Rev. King and us

[Guest guest]

My dearest friends and Siblings,

Yesterday, I attended a ceremony in honor of Rev.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I know that I shared some

thoughts concerning his life several days ago, but the

ceremony taught me a few new things that I did not

know previously.

 

Rev. King did not create the Civil Rights movement. He

did not choose to lead it. Rather, the movement chose

him.

 

Remember that black and white people were kept

separate in the southeastern part of the United States

from about 1915 to the 1960s. They had separate

schools, separate restaurants, etc. This included

churches. People in the area were nearly all

Christian, but black people worshipped in their own

churches, with black ministers. White people

worshipped in other churches with white ministers.

 

The black ministers all across the region came to

understand that this segregation was immoral, a

violation of the teachings of Jesus. This became very

apparent during the Second World War. Segregation

extended even to the US Army. Black soldiers fought in

the war, separately from white soldiers. They fought

very bravely and won many honors. Indeed, a group of

black soldiers liberated the Buchenwald concentration

camp in Germany. The Jews in the camp cried for joy

and hailed the black Americans as angels sent from

heaven. But when these same men went home, they were

not allowed to eat in nice restaurants or send their

children to good schools. They had bravely risked

their necks to fight racism in Europe, only to be the

victims of racism in their own land.

 

It was the black churches that organized the movement

for change. Black ministers preached equality from

their pulpits on Sunday mornings. They held meetings

in their churches. They led protest marches in the

streets. They helped raise money for lawyers to fight

segregation in the courts. It was black ministers all

across the southeastern USA who started the movement

for change. They choose Rev. King as their leader

because they knew that he was a powerful and

persuasive speaker. With his help, they eventually

succeeded in their goals.

 

My point in saying all this on this list is to

illustrate the power of religion. Faith fills people's

souls and inspires them to great things. They come to

believe in a force more powerful than themselves,

inspiring them to things that everyday reason would

tell them is impossible. Sometimes this faith can be

destructive, if it leads people to be more intolerant

toward others. But if faith inspires people toward

love, it can be the instrument that inspires them to

take action against long odds and fight for what they

know in their hearts to be right.

 

I know several people who speak ill of Christianity.

They say that it is an imperialist religion used by

conquerors to oppress the conquered, that it restricts

people and shames them into submissiveness rather than

inspiring them to glory. Sometimes this is true. But

all faith lies within the heart. It is what you decide

it is. To Rev. King and the other members of his

movement, it was their faith in God that inspired them

to do what many thought impossible: to change the

country in which they lived and make it a more loving,

more compassionate society.

 

It is my hope that some day, Divinely Female may have

a similar impact on its members, inspiring them to

acts of bravery and compassion. We believe in love and

in respect for the divine energy that lies within the

soul. We believe in honoring ourselves and all those

around us. We believe in peace and justice. We are a

small group still, so perhaps we shall never grow to

the size where we can change the policies of a large

and powerful nation. But we can have a positive impact

on the lives of our members. We can make them stronger

and more confident, more loving and more

compassionate. Let us all seek enlightenment and share

it with others, today and every day.

 

Jai Ma!

 

Sister Usha

 

=====

Sister Usha Devi

Founder, Divinely Female and worshipper of the Sacred Flame that shines inside

every woman

 

 

 

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