maybe the talk should be framed around what exactly is a bahetawi and what seperates them from the rest of the church, other Ethiopians and even the rest of the world. They are engaged in practices that not very many people on the planet could do or would even dare try.
One could define a bahetawi as someone seeking the 'Pre-Fallen state of humanity' by performing incredible feats of asceticism (isolation, fasting, sleep deprivation, seclusion in darkness) The goal is the submission of the physical senses and a return to human's original, angelic nature
the bahetwi are spending up to 20 to 50 years in the deepest meditation. Could you imaging spending decades in a cave, eating a couple of beans every few weeks, not sleeping and not seeing any light the entire time. In this state, their minds ascend into the heavenly spheres. These acts are what seperate them from others and they have been proven to completely transform the meta-physical condition of anyone who can do it. usually by the time they emerge from this experience, they have the appearance of grey, dread-locked, bearded, older man. They take on the 'Father-God' the 'Wise Old Man' and the 'Ancient of Days' image. They have escaped the body and reached incredible mystical heights.
In terms of the picture, some say its looks like his Majesty, some say maybe, others say no way, for I, it resembles H.I.M and considering that it was customary for all Ethiopian kings to live in the hills and become bahetawi after their reign, the possibility remains open, at this stage, no one can be sure
Mengistu didnt kill him, he didnt get sick, he just disappeared
the picture from Ark I is not a bahetawi because they are usually are much older, have dreads and beards and are identified by the color of their monks garb
Most of us could not do what the bahetawi do and have done for thousands of years, including Rasta people,
these guys belonged to the oldest tradition in the world and they have a message for the people
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