A Journey to the Roots of Rastafari
The Essene Nazarite Link
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CCHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE ESSENES Were the thoughts of Plato and Socrates, the beliefs of Christianity and Judaism not harmonized with Hindu Philosophy: were Yoga and its previous stages not exposed to Western thought; had Western religion and philosophy not been exposed to the philosophy and religion of the East ... how much the poorer would human thought have been! Since nobody can interfere in the realm of God, we should tolerate and live side by side with those of other faiths. In the mystic traditions of the different religions, we have a remarkable unity of spirit. Whatever religion we may profess, we are spiritual kinsmen. While the different religions in their historic form bind us to limited groups and militate against the development of loyalty to the world community, the mystics have already stood for the fellowship of humanity...in harmony with the spirit of the mystics of ages gone by. No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the ways of God. However wise or however mighty a person may be, he is like a ship without a rudder if he is without God. —H.I.M. Haile Sellassie I8 8 H.I.M. is an acronym for His and/or Her Imperial Majesties, used for the Emperor and Empress of Ethipia. Haile Sellassie I was the last Emperor of Ethiopia and ruled Ethiopia in that office from 1930-1974. Introduction to the Essenes 1 The Essenes of All Ages Existence as we know it is a cycle, a constant evolutionary process with no break. There are peak moments in this sequence, such as the expression of the Mashiakh in the material realm, which represent paradigm shifts. In some cultures individuals who embody such shifts are called Avatars or Buddhas. These mystic manifestations enrich our lives still today, and shape the history of the world, as in the case of the order of the Essenes. There is evidence that all religions preceding Rastafari contributed to the unfolding of the Essene cycle, and share responsibility for where it has led today. Life has been happening according to a plan of cause and effect that has been continuously unfolding from before the beginning of time, and is the reservoir of universal wisdom that gave Yahowshua, an Essene prophet, the authority to declare that before Abraham was, I AM.9 This dynamic universal teaching from beyond the distant past, which is timeless in its application and ageless in its wisdom, has benefited humanity as a standard by which to live in Divine consciousness. It is the theological blueprint upon which the Hamitic, Shemitic and Kushitic kingdoms were built, and traces of it can be found in Egyptian hieroglyphs within the heart of the pyramids dating back some eight to ten thousand years. Many of the elemental symbols, such as those for the sun, moon, air, water and other natural forces, are from an even earlier age, the Atlantean civilization, which preceded the cataclysm that ended the predominately Kemetic period. It is unknown for how many thousands of years this teaching existed previous to that. But we do know that its traditions are present with us today, via the sages and mystics who have 9 I AM is the Old Testament name of God revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai, Exodus 3:13-14. It signifies that God is presence. 2 A Journey to the Roots of Rastafari lived throughout the ages. Many are credited with contributing to this mystic practice of the Essenes, but the name of Enoch surfaces as the cornerstone of the Essenes' ancient Hebraic monotheistic order. Enoch Enoch, whose Hebrew name means initiator, founder or teacher, is declared in the Bible to have been the first prophet, seven generations from Adam.10 He is the one to whom all the mysteries were revealed. His revelations gave birth to the concepts of the Tree of Life, astronomy, angelology, the promise of the Mashiakh, and the imminent clash of good and evil forces classically known as the apocalypse.11 Enoch handed these teachings down to his children: And now, my children, I know all things, for this is from the Lord's lips, and this my eyes have seen from beginning to end. I know all things, and have written all things into books, the heavens and their end, and their plenitude, and all the armies and their marchings. The Secrets of Enoch ch. 40, vv. 1, 2 The Book of Enoch was virtually unknown to Europe for nearly a thousand years. James Bruce discovered it in Ethiopia and brought three copies, written in Ge'ez, home to Scotland in 1773. 10 Genesis 5:1-24 11 "Apocalypse" has come to refer to the end time or "eschaton," in many religions a cosmic war between good and evil preceding a day of judgment, like the one depicted in the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John the Divine in the New Testament. Introduction to the Essenes 3 He wrote: Amongst the articles I consigned at the library at Paris, was a very beautiful and magnificent copy of the prophecies of Enoch, in large quarto; another is amongst the books of Scripture, which I brought home, standing immediately before the Book of Job, which is its proper place in the Abyssinian Canon; and a third copy I have presented to the Bodleian Library at Oxford by the hands of Dr. Douglas, the Bishop of Carlisle. by James Bruce, Travels, vol. ii, quoted by Richard Laurence in his edition of Enoch p. xiv James Bruce was a Scottish explorer, scholar and writer, and a Freemason. He was said to be from the lesser aristocracy, of the Kinnaird family, from which he inherited enough of a fortune to facilitate his passion for overseas journeys. He traveled to Ethiopia in 1768 in search, he said, of the source of the Blue Nile. However, this was a mere façade covering up his hidden agenda of finding out what became of the Ark of the Covenant. Over a period of seven years he managed to carry out a meticulous study, documented in his journals, of the faith of the Falashas,12 a group of mysterious Ethiopian Jews. During this period he also discovered some very rare and ancient Ethiopian manuscripts, namely the Kebra Negast and the Book of Enoch. These books James Bruce literally stole from amongst the royal treasures at Gondar and brought back to Europe. Yet the priceless manuscript of the Book of Enoch, destined to reveal the forgotten source of many Christian dogmas and mysteries, rested in obscurity for over half a century more, until revealed to the world in 1821 through an English translation by Dr. 12 Falasha, meaning Wanderer, is the term commonly used for the Ethiopian Jews. It is a misno- mer. These people prefer to be called Beta Israel, Amharic for House of Israel. 4 A Journey to the Roots of Rastafari 
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Ethiopia accepted Christianity as her sovereign faith after being a Judaic nation for centuries before Christ. Her political seat being the Throne of David makes this event uniquely significant in that Judaism as a religion or as a nation had no existing empire. By this, we mean that after the destruction of Jerusalem in 588 BC and the dispersion of the Israelites, the Jews, as a nation, were unable to reconstruct an independent state anywhere in the world except for the empire established in Ethiopia. Therefore, Ethiopia represented the only nation to have made such a transition from Judaism to Christianity. When one makes a thorough study of the traditions of the biblical Jewish nation, one will understand that a Jewish nation could not be reestablished without the Throne and seed of King David. Therefore, Israel as a place remains to be the fragmented ruins of a past flourishing Jewish state. The Roman invasion and occupation of Jerusalem created an atmosphere of tension and political unrest that continued and subsequently led to the destruction of this once glorious city, which used to house the Ark of the Covenant. All this occurred before the birth of Christ, who was to be the major element in the events that were to lead to a New Way.
About the Author
An African Jamaican male with a feminist perspective, Abba Yahudah is a conscious visionary heart brother who is deeply committed to the rebirth of the Goddess and who expresses a deep empathy for the suffering of black women but also the larger pain of the collective body of African people. The African diaspora, Ethiopianism, symbolism, and the Rastafarian experience inspire his art and writings. While he ultimately believes in the unity of all spiritual traditions, as a Jamaican who couldn’t escape the Catholic and Baptist missionaries, he was highly influenced by Christianity. However, he could be considered a gnostic Rastafarian in the sense that he has retained the jewels of truth in Christianity but has radically dissected the false patriarchal ideologies that subjugate the feminine principle. He prefers to take history all the way back to the lands of Ethiopia, where humanity originated from the primordial womb of the Mother.