TODAY’S TEACHING FROM THE GOSPEL OF ORUNMILA

TOPIC: BENEFIT OF IMITATING ORISA

Imitation is said to be a limitation, but to every rules, there is an exemption. One of those exemptions is imitation of Orisa. When Orisa’s are imitated, one will find it easy to live a worthy and edifying life on earth. Orisa are the mirror of divine reality in Olodumare, and when imitated, they serve as the key that unlock one into divine blessing and favour on earth.

How does one imitate Orisa? It is teachable and learnable. ODU EJI-OGBE says,

Teach me to cast, that I might know how to cast

Teach me to appease, that I might know how to appease

Teach me to sacrifice, that I might know how to sacrifice.

It’s in the realization of the above verse of IFA; I decided to bring this subject matter to us as students in the school of life. We all desires to make greater exploit on earth, but who is our role model, who are we imitating? Imitation of any other person does not give assurance of success in life, and in short, it’s a limitation, but that of Orisa has more than a thousand percentages of assurances.

It is important we know that initiation into IFA and Orisa is not enough, but living your life after the order of Orisa is the only thing that can guarantee your success in the tradition.

The above view was corroborated in ODU IWORI-OTURUPON when it asserts that;

Iwori jaaraja

Oturupon joorojo                                                                                        

Divined for Atinulahun,

The biological child of Agbonniregun

That was born,

And start imitating IFA

Life pleases him/her.

Brethren, you have been born into IFA and Orisa tradition, and Orunmila have become your father likewise other Orisa have becomes your father and mother. It is important you live your life after the order of their teachings and dictate, if you want life to please you at all. Ire ooo

Aboru aboye ooo.

TODAY'S TEACHING FROM THE GOSPEL OF ORUNMILA.

TOPIC: PATIENCE
Ifa says, we should enjoy life patiently,
without being in haste to be wealthy.
We should be contented with whatever God grant to us.
Many of our mate are lamenting they lacks what we have.

The above IFA verse capture the primary essence of this write up. The desire to make it in life and become important and influential personalities has derailed the glory of human race. Many atimes that we struggle and strive to get what we do not deserve, without considering the negative effect on ourselves and the people around us. There is more to life than living extravagant lifestyle. Money and material possession cannot give us joy, because whoever loves money than necessary, hardly feel fulfilled in life. There is nothing that is better than living a happy and fulfilled life in comfort, without pressure and fear of unknown.
This view was corroborated by ODU IFA IROSUN that says;
Do not be in haste to enjoy life,
An initiate in the house of Alara.
Do not use impatient to become a chief,
An initiate in the hill of Ijero.
There is after life,
That is very sweet,
Just like one is licking honey.
Brethren, live a good life, and serve humanity in love and truth. Then, Olodumare will meet your needs, instead of struggling and striving to get what you do not deserve in life. Ire oooo.

TODAY'S TEACHING FROM THE GOSPEL OF ORUNMILA

TOPIC: WISDOM
The world over, wisdom has been discovered to be the principal thing, and lack of it has destroyed many people. Some of the wealthy and known public figures of yesterday, are now worthless today with various degree of psychological problems, while many hard working poors still remain at their level of pauperization. This is not because they deserve to be suffering, but they are suffering for lack of wisdom.
Then, what is WISDOM? Professor S.H.O Tomori(1988) defines wisdom as the practical application of knowledge. This definition shows that wisdom is mental power that is better than strength. IFA further corroborates the above definition when it asserts in ODU EJI-OGBE that;
The weak makes a living throught their innate wisdom,
While the fools lacks how to manage their own affairs.
At this point, it is important we know that the brains don't lie in the head, and consultation is not, and cannot be a substitute to thinking- the source of wisdom.
For example, some people are very good in dry cleaning/laundry service, but lacks knowledge on how to bill their clients profitably. You cannot consult IFA to bill your client, its left to your mental or bargaining power. Wealth is not a respecter of strength, but wisdom. If wealth is made on the basis of strenth work that people get engaged in, the Hausa Fulani would have constitute 50 of the richest people in the world, but strength don't bring wealth. It's wisdom that does.
If anyone is lacking in wisdom, it is learnable, and the desire to seek for wisdom is a greater level of wisdom on its own. It's in the realization of this truth that IFA teaches us that;
Great wisdom,
Is the pathway to great wisdom,
If we lacks great wisdom,
We can't learn great medicine.
If we don't learn great medicine,
We can't heal serious illness,
If we don't heal serious illness,
We can't earn great wealth,
If we don't earn great wealth,
We can't do great things.
From the above teachings, it is the believe of the writer, he had succeeded in teaching you the importance of Wisdom to IFA and Orisa devotee, and humanity at large. Seek for wisdom now, because a wise man change his mind, while a fool will never.
May we all receive the blessing and favour of Olodumare through different Orisa today and forever. Ase! Ire ooooo

