Does God Exist?

Dear Momofuku,
Did "you," Momofuku, believe in God? With all of the contradictions and desires that exist, where does God have a role? Is His role similar to your role in the world?
--Searching for Meaning

Dear Searching,
As noted in previous posts, from 1964 until the end of his life, Momofuku Ando had a tradition of coining (and brush-drawing) New Year's slogans. These were typically eight characters long, and often somewhat cryptic, so Nissin published official explanations. Days before he died, Momofuku unveiled his slogan for 2007 (during an employee assembly at Nissin Headquarters). The slogan was Kigyo Zainin Seigyo Zaiten. According to the official explanation, it meant that a company may be built by humans, but its success will always depend on God. Thus, Momofuku certainly believed in God. In addition, he often spoke of "failure after failure" while inventing instant ramen, and about how he knew he had to "keep going in the direction of the bright light in front of me." He was speaking metaphorically, of course, but I believe he was saying that we meet God (or whatever you want to call it) when we accept the mission that calls us, as he did.