Indian sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar wrote the music of "O Aalok Putra Agyani" for the 1986 opening of the Baháʼí House of Worship in New Delhi, India. This was one of 10 Hindi songs the maestro wrote for the dedication. Years later, choral arranger Tom Price adapted the music to the sacred words of Bahá'u'lláh and The Báb. The result is the glistening "O My Servant!", performed on this video mashup by The Toronto Baháʼí Chorale.
The New Year of Baháʼís and Persians is upon us. Millions worldwide celebrated Naw-Rúz on 20 March, the day of the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Literally translated as "New Day", Naw-Rúz is a time of joy and celebration, with winter's cold and dark ending and spring's warmth and light beginning. To all my friends, Happy Naw-Rúz, with all the change and hope it brings!
The nineteen-day Baháʼí fast is currently being observed. It involves complete abstention from food and drinks from sunrise till sunset. It is a spiritual reinvigoration period through meditation and prayer when Baháʼís detach from the material world's selfish desires.
The Bahá’í World is celebrating the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há, a period dedicated to compassion, hospitality, generosity, friendship, and preparation for the nineteen-day fast. The festival spans the extra days that fall outside of the 19 months of the Bahá'í calendar. Bahá'ís observe it between the seventeenth and nineteenth (the time of fasting) months of the year. This year, it began on 24 February and ends today.
THE BAHÁ'Í World News Service has released a video compendium of the most compelling stories of the global Bahá’í community in 2020. The video illustrates what Bahá’ís do: collectively serving humanity and refining their lives according to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The year needed the greatest need for togetherness, and Baháʼís have shown how hope, effort, and unity helped alleviate human suffering in societies worldwide.
THIS MONTH, Bahá'ís around the world commemorate two Holy Days associated with ‘Abdu'l-Bahá: The Day of the Covenant (26 November) and The Day of His Ascension (28 November). On these two occasions, we remember and celebrate the presence of the oldest son of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith among us. In their 26 November 2018 message to the global Bahá’ís, the Universal House of Justice wrote:
In this season . . . every Bahá’í heart is stirred by remembrance of Him Who is the Mystery of God, the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh’s impregnable Covenant, the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity, the embodiment of every Bahá’í ideal, the Most Mighty Branch of God whereunder all can find shelter.
AS CATHOLICS commemorate saints and souls in this solemn weekend , I remember departed members of my family and honor their selflessness and nobility. They include the parents-in-law of my siblings: because of them, stronger love and blessedness exist in our family.
THIS IS the majestic "Dastam Begir, 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Hold My Hand, 'Adbu'l-Bahá)" performed by Narges Nouhnejad Fani and the Bahá'i World Congress Choir at the Second Bahá'i World Congress in New York City in November 1992. The song was written by Nikki Manevi with lyrics based on a poem by Habib Mu'ayyad. It is an exquisite melding of eastern vocal music and western classical and choral traditions.
I TURNED 55 today, a milestone of sorts as I've just entered the middle of the quinquagenarian decade. But like anything else happening this year, this birthday has come and gone with bigger priorities in mind. There was no singing of birthday wishes, only receiving greetings with replies of "Are you safe?" or "Hope you're doing safely". There was no birthday cake, only the quickly-prepared lunch before the 1PM office meeting on Zoom.
AS THE Bahá'í Fast comes to a close, springtime begins, and a new year unfolds. It's Naw-Rúz, the first day of the new year in the Bahá'í calendar. With Bahá'ís present in 100,000 localities in over 200 countries and territories around the world, the event is a global celebration. In most countries, Bahá'ís gather together for prayers, dancing, singing, and dining. Hie over to the "The Largest Bahá'í Facebook Group Ever", and you'll see how Naw-Ruz captivates communities around the world.
Naw-Rúz has roots in Nowruz, the traditional Iranian celebration that welcomes the first day of spring. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Son of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, has written about the advent of springtime:
The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past; the bleakness of the winter time is over. The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and quiver.
Happy Naw-Rúz to everyone around the world!
AND SO that time of the year has come when Baha'is are up before the sun is, have a filling breakfast, pray, and make their most uncompromising effort to detach from all material passions and desires. The annual 19-day season of the Fast has come.
