Comment: After extensive research, scientists in the UK discovered that a high level of income doesn’t make people happy. Results were published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Answer: Although there is a saying that “money can’t buy happiness” and people understand it, everybody wants money.

If you ask a modern person what he wants more, money or happiness, he will probably reply: “Money. Once I have money, I will buy happiness.”

The ego, which is now being revealed in the whole of humanity, needs nothing but money. In the past people were less egoistic, they had other inclinations, their ego didn’t require such a thorough satiation.

Comment: So you in a way refute this research, which says that people regard happiness as family, friends, and children?

Answer: They came to this conclusion after thoroughly checking the ability to buy everything and seeing that it doesn’t work.

But we haven’t reached our absolute development yet. We are at its final stage, which isn’t over yet. Humanity already realizes that money doesn’t bring happiness and that ultimately happiness is more important than money.

But on the other hand, if a feeling of happiness is not built on any material basis, it is a false feeling. It’s like taking a drug: “I am happy.” “What’s the matter?! Why is that?” – “Happy.”

You received some kind of injection and the enjoyment overwhelms you, doesn’t let you move, because you don’t feel any suffering or emptiness, you don’t need to yearn for something, do anything. You even can’t understand the sufferings and desires of others; you can’t be connected with anyone! Like an idiot, you simply stand in the middle of the world and feel good.

Question: Does it mean that happiness stalls development?

Answer: Of course! Had the greatest artists, writers, or musicians not suffered, had they not been internally unhappy—whether or not they had a piece of bread or not—if they weren’t unhappy in their inner search, in suffering, would they created anything? Never!

Happiness lies not in the definition that we begin to ascribe to him immediately. Happiness can only be felt over the sorrow, only above what is hard to find, above suffering, when you strive for—and achieve, strive—and reach! When you desire—and then achieve, desire—and then achieve—this isn’t happiness!

Happiness includes simultaneously both suffering and a pleasure above it. This state can only be attained in the wisdom of Kabbalah, when emptiness doesn’t get filled but builds a fulfillment above it. Both emptiness and fulfillment exist constantly! Let’s say I long for something, and through this longing I feel pleasure, fulfillment.

Happiness, if we define it correctly, from the Kabbalistic point of view, in its true form, is a state of absolute unhappiness and absolute happiness at the same time—emptiness and fulfillment, which don’t annul each other.

And then you don’t need to cover it with money or anything else because all your empty spaces are getting filled and stay empty at the same time. For example, you eat something—and all the time want it, drink something —and all the time want it, see something—and all the time want it. It means that the pleasures don’t end, but only grows upward, and to this extent the emptiness grows downwards!

This is the wisdom of Kabbalah! The science of obtaining true happiness. And the feeling of endless happiness brings you to the sense of eternity!
[180565]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/27/16

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Question: The Communist Party in China conducts a yearly educational campaign for members of the party who number around 88 million.

In support of the party it is said that, “it is up to the members of the party to think and act in full accord with the policy guidelines of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. They must work tenaciously to serve the people and contribute their share to social progress and economic development.”

Will they be able to hold and maintain this line in the new world?

Answer: The point is not whether they will be able to hold onto this line or not. Rather it is that there is no alternative. What kind of alternative can they show to America, Europe, or Russia? There aren’t any examples in the world that China can follow. And why would it change itself? A traditional attitude toward the people, toward themselves, and toward the nation normally fits into this infrastructure.

Comment: That is, this is a method for freezing what works according to the principle that one shouldn’t touch something that works.

Answer: That is the best thing. It is impossible otherwise. They are leading very correctly. The Chinese are serious and pragmatic people for which there is only this life in its most material and normal sustainable way. That is what they are trying to implement.

Question: On the other hand, it seems that their principles are very close to the principles of the wisdom of Kabbalah. Essentially in what way do they differ?

Answer: I do not believe that their policies are built on an aspiration to unite the people.

Comment: But in the accepted document it is said that they must work tenaciously to serve the people and contribute their part to social and economic progress.

Answer: This is said in the interior for the Communist Party, not for the people, and therefore the people are not engaged with this. The people simply know that they must exist in these frameworks, otherwise it will go out of control. The Communist Party of China is a very serious purposeful organization.

Naturally, there is no connection with Kabbalistic principles through which people realize the need for unity above egoism, which is what devours them and separates them. This still doesn’t exist in China because their egoism is found on a very low level. So the residents of the nation are still far from sensing a need to realize Kabbalistic principles.

I do not believe that China will independently join those nations for whom the wisdom of Kabbalah is imperative for realizing the unity of the people.

Question: But at some point they will join the others. After all, isn’t it said, “…for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:33)?

Answer: Right, but it depends by what means. In the meantime, they have no general, balanced, or vast ego that requires healing and repair with the help of the Upper Light.

