The Center of the Universe

By Eliezer Tseytkin

This is a very unusual book. It is about most important and fundamental things in life, presented in a deep, yet clear fashion.

It is an ultimate adventure in the subjects of love, genius, freedom, happiness, and spirituality. You will have the most powerful weapon demonstrated to you. You will be given some lessons in magic. You will be introduced to the Truth and will be sensitized to its distortions. You will be presented history lessons on the dawn of humankind, its very first days. The life cycle of a human being, from childhood to old age, will be explained. You will even find the reason why communism has been so attractive to the best of us, and if there is any truth to it. You will understand what made ancients bring animal sacrifices. You will be taught basics of idolatry. You will be introduced to the essence of meditation and prayer. You will finally understand the objective reality. And, last but not least, the purpose of life will be revealed to you.

This book consists of essays, and each essay has its main subject based on actual discussion that took place.

Unknown Judaism - the world through the Jewish eyes...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eliezer Tseytkin
• Release date: Oct 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301992348

Book preview

Chapter 1

HAVE YOU SEEN SPIRITUALITY?

Can I have a cup of tea?

You are most probably familiar with the term spirituality, but do you know what it really means? It is shockingly simple, maybe even obvious, and still infinitely deep.

R' Yisroel Salanter, one of the greatest people of the 19th century, defined spirituality in a puzzling way: the materialism of another person is my spirituality. That is to say that caring for the material needs of another person is spirituality for me. Spirituality? What does spirituality have to do with the material needs of others? Maybe it is somewhat indirect, but the definitive point? We are probably missing something.

And yet, caring for the material needs of someone else is exactly what defines spirituality at the household level. Although, of course, there are a lot of levels. So what does this mean? This means that if I reduced my ego and prepared for you a cup of tea, then it's spirituality. If I take care of your material well-being – this is my spirituality. If I help you, it is spiritual. Please realize: this is literal, not borrowed terminology or a metaphor. This is what spirituality looks like in our everyday life. What spirituality implies on the highest levels – is another story.

This new idea needs to be digested. Baking cookies to treat somebody, giving somebody advice, and cheering someone up are all spiritual. To lend money, to teach a profession is a whale of spirituality!

You would probably ask: Where are the meditation and all sorts of other high and Himalayan manifestations of what's usually called spirituality? What is this kind of boring spirituality described before? When we leave the level of everyday life and enter into the inner realm of a man, then the ego is reduced in another way. And yet, the rejection of the ego is the common denominator of what spirituality really means and is. And if you acknowledge and certify ego at one level, then this will be an obstacle to its rejection on a different level. True spirituality is a rejection of the ego over the entire spectrum of levels, or spectral rejection.

A typical example is hospitality, which greatly contributes to rejection of the ego. After all, each guest has his own tastes and requirements. Many prominent Jewish mystics did not go home on Friday night until they found guests to bring, so that the guests would enjoy the meal and interesting conversation.

And what about theater or a yoga retreat, considered by common folks as a spiritual endeavor. Are they spiritual? In fact, no. But compared to a piece of meat, theater is more spiritual because the materiality of the theater is more subtle than the materiality of the restaurant. After all, the emotional needs are of a higher level than material needs. But since in theater there is not even a shadow of reduction, or rejection of the ego, it has nothing to do with the spiritual sphere.

Here you need to stop and look around: if this is how we understand spirituality, then how would you now look at your life, on your past and present? Are you spiritual? Does this definition coincide with your intuitive understanding of the spiritual (maybe not at a first glance, but on the second or third)?

Ego is a collection of my material desires. Denial of the ego is pure spirituality. Denial, rejection of the ego, can be considered at different levels. This phenomenon is spectral. There is a range of levels from the simplest everyday life to the mystical, i.e. on any level where our ego functions. Caring for the materiality of others is pure spirituality, or, more precisely, the projection of spirituality on the household level.

Let’s be more precise in what we mean by abandonment, denial or rejection of the ego in the context. It is an action, emotion, or thought, or a combination of all three, not directed towards satisfaction of my own material desires. It is giving to somebody else, in contrast to taking for myself. This is the rejection of a simple level in its simplest form.

But when you treat somebody, let’s say, with a delicious meal, don’t you also enjoy this? Are not you surprised that you also derive pleasure from this? After all, we call it spirituality, and that should be the opposite of your own pleasures.

Exactly! This is an incredible miracle! This is not regular material pleasure. Pleasure of satisfying somebody else’s needs, not yours! Can a young child do this? No. Underdeveloped, immature people are not capable of deriving pleasure from satisfying someone else’s needs. In fact, this is exactly what distinguishes adults from children. Yes, many adults are still young children in this respect. They never grow up! Some because they are too young and others because they are too immature to enjoy giving; they really have to gain something, get, take, satisfy one of their wants and desires in a plain material sense of it. Although there should be a subtle distinction: in some situations what looks like giving on the surface might be, in fact, receiving. We can call it a subtle selfishness. At the same time it is possible to take, while essentially this would be giving; for example, a hungry child, while agreeing to eat, brings joy to his parents.

