Befriended Stranger

When I was in high school, I loved mathematics and physics but not so much chemistry. I certainly had the best math teachers one could hope for, being that I was at a math magnet school. My physics teacher was great too, as well as quite a character — he was known to pasture his goat on the grass near the astronomical observatory. My chemistry teacher was good too but for some reason I never got to like chemistry. As good as these teachers were, however, the interdependence of the sciences they taught was never emphasized. As a result, I tended to view all these sciences as the separate subjects that they were and never saw the connection between them.

It was not until I got to college where I had to take a class on physical chemistry of semiconductors to realize that each one of these sciences, whose intersection I finally got to study, were simply a targeted, focused, look at the same reality; a specialized, independent, attempt to describe particular qualities of the same reality. The value of having specialized knowledge is, of course, in developing the ability to penetrate into ever deeper aspects of the truth; the problem of having specialized knowledge is that we are often unable to see the big picture.

The other day I was reflecting on one of the simplest yet most fundamental statements of the Baha’i Faith, contained in the short obligatory prayer:

I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth.

Just admitting one’s powerlessness is not enough; accepting God’s might is as important. The importance of stepping aside by subduing the ego and letting God does His “magic” by accepting and following His laws has been an important insight. Just as a friend once commented on the bumper sticker “Jesus is my co-pilot”: “Perhaps he should sit at the back seat and let Him drive” :-), it is never easy to keep the ego away from meddling in God’s ways, but it sure is the way to a lasting freedom. The other important insight has been, of course, the need to do all this “ego check-in” business every single moment at a time.

Promising Baha’u'llah that I will follow His laws but not relying on His help has been an eye-opening and humbling lesson because, as I now realize it, it had put on my ego the burden of carrying on when times get tough; and ego is a poor driver under stress (or any other time anyway). Realizing that when I can’t, God can, has been a great relief. Experiencing that help is always within reach — as long as I let God help me — and turning to Baha’u'llah in supplicating His help to enable me to follow His laws and Will, has been instrumental in my personal growth.

I am sure there will still be more times of tests and difficulties ahead but it is very comforting to have known the power of God’s help. God will always help, as long as we let Him ;-). Any other way would be like making a phone call to God asking for help and disconnecting before His help arrives.

This, to me, is the integrated beauty of God’s laws — not only you can’t pick and choose which Law to follow, but there is a mystical power and wisdom in following them all.

On this day 164 years ago, the Bab, declared that He was the Promised One whose Mission was to prepare humanity for one even greater than Himself, Baha’u'llah, who would come to educate and heal humanity and lead us all to an ever-advancing civilization.

On this day 12 years ago, having gone through many highs and lows in my search for spiritual Truth, I found myself unable to resist the Call of God anymore, and made a second declaration of my Faith; the first one, almost 7 years earlier, had been equally sincere but had been stifled by mere intellectual embrace of the teachings and lack of a sustainable change in my lifestyle.

On this day 1 year ago, I was faced with the destruction and despair which my selective following of God’s Laws brought to my life.

Today — and every single day for the rest of my life — I declare that God is one, that His Promised One for this day and age is Baha’u'llah, and that Baha’u'llah’s message is a healing one indeed! And that His laws are not pick-and-choose; but if you follow them, life can be great!

I might be a slow learner but I am not a quitter

Heed not your weaknesses and frailty; fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the Lord, your God, the Almighty.
(The Báb, quoted in The Dawnbreakers, p. 94)

Perhaps the reason why you have not accomplished so much in the field of teaching is the extent you looked upon your own weaknesses and inabilities to spread the message. Bahá’u'lláh and the Master have both urged us repeatedly to disregard our own handicaps and lay our whole reliance upon God. He will come to our help if we only arise and become an active channel for God’s grace. Do you think it is the teachers who make converts and change human hearts? No, surely not. They are only pure souls who take the first step, and then let the spirit of Bahá’u'lláh move them and make use of them. If any one of them should even for a second consider his achievements as due to his own capacities, his work is ended and his fall starts. This is in fact the reason why so many competent souls have after wonderful services suddenly found themselves absolutely impotent and perhaps thrown aside by the Spirit of the Cause as useless souls. The criterion is the extent to which we are ready to have the will of God operate through us.