DESTINY; THE THOUGHT OF HUMAN RACE AND THE REALITY IN IFA

“she is an old wife that wats her weird.”-----Dictionary of proverbs

INTRODUCTION

The thoughts of The Yoruba race is that the world is a market place, but the kind of business transaction we came to perform in the world individually and collectively remains a mystery that could only be explained by The Source of Existence through its Divine medium. The reality of humanity's mission on earth is encoded in the mystery of destiny, but not many understand its significance because of shared ignorance and religious dogmatism. To understand one’s mission on earth is the supreme key that opens one to the mystical kingdom of living a fulfilled life as a king in one’s heart as ordained by God. Hence, the popular saying “Man know thyself” which will lead us to the question of what destiny is all about and its reality in IFA.

DESTINY AND THE THOUGHTS OF THE HUMAN RACE.

The concept of destiny, which is alternatively regarded as ‘fate’ has been one of the most controversial subject matter among diverse groups of people. Many believe in the cause of destiny, while many are against it, believing that we are the architect of our own good and bad experience in life. Wikipedia sees it “as a predetermined cause of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.” The Great Divine Holy Order of the third Era, Iponri Lagos (2011), sees it as “the divine work or task mission that a soul must perform in his earthly sojourn. This is what man establishes for himself before coming to the earth and stamped in the heavenly throne for execution to the glory of God.” This definition shows that destiny is heavenly manipulation and not subjected to earthly wishes. To many Christians, destiny is good and favorable experience of life, relying on the biblical verse that says, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, and plans to bring about the future you hope for.” (JEREMIAH 29:11). While many Muslims align with the Quranic explanation of destiny when it opines that “whatever of good reaches you,is from Allah, but whatever evil befalls you, is from yourself.” (Quran 4:79) The above Christianic and Islamic explanation sees destiny as whatever that favors humanity, while those that is not favorable are not part, which is nothing but fallacy. It is important that we appreciate that God allows some things that seems evil to us to happen that his name may be glorify through such occurrences. Hindu spiritual leader once postulated that “Our destiny determines who we are, what we achieve, what we suffer, what we feel. Everything happens according to our destiny. We can't escape from what we have to face in life, no matter how hard we try to escape.” This view shows that human destiny is all encompassing, as we are the ones that categorized everything as evil, while good and evil are relative.

THE REALITY IN IFA.

IFA is not just the truth, but it mirrors the reality of human experience on earth, which constitutes what is referred to as destiny. The Yoruba race of the ancient time knows about the potency of destiny, and that necessitate the reason they make inquiry and research into the destiny of a new born baby, which is called “Akosejaye”. This is done to ascertain the mission of this new soul and what may be detrimental to accomplish this mission. It is important we know that destiny cannot be eradicated or suppressed, but it can be delayed or amended by God, due to human actions or attack by adversaries. It is in the reality of Orunmila capacity to mediate on ones behalf for amendment of destiny and not change that necessitate his appellation as The Mender of unfortunate's destiny (Atu ori eni ti o sunwon se). The verses of IFA that Ayo Salami quoted from Wande Abimbola reveals the reality of human destiny on earth, but we are all just striving when it asserts the following;

"Had it been that all dead Beings were buried in coffins, Iroko trees in the forests would have gone into extinction.

