In the Ofudesaki and the Mikagura-uta, the first verse/song tells us that we do not understand the heart. What is the heart? The heart is mentioned in the Ofudesaki many times. Throughout the Ofudesaki, God tells us what the heart does. By understanding the heart, we can understand why people suffer or have joy.  We can also understand concepts like reincarnation and karma (innen) by understanding the heart. But most importantly, by understanding the heart, we can purify our minds.

The Original mind or the pure mind is the mind that was given to the first parents of human beings. This is the mind without disappointment (oshii), desire (hoshii), self-love (kawaii), greed (yoku) and kouman (greed). We can attain this mind if we understand what comes from our own hearts. Our own fates come from our hearts. When obstacles appear in our lives, God tells us to ponder our own minds, and not take actions on our dusts. This is the way we purify our minds, to attain the Original mind of God. Blaming others for obstacles that appear in our lives, only creates more dusts in our minds, that may eventually create more negative fate, that the heart must eventually direct back toward us.

We must share the truth of the heart to the world. In the Mikagura-uta God calls the spreading of God’s truth “hinokishin”.  We must spread the teachings before we can expect God to help us do this.

God in the Ofudesaki calls this Service the fertilizer. We are asking God to help us save others. Evil sweeping, save them please, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto. With the acceptance of all the previous conditions, God will then go out to save the world, by placing illness as guidance, to help people understand what the heart does naturally to help us purify our own minds.

How important is the monthly Service of the Mikagura-uta?  I believe that it is not as important as the Joyous Service, which many may not agree with. But it serves as a function to remind us of the teachings in the Ofudesaki. The message is very important in the salvation of the world. The accurate translations can be viewed at heaventruth.com and on Facebook in the Mikagura-uta and the Ofudesaki Study Group.

In Summary, unfortunately Tenrikyo has become a religion like the major established religions of the world, where ceremonies, rituals, and faith are emphasized. I do not believe that God intended for this to happen when God was revealed in 1838 to save the world. We have a precious document in the Ofudesaki, that gives us the ingredients to live the joyous life. It also gives us the specific instruction to spread the teachings to the world.