Entries in the 'Suffering' Category

Advice to Students: Study, Connect, and Disseminate


Questions I received on the spiritual path:

Question: I have been studying Kabbalah for a pretty long time (4+ years) and have been doing dissemination from the very beginning. From my first lesson and to this day, whenever I am especially impressed by something in the lesson (or by news of some great dissemination going on), I feel a clear physical sensation that is unique and that I never feel in any other situation. It feels like a wave of energy (like electricity) is going through my body, and is sort of a nice feeling. However, it always leaves me puzzled – I don’t know if this is normal, what it means, and how to relate to it. I know that spirituality is not supposed to be reflected in corporeality and shouldn’t be confused with it, but I’ve wanted to ask you this for a long time. What does it mean, and how should I relate to it?

My Answer: Gradually, everything will reach balance. You just need to alternate studying with dissemination.

Question: Would you please elaborate on how to measure one’s efforts? I may think that I am exerting a lot of effort where others might look at me and say that I’m not. And in which area should the efforts be made: dissemination or study?

My Answer: If you are always thinking about spiritual advancement, this means that you are making the necessary efforts.

Question: How do you explain it when a person who wasn’t sleepy at all before the lesson starts falling asleep during the lesson?

My Answer: This happens because the material you study does not coincide with your spiritual or physical interests and desires.

Question: I am on the path of suffering, but I never part with the book Shamati in English. What else should I do to make sure that everything I’m going through won’t be a waste?

My Answer: Study, connect to others, and disseminate. In particular, during the period of suffering, or in other words, while you still haven’t evoked the Upper Light upon you, you should focus most of all on dissemination together with the friends.

Question: I have been studying Kabbalah for two years and I have already had several descents. Right now I am in a state of a descent, which started a week and a half ago. It brought me to an environment of people who are not interested in spirituality. Now my depression is telling me that I need to go back to studying. How can I live with this?

My Answer: This is the Creator’s way of pushing you towards Him, because the descents also come from Him. You need a group, a thorough reading of the Shamati materials, and constant studies with us. Otherwise you won’t make it!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Rate of One’s Spiritual Development Depends On One’s Efforts
Laitman.com Post: We Raise the Entire Universe Up to the Creator
Laitman.com Post: The Source of All the World’s Problems
April 2005 Congress Intention Book – section, “Intention of the Group”

The Coming of the Messiah

Dr. Michael LaitmanTwo questions I received on the Messiah:

Question: The Book of Zohar says that before the arrival of the Mashiach Ben David (Messiah Son of David), the Mashiach Ben Yoseph (Messiah Son of Joseph) will come. There will be a preparation before arrival of the Mashiach. Is the world’s current condition (the crisis) this preparation? And what kind of force is the Mashiach Ben Yoseph?

My Answer: The Mashiach Ben Yoseph is the revelation of the modern method of correction by the Ari in the 16th century. The world’s present condition is the beginning of the revelation of the Creator, or the preparation for His revelation. The speed of this process depends on us.

Question: Is the Messiah the name of the Light that’s powerful enough to raise both the righteous and the wicked to the Creator – everyone together, in response to mankind’s prayer after recognizing that it’s impossible to keep living in this world? Or is it a person sent to this world with the power to attract the Light called the Messiah?

My Answer: The Messiah is the revelation of the Creator. This action (revelation) of the Upper Light takes place together with the revelation of knowledge about the nature of creation, its plan, process and purpose. This is achieved through disseminating this knowledge (“the call of Messiah”) by those who aspire toward the goal of creation. To the degree people resist this process, their intentions and actions – the forces of resistance – will elicit suffering.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Third Temple and the Coming of the Messiah
Laitman.com Post: The Messiah – the Force that will Correct the World
Kabbalah Today Article: Echoes of the Future
Chapter 10 from the Book The Kabbalah Experience – “The Messiah and the End of Days”

The Source of Happiness


Baal HaSulam. Article “The Peace.” He who breaks the laws of nature:
Because the world is governed by the Creator, who has a specific goal in all of His actions, hence anyone who breaks the laws of nature that were set by the Creator, harms the end goal, which is founded on the observance of all these laws without exception. And he who breaks even one law violates and harms the end goal that was set by the Creator, and will therefore be punished by nature (by the Creator via nature).

