Homage To The One Who Sends and to those who are sent! Homage to Orisa and Egun!
Ifokanbale Omo Orisa! Peace of Mind from Olodumare Children of Orisa!
Ire ati Ayo!
Good Tidings and Joyfulness!
I honor your gods, I drink from your wells, I bring an undefended heart to our meeting place. I have no cherished outcomes, I will not negotiate by withholding, and I am not subject to disappointment. I am here! And They are all here with me! Ase! Ase! Ase!
Lord of my Ancestors, I have no knowledge except that which is given to me through inspiration, that which is sent to me by way of an angel, and that which I am blessed to acquire by way of some discipline. I thank you for guiding my words, my thoughts, and my actions so that all that I say and do may serve to point the seekers in the right direction. Ase! Ase! Ase!
What is the meaning of religion?
Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a supernatural or superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. (They continue to argue the validity of science versus religion.) It refers to a particular system of faith and worship. (Many people are adherents of the world’s great religions, while many others hold to their traditional, indigenous systems of belief.) It is a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. (Many people in the West pursue consumerism as a religion.) In this Post, we want to explore the subject of religion as it relates to the belief and worship of a supernatural or superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
The word religion originates from the Latin ‘religio’, meaning obligation, bond, or reverence, or the Latin ‘religare’ meaning to bind. Lets take a moment to consider these ideas.
Obligation – an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment. It refers to the condition of being morally or legally bound to do something. It indicates a debt of gratitude for a service or favor. It also suggests a binding agreement committing a person to a payment or other action.
This notion of religion raises certain questions. What is the act or course of action to which religion morally or legally binds the devotee? What is it that the devotee must do? What is the nature of the debt for which gratitude is due and what is the service or favor that has created this debt? What is the structure of the agreement that makes religion binding?
Bond – a thing used to tie something or to fasten things together; physical restraint(s) used to hold someone or something prisoner, especially ropes or chains; the ability of two or more objects to stick to each other; a force or feeling that unites people.
Again, our minds are provoked to questions. What is the nature of the thing that is used to tie or fasten the devotee to the religion? Since the bond is not something physical like ropes or chains, what is it? What is the nature of the force or feeling that allows religion to cause individuals to adhere to the religion, and to elicit feelings of unity among devotees of the same religion?
Reverence – a deep respect for someone or something; a gesture indicative of respect.
Should we now ask, to who is this deep respect due and how is it shown?
What is the Purpose of Religion?
Religion is not an end goal! Religion is a means to a greater end! Unfortunately, many people believe that religion is an end in and of itself, and that once they ‘have it’ their journey or task is done. They are devoted to the religion rather than being devoted to the purpose of religion. It is this tendency to be devoted to the religion rather than to its purpose that causes so much division within and between various religions. ‘I am more devoted to the religion than he or she is!’ ‘Our interpretation of the religion is more correct than their misinterpretation of the religion.’ ‘Our religion is better than their religion.’ ‘Ours is the only true religion.’ All of these expressions are misguided because they all fail to recognize the purpose of any and all religions in the life of the individual seeker.
Remember our original definition of religion? Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a supernatural or superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. The purpose of any and all religions is to point the devotees in the direction of realizing the nature of this supernatural or superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. And to understand how we are connected to, bound to, this ‘God(s)’.
The purpose of any and all religions is to provoke inquiry into the true nature of things and especially into our own true nature. We can only perceive expressions of, indications of, suggestions of the presence of a supernatural, All-Powerful Creator God through our observations of the objective reality – the world out there. But, we can experience the nature of our relationship to this Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient Sentient Entity through self-inquiry; by peeling back the layers of delusion, escaping the hypnosis of social conditioning, and discovering that part of ourselves that is permanent, and eternal, and unchanging; that which remains as a witness after all of the ever-changing and impermanent aspects of our sense of self is stripped away.
Religion can offer the devotee a practice to hold onto until they are ready to pursue the journey and the discovery to which religion is pointing. That journey will inevitably cast the religion into a whole new light. Ifa points us in the direction of discovering the nature of our true Self, that part of us that is our Kadara, our Divine Share of the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient Sentient Entity, Orisun – the Divine Source of all things!
To be continued:
Aajiirebi! May the Unblemished Cloth of Orunmila Continue to cloth us with the Wisdom Of the Here and the Hereafter!
Ase! Ase! Ase!
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Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
My Olodumare, Orisa, and Ancestors bestow on you Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
