IFA TEACHES AGAINST KEEPING BAD COMPANY.BY BABALAWO OBANIFA

IFA TEACHES AGAINST KEEPING BAD COMPANY.BY BABALAWO OBANIFA

It is a universal truth that we are influence, for better or worse by those whom we associate. Ifa scripture furnish us with advice of implication of keeping bad company. Odu Ifa Ofun  Obara also known as Ofun  Balaje compare keeping bad company to a plain pure white cloth  interacting with palm oil, The palm oil  will stain the purity of the  whiteness and spoil the white. This is what Ifa liking the effect of keeping bad company to. Unless you try to dissociate yourself from the bad people, no matter how innocent you are, you can be caught up in the wickedness they do by hanging out with them.  This may lead us to ask that, what we mean by bad company.  Bad company has a neutral meaning. It is religiously neutral. Bad company simply mean group of people who normally don’t follow the rule, society accepted norms and value and they normally break existing law. If you spend time with people who are not morally good, that will be deem to mean you are keeping bad company. Any interaction or relationship in wishes one of the party have negative influence on the others is known as bad company. But the perspective of many religious people to this is different. Many have make the mistake of thinking that associating with people that don’t share their religion orientation is what is mean by keeping bad company, some of them will even go the point of looking for scriptural stanza either in Bible or Quran other religion scripture to back this erroneous view. Bad company is more of morality than religion, we have traditional religion devotee that are bad people,, we have Christian that are bad people, we have Muslim that are bad people, we have  Buddhists that are bad people. Etc. Also we have traditional religion devotees that are good people, we have Christian that are good people, we have Muslim that are good people, etc.Beign good is not about the religion, it is about your ability to follow the will of Olodumare(God) to be  morally upright and do good to your fellow human being and co –exist and interact with them in peaceful mutual beneficial manner. So it is ungodly and morally unjustifiable on the part of any spiritual teacher whether such person is a n Islamic scholar, pastors or clerics, or Babalawo etc., to say that interaction with people who don’t share their own religion orientation is keeping bad company. Such teaching is a misguided teaching that such people create on their own to sustain their money making business empire they called religion institution. So inter- religion relationship is not term by Olodumare God as keeping bad company. What is term as Keeping bad company by Olodumare (God) is associating with people who are not morally good such as terrorist, fraudsters, rebel, exploiter of the poor and other who partake in societal ills you may think, it whatever guise that this people come or any religion they practice, however popular or acceptable such religion may look in the society, those people who are not morally good, those who do thing to harms their fellow human being are the bad company. So your religion orientation has little to do with whether you are good or bad.

Ifa give stern warning that what bad company do to people is to mare them and implicate them in most cases. The repercussion for keeping bad company start from this world. That is why Odu Ifa  Ofun Obara liken bad company to pure white interacting with red palm oil. The palm oil with stain and destroy the white. See what Odu Ifa Obara Ofun have to say. Ifa says  in this Odu thus:

 O se igi ninu Igbo, o rin nibu fi ese gun

Onigi n ke oro-oro-aya-aya

Won ni ki Onigi ma kee oro-oro mon

Ma kee aya-aya mon

Woni  awon ti yo egun fun  ni n be lotu Ife

O ni awon tanii?

Woni awon Alabe

O ni ki won o lo pe won wa

Alabe de albe n yo egun

Abe run lenu

Alabe n ke oro-oro, aya-aya

Won ni ki Alabe ma ke Oro-oro mon

KO mon Ke aya-aya mon

Awon ti n tu Abe se  n  be lotu Ife

O ni awon tanni?

Won ni awo Alaro

O ni ki won o lo pe won wa

Alaro dee

Alaro n tu abe se

Ina ta , ina mule aro

Alaro n ke Oro-oro,aya-aya

Won Ini ki Alaro ma ke Oro-oro mon

Ko monk e aya-aya mon

Won ni awon ti n koi le aro funi n be Lotu Ife

O ni awon tanni ?

 Woni awon Orumon n rumon

O ni ki won o lo pe won wa

Orumon – nrumon  n ru imon bow a

 Imon gun elepo loju

Elepo n ke oro-oro-aya-aya

Won ni ki elepo ma ke oro-oro mon

Ki o ma ke aya-aya mon

Won ni awon ti n tun oju elepo se fun I n be lotu ife

O ni awon tanii?

Woni awon Oosanla ni

 O ni ki won lo pe won wa

Oosanla dee

 O un tu ojuelepo se lowo

Epo ta si ala oosa

Ooosanla n ke oro-or,aya –aya

Won ni ki oosanla ma ke oro-oro mon

Ki o ma ke aya-aya

Won ni awon ti n fo ala funi n be lotu Ife

O ni awon tanii?

Won ni awon Iyamii fo-ikin –fo-ikin

Awon Iyami fo-ala-fo-ala

O o le fo ikin fo ala

Ko sarodosun di funfun

Dia fun epo tin se ore ala

Eyin o ri epo to ta si ala

To baa la je

Translation

 He who cut wood in the forest and carried it breath –wise and stepped on the thorn

The carrier cry out in expression of grieves and pain

They told the carrier not to shout in expression of grieve any more

They told him not to shout in expression of pain any more

They told him that those people who help people to remove thorns are in plenty in  Ife city

He demand, that who are this people?

The answer him that, they are people who work with knife

He asked them to invite them for him

The knife dealer came

And he begin to work with knife to remove the thorn

In the process the knife blade got damaged

The knife dealer begins to cry out in expression of grieve and pain

They asked the knife dealer not to cry in expression of grieve any more

He should not cry in expression of pains

They said those who help people to repair damage knife are plenty in Otu Ife city

He asked who this people are?

They said it was the blacksmith

He demand that they should invite them for him

When the blacksmith arrive

He begin to repair the blade of the knife

In the process the fire sparked and burn the blacksmith chamber

The blacksmith begin to cry out in expression of grieve and pains

The blacksmith was advice not to cry out in expression of grieve a

He was told not to cry in expression of pain again

They told him that those who repaired damage blacksmith chamber are plenty in Otu  Ife city

He demands, Who are this people?

They answer him that they are palm frond user

He said they should invite them for him

In the process of carrying the palm frond by the palm frond dealers

The palm frond the pluck out the eye of a palm oil dealer

They palm oil dealer was crying in expression of pain and agony

 He was told not to crying expression of grieve again,

He must not cry in expression of pains again

He was told that those who treat the eye of palm oil dealer were plenty in Otu  Ife city

He asked who these people are

They answer him that they were Obatala and his disciple

He ask them to invite Obatala and his disciple for him

When Obatala arrived he begin to treat the eye of the palm oil dealer

In the process of the treatment of palm oil dealer

Palm oil stains Obatala”s white clothe

Obatala begin to cry in out in expression of grieve and pains

He was told not to cry in in grieve

He should not cry in pain

Thy told him that those who dry -clean stain white cloth are plenty in the city of Ife

He demanded to know who these people are.

They answer that they are my mother who wash the whiteness of peacock

They are my mother who clean cloth and turn them to a snow white

You can wash the peacock whiteness and snow white clothes

And turn a cloth dyed with both indigo and camwood to sparkling white

This was ifa divination for epo (palm oil)

Who was the friend of Ala (pure white cloth)

When the palm oil  stained the purity of white clothe

It spoils the whiteness.

Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, phone whatsapp contact : +2348166343145, location Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.

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