Familiarity breeds contempt...

I have often heard the phrase, "My relationship with my Orisha is mine, and they understand me" from both people near to me and from people I barely know. I often find it difficult to understand these statements because of my mindset. I believe that I entered into the priesthood of my own volition - I was neither coerced nor was I forced. As such, when I underwent initiation, I understood that for the rest of my life, I would no longer be a free agent. I would be forever beholden to the divine intervention and will of my tutelary deity - I would be his/her's tool on Earth, here solely to do Orishas work. I believe and accept that I must mold my existence to conform to those of my deity, and to the attainment of the goals that they set for me.

I believe that perhaps, part of the reason that our religion is failing around us, is the lack of universal goals. Though that may seem a bit dogmatic - at the end of the day, there is no requirement to keep people from using the religion simply for selfish reasons. These two topics may seem disconnected - but in my mind, they totally go hand in hand.

If we seek initiation, it must be two fold - or it is for naught. We must seek not only to meet with Orisha to better ourselves, but also to better the world around us. Perhaps the requirement that one Osha be done for free? Perhaps we should all take vows to help those around us? Perhaps we should take vows that we will never overcharge to pay our bills?

Perhaps - our Gods have become so close to us, that we no longer see them as superior, but as peers - and that itself, leads to a familiarity that is too human, too mortal - we forget that they are still Gods.

~

A Spiritual Life, A Spiritual Demand

Recently, a brother of mine asked this question on their facebook status, "So when your called to a spiritual life, what responsibilities do you have to yourself and your community?"

I would like to approach this topic by first of all dividing that which I consider religion from that which I consider spirituality. Spirituality is defined as an ultimate or immaterial reality, an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live. Spirituality for me is the basis of our beliefs, it is the guiding principle that is born with us that guides us and protects us, that is our true compass when it comes to dealing with issues of good and evil, positive and negative. A persons spirituality is built into them, and though it may grow and change with them. Spirituality is like a backpack that God fills up for you before you are born, a package that helps you get through the problems of life. These tools can be anything - from spirit guides to animal guides, to people who are here to help us, to prayer, and faith, and many other things.

Religion on the other hand - is spirituality that has been taken en masse by a culture and made into a codified and systematic form of interacting with the Godhead(s) as they have ascertained it to be by their cultural viewpoint.

Now for the good part.

Spirituality is individualistic - organic and personalized. Religion is dogmatic and rigid. They, to me at least, are the two separate yet joined sides of a coin.

Enough of that. Spiritual demands. As I said before, Spirituality is entitled to the person. Some of us may be blessed healers, whose hands can strike the infirmities from the sick with but some herbs and perfume. Some of us may be capable of calling up spirits and entities from other realms, bending and binding them to our rule. Yet some others may find their expressions of spirituality in the channeling of erotic energies, finding oneness with orgasmic energy.

To those of us who are spiritual, there are strata that must be determined. Those of us who are personally spiritual have only ourselves to account to, and must not and should not answer to any others. Our destiny is within ourselves and our fulfillment. Those of us, however, that commit our lives to helping others, must hold ourselves accountable not to ourselves, nor to the needs of others - but more so to the strictures that guide our morals. Thus a balance must be struck, however slim or large. There are some of us who can get up every day and work spiritually for others, and yet, there are some that only do so for themselves.

The basic precepts of good morals should be our guiding light. We should not steal; nor should we lie or rob. We should not use our gifts for harm that is unmerited (this is arguable, but hey, it's my morals:) ), and we should never turn away from the gifts that we have been blessed with.

Our responsibilities to our community are the same - we should help where we can and when we can, even if it means sometimes sacrificing our happiness and what we believe we deserve. We do not need to make martyrs of ourselves, but we should be willing to put in a little bit more than others.

Spiritualist will be hurt - humanity sometimes does that to those that help it. But it is our part, to not hold grudges, or bitterness - but instead, to stick to the doctrine of our spirits, and keep going forth.

