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About Sukyo Mahikari
Sukyo Mahikari Centers for Spiritual Development is a nonprofit spiritual and community service organization with world headquarters in Takayama, Japan, and regional headquarters in Australia-Oceania, Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America. The regional headquarters for North America is in Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange County, California. Sukyo Mahikari has 21 Centers for Spiritual Development in the United States and Canada.
Sukyo Mahikari Centers for Spiritual Development teach the transmission of light energy that purifies the spiritual aspect of people and all things. Sukyo Mahikari's membership of close to 1 million represents diverse fields, including the sciences, medicine, education, and the arts and humanities.
Throughout North America, Sukyo Mahikari practitioners are active in community cleanup activities and in greening their communities. They plant trees in Atlanta and Chicago, and have joined "Million Trees" programs in New York and Los Angeles. The Chicago and Los Angeles centers participate in Green Expos featuring green businesses, environmental organizations, and related groups. Sukyo Mahikari's booth, titled "Organic Gardening as a Spiritual Practice," provides visitors with seeds to plant and information about organic gardening as a spiritual practice.
Sukyo Mahikari's environmental cleanup activities have been well received by communities. In September 2009, Mayor Mufi Hannemann of Honolulu presented Sukyo Mahikari with a certificate declaring that September 27 will be Sukyo Mahikari Day in Honolulu in recognition of beach and park cleanup activities there over the past ten years. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn presented Sukyo Mahikari of North America with a resolution in August 2004 commending the organization for its efforts in helping to create a peaceful and harmonious society.
Sukyo Mahikari participates in environmental activities around the globe as well. Wood and other debris needed to be cleared to allow the survival of the reed beds on the banks of Lake Geneva and the Rhone River, so Sukyo Mahikari practitioners, joining together with a conservation group, cleared a mass of debris from those wetlands. Other young practitioners in Switzerland joined with townspeople and other volunteers to clear litter from streams and forests. In Australia, Sukyo Mahikari practitioners participate in the annual Cleanup Australia Day which takes place across the continent. In other parts of the world, for example in Africa, Sukyo Mahikari works with other organizations to supports reforestation to reverse desertification and revitalize the environment by planting trees, including the "Great Green Wall" project to create a three-mile-wide band of trees from Africa's Atlantic Coast all the way to Eastern Africa on the Red Sea. In other countries, while offering assistance, Sukyo Mahikari practitioners share skills so that any immediate improvements in the environment can be maintained and built upon.
Sukyo Mahikari Centers for Spiritual Development was invited to participate in the 2009 High-Level Consultation on Climate Change sponsored by the Global Campaign for Climate Action and the World Conference of Religions for Peace, the world's largest and most representative multi-religious coalition. At this conference, senior global leaders of the major religions together with United Nations representatives planned ways to advocate for increased environmental awareness and to secure a strong international climate change treaty.
Since 1989, Sukyo Mahikari has given regular talks at the United Nations Headquarters. Sukyo Mahikari also holds conferences with scientists, medical professionals, educators, and other people working to protect the environment. In 2005, the Yoko Civilization Research Institute, affiliated with Sukyo Mahikari, held its third international conference in Japan with the theme: "Life and the Environment." A book of essays from this conference, The Meaning of Life in the 21st Century, was published in August 2009.
In February 2008, Sukyo Mahikari Centers for Spiritual Development sponsored "Greening Your Life," a conference in Torrance, California, with speakers including a former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations and the research director at a leading institute for organic agriculture. In June 2008, Sukyo Mahikari sponsored a conference titled "Life and the Environment" in Sáo Paulo, Brazil, and in 2009 joined 350.org, the international network to reduce the world's carbon output to 350 parts per million, the level scientists indicate will slow the climate crisis.
The latest Center for Spiritual Development opened in midtown Manhattan at 124 East 31st Street, on October 17, 2009. The new building showcases innovative, environmentally conscious design strategies that are new to both New York City and the State of New York. The center is expected to receive LEED Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, becoming one of a handful of buildings in New York City to have achieved this status. There are currently only nine LEED-certified New Construction Buildings in New York City. Sukyo Mahikari Centers for Spiritual Development will also receive recognition from NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) for exceeding New York City and State energy efficiency codes.