Great Construction

An Age of Civilization Inspired
by a Hitherto Unknown Religious Sentiment

Part II

     From yet another different perspective, to describe the kind of person I am, from birth to middle age, as I related previously, I was an average person with nothing unusual to distinguish me, but from middle age, I fell into adverse circumstances, the world became a complete puzzle to me, and I became the captive of skepticism to the nth degree. That was the occasion I turned to faith, a result of which I became a member of the Omoto religion, underwent appropriate spiritual training and reached the point that I could see God. The state of seeing God has since antiquity been said to be unobtainable even if a lifetime effort were to be expended. As I was able to obtain this level simply through training not long in duration, this point should certainly speak to the unprecedented nature of my person. From that time on, I was a different man and became aware of my divine mission, miracles continued successively, and the skepticism within me blew away. This was accompanied by an astonishingly great change in my way of thinking. At the same time, I became very withdrawn. To put it simply, I became fearless as well as timid.
     As for my audacity, it could probably be understood from my aspirations and actual results in the business world, but part of my timidity was that I was very poor at speaking among and with large groups of people, to a point which even I considered strange. These days, I have been able to accustom myself to my condition, and I did come to be able to speak as I wish, but until that time, I was not like that at all. But, then again, I am audacious in my intense dislike of injustice, and the more unjust my opponent, the more there wells up within me the strong conviction to win at all costs. An example of this sentiment is a lawsuit that as of this year has been going on for fourteen years. This lawsuit is over a piece of land. The opponent has run out of patience and has already proposed an out-of-court settlement three times, but as the opponent has shown no sign of contrition or remorse, I would have none of it. I have heard from the opponent’s side that the judge in the case is really at his wits’ end and is recommending settlement out of court. At another time, I had a quarrel with one of the major newspapers. As I was going to fight, there were those who urged me to stop, saying it could not be anticipated what kind of bad things might happen, but I did not give up, and that I fought on the pages of the Hikari newspaper as it was then known is something readers probably know. I am prepared to take on the whole world in the name of justice.
     The above are my audacious aspects, but let me also write a bit about the timid aspects. When I am asked by someone for a favor, I cannot but help if it is for a right cause. Also are the times when I see people suffering even though they have done nothing wrong, and I cannot sit still. Toward the mistaken things in this world, I can only be indignant, and I try as hard as I can to improve matters as quickly as possible. This is probably best understood from observing my efforts to point out the defects of modern Western medical science, constantly warning all, trying to decrease even if only by a little the suffering afflicted upon humanity. Then again, from youth I have enjoyed working hard to try to make others happy, to help others, to help them pursue their happiness, and to obtain ease of mind and hope. You could almost say it has become a hobby with me. This is because an aspect of an individual’s heart is vividly projected to me, so when an appeal is made to me about sufferings and agonies, those feelings reflect to me, and I also suffer. This digression has become long, so let me proceed to the essential point.
     By looking at the various ways that I differ from other people as I have described above, my mission and goals should be self-evident. I proceed based on the basic premise of the complete salvation of this world and its peoples, but the final goal is the creation of a new civilization. In simple terms, the goal is a spiritual civilization based on religious sentiment, that is, a great jump from our materialistic civilization to a religious one. It is the replacement of the materialistic civilization which gives birth to misfortune and unhappiness by a religious civilization that gives birth to fortune and happiness. Using elements of the highest value and level from the materialistic civilization that has made so much progress, a religion of power will be erected. The civilization of evil will be superseded by a civilization of good. At the dawn of this success, our world will experience a golden age of complete truth, virtue, and beauty, the emergence of a paradisical world that at present cannot even be imagined.
     Even stated as simply as this, it is not an easy task. That is because, although an ideal long held by humanity, there was no one who appeared to put the idea of heaven on earth into practice. It was not the proper time, but rejoice because the time has come for such a world to soon become a reality, and someone like myself has been born into this human world bestowed by God with great power. If this is thoroughly understood, the absolute possibility of the actual realization of paradise cannot but be believed. Publicizing my greatness is not at all my intention, and it is only necessary that the actual situation of who I am and what I do is conveyed, so as such, as the numbers of individuals who believe increase, God’s great love will expand, and larger the number of those who can be saved.
     I believe that the preceding has shown without one whit of room for doubt the reality that it is the eve of destruction of the evil world and the dawn of the world of good. Preparations for such a great global transition were already made by God millions of years ago. It could be termed a historical program. What else can the admonitions of Jesus Christ that the “kingdom of heaven is near” and “believe and you will be saved” mean? My very words here are none other than the gospel of heaven. 

Eikô, Issue 117, August 15, 1951
translated by cynndd