Baal HaSulam: “The Essence of Religion and its Purpose”: The sweeter the fruit is at its end, the more bitter and unsightly it is in the earlier phases of its development. And so it is with the animate and speaking types: for the beast, whose mind is little at its end, is not so wanting while it grows. Whereas man, whose mind is great at his end, is very wanting while developing. “A day-old calf is called an ox”; that is, it has the strength to stand on its own legs and walk, and the intelligence to avoid hazards on its way.

But a day-old infant lies seemingly senseless…

Thus, we have thoroughly shown the conducts of His Providence in our world, which is only a purposeful Guidance. The attribute of goodness is not at all apparent before Creation arrives at its completion, its final ripeness. On the contrary, it rather always takes a form of corruption in the eyes of the beholders. Thus you see that the Creator bestows upon His creatures only goodness, but that goodness comes by way of purposeful Guidance.

First it must be clear that we are in an evolutionary process. This is what we see in the world. Besides, it is clear that although our evolution leads to better states, the process of getting there can involve troubles and problems that actually spur us to develop. We also see this in the still, vegetative, and animate nature.

We see everything along the way in the form of different pressures from all sides—disturbances, disappointments, worries—but this is how the evolutionary process takes place. Baal HaSulam gives the example of a fruit that at first is bitter but becomes sweet when it’s finally ripe. It’s the same with a person who is born powerless and mindless and then grows above the animate level.

This shows that the phases we go through along the developmental path are opposite from what awaits us at the end when we attain the goal. Therefore, Baal HaSulam says that there is none wiser than the experienced. And this wise experienced one is only a Kabbalist who has already been through all the phases of development and has attained their complete form. Only such people can tell us about what happens along this path.

Thus we understand the answer to the main question about our development: How can we be sure that the Creator is absolute good? It’s because He precedes everything and doesn’t need anyone. In that case, if He controls and manages the world and does everything, if there is none else besides Him, then how can it be that we suffer? Why do all the created beings and the whole world suffer, although the Creator bestows all that is good?

The answer is that we are under a purposeful guidance that leads us to the goal by sufferings, because otherwise we would not be able to move forward. When we reach the goal, we will reach the good state that is actually attained at the end and not at the beginning or in the middle of the way. What’s more, the phases of this path are actually meant to confuse and to deceive us by concealing the final outcome.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Today, I do not like the life that I see before my eyes. What can change this impression?

Comment: The Light.

Answer: But if the Light fills me, then a pleasant feeling will hide everyone else’s problems, “Why should I care about them? Let the whole world burn. Yes, it is suffering. Yes, it is in agony; it doesn’t matter; so what?”

In fact, I am indifferent and do not see the connection between the suffering of the world and my own state. If I am well, then the Creator is good and does good in my eyes. As for the pain of others, its significance depends on how much I am able to feel the world.

For example, if my haters suffer, then the Creator is the peak of perfection for me. In other words, I evaluate His kindness not by their feelings but by mine. Then, it turns out that my enemies’ troubles delight me, “It serves them right! Do some more!” This is my criterion of the Creator’s good, not the absolute one, but the one that passes through my feelings created by the picture that appears in me.

But why does the average person suffer seeing the pain of others?

Comment: Because he is afraid that their pain will spread to him.

Answer: True. He is afraid for himself.

If I did not have an egoistic desire, then I would not feel compassion for others because I would not fear a similar fate. Thus, the egoistic desire helps me share the pain of others; it acts against its own nature. I have nothing to do with them, but their misfortunes threaten to affect me, then I feel sorry for them.

On the other hand, it is clear that if I get rid of my relationship with them, if I rise above humanity, then I will be indifferent to its suffering. “In the end, the Creator is my father, so let me rise to Him. There, we will be together with Him, and why should I care about the rest?” Having lost the egoistic desire, I will have lost the threat of possible suffering.

So, it may be possible to make an agreement with the Creator, “I perform all Your commandments, everything that You say, and we are constantly connected.” In this case, the suffering of the world will not touch me at all.

It turns out that the stronger my desire and relationship with the Creator is, the further I am away from the world. I just do not feel what happens to people. They suffer, and I am like a stone, indifferent, that’s it.

What can be done, if on the contrary, I empathize with the suffering of others? To do this I need to feel distant from the Creator, cut off from Him, and like others, dependent on various circumstances over which I have no control.

That is why we plunge into the crisis, to feel our dependence on some unknown force. There is a departure from religion for the same reason. Otherwise, a person cannot feel compassion for others, does not feel dependent on them. The egoistic attitude towards the Creator that did not pass through love of the others as oneself is not aimed at love for the created beings to love for Him, this is what maintains the confidence in me that everything is all right, that I am doing everything correctly, and others are not my concern.

