Entries in the 'Spirituality' Category

Turn The Means Into The Goal and The Goal Into The Means!

Dr. Michael LaitmanAll of the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking nature unify toward one upper force that gives life and governs everything. We are all parts of one plan. This is precisely the reason why our world is global, and all its parts are interconnected. After all, everything is governed by one force, and we are joined together through it. All events taking place in absolutely isolated parts of the globe are connected through the common force of nature.

A direct connection doesn’t exist, so we can’t find it since we see only consequences, manifestations of the integral connection of all parts of the universe. The connection itself is run through this one upper force, the only one which governs us. This is why we can understand the world only by revealing this singular governing force.

As the body has only one brain to which all organs and body parts are linked to, everything is connected to the brain and is governed thereby. So are we connected with one upper force existing in nature, wise and kind, which governs all and is called “One” Creator.

It if weren’t for this upper force, we would have nothing in common. At this time, if this force descends and approaches us, we start feeling “connected” with each other and with it against our will. We feel not the force itself, but rather the result of its approaching us, which is expressed in our even greater interdependence with each other and nature.

It is a problem for us since we don’t want to be tied. We thought that in the material world we would gain independence from nature; we hoped that our home with a full fridge, microwaved food, artificial climate, and virtual connection with the world via the Internet would completely shelter us from nature.

Yet, we feel that we depend upon nature even more since it (the Creator) is drawing closer to us. If we recognize the importance of His approach and revelation, thereby choosing to approach Him as well, we will be able to treat bonding with people as the means to meet the Creator half way. Turn the means into the goal and the goal into the means!

Now as the Creator is coming closer, we feel bad. Let’s turn it around then! As He approaches us, we feel how strongly we are pushed toward each other. Let’s then become so close by our own will that He would descend right into us and fill us!
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/11, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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When The Heart And Mind Unite As One

Dr. Michael LaitmanA supreme notion states that the Creator is One, Unique, and Unified. One, singular, upper force created all of creation: It existed before the creation came into being, exists along with it, and will continue to exist after the creation no longer does; that is, this force exists in all states.

We can discuss it from various points of view, which only demonstrates our lack of perfection; hence, we define it as One, Unique, and Unified, but various definitions of the Upper Force, the Creator, exist only relative to us.

  • One means that there isn’t any other force that could govern the universe, as it is written: “There is none else beside Him.”
  • Unique means that He is united in all of His acts and has no other intention.  
  • Unified means that even if His actions seem irrelevant and contradictory at times, it is only because we all exist in different states that are opposite to Him. Hence, we each have different perceptions, as it is written: “Everyone judges according to his own flaws.” But as we continue to correct ourselves, all of these cardinally different states and attributes eventually come together into one notion.

“One” means perfection. If there are two, they are somewhat different, and one lacks the qualities of the other; together, they complete each other. And if there were a million instead of two, then each of them is even less complete; he or she has only a millionth part of perfection and lacks the other 999,999 parts.

If we say that there is only one, it means that everything is in him. But I don’t think He has everything because I am opposite to Him, and that means that the problem is in me rather than in Him.

If He is one, and everything is in Him, then it doesn’t matter how I view Him: as good or evil, light or dark, cold or warm. I have to understand that these opposite attributes are not in Him. He is neither good nor evil; these opposite notions exist only in my perception.

If I say that the Creator is always good, it doesn’t constitute the definition of “One” either. “One” means that neither good nor evil exists in Him. I am the one who judges His manifestations relative to me. Meanwhile, He is One, something totally abstract, beyond what is even called good.

A person is inspired by the meaning of “One,” its perfect purity and sensation of attainment. In this “One,” the heart and mind come together as one.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/13/2011, “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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What Do We Need To Add To Creation?

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere is nothing new in the universe. The Creator is unchanging. Everything was made and completed right away, and nothing is lacking. In that case, what do we need to add to creation? How can we supplement it?

It is written in the Torah that when God created the world, He “saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” Didn’t He see and know this before? Did He confirm that everything came out well only after completing the action? Why do the sages tell about it using these words?

There is only one force that operates in the world: the Creator. We do not discuss that which existed before the creation of the world because we perceive reality from the view of the creation. We can never perceive what precedes its existence.

