Rasta within a Universal context.

RASTAFARI - A UNIVERSAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE 3RD MILLENIUM

ISAIAH 43. v.3

For I am the Lord thy JAH, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him and her for my glory, I have formed him and her; yea I have made him and her.

In the monograph "I SIGHT, THE WORLD OF RASTAFARI: An Interpretative Sociological Account of Rastafarian Ethics1, by Jack A Johnson-Hill, the statement was made that:

"... the ethnographic research on Rastafari has failed to account for the persistence, revolutionary character and popularity of the movement. Whether viewed as a cult, an instance of ambivalent routinization, or as a state-specific consciousness, it is difficult to understand why Rastafari continues to thrive in its third generation.

"Because of the tendency to view Rastafari as a cultural aberration... there is a failure to grasp the broader social ethical implications of the movement as a catalyst for radical social change. It is difficult to reconcile the presumed insularity of the movement, with its grass roots base and increasingly popular appeal in a multi-racial, pluralistic society."

I thought this quote an appropriate one to make at the opening of this event, as it correctly describes current efforts to discover the meaning of Rastafari for world critique and the reasons why Rastafari has become a Universal Philosophy for the 3rd Millenium - the title and sub-title of this very conference.

My own journey into Rastafari is a good example of the kind of universal trod which has led many like me to become Rasta converts. I lived in London's Swinging Sixties, when youth power of music of the Beatles, Bob Dylan and others created a social consciousness which led to the Flower Power, Anti-War era. Hindu enlightenment and Zen consciousness was articulated by the same groups that supported the militant Black Liberation movements which announced that Black is beautiful.

Into this life of highly elevated global spiritual consciousness came the message of Rastafari via the first Jamaican feature film, THE HARDER THEY COME. The Rastafari theme of the film impressed me deeply, because it seemed to embody all the Eastern mystical teachings I had been absorbing, into a new Black way of regarding the Judaeo-Christian Bible and ways of worship.

It was a potent mix, easily and eagerly absorbed by me - constantly on the search for the true meaning of life. I had been working as a TV news reporter in a very racist British city, where I was constantly jeered with slurs about Black inferiority. From being unable to answer questions such as: "If Black people are so great, how come they have never painted a Mona Lisa?", I learned about the great Black civilizations of Egypt, Zimbabwe, Mali and Songhai, Timboctoo, Sudan, Zululand and of course, of Ethiopia - oldest Christian nation in the world.

With Rastafari, I was reborn with a new way of looking at life, with a new education that enabled me to see not only a cultural equality, but a spiritual uniqueness which could be worked for and attained. With Rastafari there was a clear plan for daily life which was not only new and different, but made enormous sense.

It was an education of Black liberation - liberation from racism, poverty, from the constant pain of ever being a stranger in strange lands, of being ever second class in a predominantly white world. Instead, Rastafari enabled a positive Black consciousness with a God of our own.

What a comfort that God of our own was, and is, and has been! To believe in JAH RASTAFARI ... to transform your mental space to the point where you look to this new deity ... pray to a new form of God ... act in new religious way ... is quite an intellectual leap of faith.

Yet, when you have questioned yourself enough and finally accepted the truth you want to accept, then the first miracle in the name of JAH RASTAFARI occurs in your life, and you heave a sigh of relief that you were not wrong or crazy. Then you press on with living a life of LOVE, PERFECT LOVE.

Yes, you see .... The secret of Rastafari's universal philosophy is LOVE. The word is LOVE. Rastafari made the word LOVE new, changed it from being a word to describe lustful emotion, and re-made it into a word which means God. Godly actions. Godly thoughts. Godly hopes and dreams.

LOVE became a way of life, rather than a self-centered, personal activity. Love was living and being a Christ. If Selassie I could do it, then I&I were inspired to follow his example.