If I lose my feeling of connection with the Creator, then I find myself more and more dependent on others, I am forced to establish a connection with them and through them a connection with Him. Indeed we are all in danger and experience threats wherever they come from, whether it’s the environment, the financial system, or spiritual shortcomings. A person discovers the instability of his current state, his relationship, but not his personal dependence on the Creator, but his lack of the collective whole.

That is why the current state of affairs encourages us to be corrected.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/28/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: We hold rap workshops in youth clubs, that is, we carry out our program in an adapted form. It’s hard to get started each time, but in the end, the outcome is good in terms of uniting the audience. However, in part of the audience  there is also cursing and drugs. How can we hold on?

Answer: In order to mitigate social tension resulting from idleness and hopelessness, we need either drugs or integral education. The nations’ leaders already turn a blind eye when it comes to drug trade and even secretly encourage it. What can they do with people who don’t want to do anything? This is the reason that governments (the elite) gradually allow drug trafficking. It’s better to keep the people quiet than to have massive uprisings.

We, however, believe that this is not a solution because drug consumption will become a heavy burden on society and lead to other problems. But the elite, on the other hand, think that if they wait long enough the population will diminish.

Now each generation will be reduced by half because most young people don’t intend to get married and most families have only one child. Decreasing the population by half will mean that there will be about a billion people or perhaps half a billion left in the world. This is possible.

The leaders must understand that we are now approaching people with the integral method as a strong support, as a substitute for drugs, and we do it in areas where the government is inactive and even where they are active. So the elite should be interested in integral education that provides a solution for the unemployed, which cannot be annihilated or put to sleep because they are beginning to go out to the streets, presenting  a huge social problem.

We have to turn to the highest circles, explain what we want to do, and try to show them how efficient our proposals actually are. We need to show a small example of  what we have done in Israel and what would like to do in America, Russia, and other places, and how effective and beneficial it is for the elite, for a country, and for the world.

We have to deal with very serious problems and not think that we can wait and be passive. We are not doing this for the world and not for anyone, but rather so that we can rise.

I want to bring you to the first spiritual level, at least. Then everything will follow the same pattern since the system is identical for everyone; all the levels are identical. The first spiritual level is closer to a person who is born and already begins to mutually cooperate with his environment and begins to receive (which means to feel the AHP). It isn’t a newborn anymore but a human being who feels a certain influence on himself, from himself, and who comes in contact with spiritual forces: the positive, the negative, the middle line, etc.

We have to reach that level at least. I hope that there will be a breakthrough this year. If only we begin to engage seriously in the integral education.
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From a Talk About the Dissemination 10/17/13

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Question: There is a very serious immigration problem in Russia. There were even riots in the southern part of Moscow not long ago. Nationalistic ideas are heard more often among the masses. Should we deal with the issue of the attitude toward immigrants in our dissemination?

Answer: There are objective reasons for this problem. If there weren’t work in Moscow, the immigrants wouldn’t come there since living in a foreign country without work is like dying of hunger for an immigrant, no one will feed him and take care of him.

On the other hand, if there is work, then these people should be provided with normal living conditions. And perhaps it should be enacted into law. I don’t want to get involved in the internal issues of other countries or to criticize them in any way; it isn’t my business. However, the problem of immigration is becoming increasingly more serious.

If most of the immigrants settled in Europe are not working, living on welfare with only refugee status, in Moscow and other big cities in Russia, there is demand for these workers and there is work for them. The government understands that they are essential and that without them their city would not be kept in order and in continued construction. So this problem must be solved because it affects not only Russia but other countries as well and is becoming a global problem.

People don’t understand yet that there are no countries and no borders! A country cannot be free of the illusion that it exists in its borders and that no one will cross them. What won’t he cross? Everything is open! What can you do?

You put up barriers that cause you harm! Don’t you want to import certain goods? It will cost you more in any case because according to the general law, the world already has become round! So, all the obstacles and barriers for people entering or exiting a country or importing and exporting goods costs billions of dollars. There is nothing we can do. Everything must be open!

Today, it is impossible to guard borders. It will lead only to distortions since the body has reached such a level that it wants to work together, while you are causing separation, wanting to control your piece of land, at least. It is against the laws of nature! So, naturally, everything will be distorted. If you want to isolate your country, it will lead to even greater losses.

The problem of immigration is not just an internal problem of Russia or another country, but a global problem. In Russia, however, it is especially serious.