We act according to the principles of “By Your actions, we know You,” and “one judges according to his own flaws.” We always come to the Creator (Boreh) from within our own properties when we reveal Him, which is called “come and see” (Bo – Reh).

This means that this does not refer to some force being revealed, but to the created being revealing this force within. For this purpose, the creature needs to be given the feeling and understanding of what it represents, where it is, who fathered and created it, as well as other details of perception which reflect its status.

For this reason, the creature experiences changes until all the Creator’s good becomes revealed. All these changes come from the end of an action, which is concealed in the initial thought. From the beginning, the Creator desires the creature to become like Him and exist in the best possible state.

The Creator’s initial point must become the final point of the creature. Once the two of them are soldered into one, everything begins to develop and open up in relation to the creature.

Only absolute kindness comes from the Creator. All the processes derive from His absolute love. He already perceives the creature in its final state; however, all the degrees, forces, and attainments must develop one after another in the creature itself. It needs to experience different contradictory states in order to learn about itself and attain the Creator.

The creature needs to add its “I” to the final point of equality and unity with the Creator, and this “I” needs to fully participate in the perfect state. This is why it is written that the final state differs “620 times” from the initial state. The creature adds all of its desire, understanding, comprehension, feelings, and sensations to it, and then it becomes a rightful partner similar to the Creator.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/12/11, “What Is it That it is Written and You Should Return to Your Hearts”

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The Materialistic Psychology Of Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanLove does not belong in our world. If you start to relate to others with love, it means that the soul has begun to operate in you. However, now you have just one broken point from that soul. If from that point you start building an attitude of love for another person and creating this “vector” of intention, the aspiration called love, it will become your soul.

It will be built on your desire to enjoy, which was corrected by the intention “for the sake of bestowal.” This is called love.

If you acquire this intention, then you will become a spiritual person. Inside this attitude to another person you will start revealing the Light of NaRaNHY, the upper worlds, everything that is between you and the other.

This will continue until you feel him completely the way you feel yourself, experiencing the two of you as one whole. This means that you have attained the world of Infinity because there are no boundaries, no limitations left. This signifies the spiritual world.

I have to relate to everything that happens with love. However, if someone attacks me with a knife, then what should I do? I must also take a knife and kill him, but with love…. That is the law. And if a Levi, a tax collector comes to me and tells me that I have to pay him, then I will pay him. Inside, in my heart, I may be crying over my empty wallet, but my soul will rejoice.

We have to understand that our attitude to the neighbor is built on our desire to enjoy and its correction for the sake of bestowal! If I take all the needs of another person and fill them using my desire, that means I love him.

However, if I merely restrict my desire in order to avoid harming another person, that means I am in the state of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal” (Hafetz Hesed), but not love. It is written, “Do not do to another what you yourself hate.” This is the test of how I should relate to him. If you don’t like something yourself, then don’t do it to another.

But maybe there is also something that he likes? I don’t know that because I can only test it by my own desires. This is “materialistic psychology.”

Love is also not beyond materialistic psychology. Yet, in this case I feel another person so much that I feel his desires. Therefore, I take them and fulfill them by what I can practically fill them with using my desires and opportunities.

If I love the neighbor and absorb his desires, then I can raise his request (MAN) to the very world of Infinity! He cannot do this himself, but I can do it for him!

In spirituality, none of us can take a bite and put it in our mouth directly. We can only eat it if I give it to you and you give it to me. And it can only happen on the condition that I know exactly what you want and you know the same about me! Then you will be able to place that bite into my mouth, and I for you. That is how we are connected and none of us can receive fulfillment by himself.

And all of that has to happen here, in this world! The Light of Infinity has to expand down to this world, as it is written, “His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.” Spiritual relationships will become such that you will not be able to act differently in the material world as well.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/12/11, “The Quality of the Hidden Wisdom – in General”

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Bleach For The Donkey

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person who desires to ascend up the spiritual degrees, to go from our reality that is felt in the five senses to the upper reality, has to change himself and his qualities. And for that he needs an external, additional force which he lacks.

He has just a tiny point of desire for spirituality and must receive everything else from outside. The entire sum total of these forces, which raises him from the current state to a more advanced state, is called “the donkey driver.” In Hebrew “donkey” is Hamor, originating from the word Homer, matter. The donkey is our matter, the will to enjoy, and it continuously goes through changes, causing us to ascend and advance along the spiritual path.

