The wet soul

Submitted by Rev. Fr. John Samuel on 28/Jan/2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Water, stream, rain, clouds, hurls, snow, dew etc are some frequent terminologies glittered in the bible to denote the flow of divine grace into the creation. The holy church fathers have made use of these 'substantial realities' in the creation to bring the presence of the Almighty near to us. Also, in several occasions the significance of water is pointed with different meanings.

The prayer in question is abstracted from <Psalms 77: 17> and is used as the chanting before the Holy Gospel is being read. The same prayer is proclaimed during the veneration of Holy Myron on the time of the celebration of sacrament of holy baptism. All such prayers chanted before the reading of the Holy Gospel are either taken from psalms or proverbs.

'Waters' have very close access to the soul of the creation. Soul is the life and the Creator breathed <Genesis 2:7> into the physical nature of a human body and it became a living soul.

But this is a very limited view of understanding the concept of soul. When God breathed into the limited physical bodily nature, He was endeavouring the same into the creation and the former process was a 'realistic shadow' of the latter. The image and likeness of the Creator has been transmitted and implanted into the creation and thereby circulating the soul as one entity in it.

In such an understanding of the soul, the life from the Creator broods and hovers over the Creation transmitting the life giving energy into it. Therefore each and every individual including all the living and the non living beings possess its essence deciphering the concept of oneness in 'everything'. The Indian philosophy, in its richness, highlights the 'mantra'......

(A weighty statement of ecstatic enlightenment stated with absolute conviction)

"I am Brahman and that is you"

The statement can only be interpreted by a yogi or guru or else the concept will be misinterpreted. However 'the soul' being one entity/essence reveals certain other mysteries which will ultimately be terminated in 'Nishkama Karma'

The teaching of the church is that each and every 'karmas' endeavoured in the creation (no matter whether it is 'sa-kama' or 'a-kama',) will be retaliated in the creation itself in accordance with they were being endeavoured.

Water and Soul

There are several verses in the Bible to denote that the spirit of God is hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2 says "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters"

The emotions and thoughts of the mind have direct connection with the soul and these are linked with deep waters in Proverbs 20:5. It says "The purposes of man's heart are deep waters" and 18:4 also says that "The words of a man's mouth are deep waters". The words, the purposes or thoughts come out of the mind. These thoughts and emotions are not only connected to the individual soul, but to the soul of the creation. Therefore whenever an individual think of committing any harm to others (anything in the creation) he / she is causing the same to himself / herself because 'The Creation is You'.

The thoughts and emotions, when they are evolved with the help of the Creator, its meaning and essence change. Please do remember the statement 'the water saw its creator and blushed'

Ezekiel 31: 4

"The waters nourished it, deep springs made it grow tall; their streams flowed all around its base and sent their channels to all the trees of the field".

The sprinkles of waters in the soul must be connected with the Source of Wisdom so that it can nourish the Tree of Wisdom which is being grown in the soul. The Garden of Eden, in a way, can be the representation of the soul. The tree of knowledge and the Tree of Life are there to be grown in that surface. The Garden of Eden has four rivers to nourish the entire creation <Genesis 2: 10 -14>. The river will flow and make the entire barren surface cool and fertile.

The wet souls are always cool and fertile where the Tree of Life grow and bloom to blossom. The watered soul provides a fertile surface for the Tree to grow so that the soul will be benefited of the fruit of the Tree of Life. The fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control <Galatians 5:22>

Another peculiarity of the watered surface is that the fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. < Ezekiel 47: 12 >

See the richness of the trees on the banks of a river

Our souls are supposed to be like the trees on the banks of a river. The richness of the souls is thereby transmitted into the creation. The dews from the heaven must nourish the souls to make it a fertile surface to grow the Tree of Life in it and thereby the Tree of knowledge. The soul will certainly bear the fruit of spirit.

Prayers,

Fr. John Samuel, St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox church, London