Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Belvedere
December 1, 1984*
Translator - Sang Kil Han
The Unification Church has a unique understanding about the universe, which we call "chunjoo." By "chunjoo," we mean the spiritual world and physical world together comprising the heavenly cosmos. This is different from any secular concept of the universe because it includes a clear understanding of the invisible world of spirit.
We know that the invisible spiritual world is very real. We also know that man is the bridge between the invisible world and the visible world. Because human beings have both a spiritual and a physical existence, only we can connect both those worlds; no other creature can do that.
Drawing a diagram of a human being, there is the upper part - sang - and the lower part - has. God also has a dual nature, just as human beings do.
Although there are many dots inside this square I am drawing, there is only one true center point. In a wheel, there is only one central axis point that will enable the wheel to turn smoothly. In a sphere, which area is top and which is bottom? Which way is up? In a sphere, the center point is the summit or pinnacle. Where is the top or summit of the United States? You could say that it is the city of Washington and the White House. What is the physically highest point on the earth? Of course, it is the highest mountain, but that is not the center of everything.
Which environment would you prefer: the flat plane, or the sphere? We like the sphere. Every one wants to be in a high position; no one wants to be low. Men and women alike share this ambition to be in the top position. Since we all want to dwell at the pinnacle of life, then we have to find the spherical world and the center point and remain there. That is truly the highest point. On the other hand, you could stay up on top of the mountain where the air is thin. Wouldn't you prefer the center point?
Can a single man dwell at the center? No, he needs a woman there with him. Man and woman each have their own highest point. When a woman wants to be at the top, does that mean she wants to occupy the man's place? No, she has her own high point. Perhaps you American women feel that you want to stay right up there where the man is, or even just a little higher. Where would the center be in that kind of relationship? It would be very confusing!
The law of the physical universe requires constant motion of a circular nature. The two opposing forces, centrifugal and centripetal, balance out this motion. As long as the center point is situated along the vertical line, there is no friction or contradiction. But if you center that line on the horizontal line, then the farther away you move from the center, the bigger the conflict becomes. Do you understand the meaning of this?
Man has only a vague idea of what he wants. He wants to be at the center, but he doesn't know what or where that center is. This has been the reality for all of fallen humanity.
If you stand right at the center point, all people will be able to relate with you and respond to you. Women, just as men, want to be able to dwell at the summit point, the pinnacle. What will you do at that top point? Do you want to be there so you can eat five times a day rather than three? Or perhaps you want to be able to wear rings on every knuckle? Why do you desire that topmost position? You want to be on the top so that you can meet other people, men and women. Does that sound correct to you?
When is the age of peak physical condition for men and women? It is after puberty, at approximately 21 years old. By the time a person reaches that point, he or she is at the apex of his physical life. From there, we cannot go any higher physically. At that point, what do women care about most? Yes, women are seeking men. At that time, she doesn't care about any other woman, including her own mother. If her mother tries to tell her something or give her advice, she will reply, "Oh, Mother!" She virtually ignores her mother and her sisters and other women, but when her father gives her some advice, she listens. The same is true of the older brother. When her brother or father strongly tell her something, she is compelled to listen, even if it is not something she wishes to hear.
The image of the Oriental father is very strict. When children approach their father to speak to him, they are supposed to be very humble. This is quite different from the American family. To the Oriental children, their father is like God, so if they say the wrong thing, they expect lightning to be hurled down upon them. However, that father is also soft as a sponge in his treatment of his daughter-in-law. She can do or say virtually anything to her father-in-law because of their love.
Man and woman go around and around in search of the opposite sex. Man needs woman, just as woman needs man. If you don't want to stop but to move eternally, then you must have this giving and receiving relationship, with the man pushing the woman, then vice versa. You are each moving as individuals, but also helping to push each other. On this side, we pull; on the other side, we push. That is the force which makes you turn forever and ever. For whom do you do that pushing and pulling? It is for your partner, your spouse. By pulling and pushing your partner, you also move. Do you understand that relationship?
You all want to embrace the whole world, isn't that correct? You don't want to be stuck in just a small segment of the world. Therefore, you have to act upon the world. You have to pull and push the whole world. The universe wants to see the man or woman who pushes and pulls it most strongly. We must not become tired and weak. We have to work with all of our might, giving every ounce of energy.
Do people do something because some leader stands in a high place and commands them, "Now you pull, you move, you push"? Nothing and nobody would move because of that. The center person must initiate action himself. Through that initiation, others respond and move. Between man and woman, who tends to be the initiator of action? It is man because he is in the subject position. One thing American women don't seem to like is the idea of the man being the subject. They constantly question that.
When you wake up on the first morning of each month, you feel a desire to come to Belvedere. I must be pulling you very hard. While you are here, I move you. By the time you are ready to go back home, I have to spin and push you so that you feel a lot of enthusiasm. Somebody has to give you that push. When you come here as an individual, you go out to embrace the family. If you come as a family, then you leave after the sermon to embrace the clan. When you come as a clan, then you want to go out to embrace the race and the nation.
You become bigger and bigger in radius, yet there is a limit to expansion. When there is no larger place to expand to, do you have to stop? The pivot position moves. The universe has a direction for its motion. It doesn't just stand still and go around on the same point.
