Mahikari healing (and related matters)

Ash's comment on my last post made me wonder just how much Mahikari rhetoric has changed, even amongst members, on the subject of healing vs spiritual purification. Perhaps the new official US site reflects current teachings on this matter better than I thought...are we looking at rewriting of the teachings, rather than false advertising in this case?

Why should I care if Sukyo Mahikari is starting to reinvent itself and modify Okada's teachings? Well, I don't really. A bit of modification may well be an improvement!

Seriously though, is it legitimate for Mahikari teachings to change and evolve over time? That would certainly be legitimate for any group of human origin, but Mahikari claims divine origin. Kumite are not allowed to question the teachings, because they are regarded as revelations from God, and therefore absolutely true. Logically, those teachings should not evolve or change under the influence of mere human wisdom.

I personally don't believe revelations are valid...I'm still trying to decide if Okada suffered from religious delusions, or simply made them all up...but for the leaders and kanbu who teach that all of Okada's words were "golden", isn't it hypocritical to change the teachings?

Okada said, on page 20 of Sunkyo, a collection of Okada's short teachings published in 1984:

Due to human nature, as time passes people are apt to become proud and conceited and they add their own exaggerated embellishments and personal interpretations to original teachings instead of repeating them exactly as they were taught. Eventually the real meaning of the original teachings becomes vague and meaningless. All the religions of the world have followed this historical pattern.

Within our organization this is absolutely out of the question.

I then had a look at what Tebecis says in Is the future in our hands? (2004) on the subjects of healing and change.

From my experience, I can see that the Mahikari organization has been evolving. Of course, the art of True Light and the teachings do not change, but [various factors] have all helped to clarify various misconceptions and are leading to positive changes. [Page 46]

Continuing with this theme, on pages 50-51, he says:

One misconception, for instance, was that Mahikari was regarded as an organization for healing and other self-benefits, much more than occurs nowadays. The founder indicated that the aim of True Light is not for healing disease...Ultimately, it is to enable people to become divine in nature and participate in fulfilling the divine plan.

[Page 53] There is nothing wrong with having an initial attitude of seeking benefits. However, in the longer term, there may be a big difference in the results if people come to serve God out of a genuine desire to do something for God rather than simply a desire to be healed.

Incidentally, this entire section (pages 46 to 58) is a masterful example of manipulative writing, which weaves together several different threads. The thread illustrated by the above quotes basically says that the healing notion was a misconception, but that kumite now understand teachings better. However, woven in amongst that, Tebecis takes every opportunity to offer examples of the miraculous benefits he claims people have received from okiyome! A third thread makes the reader feel that seeking self-benefit is rather small-hearted, and no doubt nudges kumite to resolve to make greater efforts to serve God selflessly. Finally, there is a nasty little thread that suggests that people who have left Mahikari and become critical of it were insufficiently altruistic and were disappointed at not getting expected benefits for themselves, and simply "gave up"!!!

Unraveling all that is going to take a while, so please bear with me.

Firstly, Tebecis does stick much closer to Okada's teachings concerning healing than the official Sukyo Mahikari US site. The latter has pretty much written healing out of the teachings, whereas Tebecis has merely made it seem like a selfish pursuit. I must admit, though, in this, Tebecis is reflecting teachings given by Okada in other parts of Goseigen.

For most of us, altruistic motives, such as wanting to help other people and wanting to help God with his so-called divine plan, probably sound much more noble than wanting benefits for ourselves. However, Sukyo Mahikari does make promises of enormous benefits to those who practice it diligently.

There is an interesting article, by Brian McVeigh, called The Vitalistic Conception of Salvation as Expressed in Sukyo Mahikari. McVeigh points out that religions such as Christianity and Buddhism emphasize benefits in the next world, after death. In contrast, folk religions tend to emphasize this-worldly benefits, such as improved crops and miracle cures. He suggests that the "new" Japanese religions, which includes Mahikari, have a foot in both camps. They are similar to folk religions in that they promise benefits to practitioners in this life, but they also incorporate notions of postponed benefits to be reaped after death.

