New Life #11 – New Education

New Life #11 – New Education
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi

In order to attain the next stage in our development, humanity must engage in an integral education process that will change our nature from mutual hatred and exploitation to love and consideration. The method of connection, that is, the integral system of education, not only is about to save us from all evil, but also brings us to goodness. It will allow us to be in touch with the engine that runs the whole developmental process, the greatest force found in nature: love. First we need to educate people to build a balanced society through thought, speech, and deed. By this we put an end to all suffering, reach a balance with the force of nature, and live in perfect harmony.
From KabTV’s “New Life #11 – New Education,” 1/9/12

Audio: Play Now | Download

Exist In Both Worlds

We learn how to work on the first spiritual level when from feeling ourselves  inside our egoism (in this world), we rise to a higher level than our egoism where the Creator dwells. We need to discern these two steps—our egoism and the level above it—in order to live simultaneously on both levels. This will be our first spiritual degree.

The first spiritual step is the most difficult one because it is not even like a baby taking its first steps; it is an entirely new world and a completely new attitude to reality. Cardinal changes occur inside a person. I realize that the natural picture of the world is seen within my egoism, in the desire to receive with which I was born and which was created by the Creator.

This world does not exist in such a form by itself, but it appears so in my egoistic properties, which can be changed, and then the world will also begin to change. Therefore, for now, the world seems to us as dark, egoistic, and then it will change.

Such an image of the world is given to us from above by the Creator so that we can rise from this state. For this, we need to imagine that all this comes from a higher degree where the light, bestowal, and love reigns, and fills all of reality. All this exists above my ego, above this world, and I want to cling to this higher state.

But the selfish image of the world that I see now: black, unhappy, hopeless, unjust, also comes from the light, and apparently, with a specific purpose. Therefore, I remain with the sensation of this world as it is, but I want to belong to a higher state, a higher world, where the Creator, the highest light, the power of bestowal and love reigns. I want to merge with it. Therefore, I divide myself in two, trying to cling to the highest level with all my heart and soul, despite the fact that I feel myself below in my selfish desire to receive. I do not see any contradiction in this: these two opposite poles must exist.

The one who breaks away from the lower world and feels only the highest is called an angel. Living only in the lower world is resembling an animal. But one who tries to exist in both worlds at the same time, exists in faith above reason. The force of bestowal that one wants to find in the higher world must be higher than the force of reception ruling in the lower world, our egoism.

Further progress is to descend lower and lower into this world with all of its miasmas, and accordingly rise higher and higher, up into the spiritual world: from -1 to +1, from -2 to +2, from -3 to +3, and so on. It is said: “He who is greater than his friend, his desire is greater than him.” “Another” is my previous state. We need to descend to find out the broken desires, then raise them to a higher level and fix them. This is our job.¹
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/4/19, The Absolute Zero

Can A Person Control His Destiny?

Question: What does it mean to control one’s destiny, and is it really possible to control it?

Answer: A person controls his destiny in different fields: personal, public, state, economic, political, etc.

If we understand that everything is moved only by the upper light, the upper force, and only in order to develop us so that we can sense it, reveal it in ourselves, resemble it, then to the extent that we ourselves begin to make efforts to become like the upper force, we will follow a good path toward it.

Then all its effects on us will not be perceived as negative, painful, and forcing us to change, but as positive, desirable, and good. Everything depends on our attitude toward the forces of development.

Question: Does a Kabbalist know what he can change in his life and what he cannot?

Answer: Partially, yes.

Question: Does that mean a Kabbalist does not go where he or she cannot change anything?

Answer: On the contrary, he involves himself in absolutely everything. The fact is that he needs to participate in absolutely all actions, in every manifestation of nature’s forces.

At the same time, he knows in advance what he can change. What he cannot change is also an active deed because he restrains himself. But based on the whole gamut, on all the possibilities of his intervention in himself, in nature, in society, in the family, etc., he knows how to act, how to properly recruit all the forces of nature at the moment, assemble them and activate this combination.

But again, despite this, we live in a world that needs serious correction; each of us goes through very serious forms of breakage and is subjected to great pressure. We must experience all the mistakes on ourselves because, as it is written, ” There is no righteous man on earth who has done good and did not sin first.” Only after passing through all sinful states, can we reach the state of the righteous.

