They started washing my filthy car and I was standing there watching them and thinking to myself. I noticed they were getting water from a pipe in an unused house lot and the electricity from the street wires. They were working as fast as they could and doing their best. I started thinking about the things people do to make money. At least, these guys are doing something not criminal or endangering other people's lives.I felt happy they had something to do and get money to eat. I felt happy I didn't and don't have to do this kind of jobs because I am a professional. Not that I could not do this job, it's just that I am making more money and my family feels safe. All of a sudden I thought I may have to do these in Canada. Could people do this in Canada? I mean, can you just go, connect your super pump in someone else's water pipe, hang some wires and get the electricity, and just start washing cars in the street and make a living out of it?Will I end up doing this to provide for my family? How would my kids feel? One thing for sure is I won't let my loved ones just starve, I will do whatever necessary to feed them, anything provided it is legal, of course. I don't want to drift away from God.
O CHILDREN OF DUST!Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth.
Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.
– Bahá'u'lláh
http://agencyandchange.com/about-the-blog/
We are currently in Israel on a 9-day pilgrimage to the Baha'i Holy Places visiting the final resting place of Baha'u'llah and the places associated with His exile, imprisonment and life here in the late 1800s at the end of the Ottoman Empire. Our visit has been an intensely spiritual and sacred experience as well as a little taste of paradise. The Baha'i gardens and holy places are exquisite in their beauty and refinement. We have had lots of time for refreshing personal reflection and prayer. A wonderful way to prepare for the New Year and the rest of our lives!
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And among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that although material civilization is one of the means for the progress of the world of mankind, yet until it becomes combined with Divine civilization, the desired result, which is the felicity of mankind, will not be attained. Consider! These battleships that reduce a city to ruins within the space of an hour are the result of material civilization; likewise the Krupp guns, the Mauser rifles, dynamite, submarines, torpedo boats, armed aircraft and bombers—all these weapons of war are the malignant fruits of material civilization. Had material civilization been combined with Divine civilization, these fiery weapons would never have been invented. Nay, rather, human energy would have been wholly devoted to useful inventions and would have been concentrated on praiseworthy discoveries. Material civilization is like a lamp-glass. Divine civilization is the lamp itself and the glass without the light is dark. Material civilization is like the body. No matter how infinitely graceful, elegant and beautiful it may be, it is dead. Divine civilization is like the spirit, and the body gets its life from the spirit, otherwise it becomes a corpse. It has thus been made evident that the world of mankind is in need of the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Without the spirit the world of mankind is lifeless, and without this light the world of mankind is in utter darkness. For the world of nature is an animal world. Until man is born again from the world of nature, that is to say, becomes detached from the world of nature, he is essentially an animal, and it is the teachings of God which convert this animal into a human soul.
We are warned about the dangers of taking medicines that are outdated and no longer effective. Some are downright dangerous for conditions they were originally designed for to treat. If the religions of the world are medicines to the ills of humanity, could it be that beyond a certain point they too cause the opposite effect of what they were originally meant to heal?
"Once in every week, gather ye the steadfast friends together in a meeting place, and there let them engage praising and glorifying the Lord."
--'Abdu'l-Baha, "The Importance of Obligatoy Prayer and Fasting"
Gather ye together with the utmost joy and fellowship and recite the verses revealed by the mericful Lord.
-- Baha'u'llah, quoted in "Thje importance of Deepening our Knowledge and Undrstanding of the Faith"
...all should gather together, and, harmoniously attuned one to another, engage in prayer...
--'Abdu'l-Baha, "Star of the West, May 1919"
...the holding of regular meetings for worship open to all and the involvement of Baha'i communities in projects of humanitarian service are expressions of ... a further step in the implementation of the Law of God.
-- The Universal House of Justice, "Further Application of Devotional Laws, 28 December 1999
The U.S. Bahá’í Video Library contains video features produced exclusively for online distribution and intended to be easily shared via social media. ... The Video Library also contains several years’ worth of video features from the U.S. Bahá’í Newsreel, categorized by subject, as well as other specials programs, such as in memoriam videos and historical features. The videos can not only be embedded in other websites and shared on social networks, but can also be downloaded to portable media like CDs or USB flash drives
ok, George, one more month
The Baha'i month of Masa'il, my favorite attribute of gods and humans .......
..... Jamie
Baha'u'llah Himself took seriously the questions of those sincerely looking for the truth. He wrote the Book of Certitude in response to the questions of the Bab's eldest uncle - whom Baha'u'llah told to write down all of his questions and bring them to Him. In answering this one man's questions, Baha'u'llah changed profoundly our vision of the religions we thought we knew.
As its title suggests, "Asking Questions" was written in an attempt to explore the subtle threat posed by questions to all bastions of fundamentalism. A well-aimed question has been known to bring such fortresses crashing to the ground. In the sense in which it is used in the book, fundamentalism can be seen not only as dogmatic rigidity within religious structures, but as any thought which plods blindfold around the treadmill of its own unquestioning assumptions.
The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Our physical health is so linked up with our mental, moral and spiritual health, and also with the individual and social health of our fellowmen, nay, even with the life of the animals and plants, that each of these is affected by the others to a far greater extent than is usually realized. There is no command of the Prophet, therefore, to whatever department of life it may primarily refer, which does not concern bodily health.
"I became a Baha'i at 18," he said, "and at age 22, I was appointed to this committee. I walked into the hotel room where the first meeting was to take place and there was Dorothy Baker, Sarah Pereira and Amelia Collins." All of these women were at least twice his age, if not older. "I thought I was in the wrong room," he continued. "So, I said, 'excuse me' and started to back out through the door. Before I could leave, they called me back in and said 'No, this is where you belong.'" He reported never once feeling as though these women, who each could have easily been his mother, thought he was just 21 or that he was just a new Baha'i. They interacted with him on equal footing, as peers. They didn't lower themselves to become 18. They simply spoke with him as adults.
I'm not going to tear down the holly wreaths on campus, I'm not going to bemoan the fact that there are poinsettias everywhere, and I won't complain when Christmas Carols are played nonstop. In fact, I'm not even going to make a fuss. ...
I'm a Baha'i. I celebrate Naw-Ruz, which is in March. And I don't have a problem with Christmas in the least. But I do have a problem with the fact that people seem to forget there are others out there that don't celebrate Christmas. We just had World Week at UAF. Wasn't that all about diversity? Well, where is the diversity now?
Dear Friends FamilyThis Weekend I am helping organize a Technology Conference in Bangalore which is one in a series of 21 around the world that would happen simultaneously called as "Random Hacks of kindness" or RHok in short . it is a forum/space that creates a discourse between SME's [subject matter experts]from the development sector and friends from tech background so that together they can solve real world issues like disaster management/landslide/Bush fires/emergency response systems etc. more details on www.RHOK.org . attaching the details of the conference. do fwd to interested friends who may wish to participate in the hackathon at various places around the world mentioned on the site..
