Audio Version Of The Blog – 11.07.12

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Changing The Creator Or Changing Oneself?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You have mentioned several times that Kabbalah is a science. Do such concepts as “individual or personal aspect of God” and “the way through Kabbalah, through devotion” have a place in it?

Answer: The higher power in Kabbalah is called “Nature” or the “Creator.” You can call it “God.” But this higher force is not at all what believers mean. This is a clear physical, absolute, good influence on everything that exists, permanent and unchanging. That is why if believers, no matter what faith, ask God to change, in principle their prayers are aimed at this; the people who study Kabbalah strive to change themselves because in their understanding God is absolute.

If He is absolutely good, if He is absolutely loving, then I cannot ask Him to change because He is already absolutely good and loving. The concept of absolute already means that I have no one to ask. For example, how can you ask, for example, your mother who loves you absolutely already to be kinder towards you?

Therefore, all the aspirations, the entire work, of a person is to change himself, to pull himself, to become like God. That is why a human being is called “Adam” from the word “Domeh – similar.” He has to reach this level, to attain it.

Thus, Kabbalah is not related to any religion in its relation to the world and is called science.
[92247]
From the Georgia Convention 11/05/12, Lesson 1 

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The Free Mind

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Can any person, including me, rise to the upper level, appealing to His nature? Can I consciously rise to that level or is it only based on my feelings? If we talk about consciousness, does Kabbalah distinguish between reason and mind?

Answer: Kabbalah says that the human essence is composed of desires and thoughts. The desire is the main thing because it is the real matter of the world. The desire spins electrons and molecules, causing connection and disconnection of elements; the desire is everything.

But on the still, vegetative, and animate levels, the desire is carried out instinctively, compulsively. Everything acts like this, including the people who also belong to the animal level.

A person who begins to study Kabbalah tries to rise to the next level of desire, that is, to change from the property of reception to the property of bestowal. Then he begins to use reason, but not the one that exists next to our egoism in order to gain more in every movement, in every case. Animals also have such reason, as does any plant or stone that all the time tries to take the best position relative to the force of gravity or to preserve its structure. We are speaking about the free mind.

Freewill appears only when a person has two opposing forces—to receive and bestow. And new real reason appears between them. It is not the one that is attached to the desire and helps it gain more, calculating its actions, but the reason that arises on the oppositeness of two desires and causes the creation of a middle structure, consisting of both forces, reception and bestowal, the so-called the middle line. A person who has these two forces and builds himself out of them, is actually free and reasonable.
[92244]
From the Georgia Convention 11/05/12, Lesson 1

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Going Through The Question For Which There Is No Answer

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why were we given the Mitzvot, meaning the commandments, if everything has to be fulfilled according to our desire and our freewill?

Answer: Indeed, a person accepts a Mitzva as a commandment. After all, desire also “commands” us to behave in a certain way and we perform the desires’ commandments.

If I turn to someone in order to do something, he can do it out of fear, for a reward in this world, for a reward in the next world, or because he is commanded to do so. So a Mitzva is a commandment that is not fulfilled out of fear and not for a reward.

If I am afraid of someone or hope to get a reward, I keep a kind of a contract and not a Mitzva. I have a chance to either lose or gain according to the host’s desire which deprives me of my freewill and sets tough conditions: “Do that and then you will gain something, do something else and you will lose.” I see that there is no third way and that there is no way out. Perhaps, I may have been brought up this way or these are the circumstances.

On the other hand, a Mitzva symbolizes the fact that I am totally free. The Creator is totally concealed from me; I can do what I want, but I still look for a way to perform and to fulfill His desire. Why? There is no answer to that question.

So go look for an answer. Fear is already coercion, it is bribery, you are addicted, and it means that there is no spirituality here. So why should I observe the Mitzva? There is no reason to do so. Only a madman or a small kid can act without any reward, without wanting to avoid evil or to attain good, so what can we do? Look for the power to do so, since I am a machine that needs to be fuelled. I look for fuel without having to answer the question “why?”

When a person truly reaches the state of faith above reason, there is no reason for him to observe the Mitzva. It says: “The earth is hanging on a thread.” A person only looks for fuel, and this is the only thing he seeks and demands.

Then he even conceals himself so that he wouldn’t be shown the fear or the reward. This means that a person “restricts” himself, not wanting to see the Creator and he escapes from anything that can stand in the way of his freewill, of faith above reason.

Here we come to the point for which there is no calculation in our world and for which there is no way to measure. It is because we use our desires to choose what ensures us a greater profit.

Our freewill begins from this central point onward. From this moment on I am faced with the question: “Why do it?” Those who are trying to push themselves through this question reach spiritual conditions that are above this question.

