The Divine Principle from a Unification Thought perspective

In the previous article, we’d been looking into the three object purpose, and because it’s so closely tied with the idea of the four position foundation, we’d begun looking into that as well. So I’ll continue from that point.

What is the Four Position Foundation?

It’s mentioned near the end of the explanation of the four position foundation, that this structure of four positions – God, Subject, Object, Union – is the way that everything in the universe is put together:

“…(the four position foundation) is the fundamental foundation for the life of all beings, providing all the forces necessary for their existence and enabling God to abide in them.…”  EDP, p. 25

But before even mentioning that important point, the Principle first brings our focus immediately to one very specific expression of the four position foundation: the God-centered family:

“The four position foundation is realized by God, husband and wife, and children…each of the four positions in the four position foundation takes on three object partners…. In total there are twelve object partners…. The four position foundation is the fundamental foundation of goodness. It is the realization of God’s purpose of creation.…”  EDP, p. 25

This emphasis makes it clear that even though four position foundations form the structure of every single thing throughout the universe, this particular manifestation is the most essential one for us to recognize and understand. It’s the one that – out of all others – really matters.

We’re then taken to a section that begins to expound the meaning of the four position foundation in relation to some of the most profound and immense ideas about life and the universe. But it’s obscurely titled: “The Mode of Existence of the Four Position Foundation”.
Despite this incongruous title, this longer section contains remarkable ideas. It begins by going back and providing examples of position and order throughout the created world.

Position, Order

This idea of “position” can best be understood in nature. So Unification Thought first explains that the nature of movement between subject and object is harmonious and rounded, and this is clearly expressed at both ends of the physical universe.

For example, at the macrocosmic level, satellite heavenly bodies move in literal ellipses around their parent heavenly bodies – moons around their planets; planets around their suns; suns around the center of their galaxies.
And this holds at the extreme other end of things – at the microcosmic level; electrons move literally in ellipses around protons, thus forming atoms.
The reason this observation of structure within nature is important is that, from it, Unification Thought is able to discern a beautiful organizing principle which pervades the universe: all things occupy proper positions within a structured order, specifically a “vertical” order and a “horizontal” order. This is the clear origin of the notion of the “Way of Heaven” in Oriental thought, and it is why this notion is not to be dismissed as just a peculiar concept from antiquity. Rather, Unification Thought suggests that the “Way of Heaven”, though incomplete, was nevertheless a profound insight into ordered relationships in the universe that is now confirmed through modern scientific observation.
In the ancient notion of the “Way of Heaven”, Confucius argued that the ills of human society are due to the fact that – of all things in the universe – people disregard their proper positions and thus the right way of relationship, and this is the root cause of human ills. But Confucius’ understanding was that this law was one that governed ancient, idealized Chinese kingdoms of legend.

Unification Thought however offers a much more contemporary and concrete insight into this law, based upon the observable behavior and structure of the natural world. One of the Unification Thought texts puts it this way:

“If the earth violates law, the solar system will perish. So all planets maintain position and observe the law of gravity. In the family, persons must follow the laws of Ethics. If families violate ethics, they will be destroyed.” • The Gist of UT, 1987

Conversely, if people would understand and comply with the clear principles of order and position that organize everything else in the universe, the ills of society could be remedied. These examples of order and position in our solar system or at the atomic level are much more specific and concrete than the simply stated moral precept that the Way of Heaven was a grand, unstated moral code that the Ancients simply understood and conscientiously obeyed. This modern, detailed perspective of observable order and structure provides a rational foundation that is later developed much more extensively in Unification Thought’s theory of ethics (in the family, in society, in commerce, in education, in government).

The Oneness of the Cosmos

This order of four positions pervades the organization of the entire universe. The Principle states:

“All things that have established four position foundations in this manner are individual embodiments of truth. …The universe is composed of countless individual embodiments of truth, mutually related to each other in good order from those of the lowest level to those of the highest level. Among them all, human beings occupy the highest level. Individual embodiments of truth revolve spherically around each other, with those of a lower level acting as object partners to those of a higher level.” • EDP, p. 28

These words paint an immense picture of a vast universe that’s nonetheless built with layer upon layer of innumerable four position foundations. A remarkable diagram from Unification Thought depict this concept of oneness graphically:

“As connected beings… all the beings in the universe are related to each other. Hence, the universe is a giant organic body“… • NEUT, p. 144

So, all these four position foundations form beings which are parts of larger beings – each one alive – until we arrive at the totality of the vast cosmos, which can itself be understood as a single living organism.

The center of the cosmos

From there, the Principle brings us to a third grand concept. And that is that all these circular movements have a different kind of center, not just the physical ones in material world. In the words of the Principle:

“What is the ultimate center of all these spherical movements? Human beings are the center of all created things…. (and) God is the center of human beings…. Consequently, the ultimate center of all spherical movements in the universe is God. …What is the purpose of the universe? What is its center? The answer to both questions is none other than human beings. This is why God, after creating human beings, commanded them to have dominion over the universe. If there were no people to appreciate the universe, then it could be likened to a museum without any visitors.…If there were no one to appreciate them, then what meaning would their existence have? The same holds true for the universe, whose lords are human beings.” • EDP, p. 28–29

This concept is graphically expressed in the following diagram from Unification Thought:

Here, “hyunsang purpose” means the secondary reason for all relationship; and “sungsang purpose” means the primary reason for all these relationships. That is, all things in the universe exist for human beings; we are the highest reason for their existence — they exist to sustain us, but beyond that, to enthrall us and impress upon us how much we are valued…. And the reason for our existence is to be the objects of delight, for God’s heart and love.

Love is the Center and Purpose

The Principle points out that the relationship between us and creation is not simply physical, but emotional:

“…all things in the universe respond to human emotion, intellect and will, albeit to different degrees. We become intoxicated with the beauty of the natural world and experience the rapture of mystical union. We experience this because we are the center of the internal natures of all things in the natural world.” • EDP, p. 30

And at last, the discourse on the four position foundation concludes with these remarkable words about its ultimate expression:

“The place where Adam and Eve become perfectly one in heart and body as husband and wife is also the place where God, the subject partner giving love, and human beings, the object partners returning beauty, become united. This is the center of goodness where the purpose of creation is fulfilled. Here God, our Parent, draws near and abides within His perfected children and rests peacefully for eternity. …the entire universe will perform a spherical movement with a unified purpose when it is founded on the four position foundation established by a perfected man and woman who join as husband and wife centered on God.” • EDP, p. 30–31

Altar of Eternal Cosmic Harmony
The Art of Benny Andersson

And so, this oddly titled section — mode of existence of the four position foundation — actually contains very poignant insights into the heart and the intention of God.