Question: I think egoism is a positive quality, without which one cannot develop. If a child has no egoism, he does not strive to learn and grow.

Answer: The quest for knowledge, education, culture, to see the world, to fly into space, this is not called evil egoism. The evil inclination is bad relationships between us, the desire to use others, to suppress them.

Just a desire to grow and become a great man is not egoism because by this I may want to bring benefit to humanity. Egoism is a desire to submit others, to enslave them.

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is the quintessence of all evil. This special power, inherent in every human being by nature, is called the evil inclination, which spoils our relationships with each other. We are talking only about it, not about the human desire for development.

Pharaoh is called the king of Egypt, because he reigns over us absolutely, without consulting our desire. He just orders us what to do—burdens us with hard work.

Pharaoh commands us to build, that is, to unite. But as soon as we want to unite, he stands between us and makes us quarrel with each other, and enjoys this.

Today’s human being is a slave of a special force called Pharaoh. In nature, there is a force that advances the whole world in the process of evolution. It leads to the overall development of technology, science, culture, and education.

But within this development, there is a force that make us treat each other in a bad, selfish way, to enjoy the fact that we are superior to others, are successful and can harass them.

Everyone wants to be Pharaoh and control others. If he has the ability to put down others so that they have nowhere to escape, he gets pleasure from it. This means that Pharaoh lives within each of us.
[156832]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/24/15

Related Material:
The Daily Cleanup In The Heart
Pesach Is A Holiday That Is Always With You
“Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights?”

Filed under: Egoism, Holidays, Israel, Nations of the World | Add Comment →