Is the man always subject to the woman? No, as their motion goes around and around and enough speed is gained, then the woman takes the position of subject. They can alternate. In a beautiful dance between a man and woman, they have to be harmonious. One will pull and the other will respond. Each moves together. We should have that kind of unity of motion.
The total population of the earth is about five billion. A baby is being born somewhere every minute. Out of all the people alive right now, every one of them has his own claim, "This is the way things should be." We all have our own way of doing things, our individual self-assertion. If they were trees and their opinions were little branches, like the shoots coming out of trees every spring, then all five billion people would have shoots running this way and that. How are you going to make harmony? Would everyone listen just because you commanded them? No. What are we going to do?
Look at Fifth Avenue at rush hour. Thousands of people crowd the sidewalks, hurrying to get to their jobs. But look at those sidewalks in the middle of the night: they are virtually deserted. Where do all the people go? They go home. When someone finishes a day's work and goes home, does he expect to encounter conflict? No, a person goes home expecting peace, rest and happiness. He only goes to his home because it is someplace agreeable.
What force is making us go where we want to go and do what we want to do? What is the bait? It is love. The mother is hooked on the father's bait; the father is hooked on the mother's bait. The child is hooked on the parents' bait, and parents are hooked on the children's bait. Does that mean they all go their separate ways? No. They pull on each other. In such a home, you can fall asleep with your mouth wide open and nobody cares if you make noisy sounds. Only if you are happy can you sleep like that. No matter how loudly a man may snore, he will be accepted in his home. His wife says, "He is really snoring tonight. He must be very tired from working so hard." The children also feel that way.
You want a happy home in which the children come up to the parents and pat them on the cheek. That is the sort of pleasant thing that makes you want to go home. You are free and comfortable there. You take off your belt and necktie and relax. Whatever you may do, nobody minds. Is it ever possible in the outside world for a man and woman to be so casual in front of each other? No, but when the man and woman live together in true love, then it is acceptable.
Who has true love? Only a true man and true woman have true love. No one else has it. When you reach that point of true love, everything is liberated. even to the deepest valley. In the democratic world, "freedom" is the greatest virtue, the highest dream. Yet, what is freedom, really? Think about it. Can a man on the street just reach out and grab some woman walking by because he feels like doing it? No, of course not. Well, he might claim his right to freedom. "Why can't I do whatever I feel like doing," he might ask. Freedom alone cannot liberate people. With unrestrained freedom, you can destroy others.
What, then, can truly liberate man and woman? It is only true love. There are two different kinds of love. One says, "you please me and do what I want," while the other says, "I will please you and do what you want." Which is the way of true love? "I will do for you" is the way of true love and also the way of liberation.
What entity causes Fifth Avenue to empty out at midnight? Is it freedom, or what? Why do we go back home every single night? You are free, so why do you go home? Imagine if a wife waits for her husband at night but he doesn't return. Then she would become very distressed. Is that liberation? That is chaos, confusion, and something which nobody actually wants.
Freedom is good but only if it is centered upon love. Love is always looking out for the other first, not for oneself. Thus freedom to serve other people, including one's spouse, is the only way to achieve true liberation. Can you come up with a better explanation for liberty? Americans love to say that they are pursuing freedom. Are we going after true freedom, or are they? The so-called freedom we observe in society is bringing people to destruction. We are seeing that now. Freedom centered on the individual belongs to Satan, not God. In the world of justice, that which is bad and evil must go down to hell.
Freedom is a necessary element of our life, but when God bestowed freedom upon us, it was freedom centered upon unselfish love. He didn't intend to see self-centered, loveless freedom. That doesn't fit into God's way of thinking.
The more we live for the sake of others, the higher we go up. Why is that? All the beings of the cosmos are pulling you upward; everybody supports you when you are living for their sake. But if you are self-centered, nobody supports you. You just keep going down. So motivation makes a big difference. If you do something for your own selfish, greedy purposes, you will be accused later and perhaps even be put in jail. It is a shameful situation and you feel terrible. But if you do the same deed for the sake of other people, even though you may violate some law, you don't feel any shame. You are just proud. Isn't that true?
Look at the case of Reverend Moon. I worked hard for the sake of the world and made a great impact, and then I was put into jail. If I had been working solely for the sake of America and had been imprisoned, would that have been good? What if I had been working only for myself and had been put into jail - would that have been better or worse? However, there is no shame involved when a person has dedicated himself for the sake of the world. This is true for anyone.
Who is following whom-the one who puts the righteous man into jail, or that righteous man who is put into jail? The jailer will eventually have to follow the righteous man. If I was imprisoned because of something wrong I did for my own sake, then there would have been great shame. But when a person is working unselfishly, then jail really does not matter to him. In the present time, virtually no one gets himself incarcerated for the sake of other people.
Daytime always turns to dusk and then to the night. When this secular world loses the daylight and turns toward dusk and darkness, it will have no place to rest. When the Unification Church, which is now starting to shine in the light of dawn, comes to its mid-day, full of sunshine and illuminating everything around it, where will the world go? When that bright light comes and dispels the darkness, there will be no place to hide. The only way bad people can survive will be to obey the truth. They will say, "I will listen to God and follow His commandments, no matter what." We all understand that indemnity is a heavenly law, not a man-made law. Unless one pays indemnity, his errors and bad deeds cannot be corrected.