Stop being conscious of your frailties, therefore; have a perfect reliance upon God; let your heart burn with the desire to serve His mission and proclaim His call; and you will observe how eloquence and the power to change human hearts will come as a matter of course.

Shoghi Effendi will surely pray for your success if you should arise and start to teach. In fact the mere act of arising will win for you God’s help and blessings.
(From a letter dated 31 March 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

As I often do during my lunch break, today I went to a nearby park to say my noon prayer and meditate on some of the Writings. I opened a pocket version of “The Hidden Words and Selected Holy Writings” on the page preceding “Words of Wisdom” and saw this line which rang so true to me:

Be ye as a mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Unconstrained.

…I swear by My life! Nothing save that which profiteth them can befall My loved ones.

Now, this is a statement by the Manifestation of God! These are the words of God, nothing less, and cannot be taken lightly. So, here is what I make of these blessed words (and I am sure one day I will find even deeper meaning):

First of all, I am given the assurance of being among God’s loved ones! This is profound, because for as long as I know I am loved by God — and I now know God’s love is unconditional — I am not dependent on the conditional love others might provide. Moreover, as I am given a perfect example of how to love — unconditionally — I can start practicing how to love unconditionally too. One moment at a time. And this all becomes possible as long as I see the world through the eyes of a Loving God.

Secondly, in order to see life’s challenges in profitable light, I need to look at them with God’s eyes. Any other way won’t do it. For as long as I see the world with the eyes of a self-centered and self-important person, I will not appreciate the lessons God has provided. But if I, confident in God’s never-ending Love and Grace, look at my life’s experiences as an emanation of the gentle guidance of a Loving Father, then it indeed becomes possible to be “as a mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Unconstrained.”

Baha’u'llah lovingly provides very direct guidance on how to realize the exalted station of spiritual nobility, which is inherently ours:

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)

As if I needed any more confirmations while I was researching the Ocean library for the original quote which lead to this series of thoughts, I received this month’s Baha’i newsletter which profiles the victorious search for spirituality of a recovering addict: “What he has learned being a Baha’i, he says, is that “God had nothing to do with my troubled past. God gave us all free will. He’s also there guiding us. He was always there, even when I didn’t think he was there.””

As Shoghi Effendy inspires us to always turn towards the Writings, Baha’u'llah explains God’s nearness majestically:

O My servants! The one true God is My witness! This most great, this fathomless and surging Ocean is near, astonishingly near, unto you. Behold it is closer to you than your life-vein! Swift as the twinkling of an eye ye can, if ye but wish it, reach and partake of this imperishable favor, this God-given grace, this incorruptible gift, this most potent and unspeakably glorious bounty.
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 326)

So, indeed, as I go through life’s difficulties, regardless of how painful they might feel the moment I experience them, they will always profit me — that is, if I keep on turning towards God. And turning to God means turning to His Manifestation’s Writings, as Shoghi Effendi, ever willing to help, gently but firmly suggests:

Dearly beloved friends! I can do no better, eager as I am to extend to every one of you any assistance in my power that may enable you to discharge more effectively your divinely appointed, continually multiplying duties, than to direct your special attention, at this decisive hour, to these immortal passages, gleaned in part from the great mass of Bahá’u'lláh’s unpublished and untranslated writings.

