Maat Philosophy & Meditation

The Work of the Sema Institute is based on the Ancient Egyptian/African concept and Philosophy called MAAT.

"Those who live today will die tomorrow, those who die tomorrow will be born again; Those who live MAAT will not die."

"The wise person who acts with MAAT is free of falsehood and disorder."

"MAAT is great and it's effectiveness lasting; it has not been disturbed since the time of Asar. There is punishment for those who pass over its laws, but this is unfamiliar to the covetous one....When the end is near, MAAT lasts."

"No one reaches the beneficent West (enlightenment-immortality) unless their heart is righteous by doing MAAT. There is no distinction made between the inferior and the superior person; it only matters that one is found faultless when the balances and the two weights stand before the Lord of Eternity. No one is free from the reckoning. Djehuti, a baboon, holds the balances to count each one according to what they have done upon earth."

"They who revere MAAT are long lived; they who are covetous have no tomb."

-Ancient Egyptian Proverbs on The Philosophy of Maat

The instruction of Maat Philosophy, a concept of social and spiritual ethics, is beneficial for society as a whole but it is particularly necessary and beneficial for inmates at correctional institutions as well as those associated with the corrections system. It assists them in discovering the reasons for their situation but also the means to change their lives by understanding how to control their actions and lead themselves to more positive ways of thinking and feeling. Therefore, our goals are to instruct inmates as well as the leaders of society who control and administer correctional institutions in the philosophical disciplines of Maat Philosophy in order to promote understanding, peace, harmony and order that will benefit society as a whole by preventing crime in the first

What is Maat?

Maat is a philosophy, a spiritual symbol as well as a cosmic energy or force which pervades the entire universe. She is the symbolic embodiment of world order, justice, righteousness, correctness, harmony and peace. She is also known by her headdress composed of a feather of truth. She is a form of the Goddess Aset, who represents wisdom and spiritual awakening through balance and equanimity.

In ancient Egypt, the judges and all those connected with the judicial system were initiated into the teachings of MAAT. Thus, those who would discharged the laws and regulations of society were well trained in the ethical and spiritual-mystical values of life (presented in this volume), fairness, justice and the responsibility to serve society in order to promote harmony in society and the possibility for spiritual development in an atmosphere of freedom and peace. For only when there is justice and fairness in society can there be an abiding harmony and peace. Harmony and peace are necessary for the pursuit of true happiness and inner fulfillment in life.

Along with her associates, the goddesses Shai (Fortune), Rennenet (Destiny) and Meskhenet (see page 179), Maat encompass the teachings of Karma and Reincarnation or the destiny of every individual based on past actions, thoughts and feelings. Thus, they have an important role to play in the Judgment scene of the Book of Coming Forth By Day. Understanding their principles leads the aspirant to become free of the cycle of reincarnation and human suffering and to discover supreme bliss and immortality.

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MAAT signifies that which is straight. Two of the symbols of MAAT are the ostrich feather () and the pedestal (Õ) upon which God stands. The Supreme Being, in the form of the God Ptah, is often depicted standing on the pedestal.

MAAT is the daughter of Ra, the high God, thus in a hymn to Ra we find:

The land of Manu (the West) receives thee with satisfaction, and the goddess MAAT embraces thee both at morn and at eve... the god Djehuti and the goddess MAAT have written down thy daily course for thee every day...

Another Hymn in the Papyrus of Qenna provides deeper insight into MAAT. Qenna says:

I have come to thee, O Lord of the Gods, Temu-Heru-khuti, whom MAAT directeth... Amen-Ra rests upon MAAT... Ra lives by MAAT... Asar carries along the earth in His train by MAAT...

In Ancient Egyptian myth, MAAT is the daughter of Ra, and she was with him on His celestial barque when he first emerged from the primeval waters along with His company of gods and goddesses. She is also known as the eye of Ra, lady of heaven, queen of the earth, mistress of the Underworld and the lady of the gods and goddesses. MAAT also has a dual form or MAATI. In her capacity of God, MAAT is Shes MAAT which means ceaseless-ness and regularity of the course of the sun (i.e. the universe). In the form of MAATI, she represents the South and the North which symbolize Upper and Lower Egypt as well as the Higher and Lower Self. MAAT is the personification of justice and righteousness upon which God has created the universe and MAAT is also the essence of God and creation. Therefore, it is MAAT who judges the soul when it arrives in the judgment hall of MAAT. Sometimes MAAT herself becomes the scales upon which the heart of the initiate is judged. MAAT judges the heart (unconscious mind) of the initiate in an attempt to determine to what extent the heart has lived in accordance with MAAT or truth, correctness, reality, genuineness, uprightness, righteousness, justice, steadfastness and the unalterable nature of creation.

Below: The Goddess Maat sits at the bow (in front) of the boat of Ra (Supreme Being). This signifies that she is the one who makes the way, that is, she makes order out of the waves of the primeval ocean as the boat moves. This allows Ra, the spirit, to abide in the forms of the waves, i.e. the forms of creation. Thus, we are to understand that Maat comes first in the spiritual discipline. In other words, virtue must come and then the spirit follows. In other words, the aspirant comes into spiritual nto es enlightened to enlightenment after purification by practice of Maat Philosophy and its disciplines. When one comes into harmony with the goddess one is actually coming into harmony with the balance of the cosmos and then she (attunement with the cosmic order of the universe) introduces the aspirant to Ra, the Supreme Spirit.

place, preventing the mistreatment of inmates and their recidivism and promoting understanding, justice and balance in society.

MAAT MEDITATION: Maat philosophy includes a meditative component. This practice allows the deeper aspects of the philosophy to be impressed on the personality. There are many evidences attesting to the benefits of meditation for promoting relaxation, lowering blood pressure and other physical benefits. There are other studies which show the benefits to inmates at correctional institutions which demonstrate how the practice of meditation assists them to better cope with their situation, control anger and resentment, develop ethical culture and develop overall psychological well being and a peaceful nature, all of which helps them to realize how to transform their lives and gain control of the personality instead of it controlling them. That leads to less conflict while in the facility and less recidivism when they return to general society.