Entries in the 'Unity' Category

A Detailed Portrait Of The New Economy

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe have to create a giant propaganda system, and first of allin Israel. We have to disseminate our materials with all we’ve got and lay a sound foundation for the notion of mutual guarantee in the Internet and mass media. We have to come out into the world with this notion, and in Israel we have to turn it into a “superpower” of our small, Hebrew-speaking, virtual world.

Soon many European countries will be enveloped by serious disorders. The processes are developing very fast and this requires us to act. However, besides explaining the causes and the objectives, we have to talk about the economy of the transitional period. The world’s system has become global, yet specialists still describe it using terminology of the egoistic, consumerist economy. Therefore, we have to introduce a new format by describing the current situation in a new light.

After that we will apply this new worldview for describing the final state: a balanced economy of basic necessity where people receive their excesses on the “human” degree of development. On the “animate” level we provide all the necessities: housing, food, healthcare, and so on. A person lives with all his needs provided for, not worrying about anything. This is the base level. And in the meantime, his “human” desires go on to spiritual fulfillment.

That is how we designate the target state and extend a “bridge” to it—form the transitional process. This transition is not easy and we won’t make it happen on our own. However, there are already specialists who understand that there is no other solution. Gradually they will agree to join us, to understand the meaning of our explanations, while we will in turn understand their statements. That is how we will work together, depicting one phase after another.

First we will formulate the general objective and then we will narrow it down to the details, proceeding to the step-by-step realization. We will create schemes and explain the particular aspects, and as a result, we will clearly deduce what we have to do today as a first step.

That is how we will change the interconnection permeating the world, the entire order of threads connecting people. The economy is a system of connections between us. The Torah states, “Go and earn from one another.” In other words: By uniting with one another, you will attain fulfillment. This is already the science of Kabbalah in action. After all, it talks about how to correct the world, meaning how to correct the connections between us from the material, egoistic, consumerist connection, funneled through the “American dream” to the true connection that leads to a different kind of dream. This is what our work comes down to.

However, we can’t just dash forward right away. The only thing we have to do right away is help those who are starving to death. This is necessary, while everything else has to be done in a thought-out manner. This is where the problem lies: People still don’t understand that it is enough to just start moving in the right direction even if you haven’t actually made anything happen in practice—and the Lights immediately express favor toward you.

In this case you are no longer hostile to nature. You do not oppose the integral system with your discrete, individualistic nature. On the contrary, you focus on the changes within you; your desires and intentions are already aimed at these changes, and that’s enough. The Light begins working on you and you already start to understand, to have a greater desire to change, and to correspond to the necessary changes even more.

Imagine what will happen when a huge mass of people agrees with the fact that there is no other solution and we have to make these changes happen. Then we will gain an enormous force and will realize our plans.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/11, “Peace in the World”

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So You’ve Come Out To Protest? You Have Mail!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: On October 15 there will be social protest demonstrations held all over the world. What actions should we take in response?

Answer: First of all, we cannot stay on the sidelines, away from the world, and we cannot move away from people. It is written, “I dwell among my people.” Throughout all times Kabbalists kept abreast of everything going on, although they stayed in the background themselves.

Feeling the public mood and the processes happening in society, they modernized the science of Kabbalah accordingly. After all, Kabbalah’s intended purpose is to reveal the upper force in this world. When it manifests among us, inside of us, then we will attain perfection.

That is why we are coming out to demonstrations together with people. And it’s best for people not to feel or recognize us there. After all, a demonstration is not a place to give explanations. We must only distribute our materials, which have to be thought-out and checked in advance. Let our leaflets find their way across different countries and be in different languages. In them people will read about the true problems and their solution, and will also find a link to our site, which provides expansive and detailed explanations.

It is very important to use citations of scientists who support our view. Their opinion should be highlighted on the pages of our sites.

So, at demonstrations we should not socialize with anyone or identify ourselves with anyone, but simply give out flyers. We thereby envelop the masses with our information instead of wasting time on personal conversations. In these circumstances this is all that’s required of us is. Everything else belongs to the round tables, to discussions and clarifications, which are forms that are not appropriate in this case. Give a person our flyer, let him put it in his pocket or purse, and a day or two later he will find us.

