The Spiritual Gene
–by Iskra Dolina
–Reading Time 12 min Approx
Today’s elements, namely the hatred …
and all sorts of animosities extending from it,
will only bring one to the opposite.
It will instil the measure of
“mine is mine, and yours is yours” in people,
which is … the opposite of love of man.
Baal HaSulam “The Last Generation”
“It’s getting dark. That’s enough for today,” Ella thought. Still immersed in her work, she returned to the field office. The woman settled into a cozy camping deck chair and felt how tired her legs and back were.
The first star appeared in the sky … And immediately after it, as if not wanting to fall behind, another one and one more showed up. And in a few minutes, all the sky was filled with stars shining in unison.
Perfect harmony! And incomprehensibility.
The lady archaeologist intuitively felt that there was a connection between it and the rock paintings discovered today during the excavations in a cave. What was depicted in them looked like a message for our times …
Inopportunely, she recalled the morning newscast and sighed sadly. Yes, the world is in turmoil. She closed her eyes wearily …
***
A crowd—men, women, children, elderly—stood at the foot of a mountain.
A soft, warm light illuminated them.
Their faces were spiritualized. The whole appearance expressed the striving … for something greater.
Suddenly, the light began to fade.
The people came close to the mountain and began to climb the slope. More and more hurriedly. Pushing each other.
The expression on their faces changed. It resembled now the teeth-baring of animals. Trying to climb up, the stronger ones began to crush the bodies of the weaker ones under themselves.
Some slid down and fell, screaming. A feral roar was heard. Lightning flashed over the mountain.
***
Ella woke up horrified. The sleepiness was gone. Her heart pounded from anxiety.
“I’d better work,” she decided. Not far off, a bonfire caringly left by her expedition colleagues was burning brightly. The woman made herself comfortable in its warmth and opened her iPad with the photographs of the rock paintings. It was now the time to take a closer look at them.
A group of people. They all seemed to focus on something that united them, yet unknown. But what is remarkable is that they had small rays in the upper part of the body. When Ella zoomed in, these rays looked more like sparks.
There was a rustle beside her, and a slender figure in loose-fitting clothes rose in the shadows.
The dragoman. He accompanied their expedition. The man had a book in his hand.
“I think it will help you,” he said calmly.
The dragoman carefully stroked the book but did not open it.
“A poem by the holy ARI,” he said as if in awe.
“Holy ARI…” Ella repeated to herself, trying to memorize.
“BEHOLD THAT BEFORE THE EMANATIONS WERE EMANATED, AND THE CREATURES WERE CREATED,
THE UPPER SIMPLE LIGHT HAD FILLED THE WHOLE EXISTENCE.
AND THERE WAS NO VACANCY, SUCH AS AN EMPTY AIR, A HOLLOW,
BUT ALL WAS FILLED WITH THAT SIMPLE, BOUNDLESS LIGHT.
AND WHEN UPON HIS SIMPLE WILL,” the dragoman’s voice was tense, monotonous. As if conveying this decision, the intention of light.
“CAME THE DESIRE TO CREATE THE WORLDS AND EMANATE THE EMANATIONS,
TO BRING TO LIGHT THE PERFECTION OF HIS DEEDS …” the bonfire emitted sparks.
“AND HE RESTRICTED HIMSELF, IN HIS MIDDLE POINT, PRECISELY AT THE CENTER,
… AND THERE REMAINED AN EMPTY SPACE …”.
The bonfire flames ‘danced’ rhythmically under the gusts of the night wind in time with the reader’s words.
“AND THAT RESTRICTION WAS EQUALLY AROUND THAT EMPTY MIDDLE POINT,
SO THAT THE SPACE WAS EVENLY CIRCLED AROUND IT. “ The man drew a circle in the air with his hand. “AND AFTER THE RESTRICTION,” he looked straight at Ella.
“A PLACE WAS FORMED, WHERE THE EMANATIONS, CREATIONS, … MIGHT RESIDE.”
“He created our world out of Himself. It was His decision! That’s what the reader wants to convey!”
Ella was all ears. The reverence with which the dragoman read the poem passed on to her. The reader’s voice, low-pitched and drawling, sounded like a bell.
