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Good morning Instructors . I have a question and perhaps I am jumping ahead but from what I am understanding we need the dark in order to have the light . Ego in order to have spirituality . We must have the opposites to have a whole .
My question then is about suffering . I understand suffering has a purpose and ego is like a catalyst but I can’t help but wonder why some people seem to suffer more than others ?
Or is this just my perception of suffering ? Or my perception of their suffering ?
I also understand that nature will push a person or against a person as friction to help get to the point of the heart and develop a soul. Does this mean that the greater the suffering the greater the ego the greater the potential (if one chooses to develop it ) for higher levels of attainment for spirituality ?!
I can’t also help but wonder about reincarnation when it comes to the greater levels of suffering . That perhaps nature with each passing incarnated life would give more friction ?
Thank you so much .
Hi Kristin, great questions!
1. You’re right that spirituality is built on opposites. So we cannot reach spirituality without the ego. This is why we don’t work on eradicating our ego, but only on rising above it. In fact the more we advance, the more our egoistic desires grow. They turn into a type of mountain that we climb over. The bigger the desires, the higher we can climb, and the higher the spiritual degree that we can attain. On the other hand, if we were to eliminate our egoistic desires, then accordingly, we would only be able to attain a tiny degree of spiritual attainment.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/02/the-worse-the-better/
2. Yes, you can say that suffering is due to looking at the world through the lens of the ego.
We learn from the Kabbalists that every single moment comes to us directly from the Creator, this is called “there is none else besides Him”. Furthermore, they also say that He is the “good that does good”. Meaning that every moment He is sending us nothing but goodness. But why then don’t we see this in our world? Why do we see so much suffering in the world?
This is because our world is governed by our egoistic nature. This egoistic nature is opposite to the Creator’s nature. Because of that, it inverts the Creator’s goodness into something bad. It’s just like multiplying numbers: a positive times a negative equals negative.
So as long as we remain within this egoistic nature, we will continue to see and feel more suffering and horrors in the world. But if we correct our nature to be similar to the Creator’s nature, then we will reveal the true reality in which only goodness exists, and our previous egoistic state would appear as nothing more than a dream.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/how-can-we-justify-the-creator/
3. As for the necessity of suffering, it’s true that without suffering, we would not have the motivating force to move forward. But this is only in the preliminary stages. Once we reach a certain level of correction, avoiding suffering is no longer necessary to motivate us to move forward (as you saw in the previous blog post).
It’s sort of like when kids don’t want to go to school, then we threaten to punish them. But if the kids do want to go to school and they willingly run to school, then not only do we stop punishing them, but we can also build a completely different relationship with them. We can take them on educational trips, give them all sorts of puzzles and extra curricular activities, etc.
So some suffering is necessary for our ego, but it’s not the ideal way to advance forward. We can move forward in a much more pleasant way. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/01/lets-go-with-the-light/
4. We can argue that suffering increases as the generations develop, but it’s more of a qualitative difference. After all, previous generations barely had food to feed their families and didn’t have most of the modern technology and luxuries that we have. Whereas we have all these things and yet still feel empty.
Albert @ KabU
Dear KabU team;
From the material I have covered so far, it seems the only practical correction humans have undergo is egoism, which should be transformed to altruism.
I am finding this very impossible…if I consider that …the desire to receive ( all creation) is engineered by the creator to only seek what gives self pleasure, to avoid or run away from anything displeasing. Can this ( altruism) be possible….I am inclined to think that given the above quality of the desire to receive even it’s act of giving is done with an expectation to receive something in return.
Therefore these are my questions
1. in practical terms what will be acts of altruism? Does this mean praying for other people?
2. Does egoism mean we should not ask from the Force above to receive a degree, a house, a wife, a new job etc….since this is all egoistic. Does this mean we should have no aspirations, How is life expected to happen in such a space.
B. In the recommended reading material ” SPIRITUAL PATH” under the section-‘Attaining the world’s beyond’ of 32
The author talks about a spiritual body of the soul which has 620 organs. The organs are considered Mitzvah ( spiritual acts/ spiritual law).
1. Does this refer to the Mitzvah written in the Hebrew bible. Are they to be explained literally as they are written or this is also a language of branches as I would assume Moses was also a Kabbalist? Is there any text that explains the Kabbalistic meaning of each Mitzvah as most of the do not make sense.
