Spiritual Compensation As A Guarantee To Success

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Can it be so that the social structure itself may become one of the obstacles on the path of advancement on the spiritual ladder?

Answer: In other words, how can we move from the egoistic world to the spiritual one with balanced consumption? This is a multi-layered process. Right now, we face the first one of them, when humanity begins to understand that it has to restrict itself because the riches of natural resources and nature in general don’t belong to individuals or states.

But for seven billion people to exist on Earth and not to “eat each other up,” we have to reach equilibrium not only among ourselves, but also between us and nature. This is already clear to all people of good sense. The problem is in how to transition to it.

Transition as such is essentially egoistic. We might be able to help them with it, but I think that this transition will occur as it did in many countries already. Have you seen how a million people came out to the streets and changed the environment, society, and the government?

We are yet to witness how immigrants will flood Europe and swallow it completely. Do you think the United States is that far from Africa or South America? Not at all. And since nature forces us into balance with each other and with itself, we don’t have a choice. Nature works toward homeostasis, and it’s not up to us.

So far, it doesn’t pertain to spiritual correction, and this very process is necessary for us to exist. If I don’t want to fear that my neighbor might come to kill me, it’s beneficial for me to share my wealth out of necessity.

The hope that the arms and force the developed countries possess will help them is illusory. Rome, which was even more powerful, still fell. The question is: How can we transition to the next stage when we discover that we are unable to distribute wealth fairly as nature dictates? How will we compensate man and his egoistic desires to get bigger, more powerful, and wealthier?  What will we sustain it with?  What will we sustain him with? After all, people can’t stay at the animate level of evolution since our ego keeps growing and demanding even more.

Humanity has no solution to the issue: What compensation can we offer to those who will realize the need for a fair distribution? What will satisfy their ego? If we want everyone to remain as animals, to be the same, we thereby destroy man because the “human” level is above that of the “beast” in each of us. There has to be spiritual compensation, and only the wisdom of Kabbalah can provide it.

But we all know that 90 years ago, in Russia, they wanted to achieve the same by making a revolution. But as a result, a regular person didn’t get compensated for it. Why should he be satisfied with a typical apartment, an average salary that provides for his retirement plan, and a normal vacation time? Why should he be equal with others and be happy with just what he has?

For the time being, we advance according to the program of nature, in order to gradually present it to humanity in the degree that it will realize that it has no other option: It has to come to a relatively equal distribution. Therefore, if we don’t offer man spiritual compensation, we won’t be able to implement the law of balance with nature. And to do so, we will need the knowledge of the wisdom of Kabbalah.
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From Lesson 5, WE! Convention 4/2/2011

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Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You said that compensation for unity will be spiritual fulfillment. Is this world prepared to hear this or should we replace the worlds “spiritual fulfillment” with something else?

Answer: In order to reveal what our ego should be filled with, we must unify amongst ourselves. Then, through our inner spiritual fulfillment, we will be able to show the world that there is an answer to the question of what every person can be fulfilled by beyond the satisfaction of their daily needs.
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From Lesson 7, WE! Convention 4/3/2011

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The First Article, Which Is The Beginning Of Everything

Dr. Michael LaitmanOur main problem is to establish our attitude to the Creator. Clearly, it is subjective and depends entirely on us, on how we think and feel. It does not change depending on the Creator’s attitude, which is unknown to us, but is determined by what we think about Him.

On one hand, we are talking about nature, about the environment in which we develop. Once upon a time man began revealing nature, thus ascending in our world from the animate level to the human level as he researched the nature around him. After that he began to research the spiritual world, once his desire grew to that level. Thus, to the degree his desire grew, a person delved deeper and deeper into nature.

However, a person consists of two parts: one that feels and one that understands, and the two have a specific connection and influence upon one another. Precisely through them, feeling and reason or the heart and mind, he researches what he feels. Anything that does not enter his senses remains unknown to him. He researches only his impressions, whereas the things that are inaccessible to one’s sensations cannot be discussed at all because that would be empty philosophy and fantasy.

Therefore, our ideas of the Creator are not based on how He actually is, but on how we perceive Him. We will never know who He really is! We only know that there is an upper, external force that is perceived as the nature around us.

We call its closest part “this world.” But there is a greater nature which becomes revealed to a person when he undergoes a special development. It is called upper nature. Yet, no one knows who the Creator Himself is.

Therefore, the science of Kabbalah talks about everything in relation to man. It is written, “There is none else besides Him!” That is how a person feels and what he discerns as a result of his research.

Kabbalists tell us about their impressions of this single upper force, and it turns out that the Creator seems to get angry, or to get happy, or to enjoy something. But this is how a person feels. This is how he senses the upper force! However, we do not know what really happens to it.

