Entries in the 'Q&A' Category

Is It The Special Services Or Us?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: We say that due to our unity, the situation in the world has changed: It has become more peaceful; there is less terrorism. If a secret service employee heard us, he would say: “We are working from morning till night, neutralizing terrorists, so the situation has improved because of us, not because you are uniting together.” What can you tell this skeptic or is it better not to contradict him?

Answer: I usually do not enter into any debate with anyone. Let them talk; it does not matter.  If they think they are doing it better, so be it.

Besides that, I do not think that we can replace services for safety and security, etc. because humanity is far from being able to advance consciously. And those people who want to do harm must come up against an organized public order.

I have nothing to tell him; he does not see and will never understand what we are doing if he does not come to our courses.
[73569]
From a “Talk on Integral Education” #14, 12/18/11

Related Material:
A Buffer Between Nature And Humanity
Our Students Are Our Hope
What Is Required Of Us?

A Buffer Between Nature And Humanity

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Our efforts in uniting and dissemination create changes in the rest of the world. Does this in turn affect us? For example, if we create courses for the masses and start connecting these people, their numbers will grow. Will this have an affect on our ability to advance and unite quicker? Are these processes interconnected?

Answer: These processes are definitely connected. We received the opportunity to advance so that we will be able to lead all of humanity. From nature’s perspective there’s no need for our existence. We serve as a buffer that has to work in coordination with nature and with the rest of humanity because it can’t advance on its own.

For this reason we must be together with the seven billion people. We must try to create a method that is comprehensible to them and organize everything in a way that will be easy, pleasant, convenient, and joyful.  We have to spark their interest in following us. It should never be forced because their advancement has to be voluntary and conscious.

We have to constantly elevate their development so that they would realize the importance of moving forward. Thereby, they will advance. Essentially, our education is directed at bringing people to the realization of the necessity of personal development.
[73571]
From a “Talk on Integral Education” #14, 12/18/11

Related Material:
Justifying The Creator’s Assistance
The Group Offers Painless Healing
The Special Role Of Zealous Egoists

In The Footsteps Of The Great Kabbalists

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When you speak about our intention before reading The Zohar, you do not use the language of The Zohar or of the Sefirot. You speak about feelings, but the text that was written by Rabbi Aba in a concealed form doesn’t help us feel it.

Answer: On one hand, this is true. On the other hand, when we study about how Malchut rises to Bina and descends from there, and how AHP rises and descends, and how the souls rise, you can feel that although it is about the attributes on spiritual degrees. We already have some emotional response to words like the rising of Malchut to Bina, restriction, the small state (Katnut), the great state (Gadlut), Yenika, or Ibur. Although it is about the Sefirot, you still can add some feeling to it, even without having these attributes yet.

All these feelings are not real until we cross the Machsom (barrier). There is nothing we can do about that.

However, the writing styles and the descriptions of spirituality are very different. See how Ramchal and AGRA wrote, and how different they are from one another. Look at Baal HaSulam and Rambam. Rashi, who wrote commentary for the entire Tanakh, Peshat (simple) commentary, was a great Kabbalist. See how he expresses himself in ordinary, everyday language that is clearly understood by everyone. How he concealed himself!

You are asking why Rabbi Aba wrote The Zohar in such a concealed way, but he didn’t conceal anything. It says that Rabbi Aba knew how to reveal in secret. This is the revelation in the concealment (Megillat Esther). This doesn’t mean that he wrote anything. It is said that Rabbi Shimon spoke about what he attained, Rabbi Yossi and the other disciples heard and discussed the revelations, and Rabbi Aba heard everyone and wrote.

It isn’t a matter of manual writing. It is about how much each of them dressed himself in the collective revelation that they attained as a group, about how much each of them added clarifications since each one revealed the general attainment in his own personal attribute. And that’s how they eventually composed for us the steps of the ladder which we climb and advance. In fact, this is what the authors of The Zohar did.