When God's messenger gives a direction to someone who has been living in error, should that person obey without complaint? Why should he? Everybody wants to be in the position of goodness; anyone who has been living wrongly and then wants to turn toward goodness must indemnify his error. Obedience is paying indemnity.
Please engrave this point in your mind: Freedom centered upon oneself is really a living hell, the palace of the kingdom of hell. But freedom for the sake of other people is the palace of heaven. That is where we find absolute freedom. The other direction, self-centered freedom, results in absolute loss of freedom. But most people are still ignorant of this point, and that is why so many make mistakes.
Imagine a typical New York street without any traffic lights. All the cars are trying to get where they need to go, but no movement is possible because of the jam. Therefore, some rules and traffic policemen are needed. The same point is true in the realm of human love.
If any man, including myself, reached out and struck a woman whom he didn't know on the head, she would be indignant. But when I tap one of the women here on the head, she is happy, thrilled to experience a truly unselfish touch. The same action can have a world of difference-one is without love, and the other is with love.
Everybody likes to talk about freedom, but the only freedom which is really successful is that taught by Reverend Moon. I am teaching you how to find true liberation, not the false way of the world which only binds people deeper and deeper with its fetters. True freedom means orderliness, and its results will always be good. On the other hand, when false freedom does something, good results cannot come. This is the law of multiplication of goodness. Goodness bears more goodness, and so on.
What about the situation in the communist countries? They, too, are ignorant of the nature of true freedom. They know how to speak about freedom, yet a tiny minority has dictated what everybody else must do. That tiny minority is not working for the sake of the people and thus they are not producing good results. Everyone is miserable.
Suppose I told you, "Live in one small place for a whole year." If it was a very nice, spacious home, full of all the most convenient modern appliances, wouldn't that be nice? But what if it was devoid of love? Or suppose there was some love, but not lasting, true love. Perhaps it was one-night love or one-week love. Do you American women like such short-lived love? After one year of love between two people, perhaps they will start fighting as if to unwind that love. What kind of love would that be?
The Chinese are very different from the restless Americans. The Chinese are like a big wave in the ocean. Tolerance and making way for others is their characteristic. Whatever someone wants to do or believe, that's okay. Americans, on the other hand, tend to be very sensitive and nervous. With such a nature, do you think many of them can go to heaven? What about the insensitive and dull Chinese? Can many of them go to heaven? Why do you say yes? Imagine the nature of God-it is like the Chinese personality in this respect. No matter what insults or misdeeds we do to God, He doesn't react. Even when people declare, "God is dead!" He doesn't retaliate.
Don't you wonder what makes the Chinese the way they are, and their nation the way it is? Chinese people have received a type of education which the Western world doesn't understand: Confucianism. Confucius, philosophy is conceptual, and doesn't bring about results right away, something which Americans don't like. This philosophy has dominated Chinese life for thousands of years. Chinese thinkers know what China will be like in another thousand years. Since they know what to expect, they don't have to be jittery or sensitive. The Chinese person may look dull, but he isn't.
The Chinese may dress in a humble or dingy way and be scorned by the Western world, but they have their own opinions about the West. They say, "You may be happy and bright right now, jumping all around like a fish on a hook, but you are only going to last for a short time and I know it. We, on the other hand, know where we are going. This really sums up the Chinese attitude.
If Unification Church members move into China, who will become assimilated by whom? Would China swallow the Unification Church, or the other way around? Suppose there are three Americans sharing one room, in the middle of which is the honey bucket-another word for toilet which doesn't flush. Would you be able to live happily in that room year after year? Perhaps you would spend all your time trying to find one spot in the room which didn't stink, thereby becoming exhausted. Americans can't cope with such a situation because they don't have any root. They can't use their waste. On the other hand, when the Chinese encounter smelly waste products, they can put them to good use and grow stronger from that. In the end, who will become the winner-the Chinese who don't mind bad smells, or the rootless Americans who can't tolerate the odor of human waste for a second? Yes, the Chinese would be the winners because they have that deep root.
Any plant or vegetation without deep roots cannot survive a severe winter. Americans have never experienced real winter. What do I mean by winter? The Western civilization is now in the midst of autumn, sliding downward toward darkness, the wintertime of their history. In order to survive the winter, we need two things: a deep root and seeds which can bring forth new life. If you have both a root and a good seed, that is the ideal, but you must have at least one of those. How about you- do you have one or both?
Has each of you developed such a strong, deep root that no one can unearth you? Is your root so deep that nothing can pull you away, including the tremendous power of satanic love? When a plant has a strong root, someone can walk by and cut it in half and it will grow back. What if someone digs down and cuts out half of the root? It will still grow back. No matter what Satan might do to you, through God you can grow back. Even if Satan comes and attacks you many times, cutting off your branches and taking out some of your roots, do you have enough of a root to grow back? Do you really?
