Ela ‘boru. Ela ‘boye. Ela ‘bosise.
What does it mean to fulfill our sacred vow, pledge or promise? What is the true meaning and essence of initiation? By fulfilling our sacred vows, pledge and promises ones receives honor, authority, worthiness and ever increasing divine power. The essence of vow power is truth and truthfulness. By truthfulness and integrity one becomes imbued with honor. From this honor, ones confidence, inner powers and faith grows and manifests in ones thoughts, words and actions. All learned persons, thinkers, sages, seers and great men of spiritual power have praised the grandeur of truth. Truth is more than an ideal or concept! Truth is a divine, living, self-aware dynamic power and active intelligence.
- Does not Ifa say the truth is the character of Olodumare?
- Does not Ifa say that truth is the invisible power which guides, develops and protects the creation?
- Does not Ifa say that truth is the Great and Wise Oluwo in heaven governing, ruling and guiding all things?
- Does not Ifa say that truth is the word (ultimate reality that is stable, reliable and dependable) that never wanes or changes?
- Does not Ifa say that truth is the indestructible word and knowledge that Olodumare applies?
Great is the glory and limitless the power of truth. Truth is a living energy, power and intelligence. Truth is the cloth from which all things are made. True religion is truth. When one lives in the truth. one has and enjoys good conscience, long-life, health and an illuminated and empowered intelligence. Truthful behavior is the supreme ebo. Irunmole relentlessly pursue, honor, serve and bless the person established in truth. The entire world is based on truth. Truth is the supreme power which cannot be overturned, hindered and/or obstructed. We are one with the truth through fulfilling the directives of truth i.e. by fulfilling our divine vows, pledge and promises before Olodumare, which we made at the time prior to or during initiation into the sacred mysteries. The entire world is based on truth. In no field, whether social, economic, political or educational is progress possible without truthful conduct and fulfillment of ones promises and responsibilities. Truth is so gentle that it does not hurt the one who embraces it but truth can also be so penetrating and hard that it can bore through a rock if it needs to, so it can reveal and fulfill itself.
Only truth is victorious. One of the most secret, confidential, profound, and deepest teachings of Orunmila is that mankind’s union with Olodumare is achieved ONLY with TRUTHFUL CONDUCT and TRUTH FILLED CONSCIENCE. When we are joined to Olodumare by truth and truthful conduct. Though adherence to truth we become powerful, resilient, progressive and we cannot be conquered, hindered, obstructed or overturned by anything or anyone. Who does not like to have true mystical power? Who does not like to have affluence, charisma and charm? Who does not like to have authority? Who does not like to have the power of penetrating divine insight and divine vision. If we want to get to the center of ALL POWERS, we first of all, have to have a true, intense and fiery desire to know, receive and assimilate the truth and imbue our lives with it. We have to worship the truth and must with enthusiasm be willing to exert ourselves hard and diligently to practice it and give up all petty and secondary matters.
The sublime, pure and divine personalities like Ela, Obatala, Orunmila and Edan are intimately related to truth and are peculiarly bound to truth and to the dissemination of truth, its powers and benefits. They are entities made of the great energy, power and intelligence called TRUTH. These divine personages of great dignity, authority and power are always searching the earth to find qualified men and woman to initiate into the divine truth. When these Irunmole of truth perceive that people sincerely long to know the truth of life, they appear and teach them according to their capacities, peculiar affinities, disposition and unique temperaments. When people outgrow their spiritual immaturity and have entered into spiritual maturity they develop seeking spirit and long to realize their divine humanity. Ela, Orunmila, Obatala and Edan perceiving this longing spirit they respond.
Our Ori is the receiver, recipient and communicator of the truth, ase and power imparted by Irunmole. But if the the seeking spirit and spiritual longing of people is still weak and lacking in seriousness and sincerity then they do no manifest themselves to such people neither do they entrust their great secrets, teachings and powers to such ones but they will continue to guide, develop and nurture the spiritual longings of people of this caliber, and little by little will rear them to maturity. One can achieve truth only when the heart and mind becomes restless and is burning with the desire for knowing, understanding, assimilating and achieving the truth, the real truth and not conventional truth. To achieve this one most begin by living a life of good conscience and sincerity. One must be a keeper and doer of ones word. With this preparatory foundation one must undergo spiritual initiation. One must possess a generous spirit and one must have confidence and faith in the truth that one has received, is receiving and has been initiated into. What does it mean in its truest spiritual, esoteric or mystical purport to make a sacred vow, pledge, commitment or promise? This means to willingly give up bad tendencies and adopt good qualities through ones own initiative, free-will and motivation. This means that this obligation is not imposed from without but is one that one freely accepts as an expression of ones personal inner longing, will, determination, desire and decision. This means freeing oneself from unwholesome activities and adopting good qualities. One does this not for the purpose of conforming to social pressures. Neither does one do it to fulfill the expectations of others neither does one do it to maintain appearances! We do it because this is what we want, desire, yearn and long for more than any other thing. We do this willingly of our own free will and accord, so as develop, improve and perfect our conduct, thinking and manner of dealing with others. We do this to generate good resolve for the purposes of adopting a life that is clean, pure, high and great. Let us fulfill our special vows, promises and pledges that we made before Ifa, Edan, Egungun etc. Let us fulfill the vows made to our spouses, employers and community leaders.
