Audio Version Of The Blog – 02.07.13

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2013-02-07_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’7.2.13′]

How Can We Get To Know The Creator?

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion for The Zohar“: The soul is like that, too: After it has acquired equivalence with Him, it knows His Thoughts once more, as it knew prior to the separation from Him due to the will-to-receive’s disparity of form.

Question: What are the Creator’s thoughts?

Answer: As it is written, “By Your actions, we shall know You” or, in other words, from my actions, I will get to know the Creator.

I try to act “in order to bestow,” to perform actions of bestowal, but I cannot. I ask for help and I get it. There are changes in me whose essence and root I don’t understand. I exert myself and become like the Creator according to my understanding of the sources and the examples that the group presents to me. Thus, I study the Torah, which means the method, the system, the actions of the Creator who is concealed in the Torah. By imitating His actions, I begin to know Him, to know His attributes of love and bestowal.

Today, I interpret the words according to my understanding, not knowing their real meaning. Then, through my corrected desires, I really will get to know the Creator. It is because the corrected desire feels a kind of an awakening inside called “Light.” Generally speaking, such desires create the Creator’s image for me in a way. It isn’t a figure and not a drawing, not a form, but I simply understand what the attribute of bestowal is, the attribute of love. I understand it as a result of my corrected actions.

Therefore, it is written, “By Your actions, we know You.” By my corrected actions aimed at bestowal, I perceive the concept of “the Creator.” In that system, I am connected and, later, adhere to Him; thus, “Israel, the Torah and the Creator are one.” “Israel” refers to the person who yearns for bestowal. ”The Torah” refers to my inner system of connection, the system of the soul, its 613 corrupt desires that I must correct by the Lights that evoke it. Then, the vessels and the Lights work together. When the vessel and the Light equalize in the direction of bestowal, it means that the Torah is revealed in me.

I work systematically on the five levels of Aviut (the “thickness” of the desire) and go through stages of attaining the Torah, by starting from Sod and ending in Pshat when everything is revealed and I have not only the Lights of NRNHY, but also the Light of Yechida, not different kinds of vessels, but the vessel of Keter. By that, I return to complete adhesion, but I return by myself with a Light that is 620 times greater than the initial Light, and, by that, I correct my vessels. I increase them 620-fold, and, by that, I know the Creator. First, I was in Him in the form of a point that He created as “something from nothing,” and now, with His help that comes as a result of my asking, I develop this point by myself from the “drop,” and stand in His place, equal to Him on the level of Adam (a human being).

Question: The Creator has one thought, which means that I must be incorporated in everyone and insert in them the one thought that is directed at Him.

Answer: Otherwise, I will not be able to put my soul together. It includes all the other souls in it. I am just a point, and, in order to build my soul, I need to attach everyone to it.

Question: What is hidden in my soul that is aimed at the Creator?

Answer: For the time being, I have a shattered Reshimo (spiritual gene), a spark, the posterior of Nefesh of Kedusha, which means a beneficial desire. The beginning of the previous connection with the Creator was revealed to me in a shattered form. I want to gain at His expense, to use Him.

Thus, the spiritual awakening appears in a person. I want to gain something, and, at a certain point, I cannot find anything satisfying in the entire world. How long can you play in this “sand box?” I want to grow and do real stuff, and then I search egoistically for a partnership with the Creator on equal terms. “You are for me and I am for You. I know that I must pay. Oh well, I agree, but what will I get in return?” This is already a state of Lo Lishma (not for His sake).

Question: So, what is our general corrected thought?

Answer: It is total identification with the Creator, an “embrace,” a “kiss,” “coupling,” which, on the whole, is called adhesion.
[99622]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/5/13, A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”

Related Material:
Reality Is Created By Actions
What Precedes Our Intentions
From Secret To Simple Interpretation

We Should Learn To Be An Iron Pillar

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “Letter 34”: Even those who were awarded with forgiveness for their sins, which turn into rights, in which it turns out that there is no flaw, will still need more power to stand in the King’s palace, which means to stand and pray and wait, without getting tired… until they acquire a complete desire from the Creator.

And so we have to learn this art before we enter the King’s palace, which means the palace of power and might, and stand as an iron pillar…

Question: Why does Baal HaSulam say that a person must stand like an iron pillar if we know that, on the contrary, we should reach a state when we despair of our own powers?