If you join the Unification Church and don't grow a deep root, you won't stay. I was in Germany when the U.S. government indicted me. Did I run away from the United States, or return and face this government's accusation? I confronted this country. Who fell down after that confrontation, Reverend Moon or the United States? You can see that it was the United States. If I had evaded that confrontation, the Unification Church could not have survived. You wouldn't be here this morning, would you? In fact, this Belvedere estate would have become little better than a pile of ashes, instead of the flourishing garden it is today.
The United States government was telling me, "Reverend Moon, stay away from here or we will put you into jail.,, They didn't know me very well. The United States has been enjoying the heights of prosperity, but now it is beginning its decline, along with the rest of Western civilization, and is heading toward its evening time.
The United States must change its attitude and say, "So far, we have only been living and prospering for our own sake. Now we are going to live for the sake of the world." That is the only way America can survive. Otherwise, this nation will flow away into the stream of past history. Do you understand this point?
What kind of a root and seed do you want? How about a diamond root? You women like diamonds, don't you? How about a root and seed of money, power, or knowledge? You want a true love root and seed. When true love is at the center, everything around it is fulfilled.
I spoke about the place you can rest for one year, but where is the place you can rest for ten years? It must be closer to the center of true love. Does anybody want to live ten years happily in one place and then go away? No, everyone wants to continue to live happily. Perhaps there are Americans who think that, since marriage is a happy state, they will get married five times in order to be five times happier. Does anyone think like that?
Some man might feel, "My wife is a very wonderful woman, but how can I live with her, looking at only her and loving only her, for the rest of my life and beyond, into eternity?" Do you say you want to enjoy variety and see many different faces? True love is really the magic maker. Even though your wife has only one face, with true love she will show a million different faces to you. You may think you are familiar with her fragrance, but that fragrance will last for millions of years, becoming sweeter and better all the time.
When you see older couples, you may think, "They are old and washed up," but that is not the case at all. With their wrinkles and bony bodies, they can taste a unique love at their age. How many years do you want to live happily? For ten, a hundred, ten thousand, or forever? If true love gets into you, it just keeps on going deeper and deeper toward the heart. How interesting it is. You want to touch your beloved's nose, eyes, every place. True love is forever.
There is no secular power which can truly take care of the world's situation-not military power, governmental authority, wealth or knowledge. Nothing like that is adequate. There is only one thing which can take care of everything, and that is true love.
What is true love? It is the love which is always situated in the center. We might call it center love. Other kinds of love are what we might call half love, crescent love, or square love, but they are never true love. So true love is center love. The point where the vertical and horizontal love cross is the center.
The center point of a circle is equal in distance from all points on the outside of the circle. A globe has three dimensions, so the front and rear distance to the center must also be the same. If you are sitting at the center point of the universe, then you are a part of everything. You have heard of the omnipresence of God-that is the meaning.
Where is our life? It is at the junction of the vertical and horizontal points. Where is your love? Where is your root, your lineage, your bloodline? For us to continue to live. we must have blood or lineage. Lineage means the blood flowing from one generation to the next. Why should we love our country and all other people? It is because we are connected to them through our lineage. We have the same root and the same trunk, flower and fruit. We are all from one tree. Many nutrients flow to different parts of the same tree depending on where they are needed.
Where is love's dwelling place? Don't forget that it is at the center point, the junction of the vertical, horizontal, and also the rear-front dimension. Love wants to dwell there forever.
Do you have that kind of vertical / horizontal connection point? What is your vertical connection point? It is your mind, your heart. Until now, no one in history has really understood the mind. No one can explain clearly what is the mind. But now you can proclaim, "My mind is my vertical connection point." What is your body? It is your horizontal connection point. How can you connect the two at the ideal place? They have to come together at the perfect 90 degree angle.
Sometimes the connection point between a person's mind and body is zero degrees! Or maybe it is 15 degrees, 70 degrees, or 180 degrees! There is too much variation in that angle among all the five billion people of the world. Wherever there is an imperfect angle of union between the vertical and horizontal lines, true love cannot dwell. But as soon as that angle is exactly 90 degrees, true love will be drawn there automatically. Once true love dwells in you, you can do anything. You can see everything. How can we learn about the mysterious vertical world of spirit? This is the Unificationists' homework.
You know yourself very well. What is the angle of junction between your mind and body? If your mind and body do not meet at right angles, you cannot dwell at the center point of love. Without understanding this point of center love, all human beings must be in one of the quarter points or quarter areas of love. Thus we have four major world religions. A person will have to belong to one of those four, rather than belonging right at the center. Surrounding the center point are representatives from Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam. A really good Christian will fight against himself all the time and be willing to die many times over for his faith. Then he will get closer and closer to the center point where man finally becomes one with God. When you reach there, then you spin and you know you are in the center.
Actually, this is not just a concept. The love of an individual is connected with the love of a clan, love of race, country, and world. There is absolutely no way the power of an individual can be connected to the power of a family, race, nation and world except through love. What makes this orderliness possible is love. Only love can connect the individual to the family level, to the national and cosmic level. Love is the essence of relationship.
