Author: Richard Urban

The Liberation of the Self Is Based on the Unity of Your Mind and Body

Acts 10

9 The next day about noon these men were coming near Joppa. Peter went up on the roof of the house to pray 10 and became very hungry. While the food was being prepared, he fell sound asleep and had a vision. 11 He saw heaven open, and something came down like a huge sheet held up by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, snakes, and birds. 13 A voice said to him, “Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them.”

14 But Peter said, “Lord, I can’t do that! I’ve never eaten anything that is unclean and not fit to eat.”[c]

15 The voice spoke to him again, “When God says that something can be used for food, don’t say it isn’t fit to eat.”

16 This happened three times before the sheet was suddenly taken back to heaven.

Amos 1

8 I will destroy the king of Ashdod
    and the ruler of Ashkelon.
I will strike down Ekron,
and that will be the end
    of the Philistines.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Phoenicia

9 The Lord said:

I will punish Phoenicia
for countless crimes,
    and I won’t change my mind.
They broke their treaty
and dragged off my people[r]
    from town after town
to sell them as slaves
    to the Edomites.
10 That’s why I will send flames
to burn down the city of Tyre
    along with its fortresses.

Liberation

2. Universal Liberation

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Liberation means that all hazardous conditions in our world are transformed into harmonious relationships. Our world becomes unified, without any sharp edges, where up and down, right and left, and front and rear have equal value.
    Once liberation comes, grandfathers and grandmothers will like it, quarreling husbands and nagging wives will be satisfied, children and grandchildren will be glad. The multitudes will rejoice, and people of all nations will cheer. (341:161-62, January 1, 2001)
 
Before trying to liberate North Korea, you should ask yourself whether you are liberated. The liberation of the self is based on the unity of your body and mind. The liberation of the nation is the fifth level after the liberation of the individual, family, tribe and people.18 (187:126, February 5, 1989)
 
All things that were supposed to be united into one were shattered into pieces. They were turned upside down throughout humanity’s fragmented history, because countless indemnity courses blocked heaven and earth and passed each other in all directions. Therefore God has been leading a course of re-creation. To walk that course, True Parents came to the earth.
    Heavenly Father, we know how hard Thou hast striven throughout history, in Thy providence of recreation which Thou hast conducted through our forbearers, to reconnect all the divisions in the mineral world, the world of microscopic organisms, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human world, and even in the heavenly world…
    Therefore, centering on the love that is proper to God’s ideal of creation, we should restore back what was lost in the world of minerals, the world of microscopic organisms, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human world, and the heavenly world. Thou, Heavenly Father, and we, True Parents, should create the realm of oneness… I sincerely hope and ask Thee to guide us to create one unified world, joining the heavenly world and earthly world. (May 4, 2003)
 
Throughout history, human beings have been searching for their own liberation and salvation, but who has been concerned about God’s situation? Does God dwell in blissful joy for eternity, not in need of liberation? God is the Parent who has been mourning over human beings as they suffered in sin and evil throughout history. How, then, can God rejoice with a liberated heart? It is impossible. Depending on the degree of earthly liberation, God’s heart can also be liberated. Only when God is liberated can human beings be liberated, be free to enjoy a family life of true love, and bring liberation to the creation. Furthermore, only when God is liberated can the beings in the spirit world be liberated and released. (April 30, 2004)
 
The ultimate goal of God’s providence of salvation goes beyond the individual; it is to liberate and save the family, tribe, nation, physical world and the spirit world including hell. Until this is done, God Himself is not liberated. When the purpose of God’s providence of salvation is fully attained, in other words, when even hell and all the spirit world are liberated, on that day, God will declare the completion of His ideal, proclaiming, “My will is done! Hallelujah! March forward into one world, under the dominion of my love.” (114:78, May 17, 1981)
 
 
 

The Creation Waits With Eager Longing for the Revealing of the Sons of God

Cheon Seong Gyeong 478

God exists in the dual characteristics of plus and minus. When this is manifested as a plus, it is Adam, and when it is manifested as a minus, it is Eve. (32-238, 1970.7.19)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 788

This universe grew in size from a small point in this way: through partners coming into existence, unceasing motion occurred and the universe came into existence. The universe has been engaged in endless motion by the power of inertia that transpires in the dimension of space.

