From The Ramparts

                                               From The Ramparts

                                             Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                                      What If?

            What would happen if we actually lived our lives according to the tenants of the world's great religions? At their core they all express and stress similar values and perspectives on human relationships. On a very practical level what many refer to as the "Golden Rule" is espoused by every major religion and most all cultural traditions. In ancient times indigenous/aboriginal people realized cooperation and good interpersonal relations were better than conflict and competition, that an harmonious collectivist survival mode was more efficient than a selfish individualistic way of living.

            Our African ancestors developed the concept and virtues of "reciprocity"  which have stood the test of time for millennia. Even the West admits Africans along the Nile developed the world's first practical system of ethics called Ma'at and several tenants were subsequently appropriated and spread around the world. In articulating the concept and philosophy of  Ma'at our African ancestors recognized the holistic interconnectedness and interdependence of:  Divine Order, Harmony, Balance, Truth, Justice, Righteousness and Reciprocity in societal relationships both personal and collective. They said "As above so below" and they recognized the primacy of the CREATOR in the creative process and recognized man's divine nature and wished to replicate DIVINE ORDER here on Earth among mankind. Perhaps this is why ancient Kemet recorded thousands of years of relative peace, prosperity and stability.

            Thousands of years after our African ancestors articulated their cosmology and philosophies, the historical Hebrews consolidated the Forty-Two Declarations of Innocence formulated by our African ancestors, reduced them to The Ten Commandants and substituted the personal affirmation and declarations of a virtuous lifestyle with commandments against certain acts and behaviors. When the early Christian Church fathers formulated their doctrines they absorbed the Ten Commandants as part of their historiography and theological foundation.

            One of the core tenants of Ma'at was the concept of reciprocity. Reciprocity from an African perspective means the solemn duty and obligation to others, doing good in such a way as to generate similar empathy, conduct and interactions that employ all the other tenants of Ma'at: Harmony, Truth, Justice, Balance and Propriety. Reciprocity was an ongoing daily application of good character, good conduct, mutual respect and assistance. Out of the African concept of Ma'at which includes reciprocity came the notion of the Law of Reciprocity which Western metaphysicians define as, "the Universal Law that states that whatever is sent out into the cosmos, what modern day science refers to as 'The Unified Field'... 'The Infinite Field Of Potentiality', in the way of energy or vibration through the resonance of your thoughts, emotions and actions, will manifest outcomes in the physical world... physical outcomes that unfold in your life based on whatever is given or broadcast out through those thoughts, emotions and actions." http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/law-of-reciprocity.html

            Rooted deep within the Golden Rule is a profound understanding of how the UNIVERSE works on spiritual and temporal levels. Unfortunately we have lost respect for this ancient wisdom, values and virtues. Today the ruling class through the institutions they've created and control like religion, the government, mass media, trade and commerce etc promote values that are antithetical to those ancient values. Today what our African ancestors called Isfet (the polar opposite of Ma'at) is promoted: disorder, discord, deceit, exploitation, wickedness and selfish absorption.

            But what if we went back to the ancient virtues of Ma'at and practiced them on a daily basis, how would our lives be different? What if we promoted them in our institutions and media? What if we decided to live our lives in accordance with the Golden Rule, what if our thoughts, words, deeds and interactions were based upon truth, harmony, justice, rectitude, balance, reciprocity and a deep sense of social obligation? Do you think our families, neighborhoods and world would be better off? Food for thought.

                                                -30-