Breaching the Balance
O Man! Seek no further for the author of evil; thou art he.
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Creed of a Savoyard Priest
For man is the cruelest animal. --Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra
Man is the Only Animal that Blushes. Or needs to.
--Mark Twain, Following the Equator
Except for the human ego, all of Nature's elements operate according to the law of altruism. They are in balance with their environments and create harmonious systems. When the balance is breached, the organism begins to disintegrate. Thus, the ability to reconstruct the balance is a necessary condition for the existence of life.
In fact, the body expends its entire protective power on maintaining the balance. When we speak of a strong body or a weak body, we refer to its ability to preserve its balance. Preserving the balance requires each element to act altruistically regarding the system it is part of, and which provides the basis of Nature's comprehensive harmony and perfection. If a certain element does not abide by life's principle of altruism, it thus breaches the balance. These two terms—altruism and balance—are therefore intertwined by way of cause and effect.
In all creatures but man, there is a "balancing software" that makes them perform whatever is required to maintain balance at any given moment. Other creatures always know what to do, and hence do not stumble upon uncertainties or unfamiliar situations where they are unaware of how to behave within the new environment. They are not free to act at will, and are therefore clearly unable to change Nature's balance. Human Beings are the only creatures in whom this balancing software is not installed.
Because Nature does not instill in us sufficient knowledge or instincts to exist in balance with Nature from birth, we are uncertain of how to behave correctly in human society, i.e. how to be in balance with the people around us. The balanced state is also the happiest—a perfect state where everything runs harmoniously, without the need to create resistance or erect protective walls.
The absence of a balancing software takes our social evolution in an egoistic direction, and this has intensi-
fied with each passing generation. In consequence, the way man tries to satisfy his desire to enjoy does not take others' existence into consideration. We do not aspire to bond with others altruistically, as is done in Nature, and consequently, we do not know that it is in so doing that we will find the perfect joy we so crave.
If we look within, we will find that we truly consider only our own existence. All of our relationships with others are simply aimed at improving our own state. To improve our lives by even the slightest bit, we agree to see those for whom we have no need disappear completely.
No other creature but man can plunder its surroundings. No other creature can derive satisfaction by oppressing others, drawing pleasure from their suffering. Only man can experience satisfaction at another's sorrow. There is a well-known maxim that states that it is much safer to walk next to a satiated lion than next to a satiated human being.
The egoistic goals that have grown in us from generation to generation, often at the expense of others, are in sharp contrast to Nature's fundamental aim: to give each and every element an optimal existence. This is why human egoism is the only detrimental force in the world, the only force that tips the balance in Nature's overall system.
In his essay, "Peace in the World," Baal HaSulam writes, "The equal side in all the people of the world is that each and every one of us stands ready to abuse and exploit all the people for his own private benefit with every means possible, and without taking into consideration that he is going to build himself on the ruin of his friend." And he adds further: "man .feels that all the people in the world should be under his own government and for his own private use. And this is a law that cannot be breached. And the only difference is in the choices of people. One chooses to exploit people by attaining the lower desires, and one by attaining government, while a third by attaining respect. Furthermore, if one could do it without much effort, he would agree to exploit the whole world with all three together: wealth, government, and respect. However, he is forced to choose according to his ability and capability."
It is interesting to see that to pave the way to a peaceful life we must first thoroughly understand our egoistic nature. In fact, says Baal HaSulam, it is no coincidence, and it is irreproachable, that our egoism is intensifying. It is happening to show us precisely how far off we are from the general law of reality, the law of altruism, which is at the basis of our lives, and to induce us to correct this distance.
The purpose of the intensification of the ego is to make us acknowledge the opposite orientation of our egos, which want only to receive for themselves at others' expense, from Nature's comprehensive force, whose quality is altruism, love, and sharing. From here on, we will relate to our oppositeness from Nature's force as "imbalance with Nature," or simply, "imbalance," and to acquiring the quality of altruism as "balance with Nature."
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