The Man Of The Universe

Question: Suppose we have an integral study group, which needs some guidance, to be told what it will deal with, what process it will go through. What should we start with?

Answer: For the new members there should be talks about the world, about the new trend, about evolution based on the ego, etc. First we have to prepare a serious theoretical basis of the practical perspective of human history, of society, and of ourselves. A person is gradually brought to the question of “what’s next?” Suppose we have explored the modern world, our development, the development of man and all of nature, and where it’s leading us. We don’t even see the lack of free choice, the dynamics of our development, and the collapse of the ego as the engine, as the source of our life and of our advancement. We reach a crisis, what’s next?

Next, of course, there are different goals in nature. We are now at such an intersection in which we have to totally change our attitude towards the world because the ego with which we grew before has suddenly stopped working.

So where is it leading us? It’s leading us to its negation. We see that in all the problems, in depression, drugs, terrorism, and even the crisis in the family and society. The main thing that hurts us most of all is the economic crisis because we, as beasts, need to eat and to supply our basic needs. Here we find ourselves in a state where we will not be able to supply the basic needs, especially in the world that we have created around us, a world that is a huge urban jungle, in which we all have to do something in order to get what we need.

It’s very easy to destroy such a world. It’s so sensitive to the slightest inability to adapt that millions of people can find themselves cut off from food, water, and the supply of energy and other resources. We cannot even imagine how delicate and fragile the world we’ve created is, and if something goes wrong, just a little, it will collapse like a house of cards. All this will collapse and what about us?

As a result of our development, we have brought ourselves to this very unstable state. You can imagine cities around the world with a population of 20 million people, but even in cities with a population of 2 million people, what will happen when these people are cut off from food, electricity, water, or a sewage system?! This is the end!

There is a need for mutual cooperation among countries, without which we cannot manage. No country can provide its own needs by itself any more. So we can see that the world is really very fragile and unsafe. We are showing people all this, explaining the general trend and why nature and the ego have brought us to this point so that we will rise above the ego, because in the present state we are unable to adapt to the global integral nature. How can we be mutually connected to it, meaning being included in its integrality, in its sphere, in harmony, with our ego?

This is why we need guidance by which we can show people that there is another way to develop. When we psychologically change ourselves and people, we will see the world not from an egoistic perspective, but from an integral altruistic perspective. We’ll be able to form a totally different society that will be in harmony with all the natural laws. And then having no choice, a person, the family, the society, the state, civilization, and all of humanity will reach such harmony with nature that we’ll recover all the fragile balance on earth, internally and externally, with the rest of nature. This is possible only if a person changes from an individualist into a person of the universe. This is what we have to bring to people.

Now let’s see how this can be done: Can we leave the individualistic, egoistic perspective of the world? Can we change the egoistic glasses and see everything through integral lenses? What will I gain from that? In other words, I have to take care of everyone. Is it possible? I shouldn’t take myself into account, is that possible? Do I have to totally “leave” myself? What about me and my family, and my relatives? How can we aim at mutual cooperation with others so that we can form a unified society?

What does unified mean? It is when each of us doesn’t feel himself, but only the society, like ants, who only understand their cooperation. None of them has a separate role, a separate goal, size or priority, but all are operated by a collective mind, a program, and meticulously carry out all the orders of the program. Is this possible? This is where nature is leading us. On such a level we will reach total harmony with it.

What do we gain from that? Although it sounds a bit like a fantasy, we are gaining the feeling of eternity, the feeling of infinity, because all our feelings today are within the limited ego, while here we move on to a different feeling, outside ourselves. Then a person doesn’t feel his own beastly body anymore, by rising to the next level, to the next dimension called “human,” which we didn’t feel before. He isn’t in his “animal” anymore, but rises to an upper level. Until today we were actually more developed animals.
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From a “Talk on Integral Education” #17, 02/28/12

Trying On The Garments Of The Light

In fact, the whole Torah talks about intentions as well as the direction people should orient their desires to, working, shaping and organizing them in such a way that they gradually achieve a higher level of similarity with the Light. The Light doesn’t descend to us in its original simple and abstract form; it’s already “pre-shaped.” After the Light enters desire, it transforms it in accordance with Its own qualities so that they start matching each other.

In our world, we see how water easily enters the vessel and takes its form. However, in spirituality it’s different: Merging doesn’t happen until the shape of the filler and the vessels completely coincide. This state is called “merging” or “full similarity of properties” that should be adequate to conditions which are different at each particular level of advancement. At a higher level, a stronger similarity of properties is expected; each subsequent step requires a much higher degree of matching until we achieve a phase when the vessel acquires the shape of the Light and they finally unite. This is the reason we constantly search for the correct form that will allow us to correspond to the Light’s shape.

The Light is always kind and makes good. It’s always the same; it permanently stays in absolute calmness, as it is said: “I, HaVaYaH, do not change Myself.” It means that His intention is always the same. All changes happen within us, and that’s why we have to constantly search for a form that we should acquire in order to be “appropriate” for the Light, the Creator.

Similarly, when people fall in love and try to gain reciprocal feelings, they think about how they should look, what to talk about, and how to behave so that it’s right and acceptable to the other party. When it comes to the Light, we should act likewise.

The Light brings forth certain conditions that are called “spiritual steps.” Each of them is associated with a specific type of Light that is “dressed” in a particular shape and stays within an adequate vessel. Our task is to bring our “garments” to similarity with Him. Then, the contact between the Light, Its “clothing” at a higher level, and desire (altruistic clothing of the Light at a lower step) will occur. Only under such circumstances will they unite.

