Entries in the 'World' Category

North America’s Strength Is Its Equivalence To Nature’s Integrity


A question I received: Do people living in North America have a special role? Do they have a special place in the common correction?

My Answer: It’s not a coincidence that the world is divided into the New World and the Old World. The Old World – Europe and Asia, has been populated since prehistoric times, whereas massive colonization of the American continent started only two or three centuries ago.

North America is a miniature model of the entire world, which is why it sets the example for the rest of the world. America has a greater potential to develop than other parts of the world, and not because of economics, technology or government, but due to the power of its diverse system, which includes representatives of the entire world on equal standing. America’s strength is its equivalence to Nature’s integrity!

The social, national, economic and governmental structures existing in the American society gives the American people the ability to reach a quicker understanding of the true cause of the crisis and the method of its correction.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Moment of Truth for the American People
Laitman.com Post: America – Optimistic, and Why?
Laitman.com Post: The World’s Egoism Can Be Learned from America
Interview: “The Reasons behind the Financial Crisis”
Kabbalah Today Article: Love Is the Way

Humanity Is Tired Of Wars


A question I received: The world is suffering from a crisis. Sometimes people say, “I have suffered and I don’t want to unite with anyone.” In other words, people prefer to be secluded and to worry only about themselves. After all, no one takes care of them. Can it be that instead of uniting and realizing that the world is integral and global, people will, on the contrary, shrink into their shells? What will happen then?

My Answer: This is a real danger. The crisis can lead to nationalism in many countries, and then Nazi regimes and wars. Baal HaSulam, the great Kabbalist of the 20th century, wrote about this.

Nevertheless, after the Nazi regimes and the third and fourth world wars (which are possible but not necessary, according to Kabbalah), and after all the suffering that they will bring, humanity will still reveal the truth.

However, today Europe has reached a state where it no longer wants to go to war, since it is exhausted from the previous wars. Europe has shed enough blood to learn this lesson.

However, the rest of the world has not yet gone through sufficient internal suffering to reach the same realization. The same realization can be attained through analysis, by looking at history and scientific data, or it can be reached through suffering and war.

This is why Baal HaSulam talks about the existence of two paths to the new world. And this is why we, his followers, are doing everything we can to eliminate the second path – the one that leads to nationalism, isolation of countries, and war.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Must Choose: Will We Study Our Global Reality or Go to War?
Laitman.com Post: Fear and Suspicion Will Vanish If Everyone In the World Will Unite
Laitman.com Post: Everyone’s Trying to Escape The Crisis In Their Own Way
Kabbalah for the Student: Time for Spiritual Attainment.”Peace in the World”

What Objectives Should A Small Country Like Latvia Set To Overcome The Crisis?


A question I received: I’m from Riga in Latvia and I’ve been studying Kabbalah with you for a few years. There is currently a debate in Latvia about the country’s long-term goals: should it be independent, join NATO, the EU, or take a number of other actions? Many people think that the main reason for the country’s economic problems is its lack of objectives and basic values.

This is why the government is taking initiative and sponsoring a new TV show called “Latvia’s Objectives,” where anyone is invited to submit their opinions on the country’s goals, values and moral code. All submissions will be handed over to the country’s leadership.

Could you propose some objectives that are in line with the teaching of Kabbalah on the governmental and international levels?

My Answer: Today it is certainly possible for a small state or country to build the right conditions for its people to unite based on mutual participation, good relationships, compassion and eventually even love, like among members of one family.

The way to achieve this is to unite the media and the educational programs, to create the right environment and a positive public opinion that will surround and influence every individual. Making this transition in our relationships, from egoistic to considerate of others, will bring about the emergence of completely different, positive forces in the society and the whole country. People will then enact forces of Nature of whose existence they did not even suspect!

Moreover, this proposal will not contradict any other plan or decision the state will make. It will only help to eradicate many negative social trends, and it does not require great expenditure to be implemented.

On our part, we are ready to present a detailed plan of action and to conduct all the necessary consultations – free of charge.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Will the Society of the Future Begin?
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Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah’s Model of a New World
Bail Yourself Out: Chapter 14: “Yes, We Can (and Must)”

Is Russia Really A Force For Good, As It Believes?


In the News: (from GlobeScan Poll):Russia Believes World Sees It As ‘Force for Good’” The GlobeScan poll reveals that two-thirds (66%) of Russian adults believe that Russia is seen by other countries as a ‘force for good in the world.’ At the same time, very few Russians feel that other countries see their country as ‘a threat to world peace’ (13%) or as ‘a threat to its neighbours’ (12%).