Liberation

2. Universal Liberation

And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind.
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4.16-21

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8.19-23

The holy sparks that fell when God built and destroyed worlds, man shall raise and purify upward from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to speaking being, purify the holy sparks that are imprisoned in the world of shells (kelippot) That is the basic meaning of the service of each one in Israel.
It is known that each spark that dwells in a stone or plant or another creature has a complete figure with the full number of limbs and sinews and, when it dwells in the stone or plant, it is in prison, cannot stretch out its hands and feet and cannot speak, but its head lies on its knees. And who with the good strength of his spirit is able to raise the holy spark from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to speaking being, he leads it into freedom, and no setting free of captives is greater than this. It is as when a king’s son is rescued from captivity and brought to his father.
All that a man owns, his servant, his animals, his tools, all conceal sparks that belong to the roots of his soul and wish to be raised by him to their origin.
All things of this world that belong to him desire with all their might to draw near him in order that the sparks of holiness that are in them should be raised by him.
Man eats them, man drinks them, man uses them; these are the sparks that dwell in the things. Therefore, one should have mercy on his tools and all his possessions for the sake of the sparks that are in them; one should have mercy on the holy sparks.
Take care that all you do for God’s sake be itself service of God. Thus eating: do not say that the intention of eating shall be that you gain strength for the service of God. That is also a good intention, for course; but the true perfection only exists where the deed itself happens to heaven, that is where the holy sparks are raised.
In all that is in this world dwell holy sparks, no thing is empty of them. In the actions of men also, indeed even in the sins that a man does, dwell holy sparks of the glory of God. And what is it that the sparks await that dwell in the sins? It is the turning [repentance]. In the hour where you turn on account of sins, you raise to the higher world the sparks that were in it.
Israel Baal Shem Tov (Judaism)

The Interminable Struggle Between Mind and Body Will Completely Disappear

Hebrews 8

8 What I mean is that we have a high priest who sits at the right side of God’s great throne in heaven. 2 He also serves as the priest in the most holy place inside the real tent there in heaven. This tent of worship was set up by the Lord, not by humans.

3 Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer. 4 If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all, because here the Law appoints other priests to offer sacrifices. 5 But the tent where they serve is just a copy and a shadow of the real one in heaven. Before Moses made the tent, he was told, “Be sure to make it exactly like the pattern you were shown on the mountain!” 6 Now Christ has been appointed to serve as a priest in a much better way, and he has given us much assurance of a better agreement.

Psalm 21

4 He asked to live a long time,
    and you promised him life
    that never ends.

5 The king is highly honored.
You have let him win victories
    that have made him famous.
6 You have given him blessings
    that will last forever,
    and you have made him glad
    by being so near to him.
7 Lord Most High,
    the king trusts you,
    and your kindness
    keeps him from defeat.

Enlightenment

1. The State of Inner Freedom

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

According to the perspective of religion, humanity does not dwell in a liberated state. People today do not live in the realm of God’s freedom; rather they are constrained within the fallen world under Satan’s control. In other words, the world is in bondage. Christians in the established churches and we Unification Church members have the same understanding: we are in bondage.

This bondage is manifest as the persistent struggle between our mind and body. If human beings were made from the beginning with their minds and bodies in conflict, it would be absolutely impossible for them to perfect their character or attain liberation. In fact however, humans were created with harmonious internal elements, by which they could have attained the ideal state of liberation. They only fell into bondage during the course of their growth, when as a result of the Fall they were driven into a state of disorder, where we remain to this day. Therefore, it is entirely possible to be liberated from bondage and attain the ideal state. (85:227, March 3, 1976)

What does it feel like to experience the being of God? The interminable struggle between your mind and the body, which formerly plagued your self-centered life when you put yourself as number one in everything you did, will completely disappear. Instead, you will live the life that God wants you to live: living for the sake of others and giving yourself for the whole. Then, true love will continue forever, and God’s joy will be displayed in the spirit world. You will experience such satisfaction and happiness as you have never felt before, because it will be connected to the whole. Thus, you will discover yourself in the state of liberation. (329:301-02, August 11, 2000)

The body has a limit, but the mind is infinite. The world of the mind is beyond form, beyond any philosophy or viewpoint. Still greater than the mind is the world of the heart. It has no restrictions. The world of the mind has certain restraints, conditioned by its relationships. Yet nothing can restrain the world of the heart. What could ever restrain a parent’s love for his or her children? Even a barrier as daunting as a huge mountain cannot block the way. (7:246, September 20, 1959)

