The soul with mind is as water with salt. Mind comes from soul as salt from water. There comes a time when mind is absorbed into soul, as salt is dissolved in water. Mind is the outcome of soul, as salt is the outcome of water. Soul can exist without mind, but mind cannot exist without soul. But the soul is purer without mind, and is covered by the mind.

The mind covering the soul is as a globe: a sinful mind makes the soul sinful, a virtuous mind makes the soul virtuous, not in nature but in effect, as a red globe on the light makes the light red, and a green globe makes it look green, though, in reality, the light is neither green nor red. It is devoid of color, color being only its garb.

The soul becomes happy when there is happiness in the heart. It becomes miserable when there is misery in thought. The soul rises high with the height of imagination. The soul probes the depths with the depth of thought. The soul is restless with the restlessness of the mind, and it attains peace when the mind is peaceful. None of the above conditions of mind changes the soul in its real nature, but for the time being it seems to be so. The soul is a bird of paradise, a free dweller in the heavens. Its first prison is the mind, then the body. In these it becomes not only limited, but also captive. The whole endeavor of a Sufi in life is to liberate the soul from its captivity, which he does by conquering both mind and body.