Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is peace?“

In Hebrew, the word for peace (“Shalom“) comes from the word for wholeness and perfection (“Shlemut“). This implies that if we want to achieve wholeness and perfection, we have to get there via peace.

Peace could thus include the understanding of our past and our current state, as well as truces and various agreements, but what we are most certain about is our final destination: that we would like to progress toward a perfect and whole state.

A perfect and whole state is one where various opposites complement and complete each other. As such, contrary to what is often thought about peace, it is impossible that there would be peace without war, and we should not focus on trying to bring about peace by convincing or forcing others to think like us, because it will not happen.

A state of complementary, wholeness and perfection exists in no person individually, but it comes about when we each detach from our individual selves and create a new entity in our positive connections to each other above our egos.

Peace is thus a long process involving education so that each of us can detach from our current states and reach a state where we are together, where we need to adhere to the new perfect and whole state that we build above—and disconnected from—ourselves, and where we are all connected as one.

In order to reach such a state, we need to draw the positive force of nature into our attitudes and relations to each other, in order to make peace between us so that it will start helping us operate against our egos. This process takes place without suppressing or erasing our egos. On the contrary, together with our egos, nature’s positive force will transform us into beings that have a tendency to love and bestow to one another above the divisive human ego. In other words, we draw the positive force of nature to envelop and cover our egos with its coating of love, bestowal and connection, and it will grant us the ability to behave correctly and reach a state of peace.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Image: Graph representing the metadata of thousands of archive documents, documenting the social network of hundreds of League of Nations personals. Grandjean, Martin (2014). “La connaissance est un réseau”. Les Cahiers du Numérique 10 (3): 37-54. DOI:10.3166/LCN.10.3.37-54

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the first step in terms of enlightenment?“

As a background, the study of the wisdom of Kabbalah is a research of our spiritual enlightenment all the way to full spiritual attainment. It explores our thoughts, desires and the reality we attain in our senses. Below spiritual attainment, we also undergo degrees of attainment in our world. During our spiritual preparation period in this world, we start learning and understanding the connections between spiritual objects, however such understanding is incomparable to the sensation of spiritual attainment.

Kabbalists name spiritual degrees after having attained them. If we only partially attain a degree, it is considered that we are its “son,” which is why we are called “Bnei Adam” (“the sons of Adam,” which in Hebrew is the term for “human beings”), since we are all parts of the degree called “Adam,” and our goal is to fully attain that degree—the root of our soul.

When we rise to a spiritual degree, we feel what transpires in it, attain its qualities, and perceive and sense the Creator according to that degree. With further spiritual ascent, what we perceived in the previous degrees will also change.

It is important to understand that only our perception and sensation changes in this entire process. It is not that each of the 125 spiritual degrees are each playing a different film. However, there is a simple upper light that fills reality, and by attaining certain spiritual qualities, we feel part of that light, which we call a “world.” We can also feel a tiny part of that light in our inborn egoistic qualities, and we call it “this world” or “our world.”

From the level of our world, our spiritual awakening takes place when we receive, as is written, the “posterior of the holy soul,” meaning the final and lowest degree of the soul, referred to as a “point.” This point becomes inserted into our hearts, i.e., into our desire to receive, or in other words, amid the human ego.

Without the point in the heart, we would remain as animals, i.e., our desires would not aspire outside our world. The point in the heart, i.e., the beginning of spirituality, is the initial spiritual awakening we get to potentially elevate us above the animate degree into spirituality.

The process of growing the point in the heart through which we attain spirituality is called the process of building what Kabbalah calls a spiritual Partzuf. All of our spiritual attainments take place in this Partzuf. We can identify whether we have a point in the heart if we find ourselves asking about the meaning and purpose of life, why is there suffering in the world, what is reality, where are we from, where are we now, and where are we headed, who are we, and other related existential questions. The wisdom of Kabbalah was made in order to answer these questions by providing us with a method for spiritual attainment, where we receive the answers as a clear perception and sensation of the spiritual reality in a series of stages.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the main ideology of Kabbalah?“

The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method that enables us to reach the perception and sensation of the highest dimension of reality, above corporeal life and death, while we are alive in this world.

By doing so, we can sense our future states, and we gain the ability to directly influence reality from its “control room.” We need only attain the connection to our life’s source, and by doing so, we assume control of our destiny.

