Attaining the sensation of humanity's interconnectedness as one collective soul is at the basis of Kabbalah's method.
"Our souls are all internally interconnected, so whatever a person thinks or does influences all the others." —Rav Michael Laitman, PhD*
Interconnectedness—the idea that all humanity is one collective soul—is at the basis of many philosophies. Attaining the sensation of humanity’s interconnectedness as one collective soul is at the basis of Kabbalah’s method.
Interconnectedness, according to Kabbalah, is that we were initially created as one soul divided into 600,000 parts, each functioning for the sake of the whole’s wellbeing. This soul evolved egoistically until its parts could no longer function for the benefit of the whole, and began functioning for the benefit of themselves.
This transition in the soul (from altruism to egoism) caused a separation from the soul’s interconnected state. This state is characterized by each part of the collective soul feeling only itself, and not the entire soul of which it is a part.
The result is that today, I feel myself and I feel that there are other people, separated from me (walking on the streets, hanging out in shopping malls, watching TV in their apartments, etc.). I don’t feel what I had felt in the beginning (and which I will feel later), that is, that “I” includes all the “others,” and I feel them exactly the same as I feel myself.
Kabbalists state that the soul’s initial interconnected state is still all that exists, and all that has ever existed. Moreover, they state that in our egoistic state of existence, we are separated from the initial state only by our perception of it. In other words, according to Kabbalists, we are still functioning as one interconnected soul, however we are currently within a level of perception that hides this interconnectedness from us, and allows us only to feel the tiny part we have been born into.
Kabbalists devised a method that anyone (that is, anyone with a desire to discover life’s eternal, interconnected state) can use to rise above their inborn egoistic nature and feel life’s eternal state as one interconnected soul, where each part functions for the whole’s wellbeing.
Related Material:
- ARTICLE: All Are One and One Is All - article from Kabbalah Today issue #6 overviewing Kabbalah's approach to humanity's interconnectedness.
- VIDEO: Our Environment - The Collective Soul - our true environment is one of total interconnection with others, however we don't feel this interconnectedness. Why? What should we do about it?
- What is Kabbalah? - Article, video and Kabbalah beginner resources at the Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies.
* Quote from Laitman, M. "Things that come from the heart." Lecture presented at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center (Dec 31, 2004).