The light of the Creator fills each organ ( Spiritual act/law) – when every organ of the soul is filled its called the Torah. When we ascend to a new spiritual level , it is called fulfilling a spiritual law.
2. The spiritual levels the author is referring to are the ” world’s above” to be attained through the 125 steps of ascent, ….is this correct?
As a result of this elevation, new altruistic aspirations are created and the soul receives the Torah , the light of the Creator.
3. The receipt of the Torah in this last line….does it refer to ” Understanding”
Regards
Frank
Hi Frank, great questions!
A1. You’re right that according to our nature, we’re incapable of doing anything that is truly altruistic. Which is why the first step is to correct this nature. We do this with the help of the reforming light. The more we extract this light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, the more it works on us and gradually corrects our nature.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
A2. We learn that “necessities are neither praised nor condemned”. So the things we need to do in order to acquire our normal necessities are not considered egoistic or altruistic. It’s simply what we must do to preserve ourselves and not become a burden on society.
B1/B3.
Yes Moses was a Kabbalistic.
Torah comes from the Hebrew word ohr (light). So when Kabbalists use the word Torah, they are not referring to the physical book, but rather to the light. This is a special force that we can extract, especially through the Kabbalistic studies, in order to correct our egoistic nature. Once we correct that nature, the light of Torah also refers to the fulfillment that is felt in that corrected state.
Keep in mind that the light itself does not change. We change, meaning our desires change, and accordingly we feel the light differently. It’s similar to how electricity is the same electricity but based on what appliance we plug in, we have different uses and results from it. Plug in a heater and you’ll produce warmth, plug in an AC and you’ll get cool air, etc. So when we’re not corrected, the light helps to correct us. And when we are corrected, the light fulfills us.
As for the Mitzvot, when Kabbalists use the word Mitzvot (plural of Mitzvah) they are not referring to the corporeal Mitzvot that a religious person performs with his hands and feet. But rather the Mitzvot are the internal processes by which we draw the light and correct the egoistic desires.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/11/spice-up-your-desire/
As for the list of Mitzvot, in practice, we don’t work with a list, but only according to whatever desire is awakened at the moment. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/09/compliance-with-the-613-mitzvot-commandments/
B2. Yes, correcting the spiritual desire takes 125 steps.
Albert @ KabU
Is there a difference between the ego and desire? I see that both words are used, but are they different concepts, or are they interchangeable with each other?
Hi Skye,
There is the desire to receive pleasure and there is egoism. Although we sometimes use these two things interchangeably, in truth they are two separate things.
Our nature is the desire to receive pleasure. It simply means that every calculation we make is to chase pleasure or avoid pain. This is similar to how any other animal functions. By itself, there is nothing wrong with this nature, it’s simply the program by which we function and preserve ourselves.
Egoism is when this program begins to be used in a way that harms others. Not only do I want to receive pleasure, but I want to receive it at the expense of others, at their detriment. This is the corporeal ego.
There is also a spiritual ego. Spiritual egoism is everything that stands in the way of our connection with the Creator. Normal people don’t have a spiritual ego. This is only something that we discover after doing some serious spiritual work.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/10/true-evil/
Albert @ KabU
Dear Albert,
I watched the video “Kabbalah Revealed Episode 6: The Screen”.
In this video it is explained the spiritual ascent process of the 125 ladders or phases, “the gradual likening of one’s properties to the light and consecutive filling with it”.
In the minute 20:40, Tony Kosinec states that:
“When the creature gets the level of Yechidah,
the creature has reached complete similarity of form with the Creator, because it has instituted itself its own thought of creation (“Not for me”). It has an independent desire that does not depend on the external delights, but only on the thought of the creature to do something equal to the thought of the Creator.
(…) By having a Rosh (head), what that means is, through an independent desire, the creature can now determine what the reality inside of the vessel would be, the quality of their world, the quality of the light, and all this done for the good of the world as a whole: “Not for me”.
The light (the pleasure), the screen (the means of reception), and the soul (receiver).
I would be very grateful if you could give me further references about this topic.
Thank you in advance for your kind attention.
Have a nice day!
Hi Marta,
That video is covered in week 4 of this course. Here is the recommended reading link and related videos link for that week’s content.
And here’s a blog post from Rav Laitman about the law of equivalence of form.
Albert @ KabU
Dear KabU team,
Thank you for the basic overview video and the preparatory material. I have a few questions based on the material I have covered so far.
