VIDEO ASSIGNMENT – TTOA LESSON 8
List the important points covered in this lecture.
The video lecture by Sebai Maa in Lesson 8 covers verses 54-70. It begins when Ra doesn’t know what bit Him. In other words Ra didn’t see it coming, and is taken by surprise, which would indicate that He does not have complete knowledge and control over Creation—putting into question that He is indeed the sole Creator of all things. Verse 56 exemplifies Ra’s confusion, and is translated by Sebai Maa to read:
“In this way I was stuck or bitten and I was bewildered; I did not have a clue as to what it was.”
This is an important point because it reveals that Ra has a weakness that can be penetrated. Ra is not what He seems to be, but as explained in the lecture, Ra is the egoistic image of the All Encompassing Divinity. It was pointed out that “even God has to have an ego to exist in time and space.” The previous statement makes a very important point as to the true nature of Ra.
In verse 58 it speaks of burning limbs, shaking limbs like trembling children. Sebai points out that the “burning” referred to is not like the burning of fire, but rather like the burning of a poison that courses through the heart and into the limbs. Likewise, the “children vibrating” (trembling) “mesu hesyu,” is likened to the “right vibrating pitch” that shatters the delusion of Creation. These vivid descriptions are, in fact, the effects of the tafy shepsy when breaking down the illusions of Ra.
Another keen point in the lecture, stated by Sebai Maa, was that “the one who inflicts the poison is the one who can undo the poison.” In verse 63, the Gods and Goddesses, servants of Ra, were crying at the sight of Him, helpless in the wake of His suffering, unable to undo the poison. Enter Aset, also Ra’s servant, who is not crying because She is “provisioned with power.” These “provisions” are “residing in Her mouth” in the form of “Nafu n Ankh” (breath of life). (verse 64) This is a most important point because here we come to understand that through Aset’s invocations (words of power) life can be restored to those “overwhelmed by instability.” Thus, the “provisions” of Aset, namely the power to give life, is an important point for the initiate because, as Sebai maa points out, “Aset is the model for the initiate.”
Therefore, only Aset, who inflicted the poison by becoming the tafy shepsy serpent, can undo the poison. This puts Her in an advantageous position over Ra. In verse 67 Aset asserts “It was done by one of your creatures, a creature of your own creation that reared up its head in defiance of you.” Sebai Maa pointed out that the previous quote is a metaphoric statement because Aset is actually referring to Herself as the defiant creature. By allowing Her Life Force to develop to a one-pointed focus, as explained in the lecture, Aset has become the tafy shepsy. So, too, must the initiate “sculpt themselves into that form.” The lecture explains that this is accomplished through “purity of ethics, purity of understanding the scriptures, purity of food, purity of the mind, dispassion, khak ab, antet begag, and devotion. These are the challenges before the initiate that forms the tafy shepsy.
Htp,
Shems Heryt
