Audio Version Of The Blog – 9/23/22
Posted on September 23rd, 2022
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Iranians Are Waking Up”
Despite obvious risks to their safety and decades of oppression by Islamic orthodoxy, young Iranians are saying “We have had enough!” The protests began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. She was allegedly beaten unconscious by the Guidance Patrol, the Islamic “morality police” of Iran, and was accused of a fashion violation related to an “improper hijab.” Following the beating, she went into a state of coma and after several days, she passed away. Since the protests began, on September 14, they have spread across the country and are now directed at the religious establishment itself.
Despite fear of returning to the scenes of the 2019 riots, when 1,500 people were reportedly killed, and despite seventeen deaths that have already been reported in clashes with Iran’s police and Revolutionary Guards, Iranians are undeterred. They have woken up, and they are no longer willing to be silenced.
I have always said that Iran is a very special country. It is an ancient nation with a glorious history, whose people are wise and highly developed. Yet, over the past several decades, they have been severely oppressed by an orthodox Islamic regime that does not let them thrive. The tension between the qualities of the Iranian people and the regime that oppresses them is growing too intense to contain, hence the 2019 outbreak, and hence the current one. I hope, however, that the coming changes will be positive ones, and not otherwise.
Changes are happening not only in Iran, but around the world, and Iran cannot isolate itself from the rapid developments. What is more, now that Iranians are taking to the streets, the events are bound to inspire citizens of other Muslim countries to do the same. Iran’s leadership role in the Islamic world works both ways: When it grows more extreme, countries that follow it become more extreme, as well. When it becomes more open, so do its proxies.
For this reason, it is hard to see Iran’s government willingly accepting the protesters’ demands for openness. Nevertheless, when winds of change blow, they blow around the world. No country will escape them.
Personally, I welcome these changes in Iran. I believe they are for the best, and I know that Israel would like nothing better than to restore the warm relations it once had with the Iranian people and the Iranian government.
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Comment: It is said that the Creator is good that does good. This is what Kabbalists have attained. They do not know who He is in relation to other created beings. His actions are determined in this way only in relation to us.
My Response: Kabbalists, who have already revealed the Creator, characterize Him as good that does good. But they are Kabbalists. There are people who begin to explore this, of course, and still do not feel anything; they gradually come to this state from the opposite side.
Comment: We can say that with regard to the ultimate purpose of bringing creation to the level of the Creator, He is good that does good. But there are different situations on the way.
My Response: Yes, there are different states on the way that are opposite and sometimes unpleasant. After all, creation must change in order to feel in its changes who the Creator is, on one hand, and on the other hand, to feel Him in all His changes and metamorphoses. So, all this is explored in Kabbalah and represents its main part.
Question: Can we say that the Creator is concealed and that is why we cannot feel Him as good that does good?
Answer: Yes. If we want to feel Him, no problem—change yourself from an evil being to a good one, and to the extent of similarity to the Creator when you become as good as He is, you will feel Him. Equivalence of form is the basic law of Kabbalah.
Comment: Of course, it is hard to justify all this when we look at the world.
My Response: It is impossible! You can justify it only to the extent that you acquire the quality of bestowal. Then in this form you will gradually see that the Creator is benevolent.
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From KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” 9/4/22
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Question: You said that the Klipa sort of stretches time. What does it mean?
Answer: In our world it is an opportunity to stretch or shorten time.
Question: But there is no time in spirituality. How does the Klipa work there?
Answer: In the spiritual world, these are states. So do not worry, we can still clearly use time and shorten it. It depends only on how much we are connected to each other, and in mutual connection we can reduce both descents and ascents.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States”, 8/21/22
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Humanity has already passed through various social formations in the process of its development: capitalism, socialism, etc. It has yet to come to the state of the modern world where it is clear to everyone that some more developed form of society is needed, but it is unclear where to go further and how.
We have stopped at a point where even with all the technological progress, we will not be able to live better because our egoistic relationships will poison our whole life. We have reached the red line where it is becoming obvious that the current form of interpersonal communication within society does not correspond at all to the high level of technology, culture, and education.
