Unparalleled Greatness—Desiring the Creator’s Perfection

Even if we do not yet possess a true desire to attain the right state, we should still ask the Creator to grant the true desire and faith through the power of prayer. That is, we should ask the Creator to give us a desire to ask, which is now lacking.

Our souls, the “self” of each of us, exist in a perfect condition from the moment the Creator decided how they should exist. This condition may be described as “the condition of absolute peace” (since every action is initiated by the desire to gain a more perfect state), and the condition of absolute happiness (since all the desires created in us by the Creator are absolutely fulfilled).

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The Feeling of Remoteness from Spirituality

Not a single creation can avoid the predestined goal—to begin yearning for spiritual qualities. But what should be done by a person who feels a lack of sufficient desire to part with the pleasures of this world? How can one deal with the idea of parting with relatives, family, and the entire world so full of life and of small delights, with all that the egoistic desires so vividly paint in that person’s mind? What should one do if, even while asking for the Creator’s help, one does not truly wish the Creator to hear and grant this plea?

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Understanding the World by Understanding Yourself

All that we desire to know about our world can be defined as the result of creation and His Providence, or as scientists refer to it, as “the laws of nature.” Humankind in its inventions attempts to replicate some details of the creation and utilize its knowledge of the laws of nature. That is, it tries to replicate the actions of the Creator on a lower level and with baser materials.

The depth of humankind’s understanding of nature is limited, though the boundary is gradually expanding. Still, to this day, one’s body is equated with one’s material body. But such a perspective does not differentiate between people, since the individuality of each person is determined by one’s spiritual strengths and qualities, rather than by the forms of one’s body.

Thus, it can be said that all bodies, irrespective of their multitude, form only one body from the perspective of the creation, since there is no individual difference between them to differentiate one from the other. From this perspective, in order to understand others and the entire world around us, and to understand how to relate to what is outside our own bodies, it is enough for us to look within and to understand the self.

There’s No Individuality Without a Soul

In fact, this is how we behave, since we were created to grasp that which enters us from the outside, that is, to react to outside forces. Thus, if we do not differ from others spiritually, and all our actions are standard and within the framework of the various animal qualities of our material bodies, then it is as if we do not exist at all.

Without a distinct spiritual individuality, it is as if we were part of one common body that represents all our bodies. In other words, the only way that we can differ from another is by our souls. Therefore, if we do not possess a soul, we cannot be said to exist individually.

The more spiritual differences we possess, the more important we are, but if these differences do not exist, then we do not exist either.

But as soon as the first small spiritual distinction is formed within us, that moment, that spiritual state is called our birth, because for the first time something individual appeared in us, something that differentiates us from everyone else.

From Physical Birth to Spiritual Birth

Thus, the birth of individuality occurs through our individual spiritual separation from the general mass. Like a grain that has been planted, two conflicting processes occur in sequence: the process of decay and the process of growth. There is a complete liberation from the previous form. However, until it is repudiated completely, until one’s physical form is shed, one cannot change from a physical body to a spiritual force.

Until all these states are passed (called “the procreation of the fruit from above to below”) the first spiritual force from below to above cannot be born within us, proceed to grow, and reach the level and form of the One who begat us.

Similar processes occur in inorganic, vegetative, animal and human natures, though they assume different forms. Kabbalah defines “spiritual birth” as the first manifestation within the individual of the lowest quality of the lowest spiritual world—the passage of the individual outside the boundaries of “our” world onto the first and the lowest spiritual levels.

But unlike a newborn in this world, a spiritual newborn does not die but continuously develops. A person can begin to comprehend himself only from the moment of self-awareness, but never earlier.

For example, we do not remember ourselves in our former states, such as the moment of conception, the moment of birth, or even earlier states. We can only grasp our development, but we cannot grasp our previous forms.

It’s All about Merging with the Creator

However, Kabbalah describes all the preceding states of creation, beginning from the state of the existence of only the Creator, to His creation of a general soul—a spiritual being. It then follows the gradual descent of the spiritual worlds from the highest to the lowest level, to the last state of the lowest spiritual realm.

Kabbalah does not describe all the following stages (how an individual of our world apprehends the lowest level of the spiritual realm, and then one’s further ascent from the bottom to the top, to one’s ultimate goal—the return to the original point of creation). This is because the ascent follows the same laws and levels as the descent of the soul, and everyone who seeks to understand must independently experience every stage of spiritual birth, up to the final spiritual level of completion.

