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.
IN THIS season of love and affection, nothing defines love more affectingly than a unified family. Here are my siblings and their families offering answers to one of the most immensurable questions in life: "What is love?"
HERE ARE excerpts from President Joe Biden's inaugural address, which I received on email this morning from the Biden Inaugural Committee. President Biden wrote the 21-minute speech with the assistance of speechwriter Vinay Reddy, senior advisor Mike Donilon, incoming Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and chief of staff Ron Klain. The address was described by the New York Times as "a return to the ordinary discord of democracy, with a reminder that politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path."
SOURCE: The New York Times
THE VIOLENCE at the US Capitol wasn't just a defacement of America's image as the exemplar of democracy. It was a threat to the idea that peace is inevitable. If such disruptive forces could happen at the very core of America's leadership, then it could happen everywhere.
MAY CALM fill your daily life,
that you may hear the chords of violins
and not the discords of violence.
May you hear again the music of the stage,
see the starry lights of the concert hall,
taste the magic of the cinema.
feel the heart of the art.
May you find a piece of art in anything you do.
May the work you do help those around you,
that they may help others in return.
And may the earth heal.
May the skies continue to clear,
and the waters remain blue.
May the air you breathe
fill your lungs and your vaccinated veins
with the cleansing power
of a new-found purity.
If your birthday comes in quarantine,
may you celebrate the day
with virtual pomp and splendor.
May the splendor spill over the next day,
and the next day,
and the next.
May your birthday fill your soul with love.
May your love of family and ties of fellowship
continue to grow in harmony and peace.
May you have a chance
to hug them in the streets,
to hold each others' hands,
to smile beyond the masks,
to dance again, together.
And when grief arrives and leaves a heartache,
may the memory of joy swiftly heal the pain.
May you rise above it all,
ever hopeful,
trusting in God.
May you have
a healthful,
blissful,
prayerful
2021.
LUWIG VAN Beethoven was born on or around this day 250 years ago in Bonn. As we end the year, we remember the Ode to Joy—a paean to the humanity's triumph against war and desperation—from his Ninth Symphony as a fitting deliverance from this ravaging year.
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.
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.
THIS YEAR makes the thirtieth year of the People's Power Revolution that overthrew the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines. In commemorating the milestone event, the Philippine Daily Inquirer asked my niece Pia Andrade, one of their junior writers, for her thoughts on freedom. Pia wasn't born yet when the peaceful revolution occurred, but her thoughts capture the essence of freedom with universal truth.
We can maintain freedom by using it wisely and not abusing it. We can say anything or do anything, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. Do not bully others and do not let yourself be bullied.Trust and respect everyone the same way. Be fair, just, and do not take sides. Love the country where you are born and raised.
WE'VE ALL heard about Mick Jagger's enormous ego, so it's fascinating to read the following story by Keith Richards about Mr. Jagger's brush with Charlie Watts, legendary Rolling Stones drummer, in October 1984.
I had taken Mick out for a drink in Amsterdam, so at 5 in the morning, he came back to my room. He's drunk by now, Mick drunk is a sight to behold. Charlie was fast asleep. Is that my drummer? Why don't you get your arse down here? Charlie got dressed in a Savile Row suit, tie, shoes, shaved, came down, grabbed him and went boom! Don't ever call me "your drummer" again. You're my fucking singer.
You can beat your own drum, but never beat the drummer lest he beats the drum out of you!
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.
AS THE world celebrates this weekend, I remember the Words of Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith: “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."
This is usually the sweetest time of the year to hope that those we love get the best of health and wealth for the new year, so let me wish all of you the happiest moments this holiday weekend . . .
. . . and may 2010 kick off a more fulfilling decade for you and your family . . .
. . . and may the bright lights of the season and the holy light of unity continue to shine on you throughout your good life!
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Listening to: The Manhattan Transfer - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire) via FoxyTunes
Devon Gundry, “Armed”
Link reference: Justin Baldoni on >Vimeo.
THE SIEGE in Mumbai is over. For the past two days, I've stopped reading the news and watching TV: the images and the stories are just too devastating to experience, considering how much I loved this city, the city that hosted my very first, lengthy stay in India, a city that never ceased to laugh and listen and love and live. Family and friends have filled my mobile phone, Outlook, and Facebook with messages of concern: an ironic but deeply moving way to remain physically connected at a time of spiritual disconnection. On these rueful moments, I seek solace in the power of faith. From the sacred Bahá’í writings come these timely words: The musician Devon Gundry has recently translated this universal truth into a song called “Armed”. I'm sharing the video with you, wherever you are, in hopes that you'll also find strength in the power of the love of God . . . amidst “all the world's afflictions”.“Armed with the power of Thy name nothing can ever hurt me, and with Thy love in my heart all the world’s afflictions can in no wise alarm me.”
