The Meaninglessness of Desires
The Initiate: The Meaninglessness of Desires
The initiation process that is provided by Master Naba and The Earth Center is a traditional method of education. This oral tradition has been passed down from generation to generation, from master to student. This is the first time that this knowledge has been available - it has never before been taught outside of the African bush. The initiation structure is designed to set the student to be a survivor. The education thoroughly teaches the guidelines of how to live a spiritual life. So far, our education has provided all of the tools that we have needed. With every class comes new wisdom and insights for the mind.
The initiation process is a structure that is not meant for everyone. It is a very demanding process that takes a lot of discipline and effort that must come from the student. Master Naba warned us on the first day of our initiation by saying, "Today will be your easiest day, from this point on it will only get more difficult as you progress". This statement is so true. With every new class comes a new challenge, as well as another key piece of knowledge that helps us with our own personal growth. Slowly our old habits and values have been taken over by new ones. Master Naba is like a wrecking ball that has gradually broken down the structures that colonialism has set in our minds. He has also been like an architect: brick by brick he has been laying down our foundation which is helping us to grow strong and stable. He is trying to show us how to free our own minds from the slave mentality and move towards the mindset of free human beings.
In one of our latest lectures we discussed the notion of human desires. Master Naba has been explaining how the real mental colonialism starts with teaching a person to go for what they want. He has revealed the negative effects that human desires can have upon an individual and upon humanity. He explained that a human being that is heading towards death is really not in a position to want or desire. If we really want something, it should be to overcome the fact that we are mortal. Without the thought that death is constantly moving closer to us, a human being becomes open to doing anything. We have moved away from a lifestyle where we prepare ourselves for the judgment in the afterlife. We now become like sitting ducks for death.
Colonialism has done a phenomenal job of dividing us and conquering our minds. Through the act of slavery, they have stripped us of our own culture and values. They have taught us how to be slaves, as well as how to enslave our own people and our children. They no longer have to crack the whip upon us. We willingly do it to ourselves. I will give an example of how we teach slavery to our children by pushing them to go for their wants and desires.
My parents raised my brother and me the best way they knew how. The same way that their parents raised them. The same way millions of parents have raised their children across the United States. To fulfill our dreams and aspirations. To enjoy life to the fullest and someday obtain a job and be able to take care of our families. While growing up I constantly had this question in my mind. What do I want to do with my life? For a long time, I wanted to be a veterinarian because I loved animals. Also, I wanted to be a professional artist or basketball player. My desires always had money and fun involved together. If my goals didn't include these two elements, then I did not want them. My education throughout schooling pressured me to make a decision on what I wanted to do as a profession. At that time I thought it was normal to go after what I wanted. Now I see that it was a designed system that was meant to train young adults. They taught us that we could achieve our desires through our education. They even made us feel privileged to be able to read, write, and do mathematics because there were others out there who were less fortunate. In reality, they were just training us on how to be workers or slaves to this society, while dangling pleasure before our eyes.
Master Naba explained that when a human being focuses on his personal desires, he limits his perspective to the dimension of what he wants. For example, I really wanted to be a professional basketball player throughout middle school and high school. That was the only focus that I had at that time. I sacrificed a lot so that I could play ball. I focused so hard on basketball that everything else in existence became insignificant unless it dealt with having fun. So many other things went on around me, but I had my focus on playing that sport.
This example is one of the many ways that colonialism has conquered us. While we are steadily focused on our own personal goals, the colonizers can achieve their agendas. They can continue running the show as long as we are not determined to come together as a people. While each human being has his or her own personal wants, we continue to divide ourselves further from the rest of humanity. We no longer think as a whole but as individuals competing against one another to achieve our aspirations. We are willing to sacrifice our friends, families, and even the entire world as long as we get what we want.
We no longer work as a community but as separate entities. We no longer become useful to each other. Instead, we become obstacles. If you honestly think about it, it is impossible to have billions of people across the world working for their own personal fulfillment. This will create self-destruction. If you read the newspaper or watch the news, you will see the damage that we are doing to our planet. But we seem to be so focused on our own personal goals. We don't have the time to think about stopping. We can't imagine a life without enjoyment or desire. We have our television shows, our movies, our magazines, etc. Whatever we want, it is there to distract us from the fact that we are killing the Earth. We have become content with being slaves. Our ancestors would have done anything to return to their own culture. We are a divided people who will stay that way until we decide to work together as our ancestors did.
That is why the Earth Center is so important. Master Naba comes from a traditional culture where every single member of the community counts. They heal themselves. They govern themselves. They are truly free people. He represents the culture of our ancestors before coming in contact with colonialism. He is the key to unlocking the mental chains of slavery that continue to plague our people.
