Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What can we learn from the universe?“

The universe once had compressed into a single point, exploded into what we know as “the Big Bang,” and its parts dispersed omnidirectionally until they settled in a place of balance among the forces acting on them.

Nature in general draws to such a balance. We are currently within this process of expansion, away from a center of connection. Some scientists say that this process needs to end and another process will unfold, either of connection or at least a return to some new form of balance. Indeed, we can influence the celestial bodies to make a return to their center, and we will see the extent to which we influence the myriad galaxies, stars and planets so that they become as one entity.

How can we influence the universe? First, we need to understand that the universe is a single desire. The process of dispersion and connection parallels the spiritual process of how we once experienced our complete connection as a single desire, a state which in the wisdom of Kabbalah is called “the soul of Adam HaRishon.” This desire shattered into an enormous amount of parts. In every one of us there is a small part of that general desire or soul. In Hebrew, the word for “human beings” is “Bnei Adam” (“the sons of Adam”) since we emerged from that initial soul, and according to Kabbalah, the purpose of our lives is to reconnect our distant, broken and dispersed desires back to that single desire or soul. By relating our many desires to a single final goal where a higher force binds them all together as one, we then start seeing how all parts of the universe draw closer together in a single complementarity and wholeness. And when we reach that final whole state, we attain a sensation of perfection and eternity.

About the eternal sensation that we attain at the end of our development, we can also learn from the universe about how we live in an infinite space. We see such phenomena in astronomy where we thought of a certain space in the universe as empty, and then we developed more advanced tools and discovered that what we previously saw as an empty space actually consists of more distant galaxies. In other words, the universe shows us a physical example of infinity, which parallels the spiritual state of eternity that exists when we connect our myriad desires back to a single desire.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which is conductor-less?“

It is very unique and against nature, because the conductor is the higher force and thought, the orchestra’s head, the one who unites them and manifests his will in them. I have no idea how they manage to function without a conductor.

I cannot imagine any group made up of individual egoists who have no higher guide that leads them, whether we call it the conductor, the manager, the leader, the father figure, or several other names.

How can they feel this force of leadership? They must feel each other more and more, making some internal corrections and movements, which must be very difficult. I would love to talk to them about it.

They must be united by the fact that each of them must be a conductor in some way. Through their inner desires and heartbeats, a connection of hearts, they must be willing to unite and to lead themselves together. I cannot even figure it out. Each one must see the inner feelings of the others.

Based on the video “The Conductor-Less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra – A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Comment: Irina writes: “Can you explain this law written in the Torah from which, in my opinion, all the troubles come: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”? She thinks that all troubles come from this.

My Response: I do not think so. How else can you bring people together and give them a proper understanding of their mutual connection?

Comment: Apparently, Irina thinks: “Do not respond.” Do not show that when you were hit, you hit back—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. So, you hit, and I do not respond.

My Response: You simply misunderstand the nature of man. Because if a person’s nature is egoistic, then only in this way can he be taught.

The world is developing this way for a reason—in continuous wars. People are gradually learning this. I think we are close to realizing that since we are egoists, the absolute law of action and reaction can be applied to us. An eye for an eye. And so we will act until we realize that we do not need an eye or a tooth, but we just need to treat each other correctly.

Question: So “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” leads to the fact that we will abandon this law? Is that what it exists for?

Answer: Yes. Because, in fact, this is the law of absolute nature, the correct nature. The one who takes must give as much and even more in order to learn next time not to hit first, not to harm.

Question: Because he will be afraid that he will be hit back?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And this is a natural law. We went through this as children. I hit someone, someone hits me back, then I understood that next time I would not hit.

You said, “It will lead to another law.” What will this law “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” lead to?

Answer: It is already said in the Bible that people will not raise a sword against people.

Question: And what will be the result?

Answer: Everyone will limit himself to the fact that he will not demand anything from another and will not give anything to another. Everyone will try to find the right solution to any conflict.

Comment: The law of Sodom was “What is mine is mine, what is yours is yours.”

My Response: That is why it did not work.

Comment: You just said something like this: “I will not rise against you, I will not fight with you, what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours.”

My Response: No, it was not even possible to give to each other there. Meaning, any connection was denied—both bad and good. You have no right to approach anyone else, to give or to take.

Question: Yes. Not even to a beggar—no one. Do not host anyone in your home. You live, and he lives. And there is a gap between us. Was the whole destruction of Sodom because of this?

