For about 150 years, Europeans have been struggling with whether or not to believe in the existence of the Creator. Belief how much more conviction in any Higher Being is thought to be for Europeans who are old fashioned—indeed if it is not dismissed with a wave of the hand as a mirage altogether. They are enamored of the wonders of technology. There is widespread, and still growing, impression that man is today the conqueror and master of Nature, after all his space ship parts the clouds and tears through the stratosphere to get to the moon. The idea of a conquest of Nature is borne out of the lack of knowledge that even the most surprising of inventions is a revelation by nature beings who occupy themselves with them. The technological wonders and skills are conveyed to this earth from the Beyond, from a plane called Medium Gross Matter. The plane is the workshop of elemental beings. They fashion all that are regarded as technological inventions by scientists which mankind need on earth. The revelations are conveyed and are received in pictures by those open to have them, provided they are serious and humble. They will also have adapted their thinking and volition to the Laws of Nature, even if unconsciously in order to be endued with the revelation. The revelation can come in various forms depending on the condition that gets the inventor to be open; some inventors draw from the plane in the woods, at the beach, in the bathroom and others in their sleep. Are we not told that God reveals to His Own in their sleep?

We learn from higher knowledge available for all mankind and spreading on earth in these times that the right soil for reception in this decadent Age is to be found largely among artistes. Think of their plays depicting life; think of the carvings! Just look at the artifacts being returned from the United Kingdom museums to Benin City in Edo State. Can we fail to see the wonders of the carvings, the marvel in the artistry? Think of the music by an artiste, the composition, harmony and the tones and we are enraptured and transferred to a wonderland. In music halls, we shed tears and give a standing ovation when overwhelmed by something that is unseen but goes to the soul. Are we surprised at the suggestion that music could be bread of life? At art exhibitions, we are transfigured. Art collectors cannot resist bringing out their cheques and in the modern time their cell phones and make transfers of millions of Naira or Dollar as the case may be to purchase pieces of artworks. What touches our souls beholding a painting? We hear sound, but do not see it, yet we begin to move our body, dancing. Professor Wole Soyinka is a world renowned artiste; he is a dramatist—writing, staging and directing plays, which he captures in picture forms and he renders faithfully and with precision. The world testifies to the fecundity of his soul and prodigious output evinced in his numerous works. As a typical artist, his sense of justice is keen. He can perceive it in pictures. It is so alive and it is such that any act of injustice is an arrow shot into his ribs, and he rises to fearlessly face the lion in its den with absolute disregard to personal consequences, including loss of liberty and freedom, and convenience. The question would then be: from where does WS draw his inspiration? From his brain? Can he dismiss the source of his inspiration as a myth—as non-existent even with unassailable proof in his prodigious works? The hind brain more referred to as the small brain, cerebellum is for reception as it is the spiritually receptive part of our brains, and the frontal brain, the cerebrum, the seat of the intellect, is for transmission. As the tool of the spirit, it triggers activities of locomotion, sitting or working on the instruction of the spirit its master. The prompting of the spirit passes through the solar plexus then on to the hind brain more referred to as the small brain, cerebellum. When the hind brain is hindered in its activity as a result of the soul being covered by dross or from neglect, there is reliance more on the intellect which by its very nature cannot transcend the limits set by space and time. And yet on the other side are deeper, expansive and soaring inner life beyond space and time!

