The Zohar On Human Evolution

1) Inanimate

The inanimate level of existence evolved over billions of years, with the formation of rocks, planets, stars and galaxies in the universe.

2) Vegetative

Afterward, a very special transition took place in this inanimate level, and the vegetative level of existence evolved.

To this day, people don't know how this transition took place. Suddenly, a new force appeared in the inanimate level, the force of a new creation that could grow, absorb and excrete in relation to its environment, and carry out actions that gave it a whole new spirit of life, one that didn't exist at the inanimate level.

3) Animate

Millions of years passed, and the vegetative came to the evolution of the animate. This once again involved a complex transition, the birth of a new level of existence. Suddenly, from the vegetative emerged the animate.

4) Human

Then, 5,000 years ago came the evolution from the animate level, to that of the human. That new evolution started pressuring one of the creations, evolving the animal into a higher level.

Four Levels Of Human Evolution According To Desires For Pleasure
(1) Inanimate = Bodily Pleasures
(2) Vegetative = Wealth
(3) Animate = Power, Recognition, Knowledge
(4) Human = Spirituality

Unlike the way humanity has come to define "a human" over the generations, a human according to The Zohar is an entirely different being. It is one who has achieved similarity with nature as a whole, i.e. one who operates to benefit the whole of nature.

The prerequisite for such a transition is a special desire, called a desire at the level of a human, which becomes implanted into a person from nature itself at a certain period in human evolution. Moreover, The Zohar writes that from the present era onward, this desire will appear in more and more people. Until this desire develops, each and every person will have had to develop through the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of desire, which are present in people as follows:

• Inanimate desires in a person are expressed as desires for food, sex, family and shelter. Their purpose is to preserve the form of objects.







• Vegetative desires in a person are expressed as desires for money and exchange. Their purpose is growth.







• Animate desires in a person are expressed as desires for honor, respect, control and pride. Their purpose is increased freedom of movement.

The human desire in a person is expressed as a desire for something unknown and beyond anything one can get through the other desires. It is felt as dissatisfaction with what the other desires have materialized, i.e. with material existence, and an attraction to something new.

A person in whom this desire develops feels uncomfortable. This is because of the elusiveness of this desire's fulfillment. Such discomfort urges the person to search for answers through all kinds of books, methods and teachers who speak about how to connect to something higher than what the above-mentioned desires have produced.

The Zohar writes that until this desire develops in a person and becomes realized, then (in the language of The Zohar) "Ke be'emot nedmu" ("They seemed as beasts"). In other words, until this human level of desire develops in people and they realize it, i.e. discover the method to fulfill it, carry it out, and discover its' results, then they are fundamentally no different to animals.

Since the fulfillment of the human level of desire cannot be understood from the previous levels of evolution, it thus needs to be in advance of those desires, in an awakening that exists beyond them. This awakening is called "intention," or "What do I want?"

Beforehand, there needs to be an intention coming from the person in order for him or her to operate the forces of evolution. In the previous evolutionary levels, one had no idea what was happening. On one side, the person was pressured by something bad - pain - and on the other side, the person pictured something good to him or herself - pleasure - and thus always moved from one place to the next according to that calculation.

However, development to the human level is completely new. It requires prior understanding:

• What does this development need to bring people to?


• What force do people develop through?


• How do people attract this force to work on themselves, to develop themselves and undergo that transition?

Without consciously bringing about that evolution, out of one's own efforts and will, then it won't happen. This is because such evolution is through one's understanding, sensation, attitude, and attainment of nature, where one raises oneself to integrate with the whole of nature. Thus, one who carries out this evolution rises, independently, from being opposite to nature (egoistic, exploitative of others) to becoming like it (altruistic, loving of others).

Those who have this desire for fulfillment beyond the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of existence need the means to realize that fulfillment. One cannot find these means in all the educational forms that the majority of humanity has developed in its inanimate, vegetative and animate evolution. One thus finds oneself in all kinds of problems as a result of nature's pressure on him or her to develop to the human level, without anything clear in one's hand with which to explain one's situation and how to advance from it.

The Zohar is a book that was written 2,000 years ago by a group of ten men. These men dedicated their lives to researching and attaining everything beyond the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of existence, and wrote about their attainments in The Zohar.

What these men discovered was how the complete system of nature works, and how to integrate themselves into it as corrected, cooperative parts. In short, they achieved the transition from the animate level to the human level, in its completeness, and what they discovered was an eternal state of existence, perfectly in harmony with nature. Moreover, they discovered that the whole of humanity was being led to this eternal state, gradually, and that 2,000 years after they wrote The Zohar, the book would start being in demand as that through which people could start discovering this state of perfection for themselves.

"Zohar" is the name of the greatest pleasure that exists in nature, the one that humanity attains at the completion of its development. The men who wrote The Zohar attained that level, and the force concealed in the book extends from there. The book is not intended to be read and understood intellectually, as history, stories or legends. It rather should be treated less as "a book" and more like "a board," that by "pressing" on it, that is by inserting one's effort and will to attain a more complete state of existence, then The Zohar's signs, letters, and words influence specifically this desire in the person in ways that the person cannot understand, but can start feeling.

When one starts progressing toward this heightened level of evolution in such a way, the first thing that happens is that he or she moves ahead of the pressure that nature motivates upon the person, without the person's consent. The person instead starts evolving out of applying pressure to oneself, instead of leaving that pressure to come from nature, and thus starts speeding up his or her evolution from the animate level to the human level.

