Daily Meditation: Friday, November 20, 2009

Due to its great powers of absorption, water, as it passes …

11/20/2009

Due to its great powers of absorption, water, as it passes over the earth or through the air, becomes laden with impurities. But nature has also provided for certain processes that enable the water to become clear. These processes are of two kinds. In the first, water seeps into the ground and, there in the dark, passes through different layers, leaving behind any impurities on the way. Thus it gradually becomes limpid and clear, and one day it wells up somewhere as spring water. In the second process, water is heated by the sun’s rays and becomes lighter, rising into the atmosphere in the form of vapour, and the evaporation itself purifies it; subsequently, it falls to earth again as dew or rain, bringing life to all vegetation. For human beings, there are also two methods of purification. Those who do not wish to purify themselves with the rays of the spiritual sun – the spirit – must symbolically go underground, through dark places, that is, through difficulties and suffering, and be subjected to strong pressure. True disciples choose the other method: they expose themselves to the rays of the spirit; they rise and absorb the most luminous elements, which purify them.