What is a patriot? He or she is one who loves his country as much as his own parents, brethren, and spouse. What, then, is the definition of a saint? The saint is one whose love goes one sphere or level higher-he loves the world. Next we would describe a holy man or holy child of God. That is the one who can love the cosmos as his own family, his own country. The holy man must keep not only external law but also internal law. Being the highest center person, he will keep all laws.
Now you can understand deeply for the first time why you need your parents, why you need your spouse, and also why you need your children. It is in order to situate yourself in the true center. If you don't have all these relationships, you cannot set your direction in the universe. That means you cannot stay in the center. Once you move out of the center place, you will go astray and wander around.
If a woman loses her husband, she is sorrowful. What makes her so sad? If you asked this question of a doctor or scientist, he would probably try to explain it in analytical, perhaps even chemical terms. But such a person doesn't know what he is talking about. You, however, know how to answer that question. Universal law rejects anything that is irregular or unqualified. Thus we feel sad if we lose our spouse because we cannot stay where we want to stay.
When we are dwelling at the center place, the universe wants to protect and embrace us. You are truly secure there. But if you are lacking one essential point of relationship, then you will be rejected and pushed away that much. If you are lacking two elements, then you are pushed that much further away. Why do people experience disease and physical maladies? Disease occurs when you lack protection from the universe.
All family members are meant to go to the spirit world and live together forever. That world is unchanging. Can you deny your children there? Can you deny your brothers and sisters? No, you cannot change that relationship. By the same token, you cannot change the husband and wife relationship in the spirit world. Some people have left their spouse and children and divorced. Once they go to the spirit world, do you think they can be happy there? How about children-do you think they will be happy without the parents? The children who do not have parents in spirit world are rejected by the universe, so they are miserable. So are people who divorced their spouse and disowned their children. This is why everyone longs for his original parents-the parents who gave him physical life.
Man represents half of the sphere and women represents the other half. In the vertical relationship, man is the upper hemisphere and woman is the lower. All elements connect right here parents, children, husband and wife-all meet in one place. That is the nucleus of the family. Original true love started at the center point, the original center point of life, love, and the blood lineage.
When a young person reaches puberty, everything is exciting and stimulating to him. Just one blade of grass can fill him with wonder. The chirping of birds, the fluttering of butterflies, everything is interesting and wonderful. Nothing seems dirty or beneath discovery. Even if he is buried up to his chest in mud, it doesn't seem unpleasant. He wants to touch it and make it part of him.
When a man and woman start to embrace, they open their arms at the widest angle. Every being wants to be with them, to be a part of their embrace. That is why they are happy. When you get married, everything in the universe is a part of that relationship. God is represented, man and woman, and all of heaven and earth meet at the center love point. The ideal marriage of true love is when the husband and wife become one and never separate. They will become the center of the universe.
Let's imagine a woman, accustomed to her perfumes and cosmetics, whose husband comes home from work with dirty, smelly feet. What a contrast of smells to come to her nose! When your husband's smelly feet are not too offensive to you, then you are in love. That is the power of love.
This true couple will form a tremendous low pressure, and then, like thunder and lighting, discharge electricity. You will rise up, recharge and discharge, like inhaling and exhaling, shrinking and expanding. While you do this, do you become slightly smaller or larger? You become ever larger. Gradually your love will occupy the whole universe.
Once they understand marriage from this perspective, does anybody want to separate or divorce? You women are very imaginative, so stretch your mind: what do you want true love to do? You have thousands of strands of hair on your head. Suppose one hair stood up and grew faster, all by itself. That would be a very independent hair. You would want to grow that one strand of very independent, unique hair and you would be proud of it. Don't you think it would be proud of itself, too? It's one of a kind. Then you would say, "You resemble me, hair. How ambitious you are."
Just like that one strand of hair, one of the thousands in your head, your spouse becomes the mainstay for your life. Out of billions of people, you have one spouse who becomes your anchor line to the universe. This is a cosmic encounter. Why is it cosmic? This kind of true couple will form the right angle to set the cosmos in the true direction. Marriage is for the sake of the universe. To realize the universal ideal we get married-that's another meaning of marriage. It's not for the woman or for the man. It is so that they can follow the public law of the universe.
Marriage is very important, isn't it? Through marriage, new individuals come into the world. If there were no love or marriage, there would be no more human beings after several years, right? Clans, countries and the world itself come into being. Heaven itself will eventually come out of the small marriage unit. The foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven is marriage, the means of production of heavenly people.
What is the switch that starts up the machine to manufacture new products? In order to complete a circuit, you need two parts. To turn on the switch you need both man and woman. Do you think the contact point of that switch is on your fingertip? Where is the central contact point? Is it on your legs, hips or head? It is at the most hidden, secret place, your precious reproductive organs. Do the woman's sexual organs belong to herself? Who is the real owner of her reproductive organs? It is her husband, her one true husband. By the same token, who is the true owner of the man's sexual organ? It is his wife.
Thus the originating point of love is at the same place-not the head, mouth, or elsewhere. That original love fountain is the foundation for all love.
How precious are the sexual organs. When love is aroused within man and women, where do they connect? In that place. That most holy, sacred fountain was misused and corrupted by Satan. That is the original fountain of the family, tribe, nation and world. Do you understand?
