Sun Myung Moon
May 16, 1981
Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Korea
Invitational seminar for prominent members of society
Photo date and location unknown
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen of Korea:
I feel deeply honored that we could convene this meeting of intellectuals today. We are meeting on the theme, “Today’s Intellectuals and Religion,” so I would like to present my views on this topic.
All people seek higher values, and I’m sure you are interested in what the Unification Church teaches in this regard. Every organization has its affirmations, and every nation has affirmations on which it bases its national policies. According to its affirmations, an organizations administration or institutions move toward its goal. Therefore, the Unification Church also has its own affirmations.
As everyone knows, human desire is insatiable. Each individual has desires for him or herself, the family has desires for itself, and the society, the nation and the world all have their own desires. Seen in this light, it goes without saying that human beings are searching for something of a higher dimension or of greater value. In this universe, or when seen from a religious point of view, if there is a new, previously unseen world, the question is what place of settlement am I progressing toward. Until the present day, philosophy and all religions that deal with questions of life have treated this issue as one of the greatest importance. Where is life headed? Every human being has his or her own individual desires and values. Those desires aim for the highest purpose and the greatest value.
In pursuing your professional field, you guide yourself according to the standard set by the leading scholars in the world in that field. In the same way, if a great Being who is the subject partner of our goals exists in the universe, then everything needs to move according to the standard set by that Being. This is why in the human world, even for those who do not adopt a religious point of view, questions about saints and God appear. Seen in this light, we can conclude that the place of settlement of all our human desires is God.
What does God need?
If you were to find God wouldn’t you want to ask Him what He needs? As God, what does He desire? If God were to desire something, then from the moment we discover God, we would be able to help advance only toward what God desires.
What do you think God needs? He does not need the material things or money that we in the human world pursue today. He does not need knowledge, which is what you distinguished scholars here today seek. God is omniscient, so He does not need to acquire knowledge. He does not need more power either. If God does have a desire, then it is vital that we human beings, who stand in the mirror-image position to God, entertain the same desire. If we add all these things together, what conclusion do we reach? The only conclusion we can come to is that God needs love.
Why would God, an omniscient and omnipotent Being, need love? It is because love cannot arise of its own accord; it absolutely needs a reciprocal-partner relationship in order to be realized. Can love come spontaneously from within itself? No matter how much of an urge to love you have within yourself, love cannot generate spontaneously from itself. There has to be an object partner. Love must be fulfilled through an object partner.
What was the purpose of God’s creating? Did He form the world in an arbitrary fashion? Did He have a one-sided purpose? Simply stated, He created the world because He wanted to feel joy and take pleasure in His creation. What would make God feel joy and take pleasure? He didn’t create all things in the universe to feel joy through money or any of the other things humans crave. He created the universe in order to feel joy through love. The creation of all things in the universe is to realize this very purpose.
What is the highest hope of creation? Where is the highest point of settlement? If we say God created all things to feel joy through love, then the created world can’t escape from relationships rooted in love. All creation is involved in relational give-and-receive action as the way to receive God’s love.
What comes first, energy or action?
Many scientists in the world today have concluded that the universe came about through energy. They believe the formation of the universe was based on the existence of energy. Do you think this is so? Before there is energy there must be something else. Energy has a prerequisite. A process of action takes place, which generates energy. Our heart is the driving force of our energy, and when it stops, so does our life. You probably get around in a car, so you know that when the engine fails, the power to go forward ceases. So does energy or action come first? Action is first. Seen in this light, if there is no action, energy cannot exist.
When we look at the structure of every cell in our body, all components combine to create the realm of action that maintains the force of life. I’m saying that no matter how strong certain energy is, it cannot simply generate itself from within itself. There must be an action before energy can arise. However, even this action cannot arise by itself. First, in order to establish the conditions necessary for this action to come about, there absolutely needs to be a relationship of subject partner and object partner. We need to understand this point clearly.
