“Are There Ecological Limits To Economic Growth?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: “Are there ecological limits to economic growth?“

The question is inapplicable because even before we achieve a certain techno-ecological limit of development, humanity will destroy itself in a Third World War. It is impossible to reach the limit of technical development, because we evoke much greater problems with our thoughts and our incorrect attitudes toward each other. This is why there is no ecological limit to economic development.

In general, the ecological problem is not caused by our technical or technological development, but only by the development of the ego and its inherent evil. This is why the only possible salvation here is for us all to understand that we belong to a single body, to a single global system, that we are interconnected and interdependent, and thus we are obligated to take care of each other. As soon as we understand that we belong to a single system, one organism—at that very moment, all of our problems will be over with. We will then experience nature’s treatment of us as positive and wonderful, to the same extent that we treat each other in such a way.

The principle is very simple: The worse we treat each other, the worse nature will treat us; and the better we treat each other, the better nature will treat us.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Is The Coronavirus With Us Forever?

220In the News (bbc.com): “Coronavirus will be with us forever, Sage scientist warns

 “Sir Mark Walport said people would need to be vaccinated at regular intervals.

“His comments come after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he hoped the pandemic would be over within two years, as the Spanish flu had taken two years to overcome.

“Sir Mark said denser populations and travel meant the virus spread easily.

“He also said the world population was now much larger than in 1918.

“Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Mark said that, in order to control the pandemic, ‘global vaccination’ would be required, but coronavirus would not be a disease like smallpox ‘which could be eradicated by vaccination’.

“‘This is a virus that is going to be with us forever in some form or another, and almost certainly will require repeated vaccinations,’ he said. …

“Sir Mark said: ‘We know that less than one in five people around the country have been infected, so 80% of the population are still susceptible to this virus.

“‘It is this terrible balance between trying to minimize the harm to people from the infection and protecting people, whilst keeping society going.'”

 My Response: There are still many mutations that should manifest themselves in humanity.

Question: Should we just accept it?

Answer: No. We have to accept this with a condition: this is happening because we are separated. If we were connected, the virus would not have penetrated us. This is how you need to understand what the connection between the two is.

Comment: Some experts have noted that humanity is too divided by national and political barriers to effectively combat the coronavirus.

My Response: That is regarding fighting the virus. And I am talking in general—before fighting the virus. The virus would not have appeared. Many, many negative qualities, sores, and diseases of humanity would not have manifested if we were interconnected.

If we approached the structure of Adam, it would have healed us if we were coming close to this state. But we are only moving away from it.

Coming closer to the structure of Adam means the connection of humanity until reaching the condition “love your neighbor as yourself.” And then, humanity will be completely healthy and above all problems, including the matter of death.

Question: Does this mean that from above it is probably also understood that humanity cannot unite and we must be pushed toward this?

Answer: Nature teaches us this way. That is, if it is time for us to rise in our development to connection and reveal the new world in our unity, then the implementation of this unity is called “love your neighbor as yourself” every time, up to that state.

Now we are in a period when we must attain one of these states, these degrees, and realize it in a good connection with each other. But we do not realize it and fall into the opposite state. This pandemic, that war, something else—anything that we can only imagine.

Question: With this pressure, will we be guided to the upper intelligence?

Answer: Of course. We are being educated. We have stocked up lots of various good skills to make the world kind and comfortable for everyone: destroy barriers, make humanity more connected, be kind to each other, etc. There are means in technology, in science, in everything, but we do not implement them well.

Question: In other words, we have prepared good means to connect peacefully and without much difficulty, but we do not want to use these means?

Answer: Yes. And so, everything will happen the other way around.

Question: Therefore, all the means will not be needed at all?

Answer: The means will be needed to make war.

I see the future of humanity as dark and gloomy. People will believe in such nonsense, worship gods, gods that they have invented. People will only wish each other evil, and such evil is worse than death.

Question: Do you now want people to hear this and shudder?

Answer: Why would I be talking otherwise? So that it somehow influences people for the better. In general, the state of the world, of course, is very, very gloomy.

Question: Well, how can we convey this good, kind reality to humanity?

Answer: By shouting as much as possible at all crossroads and proclaiming at all corners the only possible salvation.

We should not fold our hands and sit, bang our heads against the wall or on the floor and say: “It will only be bad, only bad.” We have to work. And our work is very simple: it is in explaining, in educating. This is what we should be doing.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 6/24/21

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Kabbalah And Family Rules

962.2Question: How are responsibilities distributed between a man and a woman in terms of spiritual growth?

Answer: They are not. What kind of interaction can there be between male and female parts? Mutual complementing. as between everyone. Why distinguish between male and female parts? This relates to the animate level of existence, which we have already passed.

Kabbalah makes a very clear distinction between animalistic and human relationships. There is no room for love between a man and a woman. There is only rational existence for creating a family, procreation, as well as food and necessary existence in our world.

Question: Does it mean that in Kabbalah there are no family rules such as: a man should do this in order to get to heaven and a woman should do that?

