Befriended Stranger

A talk last night which started with a reflection on Eric Dozier’s words from the Thanksgiving weekend about teaching as facilitating the reunion of a soul with its Creator, lead to a deep discussion on the need of constantly coming back to the home of my heart. This morning as I was saying the Long Obligatory Prayer, a new understanding of the words stranger and home came to me:

Thou seest, O my Lord, this stranger hastening to his most exalted home beneath the canopy of Thy majesty and within the precincts of Thy mercy; and this transgressor seeking the ocean of Thy forgiveness; and this lowly one the court of Thy glory; and this poor creature the orient of Thy wealth.

(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 317)

I had never put much thought into where that home might be. Clearly, it is a place of closeness to God, and having been on Pilgrimage I often visualize myself walking on the gravel path to the Shrines where I experienced a true homecoming. But what about an average day when the Pilgrimage can only be in my thoughts and dreams? What if this home is indeed the heart?

59. O SON OF BEING!
Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation.

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

Accepting my heart as the place of Pilgrimage, the place of closeness to God, puts many things in interesting perspective. Consider this lovely prayer which I used to say before traveling but now find helpful any time I am out of the home of my heart:

O God, my God! I have set out from my home, holding fast unto the cord of Thy love, and I have committed myself wholly to Thy care and Thy protection. I entreat Thee by Thy power through which Thou didst protect Thy loved ones from the wayward and the perverse, and from every contumacious oppressor, and every wicked doer who hath strayed far from Thee, to keep me safe by Thy bounty and Thy grace. Enable me, then, to return to my home by Thy power and Thy might. Thou art, truly, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 257)

If my daily existence is an ongoing vacillation between listening to the mind and allowing the heart to speak, if my physical life does require me to go back and forth between the analytical mind so praised by today’s business and the free-flowing thinking more at home during a morning meditation, then I owe it to myself (and my heart) to supplicate God each morning and ask Him to help me during the excursion between mind and heart. Because the mind can be a dangerous place to reside in for too long (and I have the experience to prove it), with its mind games an over-analytical brain likes to indulge in… But it is the heart where true reunion with God is possible, and it is the heart one needs to keep coming back to in order to be reminded of the spiritual nature of life and its true source of strength.

And going back to the quote from the Long Obligatory Prayer — who is the stranger, then? Isn’t that the mind who feeding the ego attempts to silence the heart?

27. O SON OF DUST!
All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame.

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

Welcome back to my heart

This morning I woke up with a melody I knew was coming from the “Badasht Vol. 1″ album of Eric Dozier and JB Eckl but was unsure which song exactly it was. I put the CD on and it was the first song, “Meek and Lowly”. I’ve highlighted (in bold), the words of the song taken from a prayer by Abdu’l Baha:

O my God! O my God! Glory be unto Thee for that Thou hast confirmed me to the confession of Thy oneness, attracted me unto the word of Thy singleness, enkindled me by the fire of Thy love, and occupied me with Thy mention and the service of Thy friends and maidservants.

O Lord, help me to be meek and lowly, and strengthen me in severing myself from all things and in holding to the hem of the garment of Thy glory, so that my heart may be filled with Thy love and leave no space for love of the world and attachment to its qualities.

O God! Sanctify me from all else save Thee, purge me from the dross of sins and transgressions, and cause me to possess a spiritual heart and conscience.

Verily, Thou art merciful and, verily, Thou art the Most Generous, Whose help is sought by all men.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

(Compilations, Baha’i Prayers, p. 151)

Eric and JB performed and talked during the Baha’i Youth Thanksgiving Congress over the weekend on a number of very inspiring topics. One of them was on “living an articulate life”. Eric referred to a dictionary definition of articulate, as being joint, i.e. words and deeds in concert, not alone — here is an expanded list of definitions of articulate on the Web, courtesy of Google:

• joint: provide with a joint;
• give voice: put into words or an expression;
• expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language;
• pronounce: speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way;
• express or state clearly

As Eric elaborated, the only way to touch another heart with the healing message of Baha’u'llah is by having speech and actions, utterance and deeds, joined. The most eloquent speaker would not have lasting impressions unless the way of life, the character is consistent with the words’ promise.

Say: Beware, O people of Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds.

(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 305)

Another thought shared by Eric that touched me profoundly was the idea that to teach the Faith of Baha’u'llah is to facilitate the reunion of a soul with its Creator, providing a gentle reminder for each seeking soul that despite what a world driven by consumerist culture in its self-indulgent blindness might believe, the true reality is the spiritual reality.

