Father’s Speech on August 28, 1991 at Little Angels Performing Arts Center, Seoul, Korea
Honorable Presidents, Respected World Leaders, Distinguished Scholars and Religious Leaders of the World, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Today, upon the founding of the Federation for World Peace, I am very honored and pleased by the presence of such distinguished leaders of the world. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your coming and for making this ceremony most memorable.
From the beginning of human history until the present time there has never been a period that did not aspire for lasting peace nor has there ever been a person who did not wish for true peace during his or her own lifetime.
Yet, contrary to the desire of all men and in spite of our great achievements, human history has yet to secure world peace. It has stubbornly been running in the opposite direction. At no time have we been void of war and bloodshed. Why is this so?
In contemporary history mankind has experienced two world wars. In 1914, by the assassination of an Austrian archduke at Sarajevo in Bosnia, the first world war was ignited. Eventually this war engulfed the whole of Europe. Sixteen nations were involved. In the end at least thirty million men and women were either wounded or dead. It was Europe’s worst tragedy.
The inhumanity and severity of this war prompted world leaders to acutely realize the need to strive for world peace at all costs, to end all wars. On the wave of this genuine desire for peace and longing for the improvement of human welfare, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States spearheaded the founding of the League of Nations.
Although the League handled over forty political disputes with varying degrees of success, its inability to resolve major crises between the powers eventually determined its failure. Sadly, President Wilson could not even get its ratification in the United States Senate and his noble dream for peace and the world’s ardent desire to exterminate all war had failed.
Less than twenty years after the ending of World War I mankind faced another cataclysmic war. This time World War II not only engulfed the Atlantic Region but the Pacific Region as well. Many more millions of humanity would be the victims of war, suffering injury or death and destruction. Only after the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan did this most tragic world war come to an end.
Once more world leaders were alarmed and anguished. They searched to find a viable solution in order to prevent the world from becoming, again, a living hell due to war. The outcome of their search was the United Nations, which was inaugurated on April 25, 1945, in San Francisco, and has since been running for 46 years.
Yet, has the last 46 years since the inception of the United Nations alleviated the tragedy of wars and has humanity been living in peace? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Even after the United Nations more wars came: the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War are just some of the major conflicts out of more than sixty wars or skirmishes since the end of World War II. Thus once again the cycle of human destruction has been repeated as before.
Why is peace so difficult to achieve? Today we are gathered together here for the inauguration of the Federation for World Peace. Before we proceed, however, knowing the previous record of mankind, we must think deeply and analyze accurately why peace is so difficult to achieve. Without knowing the causes of war, we would very well be committing the same repetition of past history, and the noble goals and ambitions of this Federation will be for nought.
Ladies and gentlemen, up until this time people longed for and anguished for peace, yet unfortunately without having a true philosophy or meaning of peace. Without these there can be no true methodology for achieving that peace.
The fundamental reason for peace constantly eluding mankind is rather simple yet profound. When mankind lost God Almighty, at that moment mankind lost the ability to attain true peace. Since then humanity has repeatedly tried to restore peace but has been met with failure, because they tried without God. This is the fundamental error mankind has been committing. This is the real reason why we have not yet achieved peace.
GOD’S IDEAL OF CREATION
God Almighty is the source of true love and true peace. How could this Almighty God have created a world where its inhabitants are pitted against each other in war and mutual killing? It is absolutely illogical.
God created man in His own image. Furthermore, God created man as a holy temple in which He, God Himself, wanted to dwell. Suppose each individual is a perfected temple of God so that each individual is living every minute of each day with the spirit of God dwelling within him. In this situation could man war against man?
In the original world of God’s creation men struggling against men is something like your right hand fighting against your left hand. Or, even worse, your own hand pulling out your own eyes. In other words, in the ideal world of creation it was an impossibility to have war among men. In this ideal world man is only capable of loving each other, harmonizing together. The only challenge there would be is in competing in ways to glorify our Creator better and better.
No matter how big the population of this world, it is still like one person’s body. In one human body, as you know, there are many billions of cells. Although each cell has its own individuality, among them there is no contradiction. Likewise, each individual in the original world would become a temple of God and that same God would be dwelling in the hearts of billions. How can that God, for His own survival in each person, engender a contradiction among men? It is impossible.
In such a world there would be no conflict, no misunderstanding. There is only harmony, cooperation and mutual assistance. There would be unity among men in the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. This is truly the world of peace which man seeks. This world reflects the nature of God, whose characteristic is unselfishness … unselfish love, unselfish peace. This worldview is known as Godism or Headwing ideology. In religious terms this is called the Kingdom of God on Earth.
If God is Almighty this is the least He is capable of realizing, a world of peace and happiness for all humanity. If this type of world cannot be achieved, then we must conclude there is no God.
THE WORLD THAT HAS LOST ITS CREATOR
However, at the dawn of human history when God began to realize His world something tragic happened. Our first human ancestors lost God.
