Entries in the 'Body and Soul' Category

Cling To Eternity

Laitman_025_01The Torah, Deuteronomy 23:14: When you sit down outside [to relieve yourself], you shall dig with it (with a stake), and you shall return and cover your excrement.

Question: Why one must cover his excrement?  

Answer: All human waste, including the deceased body must be buried in order to undergo a complete circuit.

As a result of the person’s life everything should rise, and the body waste and the body itself, from which all spiritual energy disappears after death, remain only on inanimate level and therefore should be liken to earth.

In contrast to the traditions of other nations that embalm mummies, the Jews immediately buried the dead body so that it would rot. It was considered correct since animalistic body symbolizes egoism that remains from the former person. It has to dissolve and turn to ashes by completely disintegrating into constituent parts.

The living matter gradually descends to the level that is truly inanimate. Some Jewish communities even had a custom to put lime into graves so that body would decompose quickly.

Question: Does it mean that attitude to the body should be purely biological?

Answer: The body is worth nothing, it must die. In our world, we should use it only to the extent that it is required for the spiritual ascent. It has no other value.

If you have an opportunity to correct some level of your body, you should correct it. If it works for the general correction, then do it, go to the doctor, take medicine, and so on. The attitude to the body must be purely mercantilist so that it would give us an opportunity to cling to eternity while we still alive.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 10/19/16

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What Is The Collective Mind?

laitman_281_01Question: What is the collective mind from the point of view of the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: It cannot be that the mind is not collective because we are in a system of mutual connection called “Adam.” This system includes all of our states within it that are called “worlds.”

Therefore, the mind is a sum of wandering signals that fill the system of connection between separate elements, people, or souls.

Of course, there is something that is revealed to the souls and that which is not yet revealed. Therefore, we can talk about the subconscious since there are four levels of revelation in each one of us and only the last level gives us the full and conscious existence, meaning that all the previous levels are found in the subconscious level.

If they come from us, then we can manage them; if they come from above, then we practically don’t feel them. But there is a possibility to foresee them. This is not fortune telling, but some prescience, some actions that cause the appearance of reason, that give us an idea of the inner mind (subconscious).

Question: In our world, most of a person’s states pass unconsciously. The reality that we perceive consciously constitutes a tiny part, a few percent. How is it in spirituality?

Answer: In the spiritual world, everything happens relative to a person who consciously summons his states: previous ones, those that are happening now, and those that will follow. In each of them is a part of the person himself, meaning a part of the creature and a part of the Creator. He determines our states in cooperation with us. By definition, He could be first, and maybe the second. But if we seriously comprehend all of our states, we will then begin to determine and define the Creator as the root cause.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/15/17

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Are We Guarded From Above? Part 7

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere are two levels of connection with the upper governance system. On the ordinary level, a person cannot independently affect the upper system in any way; he functions in it instinctively. The system exerts an influence on him from above and he instinctively reacts to this influence, being connected to the system in countless ways.

However, a higher level of connection with the upper governance system is possible, and Kabbalists have it. And no external objects or actions are necessary for this because this is an internal process, experienced by the individual.

Question: But still, traditions of Judaism are not just external actions; do they not have deeper roots?

Answer: The commandments have roots, but the actual physical actions do not possess spiritual power. We should not believe that the upper force is contained in the mezuzah. The mezuzah only symbolizes this force and helps us to learn about it. It demonstrates to us that a certain force called “mezuzah,” which guards the “home,” exists in nature. And what we call “home” is the soul. And this is how we come to understand that there is a “soul” and within it, there is a “mezuzah.” In this way we are introduced to spiritual concepts.

There is no divinity in the actual physical mezuzah nailed in the doorway. It merely points to a force in the spiritual world, to a particular role of the Creator with respect to the souls. All its divinity is contained within this understanding. In our world there is no divinity. Mezuzah is a symbol pointing to the fact that if I build my soul, then within it there will be a particular protective power called “mezuzah.”

Question: What does it mean to build the soul?

Answer: To build the soul means to carry out correction: the restriction of one’s desire, the screen, and the Reflected Light. For this I need the connection with others, for us to be at least ten, “Minyan” (the quorum of ten), and in the right kind of connection between us, we build the soul, “home.”

All the commandments of this world are only symbolic. The proof of this is Abraham, who destroyed all the symbols because people started to attribute spiritual powers to them and worship them as idols.

But in reality, these objects only symbolize spiritual actions that the person is obligated to perform: to build a connection with others above the personal egoism of each in order to create within this connection a place for the revelation of the upper force of bestowal and love that dwells between them. This is the point of spiritual action: to connect with the others above personal egoism. This is called love.

Question: If I perform such action, connecting with others, will I attract to myself some force that will protect me?