There is no reason to observe Mitzvot in our world. It is worthless from the perspective of our desires and values.
[92177]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/4/12, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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The Hidden Button

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Inner efforts cause pain. Can we say that this pain comes instead of the suffering that comes directly from nature in the form of hurricanes and other natural disasters?

Answer: On the whole the answer is yes. Instead of rebuilding the homes that were destroyed by the hurricane and receiving more terrible blows, we can move on to internal work and make mental efforts. The efforts should be qualitative, although nature obligates us to move to quantitative efforts.

There difference between quality and quantity is enormous. We know this from the laws of the pyramid, which is divided into four levels: the still nature (s), the vegetative (v), the animate (a) and the human (h). On the level of the human we make purposeful efforts.

But other people are on the lowest level. Think about the efforts they have to make to the full width of the pyramid’s base! What a great area the desire covers, how many tons of concrete and iron, how many hours to waste, how many diseases to go through, and what a great lack to be felt!

We are above that level and can change the difficulties and sufferings of billions of people for many years with one click on a button.

The Hidden Button

But don’t think that pushing the button is easier than a thousand years of hard labor. It isn’t by chance that the people of Israel cried out in the desert and were willing to return to the hard labor in Egypt, to work for Pharaoh, only to avoid pushing the button.

This is the essence of the decision a person has to make, and so our world will not disappear until the end of correction.

By pushing that button you have to be aware and to realize what is happening, you cannot just click it and be surprised by the outcomes; in spirituality you push the button only after knowing all the actions you go through. In other words the form of redemption is already in the exile.

You have to imagine the process; otherwise you have no choice, because choosing means that you understand the future and that you choose it.

Qualitatively this work is more difficult than the ordinary work. So even though they could do it, they cried out: “Let’s go back! Let’s switch this work with the previous kind of work!”

Question: Why do Kabbalists say that the path of the Torah is easier than the path of sufferings?

Answer: You are trying to weigh two different things with the same scale: a quantum of Light with billions of tons of rocks. Can they be compared? The inner energy of the Light is a billion times greater than the physical weight of the rocks. But these things are incomparable in your egoistic perception, in your imaginary senses. First we have to change our scale of values. It is written: “A righteous is the foundation of the world.” His power and value are much greater than that of all of humanity. Without him people cannot do anything, they don’t exist in spirituality at all. So you cannot weigh the two types of efforts by the same instrument.

Question: Will everyone have to push that button eventually?

Answer: No, not even all the children of Israel, which means all those who yearn straight to the Creator. Everyone participates in pushing the button, but it is hard to say who will have the leading role in the future.

On the one hand, a person cannot advance without a leader. In every generation there must be someone who pulls forward and leads others. On the other hand, there may be something similar to the Sanhedrin, a group of people who are ready and able to find the general force that will lead the people by the connection among them. I don’t think that anyone can provide a clear prognosis, but it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that we are advancing. What is necessary is what will happen. The lack of knowledge in this case is not a problem.

One way or the other, everyone will participate in the process and until the end of correction, until the last click, we will all be in the pyramid. Only the Light of the end of correction will turn the line into a circle. The levels of the spiritual ladder don’t change, and only when all of Malchut enters the correction and reaches Keter and becomes equal to it, do all the forms disappear, except for the circle.

Question: Is that button the love of others?

Answer: Yes, but through the love of others, we yearn for the love of the Creator—we must remember that.
[92149]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/4/12, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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7 Out Of 10 Countries In Asia Are Tied To The Yuan

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from China Daily): “A ‘renminbi bloc’ has been formed in East Asia, as nations in the region abandon the US dollar and peg their currency to the Chinese yuan — a major signal of China’s successful bid to internationalize its currency, a research report has said.

“The Peterson Institute for International Economics, or PIIE, said in its latest research that China has moved closer to its long-term goal for the renminbi to become a global reserve currency. …

“And now seven out of 10 economies in the region — including South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand — track the renminbi more closely than they do the US dollar. …

“The PIIE said that renminbi could rise to the status of an international currency in 10 to 15 years if the country can reform its financial market and allow greater access for foreigners via capital account liberalization. In fact, trade is also propelling the rise of the renminbi outside East Asia. …

“The currencies of India, Chile, Israel, South Africa and Turkey all now follow the renminbi closely, in some cases, more so than the dollar.”

My Comment: China does not have time; they need to educate the population; otherwise, it will be just a stumbling block in its development. It is necessary to continue to transform socialism into integral education; this will help equalize the population’s income and unite it for good hegemony in Asia, Africa, and South America.
[92188]

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In Anticipation Of The Siberian Convention

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: We are now undergoing a period of increased internal work in the group, and some of our friends had the impression that in this connection we can significantly reduce our dissemination activity to dedicate ourselves more fully to internal work.

