Befriended Stranger

Two years and a half ago when I started this blog, I had no idea that befriending strangers would become so vital to my growth and health. Tonight, observing the discussion during the Ruhi 2 study circle I host and facilitate on Wednesdays made me aware that I have indeed gained friends on whom I have come to rely. Such friendships in times of difficulties have been a gentle reminder of the One True Friend:

Glory be to Thee, O my God! Thou hearest Thine ardent lovers lamenting in their separation from Thee, and such as have recognized Thee wailing because of their remoteness from Thy presence. Open Thou outwardly to their faces, O my Lord, the gates of Thy grace, that they may enter them by Thy leave and in conformity with Thy will, and may stand before the throne of Thy majesty, and catch the accents of Thy voice, and be illumined with the splendors of the light of Thy face.

Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. None can withstand the power of Thy sovereign might. From everlasting Thou wert alone, with none to equal Thee, and wilt unto everlasting remain far above all thought and every description of Thee. Have mercy, then, upon Thy servants by Thy grace and bounty, and suffer them not to be kept back from the shores of the ocean of Thy nearness. If Thou abandonest them, who is there to befriend them; and if Thou puttest them far from Thee, who is he that can favor them? They have none other Lord beside Thee, none to adore except Thyself. Deal Thou generously with them by Thy bountiful grace.

Thou, in truth, art the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.

(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 72)

How fitting then to receive tonight this message:

The Bahá’í Faith is a member of the InterFaith Conference (IFC) of Metropolitan Washington through the Spiritual Assembly of Washington, D.C.

In the last two years they have trained many individuals as moderators in interfaith dialogue and are currently engaged in setting up hosts and groups of people (10-12 for each location) to hold interfaith dialogue.  This process involves a host who serves dinner to 10-12 strangers who have indicated through the IFC that they are interested in these dialogues.

The dinner/dialogue is scheduled for the evening of Sunday, Aug 9. If you would like to participate as either a host (the people will come to your home for dinner), or as a guest, please go to the following site and fill out the form.

Oh,  how I hope to be given a chance to become a host. Wouldn’t it be great to serve dinner to a dozen of strangers and talk about Faith?

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
(King James Bible, 1 Chronicles, 16:34)

It is better to guide one soul than to possess all that is on earth, for as long as that guided soul is under the shadow of the Tree of Divine Unity, he and the one who hath guided him will both be recipients of God’s tender mercy, whereas possession of earthly things will cease at the time of death.
(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 75)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

I invite you and your loves ones to the regular Monday evening interfaith Prayer Station!

I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer.

We’ll start at 7 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 7:30 pm, of selected Holy Writings from diverse religions on the theme of Divine Mercy. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and offer prayers as the spirit moves us.  We’ll conclude with tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and  would like to request prayers please contact me.

The darker the night will turn, and the more intense and dreadful its convulsions and commotions become, the nearer will be the appointed time when the bright morn of deliverance will dawn, when the day-star of felicity and emancipation will shine, when the light of the glory, power and independence of the Faith of God will radiate with extraordinary brilliance, when the fall and collapse, the destruction and ruin of the people of malice and iniquity in that land will become apparent and conspicuous.

(Shoghi Effendi, Fire and Light, p. 36)

I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had tonight to pray with my beautiful daughters and some of my closest friends. That was the best birthday gift I could have asked for. The prayers could not have arrived at a better time as the complexities of the challenges ahead of me can be resolved only by a prayer hearing, prayer answering God:

He is the prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God!

By Thy glory, O Beloved One, Thou giver of light to the world! The flames of separation have consumed me, and my waywardness hath melted my heart within me. I ask of Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, O Thou the Desire of the world and the Well-Beloved of mankind, to grant that the breeze of Thine inspiration may sustain my soul, that Thy wondrous voice may reach my ear, that my eyes may behold Thy signs and Thy light as revealed in the manifestations of Thy names and Thine attributes, O Thou within Whose grasp are all things!

Thou seest, O Lord my God, the tears of Thy favored ones, shed because of their separation from Thee, and the fears of Thy devoted ones in their remoteness from Thy Holy Court. By Thy power, that swayeth all things, visible and invisible! It behooveth Thy loved ones to shed tears of blood for that which hath befallen the faithful at the hands of the wicked and the oppressors on the earth. Thou beholdest, O my God, how the ungodly have compassed Thy cities and Thy realms!  I ask Thee by Thy Messengers and Thy chosen ones and by Him whereby the standard of Thy divine unity hath been implanted amidst Thy servants, to shield them by Thy bounty. Thou art, verily, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful.

