Take the example of a tree. The soul is the seed that has to grow through number of lives to fulfil its destiny of turning into fruits and flowers and thereby manifesting the Divine riches and beauty and fragrance in the world of names and forms.
The soil in which the seed (soul) is planted is the earth nature.
The trunk is the body, the physical that is the basis of everything else.
The branches are like so many desires of the vital consciousness, the life energy, trying to reach the sky and capture space.
The leaves are the thought forms, the mental consciousness, covering the physical and vital with its foliage.
The fruit and flowers are like the psychic being which is the fully developed soul.
Or you take the image of a car. The physical is the frame of the car. The fuel that drives the car is Vital. It is the energy. The Mind is the driver. Faith is the steering wheel. The Soul is the traveller in the car. God is the owner and designer of the car. Death is the breaking down of the car. Rebirth is the traveller going further taking up another car.
Physical is the body. Vital is the various kinds of energies that drive it namely desires, ambitions, lust, emotions, various kinds of hungers and seeking. Mind is the thoughts that give direction. The soul sets the goal of the journey, the experience it came to have.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