Thus, we do not represent anyone, but simply work as “mailmen,” providing a hand-to-hand delivery. Wise words are heard in silence. They are revealed through discussion, through a search for answers.

Therefore, first of all, don’t take our methods in Israel as an example. Everything is different in your location so act independently. Insert scientists’ opinions into the materials and give every demonstration participant your flyer with clear messages and the necessary contact information. Also, try to express yourself on the protestors’ Internet venues. For that you do not have to be in touch with the organizers by any means.

Question: What should our message be?

Answer: The message is simple: All of the world’s problems are caused by the fact that the world has become integral and global, but we don’t correspond to it yet. On the contrary, we lag behind because we are not united and are not uniting. And to support this, we cite words of scientists as proof.

Furthermore, in order to unite, we don’t have to wreak havoc or overthrow anyone by any means. First of all, we have to understand that unification really is necessary, and then go on to discussion. We have to organize venues where we will communicate with one another and where we will lay the foundations of our unity. These venues will most often be virtual and therefore we invite everyone to our site.

The scheme is this: the cause of the problem—the solution—the opinion of famous scientists—and the venue to which we invite people in order to start a discussion and arrive at a solution, instead of coming out to the streets over and over again. How long will we hold up this way and what will this give us?

Besides, our flyer must make it clear that we are not in favor of disorder. After all, there are many forces involved in a protest that are interested in having it go on.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/10/11, “Peace in the World”

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Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: On one hand people are coming out to the streets demanding equality and justice, certain that they can achieve it. On the other hand, we call these demands utopian and unrealistic. How can we let them understand that what they desire cannot be attained by force, but only through upbringing, unification, and mutual guarantee?

Answer: To them social justice means looting the cashboxes of the rich and giving out the contents. “We’ll pounce on the tycoons and finish them off.”

But we say, “No, first you have to understand the reason for what is happening.” Global tendencies are unraveling right before our very eyes and the problem here is not just stratification into the rich and poor, but a multi-faceted crisis. So let’s understand what this crisis really is. You see for yourselves that you won’t achieve anything through revolutions or by artificially distributing the resources. Real examples of this are modern Egypt, 20th century Russia, and Israeli kibbutzes. You will never achieve success by disrupting the natural flow of things.

Therefore, our answer is unification, especially if the issue at stake today is social justice and fairness. But how can we unite? Let’s study this question, and let’s learn to do it correctly. If our initiatives are aimed at justice, equality, and general balance, then is it possible to realize this without unification of people? In this case the means does not match the objective we have set.

Do you want to make everyone equal? First bring your desire, your foundations into concordance with this. Otherwise you and your group of a thousand people just want to establish your own social justice, but there is another group of two thousand people who have their own idea about justice. New groups are continually springing up, and the process is joined by the army, the government, unions, and tycoons, while in the meantime the enemies are shrewdly crawling up to the boundaries, and they have their own idea of justice.

So how will all of this end? What do you want to do? Can you attain the goal without balancing out all of the contradictions, without attaining mutual guarantee? Is it possible to build anything solid until everyone understands that they depend on one another and have to support one another? Only within this mutual guarantee will we reveal justice.

We cannot just give out money to someone. Is that just? There has to be a social consensus, a general agreement. And therefore, we say: First of all, we have to start a discussion, take each other’s interests into account, and unite. Mutual guarantee is what we need. If we attain it, then we will be able to keep going. But before we do, there are only conflicts and mutual deception ahead for us.

Question: I agree, this sounds logical. However, the notion of mutual guarantee still seems abstract. It’s unclear how to implement it….

Answer: That means you still aren’t able to convince people that without this condition, it is impossible to address anything else. You have not discerned this for yourself yet and have not demonstrated it to others as an indestructible foundation without which we cannot build anything.

Let everyone try to prove you wrong; you still have to accept only this condition: that we won’t manage without total mutual agreement on the fact that every person depends on everyone and everyone depends on every person. When we all agree with the general principles, then we will be able to find the right solution.

No matter what we desire—be it social justice, equality, mutuality, or unification, this is possible only on the condition that we all get together at a round table, that the whole nation sits down around it and reaches all-around agreement. Without this, we won’t budge an inch.

