Question: Why is Eastern meditation so popular?

Answer: Eastern meditation is very popular in the world. I once visited a group of Americans in North Carolina in an extraordinarily beautiful place in the Smoky Mountains. They have a huge area of land at their disposal.

They receive donations from various sources that allow them to live very modestly, eat, have a roof over their heads, and meditate all the time. They asked us not to drive by car or even pass under their windows so as not to disturb them.

People sit for hours without the slightest movement; a person is completely immersed in oneself. The question is, what tools does he use to analyze it? As far as I understand from the science of Kabbalah, these people suppress their egoism, that is, they stop using it and want to achieve complete peace.

Of course, this is an egoistic desire, but it belongs to the lowest, smallest level of egoism, and therefore a person feels some freedom from the usual press of a huge thickness of egoism. Meditation lowers everyone to a level of egoism to which they can descend to.

Therefore, it seems to a person that he is achieving spiritual revelation. But this definition of the spiritual world differs from that given by the science of Kabbalah. People are able to invest a lot of effort and time with such meditation because it provides a powerful source of nourishment for the ego and brings a sense of comfort and fulfillment.

It is not an easy undertaking; it requires a person to step away from active life, but it offers substantial reward. The group I saw in North Carolina numbered hundreds of people, men and women. Moreover, there was a ban on any physical intimacy between men and women, sex was strictly prohibited.

Man had to rise above all material things and only provide the body with the nourishment necessary for its existence, and devote everything else to inner contemplation.

I have seen other such groups and met with Sufis in England and the USA. I had meetings with people who had a regular audience of thirty million radio listeners in America.

It is quite clear to me what happens during Eastern meditation. People suppress their egoism so much that it almost ceases to be felt. And then they have the feeling that they are floating in the air, above all nature. Therefore, they consider themselves to already be in the spiritual world.

Interestingly, many people use Kabbalistic symbols for their exercises: for example, letters of the Hebrew alphabet, special words (mantras), the names of the Creator “HaVaYaH.” There are even many churches with “HaVaYaH” and the Star of David engraved on them. The Star of David is a symbol of the union of matter and spirit.

This meditation is most successful for Hindus who can disconnect from life to such an extent that they almost stop breathing. The body goes into internal hibernation, all its systems slow down so much that a person can live for many days without food and water and almost without oxygen.

Question: In what world does a person exist at this time?

Answer: He almost doesn’t exist. There is barely any life in the body, metabolism almost stops, so it doesn’t need anything.

Question: Does this not count as rising above matter?

Answer: This is not a spiritual elevation. Elevation requires that a person get out from under the power of the body, that is, the desire to receive egoistic fulfillment, and achieve the desire for bestowal. All Eastern techniques would like to achieve this, but they are not able to because they do not have the strength to rise to the next level.

They only suppress the vital force in a person so that he feels as if he has risen a little above the physical material life, above the animal level. And although it already seems to him that this is a spiritual stage, the science of Kabbalah speaks about a completely different spiritual world.
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From KabTV’s conversation “New Life 509 – Meditation And Contemplation, Part 1,” 1/25/15

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All the errors of our world across all its systems and religions lie in the fact that people bring the spiritual into the material, they drag spirituality down, and believe there is some part of holiness in certain forms, objects, artifacts, and bodies. They kiss a hand, kiss a tree, some picture, some doll. Therein lies all the confusion that has taken hold of humanity.

And no matter how much Judaism has fought against this (of course, not outwardly but within itself), it has not been very successful with the people either. People resort to amulets, red strings, “living water,” they change names and engage in all sorts of “miraculous” things.

They think that in this way they draw a benevolent radiance and abundance from above to themselves. By what means? By means of the fact that from today we will call you, say, not Misha but Grisha? So, what of it? “But just like that, it brings luck.” People use human psychology and forces of nature and think that it is spiritual.

Of course, within the realm of this world we can do a lot through the power of a person, even by the power of thought, the power of desire. Naturally, in our world there are still many laws. We do not understand why this or that happens and think that it comes from the spiritual. This is another problem. It is hard to reveal and distinguish.

Even those who engage in the Torah think that their study is something spiritual. What is spiritual in this? Since the destruction of the Temple, spirituality has remained above, detached from us. “No, we study, and this is called spiritual.” But life proves that there is nothing in this. Look at what is happening with the whole nation. Thus, the confusion is very deep.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘The Good Deeds of the Righteous Are the Generations,’ in the Work?”

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The Torah of the masses means that people engage in actions without demanding a result. The action itself constitutes the result: “Thank God, I am doing what has been placed upon us. And the reward, that belongs to the future world.”

