Great Construction
Spirit and Body
The law that the spirit precedes the physical for all things in the universe was explained in the preceding chapter, “Spirit Precedes the Physical,” so when this principle is comprehended, the many miracles recounted in the present volume should not at all appear peculiar. For example, accounts from those who have escaped danger within the breadth of a hair, from those who have no injuries at all after falling from high places, and then from those who recover who had been given up on by well-known doctors and major hospitals. The problem is that to explain these experiences thoroughly it is necessary to use religious terminology, so readers are asked to read these chapters and the testimonials on that basis.
Speaking in religious terms, the first point to understand is the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world. Just as human beings wear clothes on their physical bodies, so also do they wear clothes on their spiritual bodies. This “clothing” is the aura, which is much like ether. This ether is the light radiated by the spirit. It is a very indistinct, hazy body but is visible to some. And, like the weather, continually it is either sometimes clear or sometimes cloudy. That is to say, when an individual thinks and does good the aura is clear, and when the individual thinks and does evil, the aura clouds. Thus, when faith is placed in the correct, true God, light may be received, and cloud is erased proportionally, but when an evil deity is worshiped, on the contrary, cloud increases.
Because ordinary individuals do not have knowledge of spiritual matters, when the word “God” is mentioned, it is thought to be the right one, but this is a tremendous mistake. Actually the number of malevolent deities is great. Evidence for this are the instances often seen of households in which misfortune never seems to cease despite ardent faith going back many generations. This is because the object of their adoration is a malevolent or weak deity. In which case, the object of faith should be changed to the true, and the more that efforts are exerted to save others and accumulate virtue, the more will increase the light, and so thicker grows the aura. With the ordinary person, the thickness is usually around one inch, but with good people of virtue, it can reach from around five inches to one foot. The auras of individuals of a very high level of virtue who have attained some kind of divine status can stretch for several yards and even for several miles. In the instances of great individuals of religion, auras can stretch to include several nations or peoples. Shakyamuni and Jesus were such individuals. The one with the mission of Messiah, however, has indeed very astonishing power whose light includes all of humanity. History shows, however, that till now the Messiah has not appeared in the world.
As can be understood from the above, the aura of an individual becomes thicker or thinner in accordance with the individual’s mental and emotional state, so all should understand, believe, and strive to accumulate virtue. In the case of being struck by an automobile, thick auras will block the vehicle, it will not strike, and the individual will be saved. Those individuals whose auras are thin or non-existent will die or be severely injured, so that is why followers of World Messianity can avoid calamities.
Good fortune or its absence results from the same principle. Roughly, this is the principle. The body of the human being belongs to the material world and the spirit belongs to the spiritual world. This is the composition, the structure of the physical and spiritual worlds. The spiritual world can be broadly classified into three levels: top, middle, bottom. One stage consists of sixty levels each of which is further divided into twenty levels, forming 180 levels total. Of course, the bottom levels are the worlds of hell; the middle levels, the intermediate world, a world of about the same condition as our present physical world; the top levels are heaven. Most ordinary people belong to the middle levels, and in accordance with the amount of good or evil they commit, they can go up or down. In other words, as good is accomplished, individuals rise toward heaven, and as evil is committed, they fall toward hell. Unlike the physical world, however, the spiritual world is strictly impartial, and there is no favoritism whatsoever. This fact is very inconvenient for those who would commit evil, but for those who believe, being truly fortunate is possible. Of course, the worlds of hell surge and swirl in the eddies of jealousy, grudges, envy, hate, and poverty, or what is called in Buddhism, the three major evil passions of greed, hatred, and stupidity. The farther the descent downward, the more concentrated and dense the world becomes. The lower worlds have also been referred to as “the land of deepest roots,” “blackness and darkness,” “hell of extreme cold,” and “purgatory.”
These conditions apply not only after death. Since the physical body is in the material world, what is in spirit is reflected as is to the physical body. One example that constantly appears in the newspapers are the sufferers writhing in pain who scheme to commit the murder-suicide of their whole family. Thus, the fortune or the misfortune of the human being depends on the status of its spirit in the spiritual world. Since status is determined through the law of cause and effect of good and evil, of course, there is nobody as foolish as the individual prone to evil. The success of a person of evil in the world is only temporary, and that that person will certainly fall behind is because as previously described, the status of the person’s spirit in the spiritual world is in hell. On the other hand, no matter how unfortunate individuals may be, it is a divine principle which absolutely cannot be broken that through the practice of good deeds, as a result of improving their status in the spiritual world, they will one day become fortunate. Teaching this principle should be the mission of religion, but the fact that until today this principle has not been rigorously taught is because sacred writings and sermons have been taken as primary and teaching has not been accompanied by the essential force that are miracles.
Now, however, the time has come for God to manifest absolute power and through the medium of World Messianity presents with astonishing miracles. Because humanity will be awakened to its delusions, everyone, no matter who, will inevitably have to understand and believe.
God Works Miracles, page 5, September 10, 1953
translated by cynndd
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“Rei to Tai” was the third of three main chapters that Meishu-sama wrote for Sekai Meshiya Kyō Kisekishū (God Works Miracles) that was published on September 10, 1953. These three chapters comprise an introduction to the testimonials of miracles that follow which constitute the major portion of the book. In places, Meishu-sama also affixed a short “okagebanashi hihan” (testimonial critique) to some of the testimonials. The following year, on February 10, 1954, five testimonials with testimonial critiques would be added to a new edition that was not labeled as such. “Rei to Tai” has previously appeared in translation. Citation is given below for reference.
“The Spiritual Body and the Physical Body,” True Health, 1987, page 101.