To all my fellow Baha'is, may the Fast be refreshing, reflective, and reinvigorating for you! Happy Fasting!
THIS YEAR'S festival of Ayyám-i-Há has five days of fellowship amongst Bahá'ís on account of leap year. Translated from Persian as "days of joy" or "days outside of time", Ayyám-i-Há brings Bahá'ís together in in a global spirit of goodwill, performing acts of charity, giving gifts to friends and family, and attending social gatherings before the annual Bahá'í Fast begins.
Bahá'u'lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá'í Faith, said of Ayyám-i-Há:
"It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."
Happy Ayyám-i-Há to Bahá'ís around the world!
SEVEN YEARS ago today, seven Baha'i leaders were unjustly imprisoned in Iran. Their 20-year sentences are the longest ever served to any prisoner of conscience in that country--a severity that is only the tip of the iceberg in what is one of the most serious cases of state-sponsored religious persecution in our time.
Seven years in prison. It really has to stop. Now.
ON THE occasion of the Bahá'í New Year, I wish all of you a fresh start to a year of bounties! Happy Naw-Rúz!
FROM 2-20 March every year, members of the global Bahá'í Faith observe the 19-Day Fast by abstaining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. It is a time for reflecting on one’s spiritual progress and making an effort to detach from material desires.
To all my fellow Bahá'ísobserving the Fast, may you have the most gratifying spiritual enrichment ahead!
THE FOUR-DAY festival of Ayyám-i-Há brings Bahá'ís together in fellowship and spirit of charity. These are days of preparing for the Bahá'í Fast, celebrating goodwill, and exchanging gifts in ways similar to Christmas observance. In fact, Ayyám-i-Há is often seen as "Baha'i Christmas".
Happy Ayyám-i-Há to Bahá'ís around the world!
TRAVELING TO Chandigarh to attend a wedding, I traversed the ancient, venerable Grand Trunk Road. The national highway is dotted with sprawling farmlands and huge car showrooms, particularly in Haryana. As I passed by the cavernous Audi and Mercedes Benz showrooms, I realize the reason why Delhi is grand, cold, and proud. It's populated by throngs of families who have built these farmlands, cashed in on them, and bought their material richness (and big cars) to the capital. New Delhi, of course, is more than happy to accommodate them, as their wealth is an impeccable match for the capital's symbolic power.
Someday, I hope to see Delhi without the trappings of material wealth, and experience it for what it must truly represent: the capital of an undeniably spiritual nation.
“Five Years Too Many”
Link reference: Media Makes Us on Vimeo.
WHILE THE rest of us are able to vote for our leaders and talk openly about its results, in the Islamic Republic of Iran are Baha'is who, along with other religious minorities, are not even able to talk because of their faith, let alone vote for their leaders. It's now been five years since seven Baha'i leaders were jailed by the Iranian government for simply being a Baha'i. Yes, it's that bad, that ridiculous, and that true, and that too in the modern age. Go figure.
The seven unjustly imprisoned Baha'i leaders
THE BAHA'I world has just completed its process to elect the new Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing council of the Baha'i Faith. Representatives of national spiritual assemblies around the world gathered at the 11th International Baha'i Convention in Haifa, Israel from 29 April to 2 May, to vote for nine new members of the House of Justice for the next five-year term. The event also marked the 50th anniversary of the election of the first House of Justice.
The electoral process follows the very unique model of electing administrative bodies in local Baha'i communities. No reference is made to individual names, thus removing all aspects of partisanship, nomination, and campaigning. Adult Baha'is vote for members of their community whom they believe are best qualified to guide their community and serve its needs. The process is marked by an atmosphere of prayer, respectfulness, and solidarity.
Last week's international election follows a five-year cycle. At the national and local levels, however, the elections are done during the festival of Ridvan, an event that commemorates Baha'u'llah’s declaration in 1863 as the Promised One of all religions.
Delegates to the Eleventh International Baha'i Convention
MY THOUGHTS center on two messages that the Universal House of Justice (the supreme governing body of the global Bahá'í community) has released in the past week to the Bahá'ís of the world. The letters provide lucid guidance on achieving spiritual goals, and they come so richly to me at a time when I crave deeper relevance in my daily way of life.