I wonder if people from different cultures would see pursuit of the supposed health benefits of Mahikari as selfish? Or, is this attitude a product of the Christian-based culture many of us grew up in? Perhaps Okada felt it was only natural for religions to promise this-worldly benefits...and so he did, in quite an up-front manner. I wonder if Sukyo Mahikari kanbu in Japan are writing healing out of Okada's teachings to the extent that is happening in the Western world? If anyone in Japan can comment on this, please tell us!

It's interesting to look again at primary kenshu in the light of McVeigh's comments. Right at the beginning, during the introductory remarks concerning the nature of the organization and the kenshu process itself, the promises of self-benefit start.

During Primary kenshū there are numerous people who have had experiences such as, a hand paralysed by stroke began to move, or those who could not walk started to walk, or those who have been blind for many years began to see.

Then, right there in Chapter 1, in the section concerning ken, wa, fu (health, harmony, and material prosperity) we are told:

It is important to fulfil these three conditions of health, harmony and material well-being.
These are the minimum basic requirements for happiness so make them your primary goal. And as you achieve these three, keep improving them step by step.

Well, it depends on the person, but within three to five years even the condition of the slowest people will improve.

That sounds like a promise of this-worldly self-benefit to me!

Of course, there are other teachings that encourage members to put God first and to not worry about their own welfare. Other teachings stress that one needs to become spiritually purified in order to reap the benefits of health, peace, and material prosperity. Still other teachings imply we all have enormous amounts of ancestral and personal karma, so that we might not receive the promised benefits any time soon...

Altogether, its an interesting mix. There are the promises of observable, this-worldly benefits. These may attract new members, but they are a two-edged sword. If these promises fail to materialize, it is all too obvious. In terms of retaining members in the long-term, it is probably much smarter to shift the emphasis to spiritual purification and selfless service to God.

According to the above kenshu quote, members should be observing improved ken, wa, fu within three to five years. Some of course do observe improved health (for whatever reason). However, by then, I suspect most people who continue to be members have indeed come to believe that they are effectively serving God...whether one is, or not, is of course much harder to measure.

Finally, is Tebecis' assumption that many kumite join Mahikari because they expect self-benefit, and leave due to disappointment, a valid assumption? Sure, we all know some people were encouraged to join because they had health or other problems, but I also know quite a few who were quite healthy. Why did they join?

In my case, I was attracted by what seemed to be a simple, magical, and quite exciting health breakthrough. If one could solve incurable health problems, who wouldn't want to learn how to do that? My health was fine, but I guess I was altruistic enough to want to be able to help other people solve their problems. In his online book, Garry Greenwood talks in some detail about his introduction to Mahikari. I don't recall any particular self-interest motivating him or his wife either.

The picture Tebecis paints of people seeking health cures, and leaving due to disappointment, fits my own observations of some people who came and went fairly quickly. And why not? If Okada is quoted as saying that God told him to "raise his hand and cure people of diseases", and we were taught that omitama gave us the same ability to transmit the light of God, isn't leaving a perfectly valid response for those people?

However, the above picture certainly does not fit my observations of the long-term members who left Mahikari and who now write in criticism of Mahikari. Those I have spoken to had, for many years, bought into the entire myth of selfless service to God. In general, I'd say they left because they had good reasons for no longer believing in that myth.

Incidentally, in the pages I referred to above, Tebecis claimed that Greenwood was a good friend, but he then proceeded to imply that Greenwood "gave up" due to "disappointment" and lack of altruism. I assume that Tebecis has read Greenwood's book. He obviously does not agree with Greenwood's evaluation of the nature of Sukyo Mahikari, but he must realize that Greenwood had much more substantial reasons than "disappointment". There is no obvious reason for Tebecis to mention Greenwood specifically in this section of his book. I can only conclude that Tebecis was trying to belittle Greenwood as a tactical maneuver, in an attempt to make kumite disregard his claims.