By doing such an action, the person attracts the force of evolution, the heightened state that The Zohar was written in. This force of evolution is called Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light), i.e. a great pleasure ("Light" = "pleasure") that "surrounds" the person but which doesn't yet enter him/her, because the person still needs to undergo preparation and transformation for the entrance of that sublime pleasure into him or herself. By constantly working at attracting this force of evolution upon oneself, the person gradually undergoes these preparations and transformations, and at a significant point, is able to absorb that great pleasure.

The whole period of preparation and change depends on intention. Nothing need be done with the intellect, nor with any kind of professionalism, excellence, intelligence, talent or special abilities. All that is needed is intention - the intention of how to operate the force of evolution on the person.

Through approaching The Zohar with the intention to integrate humanity together in harmony with nature, the person speeds up the process toward realizing this integration. As such, one gradually evolves a new, heightened consciousness and perception of reality, gradually exiting the desires for oneself and entering the desires of everyone else.

Before approaching The Zohar, it is recommended to first take an introductory course in the fundamentals of the wisdom of Kabbalah in order to become introduced to the language of The Zohar, and get a grounding in basic concepts that the

The Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Learning Center now also provides special "Preparation To The Zohar" classes for everyone who has completed the Fundamentals of Kabbalah classes.

The next course starts Wednesday, 14 April at 8:00pm EDT, so don't miss out!

Click Here To Sign Up>>

The article in this Squidoo lens is based on the first lesson given by Dr. Michael Laitman at the Zohar Convention in the Israel Trade Fairs Center, February 2010. Links to this lesson and all Zohar Convention lessons are provided here for free download as video and audio files. There are also some key links to downloading and studyingThe Zohar through the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute.

Zohar Convention, February 2010
9 Lessons by Dr. Michael Laitman

Free Download - All 9 Lessons in Video (WMV) & Audio (MP3) Format>> (914.2 MB)

Note: I had put links to each individual lesson in WMV and MP3 format, but found out the hard way that Squidoo doesn't allow too many outbound links, so I had to delete them. However, you should be able to find each individual lesson by following these instructions:

• Go to Kabbalah.info


• Click on Archive in the left global navigation menu.


• On the new page, click on the category TOPICS in the top left corner


• In the menu, click the + sign on the left of the category title: Events to expand the category


• Select the event titled: 2010/02 - Zohar Convention 2010


• Now you have opened all media (video, audio, text) that was taken from the February Zohar Convention 2010. Each lesson is titled Zohar Convention Lesson #, so you need to find the lesson you want to open, click it, and then select the language and format (i.e. video or audio) you want to get the lesson in.

Here are all the lesson titles to help you select the lessons you're interested in:

• Lesson One: Intention Reveals The Upper World


• Lesson Two: Unity As The Means For Attaining A New Reality


• Lesson Three: Freedom--Only By Uniting With Others


• Lesson Four: Advancement In Three Lines


• Lesson Five: The Role In The World Of Those Who Have A Desire To Unite Humanity In Harmony With Nature


• Lesson Six: The Future Generation


• Lesson Seven: Perception Of Reality


• Lesson Eight: Educating The Next Generation


• Lesson Nine: The Day After The Convention

Other Zohar Resources:
* 5 Things You Should Know About The Zohar - A quick read introductory article to The Zohar.
* Study The Zohar - Home of the Daily Zohar Lessons given by Dr. Michael Laitman. Free lessons, study texts, video clips and more on The Zohar.
* Download The Zohar - Download and read The Zohar in English and Hebrew.

You're invited to join friends from all around the world to discover a new reality together. The World Zohar Convention 2010 is an intensive 3 days of studies & workshops on The Zohar and Kabbalah with Dr. Michael Laitman & the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute, open for all who wish to sense what the eternal, complete reality is really like.

When? May 7-9, 2010

Where? Hudson Valley Resort, Catskills, New York

What? 3 days of intensive studies, workshops & activities aimed at revealing the world The Zohar describes

Who? The World Zohar Convention 2010 is for anyone with a desire to change oneself and better the world. Kabbalah students currently studying via the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Learning Center or through Kabbalah TV or the Kabbalah Academy are especially welcome.

If one is new to The Zohar or the wisdom of Kabbalah, then it's recommend to first take the free introductory courses available at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Learning Center. Sign Up For The Free Introductory Courses Here>> (Next Course Starts Wednesday, 14 April! Don't miss out!)

Why? The Zohar and the wisdom of Kabbalah hold the key to discovering the complete, eternal reality, where humanity is united in perfect harmony as one soul, in the shortest time possible. The World Zohar Convention is aimed at giving its participants a taste of this reality, and by doing so, accelerating everyone's advancement toward it. More>>

Image in "Human Evolution - Where Does It Stand Today?" section:

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Images in the "Where Is Humanity's Evolution Headed" section:

Left: Apocalypse
Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Right: Peaceful Journey
Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Images in the "Four Levels of Evolution" section (in order of appearance):

Stars/Comets
Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Planet's Birth
Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Waterfall
Image: Juan Gnecco / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Leaf & Water Droplets
Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Cows
Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Penguins
Image: Robyn Waserman / National Science Foundation

Woman Eye
Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bald Man:
Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Images in the "Human" section:

Pasta:
Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Home:
Image: djcodrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gold Coins:
Image: djcodrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Briefcase:
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Champion:
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Podium:
Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image in "The Secret To Evolution From Animal To Human" section:

Human Evolution
Image: Tkgd2007 / commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_evolution.svg