We can see from the foregoing that, therefore, technological wonders, the work of art and prayers are not mutually exclusive. Thus the pre-occupation with God and prayers are not without foundation. In other words, prayers and inventions are not incompatible with spiritual pursuits. What then are prayers? Are prayers true worship? As I was saying last week, all around us is not as vacuous as it may seem. It is all activities; it is all weaving, surging and heaving. The nature beings, the loyal servants of the Most High, see to it that they provide oxygen we need every day, every hour, every split second. They convert the radiant energy of sunlight into chemical energy of carbohydrates in plants. In the process we know to be photosynthesis, the energy of sunlight is used to drive the reaction between carbon dioxide of the air around us and water from carbohydrates. The complex chemical substances called carbohydrates are put in plant storage organs as in yams, cassava, potatoes—all roots and in grains as in rice, maize and wheat. When we eat them the chemical energy in them is converted into a form we need for breathing, motion, thinking, speaking and writing. The activities of the nature beings cover the regulatory balance in the cosmos. Thunderstorms they ignite, for example, are meant to balance the extreme differences in the electrical potential which has built up between the ground and higher atmospheric layers, an activity featuring electrical discharges which constitute lightning caused between the clouds and the ground. The essence is to engender and maintain balance between polar and the tropical zones. This is why thunder and lightning are prevalent in September in our clime when the sun crosses the Equator heads for the Southern Hemisphere and in March when it arrives back on the Equator crossing to the Northern Hemisphere. While Sylphs may cause communities to be uprooted with the instrumentality of strong winds, storms, hurricanes of cyclones, and Salamanders set fire to gut forests, the activities are motivated and driven by love and unconditional exemplary loyalty to the Creator the Almighty. What all this means is that without the activities of the elemental beings life on earth for any living being, man and animal, would have been impossible. Can we say with their self-evident mind-boggling activities, that they are non-existent?

Right from the ancient of days, human beings, yielding to certain indefinable urge to pray have learnt to establish places of worship, to bow in reverential awe to their deities in line with their level of recognition. By nature, man has the proclivity to pay homage to iconic figures. It is even more so to Nature Beings incomparable in size and beauty. The prayer was an effort to link up with help that was beyond them and with certain higher powers which they had recognised existed. So they started with worship of the elemental beings contrary to the admonition and protest by them. The ancient Greeks with increased sharper perception as I stated two weeks ago, even saw the lords of the gods and goddesses such as Zeus, as god of justice; Apollo god of sincerity , Athena, god of vigilance, Ares god of courage, Aphrodite, grace; Mercury, humility and conscientiousness; Mars, courage; Artemis, purity. These beings were friends and the early teachers of mankind. As the inner eyes of men of old got increasingly open, and connected with the finer environment, the external perception temporarily shut down. It was at this stage of development they were able to behold the lords of the elemental beings themselves listed in the foregoing. These they regarded as embodiments, and indeed, personification of virtues. They were able to discern the specific briefs of each of them. They entreated them for help. As the familiarization with these gods and goddesses became firmly established among the Greeks, and the Romans of the olden times, so was it assiduously cultivated and the knowledge passed on by clairvoyants amongst them, unassailably upheld by Africans, Indians and the Chinese.

With the knowledge passed on by clairvoyants among all peoples and firmly upheld, the time then came for them to climb the next rung of the ladder of life and widen their recognitions. Our world is a school to learn to recognise the Will of the Creator and obey and swing in It. The schools everyone went were patterned after the school of life—moving from Infant, to Primary One, Primary Two; then Standard One to Standard Six as in the colonial days; but today it is just Primary One to Primary Six; then off to secondary school and tertiary institutions. The zenith is the university. Those who have come to recognition that there are certain forces in life moved closer to the Nature Beings not just for help and guidance but saw them as entities to be worshiped and so the concept of of gods and goddesses arose. Much as the Nature Beings sought to reject being worshiped, pointing to them that God Almighty in Heaven alone was to be worshiped the guidance fell on deaf ears of many until this day. Those who heeded their guidance moved to the next rung of the ladder, the next class in the earthly school. The overzealous and ignorant missionaries were unable to separate the wheat from the chaff and they threw away the baby with the birth water. This would seem to have led to many people, among them, highly educated, still resisting what the missionaries brought and spread, dismissing Christianity and Islamic religions as foreign and as attempts at dislodging the gods of their forefathers and corresponding ways of worship. It was all colonialism all over again; they argued. So is it that today there is an awakening to hold on to the worship of gods and goddesses recognised by the Yoruba in large communities of Brazilians of Yoruba descent. As I have had cause to state in these pages: If our world is a school, shouldn’t it go without saying that that one cannot get oneself stuck in Primary One all of one’s school of life in the name of patriotism and resistance to foreign religious influence? Those among the clairvoyants who could behold them and received advise from them became priests who themselves were consulted by their fellow men following evidence that they could establish contact with the beings. When weaknesses and abuse set in, the beings withdrew from them. Those who consulted them would not know that the helpers had moved away. Out of desperation that the beings were still within reach and were genuine in their guidance and help, the priests began to make sacrifices, in a number of cases heinous!