Disempowerment to Self Empowerment

[The following email exchange with a former member of Sukyo Mahikari is posted here with the writer's permission.]


The most satisfied feeling of joy I felt was when I woke up one morning and said "Yes" I've taken back my power and am walking my own path of Love and Light to God. I had to be caught up in this SM organisation to realise the truth that I was giving away my power to be worthy of God's love by doing all that "divine service". What a boring chore that became. Now my life is just one of letting go of the past and living in the present moment. I have no regrets and choose to see that the SM organisation is a wake up call to those like myself who get caught up in its dogma etc and to see the gift which is self empowerment. Im just truly grateful I woke up - gosh maybe thats SM's mission by God - to rattle us so that we will take back our power and to make us realise that each of one of us is a powerful creator!!

Blessings to you
Butterfly


Hi Butterfly,

Lovely to hear from you!

You're right...being in SM is very disempowering, and it does feel great to take back one's own power. I'm glad to hear that you did.

Can I ask, what made you wake up? You've probably noticed that a lot of what I write is an attempt to help people "wake up", so any feedback on what works for other people is useful. I guess a lot of the people who read my site and blog are actually ex-members already, but some are probably still struggling with their past SM beliefs (especially if they were long-term members).

It's good to hear that you sound like you came through fairly unscathed by it all. Thank you very much for your letter!

Anne


Hi Anne

Deep in one's heart we all know when something "feels" out of integrity. If we
block it/suppress it, then an opportunity is lost to find our balance and feel "at one" - what we resist, persists; what we accept, will set us free. By tuning into my feelings, by asking myself how did I lose my energy with SM and all its "must dos", I was able to accept how controlled and powerless I felt. With that, I stepped off the SM train and set myself free. Its called free will and we must always use it for that is the power that has been bestowed on human beings by God.

Blessings
Butterfly

Healing vs spiritual purification in Sukyo Mahikari

As mentioned in my previous post, in an interview (dated February, 1974) published in Gotaidanshu, Okada is quoted as saying:

.........I was then told to "Raise the hand and cure people of diseases".

My previous post focused on the "Raise the hand" part of the above, but in this post, I'm more interested in the part that does not appear in the current Goseigen - the cure people of diseases part.

The stories told relating to the genesis of the Mahikari organizations are quite up front about healing. We are not told that Okada gave light to the sick dog and the dog became more purified spiritually. We are told that the dog was cured.

Daiseishu, page 194, quotes part of an interview conducted at the Paris dojo in 1972. In response to the interviewer's questions, the Mahikari spokesperson said, Cancer? Oh yes, we cure cancer. Typhus, cholera? Certainly.

In his book, Dojo, Winston Davis reports his experience of receiving primary kenshu in Japan, in 1976. He describes the section of kenshu that gives details of where to give okiyome for specific diseases, then states,

Finally, we were warned not to advertise that we could cure diseases or make diagnoses, since according to Japanese law only doctors can perform these functions. In order to stay clear of the law and the wrath of the medical profession, Sensei suggested that we should offer only to purify souls and bodies.

Even I recall, in the early years of my Mahikari involvement, that kumite and kanbu were quite up front about saying that okiyome heals diseases. I recall people explaining that Mahikari healing was different to faith healing, for example, partly because no faith was required, and partly because okiyome purifies spiritually, as well as healing physically. I remember hearing that okiyome could cure everything except leprosy and AIDS, and that cancer patients could be cured, but only if they had not received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. (We were told that these treatments kill the spiritual cells.) I also remember hearing that blood transfusions were to be avoided because the blood no longer contained live spiritual cells...or something like that. Medical intervention was regarded as necessary only for setting broken bones, and for stopping bleeding if an artery had been severed.