Answer: It is necessary to teach people that this is also forbidden.

Question: Then what is the correct law that we are coming to? After all these “An eye for an eye,” “What is mine is mine, what is yours is yours,” what is the right law that we will all come to?

Answer: “What is yours is yours, and what is mine is yours.”

Comment: This is a hard rule! Impossible!

I understand; Baal HaSulam, the great Kabbalist, wrote that we will come to such a state that “What is yours is yours, what is mine is yours,” and you believe in it very much. But this is absolute fiction for a person.

My Response: This is the nature of the spiritual degree.

Question: When there is only bestowal and nothing in return?

Answer: Nothing. And I am not asking for anything because the global force of nature called the Creator stands on the fulfillment of this law. If we want it to be fulfilled, then this force, the Creator, will manifest between us. He is just waiting for this desire from us.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/13/22

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Question: What joint actions between people are welcomed from the Kabbalistic point of view?

Answer: Actions such as sitting together and studying. Sitting together and eating together. Sitting together, discussing the greatness of the goal and the attainment of the upper world.

Participating together in some joint actions aimed at connection, at spreading the idea of equality, brotherhood, and solidarity, all things that the Soviet government reproached the West with and claimed that the West did not have these things but the Soviets did, and eventually was revealed that they did not have unity either. But it was a powerful card to play.

In general, Kabbalah welcomes everything that leads to the connection of people because precisely within it the next state of the world is revealed. When a person comes from opposing others to a real connection with them above his egoism, it is in this connection that the upper world is revealed, that is, our next state.

We do not have to die to move into this state. In general, our death does not mean anything. After all, the death of an animalistic body, like any animal, does not mean anything because absolutely nothing happens to the person.

The only thing we lack is just a serious connection between us, when the “I” disappears and instead the “we” is created in which we feel a completely new state of ourselves and the whole world.

Perception changes. You see a different picture of the world, how all people are interconnected and how everything around is filled with the force that drives the universe. One should feel this.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Mind of the Crowd” 11/23/13

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why are most of the families falling apart at present?“

More and more families are falling apart today because people cannot tolerate the limitations that families impose.

In order to tolerate the limitations imposed by families, there are a few variables, one of which is necessity: that the family unit is given to us by nature. That is, if we understand that living as part of a family framework, we can achieve the perfect and eternal state of being that nature is guiding us all toward, then we would gain strength to go through any situations that arise in the family.

We can thus relate to the family as a laboratory of sorts, in which we can work on becoming our higher selves. That is, the family unit is the greatest opportunity for us to reach a state where we positively connect to each other in ties of mutual love and bestowal. However, this can work on condition that we approach the family in a very particular way, which is correct for spiritual progress. We are not yet ready for such an approach in our present time, which is why I also do not discuss it in the lessons I give on a daily basis. But the time will come when it will happen.

In addition to acknowledging the nature-given necessity of the family unit, there should be a clear distribution of responsibilities, opportunities and reciprocal fulfillment in which children also play a significant role, as they partake in the relationship between husband and wife according to their age, and also they will most likely develop to having their own children, grandchildren, and so on. Moreover, if we are discussing a family that is in tune with the ideal natural state, then we also need to discuss three generations that share regular contact, i.e. where children regularly see and feel their grandmothers, grandfathers and their parents. I have elaborated on the merits of a three-generational family in other places.

Nature is gradually leading us to a state where we will have to act in our families in a way that is balanced with nature, and our world will be unable to exist without the family unit that is set up in such a way. So between the ideal family that nature will press us to realize and our current state of more and more families that are breaking apart, we are in for some tough years ahead.

However, it is still very risky to discuss these variables because it seems as if we load the heaviest responsibilities upon ourselves. When we see the inner essence of whom we are with, and that the years we spend together and the external appearance mean nothing, because everything is determined only according to their inner state, then we find that we can build an extraordinary new spiritual world of love and bestowal. We would not see the appearance and the habits of our partners as we see them today, but we would enjoy a continuous renewal within and among all of us. In short, we would change all the time, and would perceive a different world from one moment to the next.

Based on the video “Why Are More and More Families Falling Apart Today?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the Torah in one sentence?“

The Torah is a methodology of receiving light, i.e. of inviting upon ourselves the influence of the upper light so that it changes our nature from reception to bestowal.

