The Greatest Goal
The new graduate, Saqhau Washhek (center) with Director of the Earth Center, Nehez Meniooh (left) and M’TAM teacher Menzeba Hasati (right)
Everyone in this society values what they think their life’s purpose is. To teach, to play football, to entertain, to do this and do that. The modern person has become comfortable walking through whatever door has been made available to them by this system, confident in the illusion that they have options. Every occupation, profession, hobby, you name it, has been provided for any individual to achieve. As one takes great pride in their category of choice, they are filled with a sense of validity and worth. Proud to be valuable enough to be deemed fit as a member of the colonial workforce. However, apparently when it is time for us to be buried, our life goals, careers and possessions provided by the system we have so relentlessly sacrificed our lives to, are left behind. Perhaps it is only when we are on our deathbed that we are we struck with the epiphany that perhaps our life was about more than all of the material gains, trinkets, successes and diplomas we were distracted by during our short stay here on Earth. But by then its too late. And that is only if we happen to experience that moment of clarity or consideration at all. In the initiatic camps of Meritah there is a saying, “when the messenger of death comes knocking, be sure you are ready”. How does one prepare for death?
It will start with understanding how one can approach life in a way that will allow him or her to express themselves favorably to the nature and to the universe. What this entails is an adjustment to the way we respond to the world around us. Within every moment that occurs, we have the option to build or to destroy, and if we aren’t doing one we are doing the other. The choice we make to do one or the other relies on our education, values, even our perception of what is right, wrong, good, bad, etc. As is taught in the MTAM School of Kemetic Philosophy and Spirituality, a human being is only the result of what he or she has been exposed to. If we take a moment look around us, we can only conclude that the worst evils that we see in the world are only the result of what any human being is capable of. And if we are honest enough to take a look within ourselves, we can identify the same evils we are quick to point to outside of ourselves, nesting in our very own hearts. This is only a testament to the reality that the true battle is not one of flesh and blood, but of spiritual ideology. If we can choose to build or destroy, it must begin with the self. It will require us to re-determine where our values lie and what deserves our allegiance.
Those who find themselves at the doors of initiation have decided that it is their Ancestral legacy that deserves to be preserved and emulated. Preserving these values is about the will to raise our human quality. Our exposures are what determine our values, actions behaviors, etc., therefore changing what we’re exposed to and re-evaluating or re-assessing our values is the goal for us to achieve if we are to be effective in building the world that we wish to see. This involves re-educating ourselves in the knowledge of humanity’s Ancestral heritage. Initiation is about transforming one’s self. You may be surprised at how much can be accomplished by simply taking an honest look at ourselves and applying spiritual knowledge to raise our quality. Perhaps those who have found themselves at the doors of M’TAM initiation were tired of standing on the sideline watching everyone else, every other culture, build their world and decided they too will have to build the one they want to see.
The truth is, for centuries now, every generation that comes in this world always thinks they’re smarter than the ones who came before, that where the others failed, they will succeed and what was missed they will find. We tend to always blame the others for not being smart or clairvoyant enough to avoid the mistakes we think we can avoid. But, one thing is for certain, the same process leads to the same result. If a generation thinks they are smarter or know better than those who preceded them and then take the same exact path that the others took, thinking they are smarter than the ones before too, we know what it will lead to. As a result for the last 4 or 5 centuries the same people seem to be the ones that are nailed down despite how smart they think they are, despite how driven, how visionary they think they are because it’s very simple it’s a basic process. If you want to go to California, you have to take the road that goes to California. If you say you want to go to California and instead take the road to NY, that’s where you’ll end up.
We’ve stood by watching as the world is changing around us, watching as we carry the same approach, same problems, same corruptions from one generation to the next. This world we wish to build is no easy task. The whole process we go through in initiation is to help us confront ourselves. It is to help us understand that being wrong or being fooled or making mistakes is a human thing. Now, what is unintelligent is holding on to the process that led to those mistakes. For an initiate, progress is about striving to emulate the perfection that we see of the Divine World. Striving to recreate that world here begins with working to achieve purity within ourselves by using tools and knowledge provided to us by humanity’s ancestral culture. This includes following the 77 commandments, executing the daily spiritual activities, honoring the Ancestors and Divine World. Building the world we wish to see is about changing what we’ve been exposed to in order to walk in the footsteps of those who achieved the quality we seek to achieve. Re-educating ourselves, changing our value system to model that of our Ancestral legacy is how we do so.
