A. In my last lecture at Tokyo Shoshinkan, I mentioned that people who pay visits to shrines at the start of the New Year are very earnest. When I went to the branch shrine of Ise Shrine in Tokyo on the 5th of January, I couldn’t pay my respects properly because of the number of people that had gathered there despite having had to start back at work on that day. As a consequence, I concluded that the Japanese people are not devoid of faith.

This is true. The Prime Minister and other politicians pay their respects at Ise Shrine in January, and they probably want to go to Yasukuni Shrine as well, but they’ve been finding it politically difficult to do so. This is going to become an issue this year, but overall Japanese people have a vague sense of faith, and they have a habit of visiting shrines. It would be sad, however, if they were simply visiting for good luck.

There is a book of spiritual messages from Max Weber in the ‘HSU series’. In it, the spirit of Weber says that university educators should not act like prophets; theirs’ is a job that requires repeating narrow specialized knowledge, which is exactly what students need to pass their tests. He also imparts that God’s larger ideas should be left for real prophets and saviors, so academics should stay out of the way.

The spirit of Weber stated that the reason why prophets were given such a role was because, although they seem like they’re just speaking of their own ideals and God’s teachings on the street, they’re prepared to undergo criticism and abuse. They continue to spread their teachings through opposition, which works to keep them in check. Weber said that this is why they are given that role.
What Happy Science is emphasizing is that this present age is a time when the intensions of heaven are being made known.

There are periods of about 2,000 years when the voice of God cannot be heard. In such times, people have to rely on human interpretations of sacred texts and Scriptures. This age is different. Like the age of Jesus 2,000 years ago; like the age of Buddha 2,600 years ago; like the age of Socrates in ancient Greece: it’s an age when people can understand the intensions of God and the heavens. This time, these voices are being identified as to whom it is that’s speaking. Never in recorded history has there been a time such as this.

Jesus was known to have said that his Father was speaking to him. Even he, however, could not clearly identify who, among the many spirits that could have been guiding him, was giving him inspiration. Buddha also possessed spiritual powers, and could hear the voices of spirits that were guiding him. In my spiritual messages, however, we’re able to record exactly where the spirits are coming from. The guiding spirits of my lectures are also clearly identifiable, albeit not recorded.

The Importance of Having a Team of Guiding Spirits

Most religions have only received opinions from one heavenly spirit, but each spirit has personal strengths and weaknesses, and cannot answer everything. Happy Science, on the other hand, has a team of heavenly spirits with many different specialties backing it up and guiding it. Hence, this is an age when we can hear voices from the heavens.

It’s fine to go and pay respects to the Vairocana statue at Nara or the Amitabha statue at Kamakura; it’s fine to direct your faith to a statue of St. Mary at a Christian church; and it’s a sacred thing to go and pray at Ise Shrine.

Until now, however, mankind was unable to receive God’s direct answers. Now it’s different: I would like you to understand that it’s a time when hearing the voices of the Gods and high spirits from heaven is a reality. As the Happy Science organization, we must lay the groundwork Clarifying this is the mission of Happy Science as an organization.

On the 5th of January, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went to pay his respects at Ise Shrine and followed that with a visit to the Middle East. Did he receive some answer or guidance after visiting the shrine? Later, when he visited his father’s grave, did he receive an answer? No, he most definitely did not.

The answers come from here: from me. I have been the one revealing the thoughts of the Goddess Amaterasu and his late father. It must be understood that this is the age, which we are in now, and it’s unlike any other that has come before it.

True Democracy Reflects a Plurality of Values

Now Muslims are fighting over differences of opinion as to what the god Allah’s wishes truly were. It is now, however, an age when we can reveal the true wishes of Allah. In a sense, the world is undergoing a revolution of values right now. From this, it’s evident that the missionary team of Happy Science must show real strength.

Unfortunately, the effects of our efforts to spread the teachings have been falling short of the mark. In Japan, the situation is such that, although we may influence a person, he or she tends to adhere to the Japanese virtue of remaining silent, and thus refuses to give a clear “yes” or “no” answer. The Japanese have a notion that to remain silent is a mark of intelligence. These people simply let things slide without arguing, but in reality, this is not good. The voice of God has become audible, and we should act or react to it.

Looking at the disappointing number of votes that the Happiness Realization Party has obtained, it’s clear that the current political system makes coming from an established party advantageous. The present parties in power are able to receive subsidies. In addition, they’re able to use tax monies to advance their activities. There’s even a system that makes reelection easier. The existing parties also have officially licensed rights to broadcast advantageous information through TV stations and other media.

On top of this, there are issues regarding education and academics. Especially disconcerting is the trend to remove privileges that have already been granted to religious institutions. This is far from democratic. This sort of democracy is what Kant called the ‘tyranny of the majority’, and is in no way a correct form of democracy: it’s effectively autocracy under the arrogance of majority rule.