God created one man and one woman to be the beginning point of mankind. In religious terms they are called Adam and Eve. Tragically, at the onset of human history they committed sin, not allowing God to dwell in them, and they were expelled by God out of His Kingdom. At that very moment, with their departure from God, man and woman failed to achieve their potential, and were unable to become the temples of God. At that moment peace was lost. Instead they became the temples of Satan, whose characteristic is selfishness.
Since this occurred at the very start of human history, all the descendants to the present generations have grappled with the arduous task of finding God. Without the knowledge of God as our True Father and the understanding that all humankind are true brothers and sisters, man has become each other’s enemy. Originally when you hurt someone else it is the same as hurting yourself, since the same God is dwelling in both. Humankind has become spiritually darkened. The tragedy is that when one kills his own brother he feels no pain.
Furthermore, to make things worse, since man has become the dwelling place of Satan he only knows himself and not the whole. The natural result is the embodiment of selfishness at all levels-individual, family, society, nation and the world.
Under these circumstances, once his own interest or profit is violated, man will fight. War is thus inevitable. This is the real reason for war on every level.
Then what does God intend to do with this fallen world? God is living and God is Almighty, even to this day. As I said, God is a God of love. God, our Creator, has a Will. That Will is to restore this world, the world of true peace. In other words, He will restore the world of His original nature and ideal by recreating it from the present world.
This is where mankind can harbor hope or dream of true peace in the future. God’s Will is the eradication of selfishness from each individual, then transforming or recreating that person into His own temple, and making all men holy.
For this reason, true world peace between nations begins not at the national level, but at the perfection of the individual. Each person is perfected by becoming the temple of God. This is where world peace is germinated. Each one of you, ladies and gentlemen, are the true beginning point of world peace.
UNITY AND HARMONY OF MIND AND BODY
Since the fall of man there has been a constant war going on within each of us. It is an inevitable consequence of the fall that there is always a struggle and conflict going on between mind and body, between the desire for good and the desire for evil.
Originally mind and body were one and could not be separated. The human mind represents God’s mind. The human body is to be a container to accommodate the mind, or a dwelling place for the mind. Separation came between these two when the fall of man occurred. The fall of man resulted in the body coming under the domain of Satan or selfishness. Thus tragically the human body has become the servant of Satan.
On the other hand, the human conscience is the agent of God in the individual person. Conscience does not exist for the benefit of oneself. Conscience is planted for righteousness. Thus conscience always runs after goodness. The human conscience strives after unselfishness. Yet the body rebelled against this conscience. The body only seeks after comforts and tends to act selfishly, going after carnal desires. The conscience in turn is trying to chastise this body and subjugate the body to the direction of the mind.
This is the reason why the traditional religions of the world unanimously teach the principle of chastisement of the body through fasting, prayer, etc. Religion is the training ground where the desire of the body is suppressed, thus bringing the body to the will of the mind. For this reason, religion has been the instrument of God to bring men back into the original ideal.
However, no one is capable of dominating his body without uniting with God within himself. The only power that enables the mind to have dominion over the body is to have that mind united with God’s truth and true love. Mind is subject and body is object. God’s love and truth have the power to bring them together into one harmonious person. This is what religion defines as a man of perfection or a holy man.
THE FAMILY IS THE FOUNDATION FOR PEACE
God-centered men and women in perfection are called men and women of goodness. These good men and women receive the Blessing from God and are united into a couple of husband and wife. This is how one ideal family of man can happen on the face of the earth. This model family is what God wanted to have as a building block of the society, nation and world.
There is an old saying in the Orient that “Once peace is dwelling in the family everything goes right.” A happy and harmonious family is a family of peace and the foundation of the Heavenly Kingdom.
The dynamic of the family is true love. You must love God first, then love your husband or wife and your children with truly pure and sacrificial love. This is the manifestation of true love. The Creator created love as the supreme force in the universe-there is nothing greater.
True love originates from God. God has invested everything, every ounce of His energy, for the creation of all things and mankind. Love is the only thing that when invested fully, returns fully. When you invest true love no attrition occurs. It will multiply and prosper. Investing one hundred percent of true love will yield or return one hundred and twenty percent. Thus those who practice true love seemingly become poorer and more miserable yet the end result is to the contrary. By practicing true love you will acquire prosperity and eternal life.
This kind of family of true love becomes the foundation of creating a society, nation and world centered on true love. There you will find harmony instead of contradiction. You will find understanding instead of misunderstanding. You will find unity instead of division. You will find unselfishness instead of selfishness. This is the society, nation and world where sacrifice and good service become the dominant virtues. The realization of the ideal of God is the way to achieve the ideal of the true peace of the world.
THE IDEAL OF TRUE PARENTS
When the Bible says that God created man in “His own image,” this means that the invisible God wanted to manifest Himself into a visible form.
If the first man and women had realized the ideal of God they would have become the first visible form of God and created the first family of man. Then God-centered children and grandchildren would have formed an ideal society, nation and world. In this case the invisible God would become the vertical True Parents of mankind centering upon true love, whereas Adam and Eve would have become the horizontal True Parents of mankind centering upon that same true love. Upon these True Parents of man, humanity would become one family eternally fulfilling true brotherhood.
