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May 28, 2014May 25, 2014

What Is the Difference between Studying Kabbalah Today as Opposed to the Study of Kabbalah in the Past?

In “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Baal HaSulam provides a simple explanation of the essence of the teaching of Kabbalah. He defines “Kabbalah,” saying that it is the revelation to a person of the higher laws or roots that descend from above downwards from the single and absolute source, very gradually descending downwards, until reaching our world.

These laws create our world and humanity. They gradually become revealed to every person in order for everyone to realize them correctly and ascend upwards to the World of Infinity, to our root, our perfect state, ascending along the same levels by which these forces descended from above, forming our world and giving existence to our world and humans. This is what this science is intended for. It describes this entire system of descent from above downwards and our ascent, which is possible and which every one of us must accomplish from below upwards.

The realization of these laws comes about both in general and in particular.

The particular realization is when there are individuals in every generation, the great Kabbalists of the past, who became worthy of the revelation and ascent.
The general realization is when in our time all of humanity as a mass already begins to feel the insignificance, pointlessness, emptiness and futility of its existence and feels the necessity to ascend, i.e. to elevate along the same levels as the levels of descent, ascending from below upwards to the World of Infinity.

Here, Baal HaSulam already describes the way in which this science is written, that everything is written in the language of root and branch, and the way in which it is passed down. Over the course of centuries and millennia it was passed down from one Kabbalist to the next and then to the next, only from a teacher to his single student (as a rule), and this is how it was passed down to our time.

But in our time, now it is no longer being passed down from one Kabbalist to his next student, but it is already beginning to be passed to the entirety of humanity. This is why in our time, our task is to discover the method, a widespread educational and enlightening method for the whole of humanity, when humanity will receive the means for spiritual ascent. The means of mass communication and technology developed with the purpose of bringing the goal of creation and everything humanity must accomplish in this life to every person, no matter where the person is, even if far away.

This is what the article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah” discusses.

The Free Kabbalah Course is based on the articles of Baal HaSulam and provides step-by-step guided learning from experienced Kabbalah instructors of Kabbalah’s basic concepts. Baal HaSulam was the first Kabbalist in history who wrote articles not only for Kabbalists, but for the broad public, in order to explain Kabbalah’s fundamentals, because he understood the need that would emerge in humanity to answer deeper questions about life’s meaning and purpose. Therefore, if you’re interested in such topics, we recommend taking the free course and start learning about the world around you and inside you anew. Click the banner below to sign up for the free course …

May 27, 2014May 25, 2014

Why Understanding Humanity’s Current Shift from Unconscious Development to Conscious Development Makes Life More Enjoyable

“The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose” is an article written by Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), discussing the meaning and essence of Kabbalah. In this article, the word “religion” is not proposed in the same fashion as we understand the term these days, that is, as referring to a set of beliefs for understanding the meaning and purpose of our lives and the universe. “Religion” rather refers to the actual attainment of eternity and perfection. The wisdom of Kabbalah is intended for developing oneself with the aim of actualizing this attainment.

Over the generations, human development has been under the control of nature’s influence. We have developed unconsciously, not knowing the cause of our existence and in the meantime have adhered to various beliefs and philosophies in order to provide us some kind of framework while living in this world. This represents one specific phase of our development, “the unconsciousness phase.”

In our era, this unconsciousness phase is coming to an end. We are gradually breaking through into the next phase—“the consciousness phase.” Moreover, nature is necessitating this next phase of development.

Until today, nothing has depended upon the person. “Unconscious development” means that one is simply attracted toward some goal by the pleasure one pictures for oneself in that goal; or one is repelled to go somewhere else by means of pain. All of our progress throughout history has been controlled by remaining in any state as long as it is tolerable, and when we could not tolerate it any longer, we looked for a way out and moved onto a new and different path. We have acted this way all throughout history, in our lives today, and all of nature acts in the same way: toward pleasure and away from pain. This defines our unconscious development.

Today, in the conscious development phase, our development is dependent upon us. If we continue to simply follow nature’s commands, in other words, follow our thoughts and desires without any true awareness of their cause, we will be led into intensifying pain.

The alternative to this path is if we discover a means for attaining what exactly gives rise to our desires and thoughts, and start working on ourselves in order to discover this cause. Kabbalists state that discovering this cause is the purpose for our being here, and the sole purpose for studying the wisdom of Kabbalah.

This cause will be revealed to everyone, however our development leading to it can either be one of getting slapped about without ever knowing why (i.e. unconscious development), or one that discovers the goal before us, and a method for speeding up our understanding of where everything is coming from and why it is happening, and how to use it all in order to reach our final state in the shortest possible time.

We will then develop consciously toward it—researching and understanding how nature operates upon us, and discovering the complete picture of nature in order to live in a new dimension of life, peacefully and comfortably. This all depends upon the revelation of the common purpose for each and every person, of how incredible and great it is, and making it attractive and worthwhile to choose to advance towards.