So what was the origin of the universe? It did not originate with energy. First there had to be a subject partner-object partner relationship, then energy was generated from the interaction of the subject and object partners. From this point, the direction the energy takes differs. If the action is of a certain nature, the energy will go in one direction; if it is of a different nature, it will go in another direction; although if there is a comprehensive action, the energy will go in a single direction.
The question is, what is the action that can harmonize all these directions? For example, if our arm is performing one action, our heart is performing another, and our blood vessels and nervous system are performing others, what is it that can guide this energy to unite all these actions so they can go in one direction? All this has been a matter of great interest in recent times, and it can only be a matter of great concern for intellectuals today.
There must be a great purpose to which the central action connects, and with which the center is in harmony. There is a central action behind energy that possesses a nature such that the more you come into contact with it, the more you rub against it, the more joy you feel. When you ask what this is, the answer is true love. True love harmonizes all actions. If we say God seeks love to feel joy, it is because joy stands in the same position as our own primary desire. Because God created all things to exist for others, all these things have true love as their subject partner and can only help keep time with the rhythm of love.
That is why, in a village if there is a healthy family that’s full of love, then the village dogs will be attracted to that house. They will want to linger there, and the sparrows will want to come and sit on the fence and tarry there. The house where the sparrows come and chirp out their song is usually the home of the central and most generous family in that village. What I’m saying is that even puppies and tiny insects align themselves with this rhythm of ideal love. They exist in a give-and-receive action relationship that is aligned with the direction of the great action of the universe. We human beings ourselves are like this as well. Then what do we have to do to follow the path of love? The action of love cannot escape from the realm of subject and object partners.
The action of love originates from unity
When we look at human beings, we can see they are made according to a dual structure. On the one hand, there is the action of the human mind. Even though it is invisible, it is undeniable. On the other hand, there is the action of the human body; everyone knows well about this. Why do we have the action of the body and the action of the mind? If you see these in terms of subject partner and object partner, one is like the male form and the other like the female form. The subject partner, or plus type, is the internal “me” you cannot see, and the object partner, or minus type, is the external “me” you can see. How does it come to be like this? The action behind each is different. All of you, please clasp your hands together. As you can see, you have clasped your hands together in many different ways. Some of you have clasped your hands up like this, and some down like this.
Because everything is connected, and moves within a realm of subject and object partners, there has to be spherical movement. It is because their action takes place within the realm set by the standard of the two partners. So, while displaying unique aspects, everything ultimately resembles a sphere.
Let us consider man and woman. While they always stand in relation to each other, their actions are fundamentally different. As a whole, men are bigger and women are smaller. Like the action of both hands in a relationship, they make one. I’m saying that both are in action; from the moment they collide, a new action of love is brought into existence. It doesn’t work if each is alone. When there are two together, with a common purpose, the action of love explodes at the contact point where each individual joins with the other in harmony.
Then how is it that an explosive action enters through love? Physics tells us that whenever there is movement, energy is spent. In thermodynamics, the energy output is always less than the energy input. Considering this principle, then, a very important question is how action can be perpetuated.
Therefore, when different actions come into contact with each other, wouldn’t the magnificently scientific God consider how to inject an explosive action? The action of love is the place of settlement where two can join together and have a relationship. This is a fascinating topic. When the two collide, they push and strain against each other through love. They go backward and forward and all around through love. They push against and bang against each other through love. I am saying that this is the expansion of continued action, and the mainstream realm of action continues forever.
That’s why if there is a plus, there is a minus. How do the plus and minus join together? The joining together is the very action of the plus and the minus. The minus won’t move if there is a loss for itself. This is because it seeks a standard that can be of benefit to itself. It joins with a plus, creating a larger plus. It tries to progress, based on the desire to achieve a greater purpose, toward the place of settlement of the highest value. So we conclude it goes toward a higher dimension of love.
