E24145

     For what purpose are human beings born in this world? The answer to this question must first be acknowledged. The answer is that God created human beings in order to fulfill the purpose of the divine economy on this earth of building an ideal world. God has given each human being a mission for which they act in accord with divine intent. The advancement of culture from primitive times to the brilliance that is seen today and the development of human intelligence to the present levels have been for no other purpose. Human beings who are the highest level of living creatures, all living creatures, nay, including plants, minerals, and other forms as well, are composed of the two elements of spirit and body. If spirit departs from any of these forms, the form perishes, but here I will explain the process for human beings.
     When the human physical body cannot be used any further, through that such as old age, disease, or huge amounts of hemorrhaging, spirit throws away the physical body, separates, and goes to the spiritual world to there become a resident where life of spirit starts. This process is true for any race in the world. An illustration from England after World War I is the book that sold extremely well, The Survival of Man by Oliver Lodge about his son who had been drafted into the war and had died in Belgium. The book is an account of the spirit of his son who used many methods to try to communicate with his father. In those days, the book was read in many countries and sparked an impetus for research into the spiritual world. The fever for spiritual research was high and excellent spiritual mediums continually appeared. Another thing that occurred was when the author of the novel The Blue Bird, Maurice Maeterlink, learned about the actuality of spirit, changed his view of fate entirely, and subsequently became an earnest researcher, an account known to all in the field of spiritual research.
     After that, Dr. J. S. M. Ward of France [sic] published Gone West, and the topics of the spiritual world and spiritualism became very popular. With Dr. Ward’s work, the study of the spiritual world became quite exhaustive. Gone West is a record of a period when once a week for about an hour, Dr. Ward would enter into a state of non-self as he sat in a chair and went to the spiritual world. Dr. Ward enriched his knowledge of the spiritual world when at these times, the spirit of the doctor’s grandfather explained various aspects of the spiritual world and the doctor became acquainted with the reality of the spiritual world in detail. The spirits of various friends also performed the role of guiding him. These accounts are of much interest and greatly provide resources for learning about life in the spiritual world, so I hope that readers peruse these accounts. Of course, it is inevitable that there are differences between the spiritual world of the West and that of Japan. Using various examples about phenomena of the spiritual world, I will explain spiritual phenomena in Japan as well as in the West.
     Some ten years ago, there was a report in the newspapers that several hundred spiritual research societies had come into being in the United Kingdom and were very active. It was said that even a spiritual university had been established, and I would be interested to know how matters are at present since the war.
     In the remaining part of this book, I will explain step by step various aspects of the spiritual world.

Glimpses into the Spiritual World, Jikan Library, Volume 3, page 5, August 25, 1949
translated by cynndd

* * *

“Reikai no Sonzai,” originally published as the first chapter of the book Reikai Sōdan, Jikan Sōsho, Sanpen (Glimpses into the Spiritual World, Jikan Library, Volume 3), page 5, August 25, 1949, and then while Meishu-sama still alive, reprinted in Goshinsho: Shūkyōhen (Divine Writings: Volume on Religion), page 128, March 25, 1954, has appeared in translation. Citation is given below for reference.

“Spirits and the Spiritual World,” Teachings of Meishu-sama, Volume Two, 1968, page 86. (This translation is an amalgamation of this essay with “Reikai to Genkai” (“The Spiritual World and the Physical World” [C6-203]) and “Yūrei wa Aru ka” (“Do Ghosts Exist?” [C5-287])

“The Existence of the Spiritual World,” Foundation of Paradise, 1984, page 67.

“Spirits and the Spiritual World,” Teachings of Meishu-sama, Volume Two, 1968/2004, page 57. (This translation is an amalgamation of this essay with “Reikai to Genkai” (“The Spiritual World and the Physical World” [C6-203]) and “Yūrei wa Aru ka” (“Do Ghosts Exist?” [C5-287])