What Is The Recognition Of Evil?
Every one of us consists of two contrasting qualities: darkness and light, evening and morning. These states represent our spiritual ascents and descents. The entry into spirituality is found in between them.
Understanding “Day-Night” in Its Spiritual Meaning
When the notions of “day-night” and “morning- evening” are mentioned in Genesis, know that they refer to your changing states. The goal in spiritual progress is to find ways to keep the descents short-lived, and swiftly shift to the next phase—one of ascent, of morning.
The secret of good and bad states can be defined by proximity to the Creator: when I am close to His quality of Love, I enjoy a state of ascent, and feel good. The farther I am from this Law, the more I suffer a state of descent, and feel bad.
Although I always look to attribute my despair to corporeal factors, these justifications are false. The situation appears that way to me from my uncorrected state, when the root—the force that’s really pulling the strings—is concealed from me. Thus, I find myself immersed in my “I,” in my egoism, instead of trying with all my might to come out of it.
The truth is that no matter how hard I try, I am powerless to escape. However, this fervent striving is what leads me to the true prayer, found not in the mind but in the heart. This is precisely the prayer the Creator wants from me, one that He answers instantly and without fail.
Prayer as a Demand from the Heart
A “prayer” is a plea, a demand that is born in my heart. It is “inscribed” in it, rather than read in a prayer book. A prayer is my desperate plea for help, for deliverance, an appeal to the Creator, not to abandon me to the bondage of egoism.
When does such a prayer arise? Only when I come to realize that I cannot escape the ego’s deadly grip by myself.
