By Abdu Rafiu
Predictably, there have been torrents of reactions to this column published last week captioned Awujale and Funeral Rites. Some of the responses wondered why Oba Sikiru Adetona submitted himself to be crowned King if he was not prepared to abide by the tradition and custom attendant to the throne. It was therefore suggested that henceforth any Prince that may aspire to ascend the coveted throne but is not prepared to embrace the tradition and custom demanded of him should simply bury his ambition and keep away. One typical reaction, for example, reads in part: “He held the stool in trust, truth be told. Before his emergence as king in 1958 was the tradition. After him, long will live the tradition. He overstated his powers in my calculation. Societies are sustained by myths. In our society, the sanity of our collective being is woven around the king, among others. The myth that maketh a king transmute to the pantheon of gods was ridiculously opened in the marketplace by Oba Adetona in the interview. Lesson: Those that cannot uphold the tradition should never be allowed near it.”
In the history of mankind, man has always looked up to someone as leader. Some are made or appointed leaders; some naturally emerge leaders while some could bulldoze their way and make themselves leaders. In all fields of human endeavours, there have always been leaders in one form or the other.
In the ordinance of the Creator, leaders are meant to lead their brethren to the next level of development. They ensconce them in love and care. They emerge in different circumstances. They appear in order to protect. A leader is expected to be imbued with wisdom and courage and is expected to see far.
Over millennia, leaders have been known to fall below expectation or indeed fail outright. Those that were found wanting lived with rebellion that brought them down.There was an era of the Divine Right of Kings and the doctrine still endures in many parts of the world. In the Middle East with particular reference to Saudi Arabia, Kings govern. In Nigeria, you hear it often said that it is the Creator that enthrones a ruler or a king and for that reason they are regarded as His lieutenants and to Him alone they are accountable. Reverence is paid to him on that account.
In Egypt of old, the Pharaohs claimed linkage with the gods the same claim Emperors made in Rome after Constantine converted to Christianity. The existence of monarchs believed to have been ordained and so given authority by God Almighty Father was widespread in Europe from 16th to the 18th centuries. The idea was believed to have developed in Mesopotamia where some of the kings in succession regarded themselves as Divine. That birthed the doctrine which then became known as the Divine Right of Kings. The kings were regarded as deities who received their authority directly from the Almighty Creator. This aligned with the Christiaan clear recognition and firm belief that all authority comes from our Maker. Consequently, the kings ruled unchallenged. In England, the star exponent of the Divine Right of Kings was King James 1 (1603-1625). The doctrine and practice, however, fell out of favour with time and with what was known as the French Revolution when the French rose to get rid of their king. He was killed and replaced with his daughter and her daughter as rulers.
Then came the Glorious Revolution in England between 1688 and 1689 under the rulership of James 11. As the doctrine waned, people began to press for social contract between the ruler and the ruled. With this ensued the replacement of monarchical rule of the Middle Ages with democracy.
This got cemented as enlightenment spread.But then, is it conceivable that the Almighty Creator of all the worlds would send human beings down to this vale of matter, that is down to this earth and would not assign to them leaders and design how they are to be governed? As I have said in this column about thrice now: Leaders are born, not made; sent and not electable. The sent leaders are linked in a chain to the high Spiritual Sphere, Light Region and are guided through the chain each in accordance with the level of development of the people to whom they are sent, and in accordance with their needs to lead them to the next level in their development, in their recognition that the journey of man is spiritual, and the destination in his wanderings through life and existence is spiritual.
How compatible therefore are the practices called tradition, and with the gaze and attainment of the goals to reach the spiritual destination?
Man is spirit and his home is Above called Spiritual Realm more referred to as Paradise. He is to awaken and recognise the purpose of his sojourn on earth which is to recognize the Will of His Maker and abide by It whether in thought, speech or deeds. The Will is expressed in His Laws, the obedience of which and the grappling with material influences assailing him bring polish and ennoblement to the spirit.
Our primary task is to recognize these Laws. We learn in higher knowledge available on earth today that the Laws remain the same in great as well as in small things. The spirit takes on the human form and becomes self-conscious, what he lacked when he existed as no more than spirit germs, if you like spirit residues after those Created in the Image of God and who had no need of a school; they have been perfect from the beginning.
It is that perfection entailing the unfolding of virtues we are after upon our own request to be able to enter and inhabit Paradise, swinging in joyful activities and partake of the splendour and beauty that define the Realm.
In the early beginning of the sojourn on earth, the elemental beings were the teachers and guides of our forebears. Because they were close to Nature, they were able to perceive and see them in loyal and perfect service to the Most High. So perfect and helpful was their support that man regarded them as gods. They marvelled for example at the height and beauty of certain species of Gnomes whose heads touch the clouds. They built the mountains and hills and maintain them. They dissolve or re-arrange any of the parts and they maintain them The Elves taught them when the seasons change, when to plant and when to harvest. Therefore, in different cultures there are Harvest Festivals in grateful thankfulness for their help. In the West and the East, the Yam Festival is in August.
The Guardian