I'm going to have to think about this one more.

Where do we end, and where do they begin.

For those of us who have undergone initiation into a religion, becoming priests and priestess' of it in as much - how do we decide where the priest(ess)hood begins and ends. We all step into the shoes of our roles of our own accord - if a diviner tells you that you are going to die, if you are sick and dying, if you are scared, if you made a promise for something to be given to you - you still choose of your own accord whether or not to enter into the compromise of the priesthood.

For those of us in the Lucumi (Santeria) faith, we come into the roles of our own free volition. One thing that I know is that if you are dying of disease, you still have a choice - you can die, or you can take the priesthood in hopes and faith of getting better. If this is the case, and you are mandated to help others - do you turn around and say, "I only did this to get better, I don't want to help anyone." Or do you do as told?

The whole point I am getting to was inspired by someone who asked me if they would be allowed to take photos as an Iyawo (bride to the Orisha, a year dressed in white in which we abstain from many things) because she would be getting married. My answer to this was no - when you underwent the Osha ceremony, you knew that the rules stated no make up, no rules, no parties, no drinking, et al.

So why question this? Others have said the person should be allowed to, she is getting married - fine, but at what point does our comittment become something that is more than just an ideology?

Do we not owe it to the divinity we have entered into a pact with to abide by the rules - regardless of whether or not we agree with them? I have heard many times, "Oh that is so old fashioned" when it comes to the rules that we practice in Santeria. At the same time, however - I have come to see that many of this rules, though obviously innane, built a sense of moral character, a sense of strength, that you do not see in many people these days. Many people are hard pressed to give up on the simple things asked of as an Iyawo - drinking, taking photos, being promiscuous, going out, make up, being vain, perfume, etc. These things are not at all pertinent to our lives, as that one may continue to live without them. Even some major events - weddings, birthdays, parties, celebrations - must be sacrificed. If one cannot put these events aside, then where do we stand?

When did it become popular for humanity to say, "Well, ORISHA has to understand that I am a person, and I am not going to do it because I don't want to".

To me, I entered into this deal willingly - I realized that I was giving up my life completely, to be in the whims and the guidance of a divine force that I believe in, that would never steer me wrong. One may be led to ask, "Does the divine force lose power because of the way I treat it?" If one can throw off the rules and the directions given us, is it really faith that we have in them, are they gods, or merely energy forms that we hurl about as tools?

One question all should be asked before making this commitment is - how far are you willing to go? If you only abide by what the Orisha say when it is convenient, than you aren't really willing to go far at all.

When are you supposed to die?

Last night, sitting around my religious family, we had a long and loud discussion about the time that a person is supposed to die. Some people argued that a 90 year old person, who has lived their life, has no reason to undergo the rigmorale of undergoing the Kariosha process, in which the Orisha, the Gods of Santeria, are introduced to a person and they become a priest of one. These persons stated that at that age, your better off just dying with dignity.

Others stated they could still live, and it was our duty, as priests and priestesses, to fight against the odds and try to heal the person, regardless of age. A little background may make this argument a little more understandable.

In the religious corpus of Ifa and Santeria, before incarnating on Earth in our bodies, we go before Oloddumare (The God Head), with Eleggua and on our left, and Orunmila on our right. There we decide our destiny. Eleggua, in his role of Eshu Ni Pakuo, joins us as our shadow to live that destiny with us, and Orunmila scribes the information down, so that when we return to heaven we can see what we accomplished and did not.

For us, as Santeros, one of the biggest Osogbo's that can befall us is a premature death. Ire's are blessings, and Osogbo's are curses. Osogbo's seek, much as living entitities, to keep us from living out our appointed paths.

So again - the argument. When do you know when it is the appointed time for a person to die? I believe that if a child comes, and they are sick, and obi is thrown to the Orisha, the orisha has the final say as to whether or not that person can be saved.

This will lead to further discourse as I think it out.

May the Gods be with you.