These flashes of spirituality, the examples mentioned above, are simple, yet sublime. You rise above your nature when you give something to someone. This is a rejection of oneself, which, when it comes to a developed, advanced human being is not even viewed as a rejection. Nevertheless, conceptually it is the rejection of the ego. When you look at your day, at what transpired, these are the moments of which you are proud. It is during those moments you overcome your material nature.

The higher the level of a person, the more satisfaction, and even pleasure, he gets from such moments, in contrast to the pleasure of satisfying immediate material desires. The higher the level of a person, the more he seeks out for such moments.

Oversimplifying, we could look at it as giving versus taking.

So, what does an ideal life mean? Does it mean to give everything away, not keeping anything for yourself, and not doing anything for yourself but only for others?

Here lies the mystical secret of the universe. This secret will lead us to the next stage.

When we are born, we can only take. Growing up little by little, we are slowly learning to give. Then, at a certain point, we start pulsating between these two poles. If anyone changes his nature and is able to give more, then such a person we respect and admire. However, if someone takes more, then we do not like him, and we call him selfish, egocentric. Of course, it’s not black and white; there is a range of shades, and it can get relatively complicated. But overall the essence of a person, and of any human phenomena for that matter, is determined by the degree of presence of both components and their interactions, their multidimensional combination.

Someone gives, while in fact meaning to take, i.e. to take as a result of giving. This may be called bait marketing: you give the free value first, hoping to get much more value later. Not that this practice is wrong – it is a business reality – we are just describing things how they are. This is called healthy selfishness, that is to say, one is sort of or reasonably selfish, but without abuse. Transaction. Bargain. Sale. I am giving something to you, and you are giving something to me. Of course, the sooner you give to me, the better. No rush, I can wait somewhat. Ideally, you are giving something to me first so that I would not get worried too much. Actually, what am I saying? I can give it to you for free too. I mean on credit. Just do not forget to pay back the interest; after all, I have to survive. Corporation. Partnership. This is our business: I give to you, and you give to me. Commodity relationship. I am a commodity, and you’re a commodity. Excellent!

Can there be anything better than a commodity relationship? No, there is nothing wrong with business relationship, we are just wondering – is there anything higher? More humane? More enjoyable? More desirable? If yes, then what?

Chapter 2

LOVE AND GENIUS

Sleeping pills for happiness

Let me ask you: did you ever happen to fall in love? And when you fall in love, what is it that you want the most?

Are you looking for pleasure? Are you looking for money? Are you looking for power? No! More than anything, you want the person whom you love to be happy! You are not looking for your own pleasure; you are looking for the other person’s pleasure. Surprise! You, by yourself, almost do not exist, as it were. You're ready to suffer, go through fire and water, and are not afraid to die for the happiness of a loved one. This is not business, this is not the exchange of values talked about in the previous chapter: I am giving to you, and you are giving to me. This is not a corporation. Rather, you are giving up yourself infinitely and unconditionally, you reject yourself, your ego for the sake of a loved one. Is this not a miracle of nature? We need a commercial break here. A minute for reflection. Concert of silence.

And then a miracle happens: The object of your love is experiencing the same feelings as you, and rejects the self, the ego, and craves your joy, your happiness, and... What can we say? Fairy tale? Fantasy? No, this is a true story. That does happen sometimes. That does happen often. The strongest current. Obstacles melt. What’s stronger? Love or death? Death does not exist in this mindset. There is no death. Just you and your beloved.

So what happens to this wonderful state of being? Where is it? Where does it go? And why was it given just to disappear shortly? Yes, it is romantic to believe that the current does not disappear. But statistics show that the current typically disappears as if it was never here. What shall we do with statistics?

We are about to reveal the secret of Absolute Happiness. We are getting closer to that element of love, which is responsible for extreme happiness in a way that happiness comes in, but unfortunately disappears shortly afterwards. Warning: if you understand what we’re going to explain now, you can control this element by will. You can keep it and be happy, or you can discard it and be unhappy as you want! Are you sure you are ready for such power?

Let us digress for a moment. Do you know who a genius is? In anything – in science, in music, even in the revolution. If you watch a genius, you’ll see that he loves the area where he is a genius. Does he love because he is a genius? No, he’s a genius because he loves. For him, the ego disappears; he found a way to put the ego to sleep. But after he finishes his symphony, ego will come back to him even more than before, and it will again play tricks on him. But while he was writing this symphony, all the temptations of the world did not exist for him. He himself simply did not exist. Look into his eyes; he has no ego! You will see it. Material desires are retreating. It is exactly our friend who fell in love. Well, maybe not for long, but still…

Let’s get back to our lovers, who are very subtle and romantic. Some time went by, and suddenly they remembered about their individual selves. They woke up. The ego, the healthy selfishness, woke up, looked around, and wow, it was asleep for quite a while. Now it is feeling refreshed and energetic. Word for word, step by step, our lover senses his hungry ego, and the object of the love, too, woke up the ego, the very healthy selfishness. And again, just like before falling in love, everyone is for himself. Business. Corporation. Did I give you something? Good, here is the invoice, pay up. It’s really a sad sequel, so let’s omit the details. In an extreme case they divorce, and the maiden name is back.

