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Hi,
I always heard and read (maybe I misunderstood it) that the world of Asya is our world. But from this lesson, looks like our physical world is another one after the barrier.
Have I misunderstood it from other sources, or there is really a confusion or different schools of thought regarding the worlds?
Thanks.
Hi Carlos,
I’m not an expert in other methods, so I cannot comment on what they do or teach there. As for the worlds, the 5 spiritual worlds are not place like we think, but rather levels of concealment. World (Olam in Hebrew) comes from the word Concealment (ha-alama). So the 5 worlds are 5 levels of concealment between us, the desire to receive, and the Creator the general force of love and bestowal. To the extent that we correct our own opposite, egoistic nature, for it to also operate in the direction of bestowal, to that extent we reveal these worlds, these higher qualities.
All of this follows the law of equivalence of form. Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2013/04/everything-is-attained-by-the-equivalence-of-form/
As for our world, when Kabbalists use the term “assiya” or even the term “this world” they are not referring to our current world. Our world is below the ladder of spiritual degrees. Kabbalists call our world “the imaginary world”. Since once we correct ourselves, relative to that corrected state this life would appear as nothing more than a dream.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2010/11/this-life-is-a-dream/
Albert @ KabU
I have no expectations from these lessons because I got the right answer by reading the Talmud of the Ten Sefirot by Rav Ashlag and now I know the purpose of creating myself and the universe. Of course, we should not forget the Torah and Mitzvot, because by following these commands we can become Yechida. I have no questions left …
Is it possible something (a higher force, the Creator, the universe, etc) is guiding a person so they act out this deeper truth without knowing it yet? Or naturally leads them to awakening to it? I’ve become more aware and experienced a deeper physical reality, and it seems like I am perceiving and speaking things that “someone else” is saying who understands a fuller picture.
Another question, does Kabbalah say anything about the nervous system? Or is there a modern translation now that we know more about the nervous system? Different sciences might describe the same reality but reveal different perspectives and truth about it, and I’ve noticed my journey to healing trauma is the same journey as deep awakening- I’m wondering how accurate it is to say this deep awakening changes or happens in the nervous system. If you can’t answer this question, is it accurate to perceive that this awakening process is fundamentally physical?
Hi Nemo, great questions!
1. We are constantly guided. This is called “there is none else besides Him”. Meaning that all of life is a simply a game between myself and the Creator. And although I see many different forces acting in the world, as well as something that seemingly stems from myself, my own thoughts, and desires, this is still all coming from Him.
But this does not mean that we can reach correction in a passive way, as this would violate the rule that “there is no coercion in spirituality”. So despite everything coming from Him, we still need to find our place of freedom in which we can develop in this system.
We’ll learn more about these things in the next semester, in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/12/there-is-none-else-besides-him/
2. As we’ll learn in the upcoming lesson on the perception of reality, we experience all of reality within our desire to receive pleasure. If this desire is not yet corrected, then we feel this corporeal world. If it is corrected, then within the corrected desire, we feel the spiritual world.
This is also why Kabbalists call the corporeal world the “imaginary world”. Since after we correct ourselves, relative to that corrected state this life would appear as nothing more than a dream.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/05/what-is-the-soul-4/
Albert @ KabU
Hi,
My question has two parts;
1) when I read that the term Creator, Nature, and Naturals Forces are used interchangeably, does that make Kabbalah pantheistic?
2) At point will we be versed in the Language of Branches, and be able to read texts such as the Zohar, Torah, and Talmud, w/o the help or the interpretation of a Kabbalah Instructor?
Thank you
Hi Euler, great questions!
1. Kabbalah is not a belief system, rather it’s a science based on the research of the Kabbalists. As a science, there are clear limits to what we can and cannot research about this thing called the Creator. Kabbalah divides our research of the Creator into two parts.
The first is His essence (atzmuto in Hebrew). This is He Himself, His point of view, the Creator as an entity separate from the Created beings. We’re incapable of researching this part of the Creator simply because our research tools are not built in such a way that we can grasp such things. Perhaps after we finish the process of correction, we’ll discover additional research tools through which we’ll be able to research these things, but until then we limit ourselves and don’t talk about this part of the Creator because we cannot properly research it.
The other part of the Creator is called Bo-Re (Hebrew for Come (Bo) and See (Re)). This is the part of the Creator that we can research and reveal. How do we research this? Through the desire. When we take a part of our desire to receive and correct it in the direction of bestowal, in that corrected desire, we reveal a certain phenomenon, we call this phenomenon the Creator. This is why there are many names for the Creator (in Hebrew), since every time we correct a different part of the desire, we reveal a different aspect of this thing called the Creator.
