The Holy Spirit Leads to the Resurrection of the Dead

There is a beautiful passage in the Mishnah((The Mishnah with the Gemara makes up the Talmud, which is also called the Oral Torah)) which describes the subtle qualities that can lead to a profound spiritual awakening.

Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair says, “Heedfulness leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to purity, purity leads to separation, separation leads to holiness, holiness leads to modesty, modesty leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to piety, piety leads to the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead comes from Elijah, blessed be his memory, Amen.”

From the Mishnah Sotah 9:15

Within us we contain a reflection of God’s divine qualities. This is what is meant by saying that we are created in the image of God.

And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27

For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

From the Apocryphal book Wisdom of Solomon 2:23:

In our unawakened state, this radiant image is not apparent, and our subtle divine self is dormant (as if dead). This ‘self’ can be brought to life through the energy of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). Rabbi Pinchas describes how fostering a series of subtle qualities can lead to this ultimate state.

Our spiritual evolution is a primarily a development of our awareness, which is why the first quality he mentions is heedfulness, that is the trait of being aware or paying close attention((This is why a proper application of mindful techniques (even divorced from any religious context) can’t but help in the gradual opening of one’s inner self)). Observing allows one to see what is ‘there’ and how one’s ego and conditionings react. We can then progressively distance ourselves from these reactions. What is crucial is having a pause, a moment of decision.

The foundation of our energy system is the sephiroth Yeshod((One of the ten emanations of God)) (meaning foundation), or, as it is described in the yoga system of India, the chakra Mooladhara (meaning support of the root). This centre gives us an inner cleanliness leading to a state of purity. This can be felt as the magnetically sublime beauty of babies, children, and genuine saints. Without purity, a sustained and powerful awakening cannot occur. It is the base upon which our further evolution depends.

Separation has both an interior and exterior aspect. To sustain our purity (especially at an earlier stage in our journey) we will often need to physically separate ourselves from people and places that can harm our energetic subtle system or soul. In addition, by witnessing the inner landscape of our emotions and thoughts, we create a distance between our awareness and these aspects of our experience. This protective inner citadel then allows our attention to continue moving towards the supernal realms.

True holiness can then develop. We become auspicious; that is we attract the necessary Divine help for further growth. This holiness does not lead to a “better than thou” attitude but is accompanied by modesty.

Every natural emotion((In the sacred text on esthetics from India, the Natya Shastra, these are nine in number and are: Shringara (love/beauty), Hasya (laughter), Karuna (sorrow), Raudra (anger), Veera ( heroism/courage), Bhayanaka (terror/fear), Bibhatsya (disgust), Adbutha (surprise/wonder), and Shantha (peace or tranquility)) that we are born with, has a divine aspect that can aid in our spiritual metamorphosis. In a lower stage of evolution, fear helps to preserve our physical body and acts as a balance to courage to prevent foolhardiness. Fear of sin, on the other hand, protects our subtle body. Unfortunately for many of us, the concept of sin is so tied to the sense of guilt that we have an aversion to the word. What I understand as sin is acting contrary to the living word of God, the small still inner voice((As Elijah heard, see 1 Kings 19:11-13)).

A true piety (devotion or bhakti to God) resting on all the aforementioned qualities, is responded to by the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew). Ruach is used in the Tanakh (Christian Old Testament) as spirit, cool, and wind which is an esoteric hint that the experience of this energy is felt as a cool redemptive breeze. This is the true “second birth” which brings our inner glorious being into our awareness, the “resurrection of the dead”

Elijah said, “I bring heaven and earth to bear witness, that any human, Jew or Gentile, man or woman, freeman or slave, according to his deeds he can be worthy of Ruach HaKodesh”.

From the Midrash((Biblical exegesis by ancient Judaic authorities)) Tana DeBei Eliahu Rabbah Chapter 9