Below is one of my favorite speeches on spirituality, as I don’t think anyone could articulate the truth of spirituality more accurately than H.I.M. Haile Selassie I when he said:
“The temple of the Most High begins with the human body, which houses our life, the essence of our existence. Africans are in bondage today because they approach spirituality through Religion provided by foreign invaders and conquerors.
We must stop confusing religion and spirituality. Religion is a set of rules, regulations and rituals created by humans which were supposed to help people grow spiritually. Due to human imperfection religion has become corrupt, political, divisive and a tool for power struggle. Spirituality is not theology or ideology.
It is simply a way of life, pure and original as was given by the Most High. Spirituality is a network linking us to the Most High, the universe and each other. As the essence of our existence it embodies our culture, true identity, nationhood and destiny.
A people without a nation they can really call their own is a people without a soul. Africa is our nation and is in spiritual and physical bondage because her leaders are turning to outside forces for solutions to African problems when everything Africa needs is within her. When African righteous people come together, the world will come together. This is our divine destiny.”
Imprisoned by “Belief”
When I look at the amount of conflict over religion in the world today, I find it so ironic when every single religion has an emphasis on love. It’s clear from reality that religion has nothing to do with love and more to do with power, control, and being right. One of the most foolish things we do as humans is debate religious beliefs, and I say this as someone that has spent countless hours doing just that.
Beliefs can’t be proven, so how can we debate them? How can you say with certainty that you are right, and EVERYBODY else is wrong? Think about it realistically for a moment. You only have your religious beliefs because of the communities you have been a part of and the information you have been exposed to. You don’t have your beliefs because they are right, and yet we are quick to defend our beliefs to the point of bloodshed, while being part of a religious practice that emphasizes love, at least externally.
Imagine growing up your whole life believing you are part of God’s chosen people, and that everyone else is therefore inferior, particularly the “savages” that your people have imprisoned and deprived of basic things like food and water; breaking multiple international laws in your haughtiness as “God’s chosen people.” Imagine growing up being raised believing that God is white, and anyone not white is inferior to you. Or growing up believing that anyone that doesn’t confess Jesus is their Lord and savior, is going to hell. Most of us grow up believing that ours is the only true book, our practice the only true practice, we have the truth and everyone else is wrong, and that is the problem with religion.
What Does it Mean to be Spiritual?
A religious person approaches the idea of the Creator as though they know the absolute truth. A spiritual person approaches it very differently. A spiritual person understands that they don’t know it all, that we are all here doing our best, and we are all flawed in a multitude of ways. The spiritual recognize that our understanding of an infinite being the least of those flaws, though still among them. The spiritual person knows that their understanding of exactly who, or what the Creator is, is a personal thing for each and every individual, and that all of the religious texts are people giving their spiritual experiences and their understanding of what those spiritual experiences mean.
We approach the concept of religion with an open mind, but seek after the highest standards of love, not pride and ego. We recognize that all people are flawed and therefore all texts are flawed, as are all religions. We search for the commonality between the religions, the community between the beliefs. We seek to love others as we love ourselves. It’s well embodied by a concept of Ras Tafari: I and I. I don’t see you, I see myself in you.
Let’s tear down these religious walls so we can learn, love and live in a genuine spirit of harmony, as was intended by the Most High.
I agree with H.I.M. when he said, “When African righteous people come together, the world will come together.” We have to stop fighting with each other over our different religious beliefs, and start fighting mediocrity, limiting beliefs, stereotypical images, self defeating self-talk, negative portrayals of our culture, inferiority complexes, etc. There are certain universal principles reinforced in all of the religions, and those are the areas that as a people, we need to focus on so we can come together, and have meaningful global impact.