The wisdom of Kabbalah has stemmed down to us in order that we discover the goal and purpose of our existence. Neither a philosophy, nor a set of beliefs, the wisdom of Kabbalah rather teaches how one can work on oneself in order to attain more complete levels of perception which are concealed from our inborn, egoistic mode of perceiving through the five senses.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, in general, includes our whole life. Everything that exists was created to correctly use ourselves and everything that has been prepared purposefully, to achieve life’s highest goal quickly, and in the most comfortable, short and enjoyable way. Nothing was made so that we “just exist” in it. When we reach life’s goal, we will feel like we are in a state of eternal and perfect motion and existence, without death, without birth, without all of the problems that we perceive in our world.

Today we are being pushed to realize how there is no worse state of existence than our present state of living in this world. This is in order to develop in us the desire to ascend to an altogether new state of existence, of boundless fulfillment and a perception of our eternal state of life—the purpose of our lives.

May 26, 2014May 25, 2014

About Baal HaSulam’s Article ‘Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two’

In “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two,” Baal HaSulam describes how over the course of humanity’s history, from the time when the science of Kabbalah was received, when Abraham revealed Kabbalah in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago; Kabbalists preserved the entire knowledge, developed it, and adapted it for us. They passed it down into our time.

However, even a very long time ago, thousands of years before our era, they had already predicted that this knowledge will have to be revealed precisely in our time because humanity will reach the state when it will need it.

May 25, 2014May 24, 2014

Why Everyone Secretly Wants to be Like the Creator

Where Does the Desire to be Like the Creator Come From?

There is a Creator who wishes to give. This is the Root, or Zero Phase. In order to give, He must have someone to give to, and because the Creator wants to give, He creates a Kli that receives the “gift,” meaning the Creator gives to the Kli. This is State One.

For this to occur, the receiver must first want the pleasure. If I build in you a desire for something and then give you what you want, you will not enjoy my gift because this is not your own desire. You must feel that it is your own desire before you can define it as “pleasure.” Thus, at the end of State One, the creature begins to sense the Giver and His nature.

The will to receive evolves by sensing the Giver (State One), and consequently wanting to be like the Giver (State Two). In that state it becomes worthwhile for the creature to be like the Giver (State Three). However, this is only a phase in the formation of the will to receive, and the creature is not really aware that it is receiving anything.

In fact, the creature isn’t aware of any of these observations; they are merely phases in the evolution of the crude will to receive. This crude desire must still descend, formulate, and drift far from the Creator until it stops sensing Him altogether. It must descend to the level of our world, and only then will it sense the desire in it as its own independent will (State Four). In this way, it will believe that it’s free and does not submit to the Creator’s guidance.

Continue reading “Why Everyone Secretly Wants to be Like the Creator”

May 23, 2014May 22, 2014

Introducing the Layman’s Guide to the Spiritual Development of Reality

Did You Know that Reality Is Really a Desire to Receive Pleasure?

The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method for discovering the hidden part of reality, that imperceptible realm of reality that our five senses cannot grasp. It develops another sense in us, one that perceives the reality that exists beyond our present perception.

Kabbalah says that the whole of reality consists of a substance called “the will to receive pleasure.” This will to receive pleasure is essentially a desire to be filled with delight, enjoyment; it is what we so often refer to as “egoism.” This will to receive operates on all levels of existence: still (inanimate), vegetative, animate, and speaking.

Although the will to receive is the substance of all reality, the desire in itself is neither matter nor atoms, which came later. Everything that was created, that exists as the basis of reality, is based on the desire to enjoy, an aspiration for pleasure. In each level of reality, this aspiration takes on different forms.

Every Kabbalist, without exception, from Abraham to the last great Kabbalist, Baal HaSulam, maintained that the entire substance of Creation consists of a desire to receive. Every Kabbalah book speaks of the same thing, and all Kabbalists are in agreement in that regard.

Kabbalists are people who attain the Upper World; they speak from tangible attainment, not from theory. The word, “attainment,” refers to the ultimate degree of understanding. Let me make things easier to understand by using some drawings.

How Reality Develops in a Step-by-Step Process

Phase One in the Development of Reality: A Giver Needs a Receiver

We said that the will to receive is the basis of Creation. It is created by the expansion of the Upper Light. (In Kabbalah, the term “Light” designates giving, bestowing, love; it is referred to as “the Creator”). Thus, the Light created the will to receive that wants to be filled with the Light. Hence, the will to receive is also called Kli (vessel/receptacle), see Figure 1.

In other words, the desire to give creates the desire to receive, meaning the Light wants the Kli (vessel) to receive what it wants to give it.

Continue reading “Introducing the Layman’s Guide to the Spiritual Development of Reality”

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