From Today’s Daily Lesson:
Related Material:
* Food Crisis: The Rising Food Prices and the Meaning of Life - taken from Michael Laitman’s Personal Blog: www.laitman.com
Click here to read lecture transcript
A transcript from a public lecture filled with Q&A given by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in Toronto (January 7, 2007) is now available. Rav Laitman first gave an overview of humanity’s egoistic development and some of the key stages of egoism’s growth in this development, and then answered the following questions:
? Is there a connection between the Torah and Kabbalah?
? How do Kabbalists feel about all the existing religions?
? Are you aware of the energetic images which constitute the Kabbalistic tree of life, and which were received as a consequence of extrasensory perception?
? From what I heard, famous Kabbalists are of the Jewish faith. Are there any Kabbalists of other faiths?
? Will everything written in the Torah occur in reality, or is it just an object of one’s imagination and unreal?
? What is the Creator? How do you see Him?
? How do you feel about Berg’s Center?
? Can a person join a group the moment he realizes or feels his “point in the heart”?
? Is it possible to change your fate once you grow spiritually?
? How does a person’s diet influence his studies in Kabbalah?
? How does Kabbalah differ from theosophy?
? Has any scientific data been collected affirming Kabbalah?
? Why did the Book of Zohar only become available in 1995?
? Are there Kabbalists-scientists who are not of Jewish descent (except Madonna)?
? Why do you call egoism an integral part of Kabbalah? Why is it egoism specifically, and not another positive word? Doesn’t egoism refer to a situation when something is done for one person, while Kabbalah wants the opposite, for everyone?
? Based on Kabbalah, as a science, can you assert that there is immortality?
? For how long does one need to study Kabbalah, and what will happen once a person learns it?
? Does having a grasp on Kabbalah help to conquer illnesses?
? What awaits North America?
? What can you tell us about the works of the Roerichs and the Blavatskys?
? Are the laws of the Upper Providence known?
? Can one study the original sources in translation?
? What do cybernetics, the theory of informational governance, and Kabbalah have in common?
? Why did Kabbalah become available during World War II?
? Kabbalah rejects religion. What connection does Kabbalah have with following a religion? In particular, what is the meaning of the Kippah (yarmulke)?
? Is there such a thing as reincarnations of souls?
? Is there a separation between the soul and the body after death?
? How can we tear a teenager away from drugs? What does Kabbalah say about this?
? How do the governments of different countries that are in authority today feel about Kabbalah?
? Is asceticism necessary in order to achieve the Upper spiritual world?
? Do you teach about the spiritual world?
? There are lots of different directions in Kabbalah. Which of them is correct?
? Are the Ari and Chefetz Chaim primary sources?
? Does Kabbalah engage in medical treatment, such as acupuncture?
? What happens to the soul after a person dies?
? Do all the feelings remain in the soul after death?
? Can Kabbalah explain the fact of life after death, or rebirth?
? Can you briefly state your opinion about the spiritual act called “the blow of fire,” or Pulsa Denura?
? Does this mean that there exists only one reality? …and we will need to return in order to achieve the proper level, or a transition to another reality?
? Is it possible to study Kabbalah without a teacher?
? Who is a Kabbalah teacher?
? How important is it to undergo the beginner stages of the revelation of egoism in one’s development? Is it possible to reach the Upper level, by-passing the lower stages?
? Are the books that laid the foundation for Kabbalah also written by people?
? Is Kabbalah the only way to attain the Upper level?
? How do I rid my wife and children of super egoism?
? By learning Kabbalah, do you believe in God?
? You mentioned that the world is becoming more dangerous. When will this change, when will it become better?
? Is it possible to receive the information we need without studying from books?
? You said that only by developing the soul and attaining the Upper World is it possible to fix our fate. In our understanding, this means finding a better position in this world, getting married successfully, making more money, or finding a better job. If a person attains the Upper World, doesn’t he become a part of the governing system?
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Lecture presented at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center, Toronto. wmv video | mp3 audio | ms word transcript
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Who Are All The People Around Me? 01:58
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD explains that by opening up an additional sense, we will start feeling others the same way as we feel ourselves.
Click here to view the video at Kabbalah TV
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From Today’s Daily Lesson
Student: If I understood the previous paragraph correctly, does it mean that the higher spiritual level we are in, the more technology will decline?
Rav Michael Laitman wmv video | mp3 audio (55 min)
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The Spiritual Teacher in Kabbalah 03:08
The role of a spiritual teacher in Kabbalah is to guide everyone to the Creator, not to himself, and Kabbalists say that eventually, everyone will be in adhesion with the Creator. Rav Michael Laitman, PhD discusses the role of a Kabbalist teacher and spiritual attainment with European MTV host Eden Harel.
Click here to view the video at Kabbalah TV
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How Can I Control My Thoughts? 02:10
Thoughts are not the self of the person; desire is.
Perceiving Reality dissolves the question “How Can I Control My Thoughts?” into “How Can I Change What I Desire?”
From today’s daily lesson:
What is Ego?
Student: What is the ego? Can you define it?
Rav Laitman: The ego is what I feel as self-relaxation, a void, a deficiency, a desire… it’s a socket or a depression in me that’s filled. I feel the filling of that absence as pleasure.
• There’s a deficiency which is filled.
• The sensation of deficiency is called “pain.”
• The sensation of the deficiency’s filling is called “pleasure.”
There are four definitions: deficiency, fulfillment, pain/suffering, pleasure. (50:13)
What is Shame?
Rav Laitman: There is shame above the ego and shame within the ego.
“I’m ashamed. I stole, and everything was fine but now I got caught. Oh, how people will talk about me, it’ll be in the paper and all kinds of places… so I’m ashamed. Am I ashamed because I stole? No. I’m ashamed because I was caught.” –That’s shame below the Machsom (barrier).
Shame above the Machsom is from—“Am I giving? Do I love?”—and the shame is in the discovery that I’m not like this way in every way. It is shame from a lack of bestowal. (55:50)
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD in the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article “The Revelation of Godliness (Matan Torah)” (April 29, 2007) wmv video | mp3 audio (59 min)
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