Answer: If a person despairs of his own powers, it doesn’t mean that he becomes weak. He doesn’t cry out of weakness, but is rather joyful as a hero for having risen above all his egoistic powers (the “shells“) that used to confuse him and draw him in different directions. After all, he is standing in front of the Creator now, asking for help!

So, why does it seem that he should reach total exhaustion? He understands that he cannot enter the spiritual world by his own powers since it is a totally different nature. However, he knows that he was helped from Above every step of the way and, thus, brought toward the spiritual world, and he actually is standing at its doorstep.

He is sure that, with the help of the Creator, who gave him the power to overcome the egoistic forces (Klipot – shells), he is now totally free.

If he doesn’t have the power to take the step into the spiritual world, it doesn’t mean that he is weak; it is just the realization of the fact. But the fact that every time he tried to advance with the Creator’s help means that he is a hero. A hero is not someone who foolishly fights using his own powers.

Overcoming is a war against myself, against my desire to do everything by myself, to determine everything by myself, as if there were other forces besides the Creator. It is the greatest foolishness to think that we should win by ourselves. Then, a person feels happy that he has fought and won this war.

He has won not because of his own powers. The reason why he wanted to start this war didn’t come from him, and the request for help from the Creator and the situation that was created afterward also is not to his credit.

So, why is he called a hero? It is because he has passed through all the stages along the way and, thanks to them, has adhered to the only Upper. This is what it means to win this war. Being a hero is to discover that “There is none else besides Him,” despite all the disturbances.

So, it depends on what we call “weakness.” A person clearly doesn’t have the powers to fight against himself, but he attains that he has no powers and that everything is done with the help of the Creator who has given him the powers with which a person builds himself the image of Adam (human), which resembles (Domeh) the Creator.
[99611]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/5/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
The Reason To Turn To The Creator
Steps Of Overcoming
The Most Difficult Task Is To Ask

The Reason To Turn To The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If a person must be ready to remain in a state of “smallness,” where can he get the desire and the motivation to advance?

Answer: But I want to advance in order to be more like the Creator! The Creator is an example of humility for us. I must reach a state in which I feel as if I don’t exist, just as the Creator does not exist for me now. Thus, I become like Him.

It seems that I really must fight myself in order to attain this, but this a wonderful war since in it, I need the Creator so that He will fight in my place. If I fought this war by myself, I would be in a critical situation.

However, since I need the Creator’s help, it makes me extremely happy. It is because, now, I have the reason to turn to Him.
[99607]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/5/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
We Should Learn To Be An Iron Pillar
The Creator Governs With Love
When All Doubts Will Dissipate

The Internet: The Mirror Of Humanity

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Tomorrow is international “Safer Internet Day,” and it is dedicated to the problems of the virtual environment which online users surf. Surfing the net today involves many problems and threats both for children and for adults. Can we light up this labyrinth of dark “alleys?”

Answer: We are talking about labor pains. The Internet is indeed a common meeting place, everyone’s “common market.” I think that it should go through the recognition of evil, through a cleansing process; it should understand itself better and the reason it was created. In the meantime, this virtual labyrinth is like the Wild West, but people are gradually maturing and gradually systematize this “territory.”

Generally speaking, humanity is getting acquainted with itself on this network. It is like a mirror, and so on the whole, I suppose that it is a positive process. Perhaps it should be hastened, but we should be careful of corrupting it. The corruptions on the way will only generate new problems. People want to enjoy this tool, but they cannot manage it. Eventually they will reach the recognition of evil and will understand what they should actually do.

But if the network is limited and regulated according to the old way or if it is cut off, it will not help. Humanity is used to external limitations, while we contend that people should be educated, that the limitation should come naturally from within and not artificially from the outside. Unless people understand this, no measures will help to bring about any positive change. The Internet will still be a place where people vent all the evil they have on one another. However, if we take care of people, then this global network will undergo a healing process. There is no other means; it is the only solution.

So let’s hope that people will reach it as soon as possible, and then the Internet will really be a safe place.
[99599]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/4/13, A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”

Related Material:
Wonderland On The Internet
The Internet As The Means Of Attaining The Goal
The Internet As Evolution Accelerator

“Friendship Is The Key To Long-Lasting Love”

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News(from DailyMail): “A strong friendship is the secret to a long-lasting romantic relationship, new research suggests.