Therefore, internal pressure is growing within society itself, and it requires change. We see that in all countries of the world, in varying degrees, there is an urgent need to change relations between people because they contradict the form of our life, communication, and technological stage of development.
You need to understand that the next change will not happen at the expense of wars; they will not help. We have already seen this with the example of the last war. It is necessary to change people, not some external framework around them. If we do not change the person himself, then we have no hope for a peaceful and happy life.
If a person remains egoistic, he will be able to work only under coercion. Therefore, the only way out is to give each person a sense of his connection with the purpose of society and belonging so that he feels like an inseparable part of his country and people.
A person should receive inner, spiritual fulfillment from his work, that is, satisfaction from his connection with everyone and from the fact that he receives a reward from above and not a material reward in his egoism. He will feel that this raises him closer to the Creator and gives him spiritual fulfillment.
This is possible only through proper education. This is the main problem of the world. Everyone will have to sit down at their desks and study again, not just listen to the teacher, but practically implement this science of connection among themselves.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/18/22, “Connecting the World in the Last Generation”
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In the News (ZME SCIENCE): “‘Scientists say the human brain resembles the cosmos’
“Both neural and galactic networks have the same structure, pointing to a fractal universe.
“Side by side pictures of brain cells and a cosmic web of galaxies make it difficult to tell the two apart. So it can seem that the universe is like one giant brain or vice-versa, there’s a tiny universe in each of our brains. That’s not merely some entertaining thought. In a new study, an astrophysicist and a neurosurgeon have documented the striking similarities between cosmic networks of galaxies and neural networks of brain cells.”
Question: Can we say that when we freeze looking at the sky full of stars, there is some kind of breathing and some kind of connection?
Answer: Of course. I would say that the sky is a very beautiful demonstration of our inner qualities.
Question: Does it mean that the sky is what exists in us?
Answer: Of course. Where can you see all this from? You see yourself!
Question: Am I seeing myself? Then why do I freeze in delight? Almost everyone sees this sky and freezes. What is there to cause this delight?
Answer: You are shown a little bit of what is inside of you in a mechanistic way like this. In fact, you see yourself from within. This amazes you a little, delights you, and touches you.
Question: What is the most important thing I need to see inside myself?
Answer: That there is an infinite possibility in you, an infinite number of all possible qualities. You have to start connecting them all together somehow and you will receive the Creator. We need to look at the starry sky more often.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 6/30/22
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is your review of the NGL app?“
One of my students recently asked me about a phenomenon related to the NGL app: that it lets its users express their opinions anonymously, and it became a place where people curse, threaten and express themselves in the most aggressive ways possible. It is clear that by becoming anonymous, we feel freer to express our evil.
My student asked me: Are there any benefits to everyone being able to freely express their evil? The only benefit is that it leads us to recognize that we are indeed evil and that we will exploit anything we invent as a means to harm each other.
We seemingly invent something good—an app that lets people express their opinions without any policing of their thoughts—and then the evils of human nature reveal themselves. It then becomes one of many tools in our hands that advance us toward realizing the evils of our human nature, that human nature is a negative quality that wishes to benefit at the expense of others.
My student then proceeded to ask me why we are made in such a way, and why a good and loving creative force would create such evil and bad beings? It is because from such a corrupt being eventually comes good.
The good that will emerge is a state where we will all feel completely good, eternal and perfect. While we are in the egoistic evil force, we are held back from feeling the true goodness in reality, but we can reveal how we are held back in a positive way by learning and understanding how our nature works, and how it develops toward an inversion to a good and harmonious state. Doing so is similar to coming downhill in a car, with our foot on the brakes, keeping that motion gradual, otherwise we will lose control of the wheel. That is what lies ahead of us.
Based on the video “How the NGL App Reveals the Evils of Human Nature” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Comment: It happens that after a lesson on the The Study Of The Ten Sefirot a student would say: “I have been sitting in a lesson on TES for two hours and I do not feel anything, although I try very hard.”
