ORDER NUMBER
77-10-09
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
CORE OF UNIFICATION
October 9, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
When you analyze the basic principles of God's method for restoration,
you can see that the Unification Church is absolutely necessary for
God's dispensation. If there were no philosophy of unification we
would have to conclude that there is no God. The Unification Church
emerged to fulfill that goal of unification and we are proof that God
exists. God wants to manifest His love through our movement. How can
we manifest the love of God? What is the central point where that love
can be manifested? Is it the world or a nation like America or Korea?
True parents are a fulfillment on one level, but where should the most
fundamental center of God's love be?
Certainly God would dwell with an individual who has no contradiction
between his mind and body, but what is the possibility that the mind and
body can become one, and when and where will that happen? If man had
not fallen then no contradiction would exist; man must return to that
state of sinlessness before the fall and liquidate all the contradictions
within himself.
If the mind and body can welcome each other and try to move toward
each other then they can be in harmony, but if they move in opposite
directions then they cannot have unity. Imagine the body trying to go
in the same direction as the mind and even overtake it. That would be
the most desirable situation.
lf God is all powerful, why doesn't He make the body go ahead of the
mind? I have experienced the harshest life in a prison labor camp and I
found that actually the greatest suffering is not found in prison but
in the conflict between mind and body. Sinful man always regrets the
consequences of his body struggling against his mind.
I ultimately came to the conclusion that my enemy is not the world or
even the communists but my own body. Your worst enemy is your body. Do
you believe it? I established one very firm principle for myself, that
I must conquer myself before having dominion over anything else. Each
of you is also committed to a ruthless battle of subjugating your own
body. Your job is to have your body surrender to your mind and then
bring it in the same direction. That is why a religious life is the
pursuit of conquering your body.
If you have not conquered your own body then you haven't reached the
standard yet. Religion teaches the importance of a life of penance;
when your body wants to rest then you should wake up and pray. Your
body wants to eat delicious meals but religion teaches the value of
fasting. What the body wants the mind rejects.
What is gained by living that way? By giving up your body you can
receive the entire universe, so it's a very good deal in a way. By
giving up a little bit of your flesh you can gain the entire universe.
This is absolutely true.
Why is it that you cannot feel the love of God all the time? Your
body is the barrier preventing the love of God from reaching you. God's
love is shining forth but your body is blocking it, so by sacrificing
your body and liquidating the barrier the shining love of God can
freely reach you. Once this happens nothing will be in your way and the
total unity between God and man and mind and body can become a living
reality. Once you can receive God's love, God will certainly dwell with
you. God needs true love and cannot leave it once He has found it. Do
you really understand this now?
What you ultimately need the most is the love of God. Do you know
how beautiful and how powerful the love of God is? In this world men
and women have romances and say they could die for love of each other,
but suppose they were to fall in love with God first. That's the key. I
searched and found how that love of God can be reached. I not only found
the answer but have experienced how the love of God can reach man. With
the love of God the mind and body can unite in total oneness.
The love of God needs an object in order to be manifest and man
is that object. When will this become reality? Religions have been
teaching that the end of the world will occur when one central figure
comes, or in Christian terms the Lord of the Second Advent. The love of
God will be seen where the Messiah and his bride meet for the heavenly
wedding ceremony. Is that place a horrible scene of judgment or a scene
of cosmic spring and the fulfillment of love? God works logically and
through your own mind you know that the first heavenly family will bring
the cosmic spring.
How much do you need a Messiah?
Who is the Messiah? In what capacity is he coming? It is incredibly
difficult to conquer the barrier and bring your separated mind and
body into oneness so the Messiah comes as a model or example of how to
go directly to God. He is not only a prototype of a true individual,
but also of how to form a heavenly family. Eventually the Messiah will
establish a tribe, nation and world which can be approved by heaven.
The Messiah sets the standard of perfection from the individual all
the way up to the cosmic levels. In addition, the Messiah lifts himself
above satanic accusation. As he starts his journey from the very bottom
of hell straight up to God, Satan cannot accuse or destroy him.
The Messiah lays the highway from the highest possible heaven all the
way down to the bottom of hell so that anyone who finds the highway can
go directly to that goal. It is impossible for anyone else to lay that
highway from the bottom of hell all the way up to the love of God. It
could take you millions of years and still you would not get there.
The Messiah comes with shoulders so broad that the entire world
can hang onto him and go the entire journey. If a trivial little fly
hangs onto the tail of a galloping white horse, when the horse reaches
the kingdom that little fly reaches the kingdom at the same time. God
devised that method because He knows that everyone needs some help. No
one is capable of coming to God all by themselves so throughout history
God promised to send the ultimate one who will come to lead mankind
into salvation. This is all within logic and reason. Is it convincing
to you? Do you need a Messiah? What about everyone else in the world?
How much do you need a Messiah? As much as you need your own wife
or husband? As much as your family, parents or country? This world is
waiting for the ultimate one who can boldly announce, ''You must love
me most of all.,, Only one man has ever done that and his name is Jesus
Christ. Without having the authority to proclaim those words Jesus could
not have been the Messiah.