There is the world of Infinity, and we have to start from our point of shattering, from the center of the sphere, from the dark. So, where are all the steps of the ladder that we have to climb? It is true that the Light descended from top down, along with the creation of the worlds and the steps of the ladder, and it is the Creator who did all that.

However, the authors of The Zohar fulfilled this process from the bottom up. This means that they wrote The Zohar, as it is written: “Write on the tablets of your heart.” Therefore, they also belong to the level of the forefathers, which extends from Adam to Abraham.

It is as if they paved a path through the forest for you. They have walked it ahead of you and cleared the way for you. They put up signs and carved steps on the steep slopes. They left the means for you to ease your way. This is what the authors of The Zohar actually did.

Then you are following their footsteps—and suddenly a thought from Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Chiya, or Rabbi Aba crosses your mind. You feel that they were there before you and what they did at every point. This is what it called to write a book.
[69833]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/12/2012, The Zohar

Related Material:
The “Physicists” And “Lyricists” Of Spirituality
How To Open The Book Of Zohar
How To Enter The Book Of Zohar

Talk With The Unemployed

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Suppose an unemployed person came to you and asked: “What exactly should I do?” How would you answer him?

Answer: I would say the following: I want to explain that you are not unemployed. Today families, countries, nations, the world, the entire human society, all of us are entering a completely different existence. We do not have to work for 10 hours a day, but rather we need to organize our life in a completely different way. Everyone inevitably will come to this; you’ll see that you are not alone.

In China, one million people are laid off daily, and this is escalating. The same happens in Europe and America. In Africa, people did not work and still do not work. In practice, we are approaching such a state when the notion of “jobless” or “unemployed” is erased. A person should create an environment where he will feel comfortable. If this requires work, then he will work; if it does not require work, then he will not. Work is not an end in itself.

Let’s think and discuss what should be the form of humanity if today billions of people are released from their work as something unnecessary, superfluous, and even harmful. I received a letter from my student who works in China. He has a large business selling Volkswagen cars, which are very popular in China. He writes: “We have not sold a single car since the beginning of the month. It is a disaster!” And they used to sell a hundred a day. Do you understand what is going on?

So, what can I do with an unemployed person who is standing in front of me crying? This is a natural trend in our evolution. Let us see where it leads and take the necessary steps to ensure that we do not feel inadequate because we do not work. Perhaps, it is not necessary to work. Maybe, all our work only harms nature, us, and the environment. It obviously destroys the environment and possibly us. What can we do that is more enjoyable instead of what we were doing before? This is what we can talk about.

We just need to show a person that this is an objective reality, and if he understands, then he will see that his life is getting better, not worse.
[73186]
From a “Talk  on Integral Education” #13, 12/18/11

Related Material:
Create Your Own Self
No To Unemployment, Yes To The Real Work
It Is Freedom From Slavery, Not Unemployment

Implementing A Five Year Plan In Three Days

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is the introduction of the integral education and upbringing a long process? How should we start it?

Answer: This is not a long process because in any case, we have to complete this path within the next 228 years if it occurs without our participation.

We already shortened it significantly. We can also make it shorter so we will go through it in the nearest future. It is quite possible! It depends only on us!

The shortening of the path is a repeated, accumulative process. It is impossible to even convey this: The difference is the same as between walking and flying on an airplane.
[73494] 
From “A Talk on Integral Education” #14, 12/18/11

Related Material:
The Future Lies In Integration
The Key To Healthy People, Family, And Society
Training Camp

An Instrument To Penetrate The Human Essence

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is my aversion towards a person a wonderful opportunity to create integrality?

Answer: Yes, of course. Let’s look at each other simply as we do with our good friends or our children and feel each other as a result of that. If I make an effort regardless of the fact that it’s unpleasant for me to listen to someone, then in spite of my antagonism and thanks to this effort, I will begin to feel him better. This means that I will have acquired a new instrument of perception. A person is pushing me away, but in spite of that I overcome the aversion by creating from the positive and the negative feelings inside of me a distinct instrument of entry into it, and I begin to feel it.

