As children, many of us believed that the world was filled with all kinds of forces, like ghosts in fairytales. As we grew, we gradually relinquished this belief, but every now and again we still feel as though these forces actually exist.
The truth of the matter is that we are searching for them every single moment. We want to know about the world we live in because if we do not, we will never be freed of the sensation of uncertainty, to live in peace and confidence. We are curious to understand the world we live in and to improve our state of being. This curiosity evokes questions such as, “Who am I?” ”Where am I?” “What shall become of me?” Such questions prompt us to strive to know the reality in which we live.
Reality is divided into two parts: the human being and his or her surroundings. Some claim that we should only study and change ourselves, asserting that by so doing, we will feel tranquil and regard the world more positively. Others, however, say that we should stay as we are, make the most of what the world brings to our doorsteps, and change the world to fit our needs. Either way, it does not seem that our lives are working very well.
The best state in which we can get along with the world is that of equilibrium. If everyone understood me and wanted exactly what I want, that would be a state of equilibrium. There is no state more perfect than the sense of being in balance with the world. It can only be compared to being a fetus in my mother’s womb: everything exists only to care for me; there is no need to erect any defenses.
Science refers to that state as “homeostasis.” The Greek word, homo, means same or similar, and stasis is Greek for condition. This is the state of being that every object in reality strives to achieve.
The laws of physics, chemistry, and biology explain that the only reason for any movement of matter, whether still, vegetative, animate, or speaking, is its longing to be in balance with its surroundings. For us, as human beings, to be in balance with our surroundings, we must know about the nature of the surrounding world and how we can equalize with it.
Only then will we know how to arrive at a state where everyone wants what we want, think the same thoughts, and hold no grudges against others. Thus, everything would unfold in peace and love. This is the goal for which Kabbalah exists; it teaches us how to obtain peace among all humanity, and between humanity and nature.
All of our inquiries of the world and of ourselves are carried out by science. Regrettably, progress in science and technology has not made us happier. For all our efforts to arrive at a state of tranquility, wholeness, and happiness, our reality is growing harsher and more threatening each passing day.
But if we are all striving for the best, why are there problems? Problems exist because we do not know the general reality, how it behaves, its structure, or how it acts upon us. We do not know with what we must equalize.
It seems that as deep as we probe into matter, and as much as we try to understand our own nature and the nature of the outside world, we still fail to see what nature wants of us, why it exists, and the purpose of each element in nature.
Some researchers probe the outer layer of matter; others research deep into its structure, down to the molecular level and to the relationships between atoms and subatomic particles. The most advanced researchers claim that at a certain level, matter becomes elusive. From that point on, they do not understand what happens. However, the reason they are failing to understand existence below the subatomic level is not the lack of more sophisticated research tools, but the inability of human beings to fully perceive reality.
While we rely solely on our five senses, we feel that we can do with reality as we please. Once we enter the spiritual world, however, we realize that it is, in fact, reality that does with us as it pleases. From a certain level of spirituality and above, we understand that we are the ones who are building our own reality. In other words, we recognize that reality is a kind of projection of our own selves.
This last level is what contemporary researchers describe. They maintain that there is a certain limit beyond which we cannot perceive. This point between the perceptible, physical world and what lies beyond our perception is the meeting point between science and Kabbalah.
Kabbalah explains that there is a mode of research that allows us to penetrate the “level of causes.” Using it, one can understand with certainty why the world exists, what it wants of us, and how we can exist in balance with it, a balance we will experience as peace and tranquility. Those who have already researched that realm are called “Kabbalists,” and their writings describe the outcome of their research.
Kabbalists say that beyond visible matter stand Nature’s will and deliberation, which surround the whole reality. This will and deliberation circumscribe reality, watch over it, and operate it in order to benefit it. Moreover, these will and deliberation constitute the general law of reality. In other words, the general law of reality is absolute giving, and all matter in reality must equalize with that.
The wisdom of Kabbalah helps us perceive the actual attitude of Nature toward us and feel it. In this way, we can treat Nature with the same attitude and thus equalize with it.
The levels of revealing the actual reality are called “worlds.” Just as scientists delve into the structure of materials with microscopes, or probe into deep space with telescopes, so Kabbalists penetrate the thought that surrounds reality using the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Our progress in researching reality is a real adventure. We can begin to feel our past and future, and discover that time does not actually exist; that, in fact, everything already exists. A Kabbalist can move in time, as we perceive it now, and progress or regress beyond the present state.
People who can perform such “time leaps” are called “prophets.” They do not envision or imagine the future, but simply move several degrees forward to a specific level of reality that the rest of humanity will someday reach. They speak to us “from there” and tell us what they feel in their “present time.” They could just as easily be great historians, regressing to states that humanity once experienced, relive them, and tell us about them.