But wait; let’s focus on the initial love, i.e. on the falling in love. What is it, really? Perhaps it is a gift that reveals to you the potential of what you could have become. You have not yet earned this state of being. But now, when you see what the end result might be, if you work on it hard, you should be motivated enough to actually start working on yourself. Working on what? What does that mean exactly, hands on?

It is the work on taming your ego. When you reach the same result, one day, this time through your own effort and labor, when you have conquered your own ego, rather than taking a pill, you would really enjoy this state of being and would feel like an owner, a master. Let’s hope that your object of love has reached the same. And that is when true love comes. It is no longer falling in love. It is being in love. Falling in love versus being in love is quite different. Being in love looks just like falling in love; the main difference is that being in love is earned, and it is here to stay. It is not going away. It grows; the current becomes stronger as you progress in the noble project of working on yourself, on taming, diminishing, conquering, rejecting your ego. This is a great mystery. This is not a free gift anymore that you are ashamed to accept. This is yours forever. Revealed in the battle with yourself, with your ego.

So is it possible that the fairytale of the enjoyable beginning will not end? Of course; it’s easy: just tame, diminish, conquer, and reject your ego.

We give the following definition of falling in love (please forgive us for de-romanticizing): falling in love is a sleeping pill for selfishness. It works perfectly. On the spot. But it disables ego temporarily, for some time only. And then, when ego wakes up, what happens? Well, suddenly you have realized that a mistake has happened. You did not really love her; you have no idea how it happened, probably devil beguiled, and you are not to blame. Ah, you do not love her? And whom do you love? You love yourself. Do you love anyone other than yourself? Not really; the ego is awake and energetic now after a good night’s sleep.

Next! Oh, now this is true love. This one I really love. You know why? Because you just took another sleeping pill for your ego. It is asleep again. Now you love again while a pill is keeping your ego asleep and until the ego wakes up again, as usual, at the most inappropriate moment. This is how some people go through life, from one pill to another pill, complaining that there is no love and everything is fake. Men complain that women are worthless; women complain that men are oblivious. Each one is absolutely sure of herself or himself, and that he or she is for real, while others are not. They don’t realize that the only real thing is ego: it subjugates the person, corrupts the mind, and paints the world in hardly recognizable colors.

As for love... To tell you the truth – just please do not be offended – any normal lonely man and woman, if in close proximity, and not allergic to each other, would most probably end up liking each other. They would simply fall in love. It’s chemistry. Romantic? Well, it is called love at first sight. Here is the definition from Wikipedia: A person feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them. That is to say, I want what I see first. Or, the bottom line, I want what I see. Very romantic indeed.

Now I will fully de-romanticize this subject of love at first sight.

Is it worth approaching an object if you are going to want it? Is this person worth approaching if you know the probable outcome before you even think of coming closer? I can guarantee that you will fall in love with almost anybody[1] you meet and come closer to. Therefore, you should exercise extreme caution making a decision whom to get closer to, and whom not to approach. That is, first decide what you want to want, and only then put yourself in a situation of wanting. Otherwise, you may end up wanting trash. Or poison.

Any honest person will admit how easy it is to fall in love, if he looks at himself honestly and impartially. Therefore, it is very beneficial to move away from anything that you may inadvertently want that is not worth your wanting. Train yourself to want only what is good for you and really worth your wanting. So till I make a conscious decision to approach, to come closer, then I will deliberately stay away, and move further away if necessary. That is, do not rush to throw the first glance at something or someone, because that would almost unfailingly cause the love at first sight. Do not become a victim of a first sight. Most likely, the first sight is not worth it. Walk with a mine detector to check the area well before throwing your first sight in there. The recipe is simple: try not to look, look away, do not come closer. This does create some tension but is something you need to overcome. And this is what real strength and power are about. To do otherwise, to cast your first sight at anything that comes your way, to succumb to impulses along the way, is weakness and impotence.

Inspiring love, which is given in the beginning of a relationship, is in some way artificial unearned inspiration. It is given as a gift and quickly disappears, only to be reached again through effort, becoming earned. And the nature of this high inspirational state is nothing more than in the rejection of one’s own ego.

And, as we have already mentioned, the same rejection of the ego is a source of inspiration in art and science. Not that Mozart was necessarily altruistic, but he really had the ability to diminish, to reject his ego at the time of creativity, and he did it again and again. This is exactly the state in which you love and create in every area of life, on any level. It is important to emphasize that not only love, but any endeavor in any field, as created by The Brilliant Artist, is pretty much the same: first, the inspiration comes, easy and free, and you rush into the whirlpool carelessly. It feels so real! And then the inspiration is gone. And if you are wise, then you accept the job, roll up your sleeves, and spring forth. And if you are not wise, then you will lower your head and cry: deception, forgery, fraud, not fair, for what? And then you jump and run to look for the next impression, the next adventure, because it attracts from afar. This new adventure attracts by initial unearned inspiration, the one you do not have to work for. Another woman, another job, another project, next, next, faster, do not linger. And so they run through life, getting excited