3. A Being of Individuality
In creating the universe, God first envisioned the image of a perfected human being, and then, with that image as the standard, He created all things as substantial objects. Accordingly, all things are individual beings that symbolically resemble the Original Image of God, the causal being, while human beings are individual beings that directly resemble the Original Image. An individual being refers to an individual truth being that resembles the individual image in the Original Image.
An individual truth being refers to an individual being that has the universal image and the individual image. When we emphasize the individuality of the individual truth being, we call it a “being of individuality.” The individual image of a human being is, unlike that in the case of animals and plants, peculiar to each individual person. That is the reason why the faces and characteristics of human beings are clearly distinguishable from one another. Thus, in the case of animals and plants, the individual image differs according to each species, while in the case of human beings, the individual image differs according to each individual person. God endowed each human being with such a particular individual image so that He might obtain, from him or her, a unique, stimulating joy. Therefore, a human being is a being of supreme value who gives supreme joy to God through his or her unique individuality. This individual image is another aspect of the original human nature, and it is manifested as unique human characteristics in three aspects as follows.
The first manifestation of human individuality is the uniqueness in a person’s appearance; though there are over six billion people in the world, no two individuals have exactly the same face. The second manifestation is in behavior, which is different from person to person. If we regard appearance as the unique characteristic feature of one’s Hyungsang, then one’s behavior can be regarded as the unique characteristic feature of one’s Sungsang, because behavior is a direct manifestation of the mind. The third manifestation is creative activity. Not only artistic creation, but any activity in which one’s creativity is expressed is included in the concept of creation. This creative expression will differ from person to person. In this sense, if one lives one day to its fullest, expressing his or her creativity in everything they do, the footprints of that day become a work of art.
Furthermore, the footprints of one’s entire life course become a life work of Hence, God feels pleased when looking at the face, behavior, and creative activity of each human being with original human nature. That God becomes pleased by looking at each human being means that he or she gives unique beauty to God through his or her appearance, behavior, and creative activity. That is the beauty of a person’s individuality, which includes the beauty of appearance, the beauty of behavior, and the beauty of creative activity.
When parents look at their children, they perceive each child with his or her character as so beautiful and lovely, since children are the manifestation of their parents. In the same way, when God looks at human beings, He feels that the appearance, behavior, and creative activity of each human being is so beautiful and lovely, and He becomes pleased. Human indviduality originates from God, namely, it is God-given; therefore, it is very precious. This is why we should pay people the highest regard, and offer our utmost respect to their individuality.
Because of the human fall human individualities have largely been crushed or ignored, and human rights trampled upon, until today. This has been especially true in dictatorial societies. The paramount example of this is society under Communist rule. The reason for this is that Communism denigrates human individuality, regarding it as no more than a product of the environment―a viewpoint derived from materialism. In contrast, humanism put emphasis on the importance of human individuality. However, humanism had no philosophical answer as to why human individuality must be respected; therefore, humanism could not contend with Communism, which is an influential philosophy. In this respect, Unification Thought offers a clear and much-needed theological and philosophical foundation. Viewed from the perspective of Unification Thought, human individuality is neither something accidental nor a product of the environment; rather, it is derived from the Individual Image of God. In other words, it is something that comes from God and, therefore, is very precious.