Last but not least, in a lively discussion JB and Eric encouraged us to look for ways to find a way to incorporate music and arts into our devotional practices — from dedicating a special place for prayers and meditation, through singing along a song and lighting a candle or incense, by finding a way that helps us focus on what is spiritual in us, we nurture our soul and draw on the powers of the spiritual realm. They also referred to “Wildfire”, a book by Istvan Dely — the co-founder of Millero Congo, the band of Leonor Dely — dedicated to inspiring a new Baha’i folklore, where local art traditions are incorporated into the devotional practices of Baha’is, bringing the Baha’i message closer to the hearts of more and more people.

This morning I woke up with one of the melodies from the “Dawnbreaker Collective” album in my mind, a folk blues song with words so simple and humble that I’d assumed someone had sat down to write them in a jam session. Few minutes later in my morning prayer time I randomly picked the following prayer which surprised me with that same line (in bold) that was the lyrics for my wake-up song - what a confirmation:

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I give Thee thanks inasmuch as Thou hast called me into being in Thy days, and infused into me Thy love and Thy knowledge. I beseech Thee, by Thy name whereby the goodly pearls of Thy wisdom and Thine utterance were brought forth out of the treasuries of the hearts of such of Thy servants as are nigh unto Thee, and through which the Day-Star of Thy name, the Compassionate, hath shed its radiance upon all that are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, to supply me, by Thy grace and bounty, with Thy wondrous and hidden bounties.

These are the earliest days of my life, O my God, which Thou hast linked with Thine own days. Now that Thou hast conferred upon me so great an honor, withhold not from me the things Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones.

I am, O my God, but a tiny seed which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love, and caused to spring forth by the hand of Thy bounty. This seed craveth, therefore, in its inmost being, for the waters of Thy mercy and the living fountain of Thy grace. Send down upon it, from the heaven of Thy loving-kindness, that which will enable it to flourish beneath Thy shadow and within the borders of Thy court. Thou art He Who watereth the hearts of all that have recognized Thee from Thy plenteous stream and the fountain of Thy living waters.

Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds.

(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 177)

I don’t even want to over-analyze what is happening these days; I just want to take in the moments of insight and awareness that God has been giving me lately in what seems like a dizzying pace… which of course is paradoxical since I am trying to practice “Slowing Down to the Speed of Life“…

Few months ago a song from the “Badasht I” album by Eric Dozier and JB Eckl struck me while I was walking on the street with its uncanny ability to highlight a single line of the Bab’s prayer:

He maketh victorious whomsoever He pleaseth, through the potency of His behest.

I didn’t know what it meant, all I knew was that “He is in truth the Powerful, the Almighty”.

Fast forward a couple of months…

Last night my wife and I went to the Reagan National Airport to pick Eric Dozier and JB Eckl and give them a ride to the Thanksgiving Baha’i Congress in Alexandria, VA. What a pleasant duet of guys, indeed. We ended up talking during the ride about music, what it meant to each of us, how different people react to the same songs, family life, and our unique way of discovering the healing message of Baha’u'llah, and later at home we were able to offer home-cooked turkey to these talented musicians who have traveled on this holiday to serve the Faith. Eric talked about being introduced to the Faith as a gospel preacher in North Caroline. JB shared how that one line of the Bab’s prayer for protection has always stuck out in his mind until one day while taking a shower in Mexico the complete song came to him, and how it amazes him that people share about having whole devotional gathering based on the 19-minute long “Long Healing Prayer”, and how hearing about the impact their music has had on people has been the most rewarding experience…

What this ride from the airport home brought to me though was much more personal than even the impact that “victorious” song has had on me during times of difficulties: it is the awareness that how I define, perceive, experience myself — as one living in the fear of facing or failing my struggles or living victoriously despite my struggles — has a paramount impact on my ability to take in God’s grace and assistance.

As Abdu’l-Baha says: “As ye have faith so shall your powers and blessings be.” Ya’Baha’ul’Abha!

I am back from a long weekend in my home land which is in more than one way connected with Baha’u'llah’s “Land of Mystery”. More importantly, I feel I am truly returning from a different land of mystery that has haunted me for years and is now releasing me and letting me be free. What a gift! What joy of healing! All I can say is that I am practicing living in the present and it is absolutely fascinating to observe the changes happening in me and all around me. God is glorious!

One of the honors of being on Baha’i Pilgrimage is seeing the writings and relics of Baha’u'llah’s extraordinary life. It is with gratitude I saw today a newly launched website as a photographic narrative of the life of Baha’u'llah. As a friend involved with the project so eloquently indicated, this website “will help all of us to more highly value the gift Baha’u'llah’s coming has brought into the world”. Yes, indeed! Thank you, Baha’u'llah!