THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANCE OF GOOD CHARACTER IN AFRICA IFA SPIRITUALITY BY BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa extreme documentaries
“Be more concerned with your character than
your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your
reputation is merely what others think you are.” John Wooden
In this work Babalawo
Obanifa will critically appraise the theological thoughts of Importance of good
character from the perspective of Africa Ifa spirituality (AIS). An
individual’s character is one of the most important aspects of human’s life .
While acts of worship hold great significance, but is common phenomenon these
days for human to lay emphasis on been a member of a particular faith or religion
than be of good conduct and character expected of a well civilized develop mind.
What we do hear is I am good Christian, I am a good Muslim ,I am an Ifa practitioners
, I practice Shintoism etc. But observe many of those people who make these
statements in term of character, their behavior is does not foster and promote peaceful
co-existence and development of humanity
. We are now approaching stage of human civilization that we ought to acknowledge
that good character is far more important than our religions. You must first develop
good character. Everything in your life,
including manners and personality, should be in line with purpose of the creator
to make the world be a better place to live in. Thus, proper character, values
and traits are extremely important, not to mention relevant, in the daily lives
of every human, even though in most cases we unfortunately neglected them at
times.
What then is Character?
According to https://www.dictionary.com/browse/character,
Character is defined as the aggregate of features
and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
Character is defined as strength of moral fiber. A.W. Tozer described character
as “the excellence of moral beings.” As the excellence of gold is its purity
and the excellence of art is its beauty, so the excellence of man is his
character. Persons of character are noted for their honesty, ethics, and
charity. Descriptions such as “man of principle” and “woman of integrity” are
assertions of character. A lack of character is moral deficiency, and persons
lacking character tend to behave dishonestly, unethically, and uncharitably.
A person’s character is the sum of his or her disposition, thoughts, intentions, desires, and actions. It is good to remember that character is gauged by general tendencies, not on the basis of a few isolated actions. We must look at the whole life.
A person’s character is the sum of his or her disposition, thoughts, intentions, desires, and actions. It is good to remember that character is gauged by general tendencies, not on the basis of a few isolated actions. We must look at the whole life.
Character is
influenced and developed by our choices. According to http://josephsononbusinessethics.com/2015/02/character-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important/;‘’
On its face, “character” is a morally neutral term. Every person, from iconic
scoundrels like Hitler and saints like Mother Teresa, have a character.
We use the term character to describe a person’s most prominent attributes, it
is the sum total of the features and traits that
form an individual’s nature.
A person with
“good character” when To say a person has a good character or even to admire a
person’s character does not require that they are perfect but it does mean we
think this is a good person worthy of trust and admiration.
So when we say
someone has good character we are expressing the opinion that his or her nature
is defined by worthy traits like integrity, courage, and compassion. People of
good character are guided by ethical principles even when it’s physically
dangerous or detrimental to their careers, social standing, or economic
well-being. They do the right thing even when it costs more than they want to pay.’’
No one is born
with good character; it’s not a hereditary trait. And it isn’t determined by a
single noble act. Character is established by conscientious adherence to moral
values, not by lofty rhetoric or good intentions. Another way of saying that
is, character is ethics in action.
In Ifa theological
thoughts, Good character is regard as most important above any kind of success.
Any achievement without good character, such achievement will definitely be
loss to another person. That is why it is important to strive to have good character
on this theological assertion Odu Ifa Ogbe Otura /Ogbe Alara says:
Ka mu ragba ta igba
Iwa
Iwa la nwa
Iwa
Ka mu ragba ta igba
Iwa
Iwa la nwa
Iwa
Ka mu ragba-ragba ka fi
ta okuta
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Dia fun Orunmila
Baba nlo fe Iwa
Ti n se omo obaleyo Ajori
Ebo ni won ni ko waa se
Alara e ri iwa mi dan
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Ajero e ri iwa mi dan
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Owarangun e ri iwa mi dan
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Bi eni lowo,bi o ni iwa
Owo olowo ni
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Bi eni l’aya bi o ni iwa
Aya alaya ni
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Bi eni bi omo, bi o ni
iwa
Omo olomon ni
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Bi eni ko ile, bi o ni
iwa
Ile onile ni
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Bi eni ni ire gbogbo ti o
ni iwa
Ire onire ni
Iwa
Iwa la n wa
Iwa
Translations:
If we strike gong against
a calabash
That which we are looking
for is character
The good character
If we strike gong against
a rope
That wish we are looking
for is character
The good character
If we strike ragba-ragba
against the rock
That which we are looking
for is good character
The good character
These was Ifa
revelation to Orunmila
When going to marry Iwa
The princess Of Obaleyo
Ajori
He was advised to offer
ebo
Alara, were you able to
find Iwa( character) for me
Iwa(character)
What we seek is
Iwa(character)
Good character
Ajero , were you able to
find Iwa for me ?
Iwa(character)
What we seek is
Iwa(character)
Good character
Owarangun ,were you able to find Iwa for me ?
Iwa(character)
What we seek is
Iwa(character)
Good character
If one is wealthy without
good character
The wealth belong to
someone else
That which we are looking
for is character
Good character
If one is blessed with
spouse, without good character
The spouse belong to
someone else
That which we are looking
for is character
Good character
If one is blessed with
children, without good character
The children belong to
someone else
That which we are looking
for is character
Good character
If one is blessed with
houses, without character
The house belong to
someone else
That which we are looking
for is character
Good character
If one is blessed with
all the good things of life, without character
All the blessings belong
to someone else
That which we are looking
for is character
Good character.
In vie of this
theological thoughts from Odua Ifa Ogbe Alara ,we must knonw that good character
is more important to live a meaningful life.as put forward earlier that no one is born with
good character; it’s not a hereditary trait. And it isn’t determined by a
single noble act. We must continue to strive toward perfection when we live
Reference
Copyright
:Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, phone and whatsapp contact :+2348166343145,
location Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.
IMPORTANT NOTICE : As regards the article above, all rights reserved, no part of this article may be reproduced or duplicated in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the copyright holder and the author Babalawo Obanifa, doing so is considered unlawful and will attract legal consequences
IMPORTANT NOTICE : As regards the article above, all rights reserved, no part of this article may be reproduced or duplicated in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the copyright holder and the author Babalawo Obanifa, doing so is considered unlawful and will attract legal consequences
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