Cast divination for Hundred of Beings,

Hundred of Beings were coming from the city of heaven to the Earth

Had it been that all dead Beings were buried in coffins Iroko trees in the forests would have gone into extinction

Cast divination for ‘struggling and striving’

Struggling and striving were coming from heaven to earth

We are only struggling

 All of us

We are striving

Those that are destined to be exceedingly rich are not many

We are only struggling

 All of us

We are only striving

Not all of us are destined to have good woman as wives" etc.

 CONCLUSION

The desire of man to amass every earthly things caused us to see destiny through the lenses of what is good to us alone, forgetting that what seems right to us could be wrong to God and vice versa. Having critically explained destiny in a precise and concise manner, it is the belief of the writer that he had succeeded in enlightening the potential readers that destiny is heavenly ordained, and it can only be mended, and not changed, just as it can only be delayed, but cannot be denied.

OLODUMARE; THE MEANING OF A NAME, REALITY OF A BEING

INTRODUCTION
The name of a being is the mirror of its existence and personality. The meaning to be given to a name is subject to the exposure and understanding of its interpreter. The supreme force that create existence and all that exist in nature means different things to different people at different nations of the world.
The Jew regards it as ‘YHWH’, which was interpreted to mean “I AM THAT I AM”-whatever you called me I am, while Arabs refer to it as ‘ALLAH’. Yoruba race as an important element in Africa state regard it as ‘OLODUMARE’. Hence, what does the name ‘Olodumare’ means and what is the reality of its being?
OLODUMARE
Though, the name ‘Olodumare’ has been generally accepted to be making reference to God- the creator of all that exist in existence and time. This popular opinion aligns with A Dictionary of Yoruba Language (2010), that see’s ‘Olodumare’ as a “Almighty, the self-existent Being, God.” But, it’s more than just a creator to a cultural Yoruba person.
The etymology of the name has been given diverse perceptions, some are funny, and some are discouraging while the reality is not known to many. According to Awo Falokun, in his facebook update, he opines that “Olodumare is from the elision Olo-Odu-Osumare. The word Olo means owner or the source. The word Odu means womb or portal, and Osumare is a reference to the spirit of the rainbow. We can further analyze the word Osumare by breaking it down into the elision Osun ma ire meaning Osun is the source of my good fortune”
The explanation of the etymology meaning given by Awo falokun is nothing, but absolute misconception. Olodumare is the creator of everything that exists, including all Orisa. So, Osun cannot be the source of it fortune, because she is also a creature of all encompassing Olodumare, while Osumare has nothing to do with the name ‘Olodumare’. Babalawo pele Obasa Obanifa also thread the line of Awo Falokun, but differ in the sense that he sees Olodumare as coined from Olo-Odu-Omo-Are, suggesting that Olodumare was given birth to, which does not capture the reality as well.
However, based on the exposure and understanding of the writer, Olodumare has it etymology from Olo/Oni-owner, Odu-mystery as once explained by Kareem Yusuf Adetola on “Oduduwa; who is he and what does the name implies?”, mo-know, Are-a stranger, which lead us to Olodumare as the possessor of mystery that create and understand earthly strangers (human being) more than they know themselves. This conceptual and etymology meaning of the name align with the popular believes of Yoruba that we are a stranger in the world. It was also corroborated by Solagbade Popoola as quoted by Eny Tosyn when he postulated based on the teaching of Okaran Oworin that says “Olodumare is the universal spirit in the world. If you must fully understand it, then you must first understand all the animals, human being, plants, trees, leaves, and other creature he made in the world.”
THE REALITY OF A BEING
According to Babalawo pele Obasa Obanifa, “Olodumare in yoruba spirituality is monotheistic. There is only only one God and that is Olodumare.” Unlike Orisa, there is no temple or image through which he can be appreciated directly for its manifestation in human life. Hence, its favour and blessing is appreciated through the hierarchy of ranks and division of power in thanks and praise. This is the reason Ifa says on many occasion, after what human being desires has be fulfilled, they will thanks the Babalawo, and the Babalawo will thank Orunmila/IFA, while Orunmila will gives all praise to Olodumare.
The reality of this being or forces that create existence is that it’s a mystery that no man can comprehend in entirety and remain normal. It on this reality that ODU OKARAN OWORIN as Solagbade Popoola put it , but quoted by Eny Tosyn says that “---to understand Olodumare, then you must first understand all the animals, human being, plants, trees, leaves, and other creature he made in the world.” Then, who can understand a goat in entirety? Talk less of human being and his entire creature at a go. We can only know its nature based on whatever it reveals to us through its servants.
The above ODU was corroborated by ODU OSA-OTURA that says;
Ao ki n ridi Okun
Ao ki n ridi Osa
Ao ki n ridi Olodumare.
We cannot comprehend the deepness of Sea
We cannot comprehend the deepness of ocean
We cannot comprehend the deepness of Olodumare
CONCLUSION
The wisdom of Olodumare is universal, but residents in those that do not only love it and its wisdom alone, but search for it sincerely with love. Having explained the etymological meaning of the name ‘Olodumare’ and the reality of its being, it’s the believe of the writer that he has been able to educate the potential readers that Olodumare does not just means God in Yoruba language, it’s something beyond just a creator.
Written: Kareem Yusuf Adetola.

UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY OF HANDS IN YORUBALAND.

"Knowledge is power"------Anonymous.

 INTRODUCTION
The above quote capture the primary essence of this write up, which was further corroborated in the words of Professor Niyi Osundare when he opines that "a mind that knows, is the mind that is free". This invariably means that knowledge is the power that sets humanity free from the chain od ignorance and retrogressive thoughts. Generally speaking, many Nigerians and Yoruba in particular favours the usage of one hand to the other, out of shared ignorance that one hand is good, and the other is bad. This misconception was taken too far by most parents and teachers that beat their children or students over the use of a particular hand for eating, writing, and other related things. The positioning of a hand in the body does not bestowed on it, a favourable or bad disposition. Its all subjected to cultural colouration of different tribe, ethic groups and race, which has continue to degenerate into an issue of public concern. The mystery of left and right hand is what the writer intend to explore and illuminate the mind of the potential readers with, since Yoruba words of wisdom says that "atelewo eni kii ntan eni je- one cannot be deceived by his or her own hands."

YORUBA AND THE HANDS
Yoruba is not just an ethnic nationality, but a race with superb and sophisticated culture, norms and value systems, which reflect in all their doings, in which their spiritual perception about hands is not an exemption. Though, the yoruba has a very high regard for one hand over the other based on their spiritual denotation to those hands, and not that one is bad and the other is good. This is precisely captured in many of their words of wisdom that says, one cannot be deceived by its own hands, and also its one's hand that one will use to receive good tidings without any categorization of the left over the right and vice versa.

 LEFT HAND
This is popularly called "owo osi" in Yoruba Language, which does not mean hand of misfortune, but left hand, while the spiritualist regard it as owo alafia-hand of peace. This is because it is not the hand that Yoruba wariors normally use to collect their staff of office, and its not a protective hand. This is evident in yoruba words of wisdom that says, "bi aba fi owo otun ba omo wi, ao fi ti osi faa mora"- meaning, if we punish a child with the right hand, it is important we show him or her love, by drawing her close with the left hand. This same hand, is also used in collecting spiritual work from a spiritual leader, which can then be transfered to the right hands. Which signifies peaceful hand over of things from one person to the other. It is pertinent we appreciate that this same hand of peace is what Ogboni, secret cults, and other societies with secrets use in greeting one another. Even, traditional chiefs. It has even been proven that left handed student are mostly intelligents.

