Video Lecture Part #3 : Sebai Maa
The lecture begins with the fourfold invocation of Peace (Htp). Sebai Maa explained that uttering the hekau 4 times is significant because 4 is the number of Creation. Therefore, peace is uttered in all the 4 directions of the compass. As Sebai Maa explains peace is necessary to absorb the teachings. Herein lies the goal of the spiritual aspirant to attain and maintain abiding peace.
These teachings came from Africa where Kemetic philosophy began. Kemet (ancient Egypt) means “Black land” and was settled by people who came from further south in Ethiopia. The ancient people called this land the “Mountain of the Moons.” Because the source of the Nile flows from the south to the north, the region in the south is called “Upper” and in the north “Lower.” The actual word for the land was “Tawi.” The unification of Upper to Lower was called “Sema Tawi.” This is also the term for uniting the Higher and the Lower self, thus the term “Egyptian Yoga.”
These sacred traditions and philosophies are the oldest recorded religious practices in known history. The Sphinx or Hor em Akhet (Horus in the Horizon) is the living proof of an ordered and established religious tradition. According to geological studies, the Sphinx can be given an approximate date of at least 10,000 B.C. The grooves in the stone of which it is built is evidence that the Sphinx existed during a time when water was present in the current desert climate. How many thousands of years would it take for water to make a groove in stone? Much longer than established religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have existed in their entirety.
The question was put forth “Who were the ancient Egyptian builders of the Sphinx–the oldest religious monument? The answer comes from eyewitness accounts documented by ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus, Plutarch, Discorides, etc. These written accounts describe the ancient peoples of Egypt as having “krinkly hair” and “thick lips,” all of the features associated with people of the Black African race. Therefore, before Greek and Asiatic (Arab) occupation of ancient Egypt, the indigenous people of Egypt were Black and called their land Kemet (Black Land) after its people and the soil from which they sprang.
These are the people who developed the Yogic system of ancient Kemet (Sema Tawi) with the express purpose of purifying the personality and expanding consciousness through Arat Sekhem (Life Force Energy/Serpent Power). The symbol for Sema or Smai is the trachea and lungs which represents the two united into one. This symbol of unification was also shown in the Papyrus plant of Lower Egypt tied to the Lotus flower of Upper Egypt, and finally the unification of Set and Heru–one body, two heads.
Set represents that which is uncontrolled and Heru represents the will. In the Myth (Matnu) of the battle between Set and Heru, Set kills Asar, his brother, due to his uncontrolled jealousy. It is Asar’s son, Heru, who redeems his Father. The two battled each other without end, and Heru sometimes got the upper hand, but at other times Set had the advantage over Heru. This represents the struggle we all face within ourselves. Finally after a stalemate, as the story goes, Heru pled His case to the High Court of the Neteru as the rightful Heir to His Father Asar’s throne. But Set convinced the Court that Heru was too young to rule and, alas, the High Court agreed with Set. It was not until Asar made the case that all, including the Neteru (Gods and Goddesses) themselves, would face judgement before Him for their actions. It was then that Heru was claimed and crowned rightful ruler of Egypt and Asar was vindicated. Even Set accepted the ruling and took his original position as Setna Nebi Ra (Protector of the boat of Ra) and the struggle between Heru and Set ended.
I consider the trial between Heru vs. Set to be the greatest trial in the history of humankind because it is the trial we all face in our own struggle between our Higher and Lower self. The lesson is there before us to plainly see. However, until such time that the aspirant is ready to heed the teachings, it is simply an epic tale to be told, and spiritual growth will be at a stalemate–sometimes the Higher self prevailing and other times the lower self prevailing–while the Soul waits to be vindicated. It is clear that the only way out of the struggle is to practice the teachings in its pure form, as developed by the ancient Sages of Kemet. What does it mean to practice the teachings in its pure form? Sebai explained that the practice of Sema Tawi must be in line with the traditional teachings of Kemet, which in turn is in line with Universal Truth. As Sema Tawi is the parent philosophy to all of the world religious and philosophical practices, there is no need to add anything outside the spiritual tradition of Kemet.
In summary, what I gained from this lecture is a reinforcement of the teachings that I have read, as written by Sebai Dr. Muata Ashby, with regards to the history and origins of Kemetic philosophy. I have also gained a greater sense of appreciation, from this lecture, of the connection between the Myth and the practice of Sema Tawi, as well as an ownership of my part within the struggle of Heru vs. Set. Finally, I feel validated in my reasoning behind following the Kemetic teachings, as presented by Sebai Maa and Seba Dja with the Sema Institute, for it is in line with the true and authentic traditional teachings of Sema Tawi.
Htp.