Or one may not even demand a reward at all. One who demands no reward, neither here nor there, is called a complete righteous person. Thus, the actions themselves are considered to be all that is required.

Those of the second type perceive themselves to be growing ever worse. Their actions bring them nothing. A person exerts effort, studies, wants to attain something, and as a result feels himself in unfulfilled desires. Where is the perfection in this? And that which he wishes to attain does not reveal itself in his attainment. This is the Torah of the individual. As it is said: “The view of the Torah is opposite to the view of the masses.”

And yet, when it comes to the examination, it is made according to the result. Therefore, one must understand that all errors (Shgagot) and all transgressions (Zdonot) that a person goes through at the beginning of his path later become the true vessel (Kli), called commandments, merits.

When an error or a transgression is revealed in a person, it signifies that one’s Aviut (intensity of desire) is growing “thicker,” and it is revealed in the form of failures. A person wants to perform some act of bestowal that seems spiritual to him and discovers that he cannot, is unable, does not want to, that he is completely opposed to it.

When such qualities are revealed to him, and he truly sees how opposite he is to it, that he ibears the blame for everything, that he is the worst, and that because of him all have suffered and continue to suffer, then he truly comes to the recognition of errors and transgressions. Time after time, he stumbles, reveals his failures, and then, as he gathers himself, they turn into merits.

It is not upon a person to correct his nature. And if he points an accusing finger at the Creator, that is also incorrect. A person must understand that all errors and transgressions are signs revealing a fracture upon which he must build a correct prayer, a correct request, a correct demand.

Proceeding from this, he no longer wishes for these qualities to disappear. Now they appear opposite to the qualities of the Creator, but they must be transformed into similarity with the Creator. If a person rises above these qualities and sees them as useful, as perfect from the side of the Creator, then undoubtedly, his prayer will be correct, and he will come to the right need: to correct all his flaws into an intention for the sake of bestowal to the Creator.

At the same time, he does not regret that he harms himself and others, that he is inherently flawed. There is no evil; every revelation of evil is only in order to see one’s opposition to the Creator.

Thus, all our work from this point onward must be arranged according to how we build our appeal, the message I send to the Creator. One must formulate it correctly and express that I am ready to receive correction from Him.

If I build my appeal correctly, it means that I know myself, know what in me must be transformed, and am truly ready for it from the Creator’s perspective. Then He performs it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/16/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘The Good Deeds of the Righteous Are the Generations,’ in the Work?”

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The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method for uniting people. It teaches that first and foremost a person must correct themselves, and then everything they do will be for the benefit of others.

If we try to unite according to our natural inner impulses without correcting ourselves first, conflicts and problems begin to arise.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains how to unite correctly. That is why it is so important for us, especially in our time, when families are breaking apart, friendships are dissolving, and people increasingly strive to live alone. When they do unite, it is often for egoistic reasons, which eventually lead to explosions of conflict and divorce.

Egoism has grown so much that we now need to learn the method of true connection. Psychologists and sociologists cannot fully explain why this is happening. Recently, however, they have begun to conclude that this is a global trend throughout the world, and they find themselves confused by it.

The wisdom of Kabbalah must reveal itself in the modern world as a method of positive and benevolent unity. It is needed wherever humanity discovers its inability to unite in a good way and begins to break connections.

As a result, we see divorces in families, quarrels among children, severe fights in schools, conflicts between parents and children, and tensions in the workplace between employers and employees.

Conflicts occur everywhere: between countries, in international politics, within every state, and between political parties. Within any nation there is a clash of many contradictory opinions, movements, and factions.

Soon we will feel completely disconnected, torn apart, and distant from one another. The fragmentation will reach such proportions that a person will feel so many conflicting desires even within themselves that they will become confused and will lose inner peace and balance.

Humanity will feel complete despair and helplessness, and this crisis is gradually developing step by step. In some countries it appears more strongly, in others less so for now. But disconnection spreads like an epidemic and will eventually encompass the entire world.

It will become so great that no person will know how to properly connect with others. An inner blockage will appear, i.e., a lack of understanding and lack of feeling. That is why the wisdom of Kabbalah is being revealed: It is meant to unite people into one human being with one heart. It has the power to do so.
Without connection between us, without proper communication, our development will come to a halt.

We can already see symptoms of this degradation in the world, judging by what is happening with the younger generation: the growing distance between men and women who no longer want to create families or have children, and the increasing popularity of drugs. A person wants to withdraw inward and feel the external world as little as possible because there is nothing pleasant in it.