A righteous person is the one who has sinned a lot, but today understands the causes and consequences of everything that happened to him or her, and to the extent that one learns from one’s mistakes, can already be a righteous person.

It is impossible for a person to be kind, good, right, and wise, if one has not passed the states opposite to these. Only to the extent one was mistaken, can one be right today.
[245546]
From KabTV’s “The Basics of Kabbalah”, 11/20/18

New Life #10 – Balancing Mankind And Nature

New Life #10 – Balancing Mankind and Nature
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi

Humanity is learning how to balance the two opposing forces that act within it in order to live in harmony with the rest of nature. We need to balance the mind and the evil inclination in order to create a prosperous, safe life for everyone. We need to see one another as equally valuable, as within a family. The correct development in all forms of nature is always a combination of the power of good and the power of evil. Rather than competing with one another, we need to work in mutual participation against the evil inclination. In other words, the ego is not good or bad, but how we use it makes it so. We must ask ourselves, are we aiming to harm others or benefit others in our intentions?
[68564]
From the KabTV’s “New Life #10 – Balancing Mankind and Nature”

Audio: Play Now | Download

BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions)

From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/16/19

“We all reject the deceitful allegation that BDS as such is anti-Semitic and maintain that boycotts are a legitimate and non-violent tool of resistance.” 240 Israeli and Jewish academics signed an open letter calling on the German government to rescind the bill stating that the boycott movement is anti-Semitic .

In a letter posted on the BDS website, they also call on the German government “to maintain direct and indirect funding for Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, which challenge the Israeli occupation.”

But what makes educated, reasonable Jews living in Israel express deep solidarity with organizations that delegitimize and tarnish their country? How do they envision the future?

It is a well-known fact that in all the international organizations, especially those working against the Jewish people and the State of Israel, such as the BDS, there are Jewish and former Israeli workers.

In fact, they are the greatest anti-Semites. This is their way of avoiding their true mission, and disassociating themselves from their spiritual roots. Some of them even believe that if they are assimilated, they will get rid of the “Jewish gene” that is embedded in them.

However, according to Kabbalah, this is impossible. Jews will forever remain Jews. They carry a spiritual root that is beyond their biology.

When a Jew feels growing hatred to this uncontrollable situation, which prevents him the freedom to choose who he is, he develops hatred towards the essence of the being Jewish. A hatred he cannot even explain to himself, but it is strong enough to motivate him to act aggressively against the Jewish people.

Therefore, some of them feel deprived and stressed by anti-Semitism – or rather anti-Israelism – and in order to escape the hatred toward them, they live in various countries around the world, trying to conceal their Jewish identity.

Whether consciously or not, they gradually become Jew haters. And there are others, who instead of leaving Israel, continue to earn a living, study and teach in Israel; yet in their hearts feel rejection to this place. They are those that would sign a letter of support for an anti-Semitic organization from their air-conditioned office behind the walls of an Israeli academic institution.

Every person can express himself as he sees fit, but not against the destruction of the other. Freedom of expression must be given to anybody that calls for peace – but not through means of negation and annihilation. Certainly not through anti-Semitic messages — we have had our fill of them.

If the academics are concerned about the fate of the State of Israel, then they would do well to open the history books, and the authentic sources of the Jewish people, and investigate the role of the Jewish people from times past to the present. To summarize for them: the role of the Jews is to be “a light unto nations.” The Jews carry the method for connecting all of humanity, but have no awareness of their role, or the weight of their responsibility towards the world.

When Jews unite and spread the system of human connection to the world, anti-Semitism will dissipate and all boycotts, demonstrations and accusations against the Jews will subside. The message is simple: rather than join hands to sign declarations, we need to join our hearts and be as one.

If It Comes From The Creator, I Need Nothing Else

When a person begins to study Kabbalah, it is as if one jumps into the sea and at first does not distinguish the deep, subtle definitions. A person is like a newborn baby who in the first days does not understand anything, does not see, and does not hear. Most importantly, one is firmly attached to one’s will to receive, to one’s egoism. The first stage of spiritual work consists of cutting oneself off from this egoism, moving away from it, and looking at it from aside.

It takes years of work for the reforming light to do its work on a person and change him or her. The first change is that we begin to hear what the Kabbalists are talking about.

In order to enter spirituality, a person must make oneself an absolute zero, that is, from one’s will to receive, from one’s aspirations and expectations for something to change for oneself. That is, I agree with everything I receive and completely cancel any criticism.