Nevertheless, it is very important for us to establish our attitude to this upper force so we would know where this form, picture, impression, or sensation comes from, which we receive from Him. Whom do we feel: Himself or ourselves? Or do we perceive ourselves on the background of His Light? Or do we feel something that’s common to both of us, some interaction between us? That is something I have to know!

When I feel good or bad, then whom does this sensation depend on—on me, or does it come from the Creator? Or perhaps it depends on our similarity to each other, on some special connection?

If I perform any action, whether in words, thoughts, or physically, is He forcing me to act that way or do I have some kind of freedom? But where can I get that freedom if I am a result, a product of His work?

That is to say, we must somehow define ourselves in relation to our connection with the Creator. Otherwise we will constantly get confused. This bears great significance for our attitude, our inner work, and our connection with Him. This is also reflected on all of our relationships with one another, inside the family and when a person is one on one with himself.

Therefore, this is not an abstract question for us. Establishing our state, connection, and attitude to the Creator influences all the layers of our lives. This is the most fundamental thing there is. That is why Baal HaSulam’s opinion is so important to us in this regard, which he lays out in the article, “There Is None Else Besides Him,” the very first article in the book Shamati.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/26/11, Shamati

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The Importance Of The Daily Kabbalah Lesson

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person can’t advance in spirituality without participating in our daily lessons. Those who can’t watch the entire session can watch one of its parts.

There are people who prefer the first part of the lesson that includes Rabash’s articles and the second one on The Book of Zohar. Some like the third part of the lesson on The Study of the Ten Sefirot. The fourth part is general, where we analyze world issues, education, and all the rest. Each of you should pick the most suitable parts, although I recommend switching them at times.

Perhaps, it’s difficult for you to attend the entire three hours of the lesson which includes all four parts. But today, there is such a wide assortment of communication devices that you can record lessons or listen to them on the radio. Our Internet site is constantly updated. You can also wear headphones and listen to the lesson all the time, and then you will definitely advance much faster.

But at any rate, it is vital to get connected to the daily lesson (at least part of it). It is said: “If you abandon Me for a day, I will abandon you for two.” A person who skips one day of studies gets disconnected from the spiritual source twice as much. This is the law in the spiritual world regarded as “measure against measure.” So, beware!

But the most reliable means is an MP3 player or other similar devices, with the help of which you can stay connected to us all the time.
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From Lesson 5, WE! Convention 4/2/2011

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Dissemination Is Like Giving Birth In Spirituality

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: My question pertains to dissemination. At school, I talk with my classmates about Kabbalah. There is an impression that they are interested in it, which creates a certain contact between us, but as soon as they go home, the contemptuous attitude of their families and environment toward Kabbalah spoils everything. How do we get those families to see the importance of the goal?

Answer: I am not sure since I never dealt with this. After all, we are talking about love of friends and love of others not with the outsiders, but with those who have already joined us.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches that we must spread it passively, forcing no one into it. I need to provide a person with certain information: Why the world is suffering, what the cause of it is, where we are heading toward, and why crises occur.

We also try to explain to him that all of it is happening due to nature’s program so as to demonstrate to us that egoistic evolution on the rising exponential curve has reached its final point and now we are headed for the downfall. This means that we will feel pain and problems (possibly serious ones) since our egoistic development has ended, and we need to rise above the ego.

This is the kind of information that we need to spread in the world. But if I start talking with people about it, it will take many hours to explain things to them until they comprehend it. This is why we spread the wisdom of Kabbalah in a passive way, via books or the Internet, and those who become interested in it and feel that it meets a certain need in them will find us.

We are in the field of the upper force, in the field of Light. And if a person does have an inclination for a personal correction and sort of gravitates to unification, to spirituality, which equates to love of others, bestowal to the Creator, he or she will find our sources. There is absolutely no need to come to them, apply pressure, and start huge propaganda.

You may talk with friends about Kabbalah, which is not prohibited at all. But if you see that afterward they immediately forget or lose interest in it, or if they quickly change their mind, even if they initially agreed with something, all of this is a sign that this wisdom most likely isn’t for them.

If I were in your place, I would give them a book to read that would, in your opinion, suit them best. Collect a small library at home. I suggest everyone does the same.

All those who study Kabbalah must have a complete collection of our books. Additionally, keep three or five books most suitable for beginners and lend them to others to read one by one, and after they are done, get them back. And then you will see if they do show any interest or not.

A book has a unique power. And even though I usually read and work with a text on a computer, I still keep a book in front of me. It has a spiritual root, which a computer does not.

But what I really appreciate in this young man and praise him for is his desire to spread the wisdom of Kabbalah. He is so great! And we should follow his example.

