An interpretation of the story of Lot's Wife that the commentariat might find interesting.
Re: "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.
'the cave' strikes me as referring to the astral hereafter rather than heaven per se, where, depending on what we've been up to, we experience 'heaven' or the 'other place', as some refer to it. The idea that we create our own afterlife seems amusing, sobering and a reason for optimism all at the same time.
No question as such, just to say I am very much enjoying contemplating the various metaphors and to thank you and the other posters for making this place what it is.
The Story of Lot's Wife
Re:
"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.
'the cave' strikes me as referring to the astral hereafter rather than heaven per se, where, depending on what we've been up to, we experience 'heaven' or the 'other place', as some refer to it.
The idea that we create our own afterlife seems amusing, sobering and a reason for optimism all at the same time.
No question as such, just to say I am very much enjoying contemplating the various metaphors and to thank you and the other posters for making this place what it is.
Here's a link:
http://www.hazrat-inayat-khan.org/php/views.php?h1=43&h2=3&h3=28