Love + honor Kween
Thanks for answering that question... Hope everything is fine up there. JAH bless+sings and peace
Give thankhs also for asking these questions... I think instead of asking the question "what is Rastafari", you should be asking "WHO is Ras TafarI?" Unless you already know the answer to that question? But I think if that were the case, then the answer of What is Rastafari would be more clear.
Tafari Makonen was born in Ethiopia. Upon earning governorship, Tafari took on the title of Ras (meaning a Head, like a military leader). This is where we get the name Ras Tafari. As co-ruler with his cousin Empress Zauditu, Ras Tafari became Negus (King) Tafari. When he came to be the sole ruler of Ethiopia, Tafari was coronated as Emperor, King of Kings of Ethiopia, as The Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah, Elect of The Almighty, Light of the World (these are Tafari's legal titles... If you are familiar with biblical theology you may recognize them); Tafari chose to use his baptismal name as his official name as Emperor: Qedamawi Haile Selahsay (Haile Selassie the First). This name means Power of the Trinity. The Lion of Judah revealed HIMself to the world as the most egalitarian emperor in history, striving endlessly to uplift Africans, both in the west and in Afrika, and to show womban all the respect she deserves, and promoting as well education and peace among humankind.
Qedamawi Iylah Selahsay is the manifestation of the Almighty, through righteousness he proved HIMself to be so. Ras Tafari shows us that humans can be divine. Man of right is God in flesh, womban of right is Goddess in flesh. So the answer to the question of "what" is Rastafari, Rastafari is JAH. Rastafari is also the awakening of the Highest Self, the source of all our consciousness, which is also the Almighty. In the same way Tafari Makonen manifest divine love and righteousness, so we manifest the divine unity with the Almighty. That is the answer to "what do you do as a Rasta". When you realize that the Almighty is the source of all life and all positive, creative energy, then you realize that there is truly no separation between one who acts according to the guidance of the Almighty, and the Almighty. There is no separation between such individuals either, which is why we call "you" I, I&I, and why we are Ras TafarI, not Rastafar"ians".
King Tafari is also Black Messiah. Whether or not "Jesus" was a real person, and whether or not Iyesus was an Afrikan, the title Messiah is not exclusive to only one person, nor has it ever been. Priests of Aaron, David, Saul, and others in the biblical texts are referred to (in the Hebrew text, carefully hidden in English translations) as "Moshiyach", a Hebrew word which is anglicized to Messiah. The first biblical description of the anointing process (mashach) that leads to a person accepting the title Anointed One (moshiyach)(messiah does not mean "the son of God" or "savior", but refers specifically to having been anointed) is in the book of Exodus, and this same procedure was used in the coronation ceremony of Haile Selassie I. This along with the fact that Ras TafarI is an Afrikan leads to the truth of his existence as Black Messiah. The practical implications of these facts are up to you to study and decipher.
Although Selassie I is I&I, the Most High, many people on the trod of RastafarI do not live exactly in the manner of His Imperial Majesty or his Empress Her Imperial Highness, choosing to seek the highest standards of natural and healthful living, such as Ital eating and rejection of comb and razor, being guided by the Most I which is within I&I. This is also where some Rasta move beyond bible theology, seeking instead the foundational Afrikan spiritual truths that were "borrowed" at the very least in the writing of that text.
RastafarI respects Life and acknowledges Afrikans as the builders of human culture and technological knowledge, and therefore works for the justice and rightful glory of Afrika and her people, even while loving and treating with justice all of creation. RastafarI rejects artificiality, unnaturality, and domestication (subjugation) of the human spirit.
Selahsay I Live Itinually
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