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p. 196

THE seventh mansion is without visible form, being the highest and most mysterious of all, enshrouded with a veil which separates it from all other spheres and mansions, so that no one can perceive the two Cherubim standing behind it and therefore it is termed The Holy of Holies, for therein is the, Supreme Spirit that imparts life and light to all creatures. When the union of all spirits with the Divine takes place, then the light of this mansion descends out of the Holy Place and illuminates all worlds. All light coming down from on high is like the seed of man that unites the male and female, and so is it with this mansion which unites the higher with the lower spheres. Happy the man who accomplishes this union, for then is he wholly blessed and beloved both on high and below. When the Holy One decrees judgments such a man is able to appease and allay them and yet does not act contrary and in opposition by so doing, but through his intimate union with the Divine Being all penal judgments and decrees become self annulled and innocuous. Oh blessed is he both in this world and the world to come; as it is written, "The righteous man is the foundation of the world" (Prov. x. 25). Whilst he lives a voice from on high is ever speaking unto him, saying: "Thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel" (Is. xli. 16).

p. 197

As the chief priest officiates at the altar of sacrifice and the Levites chant, the cloud of incense ascends on high; so is the ascent of spirits to the higher spheres and mansions, until at length they become unified with the light of light, and abide forever, perfected and wholly divine through the power of prayer. It is then that all spirits like lesser lights are blended with the great divine light, and entering within the veil of the Holy of Holies are overwhelmed with blessings proceeding therefrom as water out of an inexhaustible and ever-flowing fountain. In this mansion is the great Mystery of Mysteries, the deepest, most profound and beyond all human comprehension and understanding, the eternal and infinite Will, that governs, sways and rules all worlds throughout the universe, the mighty causal Will, known only by its effects and silent operations, and that through all ages to come will ever act until the human and divine wills are blended together in one eternally harmonious whole, and humanity attains to the Higher and Diviner Life. Blessed are they who have entered into the enjoyment accruing from this union of wills as it is written, "Thy father and thy mother shall be glad and she who hath born thee shall rejoice" (Prov. xxiii. 25). When perfect union prevails, everything is centered in and proceeds from the Divine Thought or Mind. All forms and ideas give place to and disappear in the Divine Mind, that alone animates, vivifies, sustains and enlightens every human soul. The supreme Will, residing and acting through pure thought, it follows that by prayer man effects this union with the Divine Will and attracts it to himself, and therefore it is written, "Happy is that people who enjoy this greatest of blessings, whose God is the Lord," for then the world rejoices in mercy and goodness that come from above, through the prayer of union, which never proves in vain or resultless. It avails with the Lords as that of a child with its father and is answered. The suppliant becomes girded about and endowed with a power felt and feared by all inferior creatures. It ordains and the Holy One fulfills its behests, as it is written, "Thou shalt desire a thing and it shall be established, and the Light shall shine upon thy way" (Job xxii. 28). 1


Footnotes

197:1 Note by translator. These mansions in their totality correspond to the third heaven mentioned by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Corinthians. The reader will find some very interesting information on these spheres and mansions in the works of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. He will also find a very interesting reference to the "two witnesses" in Revelation, XI, 1, pointing to the Kabbalistic origin of this book.


Next: Chapter XXIII.