Opinions outside of Russia are very different. Across the 20 other countries polled earlier this year, substantially more now have a negative view (42%) than a positive view (30%) of Russia’s influence in the world.

My Comment: Obviously, this poll was conducted before the winter disruptions of gas supply to Europe. But actually, the same thing can be said of every person: one doesn’t see his own shortcomings and justifies his actions even before making them.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Crisis Brings a Rise In Violence
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Laitman.com Post: Don’t Believe Everything Will Work Out Without Your Participation
Laitman.com Post: Who Will Be Most Affected by the Economic Crisis?
Attaining the World’s Beyond: Chapter 12 – “Eradicating Egoism”
Society’s Approval is the Greatest Reward: Interview with Michael Laitman by TV anchor Lev Novozhenov September 5, 2006

Can The European Union Help the World Out Of The Economic Crisis?


In the News (translated from Deredactie.be): To overcome the economic crisis, we need a new European approach that goes beyond the boundaries of parties and countries of the Union. These were the words of the former [Belgian] Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt this Sunday at the presentation of his book, The Way Out of the Crisis. How Europe Can Save the World.

My Comment: If Europe could really overcome its egoism and unite, it would definitely overcome the crisis.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: It’s Time for the European Union to Wake Up and Unite
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Laitman.com Post: Would Common Currency Worldwide Be a Good Step?
Laitman.com Post: What Will Happen When People Understand the Idea of Unity

We All Have The Flu

By Norma Levine – Former CNN World Report contributor, TV commentator and Member of Bnei Baruch (translated from Cabalá en México):

Great – this is just what we needed! The world was just starting to recover from the economic “pneumonia” it got after the United States started “sneezing,” but now we went and got a new disease! The swine flu is here to once again remind us of how interconnected and interdependent we all are.

The General Director of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, recently said, “All of humanity is under the threat of a pandemic.” Today, what happens in Mexico equally affects all of its neighbors, whether it is Europe or Asia. The boundaries between joy and grief have virtually disappeared. We are all part of an integral whole. The problem is, we don’t realize this.

Actually, the pandemic has already begun – it is a lack of the proper connection between us, while our interconnection has grown to a global scale. The dictionary definition of a “pandemic” is: “An epidemic or an infectious disease that spreads through large populations and covers a large region, such as a continent or even the whole world.” Today, hatred and indifference have spread all over the world, and we are facing an epidemic of separation between people.

People’s egoism causes them to put selfish interests above the interests of others, and this is what has brought us to the ecological, economic, and social crises, and now to a crisis of health as well. Maybe Nature wants to shake us up on purpose? Or perhaps the current situation isn’t enough to show us that we have to change our ways?

We want to believe that there is a cure for all our problems, but maybe we should pause for a moment to look at ourselves from the inside. Surely, that is where we will find the healing balm we all seek. We will then see that the way to “heal” all of humanity depends on how quickly we will begin to act as an integral whole.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How To Change the Direction of the Crisis
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Laitman.com Post: The Peace of Every Person Depends on Everyone
Kabbalah Today: Article “The Financial Crisis: Diagnosis and Cure”
Kabbalah Website in Spanish

The New Reality Is Not A Utopia, But A Law Of Nature


A question I received: The world you describe sounds like a utopia. Even if a person wants to work for the benefit of others, he will still worry that he’s being exploited.

My Answer: I’m not talking about a utopia.  I’m just proposing that people begin to see that we live in a new, interconnected world.

Are you familiar with the laws of an integral world? Ask any scientist about how a closed system operates, the harmony that exists there, and the program by which all of the system’s parts should interact.

Nature does not demand that we reach perfect harmony with it and with one another immediately. Instead, Nature is now influencing us in order to awaken us from our sleep. And it is offering us an opportunity to investigate further into this matter.

Throughout a child’s first 20 years of life, the child goes through a preparation stage in order to learn how to lead a correct and conscious life in this world. Can we abandon him in this great big world if he hasn’t yet learned the laws by which the world operates? Of course not. This is why we have kindergartens, schools, universities and so forth. And all of this is just for him to understand the old world, which we all know already.

Today we are all like children. This is why it is important to start by educating mankind. Up until now, mankind has been taught how to live in a world governed by the law of profit, which states: maximum gain with minimal effort. Today, however, the old law of Nature has been replaced by a new law – the law of interconnection. This means that we exist in one system, and therefore you cannot have it better than me, and when one of us suffers, we both suffer.

