After his explanation of the importance of symbology, Hazrat Inayat Khan now completes his explanation of the symbolic meaning of wine, which began here.

Then there is Manomaya akasha, which is mind, the mental body. And this body has its action and reaction on both aspects of man’s being; it acts and reacts upon 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 towards the goal of immortality, his wife was still with him. For it is not necessary for the mental body to stay behind when the journey towards illumination is begun. It is capable of going with the soul towards eternity. And yet its attachment to the earth and the physical plane is great. Because it is made, it is built, of physical impressions, of all the impressions that come from the physical world; and it naturally wants to turn to see whether it is the physical being or the spiritual being which is leading it aright. The principal characteristic of mind is doubt, doubt whether one is doing right or wrong; and doubt and faith are enemies. While faith leads to the destination, doubt pulls back, and when the mind i.e. Lot’s wife, was pulled back, attracted by all the impressions of earthly life, it could neither hold on to the earth nor journey further with the spirit, and remained as neither earth nor water, but salt.

Only two bodies followed the soul. Naturally, they would follow, for they are closely related to the soul: Vijnanamaya akasha, the body of wisdom, and Anandamaya akasha, and the body of joy. The soul bound for the eternal goal, which is called in the story the top of the mountains, then proceeded towards the mountains, but before it reached the top; there was the cave. This signifies heaven. In metaphysical terms it could be called a capacity, and in Sanskrit akasha. It has the power of holding back the soul from going to the top and using it for some purpose.

The soul, which was bound for the eternal goal remained there, intoxicated by the ecstasy that it received from the plane of joy and the plane of wisdom. And as everything that happens has its 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, its knowledge and its happiness, in order to bring good tidings to the world.

The question may arise why Manomaya akasha should be the mother and Anandamaya akasha and Vijnanamaya akasha the daughters. And the answer is that they are born, born of mind and soul. If there were only the soul, there would be neither joy nor wisdom. Mind and soul together 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 had taken into their life.

This story conveys the process by which the soul journeys from mortality to immortality, and what experiences the soul may possibly have to go through on its way. But when the messenger is thus created, then the father, who is the soul, rests in peace. This is the reason why the messenger was called the Son, and the original soul the Father.