boo-yah!
If anyone was doubting whether the childhood conditioning I recieved from my brother paid off, witness the following transcript of the conversation I have been having with the Kabbalah Coach. Is this okay, Shais? Please don’t hit me…
Dear Kabbalah Coach: My boyfriend is Hindu, and he says we stole kabbalah from them. I told him Hindu’s believe in nothing, so how could there be anything to steal, but he says it’s true.
Isn’t it against kabbalah to steal? I know it’s kind of a flexible religion, because Madonna/Esther still dresses really whorey sometimes, but she’s really religious and everything and won’t perform on the Sabbath. Maybe she got the dressing part from the hindu part of kabbalah. i don’t know. My boyfriend won’t tell me anything about Hindu, so how can I even know which part we stole?
Please clear this up. it would relieve a lot of strain in my relationship and help me understand my heritage better.
Sincerely, Rachie K.
His response #1:
There are numerous correlations between Kabbalah & Hinduism, yet it would be silly to debate who came up with it first.
For example:
Brahmin - Abraham (founder of Judaism/Kabbalah) In Hebrew, same letters.
Abraham had a child named “Shiva”
Veda means “knowledge” in ancient Hebrew and is the name for the Knowledge texts in Hebrew.
Upanishads is actually a Hebrew term: Upani (my face/countenance) shad (is hidden) implying a mystical approach to finding G-d. The Upanishads are the more esoteric study of Hinduism.
There are also references in the Torah and Kabbalah that the wisdom of Abraham (Kabbalah) was sent with the children of his concubines to the East (East of the Indus River in India).Kabbalah stole nothing from Hinduism. In fact, most of the practices of Hinduism are considered outright idoltary for Jews. But the fact that there are many associations between the two (and other wisdom traditions) only further verifies that there are indeed Universal Truths which each tradition has its own way of understanding and presenting.
Hope this helps…
- Michael
Then, an unsolicited follow-up:
Kabbalah and the East
Excerpted from “Meditation and Kabbalah”
Rabbi Aba said: One day I came to a city of the people of the East, and they told me some wisdom that they had inherited from ancient times. They also had books explaining this wisdom, and they brought me one such book.
” When a person meditates in this world, a spirit is transmitted to him from on high…”In this book, it was written that when a person meditates in this world, a spirit is transmitted to him from on high. The type of spirit depends on the desire to which he attaches himself. If his mind attaches itself to something lofty and holy, then that is what he transmits down to himself. But if his mind attaches itself to the Other Side, and he meditates on this, then that will be what he transmits down to himself.
They said, “It all depends on word, deed, and the individual’s desire to attach himself. Through these, he transmits downward to himself that side to which he becomes attached.”
In that book I found all the [idolatrous] rites and practices involved in the worship of the stars and constellations. It included the things needed for such rites, as well as instructions how one must meditate in order to transmit their [influence] to himself.
” The people of the East were great sages, who inherited this wisdom from Abraham…”In the same manner, one who wishes to attach himself on high through Ruach HaKodesh must do so with deed, word, and desire of the heart, meditating in that area. This is what it depends on when one wishes to bind himself to something and transmit its influence to himself…
I said to them, “My children, the things in that book are very close to the teachings of the Torah. But you must keep yourselves from these books in order that your hearts not be drawn to their [idolatrous] practices and all the [other] facets mentioned there, and lest you be drawn away from serving the Blessed Holy One.”
All these books can confuse a person. This is because the people of the East were great sages, who inherited this wisdom from Abraham. He had given it to the sons of his concubines, as it is written, “To the sons of the concubines that Abraham had taken, Abraham gave gifts” (Gen. 25:6). [This was originally true wisdom] but later it was drawn into many [idolatrous] sides. ( Zohar I:99b)
My response:
Thanks for all the info. So is my boyfriend an idol worshipper? Maybe I should try to get him to convert to Judaism/kabbalah. Or maybe he wouldn’t have to even convert because the “people of the East” are Abraham’s sons anyway. If we had kids, I would definately want to raise them Jewish/kabbalist. I think Madonna’s children’s books are so cool, and I have this theory that she has secret kabbalistic messages hidden in them. She must have had that rabbi in LA help her though, because she probably doesn’t really know what she’s talking about.
So how do you think I should deal with this with my boyfriend? If I tell him he’s an idol worshipper, he’ll just get defensive like the time that I told him all of his problems came from the fact that his parents were divorced.
Please advise,
Rachie
That one really got him hot under the collar:
Hinduism is idol worship for a JEW. I don’t think it is our place to tell others what to do, or think, or behave. Think of it this way: There are different ways to contact G-d. Some do it through Dial up, others use DSL or Cable. Its all going to the same place, but a Jew is under a spiritual contract not to use idols as telephone booths to heaven. We are told we have direct access (DSL) and therefore we stick to what is best for us.
If there is a big problem with your boyfriend and his culture, why not date someone who has a more compatible path? Or learn to be more tolerant. Its your choice. Do you live here in L.A.? Or is it hard to meet Jews where you live?
- michael