Fallen woman does not know how to behave. When she walks, she shakes her hips seductively. Do you think that is God-centered action, or does that please Satan? Yes, Satan inspires the kind of woman who has no pride or dignity. But you Unification women are different. You say, "I will preserve love's fountain place. I will protect the foundation of true love and life." You know very well that that is the place of true love, the one place we cannot misuse.
When the parents' love breaks up, the whole family system breaks up. That means people are saying, "I don't need my parents or my ancestors, brothers and sisters, or children." That is the worst attitude, one which has no place in this universe. According to this, how would you judge the American family system and society? Is it heaven or hell? In many cases, it is even lower than the bottom of hell. How can we save America from the bottom of hell? How can we clean it up? This is the project, the homework of Reverend Moon and the Unification Church. Is that going to be an easy task? How difficult is it? If you make just one mistake and misuse your love one time, it is very difficult to clear up. If it is that difficult for one person, how terribly difficult to clear up an entire nation fallen into misuse of love! What a difficult situation this country is in.
Who will clean up the evils of this world-God's side, or Satan's side? Only God's side can do that. Yet, look at the established churches. They are not able to deal with the world. What about the Unification Church? This world is like a big rock rolling down from the top of the mountain, crushing everything in its path. What sort of power can stop this free-falling world? We need something greater than natural power. But now, God, the Unification Church and Reverend Moon do not have what we need. We need a unified nation of the world. Satan's side wants to see hundreds of nations in conflict around the world, but God wants only one unified nation of the world.
Who can save this earth? Until now, Satan's power has been shooting at the efforts of Reverend Moon on a daily basis. Look at the situation today: the free world has no more hope; the communist world has lost hope, too. The only hopeful place is with Reverend Moon. It is time for the world to come to that realization. Reverend Moon is only one man with relatively few followers, so how can we break the free fall of the world's situation? Given the tremendous power of Satan's side and our small numbers, how can we bring victory?
If we are going to influence a thousand people, it will take a tremendous amount of energy. How can we influence even larger numbers of people? What sort of power can we use? There is only one source which we can tap, the power of love. That means we must exhibit sacrificial love. Only by our own total self-dedication can we influence this world. Since God cannot manifest Himself, He always sends the person and group, according to the time, who can show the example of sacrificing. That is the way to move millions of people at one time. That has always been God's way.
My sermon this morning is entitled "The Pinnacle of the Heavenly Universe." Where is that pinnacle, that top of the universe? It is right here within our family, with our eternal parents, our children, our brethren. Just as we love them, we also love our country and our world.
Think of yourself as the arch-priest of love. You are going to love your spouse, who represents the whole universe. Think of your parents as representatives of the whole world's parents; you represent the world's parents to your own children. You should think, "My son is the arch-son; my daughter is the arch-daughter, representing the whole world of women."
When we have enough of those original families, then there will be a flowing spring, enough to fill the earth. The true couples are the beginning point. The eternal geography of a town may remain the same, but its spiritual fragrance will change. It will become an entirely different place. People of the town will look at your families and ask, "What sort of power do you have? How can you form such a beautiful family in this society?" The people of the whole world will want to see you. They will all proclaim, "How wonderful is this family!"
That will push God to an even higher pinnacle; the world itself will be elevated to a higher place. That is the highest pinnacle of the heavenly universe. That is where love is, where life started and the blood lineage began. The main trunk of this life, love and lineage pass through your family.
Even though they do it out of ignorance, can we tolerate the schools teaching children how to experience love and giving them sex education? Should we leave that alone, or should we wipe it out? You, too, were ignorant before, weren't you? But you cut away from that fallen root and grafted yourself onto the new root of life, didn't you? Now, our task is to do the same for others.
What do you suppose I was like in my own youth? Was I a very ordinary person, or did I stand out from the crowd? Yes, I stood out. If you women had been eligible for the Blessing at that time and I had asked you to marry me, would all of you have scrambled to say yes, or not? Suppose you had said, "No matter what, I will cling to Father. I will not let him go. He has to choose me." But then if you were not chosen, would you have hated me and the woman I did choose? You American women, your virtue is frankness, so answer my question. You have to praise what happened. That is the way history took its course. If someone lingers in resentment, like lingering in the past, her next generation cannot survive.
Suppose one woman could not accept the fact that I did not choose her as my spouse, and she just could not get over her sadness. Suppose she wept all the time, and I tolerated her for a while, but then I finally reprimanded her mercilessly. What is love, then? At that time, merciless reprimand would be love, rather than just unending sympathy. She, too, must find her right position and situate herself in the realm of true love.
Do you women stay home while your husbands are out working hard for the sake of the world? Then when your husband comes home tired and skinny from not eating, do you start complaining to him? "Why don't you talk to me and keep me company?" True love doesn't want to stay in that kind of miserable place. You have to know that, especially you American women. Now you know a lot of things!
As members of the family, we must protect and keep the true family intact. That means every day we must be praising each other-parents praising their children; husband praising his wife; wife praising her husband; children praising their parents; brothers and sisters praising each other. This love organization must be preserved.
The three elements of the love organization-life, love, and lineage are centered within the sexual organs of man and woman. Do you understand? You must protect that most sacred place. Misusing that love place only one time means you immediately damage all those three elements.
