Entries in the 'Egoism' Category

What Are The People Of Israel Lacking?

Dr. Michael LaitmanSpecial Edition: Events in Southern Israel 
Today the Jewish people are lacking unity in the human stage of development. This is the “Egyptian exile”—when a person suffers from its own egoism. At first, he seems a good “king,” but over time it becomes clear that he sucks all the juice out of the planet and of ourselves.

By the will of this “Pharaoh,” we have polluted almost all that is possible, in nature, as well as in relations between us. There is a crisis, what is called the “seven lean years” when we realize that our ego is literally killing us. We want to use others, instead of being a guarantor to each other.
[93572]

Related Material:
A “Pill” Against Terrorist Attacks And Wars
The Method Of Salvation
Our Only Choice Is Unity

Let’s Open The Door To The Light

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Can The Book of Zohar help me recognize evil?

Answer: The Zohar, more than any other source, can help a person feel the evil. We advance on the way to the Light, to the Creator, to the force of bestowal, which is the only one who rules and who operates in reality since the desire to receive doesn’t move if the force of bestowal, the force of the Light, doesn’t impress it.

So it turns out that without Kabbalah books, and especially without The Book of Zohar, we wouldn’t discover the source of our movement, but would just wander in this world. It is the Light that impresses us in the form of circles if we evoke it to get closer to us equally on all sides, and then everything is immersed in different troubles and problems.

But what are troubles and problems? It is the feeling of our oppositeness from that Light. We don’t know what the Light is, but we feel bad, not knowing what it is.

If a small child feels cold, for example, he is shivering and crying and doesn’t know what to do. Next to him there is a door to a warm room, but he doesn’t know that he should go in there. So he continues to cry and to scream, but is not able to tie his bad feeling with the cold. He doesn’t understand that he feels bad because of the cold and doesn’t know that if he goes through the next door he will feel good and warm. He attains this only according to the actual phenomenon, but he doesn’t know where it stems from. He only reacts simply to his inner state, without a cause and with no results. This is how the simple desire to receive responds.

But if this desire begins to build a head for itself, then he already understands where things come from and why and how he can be saved, and what actions he should take in order to escape the bad situation—this is already a head. But how is it created? By the Light that by different actions builds in him this mechanism, which doesn’t exist in the desire to receive at all.

Thus we gradually advance to the good. There are people on such a level of development who simply cry out when they feel bad. There are others who try to escape in different directions, but don’t know the right direction. There are also those who manage to escape. There are those who understand that there is no need to escape, and that if we perceive the Light that comes to us and it makes us feel bad, here in our place, we will turn it to good, and there is nowhere to run at all. So they overcome their state, transcend it, and discover the Light in the same place. It all depends on our development.
[93297]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/12, The Zohar

Related Material:
Ego, I Am Not Yours
Comments On The Book, The Next 100 Years
Making A Step Toward The Creator

The Future Is In Superhumanity

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Ken MacLeod, an award-winning science fiction writer): “Theoretically, Marxism came up with a secular, materialist account of what made humanity distinctive: a complex, evolving, and indefinitely extendable interaction of labour, consciousness, and social relations, all rooted in the mutually reinforcing co-development of hand, brain, and tongue. …

“But the aims of most of the millions of ordinary people who believed in socialism were modest: full employment, social security, free education, and healthcare.”

My Comment: For the first time in human history, we can select in advance one of two ways of our development towards the state of complete balance that has been established by nature. We need to see our future state because it is opposite to our egoistic nature. If it had matched nature, we would have just moved forward automatically as throughout our history, pushed by our growing egoism.

It is the oppositeness of our egoistic nature relative to the next altruistic state of humanity that stops us in transition to this state. The pressure on us, egoistic individualists, from integral altruistic nature will constantly increase, producing crises and disasters that will push us to understand the causes of our suffering and to accept balance with nature, to achieve unity among us and with it as the peak of our development.
[93434]

Related Material:
The Birth Of Something New
The Future Lies In A Good Mutual Connection
In The Grip Of The Common Interconnection

Interconnection As A Remedy For The Crisis

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister): “Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said that Spain must be united in tackling the crisis and called for the difficult situation to be handled with shared determination, both nationally and internationally, to avoid ‘cracks’ that would make us vulnerable and ‘to strengthen and shield ourselves from uncertainty.’