However, the fall of Adam and Eve meant that humanity lost True Parents. That day we became orphans. Brothers turned into enemies. Nations developed antagonistic relationships rather than friendly ones.
In the final fulfillment of human history, therefore, God’s work of restoration is the restoration of True Parents first, liberating humanity from its orphan status. Today this is the central dispensational work of God: to bestow True Parents to mankind, to create the original one family of man centering on God and true love.
Ladies and gentlemen, today’s creation of the Federation for World Peace must be different from that of the League of Nations and the United Nations. Most important is that we must found this organization upon the true ideal or philosophy of lasting peace as well as the ideal of True Parents. In my final analysis, peace in God and with God is the newest level of awakening. This is therefore a refreshing new beginning toward the attainment of peace. We must firmly believe that the exclusion of God in the Peace Movement was the core reason for its failure. Therefore, we shall make God the center of this movement and the dynamics of this movement must be true love.
Today’s gathering is a historical gathering. There are many former presidents and incumbent presidents of the Republics, world leaders of every walk of life, and prominent religious leaders gathered together in this room. This is truly a rare and extraordinary assembly. Furthermore, there are leaders from the East block and West block. Until recently those leaders were beset with the Cold War and chilling confrontations. In this auditorium however there is no East nor West. Everyone is gathered together in one spirit of cooperation and reconciliation.
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall finally came tumbling down. Ever since that event we have been living in a different world. The world is running speedily on the rail of reformation, change, mutual understanding and friendship. Everyone today feels acutely that the mood of the world is opening up for the opportunity of blossoming peace.
When we feel deeply about the principles I expounded on as the fw1damental criteria for peace, true peace is reachable and achievable. The Northern block must liberate the Southern block from abject poverty. The superpower nations must reach out with a helping hand toward the developing countries and the new democracies. All nations’ attitudes must be changed from a selfish one to an unselfish one. That in itself is a revolution. Nations can do this when leaders see from the position of parents. The most unselfish and sacrificial of all is the love of parents. Then one can see that all nations are brother and sister nations. Then a fresh new vision emerges and new opportunities will open up in front of us.
It has already been announced that in September North Korea and South Korea together will become member nations of the United Nations. This is another significant positive development toward the achievement of world peace. Then the member nations of the United Nations will become 163 countries. What should those 163 countries do together in the days to come?
The time for colonialism is over where the powerful nations exploited the weakest ones. The age for the superpowers arms race that drove the world and humanity into fear and uncertainty is also gone. Furthermore, humanity ought to be liberated from the devastating threat of nuclear arms. What time is it in God’s timetable? This is the time that the Holy Book refers to as “melting our swords into plough-shears.”
THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY OF PEACE
This is the time for mutual trust, a high moral standard. A time when all the member nations of the United Nations with a relationship of mutual respect and love declare jointly for one final war against our common enemies: the scourges of hunger, ignorance, disease and crime. This is God’s plan.
From this time on the definition of “my country” expands. Although everyone has their home country where they were born and grew up, yet in a larger sense, the world now becomes “my country” because it is where God my Father and my brothers and sisters live, who are my family.
I truly regret that advanced nations are trying to withhold high technology from the developing nations or new democracies. This is a moral crime. Anything good and beneficial must be shared among all nations. If something is good for humanity and the world we must fulfill it disregarding national boundaries. I for a long time have been fighting for equal opportunity in the gaining of high technology for all developing nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, your coming to this place is not an accident. I feel you are ordained to be here. You are chosen by God as champions of peace.
Within our lifetime we shall commemorate the year 2000. This year will be history’s new turning point. A new era is unfolding. With the cooperation of God and man together the twenty-first century will be a century of peace. In order to make that happen we shall work tirelessly together for the next nine years and we shall eliminate all obstacles that hinder the attainment of peace.
The twenty-first century shall be a righteous century. In the twenty-first century wealth will not be the domineering factor. Instead the human spirit and human soul shall be dominant. The twenty-first century shall be the era of unity between God and man. It shall be the era where a new awakening will come to every man as he realizes he shall benefit himself more when he genuinely lives for the sake of others. In the twenty-first century selfishness will decline. Life, honor, and glory based on unselfishness shall be triumphant.
The era for peace is approaching. Even the opportunity for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is closer. The twenty-first century shall be a hopeful and glorious century. In order to make it happen the Federation for World Peace will provide the ideal and philosophy, will educate the world’s population, will assist spiritually, mentally, and financially the needy nations for their development, set a high moral standard and will take up the locomotive role in building a world of peace.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are the apostles of peace. A bright new hope as well as an exciting new future is awaiting us. We must today be burning inside with the desire to fulfill the incredible mission that is bestowed upon us.
In order to achieve this sacred duty and the historic responsibility of building lasting peace we shall dedicate our lives, fortunes and sacred honor with total commitment. The very first agenda of our business is to invite God into our individual hearts, family, society, nation and world. When God is with us who shall be against us?
Respected friends, my beloved brothers and sisters, we are called to this one last sacred mission: the building of world peace. Our noble efforts shall begin today toward that glorious future. Let us build a true world of peace with God.
Thank you very much.