“Parsifal, setting out on his quest for the Holy Grail, is the eternal symbol of the adept setting out on the path of initiation. Like Parsifal, who had to make his way through dark forests, battle with awe-inspiring giants and knights and avoid the many snares laid in his path, an adept is required to brave darkness, combat enemies and overcome temptations.

The vision of the grail is the supreme reward of those who guard faithfully, in their heart and mind, the ideal of obtaining the priceless gifts of the spirit.

The task of those on a spiritual path is to lay hold of the divine spirit, by means of meditation, prayer and contemplation, and to keep it captive in their soul. The presence of the captive spirit within them manifests itself in the form of illumination, rapture and ecstasy. Unfortunately, this state does not usually last very long: they usually drop back into the misery of everyday life and have to begin their efforts all over again.

The divine spirit can never be held captive by someone who does not possess a suitable receptacle within themselves, the receptacle that tradition calls the ‘holy grail’.

Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov – ‘The Fruits of the Tree of Life’, Vol. 32
http://www.prosveta.com/api/flipping/C0032AN
The Holy Grail, Chap. 24