Everything that happens comes from the Creator and undoubtedly is the best for me. Therefore, I do not think about it at all: the Creator acts only for my benefit. This limits my attitude to corporeal life.

With respect to spirituality, I also get the most optimal in everything. But I have nothing?! That is great, this is the best because I receive it from the Creator, who is good and does good! A person reaches this decision, accepting one’s corporeal state as the most optimal one without needing any additions, completely annulling oneself. The only thing I ask in both corporeality and spirituality is for the Creator to organize me according to His will and to help me to agree with it completely.

The first spiritual degree is the ability to completely adhere to the Creator, day and night, in light and in darkness, in sorrow and in joy, no matter what is happening. If I reach two such zeros: in corporeality and in spirituality, then I enter the spiritual world, the degrees of the ladder.

This is the ascent between the two states: from below—reason, and from above—faith above reason.

Everything comes from the Creator who knows what I need. My work is only to accept it completely. This most certainly does not mean that I forget about corporeal requirements: I must take care of my family and health. Yet, whatever my inner state is—in darkness and despair, in chaos and misunderstanding, in confusion and dullness of feelings, I agree with it as sent by the Creator and I am ready to remain in it forever.

I should ask to change not my state, but my attitude to this state. That is, I want to agree with it completely and not to demand anything more. If it is coming from the Creator, then I need nothing else.

I have nothing, not now, not in the future; there is complete darkness, the world has turned dark. All I hold on to is the fact that this state is intentionally sent by the Creator, the “good that does good,” and therefore, I expect no change. I do not demand the darkness’ disappearance and my reception of attainment and understanding; I am prepared to remain in the current state as much as necessary.

This is how I create my degree of Keter, the Kli of bestowal. The lower degree of the upper one is Malchut that has nothing in it. If I accept with joy this kingdom of the upper one (Malchut) in the form it is revealed: darkness and hopelessness, both in the present and in the future, beyond time, then it becomes my degree of Keter, the finest, bestowing Kli that shines upon me and allows me to continue the path.

On all the degrees, until the very end of correction, we must constantly annul ourselves to zero on our level and then from above we will receive additional higher degrees. This is the entrance to the spiritual world and the first contact of the lower one with the upper one. The upper one becomes my first spiritual state.
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/1/19, The Absolute Zero

Everyone Has A Place In The General System Of Adam

Question: You said that it is very important to study the upper worlds and the structure of the soul because this is most important for spiritual advancement. But if we have friends in the group who do not want to study the structure of the soul, they are not interested in it, can they still advance? If they have no desire, can they attain the spiritual world?

Answer: There are very different people in our world, and each had a place in the completed creation. Each person born corporeally has a point inside him or herself that has its place in the general soul.

Therefore, you cannot reject anyone. Not a single person. He may be humanity’s greatest savage; nevertheless, he still must be corrected and granted his place in the common system, Adam—the common soul.

Therefore, if a person does not want to or cannot study the structure of the soul, he is not drawn to it, and he does not understand it, as long as he does not interfere, since there is a condition of “no coercion” in Kabbalah, then you leave him alone.

What does no coercion mean? He does not push you to be like him, he agrees to sit quietly and dissolve in the group, then he is like a germ in you, so you should leave him alone. As long as he brings no harm.

Such people should be kept close. Gradually, they will begin to get used to it, will start to feel things. Nothing can be done here. It is very difficult. I, too, was like this: I did not agree to it, had no desire for it, until I gradually came to understand that this was precisely the way to advance.

One cannot know the ways of the Creator, and so we have to advance. I went through many different states and therefore I say one must have patience, and if a person brings no harm, let him be with to us.
[245550]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 4/4/19

New Life #9 – The Power Of The Ego

New Life #9 – The Power of the Ego
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi

It is possible to harness the tremendous power of the ego to build a society that actually supports, develops, and unifies its members. Humans want to control the environment and use it for their own benefit, to bend it to be under them. If we put the environment first and show each person that society expects him to treat others well, envy, lust, honor, and control will work for the good. That is to say, he will use the same desires that he used to use selfishly, to the detriment of the environment, for the good of society because we will understand our mutual dependence. Using the ego correctly balances our relationships and all levels of nature.
[68415]
From KabTV’s “New Life #9 – The Power of the Ego”

Audio: Play Now | Download