Parashat Ekev 5784 — 08/24/2024
Beginning with Bereishit 5781 (17 October 2020) we embarked on a new format. We will be considering Rambam’s (Maimonides’) great philosophical work Moreh Nevukim (Guide for the Perplexed) in the light of the knowledge of Vedic Science as expounded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The individual essays will therefore not necessarily have anything to do with the weekly Torah portion, although certainly there will be plenty of references to the Torah, the rest of the Bible, and to the Rabbinic literature. For Bereishit we described the project. The next four parshiyyot, Noach through Chayei Sarah, laid out a foundational understanding of Vedic Science, to the degree I am capable of doing so. Beginning with Toledot we started examining Moreh Nevukim.
Devarim 7:12-11:25
Rambam now turns to the expression “the works of Gd.”
And the tables were the work of Gd [Ex. 32:16]. He intends to signify by this that this existence was natural and not artificial, for all natural things are called the work of the Lord: These saw the works of the Lord [Ps 107:24]. Accordingly after he has mentioned all natural things, such as plants, animals, winds, rains, and others of the same kind, he says: How manifold are Thy works, O Lord [Ps 104:24]. He went even further than this ascription in saying: The cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted [Ps 104:16]. It is because the existence of the cedars is natural and not artificial that he says that Gd has planted them.
When we think of making something, the last thing that comes to mind is naturalness. In fact, when we see a great work of art, we sometimes exclaim how natural it looks, precisely because we know that it is made by a human being and not by nature. Obviously this is flipped on its head when we’re talking about Gd. Everything that Gd makes is natural, from something that we would call natural, like the cedars of Lebanon, to the two tablets (the first set), which we most certainly would say are works of artifice. In other words, what we see as natural is actually made by Gd. This is not surprising, since Gd created nature, and, as we have discussed, nature/creation exists as virtual fluctuations within Gd.
In the case of human beings, nature is not within us. We have a subject-object distinction – the objective world is not us, and the objective world is the world of “nature.” So, things like trees and animals and the earth and the sky are “natural,” while the things that we create are “man-made.” We know from our experience in our technological age that man-made things can often interact with nature in a way that is not positive for nature and not positive for us. Why is this?
First, let me point out that the question itself brings out the dual nature of human beings. We have a physical body which is subject to the various laws of nature, and which, as best science can determine, evolved organically through natural processes. We have to eat, drink, reproduce, etc. according to basically the same laws as the rest of organic nature. On the other hand, our consciousness is advanced enough that we have self-awareness, and therefore we are aware of our existential situation. In religious terms we have a soul.
Either way, this level of consciousness gives rise to our free will, that is, our ability to choose whether to act in accord with nature or against it. We can, to a certain extent, use our consciousness to control nature, at least within our immediate environment. This is an important survival skill – we can make weapons to protect ourselves against wild animals, we can domesticate grains to provide a more secure food supply, we can make computers so I can write these essays, and we invented the internet to allow me to look up information I need and then send the essays to you. We also have the ability to find, extract and use fossil fuels to the extent that we are forcing the atmosphere into a climate regime that threatens life on earth, and of course we have also invented war, which may also end up threatening life on earth.
The upshot of this consideration is that our actions can be partly “natural,” in accord with natural law, or “man-made,” which may be opposed to natural law, and create a less harmonious situation in the environment, one which harms us as well. One naturally wants to avoid harm to oneself, so those actions that do cause such harm we would classify as “unnatural.” Even if we were able to not act at all (and we still have to eat and breathe!) that too is a choice and has its consequences – if you can save someone from danger and don’t, because you don’t want to perform action, that itself is an action (i.e. a choice) that might result in the other person’s death. Many legal systems would hold the inactive person responsible. Scripture enjoins us not to “stand idly by the blood of your fellow.”
Now any action that we take is based on our thoughts. We have an intention to do something and that gets converted into nerve impulses that allow us to actualize that thought. If the action is complex, there may be many sub-actions spread out over time, and each of them will be based on thoughts that arise in our mind. All our thoughts arise within our consciousness, from the transcendental level of our consciousness, and percolate up to the surface level of awareness, from which we can bring them into action.
The transducer of thought into action is the nervous system. If I want to type these words in my computer my mental intention gets converted into a series of electrical impulses in my nervous system and then my arms and fingers move and words appear on the screen. For our thoughts to be turned into effective action our nervous system must be clear of any stresses and strains that distort the signals as they move the body into action. Alternatively, our thoughts emerge from the transcendent and rise to the surface of our awareness; if the mind is saddled with impurities those thoughts will become distorted and lose power by the time they are ready to be converted into action. Whichever way we describe it, in order for our thoughts to remain pure and our actions to be in accord with natural law, we need to purify our mind and body from any impurities that have gotten lodged in them.