Where there are students, teachers would appear, appointed by the authority. In the course of further development of mankind, and with the foundation solidly laid through the recognition of Nature Beings, Teachers and Prophets were sent from very high Realms by the Almighty Creator. They were to lead people to the next rung of the ladder to the Heights, His Luminous Kingdom, to move away from gods and goddesses. The Teachers were sent to different parts of the world, to different peoples who had developed to a certain degree of spiritual maturity, receptivity and absorptive capacity for what was being mediated to them. It would be anomalous to post a professor to teach in a secondary school how much less in a primary school! The pupils would be incapable of grasping what he may have to impart to them.

With progressive development, and inner awareness over millennia, deliberate efforts were made by man to link up with the Spiritual Realm, more generally referred to as Paradise. It is only natural that being spirits there would be such an urge to link up with the Home above from whence we all came in the first place in search of development to recognise the Will of the Almighty Creator and learn to do It; also in search of spiritual maturity which comes with doing the Will of God. Without arming oneself with the testimonial of spiritual maturity, admittance into the said Paradise is impossible. Is it not even the practice that here on earth we seek to link up and make regular contact with our native towns? Is it not the practice that those living overseas, in the Diaspora, take abiding interest in goings-on in their countries and make regular contact with their earthly homes.

Man being spirit cannot help wanting to forge a link with the Spiritual Realm. There is a pull, although it can be resisted as it is often done by the modern man who may have walled his spirit and in consequence dangerously severed the links with the Spiritual Realm, our land of origin as human spirits. Confined, the intuition of such a man cannot transcend time and space. With the limitation, such a person swings within only that which the material world has on offer, and which he has come to regard as the only thing of value. Yet, it must stand to reason that because all that is material is subject to disintegration and that sooner or later, it holds nothing of eternal values beyond being man’s cover and earthly tools which are discarded upon exit from the world.

Gradual recognition of higher powers controlling the affairs of mankind helps us transcend time and space which brings in its train recognition of how small we human beings are, and how uncomprehending the vastness of Creation and splendour of the Creator’s Realm are. This recognition bows the spirit in worshipful adoration of the Lord of All the Worlds. A person who experiences the recognition will hardly want his line of communication with the Creator blocked, nor will he hardly wish to do any harm to his fellowmen and community that will entangle him. In consequence he longs for a place he can regularly bow his spirit in worship, hence the sprouting of churches like mushrooms, with the smart ones taking advantage of the longing of the beseeching people to satisfy their own inner stirring; to mislead them. It may be said that the misled themselves have not asked themselves salient and probing questions; they are thus seeking in the wrong direction.

As in all things, prayers are governed by Law. In their development, the Jews were the first to come to recognition of only one Supreme God through the revelation Abraham received about 1800 BC. This was consolidated, indeed, reinforced with Moses receiving the Ten Commandments of God on Mount Sinai (about 1250 BC). Moses admonished mankind that the worship should be directed exclusively to One God: “I am the Lord, thy God. Thou shall have no other gods before me!” Thus because the Jews were closest to Truth, it was to be expected that it was they more than any other group who would enact such soil and the right link with the Rays of Truth and the Highest Realm in accordance with the Law of Homogeneity as to permit the coming of the Lord, the Love and Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ, through them for the salvation of mankind. The Love of God Incarnate, the Truth and Light coming among them was not a racial issue as has been misconstrued by different races. The Jews themselves went into slavery and several painful experiences when they became weary and their recognition was getting dimmed. The resultant painful experiences were to serve as help so they could preserve their high recognition and refine them inwardly so they could continue to be counted worthy of receiving the Grace of the Saviour in their midst. Prophets arose from among them to remind them of their mission and to warn them having become the chosen race to prepare for the great Mission. From there, from the Jews, the Gospel was to be spread abroad and throughout the world. At different times, the Jews in Palestine became a strong nation under King Saul (950 BC); and more spectacularly at the time of King David (980 BC). Samuel said to Saul: “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, Israel. Now listen to the words of the Lord.” King Solomon brought the efforts to completion into a self-sufficient kingdom, so strong to be able to defend the true knowledge of God.

