Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How would the world be different if Africans were never brought to the Americas at all, as slaves or otherwise?“

The world would be nearly the same, other than America of course, which would look and feel completely different. America would be more like a Western European nation, such as France, Germany and England.

On one hand, America would be more closed off than it is today. On the other hand, we need to understand that nature unfolds according to a set plan, and it advances the world to a state of equilibrium. There is thus no point in discussing history in a subjunctive fashion, because the development we have undergone is absolute. We need to say that what happened yesterday had to have happened, and it could not have happened in any other way. Also, we should never regret the past, but on the contrary, we should always think and act with the present and the future in mind.

Regretting a particular course of historical events is an unhealthy, ineffective and detrimental approach to life. Why? It is because the unfolding of history is set in stone, and everything that has happened was for a very specific purpose—to guide us to a final state of balance with nature. Therefore, we would be much better off if, from this moment on, we adjust ourselves in a manner of “If I am not for myself, then who is for me?” and say in relation to the past that, “There is none else besides Him,” i.e. that nature enacted everything exactly as it needed to. We cannot change the way we have developed to this current point, and we should thus not focus on it.

Therefore, we have nothing to regret about the past. If we look back into the past with such an approach, then we become like the wife of Lot, who turned into a pillar of salt, having gained absolutely nothing by doing so.

We should thus focus on our future. What does a positive future for humanity look like? If we concentrate on building a positive future for ourselves and nature, then we will reach the conclusion that only by reaching the understanding of the laws of nature, knowing how nature works, and observing these laws, then we will be on course to realizing a much better future for all.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the relationship between individual freedom and social responsibility?“

Society should feel, understand and decide on the boundary between the individual’s freedom and social responsibility, and not the individual.

The person mostly lives within society, and the life of a person should ultimately be for the benefit of society. This is why a major problem is to provide the knowledge that will let us feel social good as equivalent to the good of each individual. In other words, the goals of an individual and of human society as a whole should be the same: to reach a state of mutual benefit of each person to the greater circle of human society. We will then each live according to our loyalty to society.

In addition, society should influence every individual by raising the value of social responsibility and benefit to top priority, and rewarding every individual who acts to benefit society with respect, merits and appreciation.

We should thus understand the extent to which we are all influenced by society. Whatever society wants is what every individual wants, since everyone needs support from society. Our self, i.e. our ego, is activated by the values we receive from society.

If society pays no attention to egoistic acts that benefit individuals at the expense of society, and respects altruistic acts that benefit society, then everyone will strive to conduct altruistic acts in order to become respected, and feel that they are important and beneficial to society. We want others to support us, and to speak favorably about us. If we manage to instill an altruistic social influence, then we will all start realizing ourselves to our maximum in order to benefit society.

This is why society needs to be the factor that establishes the boundary between individual freedom and social responsibility.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Does freedom depend on where you live?“

Freedom does not depend on where you live.

The environment you live in is given to you from nature, i.e., from forces outside of your control. You do not choose your environment, just as you do not choose the society you are born into, the upbringing you receive, and the values you grow up with.

We can realize our freedom according to a single condition: freedom from our egoistic human nature. We can free ourselves from nothing else.

Freedom from our egoistic nature means living outside the laws and constraints that our egoism dictates to us at every moment, i.e., the urges of human nature from within. It is possible to realize such freedom if we prioritize benefiting human society over self-benefit. In other words, freedom comes from rising above our egoistic nature that automatically and constantly functions in the direction of self-benefit, in order to benefit others.

When we live in the desire to benefit others, we rise from the egoistic level of life to the altruistic one, and then we gain access to the flow of nature in its perfection and eternity. We thus also feel ourselves as perfect, eternal, and free.

Realizing this shift in consciousness depends not on where we live, our nationality or gender. It depends on how we each organize ourselves to rise above our inborn egoistic nature.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is a more effective form of resistance: non-violent resistance or armed struggle?“

Neither non-violent resistance nor armed struggle will lead to any positive results. We cannot reach any lasting success by the force of the fist or by other forms of resistance. The world abounds with such examples. Resistance by force or by other means fails to bring peace, balance, understanding, unity and harmony in the world.

If we wish to change the savage, egoistic, hateful and arrogant oppressor who has the ability to exploit others, to a thinking, understanding and considerate being, then we should act solely by means of connection-enhancing education. By learning how nature works, and how the world should appear according to its nature, and ultimately, how to change our egoistic and divisive relations to altruistic and positively-connected ones, we will then reach a state where human society will become balanced with nature, and will then experience newfound harmony, happiness, confidence, safety and equality.

No egoistic forms will ever lead us to a lasting victory. Egoism will always lead us to defeat. This is why both non-violent resistance and armed resistance will ultimately lead to failure.

If we wish for success, then we need to expand our vision to take a long-term perspective, and then we will see that by bringing connection-enriching education to humanity, and especially to the young generation, where everyone will learn how nature works according to altruistic laws of interdependence and interconnectedness, we will then organize our lives in accordance with this law of nature and realize a harmonious existence for all.

The positive aspect in this situation is that humanity has all the necessary mechanisms in place for realizing connection-enriching connection. No one wishes to admit that they are egoistic and that they hate other people. Instead, people mostly like to perceive themselves as just and fair people, even altruistic. We can thus use this inner respect for altruism, and expand it to respect altruism and positive connections in human society at large.

If we setup our education and social influences such that we respect altruism and positive connection, then we will value each other, countries, governments and organizations only according to their altruistic contributions, and to the extent that they act for the sake of positively connecting human society.

In short, by valuing altruism and positive connection in society at large, with the aid of connection-enriching education and positive examples of altruism and connection in our social and media influences, we will build a better world.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Question: It is not a secret that a person talks a lot, both with and without a reason. Does it affect others, society, and himself?