This is why you must learn this system of interconnection and adopt new behavioral models. Only then will you be prepared for life in this new world. And it isn’t just you: today, the whole world must undergo this learning process.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Utopian Attempts Are Doomed to Fail
Laitman.com Post: Life Is Pushing Us Into a Higher Dimension
Kabbalah Today: Article “A Requiem for Utopian Dreams”
Interview: “Tal Asher’s Interview with Rav Michael Laitman, PhD”

We Don’t Need A Strong Ruler, But Unification

In the News (translated from Computerra.ru): 150 years ago, serfdom was eliminated at the supreme behest of the Tsar. From that time on, millions of Russians have lived with a feeling that they were stripped of something important, maybe even the most important thing. After tasting freedom, many pondered, “What is so good about having to search for food?” When you are at the landlord’s disposal, everyone wins – both the master and the slave.

Some felt that it was good to live without a landlord, but many missed the feeling of having someone powerful in charge! And in the nineties, people began to demand a master to come and fix their lives.

The modern oligarchs are not in favor of this plan, since they have exploited the natural resources and turned the people adrift, leaving them to survive on their own. So, the people have to search for a new Master!

My Comment: All nations and people differ from each other because each has its own spiritual root. The crisis will even all of this out, and the revelation of Kabbalah – the method of unification, will allow even the most opposite people to connect by ascending above the self.

Only the unification of all people will bring us to perfection, regardless of different personalities, customs, religions and all other differences. Unification enables people to rise above all the differences, for everyone to be as one whole, and for every person to realize that he is of equal value as everyone else, since he is part of the complete body of humanity.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Russia and Israel Have the Opposite Problem
Laitman.com Post: The Rotting Russian Empire
Laitman.com Post: The Crisis Is the Revelation of Our Broken Connections
Rav Michael Laitman Interview: Society’s Approval is the Greatest Reward
A Conversation between the Kabbalist M. Laitman and the Russian economist, publicist, and political scientist M. Khazin

Is War Just Around The Corner?


In the News (translated from politjournal.ru): Konstantin Simonov, Director General of the National Energy Security Fund stated: There are two occurrences that indicate the possibility of a world war: a shortage of resources and an arms race.

The powerful countries that will experience a shortage of resources will begin to take them away from the countries that have extra reserves. Thus, the territories that are rich in resources are at risk of becoming a combat field, which can provoke a new world war.

My Comment: This is true, unless we realize that this is also a lose-lose situation and restrain ourselves for the sake of general security.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Must Choose: Will We Study Our Global Reality or Go to War?
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Laitman.com Post: The Possibilities of Our Development – War or a Peaceful Transition
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Last Generation”

We Must Choose: Will We Study Our Global Reality Or Go To War?


Many people are writing about the possibility of war now. In the past, humanity often came out of difficult situations through wars. However, in today’s situation, if a war were to take place, it wouldn’t be a war between armies somewhere along the borders, but the war would affect all the nations in the world, and this is why people are so afraid of it.

Therefore, going to war is not a wise decision. This will only increase our suffering and make us ask, “Why? What is happening? How do we come out of this state?” We will then be forced to find an answer about what to do next.

It would be great if people would ask themselves these questions now, before a war starts, while feeling the same sense of suffering as they would experience after a war. However, this is something people are not able to do. Kabbalah suggests, “Let’s look at the process through Kabbalah’s perspective!” But people respond, “We don’t want to.” They don’t want to come close to this science, because it makes people feel the suffering of their present state.

However, the suffering that’s awakened in people by Kabbalah can replace war! Instead of going through the suffering in reality, you will feel it in the system of forces: you will feel how far you are from the perfect state, how lowly and stubborn you are. We can put our efforts toward reaching a greater recognition, toward learning, instead of hiding from bombs and spilling blood!

If people could understand this, then they would shift from the path of suffering to the path of Light. After all, in any case, we have to attain the recognition of evil, and this recognition can happen either through the path of war or the path of learning. Let us hope that humanity will see that it has these two possible paths of development, and that one of these paths is better than the other. People still believe that there is a way to come out of crisis other than through war, because everyone is scared by the progress and production in the arms industry.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Game of Life Has New Rules
Laitman.com Post: War Will Erase Everything
Kabbalah Today Article: “Puppet on a String”
Brochure: “Lecture in Arosa”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace in the World”