Let us take and fulfill the pledge of giving up our addictions and let us excel in noble conduct and behavior. Let us take the pledge of helping others and serving our country. By undertaking such vows and fulfilling them our lives will be uplifted. If we cannot be people who can fulfill our words, commitments, obligations and responsibilities then by no means can we qualify and aspire for true spiritual initiation! Our willingness and commitment to sincerely fulfill our obligation, pledge and duty must precede any initiation because this is the requisite and foundational requirement and necessary mental-spiritual attitude. This attitude and disposition is what qualifies us and makes us worthy of initiation into any of the divine mysteries, schools and powers of truth. True initiation, and not merely formal initiation, means entry into the domain and rule of the divine powers powers who only allow direct contact and entry into their mysteries to those who share and have their affinities, values, aims and qualities. Initiation means to enter into the realm of refinement. Ones previous noble qualifications combined with empowered initiation gives one access to and the privilege to reach the court of truth. By staying in the court of truth with loving, wise and empowered people of proven noble character one develops morally and spiritually with rapidity and with ease. To be initiated means to make conscious, deliberate and direct contact with the divine energies, powers and intelligences. It means to be filled with the divine and living energies and to live by following its guidance, illuminating power and ennobling influence. One can experience and be initiated directly, personally by the divine intelligences and powers when the longing in ones heart is great and one is sincere. One can also be initiated through the instrumentality of other people. For the initiation conducted through the instrumentality of other people to be fruitful, legitimate, successful, effective and truly empowering the level and quality of divine life of the initiators or facilitators of the divine current and power, must be at a high and consistent moral, ethical and spiritual level. There is no power or energy they can be communicated to anyone by mere external theatrical performance of rite, ceremony and/or ritual alone. But when the lives of the initiators are in moral-ethical-spiritual harmony with the truth and the powers and divine intelligences of the divine realm then rite, ceremony and ritual become efficacious, legitimate and powerful means to initiate and empower aspirants with true light, divine power and supramundane intelligence. You cannot offer and bestow to another what you yourself do not have and are lacking. So, undergoing, participating in and experiencing an external and rote performance of rite, ceremony and ritual does not constitute in and of itself true initiation. There are many people who have undergone such formal initiations who yet remain unenlightned and who are yet morally and spiritually impotent. Their lives are disorderly and in shambles and they wonder why. The above explanations give the reasons for this. Divine illumination, intelligence and supramundane power can be communicated to others through rite, ritual and ceremony only if the one conducting is a qualified and illuminated, intelligent and empowered person and if the person petitioning for initiation has the basic qualifying truthful qualities bonded with fervent sincerity and interest. But mere external theatrical rites, rituals and ceremony’s cannot produce or generate divine life neither can it precipitate the descent and manifestation of divine power, intelligence and illumination. Divine power manifests and initiation occurs only when the moral-spiritual conditions and requirements established by divine law and divine intelligences are met and satisfied. Ceremony, rite and ritual is only a tool, a means. By undergoing such an authentic initiation we progress steadily, with ease, joy and naturalness. We enjoy the peace, joy and fulfillment of living according to the truth, our spiritual affinities and we benefit by getting the experience of our fellow, sincere and genuine initiates. In this atmosphere one can develop the God-powers within and use them wisely, advantageously and beneficially.
Together with initiation and the keeping off or fulfilling of our SACRED VOWS follows generosity or the spirit that likes to give, share and serve. This attitude perfects our training and we experience a great welling up of wholesome self-confidence, intense joy and self-esteem because we can feel our inner spiritual power is alive, active and is growing! We have certainty and assurance that we can and will persevere on the path and that we will achieve our purpose. From these experiences and understandings true faith is aroused in us and empowers us with such confidence, authority, optimism and inner sweetness. Having this we make speedy progress and all past difficulties get swept away from our path and destroyed. And all of this originates from the divine power and intelligence that is truth (otito). Sincere and truthful conduct is the spiritual power and life of our character and spirit. Sincere and truthful conduct is the bond that joins, bonds and unites us with the divine powers, energies and intelligences. Sincere, truthful and persevering noble conduct activates and nurtures our interior divine powers and faculties. May this teaching be carried deeply into our heart, mind and life by the authority and power of Ela Omo Osin Asiwaju and the skillfulness of Orunmila Oba Atayese.
Ela ‘boru. Ela ‘boye. Ela ‘bosise.