Therefore, the wisdom of Kabbalah which deals precisely with the correct connection between people will become highly demanded and necessary for everyone.
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From the International Kabbalah Convention 7/17/15, “One Heart for All,” Lesson 0

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Thus, the sages have found an adequate language without trouble by which they could convey ‎their attainments to each other by word of mouth and in writing from generation to generation. ‎They have taken the names of the branches in this world, where each name is self-explanatory, ‎as though pointing to its upper root in the system of the upper worlds….

For this reason, the sages of Kabbalah have chosen a special language that we can call “the ‎language of the branches” (Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 1, Part 1, Inner Observation).

The language of branches is a language for communication, not for attainment.

For example, when listening to physicians, I may understand certain commonly accepted terms, but not their inner meaning because I am not a doctor. I do not know exactly what they are saying about the functioning of organs, medical parameters, tests, and so on. That is, the language of doctors may consist of words familiar to me, yet I lack the knowledge required to comprehend and evaluate them.

The same applies to Kabbalah: I may read Kabbalistic books in any language, and at the same time understand nothing in them. Therefore, there is a difference between knowing the words and understanding their meaning.

The language of branches does not speak about the mechanical meaning of words such as “screen,” “restriction,” “reflected light,” “direct light,” Hassadim, Hochma, and so on. Rather, it speaks about the fact that a word in our world designates a branch stemming from its root in the spiritual world.

When perceiving a certain word, I hear the name of a branch in our world and instantly imagine its root in the upper world: the quality of bestowal, closeness, separation, connection, and so forth, that is, everything relating to the interaction of parts within the single system of creation.

Question: Can a Kabbalist not know which spiritual root corresponds to a particular branch?

Answer: It is entirely possible. It depends on the level of the Kabbalist.

In general, the system of HaVaYaH is revealed relatively quickly, and afterward all kinds of nuances begin to appear, secondary and tertiary discernments, and so on. These harmonics add a great deal of feelings, and very important ones at that, because the quality of perceiving spiritual properties and actions depends on them. Therefore, even the slightest shades produce a tremendous effect and add depth to spiritual information.

Question: Suppose The Book of Zohar describes people, animals, gardens, the fruits of trees. Why was it necessary to convey everything specifically in this way?

Answer: Because this is the language of branches. The authors of The Book of Zohar could not write otherwise since these are the names of parts of our soul.

Question: Why then did Baal HaSulam write differently, using Kabbalistic terms such as Zeir Anpin, Malchut, and so on?

Answer: The matter is that in describing spiritual properties, there are four languages. Baal HaSulam used the language of Kabbalah, not the language of branches.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 4/1/18

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Liars are those who say that idealism is either inherent or a result of education. Rather, it is a direct result of religion. As long as religion did not sufficiently expand throughout the world, the entire world was barbaric, without an ounce of conscientiousness.

Only after servants of the Creator expanded did the posterity of the agnostics become idealists. Thus, the idealist is only so because of his ancestry’s commandment. However, it is an orphaned commandment, meaning without a commander (Baal HaSulam, “The Writings of the Last Generation“).

Initially, Baal HaSulam speaks about the spread of primitive idol worship in the world where people worshipped trees, stones, and the sun. Much later, the three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) emerged; all of which arose from Kabbalah. If it weren’t for Kabbalah, from which all of its adherents, with the exception of a few, rolled down the hill and began to convert it into ordinary earthly practices, then today there would be neither the three main or all other religions.

Question: So when Baal HaSulam speaks about religion, does he mean the one that existed before Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?

Answer: The Torah states that before the emergence of Kabbalah in ancient Babylon, there were various beliefs; each person worshipped his own family idol, and this was purely a psychological practice.

Later, King Nimrod wished to unite all the tribes that inhabited the state (the so-called seventy nations of the world) into one nation. For this, he needed something unifying, a single supreme spiritual image.

This is what Abraham, a resident of Babylon, began to work on. Abraham’s father, Terah, not only worshiped idols but also manufactured and sold idols. Abraham, unlike Terah, came under the influence of King Nimrod and understood that a single force was needed to unite people since egoism was growing, and dividing and increasingly alienating them.

To create a state and a single nation, a consolidating force was required. Nimrod stood for state authority, while Abraham fulfilled these functions as a spiritual priest.

But when Abraham began to develop the concept of a single spiritual creation and a supreme force that would govern everything, he came to the conclusion that this force already existed. He discovered it by trying to harmonize the many totems to one common source.

By generalizing this idea and turning all the deities into a single force, he understood that it has no image. It is so universal that it is devoid of any form.