It is written in the Bible, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3.17) The Father is a Spirit of freedom, liberation and unification. How, then, can the spirit of freedom, which transcends any trials, be instilled in your hearts? How can you find the point of liberation where you overcome all the walls of suffering? When will you experience that peaceful moment of total unification, which is your ultimate hope?
     In thinking about these important questions, consider that God is not free. Since God is not free, liberated and unified, the freedom people pursue today is not true freedom. The liberation people are proclaiming is not complete liberation, and the unification people are promoting is not complete unification…
     God created us. Therefore, the complete freedom, liberation and unification that we desire can be realized only when God is free and becomes the master of liberation and unification. God’s freedom, liberation and unification are the standards for humanity’s freedom, liberation and unification; that is only logical. (4:314-15, October 12, 1958)

Where the Spirit of the Lord Is, There Is Freedom

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2045

Is it a difficult thing or an easy thing to digest this centering on the leaders of the tong and ban? If you form a structure, will it be easy or difficult? This is why I am telling you to have confidence. This is something anyone, even a mere child, would not have a problem with. In fact, it’s not a problem. If you can just properly set up the leaders of tong and ban, then it will not take long. (165-323, 1987.5.27)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1257

From the viewpoint of the positions represented, the grandfather and grandmother represent God, and the parents act on behalf of God. From the vertical point of view, God settles down in a family centering on the first, second and third generations. The first generation on the horizontal level is your grandfather, the second generation your father, and the third generation is yourself. Therefore, the blood line of the royal family can be passed on and will continue forever through your sons and daughters. (218-255, 1991.8.19)

Liberation

The spiritual freedom experienced by people who are released from the fetters of desires and attachments to worldly things is called Liberation (moksha). It is an inner experience of freedom that can arise regardless of the person’s external circumstances: the saint is free even in prison, while people living in comfort and affluence may be caught in dire bondage to runaway desires, addictions, and bad relationships. the Christian scriptures speak of a comparable experience of Christian liberty.
Yet liberation goes beyond the individual. Jesus spoke about liberating the prisoners and a Kingdom of freedom. When people live in the spirit of love and self-giving, they can be very free with one another. if everyone in a family or society enjoyed the inner freedom of a God-centered life, they then could live and act in freedom. therefore, Father Moon teaches, liberating others also expands our own realm of liberation. that liberation should expand to encompass societies, nations, the entire world, and beyond to the realm of God. Jewish Kabbalistic doctrine describes the task of liberating of the “divine sparks” residing in each thing, that they may rise up and rejoin the divine unity. God’s liberation is contingent upon human liberation, teaches Father Moon, because human suffering and oppression binds God in fetters of grief and pain. Liberating humanity also liberates God, and when God is liberated, humanity can be truly free.


1. The State of Inner Freedom

That disciplined man with joy and light within,
Becomes one with God and reaches the freedom that is God’s.
    Bhagavad-Gita 5.24 (Hinduism)

Desire is a chain, shackled to the world, and it is a difficult one to break. But once that is done, there is no more grief and no more longing; the stream has been cut off and there are no more chains.
    Sutta Nipata 948 (Buddhism)

The fetters of the heart are broken, all doubts are resolved, and all works cease to bear fruit [of karma], when He is beheld who is both high and low.
    Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.8 (Hinduism)

Yea, happily he lives, the brahmin set free,
Whom lusts defile not, who is cooled and loosed from bonds,
Who has all barriers burst, restraining his heart’s pain.
Happy the calm one lives who wins peace of mind.
Anguttara Nikaya 1.137 (Buddhism)

Open yourself, create free space;
release the bound one from his bonds!
Like a newborn child, freed from the womb,
be free to move on every path!
Atharva Veda 6.121.4 (Hinduism)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3.17

Immediately after attaining release from all karmas, the soul goes up to the end of the universe. Previously driven [by karmas], the soul is free from the bonds of attachment, the chains have been snapped, and it is its nature to dart upwards. The liberated self, in the absence of the karmas which had led it to wander in different directions in different states of existence, darts upwards as its nature is to go up.
Ratnakarandasravakacara 10 (Jainism)

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.
John 3.8

He whose corruptions are destroyed, he who is not attached to food, he who has Deliverance, which is void and signless, as his object—his path, like that of birds in the air, cannot be traced.
Dhammapada 93 (Buddhism)

One that the Lord’s command in mind cherishes,
Is truly to be called Jivan-mukta (liberated whileliving).
To such a one are joy and sorrow alike;
Ever in joy, never feels he sorrow.
Gold and a clod of earth to him are alike,
As also nectar and foul-tasting poison.
To him are honor and dishonor alike;
Alike also pauper and prince.
One that such a way practices,
Says Nanak, a Jivan-mukta may be called.
Adi Granth, Gauri Sukhmani 9, M.5, p. 275 (Sikhism)

People Who Only Seek Self-Centered Love Cannot Achieve It

Nahum 2

These are the same lions
that ferociously attacked
    their victims,
then dragged away the flesh
    to feed their young.