But all souls, having reached, at the end of their growth, the absolutely corrected state of their original qualities, will return to the Creator and merge with Him into an absolutely indivisible state because of their complete similarity.

“Changing One Existence to Another” is based on the book, Attaining the Worlds Beyond by Dr. Michael Laitman.

Sincerely Desiring the Creator

It is impossible to force oneself to benefit the Creator in the same way as the Creator benefits us, because such inclinations are not found in human beings.

Nevertheless, we should be clear about “to whom” we must aspire. When we seek the truth behind our desire to approach the Creator, we should keep in mind that, when we sincerely desire the Creator, all other thoughts and desires disappear, just as the light of a candle is overwhelmed by the light of a torch.

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The Importance of an Authentic Teacher

If we have not yet reached a higher understanding, or altered our way of analysis, begun to feel the sweetness, rather than the bitterness, of non-egoistic thoughts, or have not begun to see the truth of faith compared to the falseness of the intellect which is bound by the nature of our world, we can still progress through an already amended method of analysis derived from our teachers, by listening and following the example of the teacher in all things. Therein lies the counsel of the sages: If only a single Kabbalist, possessing the true spiritual understanding of the mind and heart, leads humanity, everyone can reach the goal of creation not by the path of suffering but by the easy and painless path of Kabbalah!

On the other hand, misfortune and constant failures will be our lot if those who were chosen to travel this path first, with whom the Creator first settles all accounts, and from whom the most is demanded, have chosen as their leaders those who do not understand His higher purpose or the design of His Dominion.

Only during wars, catastrophes, or other great misfortunes, when it seems that our problems cannot be resolved, do we all clearly see the hand of the Creator and His help. But this transpires only during critical moments in which we find ourselves, since we refuse to acquire and use Kabbalistic knowledge to recognize the Divine Providence in the world.

Everyone Has Unique Properties

Why are people born with different capacities to perceive the subtler forces around us, as well as with different capacities to prudently and logically grasp the nature of things? And whose fault is it that a person was not created in the same manner as were geniuses, those of deep thought and deep emotions? Why is it that when we are born, we receive from the Creator unequal mental and spiritual desires and capacities?

Individuals born with grand aspirations, with big hearts, and with sharp minds, are referred in the Bible as “the intelligent” because they are capable of receiving the highest understanding. On the other hand, those born with limited mental and spiritual capacities in the Bible are referred to as “foolish people.” But since every soul has its own special purpose for which it has “descended” into this world, no one should be ashamed of the particular inclinations with which one was born.

How a Person Reacts to Thoughts

Nor should we be ashamed of our bad thoughts, since they, too, were sent to us by the Creator.

However, we should pay special attention to and be conscious of how we react to bad thoughts, whether we fight them or follow them blindly, whether we correct ourselves— each to the extent of the capacities that we were born with, and what we do towards correcting ourselves.

It is this that each of us should be ashamed and it is for this that each will have to answer to the Creator. But still, how can a foolish person reach spiritual heights? The Creator has said: “I have created the wise, and I have created the foolish. And I have placed the wise in every generation, to help the foolish, so that having fastened their hearts to the ones ascending, they could also reach a complete union with Me.”

Towards Absolute Unity with the Creator

Why are foolish people needed in this world? After all, compared to the few wise men of the world, there is an overwhelming multitude of fools!

The reason lies in the fact that every spiritual quality requires its own separate carrier. Those people with limited spiritual capacities are the carriers of egoism. The wise, on the other hand, desiring to ascend infinitely in their service to the Creator, and having corrected their own egoism, need to help the foolish work on their egoism.

To continue ascending, the wise must continuously absorb “extraneous” egoism and correct it. Thus, both the foolish and the wise need each other.

But because the masses can give the wise only their own insignificant egoism consisting of a desire for the petty, transitory pleasures of our world, for every wise person in this world there are billions of fools.

Nevertheless, if the foolish ones act in accordance with the directives of the wise, consciously following the wise in all they do, everyone can still reach the goal of their existence: absolute unity with the Creator.

“How You Can Succeed in Spirituality Regardless of Your Characteristics” is based on the book, Attaining the Worlds Beyond by Dr. Michael Laitman.