“Researchers found that valuing your friendship with your partner helps create relationships with more commitment, more love and greater sexual satisfaction.

“People who put more emphasis on trying to satisfy their personal needs or desires through their relationship are less likely to sustain the bond in the longer term. …

The psychologists wrote that relationship failures can lead to negative emotions, feelings of insecurity and reduced physical health. But they added that friendship is a ‘defining characteristic of love’ and suggested that understanding the causes of break ups could help couples avoid that fate. …

“The results indicate that valuing the friendship aspect of a romantic relationship is important to relationship quality. It seems likely that placing greater importance on the friendship component of the relationship relative to other components (e.g. sex) may promote lasting relationships. …

“People who had scored highly for investing in the friendship aspect of their relationship were also more likely to score highly on romantic commitment, love and sexual satisfaction.”

My Comment: Kabbalah defines love not as contentment in itself, but the fulfillment of the other by me, as a mother feeding the baby receives joy from the baby’s fulfillment. Such an attitude toward a partner is called love. And other relationships are explicit or implicit use of the partner.
[99681]

Related Material:
Harmony Between A Man And A Woman
If There Is No Shadow, Then There Is No Sun
Is There Love In This World?

Integrality: Replacing A Negative With A Positive

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe live in times when nature finally has obligated us to pay attention to integrality. Everything closes in, becomes global, and, whether we want it or not, we already are moving toward it, and if a person were given a little theory in addition to the practice that he needs to carry out against his will, he would have a very easy inner linking.

Unfortunately, for now, we only see the negative aspect of integrality since it shows us very well its full interdependence. Be it school, work, or different government institutions, no matter where we turn, we are rejected, pushed away, and so on. The same happens with television in constant soap operas about murder, police, and courts. We see that all these things are a single common integral world, but it is a negative world. Unfortunately, this is the way we must learn about this essential quality.

We must show people that, as soon as we replace a negative with a positive, things can become completely opposite because nature is properly interconnected, and if we, on our behalf, propose a positive connection instead of a negative one, we easily would achieve the manifestation of positive integrality in all areas.
[99594]
From a “Talk On Integral Upbringing” 1/20/13

Related Material:
Studying Nature: The Way To Solve Our Problems
Walking Along With Nature
The Future Lies In A Good Mutual Connection

A Solo Pulls A Person Into The Field Of Integration

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: During the process of online integral learning, can people participate in “roundtables” they are watching? In other words, is it possible to equate a live “roundtable” to a recorded “roundtable?”

Answer: Of course. I am convinced that this really works to transform people in an integral way. You must engage the virtual audience in the discussion circle that you are showing him and make him a participant. If there are nine people, make him the tenth. For example, there are nine people in a circle, where each expresses his opinion regarding the question at hand. And your audience member joins in.

You must give him an opportunity to become acquainted with the others, to express himself, etc.

They make recordings for musicians with only the orchestral part recorded, and then I add my solo to the recording; they left in the necessary pauses for me to play. For example, I have a two-minute solo, the recording plays, then stops, giving me the time to play. This is how to make time to allow viewers to participate in the discussion.

Comment: But no one is listening to him and he knows it.

Answer: What is the difference? It doesn’t matter. He is still involved in the conversation, the discussion.

Is it really different when I play to a recording of an orchestra? I play the CD, hear loud music, and suddenly silence, and then I come in with my violin. Does it make me feel less or not a part of the performance?

Right now the performances of singers and musicians have become like a theater. Before this, they used to stand like a statue, but now they need to move, dance, and participate in the common action.

Therefore, virtual viewers must be actively involved in the common discussion because it is very easy to tune into the field of spiritual, integral energy.
[99591]
From a “Talk On Integral Upbringing” 1/20/13

Related Material:
Roundtable: A Tool For Integration
The Internet As The Means Of Attaining The Goal
The Integral Upbringing: Virtual Or Physical?

Integral Society: Is It A Utopia Or Reality?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do we show the world that a transition to an integral society is not a utopia, but a real project?

Answer: An integral society cannot be a utopia for two reasons.

First of all, the worldwide crisis is directing us toward it, and there is nowhere we can hide from it. It will continue to pressure us. Millions will be left without work. See what is happening in southern Europe: Spain, Italy, Greece, and is already approaching Germany and France.