And, again, I ask Thee by the sweet showers of Thy grace and the billows of the ocean of Thy favor, to ordain for Thy saints that which shall solace their eyes and comfort their hearts. Lord! Thou seest him that kneeleth yearning to arise and serve Thee, the dead calling for eternal life from the ocean of Thy favor and craving to soar to the heavens of Thy wealth, the stranger longing for his home of glory ‘neath the canopy of Thy grace, the seeker hastening by Thy mercy to Thy door of bounty, the sinful turning to the ocean of forgiveness and pardon.

By Thy sovereignty, O Thou Who art glorified in the hearts of men! I have turned to Thee, forsaking mine own will and desire, that Thy holy will and pleasure may rule within me and direct me according to that which the pen of Thy eternal decree hath destined for me. This servant, O Lord, though helpless turneth to the Orb of Thy Power, though abased hasteneth unto the Dayspring of Glory, though needy craveth the Ocean of Thy Grace. I beseech Thee by Thy favor and bounty, cast him not away.

Thou art verily the Almighty, the Pardoner, the Compassionate.

- Bahá’u'lláh

(Compilations, Baha’i Prayers, p. 145)

And now, it is time for bed for this seeker of truth:

O seeker of Truth! If thou desirest that God may open thine eye, thou must supplicate unto God, pray to and commune with Him at midnight, saying:

O Lord, I have turned my face unto Thy kingdom of oneness and am immersed in the sea of Thy mercy. O Lord, enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark night, and make me happy by the wine of Thy love in this wonderful age. O Lord, make me hear Thy call, and open before my face the doors of Thy heaven, so that I may see the light of Thy glory and become attracted to Thy beauty. Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Generous, the Merciful, the Forgiving.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

(Compilations, Baha’i Prayers, p. 60)

… do not be discouraged because you are few or because people think that your Cause is of no importance. If few people come to your gatherings do not lose heart, and if you are ridiculed and contradicted be not distressed, for the apostles of Christ had the same to bear. They were reviled and persecuted, cursed and ill-treated, but in the end they were victorious and their enemies were found to be wrong.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 117)

It has been many weeks in a row now that nobody has physically come to the Prayer Station. Thankfully, I have been getting prayer requests via email and through this blog, so I am not left praying only for myself and my loved ones. It is in fact a good reminder that praying for anyone is praying for a loved one.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I pray Thee, by Him Who is the Day-Spring of Thy signs and the Manifestation of Thy names, and the Treasury of Thine inspiration, and the Repository of Thy wisdom, to send upon Thy loved ones that which will enable them to cleave steadfastly to Thy Cause, and to recognize Thy unity, and to acknowledge Thy oneness, and to bear witness to Thy divinity. Raise them up, O my God, to such heights that they will recognize in all things the tokens of the power of Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy most august and all-glorious Self.

(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 164)

But I am still trying to figure out a way to invite others to join me for the interfaith prayer meetings…

On Saturday, I had a very pleasant opportunity to dine with my piano teacher, her husband, and a number of her other former students. Not intentionally for Race Unity Day, the group was nevertheless very diverse — from Thai, Serbian, Jewish, African-American, Bulgarian, and plain old white American background.

After pleasant Vietnamese dinner at the wonderful Four Sisters restaurant, as I was getting ready to go I made a verbal invitation to all, to join me for my prayer meeting but since it was noisy, and I was not as confident as I should have been, I promised my fellow diners to send the information through the teacher hoping she would forward it to them.

Back at home, I indeed send her the invitation. Responding to my email, my piano teacher was kind enough to suggest adding “words of comfort from Psalm 91 in the Bible. They speak of God as the Protector of those who trust in Him”:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” 3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; {But} it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes, And see the recompense of the wicked. 9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, {Even} the Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down. 14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him {securely} on high, because he has known My name. 15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and honor him. 16 “With a long life I will satisfy him, And let him behold My salvation.”

She also offered to print the invitation to the Prayer Station and post it in her classroom. How kind of her!

Pray God that more souls are guided to sharing prayers in praise of the One Creator!

