Ignorance, the bane of life

This column is unwilling to get drawn into endless political discourse week after week. Politics which man has deviced for himself as a vehicle of service has become an instrument of unedifying struggle for power, for place hunting, personal aggrandizement, for renowned and kindred ephemeralities as well as the attendant hate and viciousness. The objective of the column is to humbly point to a higher and more sublime goal, which goal is higher than politics, economy and even religion. We must ask ourselves, what is the nature of politics in the higher Realms? What is the religion in Paradise? Is it Christianity or Islam? Let us ask ourselves. Yet there, it is ceaseless worshipful adoration of the Creator in boundless gratitude for His goodness that permits us existence and to bask in the radiance of the splendour and inconceivable beauty of His Kingdom. We are told that up there every look, every step, every movement, every breath and every activity is worship. The tone of those activities is what came down to this earth and was received by those gifted as:

“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty. Early morning, our song shall rise to Thee; Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons blessed Trinity…Only Thou art holy: there is none beside Thee, Perfect in power, love, and purity.”

Have we not heard it said, “As Above so below?” In other words, our task as mankind is to do as it is done in Heaven, and build a replica of Paradise here on earth.

The atmosphere today is foggy and stressful, and overwhelmingly so. The rapidity with which events have moved and their forebodement can’t but force columnists to speak up. The political and economic situations only serve as manifestations of deviation from and adjustment to higher goal. That goal is the lawfulness of life and lawfulness in Creation in which lie harmony, peace and prosperity of a people, nay the whole people of the world.

Scarcely is it realised that this is not the only plane of existence in Creation in which human beings can be found. And, indeed, in the light of higher knowledge made available to mankind on earth today, the earth wanderers referred to as human beings are in truth not yet human beings. We are only striving to become human beings which is the purport of our sojourn in this vale of matter. Becoming human beings is the goal, it is the destination. If we don’t know the goal, it follows that we cannot strive to attain it. Since many a man cannot invite himself into a contemplation of the purpose of life and existence, he does not give a dam how he lives his life, what he does and what he leaves undone and the consequences of his activities on him, his environment and his neighbours.

Hardly can one find a person in this country today who does not complain about the state of affairs in the land. If it is not about the economy, it will be about politics over which he is gravely apprehensive or the social fibre that is disintegrating. And we have not asked ourselves if peace and harmony characterise what life is elsewhere, why have they eluded us? We ought to ask how life is lived elsewhere that they bask in the radiance of love, joy, and happiness, peace and harmony. Yet the Creator’s plan for us is that we should know joy and happiness. If we do not experience this state of being, it is no evidence of defectiveness of the plan but of our failure to chart the course meant for us.

We learn that the amount of tension and dedication to emptiness worldwide is symptomatic of a diseased humanity, completely ignorant of its tasks and goal in life, of human beings who are disagreeable guests in Creation, who are outlaws despite innumerable helps they have been blessed with from On High over millennia. We are told in the knowledge made available on earth today that human beings are being looked at from On High for hundreds of years but worse today, as outlaws and the earth as an asylum where nothing is right and nothing is regarded as sacred any more. The Servants of the Most High in the Light Realms are perplexed over how human beings are working so hard and excitedly at the destruction and ruin of the world through lawlessness, vanity, boastfulness and arrogant ignorance. So is it that the picture is beautifully rendered in the scriptures: Men have reached the zenith of their wisdom and are moving about like drunkards. Yet they cannot move the mechanisms of life, the mechanisms with which the Creator governs His Creation for adamantine are the Laws.

The following was sent to me during the week showing the state in which the global economy is being enmeshed because of disobedience to the Laws of the Creator:

Captioned: “UK inflation surged to 9.00 per cent at a 40-year high” the report reads: “In April, inflation in the United Kingdom surged to its highest rate since 1982 (representing a 40-year high), as it increased to 9.00% (from 7.00% in March. The Russian-Ukraine crisis continues to have a negative impact on energy prices thus; the price of electricity, gas and other fuels exerted the most pressure on the consumer price index in the month. Core inflation rate rose to 6.20% (from 5.70% in March) while food inflation ticked up to 6.70% (vs. 5.9% in March, 2022).

“In a move to counter weak loan demand caused by a property slump and COVID lockdowns, the People Bank of China cuts its prime loan interest rate on long-term loans by bps to 4.45% from 4.6%. This is expected to result in lower mortgage cost, boost housing and stimulate the ailing housing market. The decision to cut rates also comes amid rising COVID-19 cases and expectations for slower economic growth in the country.

