Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is there a value in resisting a new technology which, while potentially harmful in the short term, could save millions of lives in the future?“

We can evaluate the essence of science exclusively by its goal. If, as is being discovered today, the goal is harmful to us, then we cannot use and develop it. In any field, we cannot excuse ourselves by saying that possibly, in the future, we will use what we now make for positive causes. If we already use it for harm, then it means that we should not use it. Such is the law: an object should be judged according to the form in which it becomes revealed, and not by the distant future.

Therefore, if any technology inflicts harm or can be used for harm today—then we should not develop it. There will be nothing righteous about it. Only if we change ourselves correspondingly and can be assured of its beneficial use should we start developing it. There is nothing special about developing science simply because it is science. Instead, everything needs to develop according to the benefit it can provide humanity. Laws, factors and premises are inherently placed in nature. But since we take everything from nature in the ready form, we should thus take the ready stock only to the degree that we will be able to use it for humanity’s benefit. On the other hand, if it is for humanity’s detriment, then there is no need for it.
Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are some ways you or the masses can get manipulated over the internet?“

We generally do not feel that we are being manipulated through the Internet. However, there is constant monitoring of the sites we visit, our desires, and the spheres of our interests. Of course, we will still see how we can be manipulated and used via such a medium. It so happens with all of our conducts, which become used egoistically in order to advertise to us and lead us to places where we buy the products they offer us.

All such workings eventually lead us to realize the evil of our egoistic nature, and the need to change our egoism. If we change the ego, inverting it to its opposite altruistic form, then problems such as manipulation through the Internet, as well as a whirlpool of other problems we experience on personal, social, economic and ecological scales, will disappear as if they never existed.

We thus need to focus only on changing our nature from egoistic to altruistic, from a connection that is negative to one that is positive. Such a transformation is possible because we have the strength, the wisdom and the method to impact this change. This is a wisdom and method of connection, which has recently become revealed to the world, and through it, we can truly perform the required changes. Sooner or later humanity will reveal this wisdom and use it. However, we try to accelerate its expansion throughout humanity in order for the world to suffer less.
Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: There is a letter from a person close to you and me. He writes: “My wife and I lived for many long and happy years, then she got cancer and fought for life for two years. At some point we thought we had won, but cancer is such an insidious disease, it lurked and then struck with renewed force. My wife was no longer moving after chemotherapy, she kept asking, ‘Do I deserve this?’ And I want to ask you, dear Michael Laitman: why did He create us to be such sentient creations? Why didn’t He give us power over our feelings?”

Answer: He has given us power over feelings, but only if we gain this power for a purpose higher than just feeling. This is when you will rise above your feelings and control them, not turning them off with painkillers or drugs, but when you can use your feelings in the right way. Fear and pain and all other unpleasant sensations are given to us for this purpose.

Question: And we need to go through these states that he went through when he saw how his wife was suffering?

Answer: And this also needs to be passed. And we will still, unfortunately, observe all this on everyone around us, and we will be among them ourselves.

We will not be able to turn off our feelings in any way, we just have to learn how to manage them properly.

Now humanity is slowly approaching the state when it will see global cataclysms that are coming closer and ready to crash on us and are already falling on a part of humanity. And those who have not yet fallen under this wave see what is happening and have to change themselves quickly, to become in complete harmony with nature, that is, to rise above their egoism, to get closer to others, and just “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Question: You are practically saying what humanity is going to face. And I want to ask: at that moment when a loved one is suffering in front of me?

Answer: It is too late. We still have to do something, try to still fight this wave of grief, illness, pain, and so on and so forth. But in principle, we need to act prior to all of this happening.

At least, bow your head down and do everything based on the fact that it comes from above, and you, in general, agree with this upper judgment.

Comment: That the loved one has been taken away from you? It is not easy.

My Response: This is a tragedy! This is a disaster! Especially people who have lived together and lived for many years. It is incredible! It is easier to die yourself!

Comment: Yes, that is the feeling he had: “I would prefer so that it would have come to me! Why did she have to suffer?!”

My Response: Yes. But it won’t help. This is the easiest solution.

Question: What is the main solution at this moment?

Answer: Bow your head down and do whatever you need to do. Fully agree with the upper force that does this to us, and try to annul yourself in this state so much that you agree to accept everything.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 8/12/21

Related Material:
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Life Beyond The Boundaries Of Birth And Death, Part 1
Why Is It Difficult For Us To Bear The Death Of Our Relatives?

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Comment: Tanya Mararu writes to you: “How can we overcome the fear that tomorrow there will be no money, nothing to eat? At the same time, everyone is alive and well. I am on maternity leave and only my husband works. And I am afraid.”