Jesus also claimed to be the only begotten son of God, meaning that
he was the recipient of the first love of God and the only one who
could disseminate it to the world. Did Jesus have the qualification to
be the Messiah if he were the only begotten son of God? In addition to
all this Jesus called himself the bridegroom and mankind his bride. As
the true son of God, Jesus intended to meet his bride and create the
first heavenly family on earth.
The Messiah will first reconcile the body and mind
The kingdom is seen first in the family' not in the nation or the
world. The family is the building block and it starts with a husband
and wife. Our strong point is that we teach the ideal of the heavenly
four positions: God, man and woman and heavenly children. This is
the completion of God's ideal' the completion of the circuit for the
expression of His love. By organizing this heavenly four units we create
our relationship with the love of God. The heavenly four positions are the
completion of the ideal of creation, meaning that there the perfection
of love can be consummated. Once that is formed the expansion of the
heavenly kingdom is only a matter of time. All that has to be done is
to duplicate and expand these four positions.
When the Lord of the Second Advent comes what will he do? What is
the mission and responsibility of the second Messiah? Jesus Christ came
to realize that ideal but it was not physically consume mated in his own
time. Will that mission be left undone a second time? Is it the Messiah's
mission to give food to the hungry? No, it is to reconcile your body
and mind and ignite you with the fire of God's love. That's the job of
the Messiah. If he can ignite the love of God in your heart so that your
body and mind can become one then he has done his job. If he cannot do
that then building the Kingdom of Heaven is impossible. The Messiah will
reconcile the body and mind and liquidate all the contradictory elements
by subjugating the body. After the mind and body are united you can follow
his pattern and create a family' tribe' nation and world and ultimately
the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven. If that is indeed possible'
the world will see salvation. If God is really God and if His love is
really burning then that must all take place here on earth.
What else does God really need from man? God has lots of love within
Himself so why should He need more? Is He greedy? I am a man so I have
love in my heart and in my body, but can I say that I don't need any
more love, that I have enough love to be happy? It is a profound truth
that love will never become real love until it finds an object.
If we are like that then what about God? Does that principle work
the same with God as with us? No matter how almighty God might be' His
prodigious love will never be activated until He finds an object for
give and take. An object ignites love. Who can be the object of God's
love? A monkey? Is anything else besides man qualified or entitled to be
an object of God? Since God is universal should He love just a trivial
chunk of flesh, or is He longing to deal with the universal kind of
mind? Is the mind or body God's real object?
Your mind is so big that you can even trap God inside. Your mind
always feels that it can swallow the entire world, right? We each have
the qualification to be an object of God because we each have a mind
so big that God can certainly deal with it. When God loves you will He
exclaim at how dirty you are after living in the satanic world and then
push you aside? Or will God fervently embrace you and burn away your
iniquities in trying to give you total love? Is God's love conditional
and partial or total and unreserved?
When the total love of God reaches you, your every cell will be filled
and you won't want anything further. You will feel totally intoxicated
in that state and want its goodness to never end. That is the real world
in which we are to live and all of you are supposed to become hosts of
that love. Don't you want to sample that world now? I came to lead you
into that world, but how do you know that I am not a swindler? Perhaps
I am deluding you with this beautiful idea, trying to enslave you for
my own purposes.
How do you know this is not so? Your answer could be simply that it
doesn't really matter whether I am a swindler because no better solution
has been offered. I am like the plus pole and I am trying to ignite this
cold and sleepy world as a minus. Plus and
minus should instantly spark when they are connected, but this world
has become so numb that all conductivity has been lost. It is taking
a lot of effort on my part to wake you up so that the spark will jump
between us.
If what I am saying is the truth then there is no other way you can
be. What we are demonstrating here is a tremendous power that has never
been seen in history. In being here you are really denying your body and
in a way denying your family. You don't care what your family says or
what society says; you have just given yourself up but without this great
energy and power flowing between us you would not do it. You would not do
it unless there was a great hope burning in your hearts. Isn't that true?
A peculiar situation is emerging, with parents trying to kidnap their
own children. Never in history has this happened. Sometimes parents
feel that they were successful because they brought their children home,
but those children are not really with their parents because their minds
are not there. As soon as they can they come right back here. Think of
the spiritual power and energy which could inspire that.
Once you experience the spring, you cannot long for the winter.
Because the cosmic spring is dawning and the central point of it is
the Unification Church, you cannot help but want to be part of it. The
greatest event of all is happening right here in this place. Do you
want to commit yourself to be part of it? Why? The love of God is our
ultimate goal, the love which is powerful enough to encompass the past,
present and future. Everything you can think of comes within the love of
God. When you can possess God's love you can possess the entire universe.
How can we be so certain that God is good?
We can partake of the world with our five senses, and this is true in
the spirit world as well. We are pursuing the world of goodness, trying
to see good things, hear good things, and say good things. We are trying
to leave the world of evil behind and completely live in the world of
goodness. It is very true that the external world is divided into two
worlds and we can witness one world of goodness and one world of evil
side by side. That same phenomenon exists internally in the division
between mind and body.