Among Baha’u'llah’s sublime utterances which Shoghi Effendi quotes are:

In the beginning of every Revelation adversities have prevailed, which later on have been turned into great prosperity.” “…Put your trust in God, and commit your affairs to His keeping. He, verily, will, through the power of truth, render you victorious, and He, verily, is powerful to do what He willeth, and in His grasp are the reins of omnipotent might.” “I swear by My life! Nothing save that which profiteth them can befall My loved ones. To this testifieth the Pen of God, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Best Beloved.” “Let not the happenings of the world sadden you. I swear by God! The sea of joy yearneth to attain your presence, for every good thing hath been created for you, and will, according to the needs of the times, be revealed unto you.” “O my servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.

This is one of those things that probably looks totally trivial from aside but is invaluable when the result of true insight. So, I am writing here now not to claim any eloquence but just to share the relief, and joy, of grasping, finally, something that is of paramount importance. Praised be God for His confirmations!

I came back on Sunday from my trip to Chicago where I had the honor of singing with the Baha’i Choral Festival Choir at the Baha’i House of Worship. The event was magnificent and the joy of singing in the Mother-Temple, immeasurable. I am sure in due time, there will be posts on YouTube and probably another CD. Seeing old friends — from the Baha’i Gospel Choir European Tour in 2004, and from my 1996/98 Baha’i community in Greensboro, NC, was a true joy. Seeing the faces of the people in the audience was very uplifting. Singing the Words of God in the auditorium, and raising my voice to “sing praises to Our Lord” on the stairs of the House of Worship was a privilege.

But what truly touched my heart was something not event related to music. Not, unless you count a cell phone ring particularly musical.

Just as we started one of the songs, the phone of a certain gentleman rang. He just collapsed in his embarrassment. You could just see how he was sinking into his seat, as many — myself included — were giving him the look. And then I saw a simple, warm, loving, humane gesture. Dr. Billy Roberts, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S., extended his hand and patted the man on his back. How do you describe love in action? I was so humbled, and inspired, by this very simple act of love. I was ashamed of my own judging the poor man whose phone rang just as we were singing a soft peace. Yet, I was so inspired and touched by this gentle tough which could have meant nothing but “It is OK, we all make mistakes”. Isn’t our nobility expressed in about ability to love unconditionally, just as our Creator loves us?

Few hours later my dear friend Boyan drove me to a talk at an independent bookstore, where a Baha’i speaker talked on healing racism as institutionalized prejudice. How grateful I am to Boyan for insisting we go to support this event! The speaker said something that touched me deeply - those who oppress are the ones oppressed the most, because as we deny the humanity of the ones we oppress, we perpetually deny our own nobility. Until and unless, I recognize that I am truly, beyond any doubt, a noble soul, I will continue denying the nobility of others. Ya’Baha’ul’Abha! I think I finally got it

So, here are few beautiful Writings that talk about this all much better than anything I will ever say. From the Hidden Words of Baha’u'llah:

13. O SON OF SPIRIT!

I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.
(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

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)

And from Baha’u'llah’s Gleanings:

From the exalted source, and out of the essence of His favor and bounty He hath entrusted every created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures may be deprived of its share in expressing, each according to its capacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is the mirror of His beauty in the world of creation. The greater the effort exerted for the refinement of this sublime and noble mirror, the more faithfully will it be made to reflect the glory of the names and attributes of God, and reveal the wonders of His signs and knowledge. Every created thing will be enabled (so great is this reflecting power) to reveal the potentialities of its pre-ordained station, will recognize its capacity and limitations, and will testify to the truth that “He, verily, is God; there is none other God besides Him.”…

There can be no doubt whatever that, in consequence of the efforts which every man may consciously exert and as a result of the exertion of his own spiritual faculties, this mirror can be so cleansed from the dross of earthly defilements and purged from satanic fancies as to be able to draw nigh unto the meads of eternal holiness and attain the courts of everlasting fellowship.

(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 261)

And last but not least, Abdu’l-Baha’s words of encouragement to the American believers as He was departing this country on his way back home:

As ye have faith so shall your powers and blessings be.