Question: Who is standing first in the chain of correction?

Answer: The Jews throughout the world are first. This cannot be taken from us. We are the most egoistic people in this world; in this we are ahead of all of humanity. And after us are all the developed nations in the world, the Europeans and the Americans.
[178602]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/1/16

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Comment: Full of energy, 92-year-old Shimon Peres was interviewed by the paper Le Figaro in which he said: “We are witnessing the transition from an old world to a new world—the era of territoriality and conquest is coming to an end. We now have a global economy, but there is no global government yet. In the new world it is impossible to rule, you should serve.”

At the end of the interview Peres said: “People often ask me how I manage to stay so young. The answer is simple: count how many things you have managed to do and how much is left unrealized. If you have more plans than memories, you are young.”

Answer: That’s true, Peres said that very nicely. The question is what’s next? We are nearing a point in which 99% of the world population will live in great poverty. People will not be able to work because robots will do everything, and so they will only be provided with the basic necessities. A dozen rich people who control the world will begin to look for a way of cleansing our planet of poor people as quickly as possible, since why do we need people who live like that?

This stage is necessary so that people will see what egoism brings. Where is the freedom, equality, brotherhood, and happiness? Where is education and upbringing?

We have lived in the best period in human history which we can call the frozen era both in Russia and the West. Even the US realizes today that it is not going to be the same US it was in the past. We have undergone a rotting process.

Egoism has tempted, confused, and put us to sleep in order to show us that it is like a snake that devours itself. In other words, egoism has pulled us to a nice, comfortable bourgeois life. And now all this goes to purchasing drugs, unemployment, emptiness, and the awareness of our worthlessness of our existence.

Here to replace it will come more and more terrorism, a terrible state when one neither lives nor dies. Only later will humanity understand that unification above egoism is the only way we can exist.

Question: Who do you think can lead the world to unity? What attributes should such a leader have?

Answer: This person should feel the understanding of the essence of the world, the creation, its goal, its development, and trend; he should understand the general law of nature and where all this is headed.

Such a leader should feel that nature is pushing us to unite and should look for ways by which we can unite despite our ego. He should understand that the main thing is educating human society, education that leads to unity.

It won’t take long. Any leader would be able to do it if he only wants to take on this mission and introduce a universal method of education to society. People will study in their spare time. People will receive a salary and engage only in that.

This kind of education will lead only to unity by examples and exercises explaining how we should unite. Thus we will see immediate changes in society. It will be an inner revolution.
[180989]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/31/16

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Comment: The Chief Rabbi of Israel announced that we should deport all the gentiles to Saudi Arabia, they have no place in Israel.

Answer: As a Kabbalist, I totally agree with him. There is no room in Israel for gentiles; there is only room for Jews since the term the “Land of Israel” refers to the desire that is directed straight to the Creator, to the attribute of love and bestowal. The word “land – Eretz” refers to a desire – Ratzon, and the name “Israel” stems from the words “Yashar-El,” which mean straight to the Creator.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the terms “Torah, Israel, and Jew” are states in our world, the upper world, etc. A Jew is a person who yearns for the love of others and a gentile is a person who has no such yearning but only egoistic self-love.

Therefore according to the actual definition, there is only room for Jews in the Land of Israel, which means for those who feel the love for others, and they can be Italians, Mexicans, French, anyone. When a person begins to take others into account, which means that he transcends the internal psychological barrier, and they become close to him and not strangers, he becomes a Jew. This country is called the Land of Israel, and only our desires or the person who has corrected his desires from hatred to love, which means that he has been converted, is a Jew. The term “Jew” or “Hebrew – Ivrit” stems from the Hebrew word “Ever – to transcend,” from hate to love. All of humanity should reach this feeling of love, not only those who were born to a Jewish mother.

Jews who were born to a Jewish mother have a method of transcending from egoism to altruism, from hatred to love, which they attained in the past. Then they fell from love to hatred and have been in the state of hatred for 2,000 years. Therefore, they have to come back to life today and show the whole world how humanity rises from egoism, from hating others to love.
[180777]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/28/16

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Comment: Scientists from the Universities of Melbourne and California have proven that unduly risky behavior is contagious. We see how much gambling, reckless driving on the highways, and even terrorist organizations attract many people because the environment influences us very strongly.

Answer: The idea is not in the influence of the environment, but that the person comes in contact with the unknown in this manner. He feels that there is something unknown that manages him; there is some kind of force found above him. In the monotony of daily life he cannot come in contact with that power. It is only if he tries to break through to it that he can come under its influence and feel a connection with it.

This is a very internal and strong need. What is gambling? If I were to know from the start the benefit or the loss, then this would become a business. The game lies in the fact that I do not know the outcome, and it is my pleasure, and it is desirable, because when I climb over the unknown, I rise above egoism and begin to feel the force of that is above us—the force that controls our world.

