Two Halves Of The Spiritual Ladder

laitman_232_05Question: Can the ego be positive? I mean, if you do good to yourself, do you also do good to those around you? Can I totally fulfill the law of “love thy friend as thyself” if I don’t love myself?

Answer: This law works according to a totally different principle. I don’t need to love myself in order to love others. After all, this is an egoistic trick! In fact, nothing works this way.

The ego can work properly only if it is controlled by altruism. This is a very high level: the second half of the spiritual ladder.

The rule “love thy friend as thyself” is fulfilled when a person’s egoistic attributes begin to work with the intention of in order to bestow. This is the second part of the ascent up the spiritual ladder.

The first part, “don’t do unto others what is hateful to you,” exists when you don’t use your ego at all.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 7/3/16

Related Material:
What Is Hateful To You, Do Not Do To Your Fellow Men
Hillel’s Rule
Know Yourself

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