If man was originally created in this state of conflict then God must
be an imperfect and evil God. People who are only looking at the reality
of the world can easily come to the conclusion that no such thing as God
exists, but if there is no God of goodness then the beautiful things we
have been talking about are all meaningless.
Considering man's imperfect and sinful state today, it is only academic
to discuss how he can advance to the state of perfection and absolute
goodness because it is virtually impossible. No such thing could come
about. If there is no God then talking about the ideal world of love and
unification is meaningless. There is no substance to it if there is no
God. Even knowing this, however, our minds are ceaselessly pursuing the
higher state of perfection, beauty and the ideal.
We cannot deny that our minds are searching after eternal value or
eternal and permanent existence. The discussions of philosophers and
religious people throughout history have focused upon the best method
of fulfilling man's innate desire for perfection.
Many philosophers started out studying perfection, trying to anticipate
what the ideal world would be like. As a result, philosophers like Hegel
came up with the dialectical theory. Basically this theory outlines how
everything advances to a higher state through conflict and struggle with
something else. That is fiction. It is impossible for two opposing sides
to unite together and create the ideal. It is logically impossible to
achieve the ideal state by the method of struggle and confrontation.
Even if we must create a substitute, man-made God, we definitely cannot
find any kind of solution for this world without a God of goodness. Again,
for expediency, let's say we come up with a man-made God. If the God
that we create is not a true one then certainly it will be impossible
to reach the ultimate destination of perfection. We can finally conclude
that there must be God because without Him nothing makes sense. If there
is a real, true God then we can devise the right solution.
Now you know why philosophers have desperately searched to understand
this one God. Religious people have also been searching after God,
making all kinds of sacrifices for the purpose of finding Him, but they
too have come to a point where they cannot be sure. Everything is hazy
at the moment.
Let us think in another direction. Is it only man who needs God or
does God need man also? If God does not need man then we should give up
our search because we will never meet that God. Only through the mutual
efforts of God and man can we hope to meet God. If God couldn't care
less about man then there is no hope, but in reality God also needs
man. This is another important truth.
The situation of both God and man is tragic
because their common purpose
has not been fulfilled
What kind of God is He, and why does He approach man? We definitely
need God and God definitely needs man so there must be a common goal
or purpose where we can meet; otherwise there would be no union. The
question of God's existence is one thing, but more important is knowing
the purpose of the relationship between God and man. We use money and
knowledge and experience to survive and improve our situation, but do
you think God needs those things from man? No. There must be some common
purpose for which God needs man and man needs God, but somehow this
common purpose has not been fulfilled. That is why mankind's situation
and God's situation are both tragic.
We cannot deny that there is a conflict between man's body and
mind which reveals that there must be something wrong in men's hearts.
Where can a remedy be found? What is that common goal between God and
man through which we can solve this question? Originally there must
have been a common dwelling place for man and God but somehow man has
separated himself from it and lost his connection with God in the process.
Concluding that there is a perfect God and realizing the imperfect
state of man today we must come to one logical conclusion: Man is the
one who is out of order, not God. Man deviated from his original state
and is thus prevented from reaching perfection.
This is how we can reconcile the perfection of God with the
imperfection of man. This knowledge of the fall of man is very precious
because not only can we realize the existence and perfection of God,
but at the same time we can explain the imperfection and contradiction
of man. The struggles you experience because of contradictions within
yourselves are a result of the fall , yet at the same time God lives
in a different state, the perfected state. We can logically justify
the existence of perfected God and sinful man by knowing about the fall
of man. It was from that point that two worlds came into being instead
of one.
With this concept of the fall we can readily understand how there
could be both a world of goodness and a world of evil struggling with
each other. The world of goodness is governed by God and the world
of evil is the result of the fall. We cannot accept the premise of
atheists that there is no God due to the imperfection of man. We know the
Principle. After knowing this we can recognize how the God of perfection
has been making efforts throughout history to restore the corrupted
world into goodness. Religion is one evidence of the effort of God.
What is the purpose of religion? Simply speaking, religion strives
to bring this world closer to God; it is God's tool to communicate with
this imperfect world and raise up good men. What is goodness? Anything
that attempts to bring God and man into unity is good. Is hard work
goodness or is eloquent speech, fasting or sleeping on nails goodness?
People are very much in the dark about the definition of goodness.
Good springs from love. At the bottom line of every religion love can
be seen as the source because it is the common purpose shared by God and
man. Love is the ultimate goal of God's search for men of goodness. Man
is searching after God for the same reason. Religion has been striving
for unity between God and man by stressing the common purpose of love.
Why should sacrifice be the highest form
of love's fulfillment?
Christianity has been preaching the love of God for many years and
the other prominent religions in
history also have their foundations in love. For example, Buddhism
preaches a life of mercy and benevolence, which is actually love. Any
legitimate religion has to be based on love.
