Ja Rastafaray, or Rastarafarianism, is not only a youth culture, but also a real religion. There is a misconception that representatives of this culture are just young people with dreadlocks or in colorful (red, yellow, green) hats. But not many people think that in fact Ja Rastafaray is a bunch of different teachings, cults and religions, which include Christianity in Africa, apostolic and Zion cults, philosophical views of different sects, and there is also nationalism towards the black race .
History of Religion Ja Rastafaray. Translation of "ja"
If you delve into history, you can find several theories about Ja Rastafaray. What does ja mean? This is a god, or, as some say, with a distorted spoken name of Jehovah. According to these legends, Jah visited our land twice, the first time we saw him in the guise of Jesus Christ, and the second - not so long ago, in the guise of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I. This theory, like many others, is considered not quite clear. Therefore, with a religion such as Rastafarianism, you need to be pretty careful. No one knows to the end what she is and where her story is. But we know for sure that this young religion arose in Jamaica in the 1930s. In those days, Jamaica was still a colony of Britain. At this time, for black people, freedom existed only on paper, despite the official abolition of slavery throughout the world.
Rastafarianism - the religion of the Rastamans
By the end of the twentieth century, Ja Rastafaray, which means "religion of the Rastamans," was accepted by more than a million people around the planet. And every year there are more and more of them. Such impressive figures, apparently, exist due to the great popularity of this culture / religion among young people. Young people are most often inspired by rasta reggae music, a prominent representative of which is the famous musician Bob Marley. But, in addition to the true connoisseurs of this religion and music, we can see ordinary fans of Ja Rastafaray, the translation and the meaning of the term they may not even know exactly. Please note: Rastafarianism is a religion, not a mainstream!
The use of cannabis by rastamans
According to fans of this religion, the drug cannabis, which is often used by adherents of this religion, in no way harms human health. On the contrary, cannabis helps to overcome all obstacles that prevent a person from knowing the truth and wisdom of our world.
Rastamans (religious believers Jah Rastafaray) argue that only in this way, by using grass, you can come to complete harmony with yourself and the world around you. To confirm their theories, representatives of this religion very often quote from the Bible: “And God said: behold, I have given you all the grass that sows the seed that is on the whole earth, and every tree that has a tree fruit that sows the seed; - This will be for your food. "
Also, it was from the Bible that the opinion that it was forbidden to cut hair was taken. They must be constantly grown, while hair must be twisted into curls - that is, dreadlocks. Few would agree with the Rastafans that this particular subtext was laid down in the Bible. But it will be wrong to refute these judgments , because today no one can prove either one or the other position.
Christian denomination in Rastafarianism
Ja Rastafaray, which means the religion of the Rastamans, in the modern world has many different faiths. One of the most striking can be considered a Christian denomination, which appeared through the influence of Marcus Gavari, who is supposedly the prophet Jah. He created a movement like Back to Africa. The concept of this teaching was that Africa is the ancestral home of all mankind, and that sooner or later such a moment will come that everyone will return back to this continent. In his works, Marcus calls Jesus the representative of the Negroid race (that is, the black), and black people - the rulers of the whole world who built our civilization. There is Paradise on earth. And, according to the "Negro Jesus", this is undoubtedly Ethiopia. Ja will sooner or later take all the people there. The impudence and arrogance of black people angered God, and he gave all the representatives of the Negroid race into slavery to white people. According to Jah, this should make them understand their sins, seeing white people, change their behavior. And only after that they will become worthy of going to heaven.
Reggae music
We can say that it was reggae that contributed to the popularization of the idea of rastamanism. It all started with Jamaica, then reggae style began to spread throughout the UK, America, and then around the world. But if you look, you can see that this musical direction has almost completely eradicated racial foundations in the religion of Rastafarianism. Reggae music has become publicly available, both for black and white-skinned people on our planet. Also, reggae style has become popular not only in individual countries, but also around the world.
Lyapis Trubetskoy, "Warriors of the Light"
Next to Bob Marley you can put a modern musician and singer - Lyapis Trubetskoy. In his songs, he very often spoke about a variety of religions. His composition "I Believe" lists a variety of deities. This tells the listener that each of them has the same significance.
Not so long ago, Lapis wrote the song "Warriors of the Light", dedicated to the religion of Ja Rastafaray. “Fight until dawn,” which means protecting our peace and youth, is a description of the life of the Rastamans. The song shows the joyful life of the Rastaman, where everyone is a relative to each other (brothers and sisters), and they all fight against human vices. It also talks about the "soldiers" Ja Rastafaray, which means in the song - "Warriors of the Light." They protect the summer, protect the warmth and youth. In their life there is no place for sadness and routine, every day lived is an occasion to rejoice at their existence.
Distinctive features of Rastafarianism
With all this, it is worth noting that Ja Rasta Farai, which means "Rastaman religion," is rather ambiguous. Despite the fact that it was born on the basis of such a religion as Christianity, Rastafarianism is very different from it. The Rastamans profess love for their neighbors, vegetarianism, and rejection of the violent propaganda of their faith. Also, Ja Rastafaray is against even telling other people who are far from your views about his faith. Rastaman (or just a believer in the Rastafari religion) will certainly reach Jah, but only when he hears his call in his heart.
Therefore, in this religion there are no initiations and adherence to a single law, as in any other. Accepting a rastafarai for yourself means already being initiated.
Well, in order to come to Jah Rastafaray, you need to do all a couple of things: to realize the will of Jah and overcome the inner Babylon.