For his love is better than wine."

Again he cries:

"Behold thou art fair my love, behold thou art fair, thou _hast dove's
eyes_."

The realization of _mukti_, i.e., the power of the _atman_ to transcend the
physical, is thus expressed by Solomon, clearly indicating that he had
found liberation:

"My beloved spoke and said unto me, 'Rise up my love my fair one, and come
away. For lo, the winter is passed, the rain is over and gone.

"'The flowers appear upon the earth; the time of singing of birds has come,
and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.

"'The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vine with the tender
grapes gives a goodly smell. Arise my love, my fair one, and come away.'"

It is assumed that these lines do not refer to a personal hegira, but
rather to the act of withdrawing the Self from the things of the outer
life, and fixing it in contemplation upon the larger life, the
supra-conscious life, but there is no reason to doubt that they may refer
to a longing to commune with the beautiful and tender things of nature.

Another point to be noted is that in the spring and early summer it is with
difficulty that the mind can be made to remain fixed upon the petty details
of everyday business life. The awakening of the earth from the long cold
sleep of winter is typical of the awakening of the mind from its hypnotisms
of external consciousness.

Instinctively, there arises a realization of the divinity of creative
activity, and the mind soars up to the higher vibrations and awakes to the
real purpose of life, more or less fully, according to individual
development.

This has given rise to the assumption, predicated by some writers on cosmic
consciousness, that this state of consciousness is attained in the early
summer months, and the instances cited would seem to corroborate this
assumption.

But, as a poet has sung, "it is always summer in the soul," so there is no
specific time, nor age, in which individual cosmic consciousness may be
attained.

A point which we suggest, and which is verified by the apparent connection
between the spring months, and the full realization of cosmic
consciousness, is the point that this phenomenon comes through
contemplation and desire for love. Whether this love be expressed as the
awakening of creative life, as in nature's springtime, or whether it be
expressed as love of the lover for his bride; the dove for his mate; the
mother for he