The ultimate purpose of all beings is God’s love
Today, the desires of human beings are fragmented. The economist is interested in the economy, the intellectual craves knowledge, the politician wants power. The desires of each individual, of families, of clans, all have their circumstances connected with the past, yet they are pulled around according to the situation. People are doing things, but everything falls short. That’s because human desire has a fundamental problem: everyone demands to be the subject partner. Each person is saying, “I am the subject partner, and so you have to attach yourself to me.”
What is the malady affecting humankind today? Having no money is not the malady. Lack of knowledge is not the malady. A particular social group lacking sovereign power is not the malady. Rather, the malady is trying to draw everything to oneself. When every individual insists on his or her own opinion, the basis for the plus-minus ideal is nullified. Human beings have to move according to the right action. Action has to perfect itself and proceed in a way that can lead to engagement in another subject partnerobject partner relationship.
If every existence tries to center on itself, it will cease existing. If it revolves only inside this cramped space, it will cease existing. It confronts itself. The formation of the great universe becomes impossible. If God exists, what would God think? He would say in order for each existence to connect to the universe and continue living, it needs to live for others. Everything has to go along the path of living for others.
Every existence is designed to live for a greater purpose. The individual can advance forward by living for the family purpose, the family for the purpose of the tribe, the tribe for the purpose of the nation, the nation for the purpose of the world, and, if there is a spirit world, the world for the purpose of heaven and earth, and heaven and earth for the purpose of God. If we ask what God’s purpose is, the answer is that God’s purpose is love. Everything is on the path of love. There is a flow of love, and everything, beginning from single cells and microorganisms, is like a tributary that flows to become a great river that’s connected to the ocean. Unless the rule and content of this flow accord with natural law, it cannot go into the ocean. Because I realized all this from a young age, I knew we had to have a new revolution. And this great revolution is taking place now.
A child of filial piety has to walk the path of suffering. When he or she follows this path, there has to be some stimulating source of power by which he or she can overcome and digest all the valuable contents of the ordeals and suffering. The subject partner that can take responsibility for this is love. Even distinguished scholars cannot deny this.
What is a patriot? A patriot follows the same principle. When it comes to loving the citizens and the leader of his or her country, a patriot is a person who can unite the elements of the principle of love of the universe, embracing the citizens. When he or she embraces the citizens with love, they are happy even if they are roughed up a bit.
Ladies and gentlemen, what kind of person is a saint? There are many patriots in each country. There are many great people in each country. So what is the difference between a saint and a patriot or great person? A saint is someone who loves all humankind, attending God. When it comes to loving humankind, a saint takes the position of a standard-bearer. He or she leads others to the path that is in accord with the great way of the universe. A saint’s life doesn’t end there. Next, he or she has to become a son or daughter of Heaven. What is the path of a son or daughter of Heaven? It is the path to sort out the suffering of God and humankind and achieve the purpose of love.
What, then, is it that the Unification Church asserts? Each of you must walk the path that follows the way of the original love of the universe and then pour out all you have for your parents, your children, your tribe, your nation and the world. You have to develop a higher level of love like this. And in the end, all that is left is to occupy God’s love.
Seen in this light, it is only through love that unity is possible. When you go to that place of love, you become one with your object partner of love. However, when you center such action on your own mind and body, it usually does not work very well. This is because of the Fall, which put human beings out of order. Existential philosophy discusses extreme alienation and anxiety, and the question is how we can overcome that. We have to overcome it with love.
Our theme today is, “Today’s Intellectuals and Religion.” In your position, then, what do you need to think about? No matter how great a scholar you are, no matter what kind of world-level politician or saint you may be, as a person who needs love, you cannot escape the conclusion that you need a religion that believes in God. If you don’t need love, it is all right to ignore the way of religion and the way of seeking for God.
You came here today, and if you consider my words and apply them to your life, or to ethics and morality in society, or to each of your fields of work, I believe that a new standard of ideals and happiness will expand to the Republic of Korea and the world. It is with this in mind that I have briefly spoken to you today. Thank you very much.