1. Do the 125 steps/degrees descent of the desire to receive from the state of unity with the Infinite Source refers to reincarnations. Or this is how the desire arrived to it’s initial state ( Still vs inanimate vs animate to speaking).
If so what does Kabbalah teach about reincarnation in the context of spiritual evolution of the desire to receive.
Moreover what does Kabbalah teach about Karma and influence of past life’s to ones current incarnation.
2. I am from South Africa, currently we are experiencing a wave of African Spiritual callings. Almost every person you meet in town has a spiritual calling. We have been told this is due to soul ties and soul contracts that our ancestors had with the Marine Kingdom for wealth, power and magic. Affected victims of the lineage suffer badly in aspects of life. What does Kabbalah teach about presence of other Entities and Spirits and their relationship with us and the Infinite Source.
Regards
Frank
Hi Kab U Team,
This may be jumping forward in the material but I was wondering if this system of worlds and the 125 steps overlap with the concept of the sephirot. For instance, should we consider Kether to be the same as the infinite light at the top of the ladder and the other worlds to correspond to the other sephirot? Or do the two have a separate place in the system?
Thank you!
Hi Spencer,
The number 125 comes from the structure of the upper worlds. This structure is just a division of the spiritual desire that we need to correct into sefirot, partzufim, and worlds.
The most basic division of the desire is 1 Sefira. 5 Sefirot compose 1 partzuf. 5 Partzufim compose 1 world. There are 5 worlds in total. So 5 worlds each with 5 partzufim each with 5 sefirot equals 125 (5x5x5) steps on the spiritual ladder, or in other words corrections that need to be performed on the desire.
In the book Kabbalah for the Student, there’s an article called Foreword to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah (http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/full/64187) which lists these 125 steps in the language of sefirot/partzufim/olamot(worlds). For now, these are just technical terms for us, but in the future lessons we’ll dive deeper into these things and learn how to feel and experience them.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Frank,
1. You can say that it’s the evolution of the desire and the process it needs to undergo in order to become fully corrected. Essentially the 125 steps represent the difference between us and the Creator. The Creator is a desire to bestow and we are the desire to receive. Adapting our desire to receive to work in order to bestow takes 125 steps. So to the extent that we correct our nature, make it similar to the Creator’s nature, to that extent we’re “climbing” this ladder.
In other words, ascending or descending this ladder is not a physical action, but rather depends on how much we’re similar to the Creator’s quality of bestowal (ascending) or less similar to it and more egoistic (descending).
All of this operates according to the law of equivalence of form. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
As for reincarnation, reincarnation happens on the level of desire. We all have this desire called the point in the heart. This is our spiritual potential. If we realize this potential, this grows into a desire called a soul. If not, this same desire continues to reincarnate again and again until it gets fully realized.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/06/what-happens-to-the-soul-after-death/
2. At every moment of our lives, we are surrounded by many different forces of nature that are constantly acting upon us. Some of these we identify, like the force of gravity, magnetism, the force of the sun, the moon, etc. And some of them we don’t yet identify. Spirits, angels, etc are terms referring to the forces of nature that are always acting upon us. These terms can be used interchangeably, so essentially you can call the force of gravity the angel of gravity. But these are forces. Just as you don’t attribute any intelligence/consciousness or even an image to the force of gravity, you shouldn’t attribute any to the forces called angels or spirits.
Furthermore, there is nothing harmful that stems from any of these forces. The only source of harm in the world is man’s own egoism.
Check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
https://laitman.com/2008/03/demons-spirits-angels-devils-do-they-exist/
https://laitman.com/2010/05/why-do-angels-have-wings/
https://laitman.com/2015/07/a-devil-with-horns-or-our-own-egoism/
Albert @ KabU
Is it a sort of part of the process to feel so confused as my brain wants so badly to acquire knowledge in a sequential sense yet at the same time I cannot seem to come up with any questions to ask even though I feel like I have so many ?
I hope my question makes sense ?
Hi Kristin,
It’s normal to feel confused from time to time. This follows the saying that “there is no light without a vessel”. Meaning that you cannot receive something if you don’t build a lack for that thing.
In general, we go through many states on the spiritual path. The main thing is to just keep going, to keep placing yourself under the influence of the light, especially in the Kabbalistic studies, and it’ll balance everything out.
Albert @ KabU
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