B--------t Man
Volume I : The ******* ********* **n
Greetings to all, in the name of His Imperial Majesty. This website serves as a precursor to the great 'works' InI has set forth to partake. This 'works' began in mid-2020 amidst the PLANdemic and has evolved into an Anthropological work that serves to be an extensive work on the enigma that is Rastafari.
Over the past 7 years that I have been involved in Rastafari, aspects of the movement have been written and recorded by non-rastas. These are the individuals I refer to as Rasta Imposters. They preach/teach the LEARNED behavior in Rasta instead of the wholesome EXPERIENCED behavior in Rasta. These may sound like confusing jargon hence I will endeavor to briefly expound on them.
LEARNED behavior in Rasta is primarily learned through the bible. To bring clarity, most of the terminologies used by Rastas are directly lifted from the bible such as Zion and Babylon. However, this poses a problem if a follower of Christianity finds himself in the movement since he is simply looping into a web of a different understanding of the same biblical text. Eventually, this leads to a partial acceptance of Rastafari.
For a Universal Acceptance of Rastafari, one HAS to EXPERIENCE it on his own accord. In essense , ' Rastafari is a path to self-discovery '. One CAN NOT discover the self by learning from another entity, not an individual. This EXPERIENCED behavior in Rasta is what differentiates a Rastaman from the rest of the world and Christianity. This is exclusively found in shifting from a Christian understanding of Rasta, into a more cohesive and pragmatic Cultural Perspective of Rastafari.
UNDERSTAND: RASTAFARI HAS NOT ONLY OFFERED A BELIEF SYSTEM, but also a CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE THAT CAN MOVE AWAY FROM THE NORMAL BEHAVIORAL PATTERN and WAY OF LIFE. That is WHY RASTAFARI IS NOT A RELIGION, but rather a WAY OF LIFE. It is in THE WAY OF LIFE that the ESSENCE OF RASTA IS FOUND. As others would want you to believe, it is NOT in the INDOCTRINATION OF THE BIBLE, but in THE WAY OF LIFE. Popularly known as ITAL.
In conclusion, my work is predominantly focused on the EXPERIENCED behavior in Rasta and its constituents, including its founding in the 1930s as well as its FOUNDATIONS in the SLAVE PLANTATIONS. Unknown to many is that the movement has been in existence for hundreds of years, its only that it took full shape following the coronation of H.I.M on 2nd November 1930.
WELCOME TO MY GOUNDINGS.
Regards,
BANTU M.
Greetings in the name of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I and Her Majesty the Express Menen Ashfaw, the perfect balance.
As I write the second part of "The Author's Note", I have been in isolation away from the noisy, polluted city. Surrounded by trees and animals, the concept of balance that Rastafari speaks of is imminent. Balance is found all around us. Every matter has a counterbalance. Once a tree bears its fruit after flowering, the tree goes into some kind of dormancy to bear new life again. We have night and day; man and woman; earth and sky et al. How does this relate to balance in Rastafari?
As Jamar said in 2017, during his Chronology media tour in the US, Rastafari advocates for balance. Balance across all forms of life. This balance was demonstrated by H.I.M during his 1930 coronation. As per customary laws, an emperor is NOT crowned at the same time as the empress. The latter is crowned days later. However, Ras Tafari broke this cycle and both were crowned at the same time. An event that was attended by 72 nations across the world. This decision by H.I.M represents the balance between the feminine and masculine energies. In short, this served as a benchmark in the principle of balance for rastas. Why is all this important to (over)standing Rastafari?
As I indicated in the first Author's Note, the essence of Rastafari is found in the experienced behavior. Taking balance into account, whatever information you consume about Rastafari HAS to be lived. This living is what translates to LIVITY.
REMEMBER: Rastafari is a way of life.
Therefore, what is learned has to be practiced. This is what makes one graduate from a mere believer of Rastafari teachings, into a practitioner of Rastafari.
Deductively, it is better to be a practitioner, than to be led into superstition.
UNDERSTAND: What HAS been LEARNED, has to be PRACTICED.
Apparently, this is counter-intuitive.
When an individual sets his/her mind to live according to a particular teaching, there will be no time for arguing. It is the practice that is more important. Hence, Rastafari is a livity. With religion, you get caught up in reciting doctrines. and you don't live. Whereas, if you're a Christian and you live (according to the bible's teachings), you absolutely have no argument with anybody about this and that belief, because you're busy living.
Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est vuperius
'That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above'
"As above, so below" - a popular paraphrase of the second verse of the Emerald Tablet -universally embodies the concept of balance found in Rastafari. Manly P. Hall, a Canadian author and philosopher 1909-1990, said that the book that people consider is the highest, which is the bible, is nothing but the reflection of the anatomy of man (The Occult Anatomy of Man). So if a man truly understands himself, not just the physical self but in the intelligent manner and spiritual manner; the reality is that you have all the information you need and science shows you that. As a matter of fact, if you take a microscope and look into the structure of your cells and you go through it and you examine the galaxy, it is the same structure. This is because the microcosm is the reflection of the macrocosm.
This is why you will find A LOT of the ancient men used (they still do) to cut off all their senses, to try not to get distracted, and then they put themselves in a secluded space (singularity), so you don't hear, see, smell or taste. Once all those five senses are locked out, a Higher Sense is achieved. Culminated from the silent mind. As a crane waits majestically at the shore for the fish to jump, so does the silent mind find itself. Going into the self is when you will find your true self. So in our ancient societies. in Eastern societies, a man put himself inside solitary confinement to find self while in the West they put you in solitary confinement to lose yourself.
BIG DIFFERENCE.
This is because it has to do with mindset.
As I conclude: Remember, a man knows he'll find himself by his own volition. Know that any man who is afraid of being by himself is still subject to fear and doubt. Unfortunately, that is what our society does. It puts fear and doubt among people and says that the only way you'll do well is when you're in a crowd. Hence, we have a pandemic knowledge people are afraid of. This leads to most people not knowing most things about themselves because they haven't spent time (over)standing the self (themselves). Reiterating His Majesty's words, "No person is able to understand and solve one's own problem better than one's self."
To conclude, Rastafari in its purity and essence offers this discovery of self. All it offers is a path to the truth; and not rules or doctrines to follow.
As Bruce Lee clearly put it, "Independent inquiry is needed in your search for truth, not dependence on anyone else's view or a mere book."
WELCOME TO MY GOUNDINGS.
Regards,
BANTU M.