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World Scripture Ⅱ
Part One - God and Creation
Chapter 4 God’s Creation and Human Creativity
4) Microcosm and Macrocosm
A human being is a microcosm of the universe, encapsulating in him or herself the essences of all things. Conversely, the entire universe resembles a human being in macrocosm. The world’s scriptures express this insight in both mythological and philosophical language.
As a microcosm, linked to all space and time, a human being has the foundation to know, use, and enjoy all things. Of all creatures, humans have the widest scope of thought and action, encompassing all things, knowing and appreciating all things, guiding and prospering all things, and transcending all things. Nevertheless, as Father Moon teaches, being a microcosm also brings with it the responsibility to love the universe and uphold the universe.
What is the source of the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm? The Upanishads and other mystical texts describe a primordial Person—Purusha, Metatron—a cosmic Man which pre-existed the creation and gave it shape. Father Moon speaks of a pre-existing human “prototype” in the mind of God. From that starting point, it was inevitable that all the elements of nature would recombine in human beings, when they arose. He goes on to describe the spirit world as shaped like a gigantic Person.
Religious scriptures
All that the Holy One created in the world He created in man.
Talmud, Abot de Rabbi Nathan 31 (Judaism)
The whole of existence arises in me, In me arises the threefold world, By me pervaded is this all, Of naught else does this world consist.
Hevajra Tantra 8.41 (Buddhism)
The human form is built into the world structure; indeed, even the cosmos. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias (Christianity) One who knows the inner self knows the external world as well. One who knows the external world knows the inner self as well. Acarangasutra 1.147 (Jainism)
Man is the product of the attributes of Heaven and Earth, by the interaction of the dual forces of nature, the union of the animal and intelligent souls, and the finest subtle matter of the five elements… The five elements in their movements alternately displace and exhaust one another. Each one of them, in the revolving course of the twelve months of the four seasons, comes to be in its turn the fundamental one for the time. The five notes of harmony, with their six upper musical accords and twelve pitchtubes, come each, in their revolutions among themselves, to be the first note of the scale. The five flavors, with the six condiments and twelve articles of diet, come each one, in their revolutions in the course of the year, to give its character to the food. The five colors, with the six elegant figures which they form on the two robes, come each one, in their revolutions among themselves, to give the character of the dress that is worn. Therefore Man is the heart and mind of Heaven and Earth, and the visible embodiment of the five elements. He lives in the enjoyment of all flavors, the discriminating of all notes of harmony, and the enrobing of all colors.
Book of Ritual 7.3.1-7 (Confucianism)
Consider a man’s body: his head rises up and is round and resembles the shape of heaven. His hair resembles the stars and constellations. His ears and eyes, quick in their senses, resemble the sun and the moon. The breathing of his nostrils and mouth resembles the wind. The penetrating knowledge of his mind resembles the spiritual intelligence [of Heaven].
Tung Chung-Shu, Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn Annals 56 (Confucianism)
In the beginning the Self alone was here—no other thing that blinks the eye at all. He thought, “What if I were to emanate worlds?” He emanated these worlds, water, rays of light, death, the waters. Water is up there beyond the sky; the sky supports it. The rays of light are the atmosphere; death the earth; what is underneath, the waters. He thought again, “Here now are these worlds. What if I were to emanate guardians?” He raised a Man (Purusha) up from the water and gave him a form. He brooded over him; when He had finished brooding over him, a mouth broke open on him the likeness of an egg. From the mouth came speech and from speech Fire. Nostrils broke open, from the nostrils came breath, from breath the Wind. Eyes broke open, from the eyes came sight, from sight the Sun. Ears broke open, from the ears came hearing, from hearing the Points of the Compass. Skin broke out, from skin grew hairs, from the hairs plants and trees. A heart broke out, from the heart came mind, from the mind the Moon. A navel broke open, from the navel came the out-breath, from the out-breath Death. A phallus broke forth, from the phallus came semen, from semen Water… Those deities [the macrocosmic beings], Fire and the rest, after they had been sent forth, fell into the great ocean. Besieged with hunger and thirst, they begged, “Allow us a place in which we may rest and take food.” He led a cow towards them. They said, “This is not enough.” He led a horse towards them. They said, “This is not enough.” He led man towards them. Then they said, “Well done, indeed.” Therefore man is well done. He said to them, “Enter the man, each according to his place.” Then Fire, having become speech, entered the mouth; the Wind, having become breath, entered the nostrils; the Sun, having become sight, entered the eyes; the regions, having become hearing, entered the ears; the plants and trees, having become hairs, entered the skin; the Moon, having become mind, entered the heart; Death, having become out-breathing, entered the navel; Water, having become semen, entered the phallus… The Self considered, “How could these guardians exist without Me?… If, without Me, speech is uttered, breath is drawn, eye sees, ear hears, skin feels, mind thinks, sex organs procreate, then what am I?” Whereupon, opening the center of the skull, He entered. The door by which He entered is called the door of bliss.