All religions emphasize self-denial and sacrifice in order to achieve
that love. Without exception sacrifice is necessary for you to form an
intimate relationship with God. Why should sacrifice be the highest form
of love's fulfillment? There are many, many answers but let us analyze
this ourselves.
You have a mind and body, and of the two which one is less evil? The
body is a real rascal and doesn't have any sense of self-giving or
humility. We have to ruthlessly subjugate our bodies because in weakening
the body there is a greater opportunity for the mind and body to become
one. Then the body can listen to the mind.
Meekness, humility and sacrifice are the virtues emphasized by religion
and by applying them the body will be forced to unite with the mind. Who
is actually pursuing such a goal through religion, man or God? God has
been leading mankind toward that way of life, but God's effort will be
in vain unless man responds to it. A mutual effort is necessary if we
are to reach the ultimate goal.
Why do we all need religion in our lives? Without going through the
path of religion there is no way to reconcile the mind and body, no
hope that some day you will even get close to God. The contradictions in
man cannot be resolved without the process of religion. We can say that
religion is an absolute necessity for man, not an ornament to pick up
on a whim. Religion will be needed until the contradiction within man
is completely liquidated and he is united with God in their original
common purpose. Then the purpose of religion will be consummated and it
will no longer be needed.
All of this brings us to the logical conclusion that religion will not
be needed by man for eternity, but will be consummated by the emergence
of man in perfection. It is logical that on our journey we start out
from the very bottom of the fallen state. The journey will lead us into
the ultimate goal of total and perfected union with God.
Do you think man's best thinking and best efforts could devise the way
to finally build the ideal world? That is absolutely impossible. Man's
only alternative today is atheistic communism, which claims the ideal
world can be built without God. Because communism has only material things
as its objective it has no foundation and will be blown around like a leaf
in a storm. That ideology places value only in the material world, but
do you think that our bodies are more perfected than our minds? The body
is limited by circumstances but the mind does not have limitations. We
conclude that this world can find hope only through a search after God
in religion, in the faith that some day the union of men and God can be
accomplished. As one man I have probably given the most of myself in
the search for the answer to this question, the one who suffered most
in order to win a probable solution. This is a total concept.
Actually what you and I need most is not God Himself but God's love.
If there is a God then it is inevitable that a new religious movement
will come forth which will transcend national and racial barriers,
uniting all people together to pursue one common goal: unity with God's
love. Clearly such a religious movement is necessary. The love of God
embraces all races equally. God doesn't express love according to whether
you are white, black or yellow. If God's ideal and love were limited
to only one or two races then He would truly be an imperfect God. The
ultimate religion must transcend national and racial barriers so from
this standpoint let's analyze existing religions.
Religions are God's tools and
they should be universal
True salvation springs from union with the love of God, which manifests
everywhere in a fair and justified manner. Which race you belong to makes
no difference at all. It cannot be said that the love of God works only
in the Western hemisphere; it shines throughout the earth. Any religion
which proclaims the segregation of the races is a false religion. A
new religion is needed which embraces all men equally. For instance,
Jews and Christians should not feel that they are the only people who
deserve the love of God. They must feel instead that they are merely
servants who must bring the love of God to all humanity.
Do you think God wants the whole world to be Jewish, or should Judaism
be simply a tool of God? Do you think that God could limit Himself to
the stuffy world of today's Christianity, or should Christianity become
a tool of God? The love of God is supreme and encompasses the highest
possible level. Everything is part of it and everything is surrounded
by it. The love of God can encompass all human existence.
Religions are only meant to be tools of God and therefore they should
be universal and intermingling. Any religion which rejects such principles
cannot be called a true religion. Measured by this standard, are all
today, s conventional Christians perfected? In their interpretation of
the Bible only Christians will be lifted up in the air to meet the Lord
when he comes on the day of judgment. Basically they are unconcerned
about the rest of the world and believe that everyone else will go to
hell. Is that attitude right? If what they believe is the case then God
is really a cruel God with an imperfect ideal.
A religion which can clarify God's intentions is absolutely necessary.
A revolutionary concept must come to Christianity and enable it to meet
the criteria of perfection that God originally intended. That religion
is the Unification Church.
What is the Unification Church supposed to do? First of all, make
one world and elevate it into a world of God. Encouraging self-centered
individualism is Satan's final strategy to demolish this world and this
nation and we must destroy this satanic concept. What am I trying to
contribute to you? You have never really tasted the true love of parents
or of husband and wife and brothers and sisters. I am trying to ignite
in you spiritually the ecstatic joy of God's love so that it will not
be just a concept to you but be a presence in your daily life.
One phenomenon sets the Unification Church apart. Our members
often meet me in dreams or visions and in all kinds of spiritual
circumstances. The power of spiritual experience already exists
and embraces each one of you every day. Those of you who have such
experiences, raise your hands. In the mundane world those things may seem
abnormal and certainly they have never been seen in any other religion
in the past. Physically I am very far from our missionaries all over
the world but I am just as close to them as I am to you. This is a most
vivid testimony to the significance of our movement.
