“Nothing makes me happier than being able to help others” says Sawako from the anime Kimi ni Todoke (Reaching You).  It is a very family-friendly and inspiring anime that will teach young people truth, virtue and inner beauty, even though it is not made by Happy Science.  Highly recommended.  Still ongoing on Japanese TV.

Today’s entry was inspired by RyuhoOkawa on Twitter:  Those who think the world exists for them will go to hell, whereas those who think that they exist to serve the world will go to heaven.

Long-time readers may remember my entry “To serve in Heaven“, from February 2001. Time sure flies, eh? In it, I tell the imaginary story of two planets, both of them copies of the original earth, but one inhabited by those who want to rule (Hell) and one by those who want to serve (Heaven). Logic dictates that this goes badly for the Hellions, because even though they have a strong desire to rule, there is not a soul around who consents to being ruled! Obviously then in our world the same kind of people are happiness parasites, or should I say happiness vampires, who can only attain some degree of happiness at all because there are less egoic people around.

It is no big surprise that Ryuho Okawa sees it similarly.  I also think this is a pretty good hint that he is after all not The Antichrist, despite his eagerness to take over Christ’s job as savior of mankind.  (Without the pesky dying on the cross, obviously.)

I think it is a safe bet that Okawa is not the Son of Satan, given that’s Satan’s gospel is “You deserve better!”  If you look at today’s advertising from a higher perspective, you will know why we think the world is largely under his thumb. But that is not going to last.  The sun will rise. Of course, to us Christians, the Son has already risen.  But whether or not you are a Christian, the laws of the mind rule just as absolutely as the laws of gravity or magnetism.  If you follow Satan’s gospel: “You deserve better”, you will become unhappy and live and die in a state of bitterness.  If you follow Jesus gospel: “It is more blessed to give”, then your happiness will necessarily increase whether you want it or not.

This is because, as I also said before, whenever you let a blessing or a curse run through you toward someone, it will leave a residue inside you.  This happens regardless of whether the blessing or curse actually has any effect on the other person at all.  It certainly has on you, and this too is simply natural law and cannot be altered anymore than the world’s streams will start running uphill tomorrow and the sun rise in the west.

You don’t actually have to be religious for this to work either.  Even if you are an atheist, you still have to obey the law of gravity, as the clock runs just fine without your belief in a clockmaker.  It is the same with the laws of the mind. Conversely, religions will not actually in the long run let you get away with breaking the law. Sure you can get forgiveness from God (although people may still treat you like scum, get used to it) but the thing is, forgiveness does not mean that actions don’t have consequences.  Even if you deeply regret and repent of your years of gluttony and accept the Lord as your personal savior, you’ll still wake up fat the next morning, this I confidently predict.  And if you keep overeating and asking for forgiveness, you will get fatter and fatter.  Likewise, if you are a greedy bastard, you will be dark and hungry inside even if you are a religious greedy bastard.  This is a direct observation that anyone can make for themselves if they live long enough.

I want to serve in Heaven, not because I want a job in Heaven, but because to serve is Heaven, rightly understood.  I don’t mean in a sense of reducing oneself to cattle that can be used by anyone for any purpose they may see fit.  I talk about sharing happiness:  Love, hope, joy, courage.  Radiate it like the brightness of a clear lamp, like the warmth of a roaring fire. To be near such a person is a state of good fortune, but to be such a person – that is Heaven. Such a person will eventually be able to say, like the French mystic Madame Guyon: “If I went to Hell, it would be a problem – for the Devil.” (Not an exact quote, but it captures the meaning.)

(Speaking of Mdm Guyon, there are indeed saints and bodhisattvas who experience a “dark night of the soul”, but this is something else again.  If this is relevant to you, you have nothing to learn from me, quite the other way around.)