Kabbalah was revealed for the first time 5,781 years ago by Adam, who wrote the book, Raziel HaMalach (Heb. “The Secret Angel”). It describes the concealed force (i.e., “angel” is a certain kind of spiritual force) that operates our reality, and which can be revealed by applying a certain method. After 20 generations of Kabbalists, Abraham made the next major development in the wisdom of Kabbalah by founding the first Kabbalistic group, which became known as “the people of Israel.” This was a group who gathered based on the principle of “love your neighbor as yourself.” Love of one’s fellow man became the Kabbalists’ principle ideology and constitution. They united as a single nation, which later became known as “the Jews,” from the word for unity (“Yichud”).

At a certain stage of its development, the group ended up having to show the Babylonians of the time, who did not want to follow Abraham, the need for self-transformation and correction: rising above the egoistic intention for personal benefit at other’s expense. By doing so, they formed bridges of unification and love upon the rampant hatred and division of the time.

Kabbalah’s main ideology is thus “love your neighbor as yourself,” and the method of Kabbalah is one of attaining such unification above the divisive human ego. At the peak of developing increasing ties of love and bonding above our innate divisive drives, the universe’s two ends—egoism and altruism, division and unification, receiving and giving—become combined into a single creation, namely “receiving in order to give.” By attaining such a principle in practice, we implement the formula for us all to live harmoniously, happily and in balance with nature. Moreover, we also discover the eternal and perfect reality of our soul that exists above corporeal life and death.

We currently have a single quality: reception. Even if we give, we do so with the calculation that we want to receive something in return. By adding the quality of giving over our inborn quality of receiving—i.e., pure giving with no shred of egoistic intention laced within—then we achieve a perfect connection with each other, balancing our egoism with nature’s altruistic quality, or in other words, balancing the negative pole of reality with the positive one.

Kabbalah explains how nature divides into four levels: still, vegetative, animate and human. On the still, vegetative and animate levels, nature itself balances between giving and receiving, positive and negative. At the human level, however, i.e., at the level of our relationships and attitudes to each other, we have no connection to the altruistic side of reality. As such, the more our egoistic desires evolve over time, the more we encounter problems and crises on all scales of life.

In other words, the ultimate cause of our life’s problems is the disharmony between altruism and egoism. The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method for establishing the correct balance between these two qualities, and by doing so, bringing about balance personally, socially and globally.

It is also important to note that Kabbalah is not a religion, but a science. Where religion is based on believing in one or several higher powers, Kabbalah is instead a method by which we reach a revelation of the higher powers through research, experimentation, gathering feedback, and by doing so, “rinsing and repeating” until we can scientifically confirm our attainment of the altruistic quality above our inborn egoistic one. It does not involve performing rituals, wearing any specific clothing or ascribing any special importance to any physical objects. It rather involves study and participation in an environment that supports progress to the attainment of the higher reality. By doing so, anybody can advance to such a lofty attainment.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the secret to a balanced life?“

We reach a balanced life when we discover the balance between forces of reception and forces of bestowal, which takes place when we disclose the general force of balance that exists in the system we are parts of. At that point, we start feeling the entire system and not only ourselves, the individual parts of the system. We then come closer together in mutual connection, bestowal and support such that we all lose our sense of our individual selves and instead sense the life in the whole system.

We then feel the whole system, which includes humanity as well as nature on all of its levels, as our own. On our current level, the closest example to this sensation, even though it is still far from the actual feeling, is a mother toward her family: She feels that she loses her sense of self in her commitment to her family, feeling her family as her own. In other words, her devotion to her family expands her sense of self to include all of her family members, and she somewhat exits her own individual self in such a sensation.

Therefore, when we realize ourselves in the direction of bestowal upon others, i.e., when we think about benefiting others over self-benefit, we exit the limited and narrow boundaries of our individual selves and open up to those whom we wish to benefit similarly to a mother toward her family. The wider the circle of society we do this for, the more of the system of nature and reality we feel.

Ultimate balance in life emerges when we care about the whole of humanity and nature. Our sensation of existence then expands to include the life of the whole of humanity and nature and not only the transient and short life of our individual selves. Moreover, by doing so, we discover our ultimate destiny in reality, that of living for the sake of the whole system we are parts of and feeling the life of that system, and we also find how nobody stands in anybody’s way, as it currently seems to us.

If we start directing ourselves in such a holistic manner, then we will also see how this system, call it “nature” or the “universe,” starts giving us positive feedback in that direction, helping us on our way.

Practically, in giving and bestowal upon others, by wanting to benefit and positively connect with everyone, we will then feel a special kind of support and vitality, that nature and life works in our favor by doing so.