Yesterday I was taking a break from a week long professional conference and on the way back from the Disney Store where I got a little gift for my two little daugthers, I stopped by at the Freedom Museum to view an interactive exhibition on the First Amendment. Needless to say I was intrigued by the ongoing ban of certain literature and music but most of all by the concept of freedom of religious expression. Having grown up in socialist Bulgaria, the thoughprovoking exhibition made me appreciate the freedoms the U.S. constitution guarantees.

In this context, the news I received through my community’s website as soon as I got back to the hotel, were particularly disturbing:

Six Bahá’í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s

As international condemnation of this appaling event grows, it is timely for us Baha’is in this, and other free countries, to appreciate the freedom to believe we have, and to pray for our brothers and sisters in the crade of our Glorious Faith.

I am in Chicago for a professional conference and in anticipation of participating at the 2nd Baha’i Choral Music Festival next weekend. Last night a dear Bulgarian Baha’i friend met me at the airport and took me directly to the Baha’i House of Worship, near Lake Michigan. It is such a magnificent building! Approaching it reminded me only of a return home after a long trip, and approaching the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The physical assumes the qualities of the spiritual — the building calls for the heart to sing! And sing there we will! I had the pleasure of embracing again Van Gilmer for the first time since he moved to Chicago. And I had the pleasant surprise of seeing an old friend, a Baha’i not just from Bulgaria, but from my hometown! So many blessings in one evening alone. Of course, I should not forget that the reason we showed up at the House of Worship was to hear a concert of piano and chamber music showcasing the qualities of the very rare grand piano hosted at the Foundation Hall. It was fascinating to observe the love which emanated from the piano professor who takes care of this gorgeous musical instrument. He talked with passion about the work that goes in maintaining this klaviert and then let us appreciate the beauty of its sounds through the music of Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Brahms. And that all for free

But the reason I titled this post was not my trip, nor the concert. It is just to capture a fascinating thought which I heard on my MP3 player when listening to talks given by Adib Taherzadeh at a summer school in Alaska in 1984. He talks about the importance of nurturing the soul by feeding it the Holy Writings. And that reading the writings is very different from saying prayers. Now that I am going again through the Ruhi 1 book on Life of the Spirit, I am reminded yet again of how crucial the saying of prayers is.

Yet, Adib Taherzadeh explains that a prayer is what we ask of God; the Writings are what God asks of us!

This is indeed profound — just think of the multiple applications to one’s daily life. I am so grateful for having heard this important concept at such a crucial point of my spiritual path! Thank you dear Mr. Adib (and sorry for missing a chance to hear you speak in person many years ago in Bulgaria). And thank you, Baha’u'llah, for inspiring so many wonderful Baha’is to impart their insights in guiding feeble souls like mine to stay on the right path!

Here is a brief report about our follow up last night at a neighborhood that initially was perceived as not so receptive. But as last night showed us, even in non-receptive neighborhoods, there are receptive souls! I feel the Blessed Beauty was with us because everything went so effortlessly. No doubt being unified in thought and prayer in advance helped. But probably more importantly, when a soul is receptive even if the teachers don’t do it perfectly right, the beauty of Baha’u'llah’s healing message penetrates the hearts.

We had two apartments to visit:

First was the apartment of a young woman who had not explicitly said she wanted us to follow up but was so positive and spiritual in her reaction to the description of the Faith that we decided to risk it and knock on her door again. She was not at home but her mother was there. Her mother was very nice and open about her Muslim faith. She was accepting of all religions that lead to the One True God. They are from Morocco and she was pleased to hear of a family connection I had there — my father had worked there for an year and was left with very positive impressions of the people’s hospitality. Most importantly, the mother thanked us for stopping by and I believe we left a positive impression on her. It is very important that should her daughter decide to call us — we had left our phone numbers last Saturday — the mother would feel not threatened. We will certainly keep this family in our prayers.