According to Vedic Science it is overload and strain on the nervous system that causes this distortion as thoughts rise into action. Think of a slinky that’s been pulled beyond its elastic limit. It becomes hard and stiff and reacts wildly to your motions, as opposed to the smooth, fluid response of an intact slinky. It is this stiffness and reactivity that causes our actions to go haywire. Our physical motions become stiff and uncoordinated, our thinking becomes ossified and our performance degrades. Our action is not in accord with the flow of nature, and therefore causes further strain in the system, like we’re constantly trying to swim upstream. The system spirals down.
In religious terms, sin, which is action in opposition to the Divine Will, blocks our connection to the Divine, and further degrades the quality of action. We stray farther and farther from our connection with Gd, sin piles up, and our life spirals down.
In both cases the way to reverse the spiral is through t’shuvah = return. In Vedic Science we return to our unbounded Self through the TM program. Experience of the Self, which is Transcendental Consciousness, purifies the mind. The concomitant deep state of rest that comes along with the settling of the mind allows the body to throw off deep-rooted stresses and strains. The result is that more and more Transcendental Consciousness becomes infused into our thinking process. Since, as we have analyzed elsewhere, Transcendental Consciousness is the home of all the laws of nature, when we act from this level of awareness, our action is more and more spontaneously in accord with natural law, stress and strain are less, and our action becomes more and more “natural.”
Similarly, in religious terms, when we come closer to Gd, Gd forgives our sins – purifying body and soul so that we can more and more spontaneously follow Gd’s Will as enshrined in Torah and halachah. Our action becomes more and more “Gdly” as time goes on.
The result, in both descriptions, is a life lived with the Divine transcendent constantly in our awareness, guiding our actions to be in accord with natural law. The distinction between “natural” and “man-made” disappears in the light of Gd.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Eikev
“Eikev” means “Because.” This parshah begins with Moses saying “..Because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, them the Ld, your Gd, will keep for you the covenant that Gd swore to your forefathers”; chabad.org.
This includes Blessing, Loving, Protecting, Preventing illness, Providing manna in the wilderness so that all will know that ”…man does not live by bread alone, but rather by, whatever comes forth from the mouth of the Ld does man live.” (Deuteronomy, 8:3, chabad.org translation).
Since everything comes forth from the mouth of Gd – all the diversity and stages of Creation were and are continually created from Gd’s words – this statement needs interpretation.
A good way to look at this is that Gd wants us to humbly open ourselves to the Wholeness that is Gd and not to be lost in fragments like material bread.
This principle allows us to experience and act on all the commandments Gd has given in Torah – not just the Ten, but all 613.
Trying to obey them from the limited level of our individualities, would be hard and, at the moment, impossible since some of the commandments depend on the existence of the Temple. And yet Moses speaks Gd’s word to us in this parshah: obey and be blessed. disobey and be cursed.
Through humility, however, we open our heart to Wholeness, to all the streams, letters, words, stories, commandments that perpetually reside in Wholeness, Gd, One. We go beyond the limited interpretation of Gd’s Words and experience Gd within Them: we are not limited to the Bread of Gd’s Mouth but Experience the Wholeness within which each limited value of Gd Exists.
Moses says (Deuteronomy 11:22) “For if you keep all these Commandments which I command you, to do it, to love the Lord, your Gd, to walk in all Gd’s Ways, and to cleave to Gd…”
“…then all be well, the Ld will drive out the nations before you and the land shall be yours.”
Putting Gd first, loving Gd, we are guided by Gd’s Love to walk in Gd’s Ways and our life is a life in harmony with Gd.
This harmony grows when we humbly prepare ourselves each day with whatever of Torah we can, whether it is letter or spirit, and innocently do our best to live a good life, a holy life, being practical, but not letting our concept of practical be limited to our own material needs, rather letting it serve the purpose of loving Gd, loving Wholeness, not being lost in detail, being charmed by detail only to the point that it serves the growth of Love of Gd, of Wholeness, in our life, and spreads it to all lives.
In this way the appropriate commandments and the appropriate obedience occur to us as they are needed in a joyful, effortless way so that our lives become a blessing and Gd’s Blessings come to us and through us to all around us.
In our congregation, we seek to be humble, joyful, loving, blessed. As nearly as possible, following Gd’s commandments as Moses presented them in time 3500 years ago and, as on the deep level of Wholeness, Moses is still presenting them to us, and Gd is still Blessing us and Giving us the simplicity to love, be Loved and to be restored to the Awareness that there is nothing but Wholeness, Gd, One, and we are This One, playing the game of hide-and-seek, playing the roles of our individualities and of all individualities, including each of the 613 Commandments, all nations, all souls.
Baruch HaShem