Spirituality, Africa

Ra, A Window Into Human Life

Ra Human Life

The Kemites documented their understanding of life, both cosmological and human life, over a period of at least 10 thousand years before the Romans restarted the course of timekeeping, with the birth of Jesus and the advent of Christianity.

In my research I totally agree with Wallis Budge, who told us: 

“The Kemites “believed in One God, who was self-existent, immortal, invisible, eternal, omniscient, almighty, and inscrutable; maker of the heavens, earth, and underworld; the creator of the sky and the sea, men and women, animals and birds, fish and creeping things, trees and plants, and the incorporeal beings who were the messengers that fulfilled his wish and word.” 

The people who populated Kemet, Egypt as it is known today, were Kushites, i.e., Black people who migrated, following the Nile River, north, from as far away as South Africa.

And so, the ancient inhabitants of Africa gifted posterity with information about life in the Cosmos, as well as, human life, which contains insights relating to the physical world and the non-physical world; i.e., life and transcending death.

My intention here is not to create a detailed narrative on Kemetic theology; no, my intention is to illuminate certain aspects of the Kemite records that address questions like: “who am I,” “why am I here,” and “where am I going.”

Therefore, let me introduce Neter (God), and the neteru (gods). And to quote Wallis Budge: 

“Inasmuch as it is impossible to find anyone word which will render neter adequately and satisfactorily, “self-existence”, and “possessing the power to renew life indefinitely,” may together be taken as the equivalent of neter in our own tongue.” 

Wallis Budge also listed a number of epithets that were applied to the “Neter” by the Kemites: 

  • God is One and alone, and none other existent with Him; God is the One, The One Who hath made all things.
  • God is a spirit, a hidden spirit, the spirit of the spirits, the great spirit of the Kemites, the divine spirit.
  • God is from the beginning, and He hath been from the beginning; He hath existed from of old and was when nothing else had being. He existed when nothing else existed, and what existent He created after He had come into being. He is the father of beginnings.
  • God is the eternal One, He is eternal and infinite; and endureth for ever and aye; He hath endured for countless ages, and He shall endure to all eternity.
  • God is the hidden Being, and no man hath known His form. No man hath been able to seek out His likeness; He is hidden from gods and men and He is a mystery unto His creations. (see, Wallis Budge, Egyptian Religion p.38)

The Kemites believed in one God, as it is said above, but emanations or types of god symbolized the Kemetic belief in God. For example, Kemite records indicate that Ra was the oldest of the gods worshipped in Kemet. 

“Throughout Kemite history, Ra was the visible emblem of God. “Ra appeared above the horizon at creation in the form of the Sun.”

The “Sun-god Ra” was known among the Kemites in the pre-dynastic period, which could date back more than 12 thousand years. Ra emerged from the primeval waters as the first of emanations in creation. 

The great arms of the Nu lifted Ra, who was in his boat accompanied by nine divinities, gods, and goddesses who played a role in Creation. Having created Creation, Ra now sails the ocean, which is creation itself, with his divinities, on the divine boat. 

Ra, and the gods and goddess, “travel in the Boat of Millions of Years, traversing the heavens, while sustaining creation through the wake of the boat, which sends ripples (vibrations) throughout Creation.” (Dr. Muata Ashby; African Religion, Anunian Theology)

Ra was the symbol of the Supreme Being, who governed the earth for thousands of years. He created the world, the planets, the stars, and galaxies; he also created animals, as well as men and women.

Ra withdrew himself from playing an active role in creation and instead chose to abide in heaven wherein all who would seek him must go. As he abides in heaven, Ra is the sun, that shines from heaven, making it possible for life to exist and flourish.

In the morning he is known as Kheper, at noon he is known as Ra, and at sunset, he is known as Tem.

Ra, Gods, Goddesses, And Human Beings

In Kemet, Ra was a symbol or form of the Supreme Being; he and all the deities were symbols and forms which represented the Divine in the various manifested forms of nature.

The gods and goddesses of ancient Kemet were messengers who were encoded with messages from the transcendental, androgynous, Divinity which is without name or form, who was referred to as Nebertcher. 

Therefore, to comprehend Kemite theology; study, mediation, and prayer top the list of requisites. Kemite theology augments the understanding that the human soul is a creation and as much an emanation of the Nebertcher, as is Ra and his company of gods and goddesses. 

In the story of the potter’s wheel, the potter takes a lump of clay, which he can mold into various forms, shapes, and sizes. No matter what the form, shape, or size; it is still clay. The composition of the clay does not change. 

Likewise, modern science has concluded that all objects/matter in the universe is composed of the same “stuff.” All matter is a manifestation of the same essence but in different modes of manifestation.

The Kemite gods and goddesses are symbols or manifestations of the same energy that human beings, and the universe, are made of. The same energy that holds the planets and stares in place, energy that is consciousness, energy that is the basis of sentient life.

The Kemites left us records informing us that the creative power of energy is a manifestation of the transcendental, androgynous, Divinity. The gods, goddesses, universe, and human beings are all emanations within Divine consciousness, God’s mind.

In Kemite theology nothing could separate human beings and anything else in Creation for God. And, knowing that Black people are descendants of Africa/Kemet, we need to embrace and unite with our past, our history, our culture, our ancestors, and our spiritual consciousness.

Europeans have consigned Black people to a bubble and filled the bubble with an opaque coating in order to void life outside the bubble. The reality inside the bubble is devoid of order, truth, justice, balance, and reciprocity. 

Black spirituality, history, culture, family, etc., exist outside the opaque bubble beyond the senses and perception of Black people. However, what the Europeans could not restrict from the bubble, was the energy, soul or spirit of Black people.

It has taken some time, but spiritual sensitivity, awareness, and activity are manifesting among Black people. The hunger for justice, the thirst for reciprocity, and the cravings for peace are slowly causing the bubble to disintegrate.

And because the Divine energy, which created Creation is governed by Divine principles/laws, Black people only need to look within, look above, or raise their consciousness in order to create a better life for themselves en masse. 

Conclusion

God is creation, and creation is God. Creation is God, expressing his/her essence in Creation. Ra was a symbol of God in primeval times; he was the higher deity among the gods and goddesses who mythologically create Creation; i.e., the universe and life in all its forms, including human life.

With this understanding it is clear that God is not distant and aloof, observing Creation from afar. God is the very basis of Creation and is in every part of it at all times. 

Dr. Muata Ashby says, “Creation is God who has assumed various forms: trees, cake, bread, human beings, metal, air, fire, water, animals, planets, space, electricity, etc.” 

Set free from the bubble wherein we were blinded by ignorance, illusions, desires, cravings, longings, and delusions; we can again recognize God within us and in all of Creation. The energy that created the universe and human beings is immortal, eternal, and internal. 

To look within is to know oneself, and to know oneself is to become conscious of our spirit, and the ability to interact with our spirit. Our spirit/energy is encoded with the building blocks of order, truth, justice, harmony and peace. 

The essence of Ra is present in each one of us, and as we become aware and gravitate toward his divine essence, we gain power over ego, ignorance, and vices. The pure heart, the heart moved by the Divine can build and accomplish anything it can conceive. 

There is no limit placed on dreams and visions that result in manifestations of selfless service to others; order, truth, justice, harmony, reciprocity, and peace.

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