The entire Torah is dedicated to this process; there is nothing except it. At each level, from the worst and the lowest up to the loftiest and highest, everything is defined only by similarity between the vessel and the Light. Correspondence of the vessel and the Light is called “intention.” It’s about what the vessel is oriented towards and what it strives to achieve. There is nothing else in this realm.

It only seems that there are material objects around us in this world that confuse us and hide the real essence of our activities from us. Whatever we deal with in this world, we still interact with levels of our adequacy to the Light.

The language of Kabbalah talks about this openly and clearly; it explains the kind of inner changes we have to achieve in order to reveal the general Light. Our duty while learning Kabbalah is to “try on” everything we learn and see if the “dress” fits us and at this point figure out what our unity should look like.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

Until The Shadow Clears Away

Shamati #8: “What Is the Difference Between A Shade of Kedusha and A Shade of Sitra Achra”: It is written (Song of Songs, 2), “Until the day breathes, and the shadows flee away.” We must understand what are shadows in the work. The thing is that when one does not feel His Providence, that He leads the world in a manner of “Good that doeth good”…

The Creator’s governance is absolutely good. This is the attainment we have to reach. The Creator is unchanging and we are not waiting for Him to change in any way. It is written, “I did not change Myself.” One who is eternally good and does good cannot become different. He is absolute and His bestowal is constant. The upper Light is at absolute rest and fills everything.

However, we reveal the One who is good and does good by changing our perception so that we go from negative infinity, from a reality that appears worse than death, to positive infinity, the greatest good, and then regardless of our own sensations, above them, to feel that everything is good. That is the kind of screen (Masach) and perception that we must acquire.

In the egoistic desire we will feel the worst possible states, which we cannot even imagine, and still, above our desires we will correct ourselves so as to understand and to feel that this is the best possible thing. That is the kind of difference that must open up between our sensations within the desire and what we will reveal consciously.

The Creator does not change. He just constantly sends us states that become more difficult and unpleasant, both for the animate body and for the soul, so that above them we would form the opposite perception, permeated with bestowal and love. By carrying out bestowal, precisely above all of the heaviness I reveal the Creator’s good will and come to identify myself with Him.

Thus, a person reveals spiritual life only on the background of difficult and bad circumstances. Otherwise he can’t tear away from our world and enter spirituality.

Today this process is taking on global proportions. That’s because until now we developed in regular egoism – first linearly, and over the last 200 years, exponentially. However, egoism still did not connect us with one another into a global, integral whole. But today the whole world is a group – one that is disconnected, broken, and in need of correction.

This group divides into two parts:
- The “99 percent,” which becomes more and more interconnected and interdependent with each passing day, and more constrained in their lives. This is expressed differently everywhere, and the tendency itself emerged only recently, yet it is developing at a high rate.
- The group within this society, being the “one percent.” The inner group is differentiated by its desire to attain the secret of development: why does it occur and for what purpose? What is happening to us? What is the reason for the current process? How can we control it, or at least go along with it?

That is where we come to the notion of a “shadow,” which makes a person’s life difficult and hurls upon him as a burden that becomes more and more heavy, depriving him of interest in the usual pleasures. Likewise, a person wishing to advance spiritually feels heaviness in his understanding and consciousness and has a difficult time remembering the importance of the path and the goal. All of this happens so we would understand that we have to take the reins into our own hands, and that all the difficulties are evoked by the evil inclination, which the Creator made. The upper Light constantly brings us new problems and greater heaviness so we would see the “shadow” in this and ascend above it.

The thing is that when one does not feel His Providence, that He leads the world in a manner of “Good that doeth good,” it is regarded as a shadow that hides the sun. In other words, as the corporeal shadow that hides the sun does not change the sun in any way, and the sun shines in its fullest power, so one who does not feel the existence of His Providence does not induce any change Above.

The Creator’s attitude to us remains the same, absolutely kind, and it is only our sensation that undergoes a change so we would rise above doubts and questions, continually accepting the Creator’s governance as 100% goodness. When we complete one ascent, we are sent a greater shadow, meaning greater heaviness, confusion, doubts, and thorns among friends. But no matter what the Creator arranges between us, we must collect ourselves and understand that everything comes from Him. There is no one besides Him. And therefore, at every moment we have to realize His goodness.

If we do not complete the current moment with the sensation of the One who is good and does good, then we do not advance since we did not overcome the current degree yet. Therefore, in every state we must first experience bad sensations, confusion, and lack of energy to come to the lesson, a loss of interest in the path and in unifying in the group. This happens constantly, and if we do not concentrate at every moment, then the focus immediately disappears. That’s because our egoistic desire works non-stop, like a counter with wheels that are always moving. It constantly “thickens” our desire so we sink deeper into the life of our world.

As a result, if we do not support the connection, if we do not help one another, if we do not “cling on with our nails,” then we disperse in every direction. The groups falls apart and suddenly we cannot find anything from its foundations. That is the meaning of “shadow” – freedom from past obligations, lack of sensitivity, which suddenly seeps through between us like a thick fog, immersing everything into darkness. This shadow conceals the goal from us, the importance of unification and the spiritual path.

In the end, all shadows – external and internal, private and general, come in order for us to make efforts, to work in spite of them and above them to reveal involvement, unification, connection, and eventually – the Creator, the One who is good and does good. Even if we do not clearly see the Creator and His governance, yet by means of an analysis with our feelings and mind we will nevertheless reach this sensation. This is the completion of the current level where we correct the evil inclination, which the Creator gave to us.

The evil inclination surfaces only between people who want to unite, who intend to correct the breaking. It does not become revealed to the masses, the “99 percent.” They do not have the evil inclination. They are not planning to unite with one another in order to correct the spiritual breaking. Only we go through this correction, attaching them to us.
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From the lesson in Brazil on 5/3/12, Shamati #8