Man Is The Only Animal That Blushes

Dr. Michael Laitman“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.” (Mark Twain, Following the Equator).

Question:
Is shame a kind of a sin on the spiritual path?

Answer:
Shame is a wonderful quality. Shame is what separates man from animal. There are no other differences. Only shame creates a difference, meaning that it lifts man above the animate level.It is written that all people are like animals. The difference only appears when I start feeling shame. This is a sign of a Human originating within me.

Everyone is a thief in our world, but the majority is afraid to steal. We call this fear shame. We are afraid of being seen, of being caught, exposed, beaten, incarcerated, and so on. Briefly speaking, fear keeps us from stealing. The same way a cat, after getting kicked a few times, looks at sour cream from a respectable distance. It already accepted the fact that there is nothing it can do about it.

But there is another kind of shame: without a reason, without a consequence for oneself. Do whatever your heart desires, the entire world is at your service, like in a dream, when you walk down empty streets and all the doors open before you. Stores, cars, everything is yours, everything is allowed. Enjoy. But you refuse.

Why do you refuse? I do not want this because I want to grow up by using the power of shame as intended.

This shame comes from the perception of the Giver. It is impossible to attain bestowal without perceiving the Giver. And this is why you cannot perform a single act for the sake of bestowal, you are unable to correct a single of the 613 desires of your soul without the wisdom of Kabbalah, the method of the revelation of the Creator. You will not be able to do anything on your own, without the Light that will give you this quality. And this is no longer corporeal but spiritual shame.

On the other hand, when it comes to animals who do not feel shame, it is also possible to evoke fear of punishment. Then how are we with our “shame” different from them? In reality, we do not feel shame in our world—we fear.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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Shame That Keeps Us From Going Back
From Love To Hatred And Back To Love
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