In the misery of life, we see people always trying to change their surroundings to get a better life. They may end up on the other end of the world, while then facing the absolute same problems again, just in different clothing. Have we often heard of such cases?
Criticism is the most important tool for overcoming our own Tikkun. When the individual and the community as a whole want to be able to advance, they must be able to face criticism. It needs a lot of restriction when we face hate postings, for example, that we will still be able to ask ourselves if not even in responses of our greatest haters, there might be contained a spark of truth. Someone who wants to become a leader must constantly ask himself, according to the reactions he receives, what he's able to change. Often our closest surroundings are a direct answer to our own flaws and Tikkunim. The constant mistakes we face in others are the facets of our own persona that need to be corrected.
Does this mean now that we should constantly walk through the world as Mr. or Mrs. Nice? By no means! Tikkun could also mean that we establish borders again. That we don't let exploit ourselves. A perfected central column restriction in Kabbalah means always to know intuitively when to say yes and when to say no. The Bible encourages us to develop a sense of discernment between good and evil. We could further state that the Tree of Knowledge is the gate to the Tree of Life. This might sound bizarre because we normally want to be connected to the Tree of Life reality, while we were taught that the Tree of Knowledge would be something very negative and sinful. In Kabbalah, we must develop a paradoxical thinking of living in two realities at the same time. In the Tree of Life reality, everything serves its purpose; in the big picture everything is good in such sense – everything stems from God – while in the reality of the Tree of Knowledge Evil is very, very real.
What does this mean in practice? In the Tree of Light reality, everything is already existing in a perfect state. When we look with those eyes unto the world, we see only the divine nature of everything and everyone. In the world of timelessness and of eternity, everyone has already achieved complete perfection. Thus, sometimes, in certain situations, we need to be blind to the mistakes of others. We have to exercise mercy over judgment. We must recognize that the sweeter the fruit at the end of its development will be, the more bitter it will be in the process of becoming. In this way we turn a blind eye on others and see only the good in them.
On the other hand, we live in the World of Tikkun—in the reality of the Tree of Knowledge—where we have to elevate the sparks of light from places of darkness. Here we often need to be judgmental as well. Judgment in today's political correctness has become a very negative term. In today's society, we see how fast certain people are getting sued because they've chosen the wrong words. The fact is that there was a period of time when Kabbalists treated their students as the last piece of dirt in the world. This changed with the modern Kabbalah under Rav Yehuda Ashlag, who meant that for him it would be sufficient that his students develop an authentic fear of God. They don't need to fear him as a teacher as well. Rav Yehuda Ashlag, in this aspect, was a very untypical, merciful Kabbalist of his time. When Jesus took the whip into his hands for driving out the money changers in the Holy Temple, it was an act of love clothed in judgment. As a parent needs to raise up its children, so a true leader must find the true balance between judgment and mercy, while the first will always be for the sake of the latter. In the end, the path of mercy will always prevail. A parent needs only to be strict because they want the best for their child.
While we should treat ourselves most of the time with mercy, we should be aware that we have to undergo as well a process of Tikkun. Many people are just busy attaching themselves to some inspirational readings or spiritual lectures, but only a few have the discipline to sit every day in silence with themselves asking, What can I improve on myself? And as stated, the answer mostly lies in the flaws we're always observing in others. Maybe there are some family members and friends who always need to know everything better. Some always get angry, and so these are our own private examples, where we have to start working on ourselves. The world outside of us is a reflection. The most powerful light lies in the things that trigger us the most. A teacher will always recognize that the flaws and mistakes of his students are, in the end, a mirror of his own Tikkun. And so while we often must express opinions or even criticism to others, in the end the root of them lies in ourselves. This is the paradox of living in a conditional world, where everyone has his own free will, and where conflicts need to be solved on a human level, while on the other hand, becoming like God means to become the ultimate root of everything. And this means to overtake complete responsibility over the whole world, because the whole world, as we've already learned, is just a mirror of our own.
Kommentar hinzufügen
Kommentare