Megalomania and the Glittering Beast
Megalomania and the Glittering Beast
The current world is built on one principle: external influence as truth.
The political, economic, and media systems cultivate an exemplary figure of the “chosen ones”—glittering beasts of honor and prizes—and build a cult around them.
Every generation invents a new golden calf. The people pave their way to the ceremony, driven madly after the leader. And when we all, in effect, point to the one who will lead us, we have placed our souls in his hands.
In the teaching of Mashiach, this is a deep symptom of exile. Humanity is subject to constant influence. The will to receive sends its hand outward, and the vessels of light are no longer similar to the light.
The Zohar teaches that the light did not disappear, but is hidden in klipot (shells/husks).
The Ramchal warns that an act without knowledge (da’at) becomes a judgment.
The Tanya explains that the animal soul dictates society’s path.
And Baal HaSulam points out that the rectification of the individual is the basis for the rectification of the collective.
When politics becomes a cult, human value solidifies into a prize, a chair, a title. The prize is not peace. Peace is infinite; it cannot be given as an asset on the stock exchange of honor. One who is willing to trade in souls for a “deal” or a “prize” is identified with the serpent. He uses the emotions, fears, and hopes of a simple-hearted people to preserve his status. This is the tragedy. And the tragedy becomes a ceremony when we continue to reconstruct terror, to chase headlines, to feed the collective habit of fear.
Ein od milvado—There is nothing but Him. Not politics, not a calf, not a prize. The truth—the very essence of truth—no longer depends on institutions. When the will is rectified, the governance of life passes from the party and the masks to the rectified human heart.
Beast Consciousness vs. Human Consciousness
Every generation crowns its heroes of vanity. This is not new, just wrapped in new uniforms. Today they are called Nobel laureates, world leaders, innovators, or guardians of democracy.
But according to the teaching of Mashiach, this is nothing but another expression of that same ancient, beastly consciousness:
The will to receive honor instead of Godliness.
To win a prize instead of the light.
To be great in the eyes of people instead of being included in the root of life.
The Zohar calls this “the admission of the lie.” The world praises one who shines with a foreign light, not an inner light. This is the light of the primordial serpent, a “glow of copper”—it shines from the outside but strikes from within. “And He repented that He had made man on earth,” because man made himself into an idol. One who rises at the expense of the public falls to the level of a beast.
The animal soul seeks a reality for itself, “to be something and a thing.” A leader of this type is not an emissary but an idol of himself. Even if he speaks in the name of a people, of Israel, or in the name of God, if he is feeding his ego, he is controlled by the klipah called “I have the power in my hand.” This is not the power of Mashiach but the power of Balaam: he knows the name of God but uses it for himself.
The Ramchal teaches in Path of the Just that honor is the most subtle of bribes. Nothing blinds a person’s da’at more than the need for recognition. One whose consciousness leans on a role, a title, or a stage has already lost the divine point within him.
Mashiach is not a political leader but a person who has disappeared from this world in the conscious sense. He seeks no recognition at all. “Mashiach comes in stillness.” Only in the place where there is no will for honor is a space created for the revelation of the Shekhinah (Divine Presence).
Baal HaSulam writes that the rule of evil is the rule of the famous. One who receives their power from the masses is nourished by the collective beastly level, not from the Creator. He writes in his essay “Peace in the World”:
“As long as people measure themselves by honor and not by their bestowal, peace will not be possible, because the honor of one is built on the disgrace of his fellow.”
And he adds:
“As long as people who seek power, and not people who seek rectification, stand at the head of the people, Mashiach cannot be revealed.”
And what is the Nobel Prize in the eyes of truth? The “Nobel Peace Prize” is the pinnacle of an inverted world. Peace becomes a brand, a competition, an image. Morality is sold in committees of honor. This is that same ancient consciousness of “let us make a name for ourselves”—the Tower of Babel in a modern version. The world crowns itself over itself. The man of God needs no prize. The true prize is the quiet born from a rectified heart. The true peace is the unity of the will with the Creator, not a signature on a piece of paper.
Healing the Human Madness
The Mashiach consciousness is not a new ruler but a person who has no control, because their entire being has surrendered to the light. They do not seek to lead, but to liberate humanity from dependence on leaders. This is a revolution of consciousness: from a world of rulers to a world of masters of da’at. No longer a public that votes for who will think for them, but a public that awakens to know for itself.
Stop the worship. Cease the adoration of figures. Every time you praise a leader, you have stopped your soul from free movement. Praise only acts of kindness, truth, humility. Not names.
Study da’at, not news. One hour of true Torah is worth a thousand speeches. The knowledge of the world is noise. The da’at of Mashiach is quiet.
Return the power inward. Everything a person waits for from the outside is a small golden calf. Replace every “When will they fix it?” with “When will I stop feeding the lie.”
Return the rulership to the heart.
“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.”
This is not a political sentence.
It is a conscious declaration:
Only divine knowledge.
Reflect:
Who are the “glittering beasts” in your own life or in our culture that you find yourself worshipping or giving your power away to?
Where are you participating in the “ritual of trauma” by consuming news and media that feeds fear rather than inspires rectification?
What is one small, daily “spiritual tactic” you can adopt to shift your focus from external leaders to your own inner knowledge (da’at) and rectified will?
The conversation continues below.