In order to discover these signs, we need to surround ourselves with a supportive environment of like-minded individuals who wish to support each other toward this ultimate state of balance. By learning and seeking how to benefit others over self-benefit with these people, and finding our place in such an environment, we then progress correctly toward that final state of ultimate balance in life.

The state of balance through positive connections among each other and with nature is the discovery of the human degree in the world (the Hebrew word for “human” [“Adam”] stems from the phrase “similar to the most high” [“Adameh le Elyon”]). We need a supportive environment of like-minded individuals specifically because care for one another needs to be mutual, where we each exercise positive connections and giving to others mutually above our innate self-interests. Over time, by integrating in such a society, we eventually reach the realization of the ultimate balance in life. Moreover, the efforts of a critical mass of people who direct themselves in such a way positively influences others in the world who do not awaken to such a direction, thus also making it easier for others and future generations to reach such balance.

Ultimately, we will all develop to the realization of humanity as an interconnected and interdependent system, similar to nature in and of itself. When we reach that level of consciousness, we will all “click” into nature, integrating into and identifying with it, and adhering to it such that we all realize the destiny of every person individually and of all people in the world together.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is truth?“

Truth is understanding that everything is relative, that we each subjectively perceive good and bad, sweet and bitter, and truth and falseness.

What, then, is absolute in reality? It is that the quality of complete bestowal (the Creator, nature) is our ultimate root, and we, as well as everything we perceive in nature on the still, vegetative and animate levels, are its creation, made of an opposite quality of reception.

There is absoluteness solely in these two poles of reality: the quality of bestowal and the quality of reception. Everything else is relative.

Based on the program “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on April 22, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is ‘lazy’ a negative word?“

Laziness is definitely not a negative word. I myself am the laziest person in the world, constantly struggling to be a little more active. I thus need to raise the importance of what I need to perform.

Nature gave us lazy qualities in order to prevent us from doing several negative actions, i.e., to stop us from ruining the world so that we have the ability to correct the world.

Laziness is thus a very positive phenomenon. If it were up to me, I would add a little bit more laziness to all of us, so that we would barely be able to get out of our beds, shower, dress, eat, and go to work. The reason is that people would do far less negative acts in the world.

It is basically positive to be lazy anytime other than when we invest our energy to positively connect in society, to provide each other with support, encouragement and care, adding to a positive social atmosphere.

I thus wish for us all to be a little lazier, as it is written in the Torah, “Sit and do nothing, better.” It means that if we are lazy, then it is better than if we let ourselves run rampant, because the latter would bring more ruin to the world. Our actions would then be more purpose-driven and done out of necessity.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the future of national borders?“

There will be no borders, nations or countries in the future.

We will all become members of one nation that spans the entire globe, with a language that is clear to everyone.

Also, religions, beliefs and customs will lose their importance and fade away in the process.

In other words, we will eventually realize our complete interconnectedness and interdependence as a single whole, in balance with nature’s integral laws.

Replacing all kinds of geographic and ideological boundaries will be a good and positive attitude among all human beings.

The transition to that final state will take place through understanding that we cannot achieve a good life unless we each concede our egos to some extent.

While in our present reality, such a picture seems utopian and unrealistic, and that each individual, group and nation is responsible only for itself and its own citizens, the laws of nature stipulate that we need to advance toward an absolute state of connection, with attitudes of mutual consideration dwelling in such connection.

This kind of connection exists above every limit we have in our world, whether it be borders, gender, race or language, among others, which we have developed over the generations.

In short, nothing will stop us from integrating with each other, as nature necessitates this process.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the root cause of antisemitism, and how do you fight anti-Semitism concretely?“

Antisemitism stems from Jews having a special role in the world, which they are neither aware of nor do they carry it out.

That role is to positively connect “as one man with one heart,” i.e., to develop harmonious unified relations.

If the Jews developed their connections to unite above their differences, then antisemitism would subside and humanity’s attitude toward the Jews would shift to a positive one.

Until the Jews positively connect, people will feel increasing rejection and repulsion toward them. Developing positive connection among Jews depends on developing the “inner Jew” within, which means elevating the desire to connect in a good and kind way toward one another over egoistic desires to use and exploit each other for personal benefit.

