The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1982
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1982 |
Throughout history, mankind has been pondering one fundamental question: whether God exists. History has moved ahead, but that question lingers on. Of course, the center of the issue is religion. If we recognize God as a personal God, whatever He may think and plan is the ideal which mankind ought to seek. So what is the true relationship between God and me or us?
Let's think philosophically about us, or "I." Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am; because I cannot doubt that I doubt." What is the origin of thinking? Some say that thought comes from the brain, or head. Others say that thought comes from the heart. But is the origin of my existence also either the brain or the heart? Actually, the two have different origins.
The theory of evolution is an expedient explanation of man's origin, but it cannot actually be the fundamental one. Even evolution must have had an origin somewhere. Within the animal, is there the origin of spirit? Suppose that in the simple one-celled amoeba there is a little thought; then how did that little thought evolve into the sophisticated human spirit or human mind? The spiritual conception of man is even beyond human apprehension. How could the amoeba have evolved into the highest spiritual conception? Did the amoeba contain the energy within itself to push it forward into a higher element? Can the evolved being generate the energy which is capable of making it evolve into something greater than the energy itself? If not, our argument leads us to the conclusion that the greater being emerged from the third realm of energy.
What is this third realm of energy? Who can provide us with such energy? The theory of evolution cannot answer this question.
Even the simple amoeba has an external form and an internal form. If there is an interaction between the external form and internal form, how does it take place? What is the center of the interaction? In order to explain that kind of interaction, two major philosophical schools have emerged: metaphysical idealism and materialism. Does spirit precede matter? Does matter precede spirit? If the priority in the order of relation between mind or spirit and matter is upside down, then the philosophy which explains that priority will he upside down as well. If the interaction between the mind and matter represents a relationship of struggle, then history becomes a record of struggle.
From the internal viewpoint of the interaction, conception precedes perception. From the external viewpoint of the interaction, perception precedes conception. However, both viewpoints have to ask what the center of the interaction is. If the interaction is a sort of struggle, what is the subject which initiates the struggle? If the concept is prejudiced in favor of one viewpoint, the struggle becomes ever more serious, since it lacks a concept of harmony or center to guide the interaction.
Therefore, our historical predicament has been to determine the center and to focus upon it as the core of all interactions. For instance, communism says that spirit is incidental to matter and that consciousness is the by-product of material. The centrifugal force (or outward thrust from the center) is a relative concept, while that of the center is absolute. We have to seek the unity of the centrifugal force with the centripetal force. This is our historical view of struggle, in light of which the old view will fade into insignificance.
Something in the center of the atom, the nucleus, engenders the action; it is the subject. Each one of the more than a hundred types of atoms has a different form, yet in the center is a nucleus that determines that atom's characteristics. As atoms combine, some take the vegetable direction, others the animal direction, and still others the mineral direction. The same principle applies to the amoeba, which has an internal nuclear character and an external orbital character. In the human body, each of the billions of cells has a nucleus. Even if the object is not a perfect circle, still there must be a balanced center.
Then what kind of purpose does the center serve? The core-characteristic of the nucleus determines the substance of the whole body. The central nucleus is a key determining factor of everything from the smallest atom to the entire universe. The nucleus can expand into a bigger nucleus, which determines the character of a bigger structure. Thus, man is a microcosm of the macrocosmic universe. In this structure, man is ever expanding to become the core of the universe and to reach out to the universe. This core-structure cannot be found in the theory of evolution. Therefore, the theory of evolution is bound to break down.
Each existence has its own character. Suppose two different kinds of vegetables, one a radish and another a Chinese cabbage, want to become one. No matter how they go about it, the radish cannot become a cabbage, or the cabbage a radish. The determining factor is the nucleus characteristic. Man has a man-determining factor; monkeys have a monkey-determining factor. The monkey is created for a monkey's purpose, but man's essence is completely different from that of animals or vegetables.
Imagine a scientist in a laboratory commanding the elements of a nucleus to come together and to unite; no matter how many times he shouts at them, unless the components have a capacity to form a relationship, a nucleus will not result. Still, some people insist that the universe developed according to the theory of evolution, that some accident happened and man resulted.
Moreover, all men are in a way "cells" of some universal nucleus character, linked organically with something bigger than themselves. But the central common character of man is heart. That is what gives us cohesiveness and the ability to become a part of the human family. Also, we share some common aspirations; we want to pursue goodness and we strive for betterment. Because of these common human desires, we are always reaching out for new horizons. We long for some higher, wider universal character. We recognize some greater substance, and our consciousness is some effort to reach out to that universal consciousness and ally ourselves to it. Thus, the universal consciousness becomes subject, and we become its objects.