You must never misuse your love. Don't misuse your lips by kissing impurely. Don't touch anyone except your own arch-priest and priestess of love - there is only one for each man or woman, not two. Otherwise, you have to lock yourself into an iron girdle and give the key only to your true spouse. Do you understand?
You may have wondered where is the pinnacle of the heavenly universe. But now you know - it is within you, within your family. Your own children will say to you men, "Father, you are the greatest being in the universe." We have to get that kind of respectful comment. Your wife should also be regarded as greater than the queen of the universe by your children. Each couple must be so highly regarded by their own children. Then the parents should be able to have pride in the children. That is because each of you occupies the highest place in the heavenly universe. There is absolutely no place in the Unification Church family for a husband to belittle his wife, a wife to belittle her husband, or the parents to treat the children inconsiderately.
I came to this earth to correct the world's situation and to establish this true family pattern to prevail for the rest of eternity. This is my purpose of being here on earth. Amen!
Those who are blessed couples, please raise your hands. Have you made the family which is worthy of inheriting all the tradition of heaven and earth? Several of my own children have started their families, and many of you, too, have children. After that, what should we have? The family is the basic unit, but we do not have a nation or a world which we can call God's. What are we going to do? Are we going to destroy the unrighteous world? No, we must build up the altar of love and sacrifice in order to save that world.
Our family is the altar, our life is the sacrifice. In that way, we save our clans. Every day, you are making an offering ceremony with your own family. By living this way, you will automatically extend your influence for God's sake. Others will be drawn to you and you will be able to teach them. You can talk to people and teach them, point by point, how to find true happiness. You can teach them about the original ideal for the world, pointing out how bad this world has become and how unhappy are the families and societies of this world because of Satan's influence. Then you can teach them how to get Satan out of their life, out of this world. Explain that the world cannot save itself; it must receive the words of truth.
The sacrificial way is talking every day, laughing every day, touching every day, centered on true love. Once someone is touched by true love, they never want to be separated from it. Everyone's original mind wants to touch and be connected with true love. We are constantly making sacrifice, burning the incense of love. This is the Unification Church way of life. That sweet smell of incense will attract the people around you. In that way, we are expanding and multiplying our Unification way. Do you understand?
I am doing the same thing every day. I came to the United States 15 years ago, and nobody here knew me. I was only one man, but I built an altar and burned the incense of love. The American nose didn't like that smell. I didn't stay in one place but went around the countryside, making noise and commotion wherever I went. People in every part of this country heard about Reverend Moon. Many Americans wanted me to leave. Your own relatives and parents didn't like me. Even so, I persevered and continued to stir things up.
Four seasons of the Unification Church have now passed by-spring, summer, autumn and winter. Winter was the time when we experienced the worst persecution from the outside world. That includes the time when I was put into Danbury prison. Americans have been full of self-confidence, smugly saying, "We are good, but the Unification Church is going the opposite way from us. Let's drink champagne to toast ourselves.', However, they are celebrating Satan's side.
Once the winter time is past, what is the next season? Not autumn but spring. That is the natural way. Now that we are in the spring season, we are seeing many new things. Green is everywhere. We no longer face persecution. People say, "Look at how beautiful the Unification garden is, with its lovely green plants and big, fragrant flowers. Look at that!" Then when we start bearing fruit, it is even more sweet and lovely. Many non-members are now testifying to the Unification Church. They are giving better testimony than you!
In two years, we are going to hold our New World Cultural Festival. People will say, "How wonderful is the Unification Church. How wonderful are the blessed couples!,, Aren't you wonderful? You are so great, so beautiful, such wonderful couples! So, are you happy?
Now the Unification Church has everything a nation. We have true parents, true children, true tribes, but not a true nation. How can we save our country? Always Satan has been occupying the nations. We have to take back our nation. That is our mission, our project.
What do you think? In the ideal world, will we be the same color or different colors? The love color is one color, the love race is everything and everyone. That's true. The love race includes white people, black people, yellow people, everybody. Centered on love, we don't separate according to race; unified, we share one family love throughout the world. With that kind of center, God will be here.
We love our family and we know how important that is. Now we have to turn our eyes to the country. Without the true country, our family is not going to be protected. After the country, the world itself must be loved and restored. When we have a whole world which is united, we can live eternally within our own family in peace and happiness, here and in the spirit world. This is our course.
Now the Berlin Wall has crumbled and East and West Germany are coming together. That is like the destruction of the wall around Jericho in the Bible. When I visited Europe, it was a symbolic visit by the president of Korea, as well. I am visiting America now, and soon I will return to Korea, making the firm connection. Once there was a heavy, closed door, but now it is swinging open. No one knows what is going to happen, what they should do, how to respond. The United States doesn't know what they should do with the situation in Europe. Nobody knows what to expect from Europe in the future. However, I do know what to expect and I know what this country must do to support the changes and make them work.