Rastafari drew converts like moths to a flame. They loved the dietary habits, the dress code, the natural, non-material lifestyle and the new way of worshiping the Creator. It was an Eden philosophy, bred in a tropical Paradise of turquoise beaches and rainforest mountains, where grew the wisdom weed for relaxation and medication. In the garden of Eden, LOVE was the greatest message.

And in the Garden of Eden, LOVE was put to the greatest test. Rastafari, masters of their own Black history of slave and slave-master, were tested to see whether they could obey the Christly teaching to LOVE Thy Enemy. Could Rasta forgive the white man enough to LOVE a white person, to make a blue-eyed, blonde friend? Over and over again Rasta was put to the test, and over and over again RASTA passed that test.

Why? What could make Rasta overlook the pain and anger he felt as he learned the truths of his origin and history and the destructive role the European has played in his present condition?

The example Rasta looked to, and used as a soothing reminder, was the action of His Imperial Majesty who -- after successfully ending the Italian invasion of Ethiopia - commanded his people to forget about recrimination and revenge and work instead to re-build Ethiopia. This Christly example of Emperor Selassie I provided yet another reason to respect and worship the teachings of His Majesty.

So as Rasta passed the LOVE test, visitors from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas sought our Rastafari to learn more about the intriguing message of PEACE and LOVE. Thus began the universal spread of the Rasta message. The message made contact with good-hearted people around the world, who saw in the call for human rights and justice echoes of the needs of their own societies.

Rasta music - reggae - became the rebel music of Soweto, Zimbabwe, Namibia. Rasta music helped bring down the Berlin Wall, and Rasta music celebrated the capture of Sloban Milosevich. Japanese youths wear dreadlocks, and a Maori Rasta sits in New Zealand's Parliament.

Rasta's hero, Bob Marley, is an international superstar 20 years after his death. His album "Exodus" was voted Album of the Century by TIME Magazine and "One Love" voted Song of the Century by the BBC at the end of the millennium.

It is true to say that Rasta has become a new world religion, a true NEW WORLD ORDER. It is appropriate that Rasta is an African-centered religion, since the world now accepts the fact that we are ALL "out of Africa".

With the rise of modern Rastafarianism, the trend seems set to continue and grow larger. From early Rastafari beginnings among barely-educated men living in monastery-like encampments far from civilization, Rastas of the second and especially third generation are well-educated, self-employed and ambitious. Those Rastas especially in the music industry who not only have access to modern technology, but also some wealth, are the key to the continued spread of Rasta consciousness. They take the music to the far corners of the world, and along with it, the message.

Having spread its message of PEACE & LOVE around the world, Rastafari has now become a most important global catalyst for social change. Wherever Rastafari is, in whatever country, in whatever social situation, Rastafari is always the peacemaker, always at the center of positive change that transcends political, social, racial and economic boundaries. Using the bridge of music, Rastafari enters into situations and creates happiness.

This propensity for creating happiness across racial boundaries, is what continues to give Rastafari its universal appeal. Wherever I am in the world, I can always be certain that people will smile and say hello to me, JUST BECAUSE I am a Rasta and to them that means something GOOD.

The time has come now for the world to unite around the issue of a fair deal to help erase the great human wrong of African enslavement. Reparations is necessary to restore Africa. Can Africa be restored from its wars, its diseases, its economic and political troubles? I say YES, because there exists a large, strong army of Africans in the Diaspora who are united by their Rastafari consciousness for the re-building of Africa. And there is ALSO a large strong army of Rasta-hearted people of all colours and races, who are eager to lend a hand in this work of rebuilding.

So give us the tools and let us work. We want to replace the Black American ghetto culture, the cocaine culture, the AIDS culture, and the gold and diamond culture, with a healing of Africa's sores.

We have only one medicine: PEACE and LOVE, the Rastafari prescription for the healing of the nations. I&I will continue to chant this message till Human Rights and Justice bring JAH Kingdom come on earth, so as it is in ZION!!

BLESSED, PERFECT LOVE.