Aloha Ke Akua, Kuleana
Aloha Ke Akua – “Breath of Life”, or “God is Love”
Kuleana – Responsibility in life
These are two phrases I’ve learned recently, which I’ve found to be very powerful in meditation.
Something interesting I’ve experienced though, is that like anything else, these words have been misunderstood and watered down to a point that it’s completely lost its true meaning.
When many people learn about Hawaii, without actually being a part of the culture, they think the word “Aloha” is used as a greeting, similar to “hello”.
This is not the true meaning of the word.
The actual translation would be more along the lines of “Breath of Life”, or “God is Love”, but even this doesn’t actually convey the true depth of what is being said.
The true essence of Aloha Ke Akua is to recognize the unfathomable divine nature in all beings.
Some call it Breath of God, Prana, Universal Energy, Life Force Energy, Chi, or a billion other names, but the idea is to understand that all beings (living and non-living) are part of God’s divine nature, and nothing is less-than or inferior-to.
It’s the basis of “namaste” – the divine nature in me recognizes the divine nature in you.
It isn’t simply the fact that God “gave” you a spark of life, but rather, you ARE God incarnated as a physical being, and the aspect of God which is “me” is recognizing the aspect of God that is “you”.
Essentially, it’s God recognizing itself.
To say “Aloha Ke Akua” is to say that the unfathomable divinity of me, recognizes the unfathomable divinity of you.
The true essence of what “God” actually is though, is too incomprehensibly mind blowing to even put into words, so the closest we can come up with is to say “Breath of Life”, or “God is Love”.
Aloha Ke Akua, the unfathomable divinity in everything.
Kuleana likewise, transcends words.
Even more powerful than taking responsibility in life, the idea behind Kuleana is to accept WHO you are.
Many people use religion and spirituality to escape who they are. We’re taught that we have a “sin nature”, or an inherent part of us that is unacceptable.
The concept of transcending the ego, likewise, teaches that there’s something wrong with who you are, and you must reach a state of saint/godhood in order to be accepted.
Essentially, these are just different ways of hating yourself. It’s the idea that God somehow made a mistake, which now needs to be corrected, or that there’s something wrong with you for being human.
This could not be farther from the truth.
The truth is, there is nothing wrong with who you are. It’s okay to be human, and every “mistake” you’ve made is an essential part of your learning experience.
You are loved exactly as you are, and you haven’t made a single mistake in your entire life.
What Kuleana actually means here, is that I fully embrace who I am as a human being.
Even more than that, I CELEBRATE who I am, because as an aspect of unfathomable divinity, it’s literally impossible for you to be anything other than beautiful.
Aloha Ke Akua, Kuleana. I recognize your unfathomable divine nature, and it’s impossible for you to be anything other than beautiful.
Thank you for who you are in my life. You are exactly where you need to be.
I choose to be here.