There are many things which we were teaching, when we were young in the Rastafari faith, which I would never teach today. There are also many things which we did, and did not do, which have taken on changes, and therefore cause us to be careful of what we do or say. Because we were advocates of the bible in the early days, most of what we preach and teach were based on the contents of the bible, because our parents had instill in us, that we must follow what ever it is that was written in the bible and we did.

For instance, it is written in the bible, that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Then it went on to say, let the dead bury their dead, and if this is taken literally in interpretation, we know that the dead cannot bury the dead. As a result of these bibical statements, Rastafari people in the early days, preach that they would not die, I shall not die but I shall live forever with FARI.

All of us including I, Bongo Wato, Bongo Time, Bongo Pooru, Bongo Abba, Bongo Rocky, Ras Amos, Bongo Johnny, Ras Shedrack, Ras Mesheck, Ras Abendigo, Bongo Headful, Ras Iyarice, Ras Itanya, Ras Pidow, Bongo Jack, and so many more of our African patriots, would teach to our people, that we would not die and that we are the sons of Jah, who willgo to Holy Mount Zion, to live in happiness for evermore. This was what we all preached and that includes myself, for that was all which we know based on what was written in the bible.

Then according to laws of the Nazarenes, if a Nazarene looked upon, are see a dead body, then he should trim and shave his locks and beard, because he is defiled as a result of seeing that dead body. So in those days, if a brethren or a sistren would die suddenly, it would become a very frieghtening matter, and while some brethren would not say much, there were those who would say, that the wages of sin is death, and the gift of God is eternal life.

Moreover, we definately would not take part in the funeral, and their would be ones who would say let the dead bury their dead. In the end, the family of the brethren or sistren who past, would have to come and get the body and take care of the funeral, although they are not Rastafari people, and although they were very opposed to their son or daughter becoming a Rastafari person.

Funerals were not heard of in the Rastafari circles in those days, and that was why Peter Tosh sing his song, IMAN NO GO NO ONE BURIAL, MEKE YOU FRIEND COME SAY A HIM A DE GENERAL ETC. Then the time came when most of our elders were dieing one by one and two by two, and over the last twenty years a large amount of ancient Rastafari elders have past away, and that as helped to change the thinking of some brethren and sistren, within Rasafari Religion. So many of the great elders with whom I work in the struggle have past. And so I think that there is a new thinking amomg some of the brethren today, as it relates to whether people will die or not, but not all. You will still have brethren today, who think that they will live forever, although that is not the lesson which Mother Nature teaches.

In reality, all things will change and pass away, and that includes the body of all humanity, there seems to be a cycle of movements, people pass away and people are born, they pass each other on the way. We can learn from the trees and other creatures, for Mother Nature is our greatest teacher and the greatest care giver. There are four seasons of the year, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. It is noticeable that the leaves fall of the trees in the Fall, and stay upon the earth and fade away, and become a part of the soil and nourishes the earth. Well man and all other creatures, must go through the same process, they came from the earth and they must return to the very loving Mama Earth. For any movement to be successful and knowledgeable, they must acknowledge the lessons which are taught to us by Mother Nature and Father Time, which is life our greatest teacher.

In closing we must never forget that our great ancestors who were be fore us have pased on, people like Jessie, King David, King Solomon, Menelek, Sheba, Jerimiah, Isiah, Amos, Peter, Mark, luke and John, our own great Grand perents, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, this is just a natural process in life, and we as intelligent people must put our intelligence above our beliefs. Life is full of chainges and have been so for ever. We must just learn to accept and acknowledge the changes which life brings and learn from them, for there are lessons to be learned, in every changes which takes place.
Again I send many oceans of blessings and self determination to African people everywhere
ONE BLACK LOVE ONE BLACK HEART
Baba Ras Marcus