Baal HaSulam. Article “The Peace.” Attainment of the Creator is the path to peace:
The egoistic opposition between people and nations will disappear from the world only with the help of the Upper Force of the Creator (Nature), if we will desire unity with Him. This is initially implanted in the Thought of Creation. And if we aspire to this goal of adhesion with the Creator, then our envy, pride and hatred with disappear, and we shall assemble together into one heart, filled with the knowledge of the Creator.

Baal HaSulam. Article “Peace in the World.” The whole world is regarded as one single society:
In our times, when every person is dependent on the whole world in order to provide for him, in the same degree every person becomes dependent on the whole world just like a tiny gear in a car. Hence, we can no longer consider the well being and safety of a certain country or nation, but only the world as a whole. After all, today the well being of everyone in the world depends upon and is measured by the well being of all the people in the world.

And don’t be surprised that I link the well being of the individual with the well being of the society and even the whole world. In reality we have already reached a state where the entire world is regarded as one society. Today every person in the world is nourished by the entire world, and therefore must care for the well being of the whole world.

Baal HaSulam. Article “Freedom of Will.” The source of suffering:
Unity of the society is the source of happiness and well being, whereas separation between people is the source of all miseries. All fortunes and well being depend only on the drawing together and unification of the global community.

My Comment: Baal HaSulam wrote the articles “The Peace,” “Peace in the World” and “Freedom of Will” back in 1924-1927!

Why Devote So Much Time to the Crisis?

What Do Villains and Prophets Have to Do With Bnei Baruch's Virtual Group?Three questions I received on the global crisis:

Question: Why do you devote so much time to analyzing the crisis? Why should we care about the suffering of these oblivious and egoistic animals (or why should we pity them egoistically, since we can’t do it any other way)?

My Answer: 1. These people are all close to me!
2. Just like everything else in the world, the crisis has a reason and a purpose. Its purpose is to bring out a need in mankind’s to reevaluate its behavior.

The suffering will not stop until we accomplish this, and accomplish it right. I do the things I do in order to help people choose the correct attitude to what’s taking place, which will reduce the suffering.

Soon enough this “oblivious and egoistic animal suffering” will affect you as well. When it does, please don’t forget to write to me about how your opinion changes regarding how much time people should devote to this problem.

Question: Does it make sense to think of the reciprocal hatred (or lack of reciprocal love) that’s being revealed in the world as a reflection of the state the Bnei Baruch group is in, or my personal state?

My Answer: The group and the world are interconnected, but are on different levels: the group depends on the world for its spiritual ascent, and the world depends on the group to reduce the force of the suffering that descends upon it (whether or not it wants to listen to the group).

Question: Why is the unity of the common soul being revealed today from its reverse side? Do we really need to feel pain from realizing our connection to all people in the world?

My Answer: This is the only way to convince people to correct their nature. Pain is the measure of our imbalance with Nature. And we’re the ones who establish its severity.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Reflections on the Crisis

Will China Be the Superpower of the 21st Century?

How Can We Stop Being Slaves of the Advertisement Industry?A question I received: How do you see the future of China in light of the current global crisis?

My Answer: Today China is the most dynamically developing part of the global economy. Nevertheless, although China isn’t losing capital, a slowdown in its development is inevitable.

It appears that the Chinese economy is suffering less than the other economies. After all, China is protected by a powerful political regime, a closed inner market, its own strong currency, a cheap labor force, and a weak connection with the international funds system. Compared to the international recession, China is revealing an opportunity for growth in internal real estate development and consumption.

The Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wen Jiabao, gave a speech at the closing of the Asia-Europe summit held on October 26, where he stated: “We need reforms that will aid in creating a fair and effective global financial structure.” Unlike any other country, with the exception of the USA, China cares about education in the scientific field. There are 500,000 Chinese students studying outside of China, of whom 200,000 are studying in the USA. It turns out that in the 21st century, the only countries that will be able to successfully develop a technical-scientific base are the USA and China.

However, in order to become a superpower of the 21st century in a multi-polar system of the world order, in order for the Chinese goods to find a market, considering that the country’s economy is built on direct international investments, China will have to consider the need to integrate into the single global civilization. In the future, the system of interactions will have no choice but to change under the influence of nature, and to become harmonious, interconnected, truly integral and global, like a single organism. Incidentally, the ancient Chinese philosophy also sees the world exactly this way!

Laitman.com Post: New Theories of the Financial Crisis

Reflections On The Crisis

crisisGlobalization is the revelation of a new level of connection between us. It should be beneficial, but as we can see, it only causes more problems.

