Great Construction

THE ROOT OF SOCIAL EVILS

　　Now I will argue about the social evil, which worries us most in Japan today. Before that, however, we need to examine the method adopted by the politicians and the authorities. They try to crack down on illegal activities by making laws and regulations strict over and over, but of course, they cannot touch the root cause by such a method, so the wicked people are concentrating on how to skillfully get around the law, looking for legal loopholes, and if there is one, they set about breaking through the legal barrier. To prevent this, the authorities try to still more tighten the net of the law so that no chance to evade the law would be given. Indeed, this situation illustrates the battle of wits fought between good and evil.

　　Such people as will evade the law are very likely to be associated with ex-convicts, gang bosses or delinquents, but actually, these inferior kinds of people are only the tip of the iceberg. We can probably say that from Cabinet ministers to politicians, bureaucrats, celebrities in business circles, almost none of them are criminally innocent. But only a few of them have surfaced as criminals, so people often say that a person under arrest is very unlucky, which means there are so many crimes which have not come to the surface. When we examine these criminals thoroughly, it can be readily said that they are not afraid to commit crimes; they do not have any guilty conscience if they do damage to the nation, contaminate society or afflict others; they know how to blame other people but do not know about blaming themselves. We often hear that while ordinary citizens are afflicted with the burden of tax, there are lots of public officials going on a spree at convivial meetings.

　　Human beings, if they do not feel guilty about their wrongdoings, ashamed of doing impure things, or feel remorse and compassion for their sufferers, they are not worthy of human beings any more. No matter how advanced the theories they set forth and no matter what proud scholarship they have, that is not enough to be worthy of the name of human being; they are human-shaped material beings with no soul. Today, such people are so many that social evils prevail among us and hellish social conditions are emerging. In short, it can be said that the whole Japanese society contracts serious illness.

　　What is the cause of these deplorable phenomena? It will be beyond all shadow of a doubt that the materialistic education, which we consistently put in question, has caused them. For this very reason, it is not so difficult how to exterminate the social evils. Only one thing and no others, that is, to break down the materialism. Then, what is the method for this? Of course, it is a spiritual education. In other words, it is to make accept believing in God: to believe in sprits and the existence of the spiritual world. That is the primary, invaluable mission of religion. But however earnestly you advocate religious theories, or preach Christian sermons, or chant prayers to Buddhas, with this alone, you are unable to make people recognize God or spiritual beings. It is absolutely necessary to demonstrate miracles vividly and have them gain remarkable benefits both spiritually and materially in this world and the next. There is definitely no other way to break down the materialism.

Hikari, No.9, May 14, 1949 (the 14th year of Showa)
(07/1/1 UL)