The Path to Self-Knowledge
The Influence of Cosmic Order on Human Personality
As Above, So Below
(Thoth-Hermes Trismegistus, 1040 BC)
Abstract
This paper seeks to argue that Ubuntu/Maat philosophy is a God-created philosophy that is fully connected to the Cosmic Order, and thus cannot be changed or altered by human being; and that this is a philosophy for humankind, and lastly, that there is a need to broaden the definition of Ubuntu to accommodate its unique connection to the Cosmic Order. Therefore, this paper develops a new dimension on the nature and content of Ubuntu.
The Cosmic Order
According to Robert Bauval in his ‘The Orion Mystery’, “the ancient Egyptian theocracy was regulated by Cosmic Order called Maat which was none other than the order of the sky viz. the observable, precise and predictable cycles of the sun, the moon and the stars. This Cosmic Order was fervently believed to influence the material world below…”.
I think that Bauval introduces us to the complicated nature of the connection between the spiritual world and the material world, as developed so uniquely by ancient Egyptians. Of course, in the ancient Egyptian book, The Book of the Dead, we are educated a lot about this connection. For example, the flooding of the Nile, from June to September was neatly and precisely connected to the Orion and Sirius stars. But more than that, the Pyramids of Giza were also built in such a way that they are connected to the Orion and Sirius stars. This signifies the connection between the cosmology and culture of the human beings and the cosmic order.
Therefore, ‘Bu’ stands for Materialism, and ‘Ntu’ stands for Spiritualism. If there is connection between our solar system and our human bodies, then there is definitely a connection between materialism and spiritualism, which in this case is Bu + Ntu = Buntu. Contrary to the current belief, this signifies the fact that there is a connection between the spiritual world and material world. The two worlds are interdependent.
On the other hand, Mathole K. Motshekga in his The Path to Self-knowledge, (October 2012) argues that the spiritual body consists of the ethereal or quintessential element, while the material body consists of the four elements of water, fire, earth and air. The spiritual part must abide by the Moral Law (Ubuntu in isiNguni) that it inherited on its descent to the material world, while the physical body must abide by the material laws.
The human body is a microcosmic image of the macrocosmic universe. The macro-microsmic relationship is expressed in the Law of Analogy that maintains, As Above, So Below. This means that the human body, on and by itself, is a miniature universe.
The Human Body and Its Connection with the Cosmic Order.
At the material level, the eight chambers of the human brain are symbolized by the labyrinth. The eighth chamber of the human brain corresponds to the to the Bull of Heaven, while the remaining seven chambers correspond to the seven Pleides or circumpolar stars. At the physical level, the Bull of Heaven corresponds to the zodiac while the remaining Seven Cows correspond to the seven outer planets. The labyrinth was used to bring brain into harmony with the nerve centre of the universe and the eight gods that are symbolized by the Bull and Seven Cows of Heaven as well as the eight spheres of heaven. These consist of the zodiac and the seven outer planets that link the zodiac with the earth and humanity.
In Kemet (ancient Egypt), the youth and children were taught to trace the path of the labyrinth, as part of their mental or intellectual development.
In essence, what is meant here is that there should be a balance between the Mind and the Body. There should be a balance between the Spirit, Thought/Soul and Word. This means that the human personality should be integrated within itself and into the living organism that is the universe because disharmony within the physical causes disharmony within the spiritual world.
In our human bodies we have 7 energy centres called chakras. These energy centres are connected to some of our few celestial bodies (stars), such as the Milky Way, Sirius A, Sirius B, etc.
Such energy comes from these celestial bodies and that is why the Dogon people of Mali, here in Africa, who migrated from Kemet (ancient Egypt) in ancient times, were the first on earth to discover the star Sirius A, in their ancient quest to know who they are, but more importantly, to know how are they connected to cosmic order. Their creation myth, for example, reflects the nuances of cutting-edge scientific cosmology, and finally this scientific knowledge is being recognized universally.
Secondly, all human beings have the Third Eye or Pineal gland that is situated on the forehead, between the two eyes. Some ancient Kemets used to refer to this eye as the Eye of Ra. This gland is connected also to some celestial bodies, including Sirius A star.
