The way to Ifayelele (Divine love-intelligence consciousness)

Aboru Aboye. Ogbo ato asure iworiwofun.

Have compassion and friendliness towards all beings whereby Olodumare is satisfied. What is unattainable when Olodumare the Source Supreme is satisfied? Inner peace, contentment, happiness and well being are desired and sought for by all. Peaces of mind and inner contentment are products of living in harmony with iwa and otito. Looking for peace and happiness in the accumulation of material objects or effervescent worldly circumstances is as illusory, pointless and futile as attempting to try to capture a mirage. True peace, joy and contentment are that which can be had independently of changing circumstances only when we are progressively established in Ifayelele (divine consciousness of love, intelligence, courage and complete inner satisfaction).

When the heart and mind are permanently merged and united with the ase of Olodumare, this is Ifayelele (the blissful transcendental state or condition). In Ifayelele we are rooted and established in the primordial realm of causes and are freed from trying to make sense of the bewildering world of multitudinous effects over which we have no complete control. We are at peace with the world and ourselves when we are established in Ifayele. This is why Orunmila Oba Atayese praised Ifa and said, "Ifa you and I are very united. We are certainly one."  The meaning, depth, power and significance of these words would take an entire volume to explicate so as to do justice to its sublimity, beauty, power and vision, but in a nutshell the continual aim and goal of Orunmila for himself and his followers is Ifayele. The transcendental state and condition of Ifa consciousness; or qualitative conscious union with the Ifa spirit of limitless light and life is Ifayelele.

Ifayelele experience moulds our character, and strengthens and sublimates our personality.  Ifayele does not submerge our personality but enhances it. Ifayelele makes our mind or intelligence progressively one in quality and power with Ifa. Ifayelele does not make everyone identical or the same, but causes the original and unique blueprint for our persons, according the divine purpose set by Olodumare, to reach fruition. The experience and condition of Ifayelele is one of inner sweetness, peace, unshakeable serenity, purity, love, contentment, awe or rapture, super abounding ecstatic supreme confidence, assurance and joy.

When people first approach Ifa they usually do so when a life problem emerges, leading them to find solutions, suggestions and/or remedies through consulting the divine Ifa oracle. Solutions, suggestions and remedies are sought by many through Ifa for the above reasons. Some approach Ifa looking for health, others come seeking doors of opportunity for gainful employment, some come seeking a life partner (love), others solutions to family problems or other pressing personal problems. The reasons people come to Ifa are countless. The reasons are mostly for solutions related to personal or mundane problems. Comparatively speaking few people actually approaches Ifa with the purpose of fulfilling their spiritual longings and need for spiritual actualization or realization through Ifa knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Most come to resolve immediate personal concerns or problems.

But as the person experiences the ase, power and efficacy of Ifa, they begin to sense that there is a greater depth, dimension or purpose to Ifa than just the remedying of immediate problems associated with health, love, money, success in business ventures etc. They slowly come to realize, understand and appreciate that Ifa has a higher and over-arching purpose than just the remedying of personal problems or concerns. Ifa is genuinely interested in responding to and remedying our immediate personal concerns, but Ifa is not limited to just this, even though this is an importance and attractive feature or function of Ifa. It is only over time that a conscious awareness dawns on the person, that Ifa is seeking to do and achieve in a persons life, much  more and beyond than what they consulted Ifa for. Ifa seeks to accomplish something beyond the remedying of immediate problems or concerns that we often posit before Ifa.

In oriki Ifa it is clearly stated that if we knew Orunmila (Ifa) more closely, accurately or intimately, we would know  (experience) immortality, eternal life, complete inner satisfaction, serenity and perfect spiritual fulfilment. This immortality, eternal life, joy, complete inner satisfaction, abiding serenity and perfect spiritual fulfilment refers to attaining the highest divine state, condition or quality of life that is enjoyed by Olodumare and the perfected Orisa. This state is known as Ifayelele. Oriki Ifa says, 'Ki a mo o ki a la, Oba Alade Olodu Merindinlogun',  ('To know him (Ifa-Orunmila) is to find salvation, King of the Sixteen Principles of Creation.') To experientially know Ifa is to be personally established in Ifayelele. When one is established in Ifayelele one has power to convert poison into medicine and worry into happiness.