My Response: It is a natural feeling, and I understand it.

How to overcome fear? Be more connected with those people who think about the future. Calmly, dispassionately, they try to be connected with each other and try to find a connection with the upper force that determines everything in the present and in the future.

Question: Why does fear come when everything is fine?

Answer: It is all purposeful, it is all very good. Without fear, man would be a wild animal.

Fear limits our ego. Fear is a very good feeling that protects us, otherwise we would just go insane. We need to learn how to use it properly. And then we will not be afraid of it, but will bless it.

Question: What is the purpose of fear?

Answer: The purpose of fear is to correctly direct us toward the true path of development, to find the highest force of bestowal, love, and connection in the relationship between us. And then we will really not be afraid of anything.

Question: And you are referring to an ordinary person?

Answer: Today, it is already for an ordinary person. We see that the whole world is in fear. And only a person who does not understand where he is at all can claim with bravado that he is not afraid of anything. It is not from having a big mind. And that is why we need to bless the fear, because it correctly directs us toward the right goal.

Question: Toward each other, you mean?

Answer: Yes. We need to understand that fear is given to us on purpose. It is a very good asset.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 8/12/21

Related Material:
The Roots Of Fear
Does Fear Help Self-Understanding?
Fear Is A Lack Of Fulfillment

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How does culture influence us negatively?“

Without any connection to how the general culture influences a person, the result of being parts of a culture that values materialism and consumerism is that it gives us a heightened sensation of emptiness, which leads us into more and more problems like depression, loneliness, stress, anxiety, drug abuse, suicide, extremism and crises in families and in our upbringing. The negative effects of living in such a culture generally leads us to a global crisis, and we could even reach such states as a Third or Fourth World War, or the threat of annihilation resulting from an ecological or nuclear catastrophe.

We are developing to a whole new peaceful and harmonious state of existence, but on the way there we need to experience our egoistic nature as an evil and negative force. It is undesirable to feel this realization of our egoistic nature as evil through suffering. On the contrary, it is desirable to reveal our ego as evil by means of a specific form of education and awareness.

However, for the time being, we are developing from a smaller ego to a bigger one, and from small pains to greater suffering. Nature is purposefully formulating a menacing feeling and environment around us so that, whether we want it or not, we would feel that our egos are the source of the evil that evokes all problems and suffering in our lives. Through such a realization, we will discover that egoism itself functions in order to compel us to see its evil and to annul our drive to serve it.

In the same token, there is also a possibility for a short, positive and painless path to a peaceful and harmonious world not via suffering, but via the realization of evil. We can do so only with the help of disseminating the wisdom about how nature works on all of its levels—still, vegetative, animate, and of course, human—and how to achieve the final state nature is guiding us toward peacefully and harmoniously. It is possible and much more desirable to achieve a change of human nature by means of awareness and connection-enriching education instead of by suffering.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can the decent people of the world help each other while the actions of their leadership are self-serving and internationally divisive?“

The decent people of the world still need to understand what true decency is and what the true benefit of the world is—exclusively altruistic actions, directed toward humanity’s unification as a single organization and system.

This is how we exist under the laws of nature. We currently do not follow these laws, which is the reason for our suffering.

If we would understand that the laws of nature are altruistic, and that we are moved by our inner ego and need to thus rise above it and unite with the general nature, by doing so, we would organize our worldwide unification into a single humanity and a new civilization.

We would then create a force that counteracts the current egoistic rule over the world, and there would remain no way out for them, i.e. they would have no one left over which to rule. They would also have to change and gradually accept people into the government who take care of humanity’s benefit. This is how we can reach an altruistic form of governance that would govern the world purely for its benefit.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the most important things we need to teach our children early in their life?“

Today’s globally interconnected and interdependent world where we raise our children is very different from the world we grew up in.

In order for children to grow up prosperous and happy in today’s world, they need to gain awareness of how connected we are, and the sooner they learn about it, the better.

We should teach them about the planet we live on, so that they understand how we exist in a single ecosystem, with myriad interactions running throughout nature’s still, vegetative, animate and human levels.

We should also teach them about the solar system, the influence of the sun and the moon over the Earth, how seasons change, and how natural forces shape our lives.

In terms of human development, we should show children that divided civilizations and nations become antagonistic and filled with problems, while united ones prosper.

Most importantly, we need to teach them the interconnectedness and interdependence of nature’s forces as a single system and their effect on us. They should understand that even though they connect through today’s technologies, their connection extends beyond technology to other people and nature on all of its levels.

