by: Shifra Hendrie
”I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details”. – Albert Einstein
“…I would ask, ‘Why was the universe created?’ Because then I would know the meaning of my own life.” Albert Einstein
G-d is infinite and ungraspable. By definition, the more we understand, the more there is to understand.
But to know how G-d created this world, His intent and purpose, not only is possible, but part of our mission on this earth.
Kabbalah is the key.
Some traditions describe our world as a school; a place where souls come and go in order to learn important lessons. But, even though incarnation in a physical body is the vehicle through which the soul expresses itself and its potential, this is far from the whole story.
Life in a body does more than usher the soul through a series of developmental stages. The ultimate aim of life in a body is to provide us with the chance to become intimate with G-d, to ‘know His thoughts’.
Kabbalah explains that there are many levels of spiritual beings, such as angels, and that all of these are powerfully aware of their spiritual source. In fact, this experience is the most important feature of their existence. It defines who and what they are. To these beings, the experience of G-d is all encompassing. They relate to Him like a humble and insignificant servant relates to a great and mighty king. The servant’s entire life is devoted to the king; the king is his whole reality. But the two remain separated by an enormous, unbridgeable chasm. The servant will serve the king faithfully, but he will never be able to relate to him.
This is not true for us.
Paradoxically, it is precisely through our limiting experience as souls in physical bodies that we can come to know G-d. We will know Him not only from a distance, as servants, but up close and personal. Passionately. Intimately.
Let’s look at why.
G-d is ‘above it all’, independent of, all circumstances; Creator and source. He is the only reality. Everything else that exists is only a highly limited expression of Him. The beings that inhabit the many spiritual worlds all take vast pleasure in His presence, praise and serve Him. But beyond that they are passive recipients. Like rays of sunlight to the sun, they experience and express the light of their source, but no more than that.
Physical beings are different. By definition, we physical beings, in our untransformed state, cannot sense our spiritual source. Instead of experiencing G-d as the center of our existence, as the sun, and ourselves as a ray of sunlight, we feel like the center. We ourselves, and our own perspective, are more real to us than anything else.
It is our nature to feel sourceless, separate, alone, and centered in our own unique and limited experience. Despite the fact that G-d is the only reality, our experience contradicts this fact. Instead, we inevitably experience ourselves, our circumstances and our perspective as real and G-d as a concept.
This is as far as you can get from the truth.
In addition, this essential isolation and self-centeredness is the root cause of most of the conflict and suffering that human beings experience. We are cut off from the larger picture. We are disconnected from each other. We feel insubstantial and vulnerable. We compete for resources, like love, attention, success, recognition and money. Much of the time we experience life as the struggle for physical and emotional survival.
For all of these reasons, Kabbalah calls this physical world “the lowest world”.
But paradoxically, this ‘lowest world’ is where all the action is. This is the only place where the purpose of Creation can be fulfilled. This is true because of our uniquely limited nature, because of the fact that we feel sourceless, solid and alone. Only we physical beings have the potential to actually ‘relate’ to G-d, who is in fact, sourceless, and ‘alone’ - the only reality.
Here’s the paradox: As long as we are in the dark, blind to our source, we remain the ‘lowest world’, a world of darkness, suffering and evil.
But, when we begin to see through our own limitations to our source and purpose, we become the highest. We will always maintain the sense of unique ‘selfness’ and solidity that makes us human, but this ‘selfness’ will be fully illuminated by something beyond the limitations of our human experience. We will gain a tangible awareness of G-d’s presence and purpose in every detail of our human lives. What initially concealed the truth will ultimately reveal it.
Through this process, this physical, ‘lowest’ world will become the place where G-d is most fully expressed, His true home.
This transformation is the purpose of creation. You are here to take a world that is blind to the truth, filled with darkness, negativity and evil, and transform it into a home for G-d. To reconnect with your source. To allow the light of your soul, and the awareness of your Creator, to shine through the limitations of your solid, physical body and linear mind.
In embracing this mission, you will begin by transforming yourself and your environment. More and more, you will live a life that is an expression of your own highest potential. And in doing so, you will create an inhabitable world; a world that is a joy to live in, a true home.
This is the ultimate win-win. And, by the way, it’s the ultimate reward. Kabbalah views the afterlife as a temporary stopping place between one incarnation and the next, where learning is processed, corrections made, and the soul cleansed and refreshed. The real reward is here, on earth, as evolved souls, in transformed bodies, in a transformed world. Sharing a home with G-d.
We are in the final stage of the transformation process, at the end of the millennia of darkness and separation. It is time to reconnect with our source. Our souls sense this, even if our consciousness is a step behind. That’s why so many of us are searchers. And that’s why for the first time, the Divine wisdom of Kabbalah has been made available to ordinary people.
As a culture we have begun the transition from blindness and self-centeredness to wisdom and purpose. We are becoming searchers. It’s possible now – with the right knowledge and with sincere effort - to see through the walls of our physical existence to the true nature and purpose of life. To begin to know the thoughts of G-d.
In this process, Kabbalah is our guide.
Kabbalah as the blueprint for Creation, is the inner spiritual process through which G-d creates, sustains and transforms our world. Since it is the blueprint, studying Kabbalah will automatically give you insights into the workings of your own soul and the world around you.
And, because we are entering the climax of history, the path of authentic Kabbalah has been opened to every person, Jewish or otherwise, who sincerely wishes to reach his highest potential as a human being created in the image of G-d.
As a side effect, it will change your world.
© 2005 Shifra Hendrie, www.KabbalahOfTransformation.com