13 The Lord All-Powerful
    is against you, Nineveh.
God will burn your chariots
and send an army
to kill
    those young lions of yours.
You will never again
    make victims of others
or send messengers to threaten
    everyone on this earth.

2 Chronicles 23

They all came to Jerusalem 3 and gathered at the temple, where they agreed to help Joash.

Jehoiada said to them:

Joash will be our next king, because long ago the Lord promised that one of David’s descendants would always be king. 4 Here is what we will do. Three groups of priests and Levites will be on guard duty on the Sabbath—one group will guard the gates of the temple, 5 one will guard the palace, and the other will guard Foundation Gate. The rest of you will stand guard in the temple courtyards. 6 Only the priests and Levites who are on duty will be able to enter the temple, because they will be the only ones who have gone through the ceremony to make themselves clean and acceptable. The others must stay outside in the courtyards, just as the Lord has commanded. 7 You Levites must protect King Joash. Don’t let him out of your sight! And keep your swords ready to kill anyone who comes into the temple.

8 The Levites and the people of Judah followed Jehoiada’s orders. The guards going off duty were not allowed to go home, and so each commander had all his guards available—those going off duty as well as those coming on duty. 9 Jehoiada went into the temple and brought out the swords and shields that had belonged to King David, and he gave them to the commanders. 10 They gave the weapons to the guards, and Jehoiada then made sure that the guards took their positions around the temple and the altar to protect the king on every side.

Richard: This is an interesting story as Queen Athaliah had been an unrighteous and scheming ruler for six years who ordered that the legitimate heirs be murdred. But Joash was hidden in the temple for six years. After that time the army decided to help him become the rightful King.

Enilghtenment

3. Opening the Third Eye

I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything; and through this vision I can help my people. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen.
    Black Elk (Native American Religions)
 
The enlightenment consists of a mysterious light which the shaman suddenly feels in his body, inside his head, within the brain, an inexplicable searchlight, a luminous fire…for he can now, even with closed eyes, see through darkness and perceive things and coming events which are hidden from others: thus they look into the future and into the secrets of others.
    The candidate obtains this mystical light after long hours of waiting, sitting on a bench in his hut and invoking the spirits. When he experiences it for the first time, it is as if the house in which he is suddenly rises, he sees far ahead of him, through mountains, exactly as if the earth were one great plain, and his eyes could reach to the end of the earth. Nothing is hidden from him any longer; not only can he see things far, far away, but he can also discover souls, stolen souls, which are either kept concealed in far, strange lands or have been taken up or down to the Land of the Dead.
    Iglulik Eskimo Shaman Initiation (Native American Religions)
 
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
 
Most people do not know the spirit world. They know only the world they perceive through their five senses. However, when we directly relate to God in true love, we can cultivate our ten senses—the five physical senses and beyond them, the five spiritual senses. This will enable us to resonate with the spirit world.
    People who only seek self-centered love cannot achieve it. Fallen love is dark; it is destruction itself. The more you immerse yourself in fallen love, the more darkness will envelop you. It is as if an insulator covered your electrical terminal; no electricity can flow. (399:220, December 24, 2002)
 
Cognition of spiritual reality begins when it is perceived through the five senses of the spirit self. These perceptions resonate through the five physical senses and are felt physiologically. Cognition of truth, on the other hand, arises from the knowledge gleaned from the physical world as it is perceived directly through our physiological sense organs. Cognition thus takes place through both spiritual and physical processes.
    Human beings become complete only when their spirit self and physical self are unified. Hence, the experience of divine inspiration gained through spiritual cognition and the knowledge of truth obtained through physical cognition should become fully harmonized and awaken the spirituality and intellect together. It is only when the spiritual and physical dimensions of cognition resonate together that we can thoroughly comprehend God and the universe. (Exposition of the Divine Principle,Eschatology 5.1)