For thy power standeth not in multitude nor thy might in strong men: for thou art a God of the afflicted, an helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them that are without hope.
(Deuterocanonical Apocrypha, Judith)

And no other protectors shall there be to succour them than God; and no pathway for him whom God shall cause to err.
(The Qur’an (Rodwell tr), Sura  42 – Counsel)

We are waves of one sea, grass of the same meadow, stars in the same heaven; and we find shelter in the universal divine Protector. If one be sick, he must be treated; the ignorant must be educated; the sleeping must be awakened; the dead must be quickened with life. These were principles of the teachings of Bahá’u'lláh.
(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 174)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared
with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

I invite you and your loves ones to the regular Monday evening interfaith Prayer Station!

I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer.

We’ll start at 7 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 7:30 pm, of selected Holy Writings from diverse religions on the theme
of Divine Protector. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and offer prayers as the spirit moves us.  We’ll conclude with
tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

The video from the 3rd Baha’i Chorale Festival has been posted on YouTube and you can enjoy the full concert or if you are in a hurry but still curious about my participation, you can see my expressions at minute 26 and my mini solo, among many truly capable singers, at minute 46:

I’m going back to my father…

44. O SON OF THE THRONE!
Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou therewith. Thy sight is My sight, do thou see therewith, that in thine inmost soul thou mayest testify unto My exalted sanctity, and I within Myself may bear witness unto an exalted station for thee.

(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

To silence the self, one needs to hear others. The war that is raging around me these days, I put to sleep by prayer, meditation and my feeble attempt at service. And by observing the world through divine eyes.

As I was waiting for the banana bread to bake, I browsed the TV channels and among many misguided shows I landed on a program by Arlington Independent Media called “Perspective of Interfaith” just in time to hear the host, Zarinah Shakir, explain that her program will be dedicated to uncovering myths of misunderstanding about different religions, from the Abrahamic ones, through the Baha’is Faith, Hinduism, Buddhism and others. This got me intrigued as I was wondering if this lady would consider the Faith of Baha’u'llah an Abrahamic one or not. But I did continue listening to the discussion the host held with two more ladies, one a Jewish rabbi and the other a Christian minister. The talk was about the role of women in religion and I was thinking how some of the capable ladies in the Arlington Baha’i community would be great contributors to such programs.

Then the time for the Prayer Station came but nobody else did. I had received however several prayer requests so I did pray on my own. And then, since the banana bread was ready, I went outside to see if Gloria was there. She was, and on the next two benches were two other homeless people I had befriended a few days ago and prayed for — Harry from DC and Bill from Michigan. I shared a slice of banana bread with all three of them but when I asked each one of them if I could share a prayer again, both gentlemen declined. But Gloria did not.

So I sat next to her — she readily moved one of her bags so I could sit comfortably — and then proceeded to read a prayer for protection. Gloria liked the prayer but admitted that some of the words were difficult to understand. So we started talking about the language of the prayers and who revealed the prayer. As I mentioned Baha’u'llah, I explained that His title means the Glory of God. She asked me to repeat it, so I did. She then said that any time she hears the word Glory of God she thinks of her own name, Gloria.

I asked her if she knew of the Baha’i Faith and if I could share with her some of its teachings. She said that she had heard of it and she would not mind hearing more if I had nothing else to do. I did tell her that I came to visit with her and bring her banana bread so I had nothing more important at this time. So, I proceeded with the visual presentation about the Baha’i Faith asking her, all along, to read for me the quotations:

That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith.
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 255)

4. O SON OF MAN!
I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.
(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

We went through a third of the presentation and Gloria, who was raised as a Catholic, admitted that it was a wonderful vision although she seemed skeptical about seeing this vision brought to fruition. But we both agreed that we all have a role to play if we want that vision to become a reality.

So, that was my chance to talk with Gloria who never knows where she will go next. She travels to Florence, South Carolina during the winter, to rent a cheap motel room, but also to the streets of Alexandria, VA during cooler summer days. She has a kind heart, has traveled along the East Coast on Grayhound buses, was amazed how big cities like Raleigh, NC and Atlanta, GA are, lives off the social security payments of her former husband, and likes my banana bread.