As Prophet Neb Naba says, "The first step to getting out of the mud, is recognizing that you are in the mud to begin with. This is an arduous process that involves letting go of what you are attached to.
We must first understand the importance of studying how to go about life, as we do with any other occupation. This is the first step. For every occupation, athlete, teacher, politician, you name it, there is a learning and training process involved. Whatever field we wish to conquer, we make the effort and go through the process of gaining the tools and acquiring the knowledge to succeed in that field. Yet, when it comes to something as important as our lives and our spirituality, we think we don’t need the guidance or the knowledge to know how to go about everything. Perhaps we think that we can come up with it ourselves or that our questions can be answered in our own confused minds. The reality is, everyone needs a teacher or in the case of initiation, a master. One who takes the responsibility of ushering you to fulfill the destiny you have here on Earth. The one who opens your eyes to the world and provides you the tools needed to traverse life here on Earth as a spiritually, mentally and morally conscious human being. This is the responsibility of every Master or teacher in the M’TAM initiation.
In the modern system, one can live their whole life wondering everyday what is happening to them. While they are being educated by this system to become the best thieves, cons, manipulators and liars, they find that the same system is there to punish or send them to jail for becoming the very person they’ve been educated to become. This is the difference between education and a sham. In initiation, the one who guides you is the one who also takes responsibility for you and for how you turn out in the world. We can look in human history and observe how the modern system was established in the spirit of imperialism, colonialism, slavery etc. This method of conquering people and territory requires people to be trained to value and justify destructive behaviors and attitudes. A system founded with these values can do nothing other than continuing the momentum by implementing these philosophies through its educational institutions. A human life is fragile, but also dynamic, capable of the worst evils or the highest intelligence. It is the responsibility of a spiritual master to make sure the individual is aware of the corruptions a human being is susceptible to. They provide the guidance a novice will require to be a positive and productive force within a civilization founded by the values of humanity’s Ancestral culture.
The M’TAM School allows the initiate to undergo the process of a paradigm shift and be re-educated in the traditions and knowledge of their Ancestral legacy. Initiation gives students the opportunity to reclaim their dignity and humanity through the qualities of humility and understanding what it takes to become a disciple of truth. One can say that the path of an initiate is not an enviable one. It is defined by boundaries, lines we may not cross in order to preserve our purity and maintain spiritual integrity. This begins with exercising what we refer to as spiritual and intellectual honesty. As Prophet Neb Naba says, “The first step to getting out of the mud, is recognizing that you are in the mud to begin with”. This is an arduous process that involves letting go of what you are attached to. Not necessarily the material possessions we’ve acquired or accolades we’ve garnered, but the perception we have of our surroundings and most importantly of ourselves. Having the humility to divorce ourselves from our perception of ourselves is a quality that is gained through hard work and training. Most find themselves leaving the path of spirituality behind early on. Having to live a life defined by 77 commandments, discipline and purity is not easy, but to stand behind an initiate as they traverse the first level of their initiation (Per Ankh: The House Of Life) they must display the will to uphold and preserve these boundaries no matter what. For this reason, it is better for there to be one graduate out of a generation of dozens, than to graduate dozens who are unable or unwilling to live by the principals set for them to achieve spiritual quality. Those who are able to face the challenges and make it to their graduation day are able to stand in front of their friends, family and Kem community with a sense of legitimate pride in having accomplished something for themselves and their Ancestors.
Before receiving their new names, they perform the spiritual ablutions and make the commitment to continue passing on the knowledge with the promise to always preserve the quality of good. Each initiate receives a name provided to them by the Earth through an M’TAM spiritual reading. This reading is done to see what the Earth projects the destiny of the individual to be and the name is given to the new initiate in the Medu (hieroglyphs). The newest graduate of the 5th school in the US, located in Charleston, West Virginia is Saqhau (One who brings people together) Washhek (worshipper/adorer of the God Hek). Saqhau Washhek is the sole graduate of his once abundant generation and proof that no matter what generation or bloodline we represent in this life, we have the opportunity to prepare ourselves properly for the day death comes knocking. We can start changing the history we write for ourselves with every moment, ensuring that we write a good one that we can be proud of when the day comes for us to be buried and all we have to take with us to the World of the Dead is the human quality we were able to achieve.