JAH - Islam and Rastafari

Alexander, you said,
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You say that you find it audacious to debate the principles of the Rastafari trod, but still I find you participating in such discussions, sometimes just to tell people that they are not Rasta because they see something differently from you.
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Certain things change amongst RasTafarI people, but some things will never change, and the things that won't change are the Principles of RasTafarI.

So what you said doesn't make sense.

If something is a Principle of RasTafarI then it is audacious to debate it. So when people come here and try to change a Principle of RasTafarI, I and I are not debating the Principle, the Principle is already set from Creation. I and I are defending the Principle, and showing that the alternate view is not RasTafarI View or Principle.

Ark I
RasTafarI
Haile Selassie I

Messenger: Ten

Sent: 9/30/2007 6:57:15 AM

Blessed Love I n I
Yes it is true the principles of Rastafari never change and for I its these things the spirit has already over-ed from ancient of days. The practice of these things are matters of mind and flesh, but the spirit is far over. (I know mind, body and spirit are The Trinity but for reasons of overstanding I separate mind body and flesh to show function of each) Rastafari, The Lord of all is Haille Sellassie I - that is truth and its principle. He is God incarnate and all who call themselves by the name of the Father must bow before HIM. None of this TTI "JAH Nesta" business or those who say HIM was a "Great King" or a "Holy Holy Holy Man", but them nah pray Sellasie I way. This is principle, truth and cannot be compromised. What is then open to interpretation is how ones choose to worship Sellasie I, by this I mean going to Binghi, trodding in the mountains, wearing the sackcloth etc.
Same thing with other Rastafari princples, Africa is the Mother of All Iration, and one must over the full meaning of this in order to over Rastafari way of life. Understand I Story is a long and Royal African story from ancient of days and far into the future when Babylon is trampled and gone, Mama Africa will be standing firm. I n I can't dispute this is where we come from - we can reason on the Motherland yes, but we can't question if these are our roots or not. That's foolish.
Again with ganja - whether Ites puff or not - its a holy herb used for meditation and prayer and that is fact. It is fire blazed for righteousness and it won't change and remains an important part of Rastafari order and you must over the power of the herb before one can discuss the rituals of people - whether I n I puff once a day, never at all or 24/7.
If you read the Nazarite law again the Order is set, the body is a temple of the Most High and must be kept so. How you read Numbers 6 becomes a personal thing, but the Law is the Law. If we are to be called by HIS Name I n I must make our covenant with JAH as the scriptures state. And out of that you get the varied interpretations and personal circumstances of why some Rases lock and why others don't (such as Elders who cut their locks bec of age), some brothers and sisters wrap their locks, some don't wrap, some yam raw food, others yam cooked itals etc. Same thing with the Sabbath I n I can sit here and discuss who changed the Sabbath from its iriginal day, but the day of rest is on the 7th day not the 1st or the 3rd, Sabbath is the 7th and it must be kept a holy day.
All in all these principles of Rastafari set the Order for how I n I are to live. The overarching law is that I n I are consecrated to the Most High King, JAH Rastafari King Sellasie I and I n I Hail the King Always. No room for side-stepping and doubt abt that. The more you trod in Rastafari the more this shall be revealed unto I n I.

Give Thanks
Hail HIM High
Rastafari

Messenger: Alexander

Sent: 9/30/2007 7:22:55 AM

Yes, Ark I, I overstand perfectly what you are saying. Still, you are missing my point.

What I am saying is that every Rasta has a different interpretation of the word of Jah. Everyone does not see the words of Yahshua and Haile Selassie I in the same way. I do not think that anyone can claim to know the absolute truth, the best we can do is to read the word of Jah and look in our heart that we have been given by Jah and find our own truth, just as His Majesty told us to do.

The Rastafari trod is not a set of unquestionable rules. If Selassie wanted us to just blindly believe in a certain set of principles and never question them or reason about them, why did he not tell us to do so? Well, it is because he wanted us to find our own truth, he wanted us to look into the bottom of our hearts to see what is right.

But as I said, I overstand what you are saying, Ark I, and I agree with you in a way. Of course there is such a thing as the absolute truth, and I believe that it is possible to gain this knowledge, but not before our time on Earth is up and we go to meet the Almighty Creator. I think we can get very close to the truth here on Earth but I do not think that we should hope to gain full comprehension of our universe before we leave this place.

We all want to go to Zion, to the Almighty Creator, and know The Truth and this is why I find it extremely important to reason about the way to Zion, about what the principles of Jah are, and how we should live to reach Zion. We cannot be afraid to question eachother about what we believe to be the principles of Jah. We must reason and gain knowledge from eachother to get closer to The One Truth.

Messenger: Alexander

Sent: 9/30/2007 7:36:17 AM

Thank you, sister Ten, for making my point clearer.

As you said, we can all agree on the basic principle that Haile Selassie I is Jah Jah, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. What we should reason about is how we should interpret his words to overstand His Majesty correctly.

Messenger: Ten

Sent: 9/30/2007 7:37:39 AM

Blessed Love
I over your problem is the interpretations of Rastafari law and how it can be confused. Principle is principle but some claim their views to be Absolute Truth. Is that so? But truth and principle is His Majesty and how I n I sight HIM is subjective and its dependent on one's interpretation, but as people should we make our ways of practice weigh the same magnitude and as absolute yet sometimes we can be wrong/biased in our view (eg the TTI "Jah Nesta" thing). So we can question our ways of doing things (hence the ital or locks reasonings for example) but the Most High remains firm and is above human question and reigns supreme. Is this what you're getting at?

Messenger: Alexander

Sent: 9/30/2007 7:51:30 AM

Yes, sister, this is exactly what I mean. The absolute overstanding of Jah Ras Tafari himself is supreme and can never be questioned. But man's interpretations of his words can and should be questioned.

Messenger: Ten

Sent: 9/30/2007 8:04:31 AM

For I its a blessing and its problematic, I take it that's the beauty of Rastafari and that's what differentiates it from other faiths. Its open to interpretation so Rastafari comes to shed light upon all and you practice Rasta in the way specific to you, so JAH is open and all-encompassing. What is problematic however is how some interpretations in Rastafari are rigid and some hold onto them so tightly, it excludes others and it makes it difficult for some to remain in Rastafari. I've witnessed this in some brothers and sisters who are strong lions and lionesses but some things of Rasta they could not overs. Its not a sign of weakness in them but in their circumstances its indicative of the rigdity in which some of I n I practice and preach Rastafari because it turns others away. Its sad to see this and its not right because JAH is far beyond the makings of people and transcends all these rules we set for ourselves. But that's why we must be active and keep vigilant in reasoning so we can all overstand each other.
Bless.

Messenger: Alexander

Sent: 9/30/2007 8:16:32 AM

Exactly. I also find just this, the possibility to question things, to be the one thing that makes Rastfari a search for truth and not a typical religion. This is why I, as a Rasta, get upset when some Rastas tell me and each other that they should not reason about certain interpretations, because I believe that to be a step in the wrong direction.

Messenger: Ten

Sent: 9/30/2007 8:28:13 AM

Well in such situations you chose if its worth the battle - choose your battles wisely because in some cases you might find you agree but you approach it differently. Seen? Other times, well if you don't agree with someone, call them on it - as has been done many a time on this site. If you learn from them bless, but if they refuse to learn from you too then continue in your trod and know JAH as you do. As much as they claim their interpretation to be sacred (which is blessing & curse), hold onto your views too because tomorrow it will be your turn to help other youths rise.

71 - 80

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