The Seven Chakras in Our Bodies and Cycles on the Milky Way
This energy connection between humans and some of the stars provide a channel through which the spirit of our Creator god enters into our inner selves. This is how NTU gets into our inner bodies, with an aim to control and direct us as humans. This should not be surprising because humans, actually come from the star Sirius. Our spiritual nature comes from the star Sirius. That’s why ‘Bu’ stands for our outer material side and ‘Ntu’ stands for our inner spiritual side. The Kemets never made a mistake of separating the ‘ka’ and the ‘ba’, i.e. the body and spirit. When we talk of the element of godliness in ourselves, we actually refer to this.
Each one of us is equipped with an infinitely powerful cosmic antenna in the centre of our brain. This Eye allows us to directly connect to the spirits in the sky. It has the ability to sense light in complete darkness, manifest full colour imagined, and speak to you through emotion or feelings.
Our ancient forefathers (Kemets) worshiped the Sun. In their view all energy and spirit came from the universe, from where it was transferred to the many galaxies including our own Milky Way. From the Milky Way this cosmic energy is transferred to our Sun which in turn distributes it to the solar system of planets, including planet Earth. The Sun is therefore a fitting symbol of the energy and spirit of God. Ancient rulers portrayed themselves as the sons and daughters of the Sun – our most direct and immediate connection with God.
Our ancient forefathers worshiped the Sun as the symbol of the One Spirit of God. They also paid reverence to the many historical demi-gods and heroes of the successive cycles of the great Epochal Ages of time in the cosmos. This system was their systematic history as well as the science of recording climate and great natural events. But more importantly, they were highly connected to the cosmic spirit.
The cycles of the rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy have given us the historical record of the Atlantic-Egyptian generation of the Epochal Gods from the goddess of Night and Ocean, to Uranus, Helios, Thoth, Cronus, Zeus, and Christ. Egyptian-Mosaic tradition contributes to the story of Adam and Eve to this great cycle. Therefore, remember that the 7 chakras centres in our bodies are connected to the Milky Way Galaxy, which means they get their energies from there.
Looking up at the heavens our forefathers perceived order and balance in the harmony of the cosmic cycles which offset the extremes and maximums of the larger more ponderous cycles which in their turn do not permit the quick and shorter ones to run away with themselves in influencing the general climate and daily weather. One could make a broad statement in saying that law originates from examples in the heavens of the annular seasons of the Sun, tempered by the revolutions of the Moon and the Moon’s phases which produce moisture, heat, drought, and cold.
The planets of our solar system accentuate these conditions produced by the Sun and Moon. The Earth herself cycles through changes in the tilt of her axis, the inclination, and the eccentricity of her orbit. Above all these cycles and conditions is the revolution and rotation of our own Milky Way galaxy. Humans live on planet Earth, and therefore, they are affected, and what makes to be more affected is that they are connected to bot planet Earth and the cosmic order. It was goddess Amma who created planet Earth through the PO egg of creation, according to the Dogon.
Infinite wisdom and knowledge is locked inside every human being, but to really experience our third eye potential we must begin to develop and repair the Pineal gland. Repairing this gland, means cleansing our epistemological and ontological behavior, our philosophy of life, etc, by going through a ‘knowledge cleansing laboratory’ institution. Because our knowledges are dirty, we need to clean them by removing the impurities.
What is a Cosmic Order?
One of the teachings of order, transitional from the ancient to the Christian understanding, was a doctrine of Origen of Alexandria (185?–254?) and St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430), that ‘nothing could be out of the order of created things. What seems to us to be evil also exists in the framework of order. So, if there were no hangmen, robbery would fill the earth, and if there were no prostitutes, debauchery would flourish. The origin of evil lies in the free will of the human being, but God uses what is worst in the best possible way. Once evil has been created, God included it in God’s order, which is good as a whole’. Just as a reminder, the two Church Fathers, were authentic Africans from ancient Ethiopia/Nubia area. But they were later promoted as bishops to go and stay in Alexandria which was the capital of the Roman Empire in Africa.
The same Order applies to functions and duties of celestial bodies. It also applies to the Angels, including ancestors. What applies to Heaven also applies to the Earth (Hierarchy and Order – Created Order – God, World, Evil, and Creation – JRank Articles http://science.jrank.org/pages/9621/Hierarchy-Order-Created-Order.html#ixzz51Zz6hhTI).