“Regarding the reform of the public administration services, she highlighted the need to promote a ‘far-reaching’ reform that avoids duplication, saves money and improves the service; in short, one that provides ‘coherence’ and better channels resources. She insisted that this reform is the most important structural reform currently being implemented by the Government and announced that ‘an important merger process’ will take place at the end of the year because ‘21st Century governments cannot function with 19th Century structures,’ she said.”

My Comment: This is how nature will gradually force us to accept its higher general law—all its parts tend to a single form, mutual connection, and equilibrium. Of all the still, vegetative, and animate parts of nature, it is the human being who is an offender of balance. Our egoism wants to grab and use the whole world for itself. Suffering or reason or their combination will force it to be tamed. The example of Spain shows that they are close to the realization of the problem.
[93431]

Related Material:
Barter Brings People Closer To Each Other
Europeans Go Overseas
Spain’s Lost Generation? No, A Newfound One!

A Prayer For Correction

Dr. Michael LaitmanEgoism pressures us, holding us in its slavery and not letting us rest. Every moment we continue doing selfish calculations in its favor with no end to it. How can we escape from this slavery? By all means of establishing ourselves stronger in this demand, that we are in the group, study, and participate in events, dissemination, workshops, gathering of friends, and festive meals only to obtain the force of bestowal. This is called faith.

A person experiences the suffering of Job which is the symbol of unbearable human suffering, revealing all of his egoistic nature to the deepest level and discovering that he can do nothing with it. No matter how much he checks himself, he won’t find a single grain that will bring forth something good. This is called the suffering of Job that can’t be overcome and somehow healed because in fact it’s impossible to find any clue in our nature from which correction could begin. That is, we have no power by means of which it would be possible to perform the actions of bestowal.

But it’s said that the Creator created the evil inclination and the Torah as a means to correct it. That is, there is a remedy: the upper force, the Reforming Light that comes to a person on condition that he requires correction. All that we need is to discover our plea, and then the Light will affect us.

A plea is a desire, the need to be corrected. It’s not just an egoistic desire to enjoy, but a regret that one was born an egoist. This requires preparatory work carried on from generation to generation, the influence of the environment, of the Surrounding Light that reaches a person even unconsciously and without his knowledge.

Even without studying Kabbalah, a person begins to get to know his evil. As in our current state of crisis, humanity is about to do this in order to discover that we are all egoists, and there’s no way out. Everything is heading towards this, and we’ll just devour each other, and will it be the end of civilization on the earth? What are we to do?

There’s a general and personal preparation period in which a person’s evil nature is slightly revealed. He feels that there’s no escape, and it needs to be corrected. And if the point in the heart awakens in him, he begins his correction. But those in whom the point in the heart is not awakened, they feel the true suffering of Job, with no hope to change themselves. Any actions that seem altruistic to us, any charity and noble impulses will nonetheless turn out egoistic in the end. Becoming more aware, a person begins to understand that throughout everything, egoism is manifested, acting only for its benefit. No matter how nice charitable organizations and actions look, they do not bring any correction.

The world is built in such a way that if we act according to the law of the correction of nature with the help of the Reforming Light, then we correct it. And if we don’t follow this law, all our best actions are turned into harmful ones. And with these best intentions, we cause the most damage, not bringing any good. That’s why Rabash writes that when he looks at all the suffering that the world experiences, he has nothing to help other than to pray for their correction.
[93322]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/18/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

Related Material:
About Suffering Great And Small
A Prayer For Society
Recognizing Darkness In The Black Point

A Spiritual Triangle

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do we achieve freedom of will from our egoism through the connection with each other? How can I consciously be free and develop freely, not pushed by a stick towards happiness or by being attracted by a candy to the same happiness? I want to become aware, understand, and realize myself and my free will, independent of these motives. How is this possible to implement in the group and by what conditions? After all, this problem exists even after the Machsom when I already know and understand everything.