I want you to know that tremendous sacrifice has been paid in order to
come to this level today. Many nations have collapsed and many millions
of people have died for this. Since it comes to you without too much
effort you don't realize its value and you think that this is common
everywhere. It certainly is not.
We are a religion of experience and feeling because God is not a
conceptual God to us. He is the master of our daily lives. As soon as
you come into this atmosphere you immediately become a recipient of new
spiritual power and presence, but for people outside our Church it is
an unfamiliar and perplexing thing to grasp.
Are you really thankful to God?
We must be thankful to God every day. Even if the world came against
you and your life was abruptly ended, would you still be grateful to
God? You can think of Satan as God's tool in a way, a means of finding
out whether your gratitude is real or not. I will never tell you to
just be thankful to God and let me take care of Satan for you. Instead
I will push you out into the corrupt and evil world. If you are really
thankful then my mandate to you is to go liberate the world and come
back. You will pass the test by remaining loyal, steadfast and thankful
under any circumstances or experience. If you can do that then Satan has
no power over you and eventually he must issue you a certificate saying
that indeed you are a child of God. As an archangel, Satan must be the
one to testify to God whether or not you are God's child. You have to
be superior to Satan to receive that testimony.
It is inevitable that all good religions in history receive
persecution. Persecution is almost an indispensable ingredient in
growing spiritually. Would you say I have received persecution or not?
All of America has gotten up in arms over me. All that opposition is
like a wave washing over me, with all kinds of beautiful titles being
given to me, like ''brainwasher', or '`demagogue,, and even ''Hitler.,,
My response is just to smile at all of this because after
everything is settled, who will be the winner? I am the winner because
the truth is our powerful ally. In the San Francisco legal case the
lower courts issued conservatorships and the papers all wrote about the
brainwashing charges. Then after the higher court examined the entire
situation they said that the Unification Church hadn't done anything
wrong and that we had rights which were protected by the United States
Constitution. The press did not report this decision too widely but the
people who oppose us really received a setback. They will not be foolish
enough to try this tactic against us again.
This is the right time for us to really show America who I am and
what the Unification Church is all about; we are sending the one-hour
''Reverend Moon in America,, program to television stations in all
fifty states and even throughout South America. Now the book written by
Dr. Sontag has come out which will tell the world what we are honestly
trying to do. When the truth comes out America should have the courage
to apologize to me.
Our antagonists will know in their hearts that they were wrong and
eventually they will have to respect me for the way in which I dealt with
the negativity; I never sought revenge but simply smiled and let God take
care of it. That's how we will win because we are not fighting on their
level. Since you too have that knowledge and commitment I willingly
push ahead without any hesitation. Having this dignity and strength,
there is nothing under the sun we cannot do.
Do you want to know the secret for
meeting God in your daily life?
In order to reach the love of God in your daily life the most essential
thing is knowing how to conquer your body. This was my foremost task in
searching for the truth. The body has three fundamental desires. First,
the body gets hungry and looks for food. How could I conquer that desire
of my body? I had to establish that I love God more than my body loves
food when it gets hungry. By doing that yourself you can set a superior
standard and demonstrate how your love of God is stronger than your
body's love of food. Jesus also conquered that particular desire and
went through a forty-day fast. Many prophets and saints in history
emphasized fasting in their life of faith.
Hunger is the worst kind of suffering and if you can forget your
desperate hunger in your search after God you have made a very precious
statement. Who among you has done a seven-day fast? There are quite
a few of you. Think back on your own experience; when the seventh day
arrived were you watching the clock for the moment you could eat again,
or did you think, ''God, I have tasted hunger now, but I love You more
than I love food. I want to go after You instead of going after food.,,
Have you prayed in such a way at that moment? Have you been longing for
God more than for food? That is the real test and that is the way you
should think when you fast. Until I was thirty there was no day that I
was not hungry because I deliberately went without food in order to test
myself. At that time I was so hungry that if someone was eating nearby
my mouth hung open and saliva drooled out even without my being aware of
it. When it gets hungry enough, the body just automatically reacts that
way. You can't say you have overcome your body until you have conquered
desperate hunger by the power of your love of God.
The second fundamental urge is for sleep. Can you demonstrate that your
love of God is stronger than your body's desire for sleep? The second
test is passed when in thinking of God He is so real and relevant that
your intense love of God conquers your urgent desire to sleep. Throughout
history all the people who seriously searched for God led ascetic lives
and always had to fight their desire to sleep. They would do all kinds
of things' even stabbing themselves and cutting their own flesh just
to keep awake. Have you ever heard about this? For seven years I never
slept more than two hours a day. This morning I arrived at 5 a.m. after
traveling all night. My whole life has been training for living like that.