After I asked her if I may continue with the presentation, she asked me how is this different from what she read in the Bible. So I shared some more about the equality of women and men, and that there are no priests in the Baha’i Faith. To this she responded that we must have some committees to get organized, so I explained to her how the election of a Local Spiritual Assembly works. She was quite engaged in the conversation so I went on to tell her that to me the biggest difference is that unlike the Bible where there are only few statements by Jesus Christ Himself, we have many volumes of Writings by Baha’u'llah revealed in His own hand. To show her an example, I picked a copy of the Hidden Words and started reading:

22. O SON OF SPIRIT!
Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.

(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

As we both reflected on our nobility and that of the whole humanity, I gave Gloria a copy of the Hidden Words and Prayers for Women as a gift from me. Who knows, they might comfort her in her next travel. Or we might meet again and talk more about the Changeless Faith of God.

So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 6)

Blessed art thou inasmuch as the darkness of vain imaginings hath been powerless to hinder thee from the light of certitude, and the onslaught of the people hath failed to deter thee from the Lord of mankind.
(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 259)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

I invite you and your loves ones to the regular Monday evening interfaith Prayer Station!

I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer.

We’ll start at 7 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 7:30 pm, of selected Holy Writings from diverse religions on the theme of Divine Certitude. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and offer prayers as the spirit moves us. We’ll conclude with tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Praised be God for a wonderful day which could have been better only if I were with my loved ones. But I am learning to be content with whatever God has provided. Which is exactly what started my talk on the Covenant of God, today at the DC Baha’i Center…

One day, when I was in 7th grade I asked my mom what were we going to have for dinner. She replied “Whatever God has provided.” I arrogantly responded, “Come on, you cooked it, what does God have to do with it, plus where do you see a God? We have laws of physics, Newton, science, but no God.” My mom, in her gentle wisdom replied “There is a power that holds the universe together, even though you do not see it, that is God, you will see it one day.”

O SON OF MAN!
Be thou content with Me and seek no other helper. For none but Me can ever suffice thee.

Baha’u'llah

Many years later, I indeed see God, in His creation and through His Messengers. And with small steps I am learning to see the world through His eyes.

My encounter with Rafael the other day and my conversation with Ciara yesterday after the Convention Report, inspired me to think of ways to share the healing message of Baha’u'llah with people in my own neighborhood. I had been thinking of the homeless people who sleep on the benches next to Arlington Central Library. Reading today the first chapter of “Life at First Sight“, a lovely collection of Phyllis Edgerly Ring’s essays on seeing the world through the eye of the heart, made me decide that I do not need any special occasion or preparation but just a desire to go and share. So, I got a prayer book and the last few slices of the banana bread I had left and walked across the street.

There on a bench was a lady with piercing blue eyes and sad face, putting all her belongings in bags all around her. As I approached her, she looked at me with guarded eyes. I greeted her and asked if I may offer a piece of the banana bread I had baked. She looked at me again and smiled. As I handed her the bread and explained the ingredients, she thanked me and visibly relaxed. I introduced myself, she tried spelling my name, then I asked about her name — Gloria.

Then I asked Gloria if I could offer a prayer and what should the prayer be for? She said “To help with my situation”. I offered a prayer for assistance but felt that was not enough so I continued with:

O God!  Refresh and gladden my spirit.  Purify my heart.  Illumine my powers.  I lay all my affairs in Thy hand.  Thou art my Guide and my Refuge.  I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being.  O God!  I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me.  I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.

O God!  Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself.  I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

She really liked this one and I offered her the little prayer book. She asked me if I go to church and I told her that I am a Baha’i and what the Baha’is believe. She smiled longingly and said “This would be nice to happen one day”… It will…

I had to go then but will be back to visit Gloria.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt
(King James Bible, Hebrews, 8:8-9)

Gather them, then, together around this Divine Law, the covenant of which Thou hast established with all Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, and Whose ordinances Thou hast written down in Thy Tablets and Thy Scriptures. Raise them up, moreover, to such heights as will enable them to perceive Thy Call.
(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 106)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared
with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

I invite you and your loves ones to the regular Monday evening interfaith Prayer Station!

This Monday, June 1st, the theme is Divine Covenant. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer.

We’ll start at 7 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 7:30 pm, of selected Holy Writings from diverse religions on the theme
of Divine Covenant. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and offer prayers as the spirit moves us.  We’ll conclude with
tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

In His service,
Mitko