This is what throws people into the arms of gambling and terrorist organizations. I am not talking about those who are attracted to a future “paradise” after death, but specifically about those who are looking for adventure or daring scientists who conduct experiments on themselves, etc.

But all of this is very small. A miserable man has no other way to connect with the higher management, a higher purpose, to rise above himself, to escape from himself. What kind of benefit does a person derive from Bungee jumping?

I had an acquaintance who loved jumping without a parachute very much and his friend had to catch him in the air. This gave him inner satisfaction. Fear prevents regular people from doing this, while he explained everything very simply, “I get the pleasure that is higher than the fear; I cannot stop myself!”

Question: Is it possible to direct such people to search for spirituality?

Answer: This is a problem, because seeking spirituality places a person in situations that he creates with his own effort. When he understands his dependence on the upper force, he discovers these states, and then the higher power is revealed to him. But this happens in a very complex inner struggle with serious preparation.

This is not a breakthrough, it is not an adventure; it is life. When the person lives his dependence, he raises himself to the level of the managing upper force and begins to work in partnership with it. Then a “second wind” develops in him. He is found simultaneously in the present, the past, and the future. Everything merges into one single whole. The feeling that fills him removes all impressions of time, movement and location and he feels that he flows permanently in this state.

So when you look at the childish attempts to obtain a “grab a tiger by the tail” feeling, you  realize that people so want to fill themselves for a moment, while this feeling may be tested constantly. In spirituality it is possible to feel this sensation permanently.
[180519]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/20/16

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Opinion (Foreign Affairs): “Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab, … explains that the fourth industrial revolution ‘is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.’

“‘The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance,’ writes Schwab. ‘We must develop a comprehensive and globally shared view of how technology is affecting our lives and reshaping our economic, social, cultural, and human environments. There has never been a time of greater promise, or one of greater potential peril,’ he urges. …

“In recent years, an influential strain of techno-optimism has promoted the idea that ‘humanity stands on the verge of breakthroughs in information technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence that will dwarf what has been achieved in the past two centuries,’ writes Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times. Others, he notes, warn of ‘great dangers, including those of soaring unemployment and inequality.’ But is all the hype justified? ‘The answer is no,’ Wolf argues.”

My Comment: The revolution is in understanding a new picture of the world that will change all the values of humanity and reshape its consciousness. People will not live for the sake of work. The existence of the human body will not be primary, but will be a means for attaining the spiritual level, the highest eternal existence; people will not be egoistic, but will have an altruistic attitude toward the world.

Our development will necessarily lead us to this new level. This picture has been revealed to the Kabbalists and it should begin to be revealed to the masses in this generation.
[175616]

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Question:  A new car is being made in Japan, called the Toyota Mirai that will run on a hydrogen engine and produce pure water and useable waste. Instead of emitting CO2 into the atmosphere, it will produce desalinated water that will drip from it. A full tank will suffice for a trip of about 650 kilometers at the price of only ten cents per kilometer.

Won’t gas station owners stop them? We are talking about incredible number of cars and amounts of gasoline.

Answer: We will not be able to stop progress, no matter how hard we try. We can delay it for a few decades, but what will we gain from that?

Technology today allows us to totally change our life and the world. We can change the basis of society because if there is no need for a labor force and large expenses, a person will have a lot of free time. Nature has led us to this state and is revealing new opportunities to us.

Why? What for? It is because a person must start engaging in more internal work on himself. He is freed of all of the external corporeal problems in order to engage in solving spiritual problems that will be focused accurately so he will understand that this is his only role.

If he doesn’t, he will suffer greatly from all of the innovations and will experience great losses and disappointments. A person will suffer from a great inner emptiness and a feeling of worthlessness, lack of meaning, and permanent depression.

Can we compare such a person to a farmer who earned his bread and provided for his family by his hard work, but was satisfied and happy? He was happy with what he earned, from the fact that he had work and that he also would have it the next day and would be able to bring home a loaf of bread.

This means that his desires were on the level of bread, while today, they are on the level of filling the soul. But where can one find such a job or a boss who will provide him with a filling for his soul? This is a much greater problem for which we must prepare, and so we must develop our educational system.
[180859]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/30/16

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Comment: Economists and psychologists from the University of Barcelona have concluded that the states and cities from which the Jews were expelled fell into decay. It seems that the Jews took the economic prosperity from these cities and transferred it to another place.

Answer: The Jews did not take the economic prosperity but they did take the Light that surrounds them. The Jews are a group that Abraham established and is connected to the upper leadership, and so when they are among other nations those nations prosper because the Jews are the most active group in the system of humanity in every area: socially, scientifically, politically, economically, etc. This group has a special attribute because for 1,500 years the Jews have created a special connection between them and the upper leadership by resembling it, which means since the year 1,500 BC until the beginning of our millennium, until the Second Temple was destroyed and the Jews were exiled. They kept a certain connection with spirituality, and so the people, the nations among whom the Jews lived, received certain spiritual nourishment through them which enables them to flourish.