Thus, the single idol they wanted to create suddenly “came to life” and became real. After discovering that one good force of nature exists that contains everything, unites everything, generalizes everything, and governs everything, Abraham began to teach this to the people.

This suited Nimrod because now he was the single ruler, king, and authority on earth, while God was in heaven. Practically all rulers used this model up until our time.

But Abraham gradually began to annul Nimrod’s authority: “Who is he? We must worship the Creator and deal directly with Him.” A strong confrontation arose between him and Nimrod, and Abraham was forced to leave Babylon with his followers who understood him and agreed with him.

Those who had not yet reached this understanding and wished for a normal, secure, egoistic existence decided to remain with Nimrod. But they could not do so because without the single unifying force that Abraham preached, egoism began to separate them, divide them, and set them against one another.

They realized that they had to disperse, otherwise they would destroy each other in an internecine war. This was a rational decision. Thus, they scattered throughout the world with their idols, while the servants of the Creator left with Abraham.

Question: What did Abraham and his like-minded followers teach? Was it the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: Yes, a method for uniting people, for enabling them to rise to the level of the Creator.

Question: Do Kabbalists call this a religion?

Answer: In principle, what Abraham revealed is called Daat (“religion”).

Therefore, Baal HaSulam writes that the meaning of the one true religion is the attainment of the single force of nature that governs everything. A person can reveal this force if he follows the correct path toward its attainment, through which he acquires absolute knowledge of all the laws of reality.

Baal HaSulam does not pay attention to anything else.
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 7/3/17

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People ask why the light that corrects us and returns us to the source comes specifically during the study of the wisdom of Kabbalah and not during simple material observance of the commandments.

In fact, even in the material observance of the commandments, if one performs them with the intention to draw the light, there is light. After all, there is a connection between these actions, like a branch and root. And even those who have no intention to draw the light nevertheless receive a small illumination.

But the light that returns to the source, which has the power to change me, must come from the level with which it is connected. Suppose I study some topic in a book that is being explained to me by a Kabbalist who is now on the corresponding degree, for example in GAR of the world of Atzilut, and from there he explains in what form I can connect with him.

When I open The Study of the Ten Sefirot, I encounter Baal HaSulam as if he were alive because in the spiritual there is no death and no time. When reading The Study of the Ten Sefirot, I hear it as if Baal HaSulam is sitting next to me and speaking to me. Everything depends only on my connection with him. In spirituality everything exists; we only need to establish a connection with it.

Right now he is on the level of GAR of the world of Atzilut, and explains this passage of the text to me. The question is: How can I connect with him, and what do I want to receive from this? That is why this is called the “blessing of the Torah,” meaning what I want to receive as a result of the study. The Torah must bring me a blessing, meaning the correction of the Kelim, the ability to bestow, the quality of Bina.

And if I perform some material commandment, it too is a branch of a spiritual root. But who performs this action in the spiritual? How can I connect with him? This is like a non-living branch and root.

In Kabbalah I am addressed by someone who has attained and lives within his Kli, a person who reached this degree through his efforts, who built this Kli, who made a revelation, and who passes it on to me. But in material commandments, the connection is between the inanimate branch and root, from the world of Atzilut into my world, just through all the worlds. But the worlds are not people, not souls; the connection there is completely different.

I do not deny the branch-and-root connection in material commandments; it truly exists. But you are not connecting with someone who has attained it for you and is now transmitting it to you. It is a different connection; it is connecting through the inanimate or through the souls.

One can connect with spirituality through any phenomenon in this world since everything that exists here comes from there. But the most effective way is the study of the works of a Kabbalist because that soul has attained the Creator and prepared itself to transmit its attainment to me.

There are worlds and there are souls, and the souls are the inner part, the only living part of the entire reality. The worlds are the external frameworks, an inanimate system. And when I connect with a soul that has attained something and transmits that attainment to me, I want to be like him. I contact him as if  he were alive. We have no other means of advancement except to connect with the souls that are above us, that have attained this.

There were even cases when a person had no Kabbalist teacher but still connected with the souls of Kabbalists. There is always a certain type of soul that must teach you and transmit attainment to you. This cannot come to a person simply from an inanimate system.

Even if a person simply takes a book and begins to study from an inner impulse, some messenger (magid) or soul will appear, meaning a special connection will appear.

A book is not just printed pages; it is a person who has already achieved an attainment, meaning a soul that exists at some level of the spiritual world, and transmits its attainment to us.