From the universal point of view, then, we have something in common -- one universal, nucleus consciousness. We share a harmonizing factor which brings people together peacefully. That is the power of love. The power of love permeates every cell, making everything smooth, harmonizing it all, linking subject and object, mind and body. In a way, then, love is like glue, binding, cementing all cells together. This is why love is universal, love is good. Without love, everything would fall apart. Love threads all beings together.
Without love, the interaction between subject and object is very clumsy. However, with the power of love, we can experience total freedom of action, freedom of movement. You can do incredible activities. Love produces a shocking intoxication, and everybody will become drunk on love.
The power of love pulls individuals towards each other: men love women, women love men. Within the action of love, no one can resist God; He is electrifying; to contact Him is like plugging into an electrical circuit. If man is ultimately to pursue the action of true love, he must first determine the nucleus. Love only goes through the nucleus, turning on every cell, telling each to wake up. The ideal means the fulfillment of love.
It is in the consciousness whether the internal character is created. When we are pursuing ideals and love, we have to give recognition first to the existence of the nucleus -- both the individual and universal nuclei.
There is only one way to become a true man, and that is to connect yourself with the truth of the universe, which is the consciousness, or nucleus, of the universe. True man is the center of true love; thus, when true love activates the nucleus, the entire action will be true. Love will "turn you on," and true love will turn you on truly. When people find a true man, they compete with each other to establish a relationship with him. He is like a magnet, pulling everything from all directions.
This explains God yet plainly and beautifully. Who is God? God is the center or nucleus of true love. The personalistic God becomes my God. This core of love of God is the prerequisite for unification. God is the subject of love, spreading out His wings, under which all of His creation can gather in His embrace. Through the magnetic force of His true love, all things of the universe are pulled towards Him.
Why do we exist? For the fulfillment of love. We exist in order to become the perfect object for the perfect subject. The central circle is God, where the nucleus of will and love exist. This love can radiate in all directions, 360 degrees. The amazing and beautiful fact is that even though God is almighty, without His object (you), He cannot fulfill His ideal and goal of love. Therefore, we become an indispensable existence in the sight of God.
The ultimate goal is the center or nucleus of love. In order to reach it, we need the horizontal love between husband and wife. For this reason, the love between husband and wife is precious; it brings them into unity and into relationship with universal love. The Principle talks about universal prime force. The universal prime force is the power to link you with that central force of love. Prime energy is the energy which brings everybody into unity, united with the center. This is the way the universe was created.
So which came first, existence or consciousness? You can understand that consciousness came first. Still, however, you may encounter people who find it hard to believe in something they cannot see. Try using an analogy which I have found people respond to well: that of the design of the eye.
Your father had eyes, you can tell people; your grandfather had eyes, your great-grandfather as well, etc. So somewhere in your family tree, there must have been a first eye. Do you think that particular eye must have thought, "I want to have this shape, this color, etc."? Do you think the first eye was such a genius that it designed itself, thinking, "I must be capable of turning. I will be very sensitive, so I need some kind of covering. There might be moisture coming down, so I need an eyebrow to absorb it. There might be dust in the atmosphere, so I need some lashes to filter it out." Impossible.
The eye must have been designed by someone who realized the environment it would need to function in. If the eye itself couldn't have calculated it all, there must have been some other will, which knows more than the eye, and which designed everything for the eye. There must be some consciousness in the universe which realized that moisture would evaporate from the surface of the eye, so some liquid would be needed as a lubricant; that sweat would be coming down the forehead, so eyebrows would be needed to block it. Before the creation of the eye, there was a will, a consciousness, a purpose, which determined exactly the environment in which the eye would be functioning and how the eye should be adapted to it.
In my student days there was a lot of discussion about God, and my opponents would say, "There is no God. Existence comes first; I believe in evolution." I would argue back. When I got to the eye analogy, everyone would surrender. So isn't this realistic?
So we are not the product of evolution, but we are created beings and harmonized creatures. Would you like to be a creature of ideal harmony, or a product of evolution? Would you rather be the monkey's cousin or the child of God? If you are a monkey's cousin, the only love you will find is carnal love. God alone has true love. God alone has eternity. So would you go to the zoo, look for the monkeys and bow down to them and say, "Oh, my ancestors!"? NO.