If I didn’t have the aversion towards it, it would be very difficult for me to make contact with it. I would have simply accepted what comes out of it in a pleasant form and would adapt it inside of myself according to my perception. But when I do it in an opposing way, it’s as if I am penetrating into this thickness, this force of overcoming, and then the contact with the person is created inside of me.

That’s why as we grow, the people who were previously pleasant to me are now suddenly being revealed to me as unpleasant, pushing me away from them, and vice versa, I am being averted from them. However, I understand that thanks to the opposition, I get the opportunity to penetrate deeper into them.
[73192]
From a “Talk on Integral Education” #13, 12/18/11

Related Material:
Feeling Each Other
Love Conquers All
The Truth Is In The Connection Between Us

Strategy And Tactics

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When a person asks you a question, you listen to him carefully, even if he speaks for a long time and is boring or talks nonsense. Why listen to the person’s opinion, and for what? One can tell that it’s important for you.

Answer: At times, I suddenly interrupt someone. I feel what a person needs to experience: either a somewhat scornful attitude from my side or on the contrary, collaboration, support, and respect, which would help him either from the good or the bad side so that he would consequently begin to respect himself, and so on. There are many reasons for my differentiated relationship towards everyone.

You observe me among the three hundred students with whom I have been building spiritual relationships throughout many years. These are not everyday, ordinary relationships, but on the teacher-student level.

I have a very strong motivation to push a person, to direct him, to lead him out of a state of descent, or on the contrary, to support, to strengthen him, to not let him descend—today, and tomorrow it may be different. All of this is very much “alive” and it is dictated by one’s inner situation at a given moment, meaning in what state a person is in and what is happening to him. It’s impossible to give a formula for this.

The motivation comes from inner feelings. Like an artist in a theater, getting into character, reckons that he has to perform one move here and another one there, and they let him do this because this comes from within him. It’s the same here.

Question: At the courses of integral education, is it important to listen to a person’s opinion, let him have his say? How is this regulated?

Answer: It depends upon what stage the group is in. If the group is at the beginning stage, the chatter may take hours. The group is being built gradually, people are getting used to each other. At first, we do not forbid breaking the group into parts or pulling it together. If the people become tired, we take breaks so that they can have a cup of coffee, smoke a cigarette, and so on.

Besides, at the very first lessons, entrance and exit is free for everyone. Suppose a person wants to relax a little, or something is pressuring, obliging, or stressing him, or maybe he remembered something that the situation may have brought up. A very smooth, liberal relationship is necessary here.

The only condition is that a person must not bother others. This is obligatory. That’s why all telephones are switched off so there won’t be any external distractions. We are trying to smooth out everything as much as possible. In everything else, each person enters the study in his own way and at his own rate.
[73195]
From “A Talk on Integral Education” #13, 12/18/11 

Related Material:
A Kaleidoscope Of Questions And Answers
The Particulars Of Group Formation
Group Selection

Being Included In An Integral

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Each of us is getting ready for the Vilnius convention. How can we create an integral of all the collective efforts, which will unite them into a single whole?

Answer: Suppose there is some indefinite form in front of us. How can we measure its area? To do that, I take a small square (1 мм2), so tiny that it can enter every corner in the form. The sum of all the areas of the tiny squares will be the desired result. This sum (∑) is an integral (∫).

With the help of an integral I can calculate the sum of many parts, their collective sum: unity. Suppose the sum equals n. But we calculate an integral from zero to infinity (∞), in other words, from the tiny square to infinity. Then we will definitely not go wrong and will fill the whole given area.

This is the difference between an integral and a usual sum: When we calculate it, we don’t determine the number of the parts because it can be infinite.

Question: Every such “tiny square” is one of the friends. How can we become an integral and not a sum?

Answer: Everyone should be small enough to be able to enter. This is enough, and he doesn’t ask for anything else, doesn’t have any conditions. It doesn’t matter in which corner I am, it’s fine. The key is to be included into everyone so that I have no egoistic essence left, no desire except for one: to be part of this integral.

Question: How can we attain that?

Answer: With the help of the Light that Reforms. It is necessary in order to be included in the group and to receive the Light of Hassadim.

