To speak of the transmutation of baser metals into gold is therefore the symbolic way of teaching the art of self-purification. The same holds good for youth and immortality which have little meaning at the physical level. The consciousness of the human being thus sanctified is continually renewed, resulting in freshness in his inner and outer attitude to life. He seems to enjoy a youthfulness which is independent of the outer conditions of his existence. Indeed, such a being is united with his own spiritual Soul which is identical with the Eternal Universal Soul.
Immortality refers to the immortality of the soul which is made possible by transmutation.
Transmutation requires Fire which burns everything that might hinder the progress of the spiritual Soul towards eternal and undivided divinity. Flexibility is equivalent to the absence of that resistance which is created by the 'I' struggling against any change in order to preserve itself. The change involved may be considered to take place in order to dissolve all gross matter which is useless and harmful to the individual Soul in its pursuit of fusion with the One. Submission means letting go, which is the first stage in the long path leading to the surrender of the 'I'. The latter must finally abandon itself totally to the will of the Supreme whose dwelling-place is in the deepest depth of our being, in our spiritual heart.