We can often find Kabbalistic writings that depict events before their own time, such as Abraham wandering from one place to another, meeting people, learning what he said and what he did. To know all that, a Kabbalistic researcher must turn back in time to reach the same state that Abraham did, meaning a specific degree, and tell us about that reality by being fully present in it. A Kabbalist can gather impressions from that time and convey them to us.
Baal HaSulam describes it in the following manner:
But, because those that reached the degree where Abraham stood, or anyone, they see and know what Abraham saw and knew. For this reason they know what Abraham would say, and likewise in all the sayings of our sages when they interpreted the verses of the Torah. All that was because they too attained the degree, and each degree in spirituality is a reality. Everyone sees the reality, as all those who come to the city of London in England see what is in the city and what is said in the city.
–Baal HaSulam, Shamati, article 98:
Spirituality Is That Which Will Never Be Lost.
In addition to the ability to move in time, Kabbalists discover other forces in reality. It is no coincidence that the legends speak of ghosts, demons, and angels. Even though they actually have a very different meaning from what we presently ascribe them, such forces do exist. A Kabbalist who researches the depths of nature begins to see its operating forces, connects to them, and uses them to benefit both self and all of humanity.
Admission to the study of reality does require certain efforts, but it also captivates one’s whole inner life and provides complete fulfillment. A person who studies reality discovers the reason for our existence, knows where we all have to reach, and understands the reasons for our manifold problems.
Hence, Kabbalah is not mere theoretical scientific research. Rather, it is a practical method intended to help us through every moment of our lives. Through Kabbalah, one discovers the future, the past, one’s attributes when he or she first descended into this world many lifetimes ago, and the way one still needs to traverse.
Seeing both ends of the rope, one understands what to do and how best to do it. Kabbalists can also see the forces operating on them at any given moment in time, such as why one should marry a specific individual, or why one’s children are the way they are. All these details are predetermined. Today, in fact, even science acknowledges that this information is determined in the genes.
There is a famous story about twins who were separated at a very young age and lost contact with each other. Thirty years later they reunited and discovered that both had the same occupation, their wives had the same name, they had given their children the same names, and they even lived in houses with the same street number. Matters unfold this way because our internal information defines everything that will happen to us in each of the states we will experience in life.
Kabbalah names these internal prearrangements that guide one’s course in life, Reshimot. The Reshimot exist in every person, and every state that one experiences is intended to teach something that will promote one toward obtaining the ultimate goal.
If we knew the forces that operated on us and our interior structure, we could prepare for every future state. If we knew how to be in balance with the general law of reality, reality would seem totally opposite from its present appearance.
The wisdom of Kabbalah is not meant to teach us about reality in a merely scientific manner so that we can philosophize about the “residents” of the Upper Worlds. Rather, it teaches us how to control our destiny every single moment. All of the forces and events that pressure us are intended to help us become leaders of our own reality. “Leaders of reality” means that we are in balance with reality at every moment of existence. Hence, our task is to discover what “being in a balanced state” implies.
Controlling the Material World
Kabbalistic researchers of reality discovered that reality consists of our world and higher worlds. The lowest of all worlds is our material world; the rest are all spiritual worlds. In the spiritual worlds, there is no such thing as physical matter in the form that exists in our material world. The substance of the spiritual worlds contains only desires, forces, and thoughts.
We think we can control the matter of our world, but when we rise to a higher level, we immediately realize that matter is but a consequence. Matter is operated upon By the Upper Forces, the Upper Worlds. Because we are not yet in those worlds, we are unable to control it.
If we want to change anything at all, we must rise to the degree above our own, where preparations were made before they were implanted in us. Only at that level will we acquire a certain level of understanding and ability to change anything at all. Life repeatedly proves that we do not control anything, and more often than not, we are in our golden years before we realize that life has simply flown by.
Notwithstanding technological progress, humanity is completely bewildered concerning its further progress. We are in a terrible state because we are as far as can be from balance, and until we acquire knowledge and strength to change anything at a higher degree than matter, we will not have a moment’s rest. Only when we rise to the degrees and forces that operate our world will we reach the much-wanted balance.
Opening Our Eyes
All of reality is a single, unchanging thought of bestowal and giving. Kabbalists refer to this thought by the name, “The Thought of Creation.” They say that its essence is the Creator’s will to be good to His creations. If we do not relate similarly to that encompassing thought of reality, we are imbalanced with it, which we experience as suffering.
Of course, we do not naturally feel it. And even after we do, we find it hard to understand. But if we saw that this was how reality operates, we would change our ways.
Thus, our only goal should be to open our eyes and see that such is indeed the case. The wisdom of Kabbalah helps us to see it; when we do, we most certainly change.
If I saw that something could improve my situation, I would pursue it in any way possible. And if I had to give something to induce improvement, I would give it, as long as it improved my state of being. The primary difficulty is, therefore, to open our eyes and see what is presently hidden from us.
All our evolutionary states are preordained in the Thought of Creation, but the way and the pace at which we traverse them depend entirely on us. Indeed, we can tread the whole trail even today, and equalize with the Thought of Creation.