Each of you should check what you can do in dissemination since the more you spread the wisdom of Kabblah, the more internally enriched you become. And in correspondence with how many people receive the knowledge of the spiritual world or spiritual fulfillment through you, the same degree of spiritual fulfillment will pass through you as well. It is as though you give birth to them, and they become your children afterward, which stimulates your growth.

And a person who didn’t bring anyone closer to the wisdom of Kabblah and didn’t impact anyone spiritually in this world is similar to someone who never gave life to anyone and has no continuation. Each of us must become a disseminator.
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From Lesson 5, WE! Convention 4/2/2011

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Participation Of All Is The Key To Success

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Hundreds and thousands of American children are practically left to themselves, and multiple social services that are supposed to handle them fail completely. Are there any books on this issue that we can offer them?

Answer: So far, there are not, but we are working on them. I hope that in three to six months, you will start receiving a series of books containing the method of raising children of different ages: how to form groups, conduct discussions, influence their development, and build a connection between them.

Besides, you don’t have to wait for our materials; you should join us and together with us participate in the process of writing such books! A person who isn’t engaged in spreading the wisdom has no chance to advance spiritually. How can one channel the Light if there is no yearning to pass it on to others?

Take the American Education Center as an example; participate in dissemination or we won’t succeed and will keep developing very slowly. We need the force, a lot of it! We really need your help!
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From Lesson 6, WE! Convention 4/3/2011

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The World Is Fine, The Problem Is In You!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You said that nature will force us to change if we don’t wish to do it by choice. What change can our small Kabbalistic group make in the world if the majority of it don’t want to think about anything whatsoever?

Answer: It’s much easier for the majority of the world to change than it is for us since they don’t have free will. You do have free will because you possess an egoistic heart and the point from another world.

There are two forces in you, and that’s why you are in constant argument and struggle between them. This pertains to you but not to the whole world! They are fine: When they feel bad, it’s bad, when they feel good, it’s good, so what spiritual world are you talking about?

Without these two forces, there is no free will to choose between them; there are no upheavals and descents; there are no thoughts how to move forth; there is no faith above reason. Reason and faith above reason? Malchut and Bina atop of it?! Most folks have no connection between these two worlds. The connection between them exists only in us, in every one of us! It’s our problem, and the rest of the world doesn’t have it.

Hence, as soon as you make a choice, you impact all the other souls who don’t have free will; you “pour” your choice, will, and yearning into them and lead them on like a shepherd who leads a herd of a thousand cows. Obviously, it’s easier to be a cow than a shepherd since he has to know the way. But it’s not up to you; you will have to become a shepherd!
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From Lesson 6, WE! Convention 4/3/2011

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The Urgent Need For An Education Method

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Should we begin the Kabbalistic education with our children, to make them an example for the outside world, or are we ready to address the outside world, and the only question is how to go about it?

Answer: Parents must educate their children, this is designed by nature. Therefore, if, as a parent, I understand that the best gift I can give my child is the connection with the Light, the Creator, the force that can protect him and raise him to the highest possible level, the force that accompanies him or her in this world and the next, I will certainly want to give my child this support, this shield.

I want for my child to be brought up by the Light and not just some school teacher. First and foremost, I want to give him or her a spiritual education, and in addition to that he can study in a school or a university. I don’t care as much whether he becomes a blue-collar worker or a professor; what I do care about is the spiritual baggage he ends his life with, whether he’ll be happy in this life, whether he’ll know what his life is for.

Therefore, a spiritual education is immeasurably more important than a material one, which changes direction every few years. These days, when a person concludes his education, he is forced to begin anew almost right away. The world is on the threshold of the informational revolution.

Should we first educate our kids and disseminate the system of spiritual education with their help, or should we cultivate spiritual education in the world directly? We must propagate spiritual education now, without delay. A lot of time will go by before our children grow up and we will be able to present them to the world. We are already preparing materials on the spiritual education method, without any connection to our kids, and disseminating them in the world in all languages through various non-commercial organizations.

We’re bringing up our children, and we will be glad to see children from other countries join us virtually as well as participate in the summer camps we will be organizing. We need to see the result of the Kabbalistic education on our children.

We already see it, but it’s not enough to address the world and show everyone what’s happening here. If in two to three years from now we can show five-six year old kids reasoning correctly, eleven-twelve year olds with mature personalities who understand what’s happening in the world, and fifteen-sixteen year olds finishing universities, then we’ll have something to show the world.
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From Lesson 6, WE! Convention 4/3/2011

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 04.27.11

Baal HaSulam, Shamati #1There’s None Else Besides Him,” Lesson 2
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The Book of Zohar – Selected, Chapter, “Mishpatim (Ordinances),” “These Are the Ordinances,” Item 1

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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 1, Chapter 1, Item 3, Lesson 2
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Baal HaSulam, “Disclosing A Portion, Covering Two,” Start with: “I should add…”
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