 RIGHT HAND
This is the hand that Yoruba regarded as "owo otun". It signfies justice and retaliation. In the traditional yoruba political settings, the "Otun Oba" I.e the right hand chief is not even expected to be a cool headed person. Its usually a position for a frank and just person. This is the reason the Yoruba warriors receives their staff of with the right hand. Even, in the modern time, a guy is expected to keep his girl friend at his left hand side, while the right will be for prorecting her. However, if one collect a charm or spiritual medicine with the right hand, it will still work. The spiritual leader might just insist on the left hand to be sure you are receiving it with peace of mind and love.

 CONCLUSION
Having critically examine the use of left and hand right in the eye of Yoruba's, it is crystal clear that the use of the left hand is not in anyway inferior to the right hand, its all a subject of cultural influence, and spiritual denotations.

Written: Kareem Yusuf Adetola.

BEING BORN AGAIN ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS OF ORUNMILA

According to Prophet Orunmila in ODU Ifa Otura irete. He says, If you are born, you get born again.
Orunmila teaches us in that verse of Ifa that we can't get back to our mothers womb to be reborn, but we can do that by knowing moderation.
When asked about who knows moderation? He said, a person that knows moderation will do the followings;
1. The person that knows moderation will not steal.
2. S/he will not drink palm wine(excess)
3. S/He will not kill.
4. S/he will not back bite.
5. S/he will not drink alcoho(excess)
6. S/he will have a source of livelihood.
7. S/he will not lie
8. S/he won't spend all cash in their possession at a go.
9.S/he will not betray friends and all other good behaviour that epitomize Omoluabi, while s/he will endeavour to always do self appraisal of previous day, so that the mistakes of yesterday will not repeat itself.
Are you born again? Try to do that now.

UNDERSTANDING THE FALLACY OF HUMAN SACRIFICE IN “ORISA BIBO”

“There is no blindness like ignorance”---Dictionary of Proverbs

INTRODUCTION

Sacrifice is an important element in every religion. It’s an act that is undertaken to receive from the throne of grace. This sacrifice is either given to fellow human being or terrestrial being to feed upon or possibly one’s time for the benefit of oneself or others. The sacrifices given to Orisa in the form of food cannot be an exemption. Lack of understanding about the kind of sacrifice that is offered to Orisa to feed upon has been misconstrued by many in ignorance as human sacrifice in “Orisa bibo”. This misconception is what the writer intends to precisely and concisely explained for the enlightenment of all lovers of Yoruba culture and tradition, since profound ignorance inspired dogmatic tones, which must be avoided in this century. Hence, does Orisa accept human sacrifice?

ORISA BIBO

The concept, “Orisa bibo”, means nothing special, but to feed Orisa. Why feed Orisa? Orisa are human being that once lived on earth, and eat what we also eat as servant of God on earth. So, as a race that takes everything naturally spiritual, and spiritually natural, we entertain or feed Orisa with their individual favorite delicacies while on earth. For example, Orunmila favours pound yam, with melon soup, fish, rat etc, while Ogun , Sango, Obatala etc have their own.

The food that is offer to Orisa is to entertain and honour them, while invoking their name and presence to receive something from Olodumare(God). It should be noted that the food might not necessarily be eaten by the Orisa themselves, but will sometimes serves as food to birds of the air, animals or extra terrestrial being. This view was corroborated by Ayo Salami when he opined that if one feed a group of people in a particular community; the prayer of such people for one will surely be answered, coupled with the fact that mouth is also metaphorically regarded as Orisa. It should be noted that during the time of Orisa on earth, every sacrifice is offered to God to get his favour, and not to themselves.

ORISA AND HUMAN SACRIFICE

Reading through IFA and listening to different IFA scholars, there are no single verses where Orunmila or any Orisa requires for human sacrifice. This is a concept that is absolutely strange to the tradition of Orisa. Orisa are feed with normal human food in rat, goat, hen, dog, pound yam etc, and not blood of human being. Ogun lakaaye is usually feed with dog/blood of dog and not human blood. Since the act is strange to IFA and Orisa, any one that does that offered such sacrifice to demon and not Orisa.