Comment: Many studies refer mainly to economic prosperity.

Answer: It is not only about economic prosperity but all other aspects of life. Economy is simply the most important aspect for us.

Question: Didn’t these countries understand what would happen if they expel the Jews?

Answer: There is a struggle between two dominations: on the one hand, the domination of the parliament, of royalty, of the bourgeois, and, on the other hand, the domination of the church. These two dominations were in an unstable balance throughout history, and so when the church rose, the Jews were expelled.

Comment: Scientists have reached the conclusion that the same is happening today.

Answer: It doesn’t matter. We think that our times are special, but the connection remains the same and nature remains the same system. The only problem is that the world is now in a state that requires a stronger connection with the upper leadership.

Question: Does that mean that the situation today is special?

Answer: Today we live in a special time for several reasons. First because the whole world has become one whole global world. Second, we have exhausted all the options of our egoistic evolution in economy, literature, culture, education, organizations, social relations, in every possible aspect. The world today is in a catastrophic state because we have used our ego and cannot develop in it anymore, but we don’t have anything else in the meantime.

The key for something else is actually in the hands of the Jews. In the past the Jews followed this path when the same crisis broke out in ancient Babylon where complete egoism was revealed in its minor form in humanity. Today, however, the crisis is recurring on a different level in the whole world, in all of humanity, and so we must understand that since the Jews are connected to the upper leadership they can convey this connection to all the other nations of the world. We will not survive without it.

Today all of civilization is facing a critical decision. We should either sustain the right leadership system so that the upper system would manage all the other nations through the Jews, and the whole chain consisting of different links will operate correctly, which means that the Jews should know their role and fulfill it, and the nations of the world will know their role and fulfill it. Then the upper leadership will operate through this pyramid and humanity will prosper.

On the other hand, we can act the way we did in the past until the upper leadership will be revealed as the absolute opposite form from our innate ego, with all its poisons. The ego is so rotten that it cannot grow new sprouts. So we will have to undergo terrible afflictions and then realize that we have to build the right pyramid anyway. Baal HaSulam speaks about that in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” and I strongly recommend reading it.
[180526]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/27/16

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Question: A new idea has come up that the time has come for humanity to abandon the concept of cost. The value of an elephant is not more than the value of a bee and a fly, is not more harmful to humans. Cost is not a natural concept. It is merely a deception materialized through money.

This idea is strange to me and puts limits my own arguments against it. My conscious demands that I pass it on to you. What will the meaning of money be without the idea of cost?

Answer: People will work in order to earn the revelation of the Creator and will receive corporeality according to their needs.
[180787]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 5/13/15

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Comment: According to statistics presented by Gallup in 2016 the number of Americans receiving support from the government rose to 50 million people.

This means that the expression, “The American Dream” has turned into the dream of being supported by the nation.

In America there are entire families in which all of its members have never worked. And this trend is growing all the time.

Answer: This is certainly no longer a pursuit of special achievements in business and other areas of life.

The fact is that in our time we are advancing toward socialism, the nation will become a socialist nation. If we can distribute food, clothing, and shelter to everyone, then essentially people will not have to work because if desired, all of this can be printed without any demand from a person.

The question is why should this be done? Why are there different kinds of animals? It could be said that they are a general branch of nature that are necessary to balance all the rest, to maintain a special balance, homeostasis.

And in what way are people different from them? It is necessary to understand that we are composed of two parts, a “beastly” part and a human part. The beastly part in us requires only one thing, to live in peace and quiet, warmed by the sun like a cat, and nothing more.

Whereas the human part requires the discovery of the meaning of life, even though we are trying not to be involved with that these days, being helped here a little by drugs, antidepressants, and all the rest. Nevertheless, this question will be a very serious demand requiring an answer.

Question: Will we see this in our lifetime?

Answer: It all depends on the dissemination and spread of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the world.

Even if it arouses pessimism, it is necessary to understand that situations in the world are changing very rapidly. In principle, humanity is constantly entering into a turbulent hibernation that attracts and draws us into it. Then a period of internal eruption will come.

Question: Will this be an internal eruption or a terrible war?

Answer: So that suffering will agitate humanity, they must be physically very intense. But if the eruption happens on an internal level of consciousness and understanding, then the suffering will be much less. They won’t leave physical traces and a person will be able to go through them very rapidly to a correct realization of his earthly existence.

So I very much hope that we can make it possible for humanity to realistically and correctly discover the purpose of life that exists in nature.
[180427]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/21/16

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