People will say, “But that’s impossible!” But how do you know: No one has tried it yet. One way or another, without this, only dictatorial methods will work.

In reality this is impossible only because we lack upbringing or social influence. This is what we have to form.

If the critical condition for future prosperity is impossible to fulfill today, that means we have to work on dissemination, explaining to people what mutual guarantee is and how to attain it. We have to involve the mass media, use every possible channel of influence, and show every person that this is the most important thing for us. This is integral upbringing, by virtue of which we will attain agreement, unity, and mutual understanding, and then we will take the next steps.

We must gradually build the phases of the path, showing people that it is impossible to act otherwise. Without the initial period of upbringing, it is impossible to go on to realizing the mutual guarantee because people must be internally ready for it.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/10/11, “Peace in the World”

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Let’s Not Lag Behind The Calendar Of Corrections

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere are three degrees of attaining man’s total adhesion with the Creator: embrace, kiss, and adhesion (union), which he achieves with the help of the system of connections he reveals. These levels are symbolized by the holidays at the beginning of the New Year: the New Year itself (Rosh HaShana) – an embrace from the left, and then an embrace from the right – the Light of Sukkot, which grows bigger every day until reaching the 8th day, immediately after the end of Sukkot (Shmeni Atzeret), when total adhesion is attained.

It is written, “His left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me.” Then comes a connection called “kiss”—above Tabur, and then on the level of Yesodot—below Tabur, in the receiving desires when the Light of Hassadim is already present in order to draw the Light of Hochma into it for the sake of bestowal.

The whole world is now revealing the same degrees. And even though the world does not know what phases it is going through, it is still going through the same process. First the transgressions gradually become revealed—a bad sensation, a reason forcing us to reveal the evil because we feel bad. But we still don’t know why we feel bad and nothing goes right anywhere.

Then the next phase arrives where we begin to reveal that the reason for these failures is that we are not connected with one another and do not correspond to nature.

When the Creator turns to the world as a whole, to all the people, He remains in a certain concealment, and instead of Him, who is bestowing, He offers people a representative of Him—the surrounding nature with which we have to reach balance.
Instead of attaining love for friends and building a common spiritual vessel for the revelation of the Light of adhesion, people are simply revealing the need to unite in order to correspond to the global, integral mechanism that operates in nature and is now starting to envelop the human level as well.

Previously we thought it acted only on the still, vegetative, and animate levels, being the law of the universe’s existence. But we considered ourselves above it. However, now we are revealing that we are also inside of that same global mechanism, which is becoming expressed in us and is obligating us to also unite with one another and with all other parts of nature into one, single system.

It turns out that the “transgressions” are starting to become revealed not only for those who consciously aspire to attain the Creator’s revelation, but also for all of humanity, except they become revealed to it in a more concealed form. All people will have to attain correction, meaning unification among one another on all its degrees: “embrace, kiss, and union,” but they will have to do it in a slightly different form.

First come the phenomena that are given to us as preparation. And then, as the Rambam said, the secrets of bestowal begin slightly being revealed to the “women, slaves, children, and elderly,” meaning to all those who are not “men,” capable of independently overcoming (a man, Gever comes from the word overcoming, Itgabrut).

This is talking about all of humanity, which is gradually revealing the laws of the upper system. By virtue of this, every person also gains the ability to join those who belong to the “men,” those who will provide them with the Light of adhesion with the Creator.

Therefore, these holidays symbolize a quite lengthy process, rather than the several days they last on the calendar. Every new day is a new revelation—first of the left line, and the next five days are the revelation of the right line, and the dissemination of Light in the seven Sefirot of Zeir Anpin until the eighth day, immediately after the end of Sukkot, Shmeni Atzeret, which already corresponds to Malchut, the eigth Sefira, which follows it.

All of this symbolizes lengthy, scrupulous work and gradual progression through the degrees of the states.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/6/11, Shamati

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A Loaded Message

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Today the crisis has reached all corners of the world and no one sees a solution to it. Why don’t we examine the economic system analogously to our system of upbringing, and offer it to the world?

Answer: We can provide a wonderful description of the economy in the period of the final correction: a balanced society, consumption within the boundaries of reasonable necessity, conservation of nature and man, the sole development of projects that save time and energy and benefit people’s health…. All of this is logical and is easy to put in writing if you are not writing about egoistic gratification, but basic necessity, the harmony between us and nature.

