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Two students looked at a waving flag. One said: “The flag is moving.” The other replied: “No, the wind is moving, which makes the flag move.” Their teacher came and said: “You are both wrong. It is a thought that moves in your head.”
This allegory illustrates how everyone has a different perception of reality. We each have different perceptions because we are brought up on different foundations and ideals. One sees the flag moving, the other sees the wind moving the flag, and the other sees thought moving in our heads, and we cannot agree on whether the flag is moving.
The question thus arises as to whether it is possible to reach mutual decisions. The Sanhedrin, for instance, was a spiritual governing body that existed in Judea around 2,000 years ago. How did they manage to make decisions with so many people, as they engaged in a lot of discussions and held several differing opinions? Those people understood that there were those among them who were closer to the sensation of nature’s altruistic and connective forces, who understood and knew more about nature’s laws than the others, and they more or less yielded to them.
A person who is higher in attainment of reality would indeed hold a more accurate opinion than one who is lower in their attainment and consciousness. We would thus be wise to annul our opinions to such people. Of course, this raises the question: How could anyone determine who is higher in their attainment of reality? We again become faced with the problems of how each one perceives reality differently, and indeed, in our current level of perception, it is impossible to make such a determination.
We thus find ourselves in the state that our world is currently in—the blind leading the blind. If we give the world a chance, we need to realize that it is not up to us, as we are limited in our understanding and feelings. Giving the world a chance is up to nature’s laws that operate beyond our understanding.
If we reach the understanding that the laws of nature control everything and everyone, and we wish to accept these laws upon ourselves, then we will become ready to seek the wisest among us and follow them. We would then shift to the sighted leading the blind.
Humanity is in a developmental process toward such a state. Our particular era is characterized by humanity becoming an orphan. We are transitioning to a new era characterized by tightening interconnections on a global scale, and the ideas that held us together on various local, regional and national levels in the past no longer serve us in today’s globally-interconnected reality.
When my teacher, Kabbalist Baruch Ashlag (the Rabash) died, I clearly realized that we have yet to mature, that we still need to advance to such a state. The more we mature, the more we will reject false navigators of our lives, and seek out ones who possess a true attainment of higher levels of reality.
Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur on December 4, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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