“Following the ban placed on the export of crude Palm Oil (CPO) from the Indonesian market in late April, the country’s government decided to lift the ban on the exportation of the product. This came amidst protests against the ban and reports of overfilled warehouses of the products. Thus, we expect a gradual decline in the price of the commodity in coming weeks. This also alleviates some concerns around a looming food crisis and higher inflation given the significance of CPO as a raw material for other products.”

In what is described as Global Markets, the report covering the United States, Africa with particular reference to South Africa and Nigeria, further states that inflationary pressures affect global equities market. Zeroing in on the United States, it states “The U.S. equities ended on a bearish sentiment amid rising fear about recession and inflationary pressures as the market declined during the week. Major indices, including S&P500 (-3.00%WoW), NASDAQ (-3.80% WoW) and DJA (-2.90% WoW), closed in the negative region representing a seven-week long loss. The sentiment was similar with the European market as the STOXX600 (-0.55%), FTSE100 (-0.24%) and DAX (-0.33%) all closed negative.

To curb cross-border payment South Africa is seeking to create a digital rand which could cut the costs of cross-border payments in the coming years. “According to World Bank, it costs an estimate of 13% to remit money from South Africa to other countries and about 6.2% to send money to South Africa. Coming to Nigeria, the report says:

“Nigeria’s inflation continues its upward trend in April 2022. According to data released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s headline inflation increased to 16.82% in the month of April (vs. 15.92% in March 2022). The increase represents an eight-month consecutive increase since August 2021 (17.01%).” The rise was shown in both food index and core inflation. The food index, for example, shot up to 18.37% last month, that is April as against 17.20% the previous month of March. The report states that the inflationary waves were driven by the surge in the prices of staples such as cereals, bread, yams and oils “among many others. The core inflation sub-index recorded an uptick to 14.18% in April 2022 (vs 13.91% in March) primarily driven by prices of fuel, gas, and clothing among many others.

The Russian-Ukraine war is blamed for the rise of inflation. It is seen, according to the global report to be a major factor, contributing to the surge in the global food prices which is limiting agricultural supplies alongside with disruption of oil supplies is the trigger to the rise in energy prices. Of course the Nigerian Equities Market is not spared. The equities market reversed its bullish run from the previous weeks, according to the report which goes on to state that All-Share index declined by 0.23% WoW to 52,979 .96 pts. “The Year-to-Date return declined to 24.03% WoW.”

What I am getting at with all this, with even the foregoing, is that for as long as man violates the Natural Laws which anchor the Will of the Most High, for so long will human affairs continue to deteriorate, depending on the nature of what is involved, some perhaps imperceptibly, many suddenly and dramatically. What are the helps mankind have been afforded from the beginning of their sojourn on earth? I have written twice on the chains of helpers, the Prophets and Teachers of Mankind which the Almighty God has sent to teach how man on earth is to live in pursuit of his spiritual development that leads from unconsciousness to consciousness and self-consciousness, the latter being a measure to qualify everyone for ticket to return Home in paradise.

Chaos, confusion, ugliness and, in fact, wars have not always been the features of life on earth. Human beings in their early childhood days, we learn, were simple and cooperated with the Laws of the Creator. They were simple and natural. They willingly heeded the Laws and were grateful for all the help and resulting blessings they received from the Light Realm. They awakened more and more and grew in the longing for the Light. With the link forged with the On High, they received wisdom and beauty ensued with the earth blossoming into a garden that formed an image of the Heavenly Home that is Paradise. The planet earth was positioned by the lightness of the unburdened souls inhabiting it in such a way that it received what was described as fresh and daily heavenly dews. They were bathed in melodies from Paradise.

What would they have smelt other than the enrapturing sweetness of goings-on in Paradise? We are told their strings resounded more fully and their song grew into a melody with longing. Then Darkness fell and the raging beautiful longing for Paradise grew fainter and weaker and the singing had died away. Acrimony ensued; discord began. Thus began the journey of man in the wilderness and all helps for rescue were of no avail. They were thrown away. When Prophets and Teachers and later the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ were sent to train man and redirect his course, teach him how to think, speak and act, no sooner they left than mankind formed religions around their teachings. The intention was to preserve and propagate the Truths they brought. But the pure teachings were distorted, misinterpreted and embellished as all and sundry led by priestly establishment inputted their own ideas. The distortion led to unpardonable and boastful ignorance that all kinds of evils are perpetrated as we witness these times in the name of religion.
NEXT WEEK: TO BE CONCLUDED.