Answer: Of course! But you will no longer be thinking about that because you will acquire the power of love and all your goals will be directed toward helping others, in order to “live” within them and provide them with all they need. This is what is called “love your neighbor as yourself,” when you are ready to give him your only pillow. Only this force protects us in life, there is no other protection.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life,” #819, 01/26/17

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Living Within Your Limits

laitman_623Question from Facebook: You always say that a Kabbalist must limit himself to the necessary minimum. But the minimum is different for each one. How is it possible to determine the limit?

Answer: A person determines this limit himself by directing all his thoughts and characteristics to uniting with others and through them to unity with the Creator. At the same time, it is natural that the rest of the small desires, drives, and interests will be nullified.

Even though I consider myself to be a Kabbalist and am specifically involved with this most of the time, I must write and explain the wisdom of Kabbalah to people.

So, I listen to the news and watch popular scientific programs in order to conduct my lectures and talks on the basis of this.

Besides that, I love good jokes and stories because this shows how much the human intellect can turn everything around and discover the union of opposites. In principle, this is exactly what is found in a good joke.

Question: Are the minimum necessities a forced equality so everyone will be on the same level?

Answer: No. Not in any way. The main thing is for a person to find an important purpose in life and everything else he does will be subordinate to it. Everything else will be secondary. So everything will get along, becoming natural.

I learned this from my teacher. He loved walking in the park, eating well, going to the sauna, and swimming in the sea. But all this was so minor compared to his spiritual pursuits, with the height at which he was, this was perceived as concomitant.

A person must determine and define the goal precisely. Then the necessities will take care of themselves.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 1/30/17

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Where Do The Delusions Of Humanity Come From?

laitman_628_2Question: If initially we don’t have a soul, then what in this world is considered to be a soul?

Answer: I don’t even want to talk about what is considered, because there are so many opinions and delusions in our world that it is impossible to list them. I am talking about what the science of Kabbalah tells us.

All the preconceptions of humanity are based on the fact that it decided to explain in its own way the great foundations of general nature, both material and spiritual, while it is comprehended purely by experiments, scientifically and provable by people.

You just need to conduct such experiments that will help you attain a soul and you will see all the mutual dependencies, connections, and divisions between its parts. In accordance with this, you would be able to describe everything that happens in the single desire that, on the one hand, is broken and, on the other hand, is interconnected in all its states. This is the subject that the wisdom of Kabbalah studies.

Question: So there is no greater myth than the myth about a person’s soul, because it is interesting to humanity and it’s difficult to attain?

Answer: That is why a lot of different speculations were created around it and charlatanism flourishes. So many different things are said about its location, in the heart or head, or it is even called the third eye. But our animalistic body is completely unrelated to the soul.

Comment: Some say that when body dies it becomes lighter by 25 grams and this is the soul.

My Response: Firstly, the body becomes much lighter than 25 grams. Secondly, if the soul leaves it, does it mean it has weight? How difficult it is for people to get rid of the prejudices of the material world!

The body is a desire, not a receptacle of a soul.

Moreover, we don’t even have the desire to acquire a soul, because the soul is a desire to give and we only have a desire to receive. The difference between them is in the intention, for whom do I use this desire: for myself or for others.

Comment: We don’t feel electromagnetic waves either, yet they exist.

My Response: You can detect the waves, but there is no way to detect the soul, because you yourself must create the device for its discovery. It is called the quality of bestowal or the intention to bestow.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 11/6/16

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Consciousness: Beyond Time And Space

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: One of the main laws of nature is the law of conservation of energy. If nothing disappears, then presumably we also do not disappear. What happens to our consciousness when we die?

Answer: In nature, nothing disappears but passes from one state to another. There is no such concept as “disappear.” Therefore, consciousness passes from one form to another, from one carrier to another—if it exists within us at all!

It can be said that consciousness doesn’t exist within a person, that it is around him, or maybe even in a completely different dimension, in another space. Our brain is kind of a modem that picks up the general consciousness to the extent that it needs to realize itself at the moment.

Question: There is a collective consciousness, and there is an individual consciousness of each person, that which I pick up from the collective consciousness. It turns out that individual consciousness continues to live on?

Answer: Yes. Nothing disappears. It only changes its structure, design, just as our body decomposes into basic elements.

Remark: I would really like to remember my own self.

Answer: Your “I” exists in the consciousness, not in the physical body. Consciousness per se is information. Informational connection exists beyond time and field. It permeates the entire universe.

Information does not disappear, it can only change its medium. And we can not say for sure in what form and where it exists. This is the way wisdom of Kabbalah views it.

Remark: I support the idea that consciousness is a global phenomenon. Therefore, the individual consciousness is like a small holographic copy that picks up certain things from the collective consciousness. In this case they are truly connected. However, physics does not yet discuss what happens after death.