Answer: A person attains independence from the Creator when he asks the Creator for the sake of the group and asks the group for the sake of the Creator. If he is one-on-one with the group or with the Creator, this cannot be achieved. This is a triangle.
[92977]
From the Georgia Convention 11/5/12, Workshop 1

Related Material:
The mystery Of Our Freedom
The Creator Is Hidden, But The Group Is Open
Between Minus Infinity And Plus Infinity

Squabbles Or Connection?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we assess the state that the group is in, and is it worthwhile to do so?

Answer: When a person is sad, angry or experiences some strong emotions, we say to him: “Relax, rise above yourself”, and so on. Meaning, we always invoke him to ascend above his emotions.

Our work in the group should all the time be based on us always ascending above our ego. We understand it, appreciate it, because it is precisely it that pushes us forward and does everything that is possible for us, so that we rise above it. Therefore, the ego is called “help against”. Meaning, all the thoughts, desires and intentions that pop inside us each moment, everything that we have internally, everything that flows within us in an unceasing current is required only so that we rise above it and “swim” above it.

When a person grasps and understands this and begins to work with it, he attains the goal very quickly. This is in the group and also personally in each one of us. Meaning, in the group we have to treat each other in this way, also towards the general state of the group, that includes all sorts of discernments and everything that is just possible.

What discernments can be in a group if we don’t rise above ourselves? Are we like scandalous neighbors in a building that begin to inquire into the relationships, or sloppy drivers that argue between them?!

We need to ascend above, to connect, and afterwards clarify what the problem is. And it could be that this is not a problem at all, but actually a special assistance that helped us connect. But without connection, it’s not a group, Kabbalistic discernment, but just a quarrel, a regular mundane condition.

Therefore, we must first and foremost connect. For this, a third person may be required, or some sort of additional conditions, but without connection we will never clarify anything. There will always be someone right and someone guilty.

I mean our group relationships, and not dissemination work, like in every enterprise there are those that understand more, managers and employees that are subordinate to them. In a group, we can solve all the problems only from the point of view of connection and unity.
When we connect together in the point of unity and hold on to it (since this is the main thing for us, and the Creator intentionally arranged everything for us so that we will attain this connection and hold on to it), then we will see what is bad, what the problem is, and not gloss over it, but try to understand its essence.

This is required only to realize that the connection solves all the problems. “Love will cover all sins.” Meaning, in principle nothing has to be corrected, because all the quarrels and oppositions are required only to rise above them and to connect. There is nothing else in them. There is no need to turn to them; you in any case won’t find the truth in them.

By the way, it’s the same thing in a family. Rise above all the problems and connect! And what happens with what was before? There was nothing, in any case you won’t be able to help. Each one of us is opposite to the other and most importantly, always different.

What is the point in you starting to inquire about something? The Creator deliberately arranged for you such conflicting new traits that cannot even be imagined. All our lives are composed of them. Everything that we see now around us is like a movie in which only all of our incompatibilities are shown to us, from which this picture of the world is composed. When you begin to ascend above, then you “swim” in a completely different plane: in unity.
[92392]
From the Georgia Convention 11/06/12, Lesson 2

Related Material:
What Prevents Us From Connecting?
A Positive Charge
The Group Is The Ground For The Revelation Of Nature’s Secrets

Learning The Wisdom Of Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanIt is said that there is none wiser than the experienced. It seems to a person that he has been through a lot and that he understands a lot. However, there is none wiser than the experienced doesn’t refer to mere understanding, but to actually having been through all these states and feeling them. Who knows what other states are yet to come.

So a lot of patience and endurance are required of us no matter what happens. The main thing is to adhere to the environment that will help a person hold on in any situation and to not leave the path, to hasten time, and thus to turn all the problems that are revealed to help, for the good.

