Pyeong Hwa Gyeong: Episode 358
Pyeong Hwa Gyeong: A Selection of True Parents’ Speeches
Book 9: The Role of Nations in Realizing World Peace
Speech 8: The Way to World Peace, pg 1341-1343
The Way to World Peace
August 28, 1991
The Little Angels Performing Arts Center, Seoul, Korea
Inauguration of the Federation for World Peace
Respected present and former heads of state, international leaders from all walks of life, esteemed scholars and leaders of religion:
Today, upon the founding of the Federation for World Peace, I am very honored and pleased by the presence of such distinguished leaders of the world. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for coming and for making this ceremony most memorable.
From the beginning of human history until the present time there has never been a period when people did not long for lasting peace, nor has there ever been a person who did not wish deeply in his heart for true peace during his lifetime. Yet, contrary to the desires of all people and in spite of our great achievements, humanity has yet to secure world peace. Quite the contrary has been the case. At no time has human life been free of war and bloodshed. Why is this so?
In contemporary history humankind has experienced two world wars. In 1914, with the assassination of an Austrian archduke at Sarajevo in Bosnia, the First World War was ignited. Eventually this war engulfed the whole of Europe and beyond. Sixteen nations were involved. In the end at least thirty million men and women were either dead or wounded. It was Europe’s worst cataclysm.
Hopes for the League of Nations and the UN unfulfilled
The inhumanity and severity of this war caused world leaders to acutely realize the need to strive for world peace at all costs, to end all wars. On the wave of this genuine desire for peace and longing for the improvement of human welfare President Woodrow Wilson of the United States spearheaded the founding of the League of Nations. Although the League handled over forty political disputes with varying degrees of success, its inability to resolve major crises between the powers eventually led to its failure. Sadly, President Wilson could not even bring the United States to participate in the League, and his noble dream for peace failed. The world’s ardent desire to put an end to war remained unfulfilled.
Less than twenty years after the ending of World War l humankind faced another cataclysmic war. At that time, World War II engulfed not only the Atlantic region but the Pacific region as well. Many more millions of human beings were the victims of war, suffering injury, displacement and death. Only after the atomic bomb was used against Japan did this most tragic world war come to an end. Once more world leaders were alarmed and anguished. They sought to find a means to prevent the world from again becoming a living hell through war. The fruit of their efforts was the United Nations, whose charter was drafted on April 25, 1945, in San Francisco. The history of the United Nations has thus spanned forty-six years until today.
Yet, has the United Nations been able to alleviate the tragedy of war? Is humanity living in peace? Unfortunately the answer to these questions is no. Even after the founding of the United Nations, wars have continued to break out. There have been more than sixty wars and skirmishes since the end of World War II, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. The tragic cycle of human destruction continues as before.
Why is peace so difficult to achieve? Today we are gathered together for the inauguration of the Federation for World Peace. Before we proceed, however, bearing in mind the previous record of humankind, we must think deeply and analyze accurately as to why peace is so difficult to achieve. Without knowing the causes of war, without a deep analysis of the past, we may very well repeat past history, and fail to achieve the noble goals and ambitions of this federation.
Peace cannot come without God
Ladies and gentlemen, up until this time people have longed and anguished for peace without having a true philosophy of peace. Without this philosophy of peace, there can be no true methodology for achieving peace. Dear honored guests, the fundamental reason that peace has constantly eluded humankind is rather simple yet profound. Human beings have lost their relationship with God. Because of that, they have lost the ability to attain true peace. Since that time, men and women have repeatedly tried to restore peace, but have met with failure after failure because they have been trying without God. This is the fundamental error humankind has been committing. This is the real reason why we have not yet achieved peace.
God is the source of true love and true peace. Yet in the world, which God created, the inhabitants are pitted against each other in war and mutual killing. This is completely paradoxical. God created man and woman in His own image. Furthermore, God created us as holy temples in which He, God Himself, wants to dwell.
Suppose each individual were a perfected temple of God and that each individual were living every minute of every day with the Spirit of God dwelling within him or herself. In this situation could one person war against another? In the original world of God’s creation people struggling against each other would be something like your right hand fighting against your left hand, or even more, your hand pulling out your own eyes. In other words, in the ideal world of creation it would be impossible to have war. In this world, people would be capable only of loving each other and harmonizing together. The only challenge would be in competing in ways to glorify our Creator better and further.
In such a world there would be no conflict, no misunderstanding. There would only be harmony, cooperation and mutual assistance. There would be unity among people in the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. This would truly be the world of peace that everyone seeks. This world would reflect the nature of God, whose primary characteristic is unselfishness—unselfish love and peace.
In religious terms this is called the kingdom of God on earth. The basis of such a world is the worldview of Godism, or head-wing thought. If God is almighty, He is certainly capable of realizing a world of peace and happiness for all humanity. If this type of world could not be achieved, then we would be forced to conclude that there is no God. This is the original ideal of true peace envisaged at the creation.
FFWPU, USA