“THEN FROM THE LIGHT …, A SINGLE LINE HUNG DOWN FROM ABOVE, LOWERED INTO THAT SPACE.
AND THROUGH THAT LINE,” it sounded like the ‘pressure’ of light piercing time and space.
“HE EMANATED, CREATED, … ALL THE WORLDS.”
“Creation of the world!” She froze, afraid to breathe. There was a feeling that, at this moment, they touched upon the inmost.
“PRIOR TO THESE … WORLDS, THERE WAS ONE LIGHT …,
FOR HE HAS NO PLACE, NO BOUNDARY, NO NAME.”
“Our world is inside the light?” It was so astonishingly unexpected that it took her breath away.
They both raised their heads to the sky. To the stars. And the stars were looking down at them …
“And what about the small rays drawn on the human figures?” she came to herself.
“Everything in the world contains His impression, a spark that directs … to Him.”
Ella turned her head towards the dragoman. He disappeared. By the fire, she saw a coffee pot and a mug.
The coffee was just the way she liked it. Thick and slightly bitter.
The woman was surprised to discover her new state. She is an integral part of the world. The world takes care of her. Tears welled up in her eyes.
The awakening drink raised a new question: the sparks in us … what are they for? The question needed to be answered immediately.
Ella found the necessary contact at once. She pressed the call button resolutely. It’s not the night yet, and Dan (the graduate neuro-psychologist, Ph.D., and archaeologist’s good friend—their running joke) loves to work late.
“Hi, and I’m glad to hear you. How are you?” He picked up in a flash as if waiting for a call. “Did you dig up anything again?” Dan stuttered a little, so he made long pauses, which gave even greater depth to what he was saying.
Ella breathed in—and shot all the revelations of the past day at her friend, telling him about the ancient paintings of people with rays emanating from them, the terrible dream and the incredible poem, the majestic dragoman and the holy ARI. About the bitter coffee and the starry infinity. And about her present confusion.
“Listen, it’s simple! Today, everyone talks about soft skills and social intelligence … It’s good that we finally got down to it! I’ll tell you this: humans have the prefrontal cortex in the brain. Animals don’t have it. So, this difference enables us to plan far ahead, live responsibly, and strive for something above and beyond. And reach those heights!”
“But not everyone succeeds … “.
“True, because it should be worked on! Knowing that every person has this capacity of …” he stammered, “social intelligence, the so-called spiritual gene, and developing it. The best way to do it is in groups and society because, in this case, everything happens by itself. That’s the way a human being is. And empathy comes in handy here.
But we must act, you understand? Act! Take ourselves to the next level. The desire for self-perfection is what makes us different from animals.
Do you hear me?” Dan asked.
“Yes, I just don’t want to interrupt you,” Ella replied.
“By the way, here’s another thing,” he continued, “It could be useful. A human being emanates energy. You may call it corpuscular or bio-gravitational—it doesn’t matter. The point is that if a few people together set a hgher-level goal for themselves and try to achieve it, they change the space around them!”
“I wish it were so …” Ella sighed.
“You see, this is Nature! It is a whole! And society as a part of Nature must become one. This is what is required of us; that’s why we are given the spiritual capacity …
But if we don’t do it, you can see for yourself … do you think all these problems in the world are for no reason?
So, did I answer your question?” Dan sounded pleased with himself.
“Thanks, dear. As always, to the point.”
“My pleasure. Well, see you soon. You’ll share your ancient secrets.”
It was dawning … To preserve her experiences, Ella opened “Notes” on the smartphone and wrote them down. To pass on. Yes, to pass to other people:
“We, humans, have a spiritual capacity. A spark of light. And our task is to develop it. This needs to be worked on. The best way to do it is in alliance with the people.”
She thought for a moment, then added: “If people set the right, uplifting goals, they change reality.”
The woman felt gratitude. To people from the past who left behind an important message. To the wise dragoman who revealed incredible depth. To Dan, kind and knowledgeable. To the stars, the bonfire, the night sky … and even her dream.
“Let’s unite our sparks … and create harmony together,” she became determined.
“And man’s advantage over animals is that man can aim at a remote goal, meaning agree to a certain amount of current pain, out of the choice of future benefit or pleasure to be attained after some time.”
Baal HaSulam “Freedom of Will”
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