By Abdu Rafiu
We are in the age we can gauge fairly well the mood of people in different parts of the world. The modern man is blessed with all manner of technological tools with which he can survey the world and measure the heartbeat of nations and peoples. What with television, what with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Podcast; X, or do I say alias twitter of old! There is Google, there is Wikipedia, and there is Website—all manner of digital portals such as WhatsApp, SMS; the age-old and radio is there, the ubiquitous television otherwise called the idiot box at the time of the beginning has become an addiction as a result of what media scholars call its visual power and power of immediacy—all in general what we have now come to know constitute social media, all the electronics media that made The Economist magazine to state in a cover story years back at the emergence of the technological wonders of this age that the Globe is wired. Nothing can be hidden anymore.
And of course, the Print. When one talks about the Print, the mind races to both Popular and the Quality. Leading the pack of the latter are The Old ‘Gray Lady’, The New York Times, and the Thunderer, The Times of London that boasts that it speaks for Britain. Those that go by the definition of Quality newspapers also called serious newspapers are generally referred to as newspapers of record. Their authoritativeness marks them out as such. The Times of India, the largest circulating English-language newspaper in the world, is also referred to as The Old Lady. The point I am making is that the world today is bombarded with information from more than a surfeit of news channels and platforms.
With a little discernment, the state of world can be clearly read and the direction humanity are headed: The Armageddon which is beaming its dark rays in the horizon. The section of mankind which is concerned about the troubling developments hold themselves in bated breath, a condition being made worse by the stalemate in the discussions in Islamabad to elevate truce to reassuring peace in the most combustible region of the world today, the Middle East.
The combined forces of the United States and Israel have engaged in war with Iran to obliterate it from the world map or at the least bring it down on its knee, determined in particular to destroy its nuclear power capability. The U.S. President, Donald Trump, is trotting about cocky like peacock and arrogantly with absolute disregards to personal consequences, here and in the Beyond as if he brought all nations into existence and he can do away with any according to his mood and, or at the least provocation, convinced of the invincibility of the American armoury and its matchless airpower.
Analysts say he cannot get his ground troops to embark on the invasion of Iran because of the hills and mountains in Iran. Even in air attacks, there is surprising resistance by Iran according to the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
Many in different parts of the world have embarked on supplications to the Most High to soften the hearts of the war mongers. From time immemorial, man upon recognising that there are invisible powers, there are gods and there are goddesses and as he develops and after coming in contact with Prophets and Teachers of Mankind, has come to the conviction of the existence of the All-Highest God.
In times of affliction, in periods perplexities and hopelessness; in times of wars, pestilence, plaques, famine, storms or floods, peoples as individuals, as groups or as nations turn their gaze upwards to the Throne of Grace, to the Creator of all and all the worlds, for solutions to personal problems or deliverance from national calamities. There is proclivity to kneeling down in contrite spirits and seeking the intervention of our Creator.
In some cases, in no time, there is lamentation among people that despite prayers, the world is in doldrums. Individuals wonder why their prayers are not answered. The perilous period gets elongated. There is panic. Patience runs out and man tries to seek other ways out! What is the secret of prayers? Churches are flooded and so are mosques? Is it character or is it purity of heart that are demanded to have our prayers answered?
Louis Odion, veteran journalist, a public intellectual and one-time Commissioner for Information in Edo State, paid glowing tribute to a woman for her philosophy of life when she passed away in 2022, aged 90. Odion said of Mrs. Jadesola Ibidapo, also a chief and I quote Odion: “There is no stone, she would often philosophize, that patience cannot cook into an edible.”
Is it then patience that is the problem because many claim they have character and they are pure at heart? All the attributes are demanded from us. We must also approach the Throne of Grace in humility. As it is obvious that man has reached the ends of his wits, are there other circumstances, therefore, under which a prayer may be answered and seeking humanity may receive help?
Abd-ru-shin says in His ever-unique Work, “In the Light of Truth”, The Grail Message: “…I wish to fill the gaps which have so far always remained unanswered in the souls of men, and which never leave any serious thinker in peace, if he honestly seeks for the Truth.”
Since prayers is one of the perplexities of life, it must stand to reason that we seek answers form His Work. Yes, on the question of seeking help by way of prayers? Why are prayers answered for some and they are not answered for many? A great many ends up unsuccessful? Where has man always gone wrong? Writing on “Omnipotence”, Abd-ru-shin says, and I wish to quote from the Work generously:
“God is omnipotent! Children are taught this even at school! To those who still believe in God at all this is so familiar and so self-evident that they do not consider it necessary to ponder seriously as to whether they really know what they are saying with these words.
“But if an explanation is demanded as to how they picture this, then their wisdom immediately fails them and they themselves recognise that, after all, the word “omnipotent” as such does not hold the knowledge as to its real significance.
