Kabbalah.

In this case our desire to get pleasure from eating has an altruistic intention – the more we eat the more pleasure we will give to a host. 

Let’s imagine another situation. Guests ate nothing of what was prepared for them by a host – neither fish, nor meat, not drinks. On the one hand, it is Good, on the other hand – it is absolutely terrible because the hosts won’t get any delight and will never invite those guests again.

It is a paradox – the more guests eat, the less food is left – the more satisfaction the hosts obtain.

This example illustrates the desire of a Host to give pleasure to its Guest – whether it is his friend or his child. The more the Host loves and respects his Guest the more delight he (the host) gets.

Altruism – is a desire to give pleasure and delight to others. Egoism – is an intention to get pleasure for your self.

It is important to see the difference between a desire to get delight and an intention.

To use your organs of sense for giving pleasure to others – this is what altruism is.

Here it is essential to note that one should not destroy desires, one should only develop them.  Falseness of oriental doctrines consists in their belief that if you want to get be saved from Egoism you should kill all your wishes. To eat and drink as less as possible, to have no sex and to stay all alone, somewhere in the mountains.

In order to give pleasure to others a man should use his desires and virtues to the full.

Let’s give another example.

Say, a man has organ of vision.

Human look can be attracted by something beautiful, something that is pleasurable to look at, something that gives him delight. We always look only at something attractive, beautiful, graceful and sexy.

At the same time we try to avoid looking at dreadful and disgusting things, a man draws his look aside automatically because he can not bear this suffering.

We permanently use our organ of vision for our own pleasure and we do not even realize that we do it for one and only purpose – to satisfy our egoism.

Here a question comes – how can we use the organ of vision for altruistic purposes.  

It is as easy as ABC. Assume that we are sitting with our eyes closed. We do not use our eyes for our purposes, we have nothing to look at, and we are sitting motionless. We can open our eyes only if somebody asks what time it is or something. We open the eyes, look at a watch, tell what time it is (and so use one more organ of sense for altruistic purpose) and close the eyes gain.

It is much the same with the speech – keep silence until you are asked and you will gain respect. No wisdom like Silence!

All these examples are set in order to show you the difference between a human desire to get delight by means of five organs of sense and intentions; that is for what purpose we use you desires.

Human desires are constant and invariable. It is only intention that can be changed. One can not stop to want to Have Sex or to Eat.

Wise men say that even a centennial man feels as if he is eighteen when he sees graceful female bodies. The fact that human body is not able to do something doesn’t mean that a man have no desires.
 

The Creator is a source of everything that happens around us. In other words there is no other force that could be opposed to HIM, to stop HIM or change HIS deeds.

If it seems to a man that there is no some Unified Power and that the world is ruled over by a Chaos there is only one reason for it – the Most High wants him to think so.  

When a man feels Love to the Creator, and thinks that HE is equitable to everyone – it is called the Right Line.

When a man feels that the Creator is angry and unjust – in Kabbalah it is called the left line.

Spiritual development of a person consists in transition from the Right line to the Left one.

This transition brings a man to the Middle line which is called “TIKUN” that is translated as Improvement.  Improvement of Soul. With every change of mood a man improves a little part of his Soul and it goes on in this manner until he reaches the Complete Final Improvement. Sometimes to reach this state it is necessary to go through several circulations, several incarnations, several births and deaths.
 

When a man is on the Right Line it seems to him that all the world is done for him only. He feels love to everything around him – that’s why it is said that the Right Line “ATTRACTS” that is gives a desire to Eternal Life.

When a man is on the Left Line – it all is vise versa – he doesn’t want to live any more, he is under depression. It seems to him that the entire world is against him, that the world is wicked and unjust.

It is said about the left line that it “REPELS”.

If the Creator is Kind and Equitable why then a man finds himself on the left line for the most part of his life?

What is the use of the Left Line is a man feels pain and suffers being there? Why can’t we always stay on the Right Line?

There is a flow in Judaism called HASIDUT or HASIDISM. It was founded by a great scientist and Kabbalist Rabbi Israel (1698-1760) known as Baal Shem Tov (the owner of a good name).

This ideological movement is based on the idea that a man should be forced to stay on the Right Line.

He should pose himself as joyful and dancing from happiness no wonder how he feels inside and it is forbidden to him to feel depressed.

There are positive and negative sides in it.
 

A positive thing is that such a society finds itself in high and joyful spirits all the time. A negative moment is that these people will never come to the Middle Line, will never reach Improvement – their mind is scanty.
 

The way to the Full Improvement of Soul – is the way from the Right to the Left Line and then from the Left one to the Middle Line.

Abraham – Itshak – Yakov.

Coming back to the topic we should note that the transition from the Left Line to the Middle one becomes possible only if a man himself wants it.  

As soon as a man made some efforts and managed to overcome Depression and Fear of the tomorrow he comes back to the right line again and there starts to think that life is good and all the world is done for him only that he feels love to humanity again, that the Creator is Kind and Equitable to his creations. However it is not the Right Line that he is on now, it is the Middle one because here there a little step of improvement was completed.

Then there is ascension to a new step, and again the transition from the Right Line to the Left one and so the circle starts again.

A man spends the most part of his life on the Left Line. It is necessary because it gives a chance for a prayer to be born in his heart, a prayer directed to the source of suffering, to the Creator. The Creator always hears the prayers which go from heart and then he helps.

It is only the Creator who can help a man to get out of the Left Line. A man can not overcome Depression by himself – he will either kill himself with medicines or won’t even do it as he won’t see any sense in it. Depression is a state when you do not want anything, when you do take any delight neither in life nor in children, nor in food or drinks.

The Left Line is called – “Falls”.

The Right Line is called – “Rises”.

Falls and rises of spirits.

Every other fall is more difficult to overcome then a previous one. The reason for it is that you fall from a higher step. Similarly, every other rise is to a higher step and hence the delight is greater then before. In the end a man will get an infinite delight.