Question: What should be our prayer in this situation?

Answer: You pray for everyone, for unity. You understand that you have no “area” of your own—you are that small. At first, it seemed to you that you were filling the whole area. But gradually, in order to be included in the group, in an integral, you minimized yourself, until you became a “tiny square” and lost all the “area,” that is, your self-importance, independence, and individual reality. Then you are really worthy of being part of the whole, and you become included in the revelation of the Creator.

Question: Does this mean that our integrality is a result of our self-annulment?

Answer: Of course. And from that I demand unification, revelation, and adhesion for everyone.
[73272] 
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/2012, “Introduction to TES“

Related Material:
Receive The Light From The Group
Count On The Light
A Bridge Of Love Over An Abyss Of Egoism

The Help Of Which No One Will Know

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is self-annulment? What does it mean, to nullify yourself before the friends?

Answer: It means that I serve my friends: Let them reveal the Creator to the full measure, while I will only help them. They won’t know about it. In the same way, it doesn’t matter to a mother whether her baby is aware of her care and concern. She is simply devoted to him without any reservations. Similarly, I want to help all the friends realize their hopes so that through that they and the Creator could delight in each other.

And what about me? I remain a hidden factor. Just like the Creator who conceals Himself behind the scenes in this world, I, too, want to lead all of humanity towards His goodness in a concealed manner.

Just be careful: Great pride lies in this approach.
[73484]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/2012, “Introduction to TES“

Related Material:
Thinking Of A Newly Born World
Playing Down The Ego
Pass On What You Have Received

Justifying The Creator’s Assistance

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Right now our entire world group is participating in a unique experiment: focus group workshops. How should this preparation be tied with the convention? What should we carry out after the convention for the remaining 99% of humanity?

Answer: The fact of the matter is that we received a special desire: the aspiration to the Creator, to this general governing and all-fulfilling force, besides which nothing else exists. We are inside this force, inside this field. You could say that each of us received a special disposition, assistance.

But who are we, really? After all, none of us is anything special relative to the Creator?!

We need to understand that we are able to develop only when we’ll be developing everyone else and pulling all of nature along with us. Therefore, without the 99%, without having to pull all of humanity after us, we wouldn’t have received this desire, the aspiration to the Creator.

Essentially, it goes like this: The Creator is pulling us to Himself as if by a string. Initially, He kept pulling us until we understood the concept. From then on, He will pull us only as much as we will be pulling the rest of humanity after us. Humanity is still just on the level of animate existence, and it doesn’t need to aspire to the Creator, to unification with the common field, to the ascent to the level of “man,” on its own. Man is someone who understands and attains the Creator.

If we’re going to disseminate our knowledge in such a way that it will be perceived correctly by the masses, we will become worthy of Him pulling us further. He will do so to the extent and with the force with which we unite with the rest of humanity. We neither advance nor strive forward by ourselves. We only need to show people that we are taking them along and that together with them, we desire, simply desire to aspire forward! This is what we call “raising MAN,” when we take their desires and passing them through ourselves, raise them further. And then the Light descends from Above and draws all of us to itself.

The 99% do not have a desire for spirituality. Their desires are restricted to the material level.

We awaken in them an understanding that they will solve all of their problems only by pursuing integral relations with each other, through unification. While doing so, we don’t mention the Creator or the upper attainment since they don’t aspire to that.

Their aspirations are directed at making this world safe and comfortable for life, at making it free of all problems. Especially threatening is the problem in ecology. We know very little about it, yet one can see with the naked eye what’s happening already. In the upcoming years, these problems will be truly threatening. And then it will be even easier for us to work with the masses.

But we shouldn’t just wait until these misfortunes threaten our existence so it will be easier to convince the public. We need to explain to them that all these problems are resolved through integration between ourselves.
[73365] 
From KabTV’s “Foundations of an Integral Society” 3/18/12 

Related Material:
With All Humanity As One
Growth Problems: From The Group To All Of Humanity
Excuse Me, What Does Humanity Have to Do with This?