Among the Teachers who came in pre-historic times were Hjalfdar; Zoroaster (600 BC), the Forerunner who was sent to Persia today known as Iran. Africa can claim to have Two Light Manifestations in their midst some 3,000 years ago. They taught that the Will of the Most High is paramount, and it is to be recognized in the Laws of God, Which are also called Divine or Laws of Nature. These Laws were encapsulated as Commandments. Zoroaster was told, for example, that he was to bring the Commandments of the Lord to human beings who were ready to receive them so that they would have a firm guideline to which they could hold on their way. Lao-Tse said to his audience: “…the spirit spark in each human being teaches what he must and he must not do in order to live according to the Will of the Supreme One, He who listens to his inner voice acts in harmony with the Laws of God.” The Prophets were Amos, Jeremiah and Daniel and many more. Among the most prominent were Elijah and Isaiah. The Teachers were Buddha (550 BC) in India; Zoroaster (600 BC) in Persia, today known as Iran; and Lao-Tse (also 600 BC) in China. Of course, Prophet Mohammed came in 571 AD, sent to Saudi Arabia, following the decline that ensued among human beings no sooner the Lord departed this world prematurely.

As stated earlier, prayers, too, as in all things are governed by Laws. When we pray, this attracts similar prayers from other people or our prayer is attracted by them in accordance with the Law of Kind Attracting Its Own Kind, the more correct expression being the Law of Attraction of Homogeneous Species. The prayers through the attraction become strengthened through reinforcement. They form or reinforce already existing power centres from where they flow back to the authors through radiation threads as answers to the content of the prayers. The answers find anchorage only if the soil around the supplicants is receptive. By this is meant if their environment is pure they are able to receive answers to the prayers. In other words as we are told in higher knowledge, the preconditions for the prayers being answered are profound earnestness and the inner quality of the soul. The prayer must be felt deeply within. Of course, it may sometimes happen that a man, who is perceived, rightly or wrongly, not to be pure has his prayers answered. In such a case, happiness or deep pain or sorrow can create a situation in which all dross clinging to a person’s soul are unhinged, thus clearing the way for a momentary purity around the soul and making the heartfelt prayer to be answered. Answers can come in various forms but always in what brings benefit to the supplicant. This can come in the supplicant crossing the path of a helper; it could come in form of ideas received in calm confidence. A helper from the Beyond could whisper a solution to him in a dream. When prayers are not answered it may well be it is some form of help as well. Increasingly, human beings began to congregate in joint hours of worship to venerate the Almighty Creator. The joint hour strengthened their veneration and supplication to the Footstool of the Most High.

We learn in the enlightenment mediated In The Light of Truth beaming its Rays to mankind: “True worship does not show itself in ecstasy, and in wringing one’s hands, nor in blissful shuddering but in joyful activity!…but in looking upwards to the Light and Its Will, which alone furthers, uplifts, and ennobles all that exists in Creation.” True worship is reverence: it is in veneration and thanksgiving and honoring God. How can any child honour his father than truly being a good boy by obeying the rules and regulations in the house and carrying out his duties? As children of Creation such is a rough picture of our duties and tasks to our Creator. So it is said: “Venerate not only when in Sunday attire, but with fist hardened by daily toil, which never shames or debases but only honours everyone! The precious gem shines with greater purity and brilliance in a rugged hand discoloured by sweat and dirt, than in the well-cared for fingers of a lazy idler who spends his time on earth only in contemplation! Every Divine Message was granted to you so that it should become an integral part of you.”

It is said: “He who adapts himself to It (the Will of God) in his thoughts, words and deeds thus practices the purest worship of God for this lies only in deeds!…The worship of God in your life and in your experiences consists solely in keeping the Divine Laws! This alone ensures happiness!”