But how can we transition to this stage? How can we explain it to the modern tycoons who are essentially the ones to decide the fate of the world? They manipulate governments which in turn manipulate people. So how can we present this final goal to them? How can we tell them about the phases on the path to it? They will ask: “What will be left for us?” And what will we tell them in response?

“You will receive exactly the same amount as a regular housewife, and your billions will be returned to nature’s needs in order to fix the mess you have made by proliferating excessive consumption in the world. And beyond that you will enjoy internally, spiritually. You will no longer be ‘the top roosters in the pen,’ proudly parading around the perches. You will mature and this will cease giving you pleasure.” You will be fulfilled by the attainment of a higher level.” On the contrary, it will evoke scorn.

Will you be able to explain all of that to a tycoon so he will be enticed by the idea of eternal, perfect life, so he will want to enter the eternity of nature itself, join it, and reveal a higher level of existence in it?… “You will live there like a respectable tycoon. Even when your animate body dies, it is not really you at all. After all, you will become Human in the true, spiritual sense….”

This works only for refined individuals, yet others just might understand it right away. That is why today we are disseminating the force of mutual guarantee to the whole world, and we are not addressing the tycoons, but the people. “It’s worthwhile for us to get closer to one another so life gets better.” And in the meantime, with a view to the future, we inject Light into people, the force of unity. Once they are filled by this force, they begin to understand more and to agree with us, seeing real benefit in the mutual guarantee. That is how they advance.

The path to the heart is not through the mind. You can’t get your mind around this because the mind’s level corresponds to the level of the desire it serves. The mind can never rise above the desire. Deceived by illusions, we might look down on our animate being, but the mind seems like the pinnacle of creation to us. Yet in reality our mind is even lower than the animate desire, being a mere servant of it.

Therefore, the only opportunity we have is to change people’s desires, which can change only under the influence of the Light. This is what we have to provide for them. Your logical conclusions alone won’t help. People will not understand you and will think that you are simply an idiot or a mystic, or in the best case, a great guy dreaming about peace and love on the planet.

There is only one solution: to unite among ourselves and to give people the force of unity. Only this will raise them to a new level of understanding, perception, and agreement with us. Moreover, later, once they agree, they will see that it’s worthwhile for them to follow us because they can’t understand our message fully. By acquiring the force of unity, they will rise to a level where it will become clear that they have to hold on to us, as it is written in the Torah: They will “grab onto your clothes,” meaning the garment, the external vessels, and will say, “Take us there!”

Obviously, you are right in that we do have to talk a little about the economy, upbringing, and the world of the future so as not to push people away at the initial stage. But the most important thing is to transmit the force of unity to them. This is dissemination. In the Introduction to Panim Meirot UMasbirot, Baal HaSulam writes that when the sons of Israel become filled with this force of unity, it will spill from them to everyone else. We have to be ready to receive this force and then it really will spill over to people, who will be receptive to the influence of the Light of Hassadim, giving themselves over to it wholeheartedly.
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From the lesson on 10/24/11

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Unity As The Method Of Solving The Crisis, Part 8

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Joschka Fischer, Germany’s foreign minister and vice-chancellor from 1998 to 2005): “For the first time in its history, the very continuance of the European project is at stake. And yet the behavior of the EU and its most important member states has been irresolute and dithering, owing to national egotism and a breathtaking absence of leadership.

“Germany and all other eurozone members are in the same boat.

“Resolving this crisis requires more Europe and more integration, not less.

“…there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

My Comment: But what kind of steps can people like you take? Aren’t you using old methods for resolving new problems and thus making them worse, as it is said: “Sit and do nothing is better.”
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Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (George Soros, billionaire financier, Chairman of Soros Fund Management): “A whole new world order, including a new financial order and rules, involving international cooperation, is imperative.

“The United State’s position, as a current economic and political superpower, may be threatened if a true global effort is not initiated. The alternative is terrifying because a superpower losing both political and economic governance, with military dominance, is a dangerous situation. Peace by democratic countries is no longer the chosen method. The financial crisis has undeniably taken its toll on the United States population, forcing them to face a harsh reality.