Answer: There is absolutely no difference. Each one in accordance with their nature must reach complete correct interaction with everyone.
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From KabTV’s “Videoconference”

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When The Waters of Jordan Came Down…

562.03Question: When crossing to the land of Israel, the priests were the first to enter the waters of the Jordan, they waited until the entire army had passed, and then came out themselves. Only then did the waters of the Jordan go their own way. What does this mean?

Answer: The point of crossing the Jordan followed the example of the Red Sea. Just as the Red Sea parted after the Jews left Egypt, so it was here.

After each person and everyone together wished to rise above their egoism, above using it for themselves, renounced it, and switched to the side of Bina—the properties of bestowal, reciprocity, and unification—nothing more was needed.

Therefore, the waters of the Jordan closed behind them, as the waters of the Red Sea once did, and a clear border appeared again between all the lands and the land of Israel.

Comment: Interestingly, in Egypt, the Jews were chased by the army of Pharaoh, and here they are crossing in order to work.

My Response: There are no longer those who would persecute them, because after forty years of wandering in the desert they have freed themselves from all desires that could prevent them from passing through the Jordan. Freedom from egoism was their main work. But later on, other problems were in store for them.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 7/5/21

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Where Does The Level Of Spiritual Development Begin?

233Question: Is there any connection between the 125 degrees of spiritual ascent mentioned in Kabbalah and chakras?

Answer: There is no connection. A transition between phases occurs in a person when from an individual, he becomes integral.

In Kabbalah, the first degree of man’s spiritual development begins when he receives the power to be above his basic needs and strives to reach bestowal and love for others.

When he is naturally incorporated in nature as an integral whole, he begins to treat the other degrees in a minimally consumer-like way. He takes from the still, vegetative, and animate nature only what he needs for a rational, normal existence, without limiting himself, but also without consuming more than what he needs for life.
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From KabTV’s “Videoconference”

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Does Freedom Of Choice Exist?

547.05This is the way we are designed. Those, who seem reckless, imprudent, self-sacrificing romantics are actually no more than calculating people, for whom the past manifests as the present so obviously that they are ready to accept anguish unusual for others, which we take as a heroic feat (Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”).

Question: Does it follow that there are no heroic acts?

Answer: No, for people there is no other way out. Cowardly acts or heroic acts are programmed and expressed from a person’s essence and do not belong to himself. They belong only to the system of governance.

Question: Are people led by either pleasure or pain? Even when a person is about to die?

Answer: Suppose you were a gladiator who shouts to Caesar when he is about to die, “We who are about to die salute you.” Everything depends on the calculation.

But in fact, even in this case our body makes a conscious or subconscious calculation. Psychologists know that each man’s priorities may be changed so that a coward will turn into a hero. The future may be so elevated in man’s eyes that he will agree to any kind of destitution for the sake of it.

From this it follows that there is no difference between man and animals; and if so, free and intelligent choice doesn’t exist.

Of course not. If we exist in nature, in which pleasure is the goal, then the only choice is in the choice of the form of pleasure. And we confuse this with the concept of “freedom.”
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 5/12/19

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The Combination Of The Properties Of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

232.06There is love, brotherhood, and truth in the Torah. Abraham loved Isaac; Isaac loved Abraham; and they were embraced. And they both gripped Jacob with love and brotherhood and were giving their spirits in one another (The Book of Zohar).

We are not talking about people, but about the internal properties of a person.

Abraham is the property of giving; Isaac is the property of receiving. Jacob combines these two properties into a third property.

The properties of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the fundamental properties of everyone’s soul, so they are called forefathers. And the Torah speaks of how to use them correctly.
The friends should be like them and not blemish them, for if love is lacking in them they will blemish their value above, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which are HGT.

If we try to perform actions of mutual bestowal and love and to correctly connect with each other in our properties in the right, left, and middle lines in everyone’s soul, then we will come to a state when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will really unite in us in the right combination, and will form a soul that is correctly tuned to the perception of the upper light. Then the upper light will be revealed in us.

Question: How can we harm these great forces?

Answer: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are forces that exist in nature. We do not harm them. How can you harm the law of universal gravitation? You can only harm yourself when you use it incorrectly.
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From KabTV’s “The Power of The Book of Zohar” #21

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 7/27/21

Preparation to the Lesson

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Lesson on the Topic “Entry Into the Spiritual Degree”

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Lesson on the Topic “Introduction to The Book of Zohar, Item 68″

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Selected Highlights

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Which Thought Is More Powerful?

947Question: Can we influence other people by our thoughts, and which thought is more powerful, our individual thought or group thought?

Answer: An individual thought actually has no power compared to group thought that is really fulfilled. If you are connected to each other correctly, you will be able to implement every common thought that is aimed correctly and in the best way toward the goal of creation.

If you engage in another thought, however, it will still lead you to the goal of creation, but on a different side road. All of humanity is moving toward one goal, but in alternate ways, along rocky roads, and therefore, humanity reaches its main mission, the attainment of the goal of creation, slowly and badly.

There is a goal toward which we can advance directly, but our mind is distracted by side goals. If we gather into one ten, however, and aim ourselves to the right goal, we will constantly move forward, and all the other attributes, desires, and circumstances will be resolved by themselves.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 4/14/19

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 7/26/21

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