Read How to Maximize Free Will and Subtract Subjugation
The concept of freedom determines our whole life. Animals in captivity usually develop ill health and may even die – a sure sign that nature disagrees with any kind of subjugation. It is not by chance that for centuries humanity engaged in bloodshed and battles to obtain a certain measure of freedom.
Even so, we have a rather vague idea about freedom and independence. We assume that everyone has an inner need for freedom and independence, and that they are available to us at will. But if we examine our actions carefully, we will discover that we act compulsively and that we have no free will at all.
The Simple Calculation That Proves Egoism Reigns
Externally, a human being is guided by two reins: pleasure or pain (also defined as “happiness” or “suffering”). While animals have no free choice, humankind’s advantage over animals is that people consciously prefer to endure pain if they believe that pleasure awaits at its end. Thus, a sick person agrees to a painful operation, trusting that this will improve his or her health.
However, this choice is merely a pragmatic calculation in which one compares future pleasure to present pain. In other words, this calculation is a simple mathematical operation in which the amount of suffering is subtracted from the future pleasure, and the difference dictates the choice. If the achieved pleasure is less than the anticipated pleasure, a person suffers, instead of feeling joy.
How Chasing Pleasure Traps Us Every Time
The force of attraction to delight and retraction from pain is the only force that controls humans, animals, and even the vegetative. All living creatures at all stages and levels of life are governed by it; hence, in that sense there is no difference between them, since free will does not depend on intelligence.
Furthermore, even the selection of the type of pleasure is mandatory and does not depend of one’s free choice. Instead, our choices are dictated by society’s norms and tastes, not by one’s free choice. It follows that there is no such thing as an independent individual who has personal freedom of action.
Believers, Atheists and All in Between: No One Escapes Cause-and-Consequence
People who believe in Upper Governance expect reward or punishment for their actions in the next world. Atheists expect it in this world. Because they expect reward or punishment for their actions, they think that they have freedom of choice.
The root of this phenomenon lies in the law of cause and effect that influences nature as a whole and every individual in particular. In other words, all four kinds of Creation – inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human – are continually influenced by the law of causality and purpose. Their every state is determined by the influence of external causes with regard to the predetermined goal chosen by them, which is the future state.
Kabbalah Has the Blueprints for the Only Society That Can Guarantee Free Will
It is possible to ensure complete individual freedom in a society.
If a society establishes its laws in accordance with spiritual laws, those who observe them do not lose an opportunity as an individual to merge with the Creator. This is because these laws are the natural laws of governance over the world and society.
According to the purposeful governance, we must observe the laws of nature so that individuals and society will develop in the right direction.
This rule is called the “natural law of governance.” All the rules and laws of the science of Kabbalah comprise the laws of nature’s governance.
“Why You Feel Trapped by Life and Where You Can Find True Freedom” is based on the book, Basic Concepts in Kabbalah: Expanding Your Inner Vision by Dr. Michael Laitman.
Image: "Freedom to dream / Explore" by Nagesh Jayaraman.