You need the love of God don't you? You have to win His love and show
that your love is more intense than anything else. When you are sleepy,
your passionate love of God should be stronger than your craving for
sleep. You have experienced feeling ready to collapse from exhaustion,
but your love of God must enable you to conquer such moments. It is
most difficult to go beyond the level of hunger and sleepiness for
the love of God. Jesus had to conquer all those bodily desires. The Bible
said that he fasted for forty days and furthermore, we can well imagine
that his life was a struggle both day and night. Jesus asked his closest
disciples to stay awake and watch with him while he prayed desperately
in the garden of Gethsemane, but what happened to the disciples? They
fell asleep. They could not win over sleep and Jesus told them that
though their minds were willing their flesh was weak.
This is not some hazy spiritual concept. You must overcome precisely
these things in your life. I would not speak this way to you unless I
had tested out everything in my own life.
The third desire you must conquer is the urge for physical love. The
worst kind of temptation for religious people always comes in the
form of sex. When men pray, Satan creeps into their minds in the form
of a beautiful woman. Men and women have instinctive sexual desire,
but your intense love for God should be stronger than that desire for
carnal love. In this respect American young people have a great deal
to overcome. The permissiveness in America has left the moral life of
Americans looking like a dirty rag.
Now you understand why the major religions throughout history have
always emphasized the value of celibacy. Your body is your worst enemy
and it has three formidable weapons: the desire for food, the desire for
sleep and the desire for physical love. I have fought the same battle
that you are engaged in but you have no idea how many tears I have shed
to win over these temptations.
Since no one could overcome the ordeals
I have endured, I found an alternative way
You know we all need the love of God, but how will you pay back
your own debts in these three areas? If you spent dozens of years
being tortured in prison you still could not repay God. When you were
hearing about the beauty and sweetness of God's love all of you were
happy and gay' but in hearing these things you have hit a stone wall.
How will you break through? No one else can pay your debts. For many
years I searched tor some alternative way for mankind to reach the
ultimate goal without having to go through the ordeals I have endured.
No one is capable of passing such impossible tests.
Without a doubt the lives you lived before joining the Unification
Church were self-centered. Before you knew about God you were the
central point of your lives, right? The quickest way to become qualified
citizens of the Kingdom of God is to revolutionize yourselves totally,
changing your concept of your purpose of life from selfish happiness to
the happiness of God and humanity.
We can turn humanity's concept of existing here on earth completely
upside down. Do you deeply feel that you were not born for yourself
but for the sake of God and humanity? If you do not eat food for your
own contentment but for the sake of God and humanity then it can be
justified. You should think of sleeping as preparation for you to do
even more for God's work the next day. Taking rest with that attitude
cannot be called a sin because it is for the sake of God and humanity.
Can you say that your desire to love God and humanity is as great as
your desire to have love personally? This is the way your life can be
turned totally upside down. Previously you did things to have fun and
to become someone of distinction.
When you revolutionize your purpose of life then nothing is for
yourself any more. If you have enough food for a good meal then you can
think that you will do twice as much as you can when you are hungry. When
you have new vitality after resting for a few hours at night then you
can say, ''God, let me go out and work.,, Instead of pursuing the old
physical gratifications you can use your energy for the sake of God and
humanity. That's the way we live.
That is the only alternative I could find. Otherwise you have no
qualification to eat and sleep and love. When you are very hungry and
find a good meal but your concept still focuses on God and humanity,
your eating is not a sin. That's the way man was to have lived if there
had been no fall. Eating is not a sin in that case, right? Now you know
the heavenly alternative and you know how you can be justified in eating,
sleeping and loving.
In the world as it is now each person stands in the center as an
individual, surrounded by his family,
nation, world and the cosmos. Each person has to break through every
barrier which limits himself. This world is the realm of the fall and
you must come out of it in order to make another world, not with yourself
in the center but with God in the center, surrounded by His own children.
What actually happens in this process? After you conquer yourself
you meet another barrier and must form a God-centered family in order to
break through. Then you will meet another barrier on the national level
and after breaking through on that level you must build another world. As
much as you are able to break through in the satanic world is what you
are actually building of your own new world. This world is the consequence
of the fall so we have to separate ourselves from the ways of this world
and create a new world, becoming new people in a new way of life.
You must have been thinking about these things but have you ever
solemnly decided that you were going to break through and liberate
yourself from this world and its ways? This is exactly what I had to
do. My situation is no different. I decided to conquer myself and my
surroundings. I had to win on the family level and also in my society
and nation of Korea. Now I have reached the barrier of the world and
cosmos. The Washington Monument Rally was the spectacular culmination
of what I have done spiritually on the worldwide level. That is the way
I have progressed through this way of life.
The degree to which you can invest your utmost
is the degree you can receive God's love
Our movement has emerged on the worldwide stage. There is always
resistance each time we try to break through to a new level because
Satan absolutely does not want to see the heavenly world come into
being. Of course he wants to prevent that from happening because it
means the destruction of his influence and personal dominion. Satan's
world has to come against you so naturally there will be persecution.
Even though you are only an individual working on the individual level
of restoration, the entire nation and the world will come against you.