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches that nothing else exists. Our bodies and the whole corporeal world are only an illusion. This world is called “an illusory world” and is considered nonexistent. Everything else exists in the consciousness.
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From KabTv’s Lesson in Russian 12/25/2016

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Do Not Confuse Spirit And Matter

laitman_625_03Question: If every corporeal thing has a spiritual root, my family wasn’t given to me by chance either. If the Creator exists, does this means that I should reveal Him here, in the family?

Answer: There are corporeal and spiritual components.

The corporeal component is the family, and you should live within this framework and care for it. And the other component belongs only to the spiritual, which means to the soul. We should not confuse the two.

In our world, I have to care of my children, my wife, my relatives, and my parents, but this has nothing to do with my soul. It is as it says in the Torah: “Therefore, a man should leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife.”

Question: How can we examine the relations in the family solely as animals? If people truly discuss and solve different spiritual problems in the family and listen to the opinions of their relatives, is that also a corporeal inclination?

Answer: There are different families, depending on what they discuss and what they think. This is your business. I don’t reject the family, but I believe that family decisions, even the most serious ones, have nothing to do with spirituality.

Comment: We have said that good relations between a husband and a wife can help them reveal the Creator’s presence.

Answer: They can, of course, if only they succeed in doing that.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 12/11/16

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Blitz Of Kabbalah Tips – 11/27/16, Part 1

Laitman_025_02Question: Man has a corporeal body. Does the soul have a body?

Answer: The body of the soul is called the desire to bestow.

Question: Is it possible to not get confused by the fact that all of the worlds and all of reality are inside me and that the feeling is that everything is external to me?

Answer: It is impossible unless you begin to feel the upper reality. In the meantime, it is a purely philosophical question.

Question: Once we  we reach this egoistic corporeal world, do we remember our initial spiritual state if it already existed?

Answer: No, we don’t remember. We can only imagine and picture it to ourselves, and nothing more than that. However, there is no need for us to do so. We must advance and not delve into the past.

Question: Can you give a concrete example of love and bestowal in the spiritual sense of the word?

Answer: Connect to your friends in the group to such a degree that you feel them as one unique whole and, at the same time, cease to feel yourself. This is a spiritual feeling. It is useless to try to look for spiritual actions outside the group and outside the friends.

Question: How does reality change when I begin to see the work of the upper force through me and though those around me with the help of the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: When you connect with the upper force, you begin to understand how you must bestow unto it and focus on the goal consciously in order to change the corporeal reality. At the same time, you yearn to reach total resemblance and equivalence with the only upper force of leadership so that you and that force will become one whole. This is what a person’s correction comes down to.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 11/27/16

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In A Tightly Connected System

laitman_553Question: Does a soul, which leaves our world, decide for itself when it must be reincarnated in a body, or does the Creator decide this?

Answer: Since we are all connected, in this respect we have no freewill. Each one of us is a part of an immense general closed system; therefore, our movements are strictly limited and stipulated without exception. We can only change them from plus to minus, from minus to plus, like in a binary system in a computer, nothing more.

We are initially included in a single system and are completely interdependent, as small gears in a single system. Therefore, the soul of one person cannot manifest itself in different states, it is connected to all other souls.

From the beginning of the system to its end, everything is predetermined: when we are born, when we die, how we are positioned with others. The only thing that we can do is to guide the system more rapidly toward complete correction in a good way, through ourselves and through others.

Question: Does that mean that the Creator makes decisions based on circumstances?

Answer: The Creator doesn’t make any decisions at all. We are in a given system of rigid laws of the upper world from the start. It exists and functions within itself, so it doesn’t require any unique higher power.

We raise a desire (MAN) and receive a response (MAD) from the system accordingly. This means that we exist in relation to an ideal system and everything depends on the signals that we send to it. In the same manner that we influence it, we receive a response.

This general system is called the Creator. It doesn’t make any decisions because it is absolute. Making decisions is something that happens with people. We activate the system when we introduce ourselves into the system as a constituent unit, and we receive a response from it according to the manner in which we connect with it.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/1/17

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If Life Is Not Full Of Eternal Meaning….

Dr. Michael LaitmanComment: I am ready to live on the face of the Earth forever in a state of high prosperity. There is a lot of work to do; it will be enough for a long time….

My Response: You are talking like a child playing who is being dragged to bed, but he resists and screams that he isn’t done playing. Humanity has already begun to understand that all of this is nothing more than toys.

Therefore, if life is not full of eternal meaning and amounts to the existence of the beastly body in the material world, then it is meaningless.

This can be seen in the attitude of the present generation to life. They take drugs and don’t need anything. They are tired; they don’t want to work, and they don’t want to study. Maybe they still want to make money…but what kind of a goal is that? We ultimately see that humanity is “marching” toward degeneration.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains this as a delay in our spiritual development. We, like overripe berries, are beginning to slowly rot. That is the state of modern humanity.

So we don’t need to think about living forever in the beastly body, but about how to achieve a real life that is eternal, infinite, perfect, and spiritual.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/1/17

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