The goal of emphasizing humanity’s and nature’s interconnectedness in children’s education is to nurture their positive connections with their environment, i.e. with other people and nature. If they grow up with a sensation that caring for other people and nature positively affects them, and vice versa, that not caring about other people and nature negatively affects them, then they will bypass a lot of suffering and live enjoyable, peaceful and harmonious lives.

The key point in this connection-enriching education is to understand that our attitude to other people and nature is an ongoing relationship. We can then understand the reciprocity in nature. Thriving relationships, whether in families, friendships, couples, work relations, or in society at large, require mutual consideration. The advantages of reaching genuine friendship and even love in a relationship always override the efforts we apply to get there. Therefore, gaining awareness of our interconnectedness and interdependence should lead us to the conclusion that we should invest in our connections to realize our interdependence positively.

Animals have no instinctive drive to harm other animals. Any killing of other animals that they do is out of necessity for their survival, but not out of a sinister intention to enjoy the other animals’ suffering. People, however, have an additional egoistic quality, as it is written, “The inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth.” We should thus raise our children with a constant concern that they will learn the interconnectedness and interdependence of everyone and everything, and think and act accordingly.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and a team of writers on September 2, 2021 – Writers Meeting 274. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the purpose of public international law if there are no effective enforcement mechanisms to apply it?“

Today, international law is in the hands of speculating politicians who use it for their egoistic goals. The solution to this problem can take place on condition that we change our social values to altruistic ones. With such a shift, we can affect positive change in relationships between people and between countries. Doing so will impact a fundamental shift in our increasingly malevolent attitudes to each other to positive connections. It is necessary for altruistic values to be the foundation for all international agreements.

Of course, there is no just international law today, and therefore there are also no effective mechanisms to apply it. Only on condition that it will be altruistic and directed at humanity’s benefit, that humanity will want such laws and governance to become implemented, and will understand the need for them, will a worldwide form of governance emerge.

Today, we also discover that the UN fails to fulfill its task. It cannot do so, as it is like a toy, a means, in the hands of politicians, and it fails to carry out what we had counted on and hoped for in the past. We could form a thousand more international organizations, whether altruistic or egoistic ones, and governments—but the same situation will continue until we change their foundation: a transformation for them to be for humanity’s benefit, fortified by the understanding of the general law of nature.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do we need to fix humans?“

The weakness of world reformers throughout the generations [is that] they regarded man as a machine that is not operating properly and needs mending, meaning to remove its broken parts and replace them with working ones. – Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “Peace in the World.”

There is nothing faulty in a person and nothing needs changing in him. Everything was given to the person by nature, so different negative attributes, and even desires to kill and to steal, were given to us by God or the Creator. (“Nature” and “God” are regarded as the same force of love and bestowal in the wisdom of Kabbalah. In Gematria, “God” and “the nature” are equal in number.)

We do not correct people by imprisoning or executing them. We can correct ourselves by placing ourselves in frameworks where we can reach the understanding that we need to correct our nature, or in other words, to positively connect above our most negative impulses toward them.

We need to rise to the next level of our development without destroying our negative attributes, and we needs to acquire positive impulses instead of negative impulses in relation to others.

When we actively apply a positive impulse above our negative impulses in such a way, then we will start feeling a new state of connection between plus and minus as between the negative and positive poles of the same field. We will then start feeling a whole new peaceful and harmonious reality.

Based on “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on July 7, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How come there are 7 billion people, yet we feel alone?“

Egoism, the desire to enjoy at the expense of others, is at the basis of our nature. Over the course of our lives, we constantly develop and grow. As a result, we find ourselves increasingly separated from each other, and in our time, we have reached the fact that we can no longer stand each other. We find ourselves becoming increasingly divided, isolated, detached and hateful of one another, and sink deeper into depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness and drug abuse. The growing ego separates us, and we feel that we are truly cut off from everyone and even from our very selves.

On the other hand, we also start feeling the opposite: that we increasingly depend on each other and cannot live without each other.

So how can we resolve this dilemma, where we find ourselves becoming increasingly interdependent, but at the same time, we hate and reject each other? How can we tie this problem into one?

We cannot do so in our current life. There is but a single solution: we need to rise from our current level of existence, where we all live with self-concern as our top priority, to a different level, where we prioritize the benefit of others, and positively connect to them. If we reach the understanding that our egoistic mode of existence is out of gas, and that we need to shift to a different state, opposite to the current one, then we will merit a harmonious existence in balance with nature, and no one will feel alone.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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