(Earth Village)
Zhu Lan
Thirty years ago, an accident changed Dr. Mitchell May’s life, and led him to be a healer and establish the Synergy Company to help others. In Japan, Mr, Takagi Yoshiyuki had a similar experience, and used a different approach to awaken others around him.
Takagi Yoshiyuki was born in Osaka and worked in National Electronics after his college graduation. On a fateful Sunday when he was 34 years old, he got in a debilitating accident while riding his motorcycle. He suffered extensive injuries to his neck, hip, four limbs and nerves, and there was no part of his body that did not suffer a broken bone or bruise. Because of the seriousness of his injury, the hospital in the vicinity of the accident location was unable to help and he was transferred to a university-linked hospital. The doctor in charge informed Takagi Yoshiyuki’s family that the patient could enter into a coma anytime, and that the extent of the injuries was so serious that it would be impossible for him to resume normal life and work.
As Takagi Yoshiyuki lay on the hospital bed, he felt like an Egyptian mummy because his body was extensively cast in plaster. He had all kinds of tubes inserted into his body, and periodically suffered excruciating pain. He felt that if his life were to continue like this, it would be like being sentenced to a life of suffering.
While he was experiencing this immense suffering and sense of hopelessness, he was also caught up in an unbelievable event—he was witnessing the entire course of the accident! He felt that he was looking into a television camera capturing various scenes: the accident, his admission to the hospital, the surgery, the dialogue between the doctors and nurses, and his wife sitting next to his bed in the hospital’s intensive care unit. He felt that his wife was sitting at his funeral wake. He thought that he must be dreaming … or dead.
In the next moment, his consciousness returned to his home village that he had left 30 years ago—Matsuyama City in Ehime-ken. From an altitude of two to three meters, he saw the place of his childhood, just that the scenery had completely changed. He was like a sparrow flying higher and higher, with the river, forest, mountains, and even Japan growing smaller and smaller. Finally, the entire earth appeared before him. The beauty and magnificence of the earth deeply moved him, and he felt a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment, and bliss. The questions “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where do I need to go?” that had troubled him since he was five or six years old were finally addressed as light enveloped him. The experience impacted him deeply at the spiritual level and moved him so much that he cried. He clearly sensed himself change and merge with the earth and universe to become one. He felt a sense of bliss and satisfaction that he had never encountered before. Slowly, he emerged from the dark universe and entered into a world of light. There was no material object in this world, but it contained the past, present and future. He saw his imminent recovery from the accident, and how he would embark on his journey to save the environment and promote world peace. He witnessed his last days on earth and the past, present and future of the earth, the sun, and the universe. He saw how life forms progressed (from inorganic lifeform to sentient life form), how the sentient life form progressed (from the astral level to an integration with the universal consciousness), how human civilization came to rise and pass, and the timelessness nature of the universe and the sentient life form.
When Takagi Yoshiyuki returned to his physical body in the intensive care unit, he was bewildered and confused by this strange “near-death” experience. He could not move his body, and began a dialogue within himself:
- What are our worries?
- What is the purpose of our existence?
- What aspects do we want to affirm?
- What do we want to do after retirement?
- Why wait till retirement to begin to do what we want to do?
- What do we generally disdain from doing?
- How much money do we really need?
- Why do we always want to be better than average?
- What is common sense?
- Is increasing our wealth a good thing?
- Why is there conflict?
- What is humankind doing?
- What is fulfillment?
- What kind of fixed views do we have?
- Why do we have these fixed views?
- What is the meaning of existence?
During this continual internal dialogue within himself, he felt many doors open within himself. Every piece of the jigsaw fitted together. He found answers to deeply-buried questions he had as a child. “Life is light. We came from the world of light, and will return to the world of light. All kinds of life forms are connected. My life, the lives of everyone, all mankind and all other life forms are all connected. Thus, only when every life form encounters happiness will there be true happiness.”
Half a year after the accident, Takagi Yoshiyuki still could not move his body. But he had already made a resolution. When his body has recovered, he wanted to work on environmental issues, which currently loomed large. He would gather information and use hard facts to wake people up to the core reality. He resolved that if he couldn’t move as the doctors predicted, he would use his writings to communicate his message. If he could sit on a wheelchair, he would spread his message on a wheelchair. After he made this aspiration, his body began a miraculous recovery. A year later, he was able to leave the hospital with full usage of his limbs. Takagi Yoshiyuki was filled with gratitude and hope as he re-entered the society to fulfill his responsibilities.
Takagi Yoshiyuki began spreading his message through his family, the orchestra he conducted, and the company he worked in. He continued to collect information and explored different ways of delivering his message to different types of audience. In 1991, he established Earth Village, He spoke not only about environmental issues, but also about the serious social problems of bullying and despising others that are deeply etched in the Japanese society. He also discussed problems relating to war and poverty. He wanted to awaken people and change their mentality so as to build a happy and harmonious society.
The Earth Village initiative single-handedly started by Takagi Yoshiyuki in 1991has now become the largest non-profit organization in Japan, with membership boasting over 100,000 people. It has also been awarded UNESCO status. During this period, Takagi Yoshiyuki experienced some low points and challenges in his personal life, including conflict of interest with his company (he left the company in 1997 after being with it for 28 years). Nevertheless, he never abandoned his mission. Over the past decade, he delivered over 20 talks each month, replied to over 10 mm thick of letters/faxes everyday, have several publications, as well as other types of activities. He persevered in letting people know the truth, hoping that they will, at the earliest possibility, abandon materialism (the endless craving for more material things). He wanted them to gain realization at this crucial point when the earth is facing a crisis. He hoped that everyone will use his/her own unique skills to accomplish his/her mission in life. In saving others, we save ourselves; in helping others, we help ourselves. He made the aspiration that he himself and others too will have the spirit of giving all that we have, and to never give up the cause even at the very end. He wished that this message will rapidly reach as many people as possible so that more people can realize the truth and join the ranks in fulfilling the mission of letting our next generation inherit a beautiful earth.
We do not know when this life will end. Thus, we have to cherish every day. We have to start with ourselves, and not think that there will always be someone else to do the task. We have to take up our own responsibilities, not find excuses for ourselves. We do not want a life where we just waste our time away, and we do not go after external objects (money, status, and material things) to seek our own happiness. We want to value every day that we are alive, and make each day fulfilling, happy, and meaningful.
We all have our own goals, missions, and responsibilities. However, we are living in an increasingly unnatural social environment where endless competition, destruction, and conflict consume our energy. This has resulted in an increasingly number of deaths through exhaustion, illnesses or war. Do we need to wait till our life journey comes to an end before we begin to regret not waking up earlier? Although it is not possible to totally change another person, it is possible to change ourselves when we realize the truth and adopt a different perspective. What is more alarming than ozone destruction, global warming, famine, poverty and war? It is human consciousness. Man’s selfishness and tendency to care for immediate and short term gratification without concern about the future—this is the biggest issue. We are responsible for the state of our environment. “I oppose nuclear plants but I can’t live without electricity”, “I oppose the construction of a waste incinerator but I dispose of lots of rubbish everyday”, “I oppose building a crematorium but I occasionally have cremations to do”—these kinds of short term perspectives cannot fully address issues. Only by overcoming our ignorance, indifference, and apathy in life can we hope to solve the crises facing mankind and the earth from its core.
In the universe, the alarm bells for Mother Earth have already started ringing. How much longer do we want to party on?
Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine May 2007 issue