Economic Crisis - Commentary From the World's Foremost Kabbalist Michael Laitman

For the first time in the history of mankind a Kabbalist is reacting to the current state of affairs in the world from an economic perspective. Here is Michael Laitman's take on the situation:

The ego driving us to increase profits at each other's expense, is in complete contradiction to the balance between all the elements of nature, which is vital to nature's harmonious existence.

(Featured on Israel's YNET)

The events surrounding the American and global economy prove that this time it's serious - the global economy is in a deep crisis. What is causing this crazy turbulence and how can the erosion be curbed? Kabbalah provides an explanation along with suggestions for solving the crisis.

Just as with any social system, interdependency is the name of the game. Crises where one element "infects" others and brings the market to the verge of collapse, are part of the signs of economic globalization. This is why we are seeing credit and real estate bubbles in the U.S. bursting that brought about an infectious collapse of the stock exchange, in banks, companies and hedge funds all over the world.

Having said that, trying to solve economic crises using known models is destined to fail. It turns out that the economic system cannot be controlled or accurately predicted, and that one move in one place causes serious repercussions in other places in the world.

The wisdom of Kabbalah claims that if we understand the laws working on nature and abide by them, we can fortify our understanding of what the future holds, and possibly prevent the next crash.

Professor Günter Blobel, M.D., Ph.D., awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, in addition to being a senior investigator at the prestigious Rockefeller Institute in New York, was quoted recently as saying that, "Even science believes that the principle of interdependence is the key to the existence of nature's entire system. The best example we have of this are the cells in the human body. They connect with one another through mutual giving for the benefit of the entire body. Every cell receives what it needs to exists, and applies the rest of its strength toward the general body."

The Kabbalistic sages also describe in their writings an "upper nature" as a force enveloping the whole of reality with benevolence and love, and they explain that its purpose is to bring all elements of reality into balance and harmony with it. And when we take a good close look at the relationships in nature, we can see that the balance and harmony there is what enables life itself.

On the other hand, in artificial systems that humanity has made for itself opposite laws are at work. At the foundation of human behavior driving all the economic and social systems is the ego, that always prefers the narrow personal interests of the capital and stockholders, over the public. The pursuit of the attainment of wealth, honor and control at the expense of others, it the top priority for company owners.

And this is precisely where they've cornered themselves: the more they attempt to differentiate themselves the more they discover how much we are all connected to one another. As a result, we find ourselves trapped between a rock and a hard place: on the one hand the ego is pushing us to separate from one another, and on the other globalization is pressuring us to realize that we are all connected and need to unite, like cells in a body. This complex situation is creating an internal conflict that we are finding difficult to come to grips with.

In order for the social system to survive it must be aligned with the laws of nature. The solution lies in education. Market leaders need to deal with the root of the sickness instead of handing out temporary painkillers. And for that to happen, Kabbalah claims that a number of initial steps need to be taken:

- Use various media channels to make people aware that we are one multicellular body and that we are all connected to one another. Each and every cell (each and every man), in the human system will need to understand that the most profitable economic model for him/her is the happiness of his fellow person. This is the only way one will be able to guarantee one's stability.

- Make the public aware of the real reasons for the crisis. People will be made to understand that a law exists that operates on all of nature's system, and that the turbulence we are now experiencing is a result of us acting against that law. Examples of this can be taken from systems in nature and the mutually beneficial relations between them.

- Decision makers will need to learn how the general system of nature operates, and what implications this has with regard to necessary changes in the human systems that need to be made in order to bring them into balance.

Only when the people influencing our lives begin to operate in this direction, will we succeed in getting the world out of the mud that it is in up to its neck today, and lead it to safe ground.

Rav Michael Laitman is a Professor of Ontology, PhD in Philosophy and expert in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Related Reading:

- The Consumer Effect - article in Kabbalah Today on the economic crisis and its solution
- Michael Laitman’s Theory for Altruistic Evolution - article about the separatedness/interconnectedness contradiction we have reached in our times, and where it is leading us

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