Esu & Personal Transformation
Esu (Exu, Elegba, Legba) is the protector of ritual culture. Knowledge without manifestation and transformation lacks efficacy and is therefore impotent. Esu is the force that transforms knowledge into action in the physical and spiritual realms. There is a fantastic oriki that doubles as a praise riddle for Esu. It says;
Esu slept in the house
The house was too small.
Esu slept on the verandah
The verandah was too small.
Esu climbed into a nutshell
Finally! He was able to stretch out!
Esu walked through the ground nut farm
His tuft of hair was barely visible.
If not for his enormous size, he would not have been visible at all.
Esu throws a rock today
and it hits someone yesterday!
We experience Esu but we do not know him. The far reaches of our ambiguity about what is good, what is bad, what is real and what is false is his domain. Once Esu joined a traveler for a segment of the journey. They arrived at a stranger’s house and were welcomed in like lost brothers. Their host was a little family, modest but still generous. As the evening pressed on, Esu learned that the family had a sick child. Esu produced a medicinal powder and presented it to the father, telling him, “Give this to your child. It will heal him.” Then, in the middle of the night, Esu awakened his travel companion in a rush. “We must go… NOW!!!” As they reached the edge of the compound, Esu’s companion heard the family wailing that their child had died.
Later on, Esu and his companion arrived at the home of a wealthy family. Again, the family showed great hospitality and fed the travelers well. As they were lighting a fire to warm themselves, Esu dropped his torch in the hay and burned the entire compound to the ground. By now, his companion was visibly shaken and very ashamed to have been associated with such a menace to society. Esu could see his companion’s discomfort and with a playful smile, but penetratingly serious eyes, he spoke:
“You are ashamed to be traveling with me. You disapprove of my deeds. What you do not know is that the 1st house we visited, that child was going to grow up to kill his own parents. And in the second house, the parents were filthy rich but more selfish than the tortoise himself, whose house will only accommodate one and whose verandah shades only one as well. They have more than enough for the village, but they do not even share with their own children. Now that the compound has burned, everyone will pitch in to rebuild and they will discover the stash of money. Now they must share with their children.”
When calamity strikes we are fast to judge and based on our own misunderstanding, we oftentimes react violently to situations that actually call for a gentler, quieter touch. The will of God is the TOTALITY of existence. Esu is the one who maintains the balance. Ifa advises us to listen carefully to both sides of every story, lest we add to the chaos in our haste.
As the year comes to an end, and a new year begins, make time to reflect. Go inside and review, rethink, reconsider the events and experiences that shaped your year, understanding that there are no real “good guys” and “bad guys,” in the way we have been led to believe. There is only the totality of God’s will. Now, ask yourself, how are you a vehicle of God’s divine will? What will you do in the new year to live in harmony with the truth, your truth, our collective truth?
Esu slept in the house
The house was too small.
Esu slept on the verandah
The verandah was too small.
Esu climbed into a nutshell
Finally! He was able to stretch out!
Esu walked through the ground nut farm
His tuft of hair was barely visible.
If not for his enormous size, he would not have been visible at all.
Esu throws a rock today
and it hits someone yesterday!
We experience Esu but we do not know him. The far reaches of our ambiguity about what is good, what is bad, what is real and what is false is his domain. Once Esu joined a traveler for a segment of the journey. They arrived at a stranger’s house and were welcomed in like lost brothers. Their host was a little family, modest but still generous. As the evening pressed on, Esu learned that the family had a sick child. Esu produced a medicinal powder and presented it to the father, telling him, “Give this to your child. It will heal him.” Then, in the middle of the night, Esu awakened his travel companion in a rush. “We must go… NOW!!!” As they reached the edge of the compound, Esu’s companion heard the family wailing that their child had died.
Later on, Esu and his companion arrived at the home of a wealthy family. Again, the family showed great hospitality and fed the travelers well. As they were lighting a fire to warm themselves, Esu dropped his torch in the hay and burned the entire compound to the ground. By now, his companion was visibly shaken and very ashamed to have been associated with such a menace to society. Esu could see his companion’s discomfort and with a playful smile, but penetratingly serious eyes, he spoke:
“You are ashamed to be traveling with me. You disapprove of my deeds. What you do not know is that the 1st house we visited, that child was going to grow up to kill his own parents. And in the second house, the parents were filthy rich but more selfish than the tortoise himself, whose house will only accommodate one and whose verandah shades only one as well. They have more than enough for the village, but they do not even share with their own children. Now that the compound has burned, everyone will pitch in to rebuild and they will discover the stash of money. Now they must share with their children.”
When calamity strikes we are fast to judge and based on our own misunderstanding, we oftentimes react violently to situations that actually call for a gentler, quieter touch. The will of God is the TOTALITY of existence. Esu is the one who maintains the balance. Ifa advises us to listen carefully to both sides of every story, lest we add to the chaos in our haste.
As the year comes to an end, and a new year begins, make time to reflect. Go inside and review, rethink, reconsider the events and experiences that shaped your year, understanding that there are no real “good guys” and “bad guys,” in the way we have been led to believe. There is only the totality of God’s will. Now, ask yourself, how are you a vehicle of God’s divine will? What will you do in the new year to live in harmony with the truth, your truth, our collective truth?