In short, what was put in place by God, will be there, undisturbed and unchanged forever. And to go against it, is a sin. In isiNguni we say: Okwangunaphakade (perpetual evolution) the Cosmic Law or Umthetho waMvelinqangi/Nkulunkulu (see JK Ngubane; Ubuntu: Philosophy and Practice, 2017).
Therefore, the argument that Ubuntu is not connected to our cosmic order, is totally wrong, and actually reveals how we lack the understanding of our Kematic science and cosmology, and in that sense, I decided to broaden the definition of Ubuntu.
Broadened Definition of Ubuntu
If one is allowed to argue here that this current definition/maxim of Ubuntu: ‘I am because you are, you are because we are’, is simplistic until one fully understands the intricate cosmic connection between human beings and solar system. It is the same thing as saying that we are made in the image of God and we do not delve into its meaning. We have not been able to analyse and critique this maxim properly and fully. The essence of Ubuntu/Maat (Uqobo in my indigenous language) will emerge and be realized when scholars give it its unique and multi-dimensional seriousness it deserves. The path to self-knowledge is a challenge to all those who do research on human personality.
Ubuntu, in reality, is a universal divine law that is connected to cosmic order and nature. As a result it easily resonates with the IKS (Indigenous Knowledge Systems) because IKS is embedded in nature and cosmic order, for nature and cosmic order are one, hence As above, So below. This resonates with the ancestral spirits, who are connected to the cosmic order, nature and human beings, and to ignore this is to lose the significance of Ubuntu. But more importantly, they are also connected to our indigenous knowledge systems. Therefore, they are ubiquitous or omnipresent and omniscient. One of the duties of our ancestral spirits is to foster and promote Ubuntu within the living (those left behind), relatives and the entire community, as God’s angels. The living are deeply connected to the departed ones.
This broadened definition reveals the connection between the Cosmic Order and nature, between human beings and the Cosmic nature, and between human beings and nature. In short, humans everywhere are an integral part of the Cosmic Order and nature. I am talking here about human beings, not just only Afrikans.
Therefore, NTU, the creator goddess of divinity/spirituality is equivalent to Neith (an ancient Egyptian version of Ubuntu, otherwise, in present day and age, known as MAAT). It is also equal to PO (an egg of creation), which is both a Dogon and Maori equivalent of NTU. This on its own, represents an element of universality of NTU, rather an exclusively African concept.
Ntu is the divine being. Humanity is One. Ntu is a divine spark. It is the Word of God Ptah. It manifests itself to Higher Beings. The universe is One. And humanity is one of its integral parts. Ubuntu is the glue that holds humanity and the various parts of the universe together (how does it do that?). The human personality (Ubuntu) is a spiritual and material being.
Conclusion
The racist claim that Ubuntu is primitive, archaic and non-universal needs to be rejected with the contempt it deserves. This is one of the ways to silence and relegate African epistemologies to barbarian and primitive margins.
Africa faces the challenges of racism, sexism, patriarchy, tribalism, and religious intolerance. These are vices that create conflicts and negate social cohesion, nation-building, and economic development. Africans also has to deal with the added burden of imported religions that have been adapted to justify slavery, colonialism, and the superiority of one race over others.
The ever attempted negation of Ubuntu philosophy is an attempt to thwart an African project of self-discovery and African Renaissance. It is a strategy to thwart African self-knowledge programme, with an aim to perpetuate coloniality/modernity, which embraces the logic of oppression and exploitation.
Currently the knowledge we are consuming simultaneously, as Africans, is a combination of both African and European epistemologies, which leaves us all, including the generations to come, confused and half empty. We end up not consuming properly what is ours, and not consuming properly what is foreign, and as such we do not fully know any of the two combined epistemologies, hence we have become neither fish nor foul.
The principal challenge is to sift what is exogenous from what is indigenous, for if we do not do that, an ‘other thought’ (which is African) is ever trapped in modernity/coloniality, which ever seeks to destroy what is African/Third World. Modernity puts everything in one highway that is being patrolled and guarded by gate-keepers, making sure that ‘other thoughts’ do not cross the borders and contaminate what is theirs. African indigenous knowledges, right now, do not cross such borders, and as such, they are ever relegated and museumized by the colonialist gate-keepers. The rightful owners of such trapped and diluted indigenous knowledges, Ubuntu included, as a consequence, lose their identity and pride in themselves.
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