And what will happen to the people? How will they react to everything? We are looking at civil wars and revolutions; without integral upbringing, anything could happen! Horrible nationalistic problems will arise. We see fascists coming to power in Greece. This is protectionism, which will manifest in a horrible way if integral upbringing is not introduced in time.

For this reason, a multifaceted horrible crisis will continue to push us from every angle.

How can the population be calmed down? Who will feed the unemployed? No one will! No social work will be able to keep them from explosions of protests and mass disturbances. When people are hungry, death does not scare them, they can climb barricades, nothing matters to them.

And those on top do not know what to do; they are lost. The only thing they can do is escape to an island in the Pacific until they are found there.

In other words, anarchy, terrible absurdity, and chaos are coming over us. This is on one hand.

On the other hand, we face nature, which is showing us the negative side of our inaction and lack of understanding.

For this reason, it is necessary to introduce integral upbringing at least as an experiment in a single region. Let us try! What do we have to lose? Everything is dying anyway.

Two months ago in Italy, I spoke with a representative of the European Community about education. He sat in front of me like a student sits in front of a teacher, writing down every word, he literally had pages and pages of notes. And this is a serious official, who spent the last eighteen years working for the governing body of the European Community in Brussels. He said: “It is a perfect system, but I have no one to tell about it to because we have twenty-seven countries and each wants things done their own way, nobody will want to listen to anyone else.”

He reached out: “Who can I turn to, what can I do?” In his opinion, for this experiment we need a small town with a dying economy from the closing of a huge enterprise that was responsible for the economy of the entire town.

But huge cities will soon be in this same situation. These are not small towns where people can still feed themselves by growing their own food on the land. Countries are in debt, and tomorrow they will not be able to feed their population. What is next? We are facing a huge mess.

The only thing that can save the world from civil wars and fascist regimes is integral upbringing. If we continue following the egoistic path contrary to the integral, “round” development of the world, then the next stage of egoistic development will be Nazism, fascism, and protectionism when countries realize that they are not able to do anything with the common market and they will close their borders and eventually come to the state of war.

Even if they do not want it, they still must break the economic, financial, and other connections they have created between them that are suffocating them. This is what is leading them towards a world war.

Global dependence is natural; there is nowhere to hide from it. This is why if things continue this way, we might even have to go through two wars. According to Kabbalah, there is a possibility of a third and even a fourth nuclear war. And after that, whatever is left of mankind still will be implementing integral upbringing and the integral lifestyle according to nature.

That is the harsh way of realizing the need for integration instead of doing it the reasonable way.
[99484]
From KabTV’s “Integral World” 11/28/12

Related Material:
The Unpredictable World
Economics Of The Future Society
The End Of The Development Of Egoism

To Nullify Yourself And To Know = To Reveal = To Connect

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How is it possible to integrate nullification of yourself towards the group and the desire to understand the meaning of the text being studied?

Answer: One feeling does not cancel the other. I have to yearn together with everyone to connect in one common point. In this point of connection where we are together, we feel some phenomenon that is called Malchut.

To Nullify Yourself And To Know = To Reveal = To Connect
First of all, everyone’s yearning to integrate together with everyone else is required. For this, the following components are needed: self-nullification, greatness of the goal, and importance of the friends and of the group. I have to focus all of this together and yearn for that point of general connection.

Other people participate together with me in this yearning. We act together, each one nullifies what he has. We leave this whole world at the bottom and all of us strive forward. Through our connection, we want to form the vessel of bestowal from which our relation to the Creator, the desire to bestow, will be born.

Then, in this yearning to bestow to the Creator, we will begin to feel Him, the upper Light that lands on us and fills us. The more this yearning is clarified, growing according to the thickness of the desire: 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, the more developed it will become. And to the same extent, the force of bestowal, adhesion with the Creator will be revealed in us. This is in fact all of our work.

The question is: How can this yearning to self-annulment and understanding the material be combined? To understand means to know, meaning to reveal or connect. The Sefira Daat (Knowledge) symbolizes connection, as it is said, “And Adam knew Hava (Eve), his wife”.

When I nullify myself at the bottom, I help myself prepare for connection. Without this, I won’t be able to connect with others. In order to rise to the point of connection, I must nullify myself.
[99385]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/28/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
Conditions For Receiving The Upper Knowledge
From Egoism To Love Is One Stop Upward
In One Circle Around The Pillar Of Light