“Men indeed have the word, but not the understanding of it! And that, after all, is the main point in everything. Even knowledge is of no avail where understanding is lacking. Man knows the meaning of the term “omnipresent”, but to know the meaning is not the same as understanding or grasping its sense.
“I must therefore refer to my lecture “Life”, God is Life! He alone! All else is but a consequence of the motion which as such only comes into being through the pressure of the radiation of Life!
“The man who in a really fervent prayer seeks help for something, obtains connection through his attitude with that sphere from which help can be proffered. This I have mentioned once before in my explanations about the effect of prayer. Do not think of prayers as pleading, but as worship and veneration! Every plunge into such deep meditation by the human spirit, however, is nothing but an effort to establish a connection, a seeking for connection with the Light, with Purity and with Life! The desire and longing of the human spirit expand in such cases. In its spiritual seeking it reaches out to Luminous Heights. And if it thereby seeks in true earnestness,it will then find, as Christ has already promised. It finds the connection with Life. But only the connection, not Life Itself!
“Thus, through prayer or earnest seeking you find a path connecting you with God, and it is on account of this that He appears as omnipresent as you have imagined in the past. But God can never be seen by any creature!
“Omnipresence has been misunderstood. Omnipresence might perhaps be even better interpreted with the words “always present”, always to be found if one seeks!
“It is only the outward manifestation of the happening that has misled mankind. They have approached the subject from the false assumption that God personally looks after them, pleads with them, and also surrounds them with His protection. It never occurred to them that they themselves must do everything in order to strive for the necessary connection, which they have always unconsciously fulfilled in accordance with the Laws of Creation in their genuine prayers. They did not like to believe that it is only the Laws of God resting in Creation that encompass them, and that these act automatically to met out every reward and every punishment.
“To be omnipresent really means nothing else than to be accessible from every part of Creation!
“But even this must again only be taken in a restricted sense, for when it is said: “Before God everything dissolves!” this is literally true. There is a tremendous gulf! Not a single creature can step directly before God and thus coming into His presence, unless it is One who issued directly from God. This is possible for only –the Son of God and the Son of Man! All else would and must be dissolved in His Presence, i.e. could never stand consciously before Him.
“It is only possible for the human spirit to find the connecting path to God!”
In instances of spontaneous thanksgiving arising out of great happiness or in moments of very deep sorrow, the dross that clogs and makes the soul impure is unhinged. In such conditions, a prayer can gain connection with God’s help.
And so we learn from the Work thus: “The best foundation for a prayer which may be expected to have effect lies in those moments of spontaneous thankfulness arising out of great happiness or of deepest pain resulting from heartfelt grief. In such moments a person is filled with one particular intuitive perception which dominates all else. This enables the main wish of the prayer, be it gratitude or a request to receive undimmed power.
“People often have a wrong picture of how a prayer comes into existence, what happens to it, and how it further develops. Not every prayer penetrates to the Highest Ruler of the Universe. On the contrary, it is a very rare exception when a prayer is actually able to ascend to the steps of His Throne. Here also the basic Law of the Power of Attraction of Homogeneous Species plays the principal role.
“A prayer which is seriously and deeply felt will be attracted to and itself attract those of similar nature, and come into contact with a power-centre of a kind identical to the main theme of the prayer. These power-centres can also be called sections of the spheres or something similar—basically it all amounts to the same!
“The main wish of the prayer will become effective through reciprocal action. It will either bring calmness, strength, recovery, plans suddenly arising in the mind, the solution to difficult problems, or other things. Something good will always come of it, be it only increased composure and balance of mind, which will in turn lead to a solution and some way out of the difficulty.”
There is more with which we may wish to avail ourselves from the wonderful knowledge of Creation and for these times.
The political rumbling in our clime
AS I was about to dwell on the political rumbling in our land yesterday focussing on the welcome Opposition gathering in Ibadan to confront the nation’s slide to a one-party state and the attendant dangers, I heard the Supreme Court was about to give its verdict on the matter brought before it by ADC.
Consequently, I decided to hold back, but not without noting the address by Ralph Nwosu, the founding national Chairman of ADC (African Democratic Congress). According to reports, speaking during the ADC Youths Summit, Nwosu said ADC is determined to ensure that his party is included on the ballot.
He said that the 2027 general elections cannot be conducted by President Bola Tinubu and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, if the ADC is not included on the ballot!
He spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the party’s national secretariat. He reported that the coalition of Opposition parties had made remarkable gains for the party and that, indeed, some senators from the ruling party, APC, and some other parties were in discussions with his party leaders on their wish to join the ADC.
I am holding back for the picture of the developments to be clearer.
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