Structure of Spirituality
A person’s desires are called vessels, and these can hold spiritual Light, or pleasure. However, in their essence, one’s desires must be similar to the qualities of the spiritual Light. Otherwise the Light cannot enter them, according to the Law of the Equivalence of Form of Spiritual Objects.
The activity of spiritual objects – whether close, or distant, or merging and unifying – is always based on the principle of the similarity of properties.
The Creator will bestow upon a person that which the person wants – to return to the Creator.
Therefore, a person’s heart, or vessel, will be filled with the perception of the Creator to the same degree that egoism has been ejected. This is in accordance with the Law of the Equivalence of Qualities Between the Light and the vessel.
We can, in fact, begin our spiritual ascent from any condition that we are in. We must simply realize that of all possible conditions, ranging from the highest to the lowest, the Creator has chosen this particular one as the best situation for us to start on the path of spiritual advancement.
Therefore, there can be no other frame of mind, mood, or external circumstances better suited or more beneficial to our progress than our present circumstances, however hopeless or dismal they may seem. Realizing this, we can rejoice in the opportunity to appeal to the Creator for help and to thank Him, even if we are in the most wretched of situations.
Something is considered “spiritual” if it is eternal and will not disappear from the universe, even upon reaching the ultimate goal. On the other hand, egoism (all the original inborn desires and the essence of a human being) is considered to be merely material because once corrected, it disappears.
Our essence remains until the end of correction, when only the form is changed. If our desires are corrected and become altruistic, then even our negative inborn qualities will enable us to comprehend the Creator.
The existence of a spiritual place is not related to any actual space. All those who reach this state after correcting their spiritual qualities can see and perceive the same things.
The ladder of the Creator has 125 levels. These levels are divided evenly between five spiritual worlds. These worlds are:
The World of Adam Kadmon
The World of Atzilut
The World of Beria
The World of Yetzira
The World of Assiya.
Each level provides a different perception of the Creator, depending on each level’s particular properties. Therefore, those who have acquired the properties of a specific level see the Kabbalah and the Creator in a completely new way. Everyone who attains a particular level of the spiritual world receives the same perception as everyone else on the same level.
When the Kabbalists said, "Thus said Abraham to Isaac," it indicated that the Kabbalists were situated on the same level as Abraham. Thus, the Kabbalists understood how Abraham responded to Isaac, since in their spiritual state they were like Abraham.
In his lifetime, the Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag reached all 125 levels. From this exalted place, he dictated the Kabbalah, which we are now able to enjoy in this generation. From this level, he wrote his commentary to the Zohar, the master text of Kabbalah.
Each of the 125 levels exists objectively; all those who perceive each of them see the same things, just as all those who inhabit our world see the same surroundings if they are in the same place.
As soon as we attain the smallest altruistic desire, we can embark on a path of spiritual ascensions and descents: At one moment, we are ready to nullify ourselves completely before the Creator, but the next moment we will not give it a single thought. Suddenly, the idea of spiritual elevation becomes absolutely alien to us and is thrust from our minds.
This is much like the way a mother teaches her child to walk. She holds it by the hand so that it feels her support, and then she suddenly withdraws, letting go of it. When the child feels totally abandoned and lacking all support, it is compelled to take a step toward the mother. Only in this way can it learn to walk independently.
Thus, though it may seem to us as if the Creator has suddenly abandoned us, in fact He is waiting for us to take a step on our own.
It is said that the Upper World is in a state of complete rest. The word "rest," in the spiritual world, implies no changes in desire.
However, the desire to bestow good never changes. All acts and movements, in both our inner emotional (egoistic) world and in the spiritual (altruistic) world, are involved in replacing a former desire with a new one.
If no such change has taken place, then nothing new has happened and no movement forward has occurred. This applies even if the original, constant desire may in itself be very vivid and very intense, giving us no peace.
But if that desire is invariable and consistent, then there is no movement.
Therefore, when it is said that the Upper Light is in a state of absolute rest, this means that the Will of the Creator to benefit us is unwavering and constant.
We exist in the Sea of Light. But that point in us which we call our "I" is encased in a shell of egoism. In this state, we are incapable of enjoying the Light and are merely floating.