So all of our understanding of this thing called the Creator (and any spiritual phenomena) is based on what we reveal within the corrected desire. But whatever exists outside of the corrected desire, whatever we don’t grasp, perceive or attain within the desire, whatever is beyond our tools of research, we don’t talk about. We need to keep these limits in mind in order to stay within the realm of science and not venture off into religion or philosophy.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2017/11/the-concept-of-god-in-kabbalah/
2. The language of root and branches is not something you learn but rather something that comes with spiritual attainment. Without spiritual attainment, we cannot truly understand these things. It’s like a blind person that is trying to study colors. He can learn the wavelengths behind each one, the different feelings they all evoke, but ultimately he will never truly understand colors. But if this blind person was to undergo an operation and gain his sense of sight, how easy and simple it would be to teach him colors. We would simply point to it and say “this is red”. It’s the same with the language of roots and branches. It’s currently impossible for us to truly grasp these things. But once we gain our “spiritual sight” we would pick these things up very easily and naturally.
And although we spend a lot of time “studying” in Kabbalah. But the goal of the study is not to acquire knowledge, rather the goal is to extract the reforming light. It’s ultimately the force of the light that gradually corrects us until we become similar to spirituality and begin to attain it in practice.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
Albert @ KabU
Are there people dying now and not having to reincarnate? If so do these souls become part of the root until all souls reach correction? Once we as humans United cross the barrier to the beginning of work in the spiritual world will the need for suffering end as a teaching tool? I struggle believing there will not be suffering as at the lowest spiritual level there is still significant separation from equivalence of form with the creator and in this world the separation is experienced by me as very grievous. This grief while motivating is also deeply sorrowful.
Hi Joseph, great questions!
1. If a person fully correct himself, then there is no need to reincarnate on the level of this world. Keep in mind that 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.
And this is not something we discover after we die, but rather we build the soul, experience it, and exist within it while we’re still alive in our corporeal bodies.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2015/06/what-happens-to-the-soul-after-death/
Also check out this link for an extensive overlook on reincarnation from the lens of the Wisdom of Kabbalah: https://www.kabbalah.info/bb/what-happens-when-you-die/
2. Our nature is egoistic. As such, avoiding pain is one of the major motivating forces for us. If we were to get rid of that force, then we would have no drive to continue our development. So what good is studying Kabbalah then? It’s in order to correct our egoism. Once we correct it, we will no longer need problems and suffering in order to push us to develop because we ourselves will generate the force for our development.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/01/lets-go-with-the-light/
Albert @ KabU
Hello, my questions relates to the fact that I feel anxious when I am not studying or listening to the Kabu videos or meeting with the friends on Sunday. Sometimes I even wake up at night wondering about the events in life that bother me and I try to find an answer thinking “There is none else besides him” that is to say, I cannot do anything because it is already decided by the Creator! The only thing is to think how the events that happen in life can give me a lesson of life!
Is this anxiety normal? Is that how we build our desire for spirituality? and are these corrections?
Thank you
Hi Esmeralda, good question!
We all go through many ups and downs on the spiritual path. This is normal. The important thing is to just keep going, to keep placing yourself under the influence of the light, and it’ll balance everything out. So it’s good to set aside some time to regularly return to the Kabbalistic study. But it does not mean that we can disconnect from the corporeal world, there needs to be a balance in our corporeal life as well.
The Kabbalists tell us “no flour, no Torah – no Torah, no flour”. Meaning a Kabbalist continues to exist on the level of this world throughout the entire spiritual ladder. So I cannot just turn into a monk and disconnect from this life and only focus on spirituality. On the other hand, if I only focus on corporeality, then I’m no different than an animal. So the important thing is to find the right balance between the two: to take care of all of one’s normal necessities: to work, take care of the family, health, etc (this is called flour) and to set aside some time to focus on spirituality (this is called Torah).
As for “there is none else besides Him”, we cannot just live by this maxim, we need to attain it. The correct way to work with this concept is to split our work to internal and external. Externally I continue to exist on the level of this world so I must function in a normal way in society, follow the normal rules and laws of society, to work, take care of my family, health, etc. Meaning to live my life and take care of all of my problems in the normal way.
And internally, I try to attribute everything that is happening to the Creator, to “none else besides Him”. But this is our internal work and it does not cancel out any of the normal external actions that we need to take.
We’ll learn about this concept in the more advanced lessons, in the meantime check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/10/if-i-am-not-for-myself-then-no-one-will-help-me/
Albert @ KabU
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