The Service (1)

The Meaning of the Service

What is the Service? It is the path of single-hearted salvation Oyasama taught for the purpose of realizing the Joyous Life. It refers to the Kagura Service that was taught as the path of universal salvation. The Kagura Service is performed with ten Service performers surrounding the Kanrodai at the Jiba. Each performer symbolizes by hand-gestures the principles of God the Parent's providence in the creation of humankind and the world. In order to make us understand why this Service is the path of universal salvation, Oyasama taught the story of creation in detail.

138 (1975): 1st Meeting for Newly Appointed Head Ministers

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There are three elements essential to the Service, the path of universal salvation; namely, the number of people who perform it, the place where it is performed, and the instruments that are used for its performance. We are taught that only when these three elements are fulfilled and the Service is performed with the mind of sincerity will the blessings that facilitate the living of the Joyous Life be received. These blessings range from the settling of the world to bountiful harvests, not to mention the settling of physical sufferings and other troubles.

138 (1975): Oyasama 90th Anniversary Training Institute in Oyasato

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The Kagura Service is performed by ten Service performers. These ten are so few in number that they comprise a very small fraction of the world's population. How is it, then, that the Kagura Service--which is performed by only ten people and only at the Jiba--can serve as the path of universal salvation for each country and each locale? How is it that it can serve as the model of the Joyous Life for even those who cannot make a pilgrimage to Jiba? It was in order to help us understand the truth of the Service, as well as the reason and the principle behind the Service, that Oyasama taught the story of creation, or the truth of origin.

139 (1976): Last day of Oyasama 90th Anniversary period

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Oyasama initiated the Kagura Service as the path of single-hearted salvation, assuring us that it will bring us the blessings for universal salvation. In order to make this an actuality, however, it is essential that all of us join our minds in seeking universal salvation. I believe that the Kagura Service cannot do without our joyous and spirited minds that are focused on attaining our goal. It follows, therefore, that it is not enough just to gather the full complement of instruments and performers, that is to say, just to complete the arrangement of form. Oyasama always seeks the individual's spiritual growth, as well as the pulling together of the minds of all people, or the coming together of all our minds. I feel that She is asking for our commitment to put ourselves in accord with Her intention and to put Her teachings into practice exactly as She instructed.

139 (1976): Autumn Grand Service

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The Service for universal salvation cannot be performed at any place except the Jiba of Origin. It cannot be performed unless the Kanrodai is the center. This is because the Kanrodai, set up at the Jiba of Origin, is the Parent of this world, and it is only by performing the Service surrounding the Parent and melting into the thoughts of the Parent that we can receive the blessings for universal salvation.

153 (1990): Autumn Grand Service

Blessings of All Kinds

Wishing to save humankind from constant suffering even a day sooner, Oyasama, whose mind is that of God the Parent, laid the path by which to manifest, in this world, God the Parent's free and unlimited workings, in the same way that these were manifested at human creation, through setting the Kanrodai in place at the Jiba of Origin and performing the Kagura Service--this is the path of the Service of the Kanrodai.

151 (1988): Autumn Grand Service

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All our hopes, such as the settling of nature, the settling of human relations, and the settling of our individual families, can be fulfilled by receiving the truth of the Service of the Kanrodai.

153 (1990): Autumn Grand Service

God's Workings in Human Creation

Oyasama teaches that, through the Service, we shall return to the origin of human creation and consequently be saved by attaining a renewal of life. Despite the fact that God took pains to create us in a way that enables us to live the Joyous Life, we have since become completely covered with dust, accumulating a variety of causalities due to our self-centered thinking. Oyasama says that, through the Service, we shall be restored to the state of original purity in which we were at the time of creation.

132 (1969): Autumn Grand Service

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By revealing the truth of creation in connection with the Service, Oyasama taught--in a way easy for us to understand--the state of mind, or the attitude, that is required for the performance of the Service. By teaching us the truth of creation, She also clarified God's intention in creating humankind as well as the process of creation. If only each of us masters this process and reenacts it time and again in accord with the divine intention, the Joyous Life will instantly manifest itself--this is what our path is all about. The Service thus represents the way in which humankind was created, which is also the model way of attaining the Joyous Life.

138 (1975): 1st Meeting for Newly Appointed Head Ministers

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Out of the billions of people living in the world, only ten are assigned to perform the Kagura Service. This may lead you to feel as though the Service were someone else's concern. Please be aware, however, that it concerns every one of us. In order to show us how to create the Joyous Life, Oyasama taught the Service. In addition to this point, I should also like you to remember that the Service represents the way in which God the Parent worked to create human beings and also that we can perceive the truth of the Service most clearly through God's workings within our bodies.

139 (1976): 52nd Young Men's Association Convention

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