Why is this happening? It is because we are using the integral global system backwards – aiming to suppress one another, instead of learning to work together. We keep trying to defeat each other, to put others down and be superior to them.

Even if we wanted to maintain the proper interconnection – the commerce principle of “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” – this would still bring us to a crisis today. It would happen even if we did not lie to one another and conducted honest commerce. That’s because nowadays we are all interconnected, like parts of one body. Under these conditions it is useless to be egoistically honest, just as it is useless to create a global government or a world bank – to seek a common regulator.

The world’s political and economic leaders want to arrange a joint meeting between the G20 (heads of the leading countries) to discuss a joint global government. However, this will not help us come out of the crisis, because we are in opposition to Nature and Its general law. The system must not just be based on the correct interconnection, on agreements and honesty, but must operate in accordance with the inner connection between the elements of a single system, at whose basis lies a consideration of others as yourself.

This is the root of the problem. Kabbalah warns humanity that if we continue to try building our relationships according to the corporeal, egoistic laws – even the most direct and honest ones, following the principle of “what’s yours is yours and what’s mine is mine” – then the system will not work and we will elicit an even greater explosion.

As we start to reveal that we are all part of a single global system, we must come to the conclusion that everything is collective, and everyone must take care of everyone else. The only things that are “personal” are those necessary for one’s existence, while everything else is the collective property of the whole world. This pertains to natural resources, goods and production, education, health care, and so forth. Everything must be collective, global property. Otherwise the crises will not stop, and no matter how hard we try to set things right according to our egoistic logic, we will continue experiencing one crisis after another.

Kabbalah warns us that nature has already elevated us – in terms of our development – to the level of a single integral system, which follows the law of absolute interconnection of all its parts. No one can escape this law. Essentially, this is the ancient Biblical principle of “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” And we must use our ego in order to establish the correct connection with others.

Even if we create a rational system of interaction between different countries, according to the egoistic principle, “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours,” then this quality of Sodom will actually bring about an even greater crisis. That’s because in doing so we will seek to use the interconnection between people in order to raise the usage of egoism even higher, instead of correcting it. In this scenario a crisis will arise which will reflect this pseudo-correction, in order to expose the error. And it will be stronger and more acute, in order to teach us a lesson of what not to do.

What does Kabbalah suggest? To already take into account the future form, the functioning of the integral system as one body, by the principle of “the end of an action lies in the initial thought,” and actualize this end state to the best of our ability right now, even if we do it gradually and fragmentarily.

Does “actualize it right now” mean “fair distribution”? No. However, even if we initially accept the distribution of “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours,” and at the same time begin to intensively teach all humanity the laws of coexistence, which are based on the discovery of our society as a single organism; if we teach people the laws of behavior and distribution – then we will already be on the right path. We will shift to the path of correction and will stop being opposite to nature. We will then feel an immediate reduction of the suffering.

Baal HaSulam has a parable that says: We have lost our way in the desert and don’t know where to go. Now that we’ve completely lost our strength, we’ve realized that it was impossible to avoid wandering in the desert. And now we are revealing the path that we must walk. At the end of the path lies a castle full of all the goodness in the world. We are desperate; we are ready to sink into depression and drugs. All of a sudden, in this situation, we receive a global positioning system (a GPS map or GPS navigator) from people who can see everything from above. If a person agrees and changes his attitude to the world, then he discovers that the whole world was created for this path, and he suddenly has the strength to reach the goal.

How can we implement this change? We can do it by revealing the goal and the method of attaining it. The method comes to us from Ancient Babylon, when this problem of civilization came to light for the first time: a closed civilization is like a single body and must function as one organism. That is also when Kabbalah was revealed, in order to change the use of egoism – to use it for the benefit of society. However, the people didn’t want to use Kabbalah, and solved the problem in another way – they scattered all over the earth and globalization receded.

Now we are faced with the same situation, but this time we must utilize it, because we can no longer “run away” from one another, just as we cannot destroy the interconnection between us. Should America, Russia and Europe decide to isolate themselves from one another, they will face the emergence of Nazism in their countries and bring the world to a Third World War – a nuclear one.