Answer: All our work consists of two opposites. Rabash wrote in his articles that the problem is that we are seemingly cut inside ourselves, divided into internal and external. And the world around us seems divided into internal and external. That is why it is necessary to understand how to be in contact with it.

In this regard, we often devote more time to our internal unity, and then let it go a little and become engaged in dissemination. It all depends on the condition of our surroundings.

Now we are preparing for a big convention in Russia. We hope that hundreds of our friends will participate in it, those who had not even had a direct visual connection with us.

I see this convention as a very important one and that is why the unity that we have to reach there naturally holds all our attention. Thus, while external dissemination is important for us, the internal one is more important.

Thus, we are moving. Like the throbbing of the heart, all our work moves through inhaling-exhaling, and the entire world is in this motion. Compression and expansion alternating with each other, and thus we advance: along the right and left lines. Everything is arranged alternately.

So, do not completely close either of these lines. Sometimes, we just have to move the focus from one part to another, from internal to external and vice versa. So, in any case you shouldn’t panic that we stop external dissemination, and most importantly inner dissemination.

Still, on the eve of the convention, we have to try to prepare for it more, that is, to unite, and try to bring to the convention all those who study with us in various places, especially in the region of Siberia, the Far East, the southern parts of Russia, and adjacent countries.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to stress once again the importance of this congress and to invite all the individuals, all the doubters, and those who communicate in the virtual space in different parts of the endless expanses of Siberia and that region. I hope that they all will find strength, means, and time to meet with us.

There is still a huge mass of people who are somewhere alone, far away from each other, and it is desirable that they attend our conventions at least once. I hope that they have this opportunity. Let them connect, at least with the convention organizers, and even if they are not going to attend, they should write to us so we know where they are. And if suddenly they decide to come after all, we can help them.
[92163]
From a Virtual Lesson 10/28/12

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In The Sunset Of Life

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If we ask an old man whether he would like to be a magician, he would tell you, “I would like to, but I have no desires.”

Answer: Old people lose their desires. They feel repelled by life, they are tired and don’t expect anything from life. Young people are ready for anything, but they don’t have the mind, as it says: “If the youth knew, if the old could.”

This is how we live, and so the main thing is to present a person at the beginning of his life with the option to discover all of providence, then he would know how to behave, what to look for, what to be filled by, and he wouldn’t waste his life, but rather would aspire to enter the next eternal level.

Question: Can we say to an old man, “Come to the integral education group, this is where you will find a desire?”

Answer: Absolutely! But this isn’t the only way we can attract him. We only need to turn to a person with what he actually wants.

If he still has some similar desires, then yes. And if not, if everything is already dead in him, we can just draw him to come, to sit with other elderly folks, to have a tasty roll and a cup of tea. He will see, listen, and pass the time, and he will be pleasantly impressed by being in a certain society. Elderly people should be attracted by what we call old folks interests, but not by high matters.

It should suit a person’s needs. No matter who we turn to, we must first study this group of people and their desires and turn to these desires
[92085]
From KabTV’s “Talks with Michael Laitman,” 03/10/12 

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Is It Possible To Convince The Absolute?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If the Creator is love and endless truth, then how is it possible to connect to His frequency?

Answer: The Torah speaks in the language of people, and therefore we associate the Creator with our own properties.

In reality we live in a world of laws. I am in front of a law. I am in some space where a single force acts, and I can attract its influence on me to a greater or smaller extent. Thus, the force does not change, I am the one who changes.

But, in my mind, I transfer my changes to it, and this leads to confusion. I want the Creator to love me more, despite the fact that His love is already complete. I want Him to bestow to me more, despite the fact that He already bestows on me 100 percent. I ask Him for good, I beg Him to replace His justice with mercy, but how can you plead to the absolute? What changes can be expected from the force of Good that constantly does good to both good and bad people? So imagine that Creator doesn’t hear, doesn’t feel, but just gives all the time, always bestows.

You are built in such a way that you feel your state in the desire to receive. The desire feels what fills it, and this awareness causes certain feelings. We have feelings, and therefore we always talk about our emotional reaction to something. For example, if I will touch you with an electrical wire with a voltage of 100 volts, then you will feel it. The problem here is not in the electrical wire and not in the desire itself, but in the contact between them, in the touch, and that is what gives birth to the sense. In such a way, all the feelings are born inside us, and not in the Creator, but we, as though, ascribe our feelings to Him.

Therefore, it’s best not to imagine the Creator as someone alive. We deal with a law, and to the extent of the changes within us, we rediscover its influence. Here everything depends only on our sensitivity, our perception.
[92043]    
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/12, “Preface to The Book of Zohar”

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