I don't remember ever seeing any written teachings saying things like the above, but such notions were definitely part of the dojo culture at that time. I suspect most people reading this became kumite somewhat later than I did, so I won't be surprised if some of these notions had changed by the time you joined.

Somewhat later, I remember we were all warned that we should not say that okiyome can heal people due to the possibility of legal repercussions if someone did not get the result they expected from receiving okiyome. So, we started to stress that the purpose of okiyome was to purify the spiritual aspect of people...and to say that a follow-on effect of this was improved physical health. Kumite still tended to point out examples of what they regarded as miraculous cures, of course.

In retrospect, I wonder if there was some incident about that time...some sort of tragedy, or some sort of legal problem...but if there was, kumite were not told about it. Certainly, the attitude towards seeking medical intervention changed significantly. By the time I left Mahikari, people were told that they should seek medical help in life threatening situations and follow the medical advice...and then apologize profusely and receive lots of okiyome to make up for it!

Clearly, there has been a gradual shift over the years in what Mahikari says, and does not say, about healing. To an "oldie" like me, these days Sukyo Mahikari seems to be bending over backwards to avoid being seen as a healing path. I believe many dojos now display printed signs saying that the purpose of okiyome is spiritual purification, not healing. (I can't remember offhand where I read that, so I can't quote the exact words, sorry.)

The new Sukyo Mahikari North America site gives the impression that Mahikari is reinventing itself in many ways (or adopting a false public face?), but especially so in relation to healing/spiritual purification.

In the 250 words in the section entitled Art of True Light, the only hint that okiyome might heal diseases is in the statement that the purpose of true light is to purify and revitalize our spirit, mind and body.

In the section on Mahikari centers, this site says, It is emphasized that the Art of True Light is not a healing art, but a spiritual practice to purify and nurture the spirit, mind and body.

The section of the site specifically devoted to health is entitled Health - A holistic approach. In this section, one would expect some mention of something like "Raise the hand and cure people of diseases"....wouldn't you? This entire section gives no hint whatsoever that okiyome is supposed to heal physically. It merely brings out the buzzword "holistic", and claims that Sukyo Mahikari wants to promote a more holistic approach to health. I don't believe dojo culture has really changed that much, has it? Surely this is false advertising.

That's it! There is nothing else in that entire site that suggests that okiyome can cure anything.

The interview in Gotaidanshu in which Okada said that God told him to "Raise the hand and cure people of diseases" was dated 1974. Now, just over 30 years later, we have the official Sukyo Mahikari site saying, "True Light is not a healing art".

Why?

Is it because, if okiyome fails to produce good health, the failure is obvious to all, whereas success or failure to purify spiritually is not visible?

Have there been health-related lawsuits that we haven't heard about?

Have there been tragic and avoidable deaths due to relying on okiyome rather than seeking medical treatment?

"Raise the hand"?

I thought I'd pretty well covered the topics of the dog story and that first revelation in Goseigen, but believe it or not, there's more!!

For previous discussion of these topics see Which version of the Mahikari dog story is correct? in the February archives , and here and here.

As stated in the above posts, there are a number of logical inconsistencies, and inconsistent circumstantial details, in the stories concerning the above. Any further discussion is not really relevant if we regard the revelations as delusions or deliberate deception, but for Mahikari members who do believe that the revelations are valid, there are further problems to consider regarding these stories.

For the moment, lets just look again at the basic form of the story I remember from when I first joined Mahikari.

This goes something like: Okada woke from 5 days of high fever and received a revelation from God, which finished with the words, The time of Heaven has come. Rise. Thy name shall be Kautama. Raise the hand. [Or, Exercise the Art of Purification. in some translations] The world shall enter severe times. According to the basic story, Okada thought at first that he was going mad, or being tricked by a possessing animal spirit, and did nothing. About a week later, he came across a sick dog, raised his hand, and cured the dog. He then proceeded to give okiyome to people and witnessed many miraculous cures.

I'm not concerned here about the different translations of the "raise the hand" part. "Raise the hand" in Japanese is the verb form corresponding to the noun "tekazashi", which is commonly used even in English (within Sukyo Mahikari, if nowhere else) to mean to give okiyome. So that detail is not really relevant here.

Now, we all know that "raise the hand" means to give okiyome. But, we probably found out about giving and receiving okiyome before we read that first revelation. How did Okada know what God meant by "raise the hand"? There is nothing more about raising the hand, or radiating the light of God, or purifying spiritually (or healing) in the rest of that revelation, nor in the Teaching of How to Perceive God, which is the second revelation in Goseigen and also bears the February 27, 1959, date.

The implication of this story is that Okada knew nothing about raising the hand and radiating the light of God before this revelation...yet he tested this out on the sick dog. What made him think that raising his hand and pointing it at the dog could cure the dog? There was nothing in those revelations to indicate how or why he was supposed to raise his hand, or that he could cure anything or anyone by doing so. (Of course, we do know now that Okada had been involved with SKK and therefore did understand all about "raising the hand", and would not have had any need to test it out on a dog.)

Why didn't I notice this years ago? Even now, despite examining these stories in detail, it still did not occur to me that this was strange. This was only pointed out to me in a private email just recently.

Now, the teachings do say that not all the revelations have been published, so it is possible that Okada did receive revelations, around the time of the first published revelation, specifically explaining about raising the hand to give purification. Still, this particular revelation is supposed to be the genesis of the various Mahikari organizations, and okiyome is perhaps the main feature of those organizations. It would be reasonable to expect that any revelations around that time that specifically concerned okiyome would have been published, don't you think?

With that thought in mind, I started paying attention to the exact wording of that revelation. This is why the previous two posts (one in Japanese and one in English) ask if anyone has any of the early Japanese editions of Goseigen.

Funnily enough, the 1973 Japanese edition does not have the words "raise the hand" at all! I found this frankly astounding. According to the SMBK websites (Japanese and American), their Goseigen does include those words, and I think the current Japanese Sukyo Mahikari edition would include those words, so what happened?

Did Okada himself, or someone in the original SMBK organization before Sukyo Mahikari split off from it, add in those words? Remember, these are supposed to be the golden words received directly from God...the absolute divine truth. How can Mahikari make that claim if some words have been added?

If we assume for the moment that the revelations genuinely were from God, perhaps a mere human has added in all the references to Mahikari no Waza, okiyome, raising the hand, etc. If someone has added even just 3 words, how can kumite be expected to trust that the rest are from God?

Of course, there may be a simple explanation. Perhaps these word were not present in the 1973 edition due to a printing error, or similar. I would need to see an earlier edition of the Japanese Goseigen, or a version of this revelation from the early years in the Mahikari magazine Okada published. Are you sure you don't have something like this in your attic? Or your parents' attic? If any kumite happen to be reading this, perhaps you should try to check this. Surely senior kanbu should have access to the Mahikari magazine archives.

In the meantime, however, an interview (dated February, 1974) with Okada, published in Gotaidanshu, offers further food for thought. Okada is quoted as saying:

It was February 27, 1959, I think. I was worshiping God at my own house when I heard a loud voice say, "Thy name shall be Kōtama. The world shall enter severe times."

In the interview, Okada then talks of other things, then gets back to the revelation subject and continues:

.........I was then told to "Raise the hand and cure people of diseases".

The circumstances of the revelation are a little unclear here but, as mentioned in an earlier post, this seems inconsistent with the story about 5 days of high fever. However, lets leave that inconsistency aside for the moment and focus on the sequence and flow of the words Okada claims God said to him.

From the above quote, it seems that the "Raise the hand" part was not originally where it is now, and the "cure people of diseases" part has now been omitted. So...what has happened here? Has someone been editing the text of that revelation? Was Okada perhaps losing his memory and getting confused about what happened?

Certainly, if the "cure people of diseases" part were still included in the version of this revelation published in Goseigen, it would solve the logical problem of how Okada knew what God meant by "raise the hand". (But of course, he did already know anyway, because of SKK, but at the point I joined Mahikari, we did not know about that.)

One possibility is that the entire "Raise the hand and cure people of diseases" part was published at some stage, and may have all been deleted later to protect Mahikari from legal liability related to practicing medicine without a license. Then, perhaps just the "raise the hand" part of it was put back in? Certainly, over the years, Mahikari seems to have made fairly drastic changes in its publicly stated stance on the subject of healing. (More on that in a future post!)

Mahikari Goseigen (Japanese edition)

Does anyone happen to have a Japanese Goseigen?

In the "old days", before there was an English translation available, some kumite bought Japanese Goseigen just so that they could have Goseigen, even if they couldn't read it. The things we did!

I've seen the 1973 (Showa 48) edition of the Japanese Goseigen which, somewhat surprisingly, does not have the "Raise the hand." sentence almost at the end of the first revelation in Goseigen. I would like to check the wording of this revelation in earlier and later Japanese editions. Can anyone help me out?

If you have one, but can't read it, please let me know...we'll work out something.

Thanks.

真光の元組み手の方、退会を考えていらっしゃる方、たまたま真光関係の書籍をお持ちの方へ ーー

[concerning Mahikari Goseigen]


ご協力をお願いします。

お手元に『御聖言』がありましたら、「天地一切神の声」を見てください。

　　起て、光玉と名のれ。手をかざせ。厳しき世となるべし。

＜手をかざせ＞　がはいっていますか。

ある、ない、とともに、発行年月日、発行所等をコメント欄で知らせて頂けませんか。

ある方の『御聖言』の場合の例です。
　　　１　ない
　　　２　昭和４５年８月２３日　初版発行
　　　　　昭和４８年３月１日　　三版発行
　　　3　　世界真光文明教団
　　　　　　東京都大田区田園調布２−２５−１０
　　　４　入った時は『文明』、後に『崇教』に変わった

Thoughts on so-called "spirit movement"

[Many thanks to Kit Kat for the following contribution]

Hi Anne,

As you've asked for posts for this Blog, I'd thought I'd write up something I've had on my mind for some time now....

As all kumite (and ex-kumite) know, when people receive Light on the forehead (#8, soul-spirit), sometimes they get what's called "spirit movement" or "spirit manifestation". This is when people start rocking, nodding, shaking slightly etc, or in some more extreme cases actually behaving like an animal of some sort, or a soldier, or weeping and crawling away, trying to avoid receiving Light.

The Mahikari explanation of such movement is that the spirit/s attaching to the person are reacting to the Light - the movement may give some hint as to what sort of spirit is attached and their mood. Usually when spirit movement is observed in a person, a Kanbu (staff member) will arrange to give the person Light a few days later, and then conduct a spirit investigation.

This involves them speaking to and "counseling" the spirit. They may sing "Chorei", a hymn for guiding spirits, and give advice about how to change etc. The whole experience is usually very draining and exhausting, and can sometimes be cathartic for the receiver.

I'm not going to talk about the whole attaching spirit deal here, but I'm interested in the physical movement that is often seen when people receive Light on the forehead.

I really think this is a form of ideomotor action. Ideomotor action is defined as "influence of suggestion in modifying and directing muscular movement, independently of volition", and has been proven to be a real effect, that happens without conscious thought, and to be created through suggestion.

When you go into a Dojo, you often see spirit movement - people sitting peacefully receiving Light with their eyes closed, but nodding their head, or wagging their hands, or something. When you first see this, it's pretty weird. But everyone around you treats it as normal behavior! If you keep receiving Light, and get more involved, it's a part of being accepted into the group - if you start to sway or rock while receiving Light, then members will often take more notice of you, and you are drawn further into the 'mysteries of Mahikari'. It's all part of the Dojo culture.

One woman who used to be a Doshi told me that in some Dojos she worked in, spirit movement was very rare - it just wasn't something that people did - while in other Dojos it was much more common - it WAS a big part of what people did, and was widespread, with lots of kumite talking with each other about their attaching spirits, and spirit investigations and stuff.

I certainly used to get these movements too, and the particular spirit attaching usually managed to be tied in with my life experience at the time. If I was upset with my partner, there would be something to do with past relationships. If I was upset about the death of a friend, the attaching spirit would be related to that person. If I was having trouble dealing with Mahikari teachings (as I often did), then the attaching spirit would be very anti-Mahikari and blamed for stopping me doing divine service. And so on. I know that Mahikari would say that the reason I was having those life experiences was a reflection of the attaching spirits - but I honestly think it went the other way round.

Anyway, what sort of experiences have other people had with spirit movement? What do you think?

KitKat

The Mahikari pyramid

You probably remember hearing the Sūkyō Mahikari pyramid analogy. Kumite are regarded as being the broad base of the pyramid, which supports the higher layers of kanbu, senior kanbu, and ultimately Keishu at the top pointy part. This pyramid analogy was used to encourage us to make greater efforts to expand membership, the idea being that the broader and stronger the base, the higher the top pointy part could rise towards God.

A few weeks back I started playing around with a mental image of Sūkyō Mahikari being a huge upside down pyramid. This way up, the hundreds of thousands of kumite who run around busting a gut to try and follow Okada's teachings are at the broad top, and in the lower increasingly narrow sections we have the thousands of kanbu, hundreds of buildings, large and complex administration and financial sections, and a handful of top leaders.

In my mental image, this enormous structure is supported by and balanced precariously on the tiny pointy part...Okada's claim that Mahikari teachings were revealed to him by God.

If we had just one piece of clear-cut proof that Okada's supposed revelations were either delusions or lies, the whole pyramid would topple and crash. Even without that degree of proof, the pyramid is looking decidedly shaky.

Here's some information, from the contribution by 火の鳥phoenix3000 concerning the dog story, which might wobble the Mahikari pyramid even more.

Gotaidanshu, a collection of interviews with Okada published in 1985, includes Okada's own words from an interview conducted in February, 1974. He said:

たしか昭和３４年の２月２７日ですが、私（良一）の家の神様を拝んでいたら、大きな声で「光玉と名のれ。きびしき世となるべし」という声がきこえたのです。
　　. . . . . . . . .　それから「手をかざして人の病気を治せ」と言われるでしょう。

This translates as: It was February 27, 1959, I think. I was worshiping God at my own house when I heard a loud voice say, "Thy name shall be Kōtama. The world shall enter severe times."
.........I was then told to "Raise the hand and cure people of diseases".

Huh? What about the story that Okada received this revelation when he woke from 5 days of high fever? This revelation is supposed to be THE revelation which was the basis for the establishment of Yōkōshi Tomo no Kai...and eventually SMBK, Sūkyō Mahikari, and the other groups that stem from Okada's revelations. Did Okada forget the circumstances under which he received this most momentous revelation?

Did he also forget the words God supposedly said on that occasion? The 1982 English edition of Goseigen says, Exercise the Art of Purification. These days, there's nothing in the February 27 revelations about healing diseases.

Recently, spokespeople for the Sūkyō Mahikari organization do seem to be misrepresenting (or rewriting) the teachings. The prime example is the recent official North America Sūkyō Mahikari website...more on that later. Perhaps the Sūkyō Mahikari organization has been editing the supposed words of God to suit themselves right from the early days.

How can Mahikari expect people to believe that Goseigen contains the words of God when they can't even keep their stories about the revelations consistent?