Based on KabTV’s “The Study of the Ten Sefirot (TES)” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 20, 2022.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do you think we could better control the spread of lies and disinformation?“

By understanding that the source of all lies and disinformation is nature itself, that our brains, hearts and hands are all under the control of a higher force, and that the spread of lies and disinformation is not sourced in certain people and groups as we commonly think.

We were created in a state of complete misinformation, a system that is called “our world.” The reason we have been placed into such a system is so that we will eventually grow tired of living the way we currently do, and will strive to exit this system by all possible means.

There is a parable about this by Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), in his article “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” where he likens us to a worm inside a radish:

A worm that is born inside a radish […] lives there and thinks that the world of the Creator is as bitter, as dark, and small as the radish it was born in. But as soon as it breaks the shell of the radish and peeps out, it claims in bewilderment: ‘I thought the whole world was the size of the radish I was born in, and now I see a grand, beautiful, and wondrous world before me!’”

The question is how can we get out of this bitter, dark and small world we are in, and see the real world?

There are special souls that have matured out of billions of souls. They can detect the call, like the worm, and move toward the exit of the radish. Moreover, this process of us exiting our small world is also managed from above, as the worm does not necessarily want to exit the radish, but wishes to be where it is warm and comfortable. Later, when we exit the small and dark world, we understand that we were completely controlled, seeing that we did not do anything at all in our lives. Everything we have done over the course of our development, our sciences, technologies, cultures, wars and whatnot, are in order for us to accumulate a certain rotting layer around us.

At such a point, we realize that while we are inside the so-called “radish,” then we are led by nothing other than our petty egoistic nature, where we seek tiny pleasures and wish to continue living and growing within such a nature, thus creating a rotting layer around us.

If the higher force that is behind the creation of this system so desires, then it will guide us to exit this small dark world we were born into by leading us to a request for its help. And if we develop a genuine request, which emerges from a group of us—like a group of “worms” moving through the radish—we then get an answer to our request.

Along with all the lies and disinformation in the world, there are a lot of lies and disinformation about the Creator Himself for two reasons:

1. Because the Creator controls everything and everyone, and
2. Because we know nothing about who or what He is, or what He does.

That is why we seemingly do whatever we want ad nauseam, and we will always move toward what our egoistic nature depicts to us as most enjoyable in every state. Truth itself is within the layer of rot that accumulates around us, in what we consume and excrete. The more this decaying layer gathers around us, the more it helps us go through the states we need to go through relatively quickly, and begin to distinguish the state in which there is something new, fresh and completely unexpected for us, so that we can select from all other states and thus compose a new level of existence.

Our future is in the real world that comes about when we exit our small and dark world, and we need to develop a desire to exit our small and dark world in order to enter the much broader, bright and real world.

Based on the video “What Is the Source of All Lies and Disinformation?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is happiness (in a single line)?“

Happiness is the achievement of mutual connection that leads people to love for each other, i.e. to the fulfillment of the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Based on KabTV’s “Conversations, Israel and Its Impact on the World” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 18, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How would you define harmony in life?“

Harmony in life depends on balance with the environment, i.e. with the still, vegetative, animate and especially the human levels of nature.

Our lives are a constant quest for such balance, which is very hard to achieve.

We can achieve harmony in life when everyone reaches a harmonious state. All it takes is a single person to knock the entire system out of balance, so in order to achieve a harmonious life, we need to consider how every single person can learn what it means to achieve harmony.

Based on KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 18, 2022.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why did God create the heavens and the earth?“

There are two forces in existence: (1) the creation, which is the desire to receive and enjoy the light of the Creator, and (2) the Creator, which is the light itself, the desire to bestow pleasure, enjoyment, fulfillment and delight.

While the creation is equal to the light, i.e. wishing to receive the light with an intention to bestow contentment upon the Creator, then it receives the light. However, if the creation intends to receive the light with a self-aimed intention, i.e. to please itself alone, then it is opposite to the Creator. In such a state, the creation feels none of the intended pleasure that the Creator wishes to impart, and instead feels complete darkness, a black copy of the light. Such a state is called “this world” or “our world.”

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” means that the Creator created the qualities of bestowal and reception. Why? It is in order for us to host a combination of these qualities, and to have the ability to exercise our free choice about which of them to use: a desire to receive and enjoy with an self-aimed intention to receive, or a desire to receive with an intention to bestow like the Creator.

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