Oyasama withdrew from physical life on the 26th of the first lunar month of 1887. The Spring Grand Service is held every year on January 26 to commemorate this date.

We can only imagine how great a shock it must have been for those who revered Oyasama as a living God and clung to Her as the source of life to watch Her lifeless body grow cold before their very eyes. Surely it must have felt as if they had fallen into complete darkness, as if the earth had collapsed and been reduced to dust under their very feet. They must have been filled with inexpressible astonishment and anguish, as if they were thrown down into the depths of utter hopelessness.

The message God the Parent gave to these people was that Oyasama is "everliving." As described in earlier entries (refer to "The Portals Opened" [5.50] and "Leveled Ground" [5.69]), Oyasama withdrew from physical life and no longer could be seen physically; yet God the Parent taught that She did not "pass away" as it might be normally understood by the world at large. Instead, Oyasama "opened the portals and stepped out to level the world." Those listening were inspired by these words. They also became spirited upon later witnessing countless instances of Her everliving protection.

Oyasama has guided and assisted us unchangingly since then. Although we cannot see Her physically, Oyasama continues to work day and night as if She were physically alive. Thus we call Her the "everliving Oyasama" while referring to this teaching as the "truth of the everliving Oyasama."

The Foundress' Sanctuary, which is located at the Home of Parent, is not a so-called mausoleum where the Oyasama's soul has been enshrined. It is the place where Oyasama presently resides and the sanctuary from which She works day and night for the sake of single-hearted salvation. Therefore, there is no greater joy for us, as children of the path, than to return to Jiba and greet the everliving Oyasama.

The truth of the Sazuke, the Divine Grant (see 5.27), which is bestowed on Yoboku through the Shinbashira, is ultimately a grant we receive from the everliving Oyasama. We are also able to receive the sacred rice (see 5.91) from the everliving Oyasama. Furthermore, the red clothes Oyasama wears each day are cut into small pieces and given out as Proof Amulets (see 5.88) even now.

In the Divine Directions, we read:

Sah, sah, I am still living here. I have not gone anywhere, not gone anywhere. You must look at the path of daily life and ponder.

Osashizu, March 17, 1890

These words help remind us that "the truth of the everliving of Oyasama" truly is the lifeblood of the path.