HUMAN THAT ARE OFFERED TO OGUN IN THE ANCIENT TIME

Ogun as an important Orisa in Yorubaland has never required for human sacrifice at any point in time, but in the ancient time, whenever an unknown spirit is disturbing the peace of a community, the Oro cult will decide to carry out spiritual cleansing by ordering every living being to stay indoor while they undertake their role for the good of the society. Most of the time, each household will be required to put akoko leaves at the entrance of their houses to deter the spirit from entering such houses for a cover. If any human being is caught outside within the period of that spiritual cleansing with “Oro” is taking place, such a person will be taken to the king palace for verdict. If the king is visibly angry that his order was not followed by his own subject, he might order such a person execution to Ogun shrine, and if such a person is favoured, he will be taken to Oro grove to die their or possibly find his way to another community. This action is usually taken to prevent the spirit that is being sent out of community from coming back through a human being as a veil. No Orisa demanded for such, and Ifa has warned against such in whatever situation.

CONCLUSION

Having critically examines the concept of “Orisa BiBO”, and what different Orisa are feed with as a means to an end , and not an end in themselves, it is the believe of the writer that he had succeeded in enlightening the lovers of Yoruba culture and Orisa tradition about the fallacy that surrounded that noble religion of worshipping Olodumare through Orisa.

OKO; THE FARM AND THE REALITIES OF A CONCEPT

“Owe l’eshin oro, oro l’eshin owe. Bi oro ba sonu, owe ni ao fi wa- proverb is the rhetorical horse upon which words travel, and if there is a lost of meaning to a word, its through proverbs we will get it.”------------------Yoruba Proverb.

INTRODUCTION

Language is a system of communication or medium of interaction within a community or a particular group of people with the use of words or related means.

Yoruba Language is one of the endangered languages as postulated by UNESCO, which are likely to go the way of Latin, Aramaic and co. The situation is getting worse on a daily basis, not because of lack of its usage by its native speakers alone, but the meaning of its words, terms and concepts are being eroded by the over-bearing influence of foreign Languages i.e English Language in particular.

The over-bearing influence of English-Language and its sub-standard called pidgin English is affecting people’s understanding of Yoruba Language terms, in which “OKO” is a very important element. This lost of meaning and usage is what the writer intends to address within the limit of his understanding.

“OKO” AND THE POPULAR OPINION

Generally speaking, the popular mindsets of many Yoruba and lovers of Yoruba-Language the world over, is that the concept “OKO” means Farm. This particular view was corroborated by a Dictionary of Yoruba Language (2009), when it asserts that

‘OKO’ is “a farm, plantation.”

This definition of “OKO” as a farm or plantation might seems correct, but not absolutely, due to the realities of its usage in Yoruba-Language, and in IFA- the encyclopedia of Yoruba body of knowledge.

THE REALITIES OF A CONCEPT “OKO”

The meaning and traditional usage of ‘OKO’ in IFA corpus goes beyond the dictionary meaning and the popular opinion. In the ancient time, Yoruba uses ‘OKO’ not only to mean farm, but a place where one can put down money, time, seed or any other things to get something he or she desires. In different verses of IFA, a prospective client would be said to have get one or two things together, and go to “OKO ALAWO”. The said ‘OKO ALAWO’ used in IFA is not a farm, but house of an IFA priest, because it requires putting down money just as one will plant a seed in the farm to get the necessary information from the priest. It is important we know that “OKO OWO” is the basis of Yoruba concept of “OKOWO” which means act of trading in a particular place, while some people can venture in what the Yoruba sees as “OKO AGBARO”-this does not mean one is cutting grass for people that wants to cultivate, but normally goes out to where he or she can help people to cut grasses for whatever reasons. It should be noted that in the ancient time, people also engage in dry cleaning services, that they normally do at the bank of a stream or river within the community, which is called “OKO AGBAFO”.

CONCLUSION

The understanding of a usage of a language terms and concept determines the proficiency of the speakers, and the sustainability of the Language in the committee of Languages. Having, critically examined the usage of the concept “oko”, it’s of the view of the writer that the potential readers and  native speakers will see the meaning of the term or concept beyond the popular opinion or usage.

Kareem Yusuf Adetola