My Response: You cannot do anything. He may sit for two more hours or two more years. It is not going to go away that easily. Until the property of bestowal appears in him, he will not feel TES.
Comment: When we started to study The Zohar, there was a feeling that an unusual thing was being revealed to us. At least people thought so.
My Response: Because they thought that now all sorts of miracles would be revealed to them, the heavens would open, something theatrical and divine would happen.
But it turned out that The Zohar speaks of what a person who opens himself understands. After all, a person himself needs to open up for this. If this does not happen, The Zohar remains a hidden book. That is why it is said to be a secret. And how to open it? Open yourself up, and then you will see that to the extent that this happens, it opens up in you.
Comment: But people felt it as some kind of internal vibration.
My Response: It is just some “childish” excitement. That is all. Pure human impression.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Proper Application of Effort“ 4/20/13
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Question: There are several stories around The Book of Zohar. Which of them is reliable?
Answer: It is unknown. Since this Book was hidden for a long time, I do not believe in any assumptions, except for what real Kabbalists say: the Ari and Baal HaSulam.
Rabbi Shimon is buried on Mount Meron. This is what it is. I know only one thing: Rabash went to the grave of Rabbi Shimon, and I felt from him how high he rises, adhering to the source.
He never went anywhere else: not to the Wailing Wall or the graves of Rambam, Ramchal, or Rabbi Akiva; only Rabbi Shimon. For him, it was just recumbency.
Question: Rabbi Shimon was Rabbi Akiva’s student. At what age did he begin to study with him?
Answer: At that time they used to begin at a very early age. In principle, he studied all his life, but I do not know at what age he began. As a rule, children began to seriously study the Torah from the age of three. This is what is written in The Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot, as well as in the scriptures, that a man is obliged to teach his son the properties of bestowal from the age of three.
Comment: I have heard two versions of how Rabbi Shimon became Rabbi Akiva’s student. The first is that he had outstanding abilities still in early childhood. The second is that he came to study when he had already married, and Rabbi Akiva did not want to accept him. Then Rabbi Shimon began to allegedly threaten him that he would tell the Romans about his studies of the Torah, and then he accepted him.
My Response: Personally, I have not read about it and I do not even want to read about it. What difference does it make to me? We are talking about a person’s inner attainment.
I do not look at this world in its animal shells. What difference does it make what is happening in them?! I look at this world only from the point of view of the forces that govern it and determine everything. Why should I look at something that makes no sense and does not exist on its own?
Comment: But these stories are told to the students of Kabbalah when they are taken on a tour of Mount Meron.
My Response: They are told this in order to draw people to a more internal study. What can you do? A person should be gradually drawn to attainment. Start teaching quantum physics to beginners and tell them that there is no time, no distance, no movement, that everything is eternity, infinity. Try to explain the quantum world to them. How many people in the world understand it at all? And spirituality is even higher.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Zohar – Myths and Legends“ 4/14/13
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is there so much hate towards Israel?“
The source of the hatred against Israel is that we, the people of Israel, reject and hate each other. And as much as we hate each other, the nations of the world hate us even more.
If we related to one another more considerately, the world’s attitude toward us would change accordingly. It is because our nation is rooted in the attainment of nature’s positive force—a force of love, bestowal and connection—and if we block this force’s entrance into the world by acting oppositely to it—with hatred and rejection of each other—then the nations of the world feel us as clogging an abundance of delight from flowing onto them. They then instinctively attribute the suffering they increasingly endure in life as somehow connected to Jews. Antisemitic sentiment then cooks within them while increasingly erupting in an exponential increase of antisemitism crimes and threats worldwide.
If we realize what made us the people of Israel to begin with, by implementing the attitude of “love your friend as yourself” among each other, then we would see the hatred toward Israel invert into an attitude of love and respect for a people that let the positive forces of love, bestowal and connection flow into the world; a people who elevate humanity to a higher level of unity, harmony and peace.
Based on the video “Why Is Israel Hated So Much?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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