Answer: Of course, it does. This is why silence is golden.

Question: Does a person have to make some kind of calculation in relation to what he says?

Answer: Naturally! After all, many problems arise because people chat incessantly.

It is said that “The wise sees the future.” Therefore, we must understand what consequences will result from opening our mouths. First, we should analyze and anticipate the consequences in advance, and then speak.

Question: How can we learn to foresee this? Often, a person seems to see what the consequences may be, but he makes mistakes in his evaluations. How can we approach this correctly?

Answer: In Kabbalah, this is solved with the help of the environment. I have to create the right environment around me, preferably of ten people. If I annul myself before them and act in accordance with the opinion of the ten, then what I do is usually positive.
[284207]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/13/21

Related Material:
The Benefits Of Silence
The Power Of Silence
Women—Appeal To The Creator

Filed under: Education, Q&A - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do you fight violence, anger, and hatred?“

We should act by means of connection-enriching education in each country, in conformity with each country’s culture. Such education teaches the structure of nature and reality, the general law of nature that envelops the world, and the kinds of relations we should develop in order to correspond with this law. By widespread implementation of such education, we will reach a harmonious state, in balance with nature.

Our times increasingly call for an upgrade in human consciousness: to become aware that there is a law acting on humanity from the outside, and according to this law, human society needs to positively realize its interdependence and interconnectedness, and by doing so, become like a healthily-functioning organism. Until we realize such a form throughout humanity, we will remain opposite to the altruistic force of nature, and we can thus expect increasing amounts of problems and crises while we remain opposed to nature.

The problems and crises we experience reflect our imbalance with nature. Until connection-enriching education reaches people, unless we develop this form of education and raise human consciousness, we will find ourselves bringing more and more suffering to the world. On the contrary, if we successfully implement connection-enriching education, we will then be able to change the world for the better. In essence, we can resist the force of the fist and hatred only by means of correctly educating the world.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is there a modern form of colonialism?“

Yes, there is. Governments of various developed countries have forcefully imposed their civilizations into other countries. They have disturbed the culture and the foundations of life of these countries and nations, overturning them and bringing about the calamities that we see today in the third world.

These same governments should try to revive these nations’ previous states as much as possible, and let them develop independently. Each one of these nations can develop optimally in its natural form. We will see no positive life in the countries of South America, Africa and Asia otherwise.

These colonies are built on people’s desires to impose their own culture, education, governance and philosophy of understanding the world on others, and such an approach is mistaken and detrimental to the world.

We thus need to help each other develop naturally. Helping each other develop naturally means that we each help each other obtain what is good for everyone according to their nature, and leave our own opinions and forceful approaches out of the equation, which would force others to develop differently to their natural form.

European culture brought this debacle to the world, and this is why European civilization—North America and Europe—with all the power it has accumulated, needs to lead a recoiling process in order to let all countries develop naturally. By doing so, positive outcomes would ensue for all civilizations and cultures.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the benefits of nuclear weapons?“

Since nuclear weapons have the ability to exterminate entire populations of people, their benefit is that they force the world and every person to fear and consider how to change human society as a whole, so that a disastrous scenario of using nuclear weapons against people would not materialize.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can cities help fix gangs and gang violence?“

We need to shift our focus to teaching and promoting the science about the purpose of human life. When we reach the understanding that we live in a single system that leads us to a life of perfection, absolute fulfillment, happiness and balance with nature, above our bodily life, then we will shift our concern from our bodies to our soul, i.e., to what is outside of us.

Then, instead of focusing on how to enjoy for personal benefit alone, we will think about how we can give to others and exit our egoistic way of life. We will appreciate and aspire to altruism, and by our general focus heading in a new giving direction, we will start feeling a completely different life. Instead of our current lives that we feel as several transient fleeting moments, we will feel nature in its unfiltered state: as an eternal and perfect flow of life.

This is where we need to bring humanity, and especially the younger generation. Only thanks to the education and spreading of such wisdom, if done successfully, will we gain the ability to overcome the evil that exists in the world, including the negative phenomena in big cities, the force of the fist that is accepted among several youth in their ghettos.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What would be the best use for the trillion dollars a year spent by the United States and other countries on military budgets?“

The best use of budgets currently used for military purposes would be to move them into spreading the knowledge about humanity’s structure, the science about the general reality, the research on why the world is in such a problematic state, the awareness of the process humanity is undergoing and what it is set to further undergo, the reason and the goal of human development, and how within such a universal picture, we inflict harm upon ourselves.

We should open up this general picture of ourselves, our world, and nature in our times, research nature, and by doing so, discover the extent of harm we inflict upon ourselves and on nature—as a means of correcting the way we think and act.

We need to see how we think and act out of balance with the general law of nature.

Nature relates to us altruistically, in a way that gives and sustains life. In response, we express an imbalanced and opposite egoistic attitude toward this law.

If the knowledge about how nature works in an altruistic, interconnected and interdependent manner, and how we operate in egoistic opposition to it, then we will each understand what we need to do as individuals and as a human society in order to save ourselves from further suffering.

By doing so, we will find ourselves in a harmonious world full of happiness and love, and we will never need to use money and capital for military purposes. On the contrary, we will all share money and capital for the purpose of bringing about a positive, harmonious and balanced life for all.

Humanity will eventually reach such a state. There is a developmental force in nature, which is guiding us to a state where we will see that we need to become positively connected, where human society will function similar to a healthy organism of cells and organs each working individually and collectively for the benefit of the whole. In short, the law of universal love, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” will materialize in our relations, and then all of our forces and qualities will become used for our common benefit.

Therefore, the best use of what is currently being used as military budgets would be to provide us all with a new form of education, where we will learn what nature demands of us.

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

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →