真光の祖師が受け取ったとする『最初の啓示』について ー その真偽 ＜その二＞ [re Mahikari revelations - Part 2]

This is Part 2 of phoenix3000's series of posts concerning "the first revelation" the founder of Mahikari claims to have received.

＜１＞に関して

「光玉」と名のれ」と示されているのであって、「光玉の名を与う」とは示されてない、との真光信奉者の見解がありましたので、ここにさらに研修用テキストの一部と、光玉自身の言葉を引用します。

祖師御講述　中級真光研修用テキスト　　　　救い主の神名について　　８頁

　　　救い主は、立教に関する最初の御神示で、「光玉」の御神名をいただかれたのであります。その後、聖玉の御神名を賜られました。


『神向き讃詞解説』昭和５７年（１９８２）発行　３９−４１頁

　　　次に、私が戴きました御神名について簡単にご説明しておきます。最初「光玉」というみ名を戴いたわけですが、神道界の人は最初このみ名も疑われたわけです。それで同じように神伺いされますと、そのいわれまでチャンと出ました。 . . . . .（略） . . . . . .　それで結局、これは私が自分でいい加減につけた名前でないことがわかったしだいです。
　
　　　次に頂戴しましたのが「聖玉」というみ名です。 . . . . . . （略） . . . . .　　この「聖」という字をつけるということは、非常に恐ろしく感じたのです。 . . . . .（略） . . . .

　　　しかし、これを戴いた昭和３６年頃というのは、まだ大祭をしても参加者は百七十人位のときですから、とても聖玉というみ名を使えるところまでいってなかったのです。

　　　　 . . . . .（略） . . . . . .　私は当初「聖玉」というみ名を使うことを非常に恐れました。

　　　しかし、どうしても使わなければならないように、周囲からいろいろな仕組みや示しが出て参りまして、聖玉を使わせていただくようになったわけです。
　　　その神秘体験のいくつかをお話しますと、まず、昭和３９年５月１５日に御神体をお書きしておりますと、なぜか途中でだめになってしまうのです。光玉と書こうとしますと、御神体の御文字の所へ墨をボテっと落とされたり、また破ったりされるわけです。三枚お書き申し上げましたがどうしてもだめです。

　　　　 . . . . . . .（略 ) . . . . .

　　　　 . . . . . . .（略 ) . . . . .　御神体が三体もだめになったときには、「これは神様がお気に入らないな」と思いました。それで「聖玉」と書きますと、ご機嫌がよくなって、スラスラと書けるようになりました。

真光のテキストでも、「いただいた」と表現されていますし、最初「光玉」というみ名を戴いた、と光玉自身が言い換えてもいます。平たく言えば、光玉の名を与えられた、との光玉自身の主張ですから、この真光信奉者の見解は成立しません。「光玉」の名は、世界救世教時代に自分が気に入って回りの信者にそう呼ばせていた事実があり、昭和３４年に神から与えられた、”新たな”神名ではなかったのです。つまり、事実を隠して、『昭和３４年に神から与えられた名である』と宣言したのです。

さらに、真光に出て来る、こういう場合の『神道界の人』とは、「真の道の人」のことであって、『神道界の人』と言い換えることによって、さも権威ある出来事であるという、事実とは離れた印象を作り出しています。
この「真の道」の『神伺い』というのは、事前の申し合わせも可能という代物で、しかも光玉がすでに「真の道」の会員であれば、彼に好意的な回答が出るのは当然であり、「光玉」の名の『いわれ』の説明が何であろうとも、「元々自分で付けた名」である事実には変わりありません。（真の道での、光玉の『み魂伺い』の件にまつわる事実もネットのあちこちで指摘されています。）　

聖玉という名について、光玉は昭和３６年に神より与えられた名である、非常に恐ろしく感じた、と言っていて、これは『崇教３０年史』と一致しているのではありますが、光玉はさらに、昭和３９年５月１５日と明記して、『光玉』と書こうとしていたら、失敗し、『聖玉』と書いたら、スラスラといった、と言っていますから、この日以降、『聖玉』の名を使うようになった、ということになります。岡田道一の『神癒の科学』に賛同者として、『岡田聖玉』の名が使われているという指摘があったことを紹介した＜その一＞をもう一度参照して頂きたいと思います。

なお、ここで光玉が『神秘体験だ』としている出来事は、実際にあった事なのか否かは脇に置くとして、『神秘体験』と呼ぶのにふさわしい出来事でしょうか。
普通の私達でも、書類を書いていて、同じようなところを二度、三度と間違ってしまい、気分転換をしてからもう一度試みたら、今度はうまくいった、というような経験は起こり得ます。
光玉は自分の不注意を、『神が気に入らないのだ』と勝手に解釈しただけ、気分を変えて別の名を使ったら、スラスラといっただけ、と言えないでしょうか。
そして、光玉の作り出した世界はかなりの部分がこんな風な「解釈の仕方」で成り立っているようです。


さて＜その一＞で、『最初の啓示』の前にも『啓示』はあったのだ、『声なき声』の形であったのだ、とする崇教真光の主張について触れました。

『崇教真光３０年史』平成元年（１９８９）発行　６４−６５頁の記述を参照して下さい。

　　　　最後に、神様にお詫びをしたいと、軍隊からもらった軍服を質に入れ三百円のお玉串をもって、お詫びのお参りをし、いよいよ死に場所を求めはじめたとき、何処からの声か、
　　　　　ーーーーお前の先祖の罪穢が消えるぞ、消えるぞーーー
　　　　　突然の声なき声。その時、救い主は先祖の犯した罪に初めて思いが至ったのです。

この時の状況を光玉自身はどのように表現しているのでしょうか。密接に関連する部分だけここにあげてみます。比較してみてください。

　　　. . . . . . そこで私はもう自殺するよりしょうがなくなって、自殺する場所を探したのです。

　　　その時に姉の言葉を思い出した。姉はキリスト教の信者で、私が中学時代に「貧なる者よ、汝は幸いなり」ということを教えてくれた。

　　　しかし私はそれに反発をした。そして逆に金儲けの方へ走ってしまったのです。飛行機会社から炭鉱、製塩所、材木の卸商と、とにかくあらゆる事業へ金を出した男です。先祖のものをみんな出してしまった。そうしたら戦災でみんなやられてしまった。

　　　そこで「人間の努力で解決しない何か別のものが動いている」ということに気がついたのです。

　　　なるほどイエスが言った、「貧なる者よ、汝は幸いなり」というのはこれだな、と考えたのです。要するに、再生転生中、あるいは先祖からの罪穢が、財を失うことによって消えるのだ。言霊では”財は罪に通ずる”のです。. . . . （略）. . . . . 　

　　　　 . . . . （略）. . . .

　　　今から思いますと、私はゾッとするほどの運命を辿ってきました。

　　　もし私が死に場所を探している時に死に場所が見つかっていたら、今いないのです。しかしその時に神の声でしょう、姉の声を思い出させて下さった。すなわち私が中学時代に聞いた「貧なる者よ、汝は幸いなり」というイエスの言葉である。. . . . . .
ーーーー　真光誌　３７９　ー　平成６年（１９９４）４月号　救い主み教え　２４−２８頁

ここでの光玉自身の表現では、精神分裂症のように『姿なき声』『声なき声』が聞こえたのではなく、「思い出した」とか「気がついた」「考えた」となっています。後に、その時のことを思い返して、思い出した姉の声を『神の声でしょう』と解釈しているわけです。しかもその『声』は「お前の先祖の罪穢が消えるぞ」ではなく、「貧なる者よ、汝は幸いなり」だったのです。

崇教真光は何を目指してこのような書き換えをおこなっているのでしょうか。
昭和３４年の『最初の啓示』は立教に関する『啓示』であって、それより前にも『啓示』はあったのだという話に、どうして持って行きたいのでしょうか。
こんなふうに真光の祖師光玉にまつわる大事なことを書き換えてしまっている崇教真光の主張にどのくらいの信憑性があるのでしょうか。
　　それとも、これも光玉自身の一貫性を欠いた話から来ている矛盾でしょうか。
光玉自身の言っていることにも一貫性がなかったりしますから、「救い主様」と言葉で讃えるわりには、目の上のこぶでもあるかもしれません。

『最初の啓示』についての彼自身の言葉を一カ所下に示しておきましょう。

　　私はいまの『御聖言』にもございますように、「光玉と名のれ、手をかざせ」という神示のままにしただけですからね。これが一番最初に私が受けた神示です。
　　　　　　ーー　『御対談集』昭和６０年（１９８５）発行　２３２頁


　　---　火の鳥phoenix3000

Mahikari rules derived from "Universal Principles"

In my last post I commented that the so-called universal principles in Mahikari teachings, at first glance, seem more like explanations of the way the world works, rather than the sort of rules that would impact on our everyday behavior. However, it seems to me that some rather far-reaching behavioral rules are derived from these principles.

For most people these days, any notion that women should be subservient to men is no longer tolerated. However, Sukyo Mahikari sends us back to the dark ages on this one with the "principle of the cross". Fire is regarded as spiritual, vertical, and male. Water is regarded as material, horizontal, and female. We are taught that in this age of dominance of fire over water, husbands must be dominant and wives must obey them. Yeech! Just as well I was not married during my time in Mahikari! (Does this mean that before the conversion of divine will and the start of the age of fire in 1962, women were supposed to dominate? And now we've missed our turn? Not fair!)

Next there is the Mahikari notion of a vertical hierarchy rather than a horizontal equality. I'm not sure if this notion derives from the above principle of the cross, or from the spirit first, mind follows, body belongs principle (upstream-downstream). Either way, it gives rise to behavioral rules. There is a strict hierarchy within Mahikari: God, Keishu, divisional and regional leaders, dojo kanbu, group leaders, then members. Within the ranks of dojo kanbu, there are precise rankings such that practically everyone is higher or lower than someone else.

If there is a decision to be made, a person is supposed to consult his or her immediate superior and follow the advice received. Use of initiative and solving problems oneself is definitely frowned on. Discussion or debate of the advice received is also not acceptable. Anything advised by one's superior is supposed to be followed without question. Members are taught that, even if the advice given is actually "wrong"in some sense, the correct thing is still to follow that advice, and God's protection will somehow magically make that advice "right".

The above hierarchical approach may not be expected quite so strictly amongst ordinary members. However, ordinary members are encouraged to accept the advice of kanbu, children are expected to respect and obey teachers, workers are expected to respect bosses, etc. The ultimate "rule" derived from this hierarchical approach is the teaching that we should be striving for a theocracy, rather than democracy.

According to primary kenshu, the principle of balance is the basis for the rule about people being as they should be. This rule says that men should behave and dress in a manly way, and women should behave and dress in a womanly way. Okada did not go so far as to define exactly what "womanly" clothes are, but when I was a member, this was always interpreted as being modest feminine dresses or skirts, rather than pants.

The principle of balance also applies to marriage. Okada taught that people are only able to marry if they are spiritually balanced with each other. In other words, you get the partner you deserve. Okada taught that divorce is not permitted. Unhappily married people are supposed to think that they are paying off negative karma (law of compensation) by staying with a spouse who mistreats them. They are also supposed to feel grateful for the chance to compensate in this way (the law of being grateful for everything).

Then there are the rules about sex itself: no sex outside marriage, no contraception, and no homosexual acts. When I was a member, people were not allowed to receive kenshu if they were "living in sin". They needed to either separate or marry if they wanted to receive kenshu.

I'm not sure if all of the rules in Sukyo Mahikari can be traced back to "universal principles", but one way or another, there are certainly many, many rules. Anyone who has ever been a member of Sukyo Mahikari will remember hundreds of detailed rules relating to the care of omitama, ancestors, and goshintai. There are also detailed rules about how to give okiyome and how to behave at dojo...wear socks, wash hands, greet God first, don't cross spiritual lines, don't put the palms of the hands or prayer books on the floor, and don't race off home before closing ceremony. Go to dojo at least 3 times a week, don't miss the monthly ceremony, go to study periods, and re-attend kenshu as often as possible.

Next we have all the rules concerning eating and health. No vaccinations for your kids, no medication, and no herbal remedies. Avoid artificial food additives, avoid really cold food, avoid massages, and avoid microwaved food. Don't use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, and eat organically grown food. Give light to all your groceries, and eat with gratitude.

There are also rules governing acceptable attitudes: always be bright and positive, don't complain, don't judge others, be humble and obedient, be altruistic, don't be stingy, and be grateful for everything.

Have I forgotten any? I imagine I have...

Universal laws vs rules in Sukyo Mahikari

Sukyo Mahikari teachings are about universal principles rather than rules.

I first noticed the above quote on Thomas David's site about 6 months ago, and its been bothering me ever since. At first I thought these were his own words, and that he was just trying to make Sukyo Mahikari sound like it does not try to control people's lives by long lists of rules. My subjective impression from 10 years of experience of Mahikari was that Mahikari rules govern every aspect of life...surely it must be false advertising to imply there are no rules!

Later I noticed the exact same wording on the official Europe/Africa Sukyo Mahikari site, and now also on the new US site. Apparently, this statement is "official", not just one person's take on the teachings.

After a bit more thought, things did not seem so simple. What are "universal principles"? Surely these sound even more rule-like than simple "rules". In the US site, and also in Tebecis' book, there are many references to universal principles/laws, principles/laws of the universe, etc. After reading all these references to "universal principles", I started to wonder exactly what these principles are supposed to be. I kept on hoping I'd find a convenient list of them somewhere...even though I think I know the teachings of Mahikari pretty well, I couldn't think which of the many teachings were specifically the "universal principles".

The US site also refers to the universal laws God established at the time of the Creation so that all things in the universe can prosper eternally. Tebecis talks of these laws being like oxygen. Regardless of whether or not we believe we need oxygen, without it we will die. At this point, these universal laws/principles definitely sound more rule-like than ordinary rules!

Suddenly the "established at the time of creation" part and the oxygen analogy started to sound rather familiar, so I checked through my old translation of Goseigen and primary kenshu contents. Aha! These "universal principles" are what used to be called "okite [laws] of the arrangements of God" when I received kenshu. These are the laws kenshu says we must follow in order to prosper and be happy. According to Goseigen, not following these laws leads to deadlock/being beaten to a pulp, etc.

According to the old wording of primary kenshu, the grand arrangements of God for creating all things of the universe and allowing them to flourish and prosper is called "okite [laws] of the arrangements of God"...and... from the viewpoint of God's "laws" (okite), phenomena of unhappiness indicate that the person is walking with a sign on the chest saying "I have been doing the wrong things".

That sure sounds like "rules" to me.

The analogy with oxygen seems designed to convince us that these universal principles (laws of the arrangements of God) simply are. The analogy is supposed to prove that these principles apply whether we believe them or not but, like most of Okada's analogies, it simply muddles our thought processes. Our need for oxygen is an observable and provable fact. Okada's "universal principles" are supposed facts that he claimed God revealed to him. They are neither observable or provable.

So, what are these laws or principles? They include:

- law of spirit first, mind follows, body belongs
- principle of misogi harahi (cleansing/purification)
- principle of the cross (of fire and water)
- principle of balance
- law of being sunao (obedient to God)
- law of being grateful for everything, good and bad
- law of revolution (circulation)
- law of aganahi (compensation)
- law of eternal prosperity
- principle of sōsoku sōnyū (inter-connectedness)
- principle of dawning
- principle of hardening

At first glance, the above all appear to be just explanations (not necessarily correct explanations) of how the world works. As such, I suppose people who believe Okada's claim that these are the laws of God could logically refer to these as "universal principles rather than rules".

However, I see two main problems with that. The first is that the term "universal principles" tends to obscure the fact that these are not observable provable natural laws...they are just based on Okada's revelation claim. The second problem is that, even though these "principles" might not sound much like behavioral rules on the surface, they are the basis of an enormous number of rules that do affect every facet of the daily lives of Sukyo Mahikari members. But that's another topic for next time....

The astral world - a Mahikari "stick"

Sūkyō Mahikari kenshū (introductory course) teaches that there are three worlds: the physical world we see and in which we currently live, the astral world (invisible), and the spiritual world (also invisible). Okada taught that the spiritual world is inhabited by gods and by high-level spirits who do not reincarnate anymore. He taught that, when we die physically, we go to the astral world where we receive training to prepare for our next reincarnation. He said that people are supposed to reincarnate roughly every 300 years until they are sufficiently purified to stop reincarnating, at which time they go to the spiritual world.

Kenshū paints alarming images of the astral world. According to Okada, the astral world has many levels, with the highest level involving comparatively pleasant training, but with increasingly gruesome forms of training towards the lower levels. Since he claimed most people go to some level or other of the astral world when they die, members of Sūkyō Mahikari tend to assume that the majority of their ancestors are receiving training (suffering) in the astral world. Given the reincarnation cycle of roughly 300 years, members are likely to assume that any immediate family members who have died are suffering in this astral world.

Getting worried? Well, I think it suited Okada's purpose to have us worry. Nobody wants to think that their beloved grandparent/spouse/parent/child is suffering in the astral world. Nor do they want to think they themselves might end up in one of the lower levels of the astral world. Of course, nobody can see the astral world (if it exists), or know for sure what happens there. There's no reason at all to believe these teachings, unless of course you believe Okada's claim that he received revelations from God. However, even if we believe Okada was deluded, for example, since we can't see the astral world, we still have no way of being 100% certain that the teachings concerning the astral world are not true.

In a carrot-and-stick scenario, the astral world teachings are part of the Sūkyō Mahikari "stick". I think it is a particularly insidious and emotionally manipulative stick, since we cannot prove that these teachings are wrong. We don't necessarily need to believe these teachings...just the possibility that they might be true makes it easy to be emotionally manipulated.

Having created a worry, Sūkyō Mahikari then provides the solution (the "carrot"). Kenshū teaches that practicing Mahikari elevates us spiritually, thus improving our chances of going to one of the less unpleasant levels of the astral world when we die. It also teaches that, as we rise spiritually, this somehow rubs off on our families and ancestors (exactly why was never quite clear to me), so any family members who have already died will somehow benefit too.

More specifically, we are taught that we can help our ancestors cope with their astral world training more easily by inaugurating an ancestors' altar and placing offerings of food and drink in front of the altar daily. We are taught that ancestors can absorb the spiritual energy of the food so that they won't feel hungry. There are an awful lot of detailed rules about how to set up the altar and name tablets, how to clean them, how to make food offerings to ancestors, how to greet them respectfully, which teachings to read to them, how much okiyome to give them, where to place flowers, etc., etc.

Care of an ancestors altar is obviously a very personal and emotional issue. Even if people initially doubt the validity or effectiveness of inaugurating an ancestors altar, the care and time involved in following all the rules and rituals related to its care, with time, makes it all seem "real". In my case, my Dad had only been dead for a few years when I joined Mahikari, and I still missed him dreadfully. I wanted to believe I could help him in the astral world by inaugurating an ancestors altar. I felt like he was "there", and I could say things to him (even if he couldn't reply!). I used to think how happy he must be that I was now a member of Mahikari and becoming more spiritually purified. We had always had a special bond, and I could believe that that bond was still there.

When I left Sūkyō Mahikari, I stopped believing the teachings, I stopped giving okiyome, and I stopped wearing omitama. However, I kept my ancestors altar for several years "just in case". If there was the slightest chance that my Dad was going to suffer by me not having an ancestors altar...

Anyway, I eventually burnt my ancestors altar and name tablets. Obviously, I still loved my Dad just as much as before, but by then I felt quite sickened by the way my beliefs and emotions had been manipulated by...by what? Ultimately, the only authority behind the above teachings was Okada's claim that the teachings of Mahikari were revealed to him by God. Belief of the astral world teachings relies solely on faith in that rather dubious claim.

Reincarnation and karma revisited

Sūkyō Mahikari teaches that reincarnation occurs, and that our karma from previous lives determines our circumstances in this life. Perhaps you believe in these concepts, or perhaps you don't. These teachings are key concepts in Okada's teachings, to the extent that I don't think anyone can believe Sūkyō Mahikari teachings without accepting these beliefs. However, reincarnation and karma must be accepted on faith, or rejected (or put in the "I don't know" basket).

If you do believe in reincarnation and karma, then read on, because these concepts are key elements in the manipulation of members' perceptions of the effectiveness of practicing Sūkyō Mahikari.

Sūkyō Mahikari teaches that putting the teachings into practice and regular okiyome (True Light) leads to spiritual growth, spiritual purification, and a rise in spiritual level. In practical terms, Okada's teachings in primary kenshū promise that people who practice Mahikari diligently will achieve health, peace, and material well-being. He said that even the slowest people would notice improved circumstances within 3 to 5 years after receiving primary kenshū. He did not say that disasters will not occur, but he said that big disasters will become medium disasters, medium disasters will become small disasters, and small disasters will become no disasters.

So, after kenshū, if someone receives a pay rise, for example, the person will think that his improved financial position resulted from practicing Mahikari and thereby erasing his spiritual impurities. But what happens if, for example, someone loses his job? Does this mean that Okada's teachings are not true? Well, no...that is where the teachings concerning past lives and karma come in.

If someone loses his job despite practicing Mahikari diligently, it is assumed that he has a lot of negative financial karma from a previous life. Incidentally, the loss of the job is also regarded as a blessing, because God is arranging for him to erase this negative karma by losing his job. Accordingly, the person is encouraged to apologize to God for whatever he did in previous lives, and also to express gratitude for the financial "purification" he received.

You'll notice this is a win-win situation for Sūkyō Mahikari.

The person who lost his job may start to doubt the effectiveness of Mahikari, because his fortunes have declined despite the promise of material well-being contained in kenshū. If so, he'll be told that his karma is so bad that he should have lost his job and had his house burn down as well, for example, but that he received a medium disaster rather than a big disaster because he was practicing Mahikari.

Does that sound reasonable? It has a certain logic...if you believe in reincarnation and karma. However, even if you believe those concepts, Sūkyō Mahikari's claims still cannot be proved because there are two unknown variables in the above scenario, and only one objectively observable variable.

Firstly, we have no way of knowing what we did in past lives (if they exist), or how bad our karma is...Sūkyō Mahikari simply regards our current circumstances as evidence of our degree of karma.

Secondly, we have no way of knowing if practicing Mahikari raises our spiritual level...Sūkyō Mahikari just claims that practicing Mahikari purifies us spiritually (raises our spiritual level), and that therefore our circumstances improve. (Sūkyō Mahikari seems to equate spiritual level with degree of karma, with our circumstances being the indicator of our karmic level/spiritual level.)

So, if we have a medium-sized disaster, do we assume we have lots of bad karma, but practicing Mahikari has erased some of our spiritual impurity, resulting in a medium disaster? Or, do we assume that we have really good karma, and that practicing Mahikari has created spiritual impurity, again resulting in a medium disaster? Or do we assume that we have medium karma, and practicing Mahikari does nothing at all to our level of karma, so we had a medium disaster?

Since we don't know what our karmic/spiritual level is (what size disaster we "deserved"), we obviously can't conclude anything about the effectiveness of practicing Mahikari on the basis of one disaster.

However, the Sūkyō Mahikari teachings on these matters also factor in time as a variable. They claim that our karmic/spiritual level rises over time as we continue to practice Mahikari, and that there will be observable improvements in circumstances in 3 to 5 years. So, perhaps we need to make objective observations that compare members' circumstances when they join Sūkyō Mahikari with their circumstances 3 or 5 years later.

If members' circumstances have in fact improved over that time (if the size of disasters has progressively decreased), can we assume that practicing Mahikari does indeed raise members' karmic/spiritual level? At first glance that would seem reasonable. However, as indicated above, Sūkyō Mahikari also teaches that experiencing disasters or misfortune in itself erases negative karma. Supposedly, each misfortune or disaster that occurs erases some karma and raises the person's spiritual level. If this teaching is true, shouldn't we expect subsequent disasters to become progressively smaller and the person's circumstances to improve? If so, we would have no way of knowing how much (if any) of the improvement in circumstances was due to practicing Mahikari, how much (if any) was due to karma being erased by experiencing the disasters, and how much resulted from unrelated factors.

Life is not quite that orderly though. Typically, people don't experience disasters in decreasing order of size, or any other pattern. If karma does cause our disasters and misfortunes, it seems to apply itself at whim, with random timing and random changes in disaster size.

Perhaps, the disasters and misfortunes we receive, just like the happy occurrences and good fortune we receive, are determined simply by a combination of good/bad luck and good/bad management in our current lives. Do we really need to look to reincarnation and karma to explain why things happen?

Sukyo Mahikari membership figures

We bloggers often seem to want know Mahikari membership figures, for one reason or another, but reliable figures are really hard to come by. I've already consulted with a handful of former members, and have pieced together the following article based on the anecdotal and other evidence they provided. If you have any official figures, or personal observations concerning the turnover rate in Sūkyō Mahikari membership, please post a comment and add to the pool of information available.

The professional appearance of the official Sūkyō Mahikari websites and the promotional book by Dr. Tebecis perhaps give the impression of a large and flourishing organization. However, Sūkyō Mahikari numbers are actually quite small.

In the 90s, the total worldwide membership of Sūkyō Mahikari was estimated at 500,000 with the majority of these members being in Japan. According to discussions amongst former members on Japanese discussion sites, membership numbers are dropping within Japan, and some dōjōs are closing. More recent estimates suggest that the total membership may now be closer to 200,000.

The figure reported by Sūkyō Mahikari in 2004 was 530,000 members worldwide, but this figure is perhaps double the actual figure. The organization regards members as "sleeping", and includes them in the membership count, for up to 5 years after they leave the organization.

According to research published in 1991 by Catherine Cornille, the total membership figure for all of Europe at that time was about 10,000 (although the organization itself claimed double that number), but the number may be considerably lower now. The Sūkyō Mahikari organization itself admitted to a drop-out rate of 70% in Europe. I have no figures for centers in Africa, Asia, and South America, but I believe some of these are quite large compared with western countries.

Anecdotal evidence from US and Australian members who have left Sūkyō Mahikari fairly recently suggests that membership numbers have dropped in both these countries over the last 20 years. That of course means that the number of people leaving has exceeded the number of new recruits. I have no evidence at all of membership patterns in other countries, so everything below applies only to the US and Australia.

One former member told me that, 14 years after she received primary kenshū, she was the only one left of the people who attended kenshū with her. Then she left, giving a drop-out rate of 100% for that particular kenshū. When I left Sūkyō Mahikari, 10 years after my kenshū, about 8% of people from that group were still members.

I remember one particular kenshū during the time I was a member, and remember looking around a year later to see how many of those people were still active members. Only about 5% were still there. In those days, the majority of new recruits would last less than a year. A small percentage would still be members 5 years later, and an extremely small percentage would make it to 20 years of membership. Most of these would now be kanbu (center leaders and dōshis). A surprising number of kanbu, after years of full-time dedicated service, have eventually come to the conclusion that Sūkyō Mahikari is false and have left.

I've heard that, these days, new recruits are asked to prepare very thoroughly for kenshū, and typically receive okiyome many times before kenshū. From what I hear, this appears to have reduced the drop-out rate, but also greatly reduced the recruitment rate.

From even just the above, I think we can assume that, for every member you see now, at least 10 members have joined at some stage and already left Sūkyō Mahikari. Piecing together the little information I do have suggests that, these days, the total membership for the US and Australia, put together, is no more than two (or perhaps three) thousand. These figures include children and young adults who were born into the organization.

If any Sūkyō Mahikari staff wish to supply more accurate figures, I will be delighted to update the estimates I've presented here.

Despite the unfortunate lack of firm data, I think that we can safely assume that an awful lot of people have left Sūkyō Mahikari over the years...despite the kenshū promise that practicing Mahikari would bring health, peace, and material prosperity...despite the teachings that say that any criticism of Mahikari is the work of disturbing spirits, and should be dealt with by increasing our divine service...and despite the Goseigen (p. 161) warning that God will surely manifest the phenomenon of Judgment clearly upon them [people who reject Okada's teachings] at an unexpected moment and carry out the Art of beating them to a pulp.

Incidentally, I've not heard of any of the many thousands of former members being beaten to a pulp.

Religions based on revelations

Mahikari is not the only one of the newer religions based on claimed revelations. The following are just some of the many religions founded by people who claimed that they had received revelations:

Religion	Founder	Claimed source of revelations
Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyōdan (Sūkyō Mahikari split off from this group)	Yoshikazu Okada (Kōtama, Seigyoku, Seiō)	God
Unification Church (Moonies)	Sun Myung Moon (True Parent, Rev. Moon)	Jesus
Raelian Movement	Claude Vorilhon (Raël)	Yahweh (an extraterrestrial)
Seventh-day Adventist Church	Ellen White	Jesus and angels
Makoto no Michi	Nobuo Shioya	Guardian deities and guardian spirits (including Ōmine Rōsen)
Ōmoto	Nao Deguchi	God
Order of Saint Charbel	William Kamm ("Little Pebble")	Virgin Mary

Revelations from divine sources are assumed to be The Truth. Logically, therefore, all the religions based on revelations should have identical teachings. However, even just the few religious groups listed above all have different teachings. So, what do we assume from that?

There are only two logical possibilities. Either, all except one of these religions is based on "false" revelations, or all of these religions are based on "false" revelations. By "false", I mean that the founder either suffered from delusions and genuinely believed he or she had received revelations, or the founder lied.

Logically, it is possible that one of the hundreds of different religions founded on the basis of revelations is correct, but which one?

The reason we are supposed to need information revealed by divine sources in the first place is that human wisdom is considered inferior, and incapable of discovering spiritual truths. So, how can human wisdom manage to determine which, if any, of the religions based on revelations is the correct one?

Perhaps, when you read the above list of religious groups, you recognized one or two that you immediately dismissed as being cults. Please bear in mind, however, that most of the above groups have thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dedicated members, most of whom have as much intelligence and integrity as you or I. For whatever reason, these people have come to believe that the teachings of their religion are based on higher wisdom than their own, and have therefore switched off their own powers of evaluation and left themselves wide open to believing whatever they are told.

Awaken to True Gratitude

[Contributed by Butterfly]

The penny has only recently dropped for me that the SM teaching of offering gratitude for anything and everything is a downright insidious form of control and disempowerment. I have observed over many years the never ending “cleanings” that members seem to repeat of the same nature and now understand why they are occurring.

The Law of Attraction states that whatever you focus on, you will attract more of the same.

So when you focus on offering gratitude for your financial/health/relationship “cleaning” as they ask you to do in SM, guess what? you attract more of the same cleaning to be grateful for! So why on earth does SM ask its members to focus on gratitude for their LACK of abundance/good health/harmony in relationships, to which the Universal Law can only respond accordingly and give them more lack of whatever to be grateful for. Of course its great from SM's point of view as they espouse you are erasing more “sin and impurities” which is a lot of drivel as they simply do not want you to wake up and realize that you are powerful creators by simply focusing ONLY on offering gratitude for your blessings of abundance, wellness and harmonious relationships so you can attract more of the same blessings.

I now understand why SM has become stagnant – the axel holding the two wheels of the cart has cracked and there’s no joy to be seen.
.
We create our reality, so what are you choosing to create when focusing your offerings of gratitude – for abundance in all areas of your life or for lack of abundance in all areas of your life?

真光の祖師が受け取ったとする『啓示』について ー その真偽 ＜その一＞ [re Mahikari revelations]

phoenix3000 contributed the following post concerning "the first revelation" the founder of Mahikari claims to have received.　＜Part 1＞

This post questions the truthfulness of three key parts of this revelation. Literally translated, these parts are (1) Name yourself Koutama, (2) Raise your hand, and (3) Severe times are coming.

岡田良一（光玉）が受け取ったとする『最初の啓 示』で最も多く引用される 箇所は、「起て。（１）光玉と名のれ。（２）手をかざせ。（３）厳しき世 となるべし。」でしょう。

「宗教に全くの素人」の者が、突然神に選ばれて、新たな名を与えられ、広大な『真理』を授けられ、人類救済のために立ち上がる　ー　なんともドラマチィックではありませんか。
『手をかざせ』と命じられても最初は何のことかわからず、戸惑っていたけど、具合の悪そうな犬（たまたま道ばたに横になって休んでいたのではな く）に思わず手を差し伸べたら、光輝くエネルギーがほとばしり出て、犬を包み込み、やがて犬は元気を取り戻して立ち上がり、歩き去って行った、それを見て、本人は驚いてしばし立ちすくむ、こんなシナリオはいかがでしょうか。

さて、（１）の『光玉』の名について

光玉は、昭和２２年頃から世界救世教に属し、「手かざし（浄霊）」を実践し、支部長として給料をもらう職について、自分を「光玉先生」と呼ばせていた、という事実があります。（ネットのあちこちで指摘されています。）つまり、『光玉』という名は自分で考え出し、気に入っていたものと思われます。昭和３４年に神から与えられた、新たな神名ではなかったということになります。

ついでにもう一つ。昭和３４年の『最初の啓示』の 『光玉』のあと、昭和 ３６年に『聖玉』という名を頂戴した、とあります。（『崇教真光３０年 史』平成元年ー１９８９ー発行　７９頁）
ネットの「光玉の勲章はインチキ勲章」では、光玉は昭和３３年岡田道一によって結成された「心霊医学会」の理事を務め、岡田道一の著書「霊癒の科 学」に賛同者として、岡田聖玉の名を使った、とあります。
この本の発行年月日をご存知のかた、いらっしゃいませんか。初版は昭和３１年（１９５６）です。この時すでに『聖玉』の名が使われていたのでしょうか。
後の版だったとしても、 昭和３６年以前であれば、『聖玉』も『光玉』と同じく、自分で考え出したものと断定できます。昭和３６年以後だったとしても、神事以外のことに気安く「神名」を使うというのもどうかと思われます。『３０年史』（７９頁）や『神向き讃詞解説』（昭 和５７年ー１９８２ー発 行、４０頁）によると、光玉は『聖』という字を使うことを非常に恐ろしく感じた、とありますし、それならなおのことみだりに使うべき名ではないはずです。

（２）の「手をかざせ」について

「真光と犬の話」で、光玉が『犬に手をかざした』 のが昭和３４年２月２７ 日の『最初の啓示』のすぐあと（イ）だったのか、それともそれ以前（ロ）だったのか、事実関係（事実があるとして）が混沌としていることを示しました。犬への手かざしと最初の手かざしは切り離せない関係にあります。ということは、最初の 手かざしが、『最初の啓示』の後（イ）だったのか、その前（ロ）だったのか、という疑問と同じことになります。
このように単純なことに疑問が生じること自体が実はおかしいのです。光玉から始まった話、そしてその流れを継ぐ教団の話に食い違いがあるということは、事実はどこにあるのか、どこまでが本当のことなのか、という問題であって、『解釈の違い』という問題ではありません。

光玉自身は（イ）としている記述があります。

昭和６０年（１９８５）発行の『御対談集』２８０ −２８１頁　
　　　たしか昭和３４年の２月２７日ですが、私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」という声が聞こえたのです。娘は . . .（略）. . .「神様が下さるんならもう少し念の入った尊いお名前をいただいたらどうなの」「そんなことを言うもんじゃない」というんで「光玉」と名のった。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。 . . . .（略）. . .一週 間くらいは立ち上がる気は全然しなかった。ところがふと犬に手をかざしてみたら犬の病気が治っちゃった。　　　　　　 　　　[注　ー『娘』というのは表向きは『養女』となっている恵珠のことだと思われる。]

　　
また、１９８０年発行のデイヴィス著の『道場』にも、１９５９年の『最初の神示』の後、一番最初に手をかざしたのが犬だった、となっています。 『犬だったら、手をかざしても、自分のことを笑わないだろう』ということからだそうです。

昭和３４年の『最初の啓示』の後、おそるおそる犬に初めて「手をかざした」ら、犬が元気になった、 という方を採れば、『最初の啓示』を初めて耳にする人に、冒頭に記したようなドラマチックな印象を与えます。これが光玉の元々の意図だったと思われます。

『御対談集』２８０−２８１頁の光玉の話では、「光玉と名のれ。きびしき世となるべし」とまず言われ、『光玉』と名のった、その後（数時間後か、数日後か、数週間後か、不明ですが）、「手をかざして人の病気を治せ」と言 われた、としています。 ここでは「手かざし」の目的が示されています。
昔の『御聖言』の（１）と（３）の間に『手をかざ せ』がなかったのは、印刷の際のミスではなく、こんなところから来ているのではないでしょうか。こんなに大事な項目を入れ忘れてしまった、とも考えがたい。つまり、最初は（１）と（３）の間に（２）はなかったと考える方が、理にかなっています。多分口頭で付け加えていたのでしょう。『手をかざして人の病気を治せ』、それを短くして、『手をかざせ』を、後になって（１）と（３）との間に割り込ませた、という可能性が強く浮き上がってきます。
ところが『病気を治せ』が落ちて、『手をかざせ』 だけになると、前もってその知識がなければ、つまり、「宗教の素人」であれば、「何のことだ？」 となって不思議はないはずです。
昭和３４年２月２７日午前５時の『神示』は二つの部分になって『御聖言』 に載っていますが、『天地 一切神の声』にも、次の『神を想う教え』にも、「手かざし＝真光の業」については何の言及もありません。
にもかかわらず、『手をかざせ』との命令にうろたえる反面、それが何を意味するのか瞬時にわかったという、矛盾した面が出てきてしまいます。この矛盾は微妙で、見過ごしてしまいがちです。
というのも、私たちは初級研修の前に、手かざしによる『奇跡話』を聞いたり、手かざしを受けたりしますから、この『最初の啓示』を聞くときには、『手をかざせ』が何を意味するのか、すでに知っているので、疑問に感じないですんでしまうのです。

信者が集まって来るようになって、光玉が自分の『意図した』最初の話に固執する必要性が時にゆるんだのか、またはどうしても事実がちらりと見え隠れするのか、『最初の啓示』の前に「手かざし」のことを知っていて、やっていたことを示す発言を残しているようです。
　　　例　ー　真光全般（友乃會、文明教団、崇教真光、正法の會、等）へ の苦情板　９３４
　　　　　　　　　「自分は、六つ乳房のあるご婦人を手かざしによって正常にして差し上げたことがある。このとき私は、自分が人を救うことの出来 る人間であるという確信をもった。
　　　　　　　　　　神の啓示が下ったのはその直後である」と光玉氏は後年、親しい者にそう語っている。

光玉の言っていたこと自体に矛盾がある、教団はやがてどちらかを選択しなければならなくなった、どちらを採っても、矛盾は避けられない. . . . . . . . .
崇教真光は、１９８０年代の後半からは（ロ）を前面に押し出しています。 つまり、光玉の犬への手かざし＝最初の手かざしは『最初の啓示』以前だったとしています。

光玉が世界救世教に所属していたことは、教団外ではある程度知られていたけれど、教団幹部で、それを知っていた者は、光玉の救世教の経歴がその主張（例ー『最初の啓示』、初めて万人に許されたとする『真光の業』）の信憑性に関わるので、公には言わなかったものと思われます。しかし、立教の頃の古い信者の中には、この光玉の経歴を知っていた者もいたようですし、教団としては、さすがに、光玉が救世教で「手かざ し」をしていた事実を全面的に白紙化するわけにもいかず、元々に意図されたドラマチィッ ク性が減少しても、『最初の啓示』の以前に「手かざし」をしていた方を採り、それに付随して、『犬への手かざし』も『最初の啓示』の前に移した、と見ることができます。こちらの方が、救世教で「手かざし」をしていた事実に近くなるのではありますが。救世教所属のことは、『他宗教を勉強研究していた』と表現するにとどめました。

一にも二にも手かざし、と真光の業を強調され、情報統制されて、客観的思考力を弱められている内部の信者達は、教団の言う事なら、「あれ？」と思っても、必死になって受け入れますから、それで良かったのでしょう。

それにしても、光玉も自分の経歴から不都合な部分を抹消しているし、その主張にも矛盾がみられます。その流れを汲んで、どうやら崇教真光も事実を明かさずに、沈黙したり、言い換えたり、別のことに置き換えたり、全く変 えたりしているようです。
『３０年史』や『大聖主』での光玉の伝記にあたる記述は、客観的な事実が非常に少なくて、観念的で、事実関係があいまいなものが多いように見受けられます。真光信奉者に対してならそれでいいのでしょうが。　
もっとも信者に事実を隠さず、偽らずに、正確に、知らせたら、「真光の世界」は存続できなくなるかもしれませんね。「大宗教の秘密の信条ともいうべき『信者は倚らしむべし、知らしむべからず』の原則」（『御聖言』６頁）を、大宗教ではないけれど、真光も自ら行っていると言えるのではないでしょうか。ここではこれ以上触れないことにします。

さて、もう一度、崇教真光の記述を見てみましょう。
＜ふとしたことから手をかざして、瀕死の犬を救った頃から、救い主は神霊の世界へ関心を深められ、借金返しのかたわら神の世界の勉強もされていました。＞ 『崇教真光３０年史』　６６頁

つまり、岡田は、終戦後、救世教と関係なく、一人で手かざしを発見、どの宗教にも属さず、神霊の世界のことに関心を持ち始め、自力で神の世界のことを勉強研究したことにしています。しかも一方で 『膨大な借金を返しながら』やったことになりま す。光玉の救世教所属を否定する「富田氏の手紙」は崇教真光のこの方針の表れでしょう。
崇教真光の『３０年史』でのこの主張で、『真光の業』が救世教の浄霊と似ていても、それは「偶然」であり（教えでは『偶然はない』と言っているので、「別個のもの」と表現した方がいいのでしょうか）、教えにおける他宗教との類似点（ここでも特に救世教との類似点が多い）は、宗教に関心をもって勉強していたため、という説明の余地を作り、光玉は『宗教の素人』 との主張を維持できると考えているようです。そして、『最初の啓示』以前にも『啓示』はあった、と暗にほのめかす方向をとっています。
風呂の中で『上、上の方だよ』とか、自殺を考えた時『お前の罪えが消えるぞ』とか、『声なき声』があったことにしています。五日間の人事不省中に見たとする光玉の『霊夢』も、『啓示』の一つに数える向きもあるようです。そのうちに『手をかざせ』というのも、この『声なき声』の仲間入りするだろうと思われます。

　火の鳥phoenix3000