So we come to a logical and scientific conclusion that we were created by God. This is not at all a mystical or superstitious affirmation.
I do need a subject, I must relate to the thought of that subject. Therefore, I need God, I pray to God, I know God, I am a part of God. That is the proper way of life. God is the universal subject, and we are His objects, His cells. By being objects to God, we are united with the subject in an inseparable relationship. You cannot have any better way of life than this. By uniting yourself with the subject, you fulfill the ideal aspiration of your common mind. As human beings, we share common aspiration for great goodness and great development. The nobility of goodness is the balance of the highest virtues and can come about only through the fulfillment of love.
Every morning I am totally intoxicated by my own face. Not because it is anything special, but because of who designed this face. It must have been a genius. How could he have put the eyes there? Look how he positioned the nose, the mouth, the ears! I cannot think of any better combination. The eyes, the nose, the mouth, all have Divine Principle meaning. First of all, the eyes represent God, the deepest place. The nose stands for Adam and Eve; its two holes represent man and woman, joined in the center. The forehead portrays God's ideal, reaching down to the eyes and nose. The mouth is horizontal and symbolizes all things of creation, and the ears are sensitive to the four directions of time and space. Also, the nose is the highest point, like Adam and Eve standing at the peak of the universe.
God hides behind the deeper things, so if you look profoundly into your eyes you may see Him. Your fingers have three joints, and your thumb, representing God, has two. Before being born, the infant's hands are clenched, and the thumb is hidden under the fingers, like God, veiled in the universe. The masterpiece of God's creation, of the whole universe, is man.
The Principle of the Unification Church embraces all the phenomena of the universe and history, fulfilling the ideal of unification through the way of restoration. To make a long story short, the method is Home Church.
Home Church is a constant ideal, where the love of God and all human beings converge. We talked about True Parents, their heart and God's heart, but you don't know them until you do Home Church. Without making yourself go through the Home Church providence, you cannot think with Father. I have given you incredibly deep theological and philosophical teaching, but just study Home Church. By doing it, you will know what I mean. In order to perfect the universe, we need to create an altar, and that altar is Home Church.
I assure you that when you create an altar of Home Church and you go there looking for God, you will meet Him there. I guarantee you. Once you really know God -- really and truly, not just in concept -- you cannot do anything to hurt Him. If everyone knew God, not just by reason, but in his heart, no one could commit a crime, because everyone's eyes are watched over by God. Your own eyes are looking into your mind, and if your mind is evil, your own eyes will call upon yourself to repent. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you are called to repentance. That same person in the mirror is God, looking over you. If you commit crimes or sin, how can you say to your leg, "Work for me"? How can you order your hand to feed your mouth if you are not good? All the things of creation, food included, want to become a part of God, when you are godly. When a God-centered man eats it, food can become a part of God.
Are you making a determined effort to become perfect? Do you do so only out of duty, or do you do so from your own initiative?
If it weren't for the fall of man, everyone would have been born in this position, and within their lifetime they could have perfected themselves in their relationships, then go to the spirit world. That was the blueprint of God's creation, as you know. And even for us, within our lifetime here on earth, we have a golden opportunity. If you miss this opportunity, you will lose this position forever. When you think of it, nothing else matters; really you want to invest your life for the sake of the perfection of yourself and your relationship with God. Think, "I will become a man in whom God takes delight, because I will perfect my love and become an inseparable part of God."
God is searching after us, coming down and reaching out for us. As much as we need God, He needs us. This is such a gratifying fact.
Spiritually speaking, when you look at your hand, it radiates light. Your whole body is like that light bulb; you can truly become light-giving objects when you become the embodiment of God.
While you are here on earth, you must experience that ecstatic joy of love. Then when you lose your body of flesh, you will be pulled up to heaven and God as if by a magnet. There is a magnetic field of eternal love, and you are part of it; for eternity you cannot separate yourself from the origin of love. Every single element of the creation wants to become a part. When you have this aspiration, there is no way you can get tired. Even death would not be enough to stop you. It's an exciting life. I don't want to talk about it too much, or you'll get too excited.
You have to create lots of Acts of the Apostles in your Home Church area. Make your life dramatic and ultimately exciting. Let's prepare a gift package of love, to go and meet God.
Dr. Sam Lee, a professor of philosophy, assisted in the translation of the full text of this speech, of which the above is a summary.