Customer Reviews

Rastafari: For the Healing of the Nations

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book I have read so far. Since it is written by a Rasta,who is also a professor, the book reveals deeper insights into the Rasta experience. I especially liked the chapter on Ancient Mystic Foundations. There is alot of info here which I haven't read anywhere else. The chapters on herbal meditation and the Chakras can help you on your road to Enlightenment. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Rastafari and to those on the Mystic Path.

This book is full of rasta knowledge. Is a great choice among people, who want to know more about rasta, and a little of black history. The author of this book, explains the beggining of a rastaman, and its way to Zion. This a must buy book, just sit down to read, and enjoy the philosophy of life.

This author knows whats up. Done his soul-searching research on his path. I am only half way through this book, but I had to give it five stars already because it is a revolutionary book. The revelations you will find are infinite. May the healing tao be with you, harvesting healing and peace among all nations. Trust in one love and you can acheive any dream.

Having read a lot of books about RastafarI by non-Rastas, it was very rewarding to experience one by a Rasta for a change. This one is a mix of a general upwise on the mysticism within RastafarI in an universal embedment with an ancient Egyptian source and reports from the personal quest of the author. As such, it is less about the myths and rituals of RastafarI and much more recommendable to read than the booklet Rastafarian Mysticism: An Introduction to the Mysteries of Nyahbinghi for those who are interested in mysticism. Instead of relying solely on the King James Bible, a lot of quotes from "The Gospel According to Thomas" are rightfully used. The author reasons about the individual's evolution in RastafarI from the entry via the lion to the lamb. That there isn't a higher or better, but a backward/forward, Iverybody has to go along. Haile Selassie-I is sighted as turning from lion to lamb as well.

In-depth sections of the book are devoted to the spiritual use of ganja, to the seven chakras within I-and-I humans and to the Caribbean concept of the (anti-)hero Anancy, which has to get overcome.

There are some minor errors in the book, e.g. spiders have 8 legs and are not insects, who have 6 legs; there aren't any races; "Hottentots" is a Boer colonial term meaning "Stutterers" for the people who are better called Khoi Khoi. The term "Jah" is not short for "Jehova" and not really derived from Hindu "Jai", though there is a relationship to both, as both are derived from the preceding African term "Jah" (female version) and "Jahwe" (male version). For details read The Africans Who Wrote the Bible.

Originally written in 1983, therefore please keep in mind that RastafarI is constantly progressing. Which this book did, and now it is Imes to progress further. Ranking foremost the complete elimination of separations to find back to Ithiopia / the Oneness this book is generally referring to. As such I have to reason to drop the beliefs in the concepts of different nations, cultures and genders (and thereby forms of love based on that), all of which this book is more or less intensely engaging in. Nationalism is an European construct exported into the world, only a few centuries old. Read e.g. the also 1983 classic Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition in line with more recent works.

Culturalism is quick to fall into the abyss of the racist culture clash theory of Samuel Phillips Huntington and should be countered by the knowledge that no clear-cut divisions of culture Iver existed among humans, but variations and constant rearrangings. As for the separation of genders I am surprised Dennis Forsythe writes that in Babylon "the line put by Jah between man and woman is blurred", for he quotes at another place the Gospel According to Thomas: "When you make the two the one, (...) and when you make the male and the female into a single one (...) then shall you enter the kingdom."

Accordingly the entire concept of the existence of gays and lesbians (and in fact heterosexuals) has to be put in serious question, when no genders exist, but one. It isn't really surprising to find erotism/amorism (in the West termed "homophobia") in this book, as I-and-I are all aware that RastafarI fell into a downsession against gays approximately around that Imes, fuelled by dunza (money) greedy reggae stars who fed themselves on the colonial-induced brainwash of the Jamaican general Anancy population. There have been extensive reasonings against that separation of both Jamaican and Western love-constructs sin-ce then. Rastas do know that leaving Babylon is a transgenerational process, considering the severity and scope of Babylon brainwash. Which becomes obvious with this book: The anti-gay meme pool is this strong that the author disregards his own words in this context. Next to the above gospel quote he also reasons about the concept of "livity" in a mystical way, saying we can only become happy, when all around I-and-I are able to be happy as well. He quotes the "lover who stands accused of love and is found guilty". He seeks the capacity to overstand the universal language of love: "the wealth of one's soul is to be measured by how much it can feel, and its poverty by how little." And he is warning about Babylon agencies using one section of separation against the other. He is putting the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrha in the sexual context of the colonial/popish/double-u misinterpretation (instead of in the real context of the sin of greed). In 2006 the post-Apartheid South African government warned against such a misinterpretation of the Bible, when it introduced gay marriage and adoption, as the Noah/Ham story had been falsely used to legitimize slavery. (For those interested in pre-colonial Africa, read e.g. Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities.)

The author upwises that I-and-I have to leave the Anancy state before we are really able to successfully enter mysticism. Very wise indeed. Be aware that putting (and terming it that way) "homosexuality" into a row with murder, rape and deceit symbolizes that the Babylon world of separation hasn't been left yet.

I'm sad to see so many other reviewers say this is the best book about Rasta. I'm browsing Amazon now looking for a better book after being somewhat disappointed with this one. It's certainly worth reading and does a great job of looking at Rasta in a larger context.
Highlights for me included the focus on the anancy culture, history/background of Christian/Rasta mysticism and the personal account of the author during his journey, specifically pertaining to physical and mental changes stemming from intense introspection and meditation.

Negatives for me included the rambling nature/lack of flow throughout the work, prevelance of typos/spelling/punctuation errors, and the overall gobbledygook that the author spews in a failed attempt to make a point. Lots of big words and rambling sentences that don't actually say anything. Another downside is the author's tendency to base very large reaching arguments on obscure and brief biblical quotes or references. Aside from the actual content of the book, I find the author's tone a bit arrogant and self-centered. The book has a bit of an identity crisis as it attempts to be both a history/background of Rasta and an analysis of how Rasta culture and philosophy offers a model to improve the existence of individuals and societies within the Caribbean/West Indies/Third World. These two themes are peppered throughout the book but would be better conveyed if the content was separated into two distinct sections.

If you are willing to wade through some of this ramblings, you will certainly be satisfied with the overall product.

This book has a very readable conversational style that hides a fair amount of serious scholarship. It seems to touch almost every aspect of Rastafarian spirituality from its values, its history, its politics, and its way of life. It goes into how integral breathing, chakras, ganja, and herbs in general are to this way. It has ample quotes of the Bible and points out a neglect of the historical passages in the Bible that relate to Egypt and Africa. It talks about why Rastas use the word "Jah" for G-d, and its relationship to the Coptics. It does seem like a very good intro and summary of the spiritual tradition. The only item I was not clear about from the book is that I thought that Rastafarians were vegan and largely vegan (no animal products), but I could not verify this while perusing the book. If it is there in the book, which I could have easily missed, it is not presented as forthrightly as some of the other subjects (like its very large section on ganja).