The evil that is revealed is detachment from adhesion, from the feeling that “there is none else besides Him.” This is what the person sees as evil and not the unpleasant bodily feelings, until all his organs begin to feel the same thing. This means that the Light that Reforms brings him an actual feeling of pleasure from the fact that there is none else besides Him that dominates him.

Until then a person has to go through many states in which he feels lost and wants to totally disappear from this reality. But eventually, he reaches opposite states when all the emptiness that is revealed turns into the one place in which he can value and praise the Creator’s domination, the dominance of the force of bestowal.

Then he is able to relate differently to all the states, relationships, people, and values that were previously hateful and caused him pain. He understands that “there is none else besides Him,” and that everything that happens is for his own good. Then he begins to love them until he attains complete absolute love.
[92695]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/12

Related Material:
Looking For A Real Taste Of Bestowal
A Sage Raises Himself As A Newborn
Learning To Perceive Goodness

We Are Not Afraid Of Any Dates

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Currently the entire Internet is buzzing with prognoses that some unpleasant events will take place in December of 2012. What does Kabbalah say about this? Please reassure the world!

Answer: How can I calm you down?

I think it all depends on us, including you. I am not going to calm you down, but completely the opposite because we indeed exist in a very sharp freedom of will and December and the entire next year depend on us. In addition, these states, which we will have to go through, are completely determined only by our world group and by no one else.

Thus, I will not be calming down anyone of you. On contrary, you have to feel very clearly that the entire world depends on you. You have to consciously realize this, meaning that you need to have a serious attitude toward our task, a constant mutual aspiration in your hearts.

Do you feel how our hearts are gathering more and more into one ball? Only this will save our situation and will make it wonderful. It will be wonderful in the sense that we will remember that we have to be closer and more united until we get all of our one heart together. Then we will not be fearful of any calendar.
[92669]
From the Georgia Convention 11/6/12, Lesson 3

Related Material:
48 Hours Until The End Of The World
The World Depends On Us
On The Way From Chaos To Harmony

Growing Recognition Of The Current Moment

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday we are only beginning to suspect and discover that we are mutually and tightly connected, and are conducting research on the topic, and writing various articles about it on the Internet. But it wasn’t that way before.

Ten years ago I couldn’t speak about this. In 2005 I presented a document in Arossa, Switzerland at the World Wisdom Council, and they refused to agree with me. Four years ago I spoke with a Nobel Prize winner in economics and told him that the world was in a crisis and that everything will disintegrate rapidly, just like at the time of the Big Bang when the universe was created! He didn’t agree with me.

There were many such people. I gave lectures in the US at different universities, colleges, everywhere.

Five weeks ago, I met a representative of the EU in Italy. I told him about what was going on and he understood me—something that has not happened before. He wrote down everything, like a student, and asked me again and again, but his conclusion was: “I agree with everything that you say, but we cannot put this into practice; we cannot solve this, we don’t have anyone to turn to at the moment, no one will understand, although you are right.”

This means that gradually the world is advancing toward the recognition that we are in a closed space, under the influence of the forces of nature, not above them, and that we cannot do as we like as human society also has certain attributes that were given to us by nature.

We have to study these laws and to abide by them since otherwise we will feel bad. And most importantly, when nature is locked and becomes global there are mutual interactions of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking components, and then our negative interactions can affect the world of the still, vegetative, ad the animate just as it is happens now with hurricane Sandy or tsunamis.

This means that all these levels of interaction are interdependent and it turns out that man by his wrong attitude to other people and to nature affects everything, since man is the highest level.

Here we need the wisdom of Kabbalah since it tells us how we should organize ourselves. If we don’t become round as our ego is, which means mutually interdependent, we will find that we are opposite from nature.
[92376]
From the Georgia Convention, 11/5/12, Lesson 1

Related Material:
The End Of The Development Of Egoism
New Rules Of A Global World
In The Zone Of Choice