Unification of mind and body
The Ideal World for God and Humankind
February 4, 1972
Lincoln Center, New York, USA
It cannot be denied that we human beings are torn between two purposes that lead us in contrary directions. Our minds desire to go toward goodness, whereas our bodies lead us the opposite way. The two are fighting with each other. There are two different individuals, a man and a woman, who come together in union to form a family. Because they each possess an internal self and an external self, when the two meet as a couple, they in fact come together as four beings, each acting in different ways. In the same way, whether it is a clan, a tribe, a people, a nation or the world, everything is divided. Nevertheless, we can be grateful that they are not divided into hundreds or thousands of directions; they are divided in two ways. This is what is fascinating.
This leads us to realize the fundamental difference between the essence of good and the essence of evil. Goodness seeks to benefit the whole, whereas evil seeks only its own benefit. Good people live more for the sake of their family than for themselves, more for the sake of their village than their family, more for the sake of their nation than their village, and more for the sake of the world than their nation.
Until now, history has unfolded as a struggle between the perspective of living for one’s own sake and the perspective of living for the sake of others. God’s absolute demand is that we completely uproot and destroy the basis of evil in our bodies. In contrast, Satan’s evil demand is that we mercilessly destroy the conscience and anything associated with it. History continues to unfold through this conflict.
God’s side is centered on the conscience, while the side of evil is centered on the body and on material things. They oppose each other, and we can conclude that this is why humanity is divided between the realm of materialism and the realm of spirituality. If there were no God, we would not have such a resultant world. Evil manifests as jealousy, disunity and conflict that lead to self-destruction. From this viewpoint, where can unity and the ideal be realized? In the end, they start from the most fundamental level, from “me,” the individual. Thus God needs to teach us about the united world, the ideal world for which He yearns. (53-11)
If a mind and body face completely opposing directions, and the body insists on a direction different from where the mind wants to go, can unification be possible? Do your mind and body fight each other every day, or do they get along well? (Fight) Then which side are you on? You are on both sides. There are two parties in yourself: one party supports your mind and the other your body. (59-177)