The Words of the Kamiyama Family
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The Words of the Kamiyama Family |
Let me ask you a question. What's wrong with suicide? It's not murder, so why is it wrong?
In the animal kingdom there is no problem of suicide. Yet the highest being of all, the human being, has this very problem.
As I was listening to our sister's presentation, I was reminded of an incident that occurred in Danbury when I was with Father: One of the inmates hung himself. Centered on that issue, Father explained a few things to me.
Just outside of the Danbury compound, near the track field, is a tree with a large branch sticking out. That man used the branch of this tree to hang himself to death. He was found early the next morning.
The body was, of course, taken down. Afterwards Father and I were sitting together in sight of that tree and Father told me, "Kamiyama, look at the tree. Even though that man's body has been taken down, his spirit man is still there. His spirit body is still hanging in the same place where he took his last breath." Father said that he was not able to get away from that spot.
He also said he felt sorry for the tree. He said the tree wasn't created by God to be a gallows for a man to hang himself to death.
Just the other day, before Father went to Korea, I had an opportunity to go with True Parents to the town of Danbury for the first time since he got out. We went to the other side of the hill that Father and I used to look at. From there, as we stood together, Father's first words were, "Kamiyama, do you see the tree where the man hanged himself to death? This man can't get out of his miserable state!"
Let's examine the basic principle of what is wrong with suicide. I am the product of history. I was born on the earth not just as a completely new life. I carry all the weights, the sins, and the merits of my ancestors. In other words, I am like the balance sheet of the past. Whatever has been accumulated, good or evil, I carry on my shoulders.
In my allotted life span, it is my responsibility to clear away the past history of the sins of my lineage as much as possible. Then, when I have indemnified those sins, I will be able to stand on a new platform and begin a new life. That's why I was born.
I'm supposed to be here. I'm a pivotal person.
If I commit suicide and don't live out my life span all the way, I am simply escaping my responsibility to carry my historical cross and indemnify the debts of my ancestors. In other words, suicide is a very selfish, egoistic act. This is the very core of it.
If I reject my responsibility, somebody else in my lineage has to replace me and take on the burden of the debts. That creates extra trouble, extra indemnity. The lesson is: I cannot reject my responsibility. I have to carry my cross, no matter what.
Especially at this time in history, denying my responsibility by killing myself is a grave failure. I am here at this time to meet the Lord, who is on the earth. If I can take up the cross and pay off my historical debts as much as I can, then I will have the opportunity to meet the Lord, receive the Blessing, and pass through the gate of the New Jerusalem. In other words, I have the tremendous opportunity to experience God's true love here upon the earth.
Then after that, I am free to play in the wonderful garden God has given to us. What is this garden? It is the entire physical and spiritual universe -- the limitless, unbounded cosmos. I am talking about a space of trillions of light-years.
Let's think about what a gift God has given us. Light moves much faster than any train or jet plane in the world. In one second it can travel the distance of about seven and a half times around the earth. When you consider that distance multiplied by 60 seconds, 24 hours, and 365 days, that's one light-year.
We can't even fathom the meaning of one light-year, let alone billions and trillions of light-years. This is the size of the vast playground God has prepared for us to play in in the spirit world as well as this physical world.
If I reject my responsibility and kill myself, I lose the precious opportunity to experience this. I am stuck in the very place where I died -- the space of a few square feet. I cannot leave that spot until I finish out my allotted life span, be it 50 more years or whatever.
At that point, I might be able to get out, but only if I can find a replacement, only if I can get a person to do the same thing I did in the same spot. Then I can get out and go somewhere else. It is well known that there are many places of recurring suicides.
Father explained this all to me. Feeling some sympathy for this man, I asked Father, "What if I prayed for this man who ended his life so miserably?" Father said, "You can pray for him, but if you do, you will be taking on his responsibility. You will get hooked up to his situation and you will suffer the consequences."
I told Father that I had heard of some spiritualists who engage themselves in prayer to liberate people who died in such situations. Father said, "I know. But those spiritualists who dedicate themselves in this way and pray for these people will have to take responsibility for them and they're going to experience a lot of trouble
I would like to once again emphasize the importance of understanding the grave and serious consequences of suicide. Thinking about the people in our 360 homes, we should try to prevent anybody in our areas from getting themselves into such a horrible situation. In home church, we are standing in the Abel position. We are responsible to lead the people and to guide them, taking care of not only their physical but their eternal spiritual lives. Let us once again understand this important responsibility that we have and carry it out in the very best way we can.