—Bahá’u'lláh, “Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u'lláh”, p. 208
The Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, 'Akká, Israel.
Image source: Media.Bahai.org
BAHA'IS WORLDWIDE celebrate today an important holy day: the birth of Bahá'u'lláh. The Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith was born Mirza Husayn Ali at dawn of 12 November 1817 into one of Persia's most noble families. He descended from the Divine Messenger Zoroaster, thus fulfilling the belief that the great Redeemer of Mankind would be a pure Persian. “This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future” This singular event has similarities to the descent of the Holy Ghost as a dove unto the Christ, the apparition of Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad at Mount Hira, and the the enlightenment of the Buddha under the bo tree at Bodh Gaya. For Bahá'ís, it marks the advent of the Bahá'í revelation with the message it brings of the oneness of religion and the oneness of mankind. Bahá'u'lláh's earthly remains have been laid to rest in 'Akká, Israel in a room within the grounds of a old mansion called Bahjí. It is the holiest Bahá'í place on earth.
—Bahá'u'lláhBahá'u'lláh, which means “the glory of God” in Arabic, became a follower of the Báb's and was jailed in underground prison after the Báb's martyrdom in 1844. During His incarceration, Bahá'u'lláh received a vision of God in the form of a maiden who revealed to Him His earthly mission as successor to the progressive cycle of Divine Educators, each of whom has founded a great religion. These Messengers include Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, the Christ, and the Prophet Muhammad.
Flowers on the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb
Photographer: Edit Kalman
Image source: Bahá'í Media Bank
HE IS a black man, born of a Muslim father from East Africa and raised by Christian grandparents in the South Pacific. And today he becomes the first black president of the world's most powerful country, up there in North America. That this is now happening—unthinkable in the earlier years of my generation—is only inevitable in light of America's spiritual destiny. This belief is evident in many talks delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Son of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, while traveling in America and Canada in 1912. In May that year, He told a gathering of Bahá'ís in Cleveland: "This is a beautiful city; the climate is pleasant; the views are charming. All the cities of America seem to be large and beautiful, and the people appear prosperous. The American continent gives signs and evidences of very great advancement; its future is even more promising, for its influence and illumination are far-reaching, and it will lead all nations spiritually. The flag of freedom and banner of liberty have been unfurled here, but the prosperity and advancement of a city, the happiness and greatness of a country depend upon its hearing and obeying the call of God. The light of reality must shine therein and divine civilization be founded; then the radiance of the Kingdom will be diffused and heavenly influences surround. Material civilization is likened to the body, whereas divine civilization is the spirit in that body. A body not manifesting the spirit is dead; a fruitless tree is worthless. Jesus declares that there is spiritual capacity in some people, for all are not submerged in the sea of materialism. They seek the Divine Spirit; they turn to God; they long for the Kingdom. It is my hope that these revered people present may attain both material and spiritual progress. As they have advanced wonderfully in material degrees, so may they, likewise, advance in spiritual development until the body shall become refined and beautiful through the wealth of spiritual potentiality and efficiency." Source: "The Promulgation of Universal Peace", page 104 'Abdu'l-Bahá's saw in America "powers and capacities" so unique in this world. He praised the achievements that Americans had made toward creating racial equality, working for world peace, driving women empowerment, and developing its material civilization. His vision: ". . .it will lead all nations spiritually." To become that spiritual leader, America must itself develop its spiritual capacities. Only then can it become the true leader of nations. Today's event exposes the possibility of racial and religious equality. It shows us another view of the road, possibly rocky but ultimately navigable, to that divine destiny.
DIWALI, THE most important national festival in India, ended this week with murderous blasts in the northeastern state of Assam. The explosions follow a series of terrorist attacks that have rocked India since 2005. This year, they are particularly unabated and more precise and intense than ever. Even more appalling is that the recent attacks have occurred in places—Ahmadabad, Delhi, Malegaon, Surat, now Assam—where ethnic conflicts exist. The perpetrators are obviously inciting sectarian violence amongst the townsfolk, whose leaders have failed to extinguish enmities. Worst, the tragedies come at these troubled financial times, when the least privileged members of society are the first to bear the bitter brunt of political instability. What troubled times indeed. I'm reminded of what Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, wrote in 1941 in his landmark book, "The Promised Day is Come". Here he analyzes what happens with the world's refusal to accept the message of Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. What he writes on page 16 is disturbing, as it seems to accurately describe the world that we NOW live in. A world convulsed by the agonies of contending systems, races and nations, entangled in the mesh of its accumulated falsities, receding farther and farther from Him Who is the sole author of its destinies, and sinking deeper and deeper into a suicidal carnage which its neglect and persecution of Him Who is its Redeemer have precipitated . . . A world spiritually destitute, morally bankrupt, politically disrupted, socially convulsed, economically paralyzed, writhing, bleeding and breaking up beneath the avenging rod of God . . . We are indeed living in an age which, if we would correctly appraise it, should be regarded as one which is witnessing a dual phenomenon. The first signalizes the death pangs of an order, effete and godless, that has stubbornly refused, despite the signs and portents of a century-old Revelation, to attune its processes to the precepts and ideals which that Heaven-sent Faith proffered it. The second proclaims the birth pangs of an Order, divine and redemptive, that will inevitably supplant the former, and within Whose administrative structure an embryonic civilization, incomparable and world-embracing, is imperceptibly maturing. The one is being rolled up, and is crashing in oppression, bloodshed, and ruin. The other opens up vistas of a justice, a unity, a peace, a culture, such as no age has ever seen. The former has spent its force, demonstrated its falsity and barrenness, lost irretrievably its opportunity, and is hurrying to its doom. The latter, virile and unconquerable, is plucking asunder its chains, and is vindicating its title to be the one refuge within which a sore-tried humanity, purged from its dross, can attain its destiny.
