Now, because of the sheaths of the inner kernel, the outer cover and the thick layer of threads, the inmost water remains completely hidden from view; and the identity of the inmost being of the coconut with the ocean itself is not even suspected. So the coconut, with all the covers, is symbolically offered to the Master in order that he may reveal the inmost essence of the soul as it is.

The Master takes off the threads on the exterior one by one. This is like relieving the burdened mind of ordinary men. It corresponds to taking from them all bodily attachments one by one and ultimately taking away from them the attachment to body itself. Destruction of the body through physical death does not solve any problem, because the ego-mind grows new bodies in new incarnations. Through utter non-attachment to the physical body, the soul is relieved of the limitations of the outermost covering, symbolized by the threads of the coconuts. When the hindrance of the physical body is removed the body begins to function consciously. This is the state of the Yogis.

But the sheath of the subtle body, with all its surging desires, has also to be shed. This corresponds to the Master's breaking open the outer hard covering of the coconut. And when the obstructivity of the subtle body removed, the soul begins to function consciously through its mental ego-body. This is the stage of the advanced souls. The ego-mind corresponds to the inner kernel of the coconut; and the Master has to break open even this inner kernel to take the soul to its own essence, which, in this analogy, corresponds to the inmost water in the coconut. Breaking the inner kernel means that the mind of the person ceases to function completely. It comes to a standstill since the seeds that activate the ego-mind are all burnt up. When the hindrance of the ego-mind is removed, the Master, as it were, drinks the inmost sweet water and makes it unite with the ocean of life that he is, Lover and Beloved have become one consciously.

When the Master enables the soul to get at its real essence by shedding its sheaths of bodies, it may be said to have the innermost water of the coconut. The Master now takes that water, which is the essence of the coconut and mixes it up with the water of the ocean itself, by showing that it is not any different. This is like drinking the water and making it unite with the ocean of life, which the Master is. The water has not been destroyed; it has become united with its source. The lover and the beloved have become one. This is the bestowal of God-realization and the true knowledge and the enjoyment of the unbounded ocean of Truth. The soul has now gone back exactly to the state from where it started, with the only difference that it now knows itself to he the mighty ocean of Truth, whereas in the beginning, it was unconscious of this fact.

(continued in  Volume 12 Number 1 Page 34)