Relinquishing Control of Ourselves to the Creator

Our natural war centers on gratifying our egoism and on seizing greater gains, like all wars in our world. However, the meta-war—the war against our own nature—focuses on relinquishing the domain over ourselves to the “enemy”—the Creator. The meta-war attempts to surrender the entire territory in our minds and hearts to the control of the Creator, so that the Creator could fill the territory with Himself, and conquer the entire world, both the little world of the individual, and the greater world as a whole, and endow all creations with His qualities, but in accordance with their will.

Overcoming Obstructions with the Creator’s Help

A condition in which the desires and the qualities of the Creator occupy all a person’s thoughts and desires is known as “an altruistic condition.” This includes: a condition of “giving,” a condition of surrendering one’s physical soul to the Creator, and a condition of spiritual return (teshuva). All these conditions come under the influence of the Light of Grace (Ohr Hassadim), which emanates from the Creator and gives us strength to withstand the obstructing thoughts of the body.

The above condition may not necessarily be constant. We may overcome certain obstructions in our thoughts, but then a new wave of thoughts may push us back. We may, once again, fall under their influence and develop doubts with respect to the Creator’s Oneness; once again, we will have to struggle with these thoughts; once again, we will feel the need to turn to the Creator for help and to receive Light, in order to overcome these thoughts, and to surrender them to the Rule of the Creator.

Giving Importance to the Creator’s Desires

The condition in which we receive pleasure for the sake of the Creator, that is, not only surrender to our “enemy,” the Creator, but also switch to His side, is known as “receiving for the sake of the Creator.” The natural order of our choice of actions and thoughts is such, that either consciously or subconsciously, we always choose the path that will award us greater pleasures. A person will scorn smaller pleasures for the sake of the greater ones.

There is no free will or free choice in this process. The right to choose and the freedom to decide appear only at the time when we decide to reach decisions based on the criterion of truth, rather than on pleasure. This occurs only when we decide to proceed by way of truth, despite the suffering it brings.

However, the natural inclination of the body is to avoid suffering and seek pleasure by any means.

This tendency will obstruct a person from making decisions based on the principle of truth. The person who aspires to carry out the Will of the Creator must place all personal desires below the desires of the Creator.

Instead, one must constantly concern oneself with perceiving the grandeur of the Creator to gain sufficient strength to carry out the Will of the Creator, rather than one’s own will.

Undergoing the Influence of Spiritual Forces

The degree to which we believe in the greatness and strength of the Creator will determine our ability to fulfill the Creator’s desires. Thus, we must concentrate all our efforts on grasping the grandeur of the Creator. Since the Creator wishes us to feel pleasure, He created in us the desire to be gratified. There is no other quality in us besides this desire. It dictates our every thought and action and programs our existence.

Egoism is known as an evil angel, an evil force, because it regulates us from Above by sending us pleasure, and unwittingly we become its slaves. The state of compliant submission to this force is known as “slavery,” or “exile” (galut) from the spiritual world.

If egoism, this evil angel, had nothing to give, it would not be able to attain dominion over a human being. At the same time, if we could forsake the pleasures offered by egoism, we would not be enslaved by those pleasures. Thus, we are not able to depart from the state of slavery; but if we attempt to do so, which is considered to be our free choice, then the Creator will help from Above by removing the pleasures with which egoism entices us.

As a result, we can depart from egoism’s domain and become free. Moreover, by coming under the influence of pure spiritual forces, we experience pleasure in altruistic actions and become instead a servant of altruism.

Asking for the Desire for Altruism

Conclusion: We as individuals are slaves to pleasure. If we derive our pleasure from receiving, then we are slaves of egoism (of pharaoh, of the evil angel, etc.). If we derive our pleasure from bestowing, then we are servants of the Creator (of altruism).

But we cannot exist without receiving some form of pleasure. This is the human essence; this is the way the Creator has designed human beings, and this aspect cannot be altered. All we must do is ask the Creator to bestow upon on us a desire for altruism. This is the essence of our free will and of our prayer.

“The Benefit of Relinquishing Control to the Creator” is based on the book, Attaining the Worlds Beyond by Dr. Michael Laitman.