What is the most practical solution that we can offer people? They have to know about the world they are living in today. Today we must learn about how to live in an integral system, where we’re all together “in one boat.” In this boat, the salvation of all depends on each individual. This is what we must also teach our children. We are dealing with nature: a global ecology and a global human society. We must teach ourselves and our children how to be incorporated in this system, where every person must care for the others.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: When It Comes to the Global Crisis, We Cannot Afford to Procrastinate
Baal HaSulam Article: “Building the Future Society”
Kabbalah Today Article: “Havoc in Modern-Day Babylon”

When Will Hunger Start Affecting Us?

Using the Sixth Sense, One Perceives Like the CreatorTwo questions I received on worldwide calamities:

Question: I would like to hear a specific forecast of when and how soon will the worldwide hunger begin affecting us? How many days, weeks, or months do we have left?

My Answer: Unfortunately, the upcoming winter in Eastern Europe will already be difficult. Correspondingly, we have to explain to people that positive forces can only be evoked by our equivalence to nature. These forces’ influence will be felt as a quick improvement of the situation.

Question: In a practical sense, what would Kabbalah have advised Jews to do during the Holocaust?

My Answer: As early as 1920 Baal HaSulam organized 300 families to move to Palestine. However, his plans to evacuate all the Jews of Poland were resented by the Orthodox and they exiled him from Warsaw. Hence he left for Palestine alone, and all those who remained were later burned by the Nazis.

All the Kabbalists of that time called on the Jews to flee Europe. But it’s the same as today: No one listens to us! You don’t think that you are in mortal danger today, do you?

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: It Takes Just One Spark of the Upper Light to Correct the World

How Long Will the Crisis Last?


A question I received: How long will the crisis last?

My Answer: The crisis will continue until people recognize its causes and purposes, and start correcting themselves and the society, bringing it to the correct form as the united, global system that we have become today. There is no way back. We have risen above the level of individual development and have become connected globally. Hence we are obliged to obey the laws of the global system. Today nature is treating us as a single organism, all of whose parts are connected together – and that’s what we have to become. In fact, this is necessary for our survival. However, in the meantime, people do not recognize the true cause of the crisis.

For example:

The Secretary of State of the Vatican: “The cause of financial crisis is the godless economy.”

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko: “The cause of the global credit crisis is the corruption that has infiltrated the highest echelons of government in the Western countries. The global financial crisis will give the ruble a chance to become a worldwide currency.”

World Bank: “The cause of the food crisis lies in the production of biological fuel, which has raised food prices by 75%.”

Bloomberg: “The cause of crisis is the rising oil prices.”

The human rights organization “Freedom House”: “The cause of crisis is the lack of human rights.”

There is no way back. If we try to “split up” – to avoid being so globally dependent, then we will push ourselves toward the emergence of Nazi regimes in the developed countries, and as a result, a nuclear world war!

The Source of All the World’s Problems

The Source of All the World's ProblemsQuestions I received on the source of our problems and the way to solve them:

Question: Is the source of all the problems taking place in the world my desire “to receive for myself”?

My Answer: Yes. And this is true for each and every one of us.

Question: Does the solution lie in redirecting this desire so as to use it for the good of the society?

My Answer: Yes. Then it will come back positively for you.

Question: Do I have to develop the desire to bestow?

My Answer: Yes. In fact, this is the only commandment (instruction given by the Creator).

Question: But if I don’t have this desire, how will I know what to develop?

My Answer: From the point in the heart, with the help of the right environment.

Question: I don’t understand: what kind of a connection do I have with the Creator?

My Answer: You’re connected to Him through the spiritual “navel,” and you’ll discover it through connecting with friends.

Question: How can we do something good for those who don’t aspire toward spirituality?

My Answer: Tell them about the cause of the suffering in the world and how to transform it to joy.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Correction Lies In Unity
Laitman.com Post: The Method of Attaining Happiness
Kabbalah Today Article: It’s All about Pleasure
Chapter from the Book Spiritual Search: “Our Desire to Receive is Equal to the Creator’s Altruism”
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Freedom”

Talks on Globalization and the Financial Crisis

I participated in a conversation for an upcoming TV Series: “The Butterfly Effect: A View of the Current Events.” Speaking with me about globalization, the financial crisis and its solution was Shlomi Buhana, Doctor of Economics at Bar-Ilan University.

Summary: For now there is no remedy for the global economy! And there won’t be until people accept the law of mankind’s balance, and the fact that humanity is a closed, global system with a harmonious connection between all of its parts. Gradually, either through crises and suffering or by becoming aware of this objective reality, people will reveal the fundamental law of the entire creation – “Love thy neighbor as thyself”!