The population must be educated. There is no such thing as we, the Russians, are one people and everyone else is against us. It is an outdated ideology that has no place in the modern world. Unfortunately, there are other nations that also think that way today. It doesn’t work anymore.

On the contrary, if you want to lead, you should open up and not defend yourself with tax barriers and other conditions. It is impossible to go against nature! It is undoubtedly beneficial to a country to be ahead of everyone in resembling nature.

Nationalism will not restrain a country in its borders. It only leads to the degradation of the population. It is totally against nature, although I can understand an individual who wants to live separately, living in a certain city and rejecting people who come from a different culture and have their own traditions and so on. It all comes down to education!

On the other hand, the immigrants are not educated either. It involves great social work. Therefore, integral education is a must for everyone! Without it, a city will not survive and things will get worse every day.

Can a state survive? How can you consider yourself an empire and at the same time reject all the other ex-republics? It means that it isn’t an empire.

So we have a great field for the activity of integral education that everyone needs so desperately and which straightens out everything because resembling nature is essential for a comfortable existence.
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From a Talk About the Dissemination 10/17/13

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We create energy with our common actions of unity. But we also need to properly use it for everyone to unite with the group.

The energy that I receive from the group is my reward for being loyal to the group. I become an integral part of a whole to the extent of my loyalty; I am prepared for them to do whatever they consider necessary to me.

This means that I use the group correctly and I can continue to demand energy from it in order to become even closer to it.

I give myself without a thought that they will fill me with their values and then this part becomes incorporated into the mutual guarantee without a doubt.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Science of our world is constantly changing, we have to keep correcting and improving it without interrupting the search.

Whatever seems to be absolutely obvious today, ceases to be indisputable tomorrow, and it is even possible that whatever was considered beneficial today, tomorrow will become harmful. Our desire constantly keeps changing and we discover a new science in it.

And since the desire to receive pleasure can change into its opposite on a daily basis, then useful things can become harmful.

Moreover, by operating only through our egoistic desire, we use all of the discoveries that were made in nature for the sake of self-benefit, and therefore the outcomes of the evolution of science harm us.

In other words, we always use it for evil. And we see that science mainly develops because we need it for wars and mutual destruction. If not for this, we would not keep evolving at all.

All the wonderful scientific discoveries are used to serve our egoism.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/21/10, “The Wisdom of Israel in Comparison to Science”

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Question: What responsibility must we take for each other?

Answer: There are hardships in life when a person finds himself penniless and friendless, and there is no one to turn to. Imagine you are helpless and completely dependent on others, like the miners buried underground. If somebody doesn’t take care of you from above, you are doomed.

That is what we must feel: desperate dependence on the friends. Without them, we will neither survive nor reach the goal, nor will we be able to sustain ourselves. It comes down to a corporeal, beastly fear that forces a person to value Arvut (mutual guarantee).

A new system is being revealed to us in which we totally depend on each other. What then are we guaranteed? We guarantee oxygen and everything that sustains life.

This feeling depends on to what extent everyone is trying to get to know it. Afterwards, while ascending the spiritual rungs, we will feel this dependence down to the very bones and in every breath we take, like scuba divers who have one oxygen tank left and are breathing through one tube passing it from one to another.

That’s what mutual guarantee (Arvut) is. After all, we are “tied” in the collective soul, except that we don’t see it yet. But gradually, the Creator reveals the true state of things for us: He removes the concealment.
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From the Talk on Sabbath Evening 10/16/10, “Arvut”

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Question: When is a person considered a student of his teacher?

Answer: A student is called someone who adheres to his teacher (meaning in the inner way) and tries to “suck” everything possible out of him. Like a baby who is sucking milk out of his mother, a student is trying to suck out of his teacher everything he has and to grow, meaning develop what he receives.

He is not capable of receiving all the knowledge, attainment, and sensation instantly, but he can obtain the tools in order to develop everything within himself. After all, a child receiving his mother’s milk does not digest it inside of him, but rather he turns it into meat, muscles, and bones. He is building his organism and developing himself. The same thing happens here.

We have to understand that from a teacher we receive something that we wish to receive and only in the form and to the extent that we put forth our efforts toward it. We do not hear what the teacher says; we only hear what we wish to hear. The work of a student is to annul his psychological obstacles and begin to listen to the teacher. In other words, the work of a student is the annulling of his ego.
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From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/20/13

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The entire Torah, in other words, the whole method of correction, is intended to bring the human being to the degree of love, or in the language of Kabbalah, to bring him so that he corrects the breaking, and in social terms: to organize us into an integral society. Thus, we see the realization of the wisdom of Kabbalah in our world.

