The Transformation From Egoism To Altruism
A question I received: If a person asks the Light to bring him closer, isn’t this an egoistic request? After all, he wants it to happen in order to feel better.
My Answer: That doesn’t matter. It’s called Lo Lishma, which means that a person desires spirituality egoistically, for his own sake. He wants to feel the spiritual world, to gain a spiritual life and the sensation of the true reality, and to see that his life is not going to waste. One way or another, life keeps going on, and no one knows how much time they have left. A person doesn’t want his life to end in a meaningless way.
From the start, we cannot think about anything besides our own benefit. Therefore, if we don’t desire spirituality egoistically, by imagining how good it is for us, then it would be impossible for Kabbalah to reach us. The spiritual path starts with egoistic attainment, called Lo Lishma, and then, as a person keeps being influenced by the Upper Light, Ohr Makif, one’s egoistic attitude to spirituality is replaced with an altruistic one, called Lishma.
This is why a person’s egoism is called “help against himself” (Ezer Kenegedo). It’s because it brings him to a state where he suddenly realizes, “My own egoism is standing in my way!” He reaches a point where he has to annihilate the same ego that always used to help him and pushed him forward. However, he shouldn’t annihilate his desires, but only their egoistic intention.
This is how a person is gradually transformed by the Light.
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Hi, I`v just watched Groundhog Day (a movie) for the (who knows which) time, and this time it made me see my own egoism clearer, and how it really is in the way, and how I want better life and feel like I can only love others if I`ll love myself first, but being using it for an excuse, taking care of my needs and for hiding my egoistic reasons.
And I felt a desire to be a good person (I believe I am, so lets say a better person – more selfles, less egoistic…) and I started to feel very good, and realised I could try to go this path for egoistic reasons, but it will not work like that, and thasts fine, because I believe there is a sincere wish for beeing less egoistic in me, and I can contact with it, like I did. I will probably loose contact, then find it again, and it will go on like that, but not in circles but rather a spiral towards the light, as you said. Wow, I feel so self – centered right now, babbling aout myself for 5 minutes like there was no tomorrow…!
But seeing it is the first step, I gues. Thank you for this useful information. 🙂