🔔 TUESDAY PRAYER – MENTORSHIP POST: THE KIND OF REASON THAT HELPS
THE KIND OF REASON THAT HELPS
WEDNESDAY PRAYER: MENTORSHIP POST
READING: between afternoon and sunset of Tuesday
FAITH ABOVE REASON
-by Michael Laitman
There is no boundary separating our world from the heavenly, spiritual world. But because the spiritual world is, according to its properties, an “anti-world,” it is placed so far beyond our perception that after we are born into this world, we completely forget all about our past condition.
Naturally, the only way for us to perceive this “anti-world” is by acquiring its essence, its reason, and its qualities. How must we alter our present nature in order to acquire a completely opposite one?
The basic law of the spiritual world is summarized in two words: ”absolute altruism.” How can we acquire this quality? Kabbalists suggest that we undergo a transformation within ourselves. It is only through this inner act that we are able to perceive the spiritual world and start living in both worlds simultaneously.
Such a transformation is called “faith above reason.” The spiritual world is an altruistic one. Every desire and action that exists in that realm is not dictated by human reason or egoism, but by faith; i.e., by a sense of the Creator.
If common sense is a vital tool for our actions, then it would seem that we are not able to completely free ourselves of intellect. However, given that our intellect does not reveal how we can escape from circumstances that the Creator places before us in a hidden fashion, it will not assist us in solving our problems.
Instead we will remain afloat without support and without logical answers to what is happening to us. In our world, we are guided only by our own reasoning. In everything we do, reason – meaning purely egoistic “reasonable” calculation – is the basis for all our desires and actions.
Our reason calculates the amount of pleasure we expect to experience, and matches it against the amount of pain required to exert ourselves to achieve that pleasure. We then subtract one from the other to assess the cost, and then decide whether we will strive toward pleasure or choose tranquility.
Such a “reasonable” approach to our surroundings is called “faith within reason.” In this case, our reason determines how much faith we will expend.
Often we act without any calculation of benefit or cost of effort, as in cases of fanaticism or conditioned behavior. Such “blind” acts are called acts of “faith beneath reason,” because they are determined by blindly following decisions made by someone else, rather than by reason or calculation.
Our actions can also be dictated by our upbringing, having become second nature to such an extent that we must make an effort not to act mechanically, through sheer force of habit.
In order to make the transition from following the laws of our world, to following the laws of the spiritual world, we must meet certain conditions. First, we must completely discard the arguments of reason, and forsake using our intellect to determine our actions. As if suspended in midair, we should attempt to hold on to the Creator with both hands, thus allowing the Creator, and only the Creator, to determine our actions.
Figuratively speaking, we should replace our own minds with the Creator’s, and act contrary to our own reason. We must place the Creator’s will above our own. Once we are capable of doing this, our behavior will represent “faith above reason.”
Having completed the first stage, we will be able to perceive both this world and the spiritual world. We will subsequently discover that both worlds function according to the same spiritual law of “faith above reason.”
