Above God, One Can Place Wisdom
It is possible to place wisdom above God. If I judge a person for foolish or unreasonable behavior, I become attached to wisdom. If I judge a group of people, an organization, a government, or a nation, this attachment intensifies tenfold. If I judge and hate myself for not understanding something, getting confused, or ending up in a foolish situation, the same attachment occurs.
Attachment to wisdom is blocked by mental illness and intellectual disorders.
A female physicist once asked me to look into the cause of death of a well-known Soviet scientist.
«He placed himself and his wisdom above God. His pride surpassed a critical level, and the blockage manifested as death. He clung to his wisdom — despising and belittling the foolish.»
«You know,» the woman responded with interest, «he used to belittle his assistants. I heard he was the only one injured in a car accident, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury, while a carton of eggs on the back seat remained intact.»
I then thought that the laws of ethics, which we often neglect, must exist within us on the level of feeling—for these are the laws of our survival.
Scientists have long sought something common in the character or lifestyle of long-lived individuals. It turns out they have a proper emotional attitude toward the world: all long-livers are kind-hearted people who don’t respond to unpleasant situations with hatred or judgment. This is inner humility, the ability not to cling to earthly things, not to idolize them.
A young man with a serious problem sits before me. I explain to him that his soul is clinging to wisdom.
He prays and, through repentance, removes his hatred for people as well as his self-judgment. Today he came for a second session, but his field clearly shows self-judgment structures.
«You haven’t fully let go of your demands on yourself.»
«How can I stop judging myself when I’m at fault, and others have nothing to do with it? I’m imperfect; how can I not blame myself?»
«Understand one simple truth,» I explain, «Perfection and imperfection are given and taken away; you cannot identify yourself with them.»
On a subtle level, any person, regardless of who they are, is above such concepts as perfection and imperfection. These concepts belong to the material world, but the material is subject to change and destruction.
If you call yourself wise and feel joy not only outwardly but also inwardly, you cling to wisdom. There will inevitably be a time when you call yourself a fool, begin to hate and judge yourself, and, as a result, receive illness or death.
A human is a dialectical being, composed of two opposites: a Divine core, at the level of which concepts of perfection and imperfection, strength and weakness do not exist; and a core connected to the material, which, unlike the former, is constantly subject to decay and for which the concepts of strength and weakness, perfection and imperfection are essential.
The more we strive toward the Earth, the more we must also strive toward God, and vice versa.
It is easier to strive toward the Earth than toward God, which is why there must be a system of priorities.
Our point of support should not rest on earthly goods, visible and material; nor should a person rely on unseen benefits tied to earthly life.
When we attempt to base our point of support on what seems stable to us, on what goes beyond a single lifetime, on earthly values of the third level, we also make a mistake.
The point of support can only be in love for God. This alone gives a person true happiness.
S. N. Lazarev, «Diagnosis of Karma, Book 2»
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