on the Water

3.4, Shaqq us-Sadr, the Opening of the Breast of the Prophet

3.5, Miraj, the Dream of the Prophet

3.6, The Flute of Krishna

3.7, Tongues of Fire

3.8, The Story of Lot's Wife

3.9, The Symbology of Religious Ideas

3.10, The Ten Virgins