This special quality and role that the Jews inherited stems from their foundation as a nation some 4,000 years ago, when Abraham gathered people from ancient Babylon who were willing to unite, since they felt the rampant social division of the time as a major problem that needed solving. Thus, they applied Abraham’s method, which led them to attain the lofty principle of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” By doing so, they became known as the “people of Israel” (“Israel” coming from the words “Yashar Kel” [“straight to God”], i.e., people with an intention to be as loving and giving as the force of love and bestowal itself). They later became known as “the Jews,” from the word for “unity” (“Yichud”). The uniqueness of this quality is that unlike other nations, the Jews had no natural biological root. Instead, they were a group of people from different nations who gathered based on a unifying ideology, and who worked on themselves in order to attain the quality of love for one’s fellow man.

People are thus either attracted to or repelled by Jews due to this unifying quality that dwells in them. If the Jews develop positive relations and friendships with one another above their differences, they will awaken that tendency to unite in the tectonic plates of human consciousness, and humanity will also find that it gains the strength to unite above its growing divisiveness. If not, then humanity will increasingly feel that the Jews are behind their problems, and antisemitism will continue rising as a force of nature that surfaces in order to awaken the Jews to re-discover their unifying role in the world.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why do people tend to become radicalized in their beliefs?“

It is a problem that we fail to understand the need to learn what nature requires of us, which is the same law positioned at the foundation of all the world’s major religions: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

We are all equal in the need to reach love above all of our differences, divisions, rejection and hatred of each other, as it is written that “love will cover all crimes” (Proverbs 10:12). However, our egoistic human nature, which rejects nature’s requirement for us to positively connect by wanting to enjoy at the expense of others, positions us against each other and is the base cause of all radicalization.

The human ego operates in every person and group. It makes us each see ourselves and the groups we belong to as better than others, thus giving rise to radicals willing to take their beliefs to extremes. Ultimately, the ego serves to destroy our world, and radicalization is one of its natural outcomes.

When we understand that the human ego is the root cause behind all of our division, hatred and radicalization, then we would be wise to focus on how to rise above the ego. We would then feel no need to tie ourselves to any specific orientation, but only on one tendency that is fundamental to nature: the need to rise above the human ego, unite with others above all differences, and also to teach and share the method to do so.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is nature cruel?“

Nature is a perfect integral system that functions according to laws of interconnection and interdependence, and there is no shred of cruelty in nature.

However, it appears to many that nature is cruel. Why?

It is because, as is written in the wisdom of Kabbalah, “the judge judges according to his own flaws.” In other words, since we humans have an aspect of cruelty in our egoistic nature, where we can enjoy at the expense of others and nature, then we attribute this cruelty to nature, and then perceive its actions as cruel.

If we studied nature in depth, learning how and why it functions the way it does, then we would find no shred of cruelty in nature. Instead, we would discover how nature is ultimately a single thought that wishes only to bestow contentment, pleasure and fulfillment upon its creation. In other words, at its source, nature is a pure intention to love and bestow, which has no wicked intentions whatsoever.

Nature created a single system that functions according to laws of interdependence and interconnectedness. We see how the still, vegetative and animate levels of nature behave in a way where each element takes only what it needs for its sustenance, and fulfills its role for the sake of the ecosystem’s sustenance. Although we see several animals killing and eating each other, they do so not out of cruelty, but simply because it is the way they were created. By doing so, they fulfill their role in nature, and the whole that they are parts of continues its sustenance through their instinctive behavior.

If we humans would receive only according to our needs, and gave everything else for the benefit of humanity and nature, then we would be on the same level as animals. However, we clearly see that we operate differently, and that there is a program embedded in us that makes us want to personally benefit at the expense of other people and nature.

This egoistic element—the desire for self-benefit at the expense of others and nature—is what differentiates humans from animals and the rest of nature, and it is solely this quality is cruel. In other words, human egoism is the sole aspect within nature that opposes nature, and likewise, it is the one quality that needs to become corrected.

By correcting human egoism, so that instead of wishing to personally benefit at the expense of others and nature, we would instead acquire a new nature where we wish to benefit others and nature, we would likewise enter into balance with nature, thus experiencing nature harmoniously and cruelty-free.

The increasingly cruel world we perceive is in order to bring us to a point where we will truly want to invert our egoistic nature into its opposite altruistic form. For a change of such magnitude to happen, we need to learn how and why nature acts as an integral system, to learn its laws of interconnection and interdependence, and apply them to ourselves in order to reach balance with nature. By doing so, we will discover a new harmonious and complete life, completely outside the scope of how we currently perceive and sense our world.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Benoit Gauzere on Unsplash.

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