Aitareya Upanishad 1.1-3.12 (Hinduism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
A human being is a small universe, the microcosm of the great universe of God’s creation. God, the Source of the great universe, is also the source of our energy. As small individual universes, each of us stands in the presence of the great universe and receives its energy into our heart. Thus, we are connected to a source of unending power, and as its counterpart we are endowed with cosmic value.
(121:193, October 27, 1982)
As human beings are a microcosm of the universe, the body represents the earth while the mind and spirit represent heaven.
(8:78, November 8, 1959)
Up and down, front and rear, right and left: everything is related to me. Furthermore, these relationships are not temporary, but are linked to the entire course of my life. I stem from a line of ancestors stretching back to the beginning of time, and I am linked to descendants a thousand generations into the future. We have to think that we stand on the altar of all these connections. If one day I am shattered into pieces, all those heavenly relationships will also be shattered into pieces. All relationships in the family, the tribe and the world will likewise be shattered. Such is the significance of being a microcosm, representing heaven and earth.
(8:10-11, October 25, 1959)
Look at our hands. Each finger has three knuckles [symbolizing the three stages of growth]. Each arm has three sections: upper arm, forearm and hand. The whole body is composed of three parts: head, torso and legs. Make a fist like an infant does, with the thumb inside. The thumb symbolizes God, the center of the universe. The four fingers symbolize the four compass directions and four seasons. The twelve knuckles, three on each of the four fingers, symbolize the twelve months. To strongly make a point, you make a fist and shake it in the air. It is like shaking the whole universe. To strike something with your fist means that you are striking it as a representative of the universe. From this, we can see that human beings are the counterparts of the Lord who created the universe. These are just a few of the reasons each human being is a microcosm. Although a human body is very small, it contains everything in the universe. The circulatory system is like the trunk of a tree; the heart is like its root and lungs are like leaves. Our body is indeed a microcosm, representing all things of the universe.
(54:96, March 20, 1972)
We are born to resonate with the beat of the universe in all its rotations and revolutions. Ocean waves strike the shore, and my heart beats in time. The wind sighs serenely, and my heart feels serene. A flower releases a pleasing fragrance; it stirs a fragrance in my heart and I feel enraptured.
(104:123, April 22, 1979)
You are the planet Earth in miniature, a universe in miniature. Your body is composed of all the Earth’s elements. Who, then, created you? The universe loaned you all the elements that make up your body. The universe gave you birth and made you; hence you should regard the universe as your first parent. It is amazing! You contain all the elements of the universe. Furthermore, you are mobile, a universe that can move about, whereas the cosmic universe is stationary. Because you move and act, you can govern the universe.
(105:106-07, September 30, 1979)
If you could see the entire spirit world, it would look like a gigantic Person. As this huge person unites with God, its Subject Partner, then the spirit world and physical world will intermingle with each other. Then, when God runs, the earth will also run. When God laughs, the earth will also laugh. Each of us can become a center of the universe. What does this mean? Consider the tiny cells in your finger. Each one of those cells communicates with your entire body. Although your body is huge in comparison to those cells, their functioning is vital for the body; in that sense they are equal to the whole body. Do you understand? I am talking about what it means to the center of the universe. Each of us relates to the universal body as one cell, yet we can be qualified to be its center. Blood circulates throughout your whole body, from the head down to the soles of your feet. When that blood that went to the feet comes to the head, can the head say, “Don’t come near me”? In the same way, as we circulate through the entire universe, there cannot be any discrimination between black, white and yellow people. The parts of the body are variously colored. Are brown eyes prejudiced against black hair? Do white nails say to yellow skin, “You are of a different kind”?10 Just so, if you could go to the spirit world, you would see that all people constitute the body of one Person. Saints and holy men may perform the role of the eyes or the ears, but even though they have important roles, they are still only components of that one macrocosmic Person. Hell in the spirit world is like an infected wound in the body. Do you think God wants hell to exist for eternity? If you had a wound, what would you do? You would draw out the pus and clean it up. In the same way God wants to clean up and eliminate hell.
(91:280, February 27, 1977)
When heaven and earth are in harmony, there is mutual affection among all subject and object partners throughout the cosmos. All are linked to the human family, which is the nucleus of cosmos. Men are larger and stronger, but women have love. The sun is large, but it cannot neglect the earth. There is mutual give and take everywhere, from which arises joy and all the perfections of heaven and earth. Thus we can see the larger significance of love between a man and a woman: it is a microcosm of the solar system and an encapsulation of the animal and plant kingdoms. It is the epitome of the pair system by which all things exist. The animal, plant and mineral kingdoms are all based on the pair system. God set up all male-female pairs to be represented by this one nucleus— human conjugal love. What, then, would happen if this center were in conflict? You would like to be the center of the cosmos, right? Do animals have this desire? Does the solar system? No; it is evident that humans are the only beings who have this aspiration.
(216:157, March 10, 1991)
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