The Master Key

This essay is concerned with the force that resides within each and everyone of us; the force that many people think is without them, but is actually within them. I shall begin by quoting a friend of mine, "Now we see why we are told that Angels ASPIRE to become men...for they know man possesses the Master Key, but does not know it... while the Angels are not privileged to have access to the Key in their Heavenly state, MAN who has the Master Key Itself heavily relies on  mortal beings like himself for salvation...being totally ignorant of his own Divinity and unlimited inner potential” ( Kelechi Ekezie, 2008).

For thousands of years, humans in their infinite quest to search for the master key continue to look everywhere else, but within. They looked at the sun and they erroneously concluded that, since the sun is the center of the universe and since the sun is needed to sustain life, the sun must be God (i.e., Ra). Years later, humans found out that water covered 70 percent of the world and 60-75 percent of adult human body. Thus since water is vital to all known forms of life, humans erroneously concluded, water must be God.  Humans relentlessly travelled to every nook and cranny of the world in search of the master key. From the East to the West and from the North to the South, humans noticed the same blue sky. Since the sky is omnipresent, they concluded, the sky must be God.

One glorious day, a child was born in a peculiar Roman colony - a child who would later become a great teacher. This child’s birth had all the hallmarks of a great being.The Roman Empire was the kingdom of God on earth during this time. No nation or man dared to stand up in the way of the Roman Empire. Having grown up, the young child passionately preached about the master key and more courageously against the Roman rule. He stood up for justice, fairness, and respect, and paid dearly with his life. At his death, he became more celebrated. His teachings and the story of his life spread like wildfire to every corner of the globe. People acknowledged his courage, for standing up to the almighty Roman Empire and for being defiant even in the face of death, and concluded that he must be divine (Please note that this is based on the scripture, but not on any historical facts).

Followership grew galore, first, in the North Eastern shore of Africa. Orthodox Christianity was established in Alexandria, Egypt and Christian empires were established in Lalibela and Axum, both in Ethiopia.  When the aftershock of evangelism tsunami finally reached Rome, the almighty Roman Empire was being held in a religious quagmire and the implosion between the believers and the non-believers was clearly visible at close range.  Roman elders, under Constantine, felt threatened under the invasion of a foreign philosophy. They came up with a clever line – “blessed are those who labor here and seek rewards on the other side...sin, you may, on the beloved son.” The peasants, in their impotence and glaring ignorance, fell for the unholy lies. At the council of Nicaea, Constantine and the Bishops cleverly bundled God into an unholy Trinity – the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. The dissenters were silenced for being heretic. Again, the son was magically transformed from cosmic Trinity (i.e., Orisha nla) to God. The son, like the sun, became a synonymous principle with God. The Catholic Church was forever born - "In Hoc Signo, Vinces" (i.e., in this sign you will conquer).

While some men look every where else, but within, to search for the master key, some men clearly understand that the master key is within.  Men that continuously search for the master key often distance themselves from personal responsibilities. When they succeed they praise “Mr. Good” (God), but when they fail they blame “Mr. Evil (Satan).” However, men who realize that the master key is within understand that humans are the embodiments of good and evil. When they succeed or fail, they blame nobody but themselves. They are totally responsible for their actions.

I have always asked myself if the elusiveness of the master key, in some people, is intrinsically linked to the fear of death. Let’s look at it this way “almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important…..No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's agent” (Steve Jobs, 2005). Rather than using the thought of death as a tool for making the big choices in life, men who are totally ignorant of their own divinity believe the choice is not theirs to make. The choice, they contend, is in the master key. If they don’t possess the master key, certainly they don’t possess the choice. The choice, they contend, is in heaven.