Nevertheless we must overcome this situation. When the entire world comes
against us it gives us a better opportunity to win over the world at
one stroke. The harsher the rejection and persecution on the worldwide
level the faster our day will come.
Even as a member of the Unification Church you will not actually
have to go through exactly what I went through. You don't have to
start from the very bottom. By joining my crusade in its final stage,
by overcoming the final barrier together with me you have already won
the entire world. You don't have to go through the whole process. That
is your advantage.
Your 5% is to go the road of persecution and you must welcome it. You
will be persecuted by all kinds of people on all kinds of levels. You must
face and conquer all of peoples, scornful attitudes, but your struggle
with persecution is never in vain. We are citizens of a different
world. Until you are given the blessing you should have no concept of
personal ownership, thinking that you own this or that. Until you reach
this state you are even wearing your clothes for the sake of mankind,
clothes which belong to mankind and which you have borrowed. After the
blessing God will bestow upon you the right of stewardship. You have the
wrong idea if you think of having some special savings account for your
own enjoyment. Your fund raising is not for the purpose of paying bills
for the Church, but for the purpose of restoring your own dominion over
creation. You can't think that you personally deserve some of the money
you earn. Compared to the rest of the people you are going to eat less,
sleep less and work harder. If you want to give yourself totally then
you understand the right attitude.
Are you losing by doing this? No, what you are actually doing is
investing yourself to the utmost so that you can receive the love of God
to an equal degree. You are gaining something far greater than anyone else
can ever imagine and because of that you can be grateful and persevere,
no matter what degree of suffering you encounter. Every member must take
part in fund raising and witnessing. Unless you walk up the first and
second floors you simply cannot go to the third floor. Without going
this course you are not entitled to the blessing.
We know this through the Divine Principle.
Because of the fall of man we lost the love of God, love of man and
all the things of creation. Man himself became the tool of Satan. That
is all the result of the fall of man. We will restore all these one by
one. First all things of creation must be restored to God. Then fallen
man must become godly man. Finally the love of God can be consummated
and man can receive the love of God in blessing. Unless you willingly
go this route you can only be seen as a thief who is trying to sneak
into the kingdom. You have to submit your ID card as you come into the
palace. You cannot sneak over the fence. The road of restoration is the
real indemnity. You must go this route and then the love of God will
meet you at the stage of perfection.
Do you have confidence that you can be blessed? Have your mind and
body become one, totally free from satanic accusation? Are you entitled
to have a godly woman as your wife? Whether you are a man or a woman,
no one is entitled to say he has done everything and paid everything
back. No one is able to say they are perfect and worthy of the blessing. I
want you to be humble. God will have mercy upon you when you realize
your true situation and then in His love put you together in heavenly
matrimony. Only then do you have the right to accept the blessing.
I know how the love of God feels and
I want you to experience it too
All throughout history people were in darkness with no one to guide
the way, but now everything has been made clear. This is a magnificent
blessing in itself. Now we not only see clearly the broad daylight, we
can live it every day and make our way step by step to this goal. I want
you to realize how precious it is that you are sitting right here. Do
you feel that?
Do you ever get frustrated and wonder how long you may be selling
newspapers, every morning, rain or shine? You may think you have been
reduced to being a paper boy in the Unification Church. Many boys make
a living delivering papers. You are not doing it for your own survival,
however, but for the sake of God and humanity. We should be working harder
with the newspapers than anyone who is selling for themselves. Are you
working on that level? Have you become desperate for the fulfillment of
the mission? You may have a hole in your shoe and wear ragged clothes and
you may be drenched with sweat, but even under those circumstances you
should be thanking God. Both Satan and God can respect that kind of man.
No word of complaint can be spoken. To come plain is the fastest way
to bring yourself down into hell; Satan's most effective tool is seen
in complaints. I have many reasons to complain if I choose to do so.
This morning I could have complained to God that He was unreasonable
to ask me to speak to you after I traveled all night without resting,
but God would insist' ''You go and speak to them. They would love to
see you.'' Under those circumstances should I feel justified in speaking
only thirty minutes, and only come under those conditions? Complaint has
never even entered my mind because I am too busy fulfilling my mission. No
matter how long you live this is a short life. I have so much to finish
in my short life and every second counts. No one else can do my job and
I cannot waste any time.
You are committed to a formidable responsibility. Do you think this
all sounds like a big lie, or is it really the truth? Then shall we
live it or not? I chose the same route as you say you want to follow
and I have come to that goal. Was I destroyed or am I succeeding? Now I
have come to the point where I don't have to worry about my own needs
because I know God is concerned about me. God provides food and looks
after me. I have seen such things happen.
I know precisely how the love of God feels and I want you to experience
it too. Don't fear death; it is nothing. I gave up my life a long time
ago and for the sake of this mission I am ready to go anywhere at any
time. I have no attachment to this world. The only reason I want to live
a long time is because of my mission. Sometimes I think of what would
happen to the work of God and to our movement if I suddenly disappeared,
but that is my only real worry.