Because Orunmila is himself established in the Ifa spirit of limitless life and life (Ifayelele), he is also known as the one who can convert our worries into happiness. 'Ayo teere gb'ara san'le ma fi ara pa, a s'oro d'ayo' (The young one who falls without injury, he who transforms worry into happiness.) The invitation and challenge of Ifa is that we do not become merely content with knowing the high status and ability of Orunmila that enables him to do the wonderful he does, but that we ourselves should grow in our development and attainment of Ifa consciousness, so that in union with Orunmila we might be agents of blessing, healing, comfort and joy to others. That we too might have in ourselves the power to avert, diminish and destroy the power and influence of death (decline, loss, illness, disease, anxiety, fear, worry and decay of all kinds). This is the secret Ifa will share with us and bestow upon us if we become sincere and humble resolute dedicated students and practitioners of the confidential mysteries of Ifa. We should without doubt rely on Orunmila, but one should know that the aim of Orunmila is not to make us dependant upon himself but to make us more and more like him.

Upon whom or what did Orunmila depend? Did he depend on an Orisa? Think about it carefully. He received what help and support he was able to receive from the Orisa but he himself was dependent on Ifa (the spirit of limitless light and life) or in other words he was always seeking to grow in Ifa and looked to Ifa to establish him in greater, deeper and purer levels of Ifayele. It can be said that Orunmila was immersed and filled with the Ifa spirit of limitless light and life. Orunmila relied on the joint union of Ifa and his own sacred Ori. This too should be our main practice and abiding support. As our ori is guided, developed and nourished by the Ifa spirit of limitless light and life, so we progressively lead by stages and degrees into Ifayelele. At times we experience growth spurts where we experience Ifayelele powerfully and find ourselves in a wonderful and unexplainable state of heightened awareness, divine trance, holy rapture, strength, sweetness, mystic vision, divine inspiration and power.

But because our Ifayalele is not yet perfected or matured, we come down from that lofty divine state. But even those momentary flashes or experiences of Ifayelele greatly changes and transforms us regardless of the duration of the enlightening, ecstatic and rapturous experience. Little by little we become established in Ifayelele and the duration of our state of Ifayelele is prolonged more and more until Ifayelele is our permanent state or condition from which we no longer come down from or retrogress to a mundane mentality. At the climax of growth, development and perfection our own divinized human mind and/or intelligence we will become complete united or spiritually fused with our divine ori. This is supreme Ifayele. This is what happened to the holy sage and seer of Igeti, Orunmila.  At the height and climax of this attainment due to many  years of learning, perseverence, study, training, struggling, pondering and applying the inner heart mysteries of Ifa,  Orunmila with great ecstasy, extraordinary wonder, heroic victory and joyous rapture entered the highest, final and most complete state of Ifa consciousness, the fusion of his developing and perfect Ori with his own spirit/mind (Ifayelele).

This is the goal Orunmila Oba Atayese has for us. This is the goals we should personally set for ourselves and aspire for. Orunmila is the master of Ifayalele and is able to lead us there. Orunmila is called, 'Iriju Olodumare. Alatunse aiye.  Ikuforiji. Oba  Olofa asun l'Ola.' (The prime minister of the Creator. The one whose function is to set the world right. The being whom even death honors! The ruler who draws blessings and prosperity after him and who sleeps in the midst of honor.) Aboru Aboye ooo Orunmila! How do you suppose my dear friends, fellow initiates and genuine seekers of truth that Orunmila will be rectifying and setting things right in the world? Think for a moment. Meditate the mystery of Ifa. Ponder it in your own heart and discern the answer, the reality. 

The world is you! The world is me! The world of your heart and mind. The world of my heart and mind. Orunmila will elevate, enhance, develop and perfect your individual mental, emotional and spiritual mental state by progressively taking you through the gradual stages of attainment of Ifayelele. This is the true meaning of the Ifa revelation that Orunmila will mend our world. Not the world out there, external to yourself but the inner world of your feelings, desires, imagination, emotions and will. When Ifa revelation says Ifa will mend our world it means the mending of the individual heart and mind i.e. your world, your life, your inner world and inner life which is expressed through your conduct, behavior, demeanor and words. When you and I are mended, healed and rectified as individuals then the entire world is naturally and consequentially rectified. 

So my dear friends, initiates and fellow companion-practitioners are you up for the journey of Ifayelele? Is your interest piqued? Does the desire for the attainment of Ifayelele burn in your heart with unwavering intensity? Do you want to taste, savor, glean and learn more of this sacred and confidential Ifa mystery? To achieve Ifayelele Orunmila studied, persevered and applied himself diligently and resolutely. When the journey got intense and the ajogun attempted to oppose Orunmila in his high goal of Ifayelele he did not give up or give in. He would call on Ela Iwori Asiwaju to support, encourage and strengthen him!  Dear fellow companions and practitioners of Ifa, learn more and savor more of this divine mystery you will by the blessing of Ifa. But for now this message and teaching is adequate and sufficient.

Ogbo ato asure iworiwofun. Aboru Aboye.