This is a very interesting time in history. The United States, Russia, China, Europe, Korea, Japan-whoever listens to Reverend Moon and takes heed will determine their national prosperity in the future. That means if they listen clearly to my message and teaching, they will become the country of God, the true country which God can claim. Did you see that recent full-page advertisement regarding the Russian newspaper article? What did you think? The liberal media has opposed me and our movement, but ironically the communists have understood me. Now they have written this article, on behalf of all the world's media people. The liberal Western newspaper people from now on, after looking at what is happening, will have to change. Will they come to Reverend Moon with a more arrogant attitude, or won't they be humble and ask to listen to me now?
For Russia to change from one extreme to the other is more powerful than for the whole of America to turn around. What intelligence can Americans boast of if they are outdone by the Russians.
You may also have heard about what we are doing in China. We are building a huge automobile plant-the Panda Project-in continental China. It is beyond the drawing board; it is reality. General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, BMW every automotive company petitioned the Chinese government for this project, but they were all turned down. Who was accepted? Reverend Moon's movement.
We have had a tug-of-war, a wrestling match with this world and now it is starting to move our way. More and more people are coming, wanting to learn about the Divine Principle. Who will be the first ones to teach the Principle Russia, the United States, Japan, Korea?
Should I go to the East or the West? Do Eastern people go East or West? They should go West, and Western people should go East. If Westerners go to the East ignorant of the culture, they will just be chased out. But if you go there, saying, "I am a follower of Reverend Moon, a member of the Unification Church, not a typical Westerner" you will be okay. The Koreans will say, "I understand. You are welcome."
The academic world is very confused and chaotic now. They know Western civilization has passed its apex and that this is the beginning of the Eastern and Pacific era. But they don't know how to go to the East and connect with the new era. They are beginning to realize that they have to follow Reverend Moon and hang onto him no matter what, and in that way they will have an entry to the East.
I am in the process of gathering people now. Some did not understand in the past and they rejected Reverend Moon, but now they have no place to go. They find themselves in a very difficult position. What about you? Even though you are sitting here in New York, are you really in America or in Korea? Why do you say Korea? Is it because you are sitting on the hard floor? In America, nobody does that. You have been connected with Korea for many years now. How many times did you sit on the floor? Ten years ago, you would rudely out your legs in front of you when you sat on the floor, but almost none of you does that any more. You should be extremely proud of the fact that you belong to the East and to True Parents now.
Pretty soon, it will take only three hours to fly to the Orient. Maybe there will be only one hour flying time, one hour taking off, and one hour landing. That will be supersonic transport. The world is within the realm of one day now. You can have breakfast in New York, lunch in Tokyo, and sleep in London. Imagine if you could fly around the world in 3 hours but then had to spend 3 hours clearing customs in the country of your destination! Nobody would want to visit a country like that.
Technology has now enabled us to send letters around the world in seconds. As I speak here, it could be heard simultaneously by people in every nation. A seven-day Divine Principle workshop could be given here in New York and telecast around the world. It only takes one good lecturer to reach the whole world!
Who will God bless-Americans, Koreans, Japanese? I have looked everywhere but no country is doing God's work, only the Unification Church members. Why? You are the only breed which lives for the sake of other people. Everybody else in the world is living for their own sake, contrary to God's will. There is no way except for the Unification Church members to prosper. This has to be the conclusion.
Those who do not understand something cannot teach it to others. This is a really serious reality today. The world is bound to learn about Reverend Moon, one way or the other, so this is the prime time for all Unification Church members. For a few more years, you will still have a chance to teach other people, but after that, you won't be able to witness. People will start connecting to me directly. They will also connect to Korea. Where will America stand? If you cannot find anybody to take to Korea, you won't be able to go, either, and you will be the last in line. Do you see? Who will you take with you to Korea?
You know, the Russians are very ambitious, even though they know how far behind the United States they are. They aren't dumb. They know me very well. The newspaper says that the Russians know Reverend Moon better than the Americans do. What a shame. They were saying, " You know, Reverend Moon, if we printed the Divine Principle in Russian and just one time distributed it around our country, you wouldn't believe the results! They would far surpass what you have done in the past 40 years. America will be no problem. The world and all its countries will be no problem."
Where can you find knowledge about God, the world, and the future of mankind? There is other place but in the Unification Church. You were in Egypt and then you had to go out to Canaan. You have to take all your clan with you, right? Don't be a straggler, don't be left out. We have to bring our own physical father and mother, our siblings to the new country of Canaan. Let us march forward to the country of our hope. Amen!
Those who say, "I will go that way" please raise your hands. The question is, are you going to be seeking the easiest way, or are you going to be serious and painstaking? Why must you go the painful way? I had to work very, very hard to get the results I obtained. You, too, must work hard. You must dig down very deeply to plant the seeds of the next generation. From that, strong new plants will spring forth.
Therefore, I want to hear you say, "I will take on the hard work for God." When you have this attitude, the Unification Church will never perish. The first generation of Israelites lost their perspective, and therefore they perished in the wilderness. At this time, the same thing will happen to you if you lose your willingness to take the hardest path. Do you understand? Let us pray.
*The date on this speech, December 1, 1984 seems wrong. This appears to be an OCR error, as Rev. Sun Myung Moon was in Danbury Federal Prison on December 1, 1984. It looks like the correct date for this speech is December 1, 1989.