I want to leave just one tradition when everything is over, that I
pursued the love of God and was
a man of the love of God. When you go to spins world that love is
the only asset you will have. That's the only thing you can take with
you to the spins world. When you possess the love of God you can do all
things, and on behalf of God you can be given ownership of all things.
Only in the love of God could it be justified.
If you can't get to the goal on your own
then Satan will accuse
I have laid the highway and even created the automobile to drive to
the goal, but it is up to you to get the fuel and drive there. You must
fulfill your own responsibility because I can't do everything. Once you
get started can you drive just anywhere? You have to follow the highway
I have set up, but you do have the freedom to go as fast as you like.
Do you need my supervision or will you do it on your own? If I have
to supervise and inspect you then Satan will accuse you of not getting
to the goal by yourself. When I was going through my mission I told God
to not even supervise me but let me go on my own. You are witnessing
and selling the paper without my supervision but can you really do it?
I won't supervise but I will wait and see the results.
If you really know the truth then I'm really not needed here in
America. I want to get a walking stick and a big trunk and go all over
the world. Do you think I need a little vacation and a chance to enjoy
nature? Would you permit me to do that? Now I have done my job and you
know precisely what you need to do.
The love of God is yours, not mine, but you must win that love from
God. You must mature on your own. Once you receive the blessing and
become husband and wife would you want me to supervise you? You don't
need me to help you do your mission either. Until you find that ultimate
love you do need me, however, and once you have found that love you are
on your own. Then you will pull yourself.
Until you come to that level the secret for you to meet me very
intimately is to pursue your mission with a fervent longing for God and
the True Parents. When you shed tears for your mission the entire spirit
world will surround you and I will appear to you spiritually. You can
take advantage of that principle of the universe. If you are longing for
me so much that you forget to eat or sleep then our encounter will go
beyond any kind of physical sensation. The spirit world will be opened
up and you will find yourself there with me.
Adam and Eve were supposed to be the parents of all mankind but that
position was lost; once the position of True Parents is restored it should
embrace everybody. Therefore, in spirit world everyone logically should
become one family under that one title. True Parents should become very
intimate to everyone of you yet it doesn't make any difference how many
miles apart we are. You have the secret way to be close to me and I can
be with you all the time once our hearts are united.
There can be real unity between you and me when my heart can become
your heart. If you want to find out if this is true, just try it out.
How can you find such heart? When you are suffering and given persecution
and when you are treated most miserably. When your heart is really
suffering then you will know the very heart of my own suffering. That's
the way our hearts can be linked and that's the way you can instantly
elevate yourself to a higher level spiritually.
. Do you think someone can be close to me if they go everywhere with
me every day? No, the person who is closest to the True Parents is the
one who sheds tears for his mission, passionately involving himself
every day, regardless of how scornfully he is treated by the world.
That person is closest to me in the real sense. You have to go to the
bottom of the world to set the condition of victory there and then come
back with the record of victory. You youth of America should not violate
the heavenly law. Your precious youth should remain pure and clean and
always be one of dedication.
Today's message is Core of Unification. Where is the core
of unification? It is found in the love of God. You must be proven
victorious in the satanic world by setting the condition of uniting
mind and body. Then you will go up to the other stages of family, tribe,
nation and world. When you are victorious on all levels you can come to
the final and complete union with God and you will find your ultimate
home of peace, joy, satisfaction and tranquillity.
It is not easy to be victorious in love but shall we do it? Even
though you may not have achieved that goal you know that the possibility
of achieving it exists. You each may think of me in different ways but
your heart toward the True Parents is the same. Go ahead and rub against
each other; your friction will generate the heat which will melt all of
you into oneness.
Suffering is a privilege when you are searching after the love of God.
You must never think you suffer for my sake; it is all for yourself.
How can you complain if you are working for yourself? If you want to
complain you must complain about yourself. If you do more than the
Unification Church and more than me then you might have the right to
complain about a few things. I found out a long time ago that nothing
can be gained by complaining so I have never complained, even when God
was very cruel to me. I have always been thankful because if God was
cruel it was actually a manifestation of His love. God tested me in an
extraordinary way, wanting me to pass the test so He could give a special,
extraordinary love.
This is the same reason that I push you out to hard work and
suffering. You must win over hardship in order to become a recipient of
the ultimate love of God. No one can complain about you because you will
be entitled to that love.
Sometimes you may feel that your situation ten years ago and ten
years from now won't be any different, but I want you to know that even
though physically speaking you may remain on the same level, spiritually
speaking you will be living in an entirely new world. That's our pride
and heritage. Whether it is raining or storming outside doesn't make any
difference. You just cannot let yourself relax. You never know when you
will die and before you die you must know the love of God. No one can
guarantee that you will live a long life. Therefore, you must even live
as though today were your final day. When you take a final examination
in school what would you do the night before? You would concentrate
all night long. You should be even more desperate than that for the
heavenly purpose.
You cannot misuse this opportunity. This is an Can you commit
yourselves to doing it? Thank you. unmistakable truth and we must take
it seriously. Let us pray.
|