The purpose of creation is to bring us to an inner unity which also will be accompanied by an external unity between people. We all will become as one. As it is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” (Isaiah 56:7), and “I will yet gather others to him, together with his gathered ones” (Isaiah 56:8). Thus, we will come to a complete redemption.

According to the understanding of Kabbalists, we must realize this transition now, and everything that is happening indicates this.

So, the method is designed to accelerate us on the path to this correction. Otherwise, we face the path according to “in its time,” which is very long and full of suffering. On the other hand, by accelerating, we can make our path fast, easy, comfortable, and enjoyable. For this, we were given the wisdom of Kabbalah or the method of integral education as a means of revealing the Creator in this world.

The “Creator” is the essence of the property of the “Good That Does Good,” in other words, the property of love and bestowal that is revealed in a person and between people, in their relationship with each other. Due to this relationship, this love of the created beings, they reach the revelation of the Creator and love for Him. Thus, the method of correction is realized as it is written, “Love thy friend as thyself is the great rule of the Torah.” Starting with love for others, we reach the love for the closest One, for the Creator, and then we are in adhesion with Him, which is the ultimate goal.

As Baal HaSulam writes, everything that we create, striving to achieve adhesion, is built above the desire to receive, above our egoism, and that is why we need to learn to work with it, to learn how to handle it correctly, starting with the full spiritual incapacity at the present moment up to the state where this material of desire is ready to use in order to sculpt out of it the image of the human being (Adam), similar (Domeh) to the Creator, that is, the force of love and bestowal.

How is it done? It is with the help of the Light that Reforms in the group with the friends. It is here in the group that we have the freedom of choice, the only free action that we are capable of. Therefore, it is not worthwhile to make extra efforts in looking for other ways and means. We have power over this action while in everything else our independence is illusory, but in reality we just allow nature to involve us.

If I use my freewill correctly, I move forward by the path of hastening; that is, I set the pace of my advancement myself. Then, my states, consistent with my efforts, will be more effective as well as more convenient and fast. After all, I am preparing myself to adequately, correctly accept changes that always have an anti-egoistic character. I desire them.

However, this requires a well-organized group, studies, participation in dissemination, everything that we identify in our work.

So why do we need the force of the Light, the force of the Torah? What do the words, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created for it the Torah as a spice” mean? The fact is that my advancement depends on the recognition of evil. If I can identify it quickly and as clearly as possible recognize its negative effect on me, then, I am ready to get rid of it.

That is why I must focus all my efforts precisely on the recognition of evil. My egoism, my desire to receive, initially is ready to reject everything that is bad for it, depending on how bad it is in comparison with the possible pleasures and consequently with the right approach, my nature will serve me on the path.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: There is going to be a convention in Bulgaria this weekend (November 1-3), Dawn of a New World. What do you expect of this meeting?

Answer: First, the convention will be much bigger than we expected: We expected 200 people to participate but instead about 500 people have already registered and it isn’t final yet. Our friends from the former USSR, from Europe, from the Far East, and also many friends from Israel are coming. You can arrive before the convention starts. I intend to give my first lecture on Thursday evening.

It will be a very practical convention that is dedicated to the dissemination of integral education. We will all deal with questions of how to develop and how to implement the method of integral education and will also discuss current problems.

We are starting to establish a language of our own concepts that enables us to give more concrete explanations about the global crisis, about the disintegration of the institution of marriage, about problems in education, and other problems in every area of our lives. We will speak about how to approach ordinary people, how to talk to them in order to convey our thoughts, and will explain how they can be saved from the situation they are stuck in and cannot escape.

The deterioration and the downfall is everywhere and those who are at the top today will fall even lower than others. We are going to hear about new problems and decrees every day. The governments are not to blame. It’s simply the Lights that are revealed in which we will feel and discover an increasingly worse state.

There is only one way to avoid this and it is by connection. If we begin to connect, then we will feel better in the Light that today brings us the feeling of evil and darkness.

This is the transition from the path of suffering to the path of the Torah, which means from the path of “in its time” to the path of “I shall hasten it.” The tool for this change, for turning the darkness into Light, is changing me so that I will learn how to perceive it differently. I change myself and by that I also change the Light that reaches me. The Light is divided into two types: the Light that corrects and the Light that fills and we have to use it accordingly.

This is why the Torah is called the method of correction that includes the Light that corrects me and the Light that fills me. The two Lights together are called the Torah.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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