True democracy reflects a variety of different values. Thus it is imperative that the opinions of minority groups are also taken into consideration. The freedom of news coverage, such as properly broadcasting the ideals of a new political party, demonstrate true democracy, but this is not happening at the moment.

(Note: In all of the previous Japanese elections, various television stations and newspapers have not even reported on the existence of the Happiness Realization Party: since the name hasn’t appeared on the polling lists, it is effectively meant that the HRP has lost many of its potential voters.)

It Is Human Nature to Want to Know the Mind of God

There are problems with what the Japanese society calls ‘right’. The first is the doctrine of how ‘human lives come first’, which denotes that everything is fine as long as our lives aren’t in danger. This becomes a point to watch out for as it can lead to materialism; it’s very close to Epicureanism or the idea that humans are just machines. Indeed ‘human lives come first’ is important, but unless there is something that transcends this notion, it’s insufficient.

The second problem is that being associated with God and the spirit world is deemed taboo. Japanese society thinks of such things as lying in the ‘undeveloped, and therefore, it groups them together with witchcraft and sorcery. Many people view spiritualism as a form of primitivism, and they see it as anti-science and against the philosophies of the Enlightenment that the constitutional government champions.

Society is made up of people who grew up with educations based on mistaken ideas. This is a big problem. Just because the times have changed doesnot mean that God no longer exists.

I think it is good that human rights are guaranteed, and that the law is being maintained along with other such systems. These systems, however, should not hinder the real duties of God.

Having a habit of going to Ise Shrine is a good thing, as is returning to your birthplace during the Bon Festival as a memorial to your ancestors. However, it would be best if one can develop an understanding of the mind of God. Those practices have been sustained as a result of gathered knowledge and the effort of mortals due to their failures to understand the mind of God.

It is important that humans have an innate desire to hear the voice of God. It is utter fallacy to think that something is unacceptable because of its association with God or spiritual messages, and to suggest that religion ought not to undertake worldly activities such as politics, economics, and education. It must be addressed that this kind of thinking is out-of-date; and since Happy Science is fighting against this sort of thinking, our worldly efforts have trouble succeeding. We must somehow overcome this problem.

I also found through my missionary activities around the world that God’s truth is received in different ways depending on the country. In countries already grounded with faith, they accept my teachings very smoothly and easily. Unfortunately, there are some countries, like Japan, where the people start by doubting. In Japan, the reaction has neither been one of praise nor of blame; people have tended to take the middle ground. With this sort of tendency, Japanese people will not be able to become world leaders.

In this sense, it’s critical to establish a firm grounding, to train to incorporate value judgments into the thought process, and to demonstrate to other people how things should be done, thus setting a good example.

Surpassing Individual Power: The Effects of the Power of Organizations

The Happiness Realization Party is far from being able to save the world, and it must be able to accomplish more than the sum total of what each individual works to accomplish; this is the purpose of an organization. There is no point to an organization that can only achieve the same results as the achievements of each individual involved.

People establish companies because, similarly, they are able to do more work than as individuals. This is because companies have economic advantages, are able to generate more social influence, and are more efficient in many ways.

There is a need for Happy Science to overcome its current limitations. Those people who have many things to do, and don’t know where to start, should first make time schedules. For those who cannot multitask, I recommend making a habit of filling out their schedules for the day every morning; and at the end of the day, filling in the schedule again, this time reflecting on how much they achieved and when. Then, it becomes clear what they could improve through their efforts: for instance, maybe one more phone call could have been made. So, for those of you who have a lot of work to do, and are confused as to where to start, please review your schedules.

For people who are bad at prioritizing their work, it is important to narrow down the work. Start by finishing the work in front of you, and continue with the next thing right in front of you, and so on. Additionally, putting an order on the work, thinking, “When I finish this, I will do this next,” will make it possible for you to work on many things at once. When work becomes encumbered and stuck, first clean your desk, then place your work in order and finish it off one-by-one.

It is better to finish your work one-by-one than to panic from a heavy workload and end up getting nothing done.

Similarly, when I am in a good condition, I am able to work on many things at once, but when I am in a bad condition, I begin to narrow down my work. During these bad times, my secretary will start clearing off the piles of books from my desk. For instance, if all of the books that don’t relate to an upcoming lecture get cleared away, I’ll have no choice other than to read what is left, subsequently moving along with my work.

Thus, narrowing down your work is something that can be done when you are unable to do all of your work at once. There are, however, times when indeed a lot of work can be done simultaneously. In this way, it is advised that you change your approach to work by judging your current condition.

This year especially, I would like everyone to share the koan, “How can you use the advantages of this organization to accomplish more work than a group of separate individuals could?”