I join the rest of my family in remembering our mother, Zaida Linda Mijares Ancheta (1933-1998), on the tenth anniversary of her passing, with the following words from the Bahá'í scriptures.
MAMA PASSED away ten years ago today. What she had bequeathed to us, her eleven children, continue to bind us together to this day: her love for Bahá'u'lláh and the teachings of His Faith, a passion for laughter, and an indelible devotion to family. Even in the final, painful hours of her life, the sense of duty to her children never failed. She hung on until her youngest grandchild Zayca celebrated her first birthday in January that year. And no matter how ravaged the diabetes-ridden body was, the spirit was solid: she died gracefully, peacefully in her sleep three weeks later.O Son of Justice! Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart’s desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved.
Source: Bahá'u'lláh, “The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh”
I'VE NEVER laughed this hard while reading Greek mythology! In her first novel “Gods Behaving Badly”, London-bred Michelle Phillips (b.1976) brings together ten Olympian gods to exist in dingy circumstances in modern-day north London. And being gods, they also interfere with the lives of humans—in this case, a nondescript engineer in a star-crossed love affair with a meek house cleaner. With egos the size of the universe and clout the size of an atom, the immortals are forced to eke out a living and struggle to revive their ancient vainglories while getting the star-crossed lovers back in each other's arms. With hilarious results, Ms Phillips succeeds in talking about man’s mortality and blind faith without moralizing. Watch for that colorful episode about a trip to the underworld.
Flame tree on the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb, Haifa, Israel.
Image source: Media.Bahai.org
IN A modest solar system, our planet is a small globe. Yet, in the vast cosmic stream, it is a spectacular presence, carved by wind and water, painted with frescoes of sky, draped in root and fruit. It is a planet lush with created things, all humming in harmony in a place called home. Think what we have been given. Now think what we have done. Now think what we could lose. We either save this world together . . . or we all go together“The hills are alive/With the sound of music!” With these unforgettable lyric from the Broadway and Hollywood musical The Sound of Music, songwriters Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II have immortalized the majesty and organic richness of the natural environment that surrounds us and supplies us with everything we need for life. It is the land we walk on, the air we breathe, the light and heat we receive, the fruit and crop we sustain on! ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Son of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, has reaffirmed our ecological ties to the environment by declaring that all things flourish according to the law of reciprocity. In simple terms, man is organic with the world. It is man’s imperative to remain interconnected with all created things in his environment with moderation, a commitment to protecting the heritage of future generations, and an awareness of the sanctity of nature. “Nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world.” But the real challenge of our times is this: in order to move beyond our environmental crisis, we must accept our oneness with nature . . . and our oneness of humanity. Unless and until people of all races and nations are “as pearls of one ocean, as rays of one sun”, the problems of humanity, the dangers to our world environment, and the obstacles to sustainability will only worsen. The threats of climate change, amongst others, have made it very clear that we either save this world together . . . or we all go together. “The earth is one country and mankind its citizens” Its future is in our hands. On Blog Action Day, think what we can do. Related Sites: The Bahá'í Faith and the Environment
—Bahá'u'lláhThen there are the spiritual ties. Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, has written that “nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise.” With these words, Bahá’u’lláh declares our essential relationship with the environment: that the grandeur and diversity of nature is proof of the majesty and bounty of God! Our respect for nature and concern for the environment are therefore fundamental, if we are to hold it as a divine trust for which we are answerable.
—Bahá'u'lláhBahá’u’lláh has written that “the earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” An ever-advancing civilization can only be built on an earth that can sustain itself, an earth whose citizens are unified in universal thought and action . . . an earth whose life-sustaining fabric and beauty must remain safeguarded, protected, and cherished.
EnvironLink
Environmental News Network
National Geographic on the Environment
Tree Hugger
UN Focus on the Environment
World Wildlife Fund
11th Conference of the International Environment Forum
