[Im The Truth]

The Significance of The Spiritual Component And It's Role In African Liberation



The fact that African people are innately Spiritual beings does not depend upon scholarly nor public acceptance for validation of its legitimacy. The Spirituality of African people can easily be verified by observing the social interaction of Africans around the world, with themselves as well as with outsiders, throughout the course of history. As African people, we have demonstrated a tendency to respond to circumstances that impact our immediate lives within the context of a personal understanding of the Creator's Natural Law of Universal Order. Simply stated, this Law mandates that the entire Creation coexist to ensure Balance throughout the universe. To ensure Balance there must first be Harmony throughout Creation, and Harmony is possible only when Truth, Justice, and Righteousness prevails.

When considering the issue of Spirituality, it is important to note that we are dealing specifically with an individual's personal relationship with the Creator. Spirituality may encompass the doctrines and teachings of a particular religion if an individual chooses to relate to the Creator in such fashion, but Spirituality is not necessarily limited to the narrow definitions of any particular religious concept. The understanding of the Creator as a Spiritual entity that created all and gave to us all a single Truth is the primary pre-requisite for a mutual understanding and respect for individual religious philosophies. Philosophy, by definition, is the logical study of knowledge. Knowledge implies an awareness of the Truth, but Truth is subjected to an individual's personal interpretation which is based on his/her past experiences and historical perception of reality. These dynamics ultimately shape the understanding of everyone and will inevitably produce different religions and/or philosophies that relate to an understanding of the Creator and/or Creation. This analysis would suggest that no particular religion or "system of beliefs" is necessarily more correct than another since they all are ultimately based on an individual's interpretation of Truth. It also suggests that each belief system has legitimacy since each provides a structure for the evolution of one's Spiritual being. The Creator, with infinite Wisdom, is solely qualified to judge individual beliefs, not based on religious or philosophical preference, but on the conviction of each individual attempting to uphold the Righteous principles of the Law.

Because of the Spiritual conviction of African people, the importance of Spirituality cannot and must not be overlooked during the struggle for African liberation. The single most commonly made mistake among Pan-Africanists and/or Materialists is to relegate the Spiritual component of the African masses to a realm of meta-physical absurdity, and deny it its legitimate place among the history of the survival of African people throughout the world. The fact that someone may be capable of gaining Spiritual strength from his/her religious beliefs can only be viewed as an asset in struggling against the forces of European hegemony and domination. The extent to which a movement can progress may be determined by the individuals who make up the collective, but the leadership of that collective in particular is what determines the overall Spiritual dimension of the movement. As the movement progresses along a Righteous path based upon Righteous principles it will assert its own Spiritual personality, but the leadership must first direct it along that path. A movement's Spiritual personality is what offers the guidance that is necessary to maintain the momentum of forward progress and add to its collective strength. Spiritual strength is what sustains a movement during its moments of low productivity and when it is confronted with seemingly indomitable opposition.

Historically, Spirituality has not only sustained African people during times of extreme hardship, but has also helped to propel African "genius" to an unprecedented level of understanding concerning the workings of the universe. In ancient Kemet [Egypt], several thousand years before the recorded birth of Christ, Africans were looking inward at their Spiritual self and finding answers to perplexing questions of the Universal Order. Africans advanced the field of science in areas that "modern" scientists have yet to understand or duplicate. The scientific achievements were possible in part because of the wholistic viewpoint with which the Africans approached Creation. Most scholars agree that the Africans made no attempt to separate the complexities of an inter-dependent Universal Order. The Africans understood that it was science that gave birth to religion, and that an adequate understanding of self with respect to the Creator was impossible without an adequate understanding of science. Unlike the Western influenced thought that dominates most of the world's learning institutions today and attempt to explain all phenomena in isolation, the Africans of antiquity understood the necessity of coexistence between all of Creation because they were much closer in their attempt at achieving Spiritual Harmony with the Creation. Even in more recent times, persons of African ancestry continue to make remarkable contributions to modern science under very limiting circumstances. From the invention of the traffic light to the first successful "open heart" surgery, African people are still utilizing the African genius which is grounded in the Spiritual concept of the Creator's Law to move mankind forward.

Throughout the history of existence of African people, a pattern of Spiritual fortification is evident and consistent. To abandon our Spirituality is to invite moral degradation of the Just principles that the struggle for African liberation are founded upon. The struggle for African liberation must be rooted in Justice and Righteousness, which implies a Spiritual base, before it can expect to assume legitimacy in the collective mindset of African people. A collective mindset is an inseparable component of Pan-Africanism. The liberation of all African people hinges upon accomplishing the objective of Pan-Africanism. The ideology of Pan-Africanism has within it the capacity to advance all of humanity and in the process bring about true world Peace. True Peace must be predicated on Justice for all beings so that the entire Creation will have the opportunity to coexist in Harmony and bring the universe back to its natural state of Balance. Perhaps, as we struggle to transform all humanity in this world we know as Earth, we will then be able to return the universe to its natural Order as ordained by the Creator.

Originally submitted by the Pan-African Panther Party