The force from Above influences our desire, changing it, and thus our “donkey” becomes constantly improved because the “donkey driver” is always working on him. When we reach the end of the path, our “donkey” really does become “white,” just like in the stories about the Messiah who arrives on a “white donkey.”
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/11/11, The Zohar

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Not A Moment Of Rest

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Who has to overcome evil: me or the Creator?

Answer: No matter what others tell me about the Creator, I have to work on my own from beginning until end. Then, according to the things that become revealed, I will be able to tell how exactly this takes place: by itself, by virtue of my efforts, or with the help of a certain Upper Force.

We shouldn’t wait for anything to come from Above. Nothing will come. With my forces and efforts I have to reveal a picture that already exists.

Everything depends on how much I yearn for it. I am like a child who grows only to the degree he wants to grow. And I have to add this desire myself. Now just imagine what life would be like for that child.

In our world children develop naturally and we can barely keep up with them. A child runs around all over the place and always wants something. That is how we should do our spiritual work as well. Otherwise we won’t develop and grow. However, what we do instead is take “breaks” all the time and time-outs to stop and think it over.

Does a child ever take a time-out? No, he does not experience a moment of rest. He has to attain the world at every moment.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/11/11, Writings of Rabash

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When The Point In The Heart Speaks Out

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If only “desire” was created, then what is intention? Is it a type of desire as well?

Answer: No it isn’t. Intention comes to us from the Creator. Every person has a point in the heart, “the Creator’s part given from Above.”

The truth of the matter is that we resulted from the breaking. Before us, there was a system of Infinity (Ein Sof), where the entire desire and the Light were one. Then we experienced the system of the breaking of the Kelim (vessels).

What did it give us? Now that we are here in the corporeal world, we still have desire, but instead of the Light, there are only sparks. Our desire is broken and acts solely with an egoistic intention to receive. In the course of history, from generation to generation, from lifetime to lifetime, it has developed at the still, vegetative, and animate levels.

Finally, during one of its lifecycles, it reaches the final stage when a point, a spark of Light, the Creator’s part given from Above, emerges in a person. “What about me?” it asks as it wakes up to life, and that’s when man feels a conflict within.

At the animate level, such internal conflicts don’t arise because at that point we were developed by instinctive impulses and urges. We wanted to use others to the utmost and succeed in all that we did.

All people, young and old, strive to gain the most out of this world. They exist only in one desire: the will to receive pleasure. Thinking that it is worth living for, they don’t ask questions about something greater than that. After all, questions grow from within, from the fertile inner ground, and until then we are mere mammals. We view vital issues through the prism of our mind and various beliefs.

This goes on until man despairs of the desire, until his or her point in the heart unfolds, which characterizes our generation. Thus, the point in the heart is the beginning of the soul. This is what triggers human development.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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There Is An Alternative!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Today there are many new students present at the lesson. What advice would you give them to change their egoistic intention into an altruistic one?

Answer: In our world, we are approaching the moment of truth: We have nothing else to live for. Day by day, the world discovers that its life is empty. In reality, however, we haven’t reached the turning point just yet, and people still manage to confuse themselves and obscure the truth because they have no replacement for their present life.

We have to show them that the alternative does exist, and that we are undergoing a certain process managed from Above. We have to actualize it. It is a unique, benevolent process, a remarkable development, elevating us over life in the body which is approaching death every given second. This is what we should pass on to the newcomers.

We must rise to a new perception of reality. It doesn’t mean that I simply replace “my picture” I see from within the body. No, I don’t “switch the remote” on the external view, but rather I step out into a new reality, cross from one world to the other. I change my attitude in practice, by giving it a new vector: from within myself to outward toward others, or from within myself out to the Creator. In fact, “the other” is a remedy, an intermediary phase that helps me to aim to the Creator.

In general, I can exist in my small will to receive pleasure, perceiving this tiny, frail world. Alternatively, I can break free from it and experience eternal life, the perfect nature, where I live without restrictions in the world of Infinity. The wisdom of Kabbalah gives us this opportunity.

In the previous generations, only a few were able to experience such an internal revolution, the transition from one world to the other. But today, everyone whose point in the heart (or spiritual desire) unfolds can try to actualize it. Starting with our time and on, the entire human race will gradually, step by step, undergo this transition.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/7/2011, Writings of Rabash

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