“The main culprit, by far, is the collective lack of awareness that a broken system is amongst us. Reinvention of any system requires all hands on deck.The world’s future seriously depends on global awareness and cooperation.”

My Comment: The new world order is not the same order as it appears to the leaders of global capital. They are not suitable to create it, and all their actions today are towards the destruction of the world in order to postpone its collapse for at least one day. The new world order should be created by people with an integral, not egoistic, way of thinking, which perceives the world as one family, and not as a cash cow.…
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Unity As The Method Of Solving The Crisis, Part 6

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, a French political advisor): “‘The real challenge today is to change our way of thinking—not just our systems, institutions or policies. We need the imagination to grasp the immense promise—and challenge—of the interconnected world we have created. The future lies with more globalization, not less—more co-operation, more interaction between peoples and cultures, an even greater sharing of responsibilities and interests. It is ‘unity in our global diversity.’”

My Comment: That is right, “unity in our global diversity,” meaning to rise above everything that divides us, and unification above our differences, not canceling them, but  unifying above them. In other words, egoism is not destroyed; reciprocity, even love, is built above it. The allegory is the ascent to Mount Sinai—above hatred, as it is said: “Love will cover all sins.”
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Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Former U.K. Prime Minister James Gordon Brown): “‘There will be no climate-change agreement either, even though nuclear worries are escalating and the case for low-carbon investment becomes more obvious by the day. Nor will there be sufficient global support for the unemployed of the Middle East, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa (who together constitute 30 percent of the world’s young), with all the problems of immigration and insecurity that such neglect will unleash. Global growth will be far lower than it otherwise needs to be, unless the world begins to understand that there is no solution to financial instability, diminished trade, and mass unemployment without a global deal for jobs and justice.

“This is a challenge that the G20 summit can and should take upon itself to carry out.”

My Comment: It is possible only through the mass media’s wide, massive influence on the masses and the process of consecutive education in the spirit of “mutual guarantee.” Meanwhile, the G20 is deaf to actions of this kind, and we can’t blame them for that; this is who they are.
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Shifting To The Economy Of The Future

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What economic concept does the idea of mutual guarantee offer?

Answer: It’s difficult to say something about the current transitional period. We have to work together with specialists. There is the economy that worked until now, and there is the economy of the next phase, built upon fair distribution and the provision of basic needs. A person will work to provide himself with the vital necessities in the commonly accepted sense, while investing all the rest of his efforts into inner growth because there he experiences fulfillment, which will eventually become infinite.

Together we decide how to provide for our vital necessities, and then, as we advance, we will see how they get reduced to the basic ones.

But for the time being, the world has to live normally. A person needs a home, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a vacuum cleaner, a bed, furniture, a school for his children, a pension, a vacation, health insurance, and so on. However, all of this is required to the degree necessary for existence, considering that all of our intentions aspire to mutual guarantee. This is the surest guarantee in and of itself: When I am sure that everyone takes care of me, I get rid of my egoistic worries. We have to help every person so he would be able to not think about himself.

For that we need an economy, banks, trade, and mutual calculations—everything that’s necessary for providing for seven billion people and for solving problems and compensating for unforeseen accidents and failures. In short, we need large scale systems, but ones that work on the principle of complementarity rather than competition.

Accordingly, we will give up excesses. Say, we won’t exchange our cars for new ones as often if the old ones are still fit for use. Or we will cancel expensive scientific projects that are pointless.

The problem is the transition, which is possible only on the condition that we work together, showing economists, sociologists, and political scientists the next state of the world. Then they’ll understand that there is no other choice but to shift from opposition to unification, and to discuss the ways to come out of the crisis in order to be saved from the threat of annihilation. They have to become aware of this problem, and then they will be able to compile a mutual, therapeutic program.

On our part, we have to influence the world as much as possible so the transitional phase won’t be so painful. This depends mainly on us. After all, everyone else is acting automatically, by the orders of egoism, which can only be budged by troubles and to some extent, our influence. And we are not addressing people’s minds, but are bringing our unity into human society, which will become a favorable ground.

Then they will suddenly feel, “There is something worth listening to here.” Even if they did not know anything before, on the inside they will admit that we are right.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/25/11, “The Nation”

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