And the revelation of spirituality without a book is a unique phenomenon that requires a special revelation from above—either at the price of enormous suffering or due to special destiny. This is not the usual path. We connect with the spiritual system and with the Creator through the souls that have already been granted this, and this is called “by virtue of the fathers.”

There were people who revealed the Creator without prior efforts or study, but these are exceptional cases that do not apply to us. We study and advance through the accepted method, the way people are meant to advance. And if someone somewhere in humanity advances differently… anything is possible, but that is an exception to the rule.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/18/26, Rabash, “What Are Torah and Work in the Way of the Creator?”

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Question: When people ask you questions, do you listen to the words or do you sense the person’s inner impulses?

Answer: The thing is that I do not perceive a question as sound. First, I must draw a picture of the person asking the question within myself; then I must transform this picture into a general picture, a general image (not the specific one they are asking me about), and only then compare it with the true existing picture.

After all, a person does not ask quite correctly. It is possible that he does not understand the state he is asking about, he imagines it incorrectly. Then I must reveal an even deeper picture, the true one that evokes his feelings and phenomena. All these several types of sensations, layered on top of each other, must exist within me simultaneously.

Only then can I connect with the questioner and answer their question and everyone else’s.

Comment: That is a complex system!

My Response: It is not a complex system; I cannot do otherwise, what kind of answer would it be? Flat, single-screen. And there must be four screens, like in Windows, one behind another, from the inner screen where the light, the upper force, depicts states for a person, to the outer one, which he is able to feel, and to an even more external one, which he conveys supposedly in words.

I have to feel all this; otherwise, the answer is not an answer. It will be either at the level of external, earthly psychology or some sort of semi-mysticism, something not discussed.

Question: If you put different people in the same studio, dress them the same way, and they all ask the same question, would you answer each of them differently?

Answer: No. Even if several people ask the same question, I think that it practically does not depend on the person. I try to bring the question to a general level and by no means leave it on the private level.

In principle, what private questions can there be? They are all the same. Everyone goes through the same states that differ only slightly in those internal sensations that we cannot compare with each other. As I feel red, warm, bitter, and sweet, so do you, but we cannot compare how. We only conventionally describe the same impressions with the same words. So, I do not think we need to get into these discussions.

The Book of Zohar says that this is a very profound study of how we sense, understand, and adapt something within ourselves. After all, each of us is a very complex system, spread across the entire universe, across all the worlds. So to speak of private and general, at least, not now. This belongs to the level of The Book of Zohar, not to other Kabbalistic books.
[352558]
From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Answer to Any Question” 9/12/10

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Question: What place does physical observance of the commandments occupy in spiritual work?

Answer: All the commandments are merely expressions of spiritual laws in our world. Unfortunately, their physical observance gives no result. This is confirmed by the fact that, despite two millennia of Jews observing the commandments, our condition has only worsened.

In the code of laws, the Shulchan Aruch, there are many rules that speak about love for one’s neighbor, about correct and kind relations between people. But we pass over them as if they were written for small children and not for us.

We consider, for example, that the most important thing is to perform the ritual of washing of hands. Yet this ritual speaks about cleansing our hands from egoism, from the desire to take the whole world for ourselves. The same applies to all the other commandments.

It is said that “a commandment without the correct intention is dead.” Therefore, if we observe them only in a physical form, then unfortunately, we will not obtain any positive outcome except an ever-growing egoism that increasingly divides the entire nation, including religious people.

We have come to a state where returning to the state of connection between us becomes mandatory; without it humanity will lead itself to destruction. And if we take the books of our sages, we will see that they speak precisely about this.
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From a Public Lecture in New York, 7/20/15

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Question: How much time would it take you to explain to a newcomer what spirituality is, to tell him about spirituality and show it to him?

Answer: Show it? How can you show it to him? He has no tools to reproduce it within himself.

Comment: Let’s put it this way, to convey spirituality. I remember there was a program called “All of Kabbalah in 90 Minutes.”

My Response: You can explain it even in five minutes! That is not important. You can convey in a single sentence what Kabbalah is: “The revelation of the Creator to a person in this world.” That is it. And then, go study. Until a person changes himself…

Kabbalah is not an external science but an inner one. Therefore, everything depends on a person’s qualities. And person’s qualities depend on his efforts, not on me.

Comment: But still, the external picture, whether one wants it or not, attracts a person at the initial stage, and someone who begins to study Kabbalah can work with that.

My Response: Yes, I understand you. Make clips, movies, whatever you want for your advertising. But the wisdom of Kabbalah is still an inner science.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Mind or Heart” 10/1/10

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