On Istvan Dely's Manifesto: Reflections on the arts as powerful instruments to serve the Cause

My first and only real spiritual experience before becoming a Bahá’í had been within an African Traditional Religion in Cuba. My initiation into the Vititi Congo community was not an act of rational, intellectual choice, since I was a committed atheist communist at the time, a follower of the Che Guevara. It was a rapture of the heart generated by the tremendous power of the arts: the drumming, the singing, the dancing, the drama of the rituals, the emotional charge and group synergy, the loving and caring and joyful community.

http://www.divinenotes.com/books/wildfire/

Istvan Dely is a Baha'i revolutionary, a former communist and atheist, who went to school in Cuba, and who heard of the Baha'i Faith in Columbia. And this is his manifesto, available for free download. And it is all connected to the Institute Process.

LESSON ONE: THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC “In this Cause the art of music is of paramount importance” - Abdul’-Bahá

LESSON TWO: GOOD, NEUTRAL, AND BAD MUSIC

We have learned that music is a means that can be used for good as well as evil. It is like a ladder on which our souls may go upwards into light or descend into darkness.

LESSON THREE: BAHÁ’Í MUSIC?

Before we go into this lesson, answer this question: Is there such a thing as Bahá’í Music? Yes ______ No________

LESSON FOUR: UNITY IN DIVERSITY

Although, in Shoghi Effendi´s words, the friends are free to compose music as their talents guide them, there are also strong indications in the Writings that the starting point, the first step on the positive side of the ladder, should be each region’s own traditional music, its folklore or popular music.

LESSON FIVE: COMMUNAL MUSIC

in which all of us can participate without exception

LESSON SIX: SACRED MUSIC

The highest step on the ladder of music is sacred music, the music of worship where we “try to bring the earthly music into harmony with the celestial melody.”(Abdu´l-Bahá)

LESSON SEVEN: CULTURE AND RELIGION

The spiritual need to worship God is a universal characteristic of man, but the ways to give expression to this need vary greatly from culture to culture, from one spiritual tradition to another.

LESSON EIGHT: IN ALL BAHÁ’Í GATHERINGS

On what occasions should we make use of music in the course of our Bahá’í life and work? Shoghi Effendi states: “The element of music is, no doubt, an important feature of all Bahá’í gatherings.”

LESSON NINE: MUSIC AS A TEACHING TOOL “… the arts are powerful instruments to serve the Cause…” The Universal House of Justice

Posted via email from baha'i music