Second was the apartment of a Spanish speaking family whose husband indicated that he had heard of the Baha’i Faith once but we should come back another time because they were having a guest already. Just as the first time we knocked on the door, we were invited inside — nobody else had done this for us before. The mother welcomed us and she said at first that we should probably come back another time because her husband was not at home and his English was better. But her English was pretty impressive anyway, and we were encouraged to talk. As we started to talk about the Faith, we tried to be very flexible and respond to her questions. We did not stick strictly to the visual presentation but whether this was wise or not only time, and God, will tell. This family is from Venezuela. The mother was adopted as a baby by a protestant minister, I want to say Jehovah’s Witness but I am not sure. She is very disillusioned with the organized religions she knows. She was very surprised that she had never heard of the Baha’i Faith — we referred to the early days of Christianity when very few people had heard of it too. She sees most organized religions as a business which is only interested in people’s money — we shared that in our Faith contributions to the Fund are encouraged but a totally secret and the individual decides how much, if at all, to contribute, and that 1 dollar given from a pure heart is better than a million dollars given insincerely.

While our host was disillusioned with the religions she knew of, she and her family read the Bible and pray at home. They do not go to church anymore — their home is their church. We talked about the fact that in the Baha’i Faith there are no priests because we are encouraged to search for truth independently. Her husband has apparently studied theology but quit disillusioned because to continue his study had meant to stop believing. They have two teenage children, a girl who is 15 and a boy who is 12 who both play the piano. We mentioned youth classes focusing on virtues, spirituality, obedience and independence, and it seems that might be of interest to the mother. We mentioned prayer meetings and I would certainly suggest we invite them to such meetings. I also feel we should invite them to the firesides taking place not far from her home each Friday. Our host had quite a few specific questions — particular issues for her were Prophethood (her personal connection with God was a key for her), and resurrection of the soul on the Day of Judgment. We tried to briefly answered her questions by affirming that God is unknowable in His essence, but through the teachings and lives His Messengers, but we also had to go home to put our girls to bed, so we left the deeper theological discussions for another time. We were invited to come back again at a different time when her husband will be there and she promised to call us.

Please keep this family, as well as ours, in your prayers. God is Most Glorious!

Last night I went to see “The Forbidden Kingdom” movie with a wonderful guy, Aaron Emmel. Anyone who has the richness of personality and ability for integrity to incorporate love for the Baha’i Faith, applying its principles for world development and justice, human rights, rock music, writing, and movies, earns my sincere admiration! Plus he has an awesome wife

Now onto the movie:

My love for martial arts movies was rooted in my friendship with one of the most diverse characters I had met in my life, Hristo Filipov. He was the one who introduced me to Wu-Shu, Tai-Chi, Kung-Fu and so on. He was the one who made me appreciate those bootleg copies of old Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies. He is also the one who introduced me to Zen Buddhism and even if unwillingly, was spiritually an important factor for the training of my mind and soul that would lead to my accepting the teachings of Baha’u'llah.

That is why I observed with interest the multiple references to Zen Buddhism and their parallels with the Baha’i Writings interspersing the movie’s action scenes with those Yoda-like wisdom moments which I have paraphrased since I cannot claim to quote precisely:

“Music is a bridge between heaven and earth” - Golden Sparrow, the orphan warrior, tells Jason, the main character of the movie.

We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high; make it not, therefore, as wings to self and passion.
(Bahá’u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 38)

“Vengeance is a burden with which we choose to punish ourselves.” - says Silent Monk when addressing Golden Sparow’s desire to avenge for her parents’ death. Just as Abdu’l-Baha affirms:

Now vengeance, according to reason, is also blameworthy, because through vengeance no good result is gained by the avenger. So if a man strikes another, and he who is struck takes revenge by returning the blow, what advantage will he gain? Will this be a balm for his wound or a remedy for his pain? No, God forbid! In truth the two actions are the same: both are injuries; the only difference is that one occurred first, and the other afterward. Therefore, if he who is struck forgives, nay, if he acts in a manner contrary to that which has been used toward him, this is laudable. The law of the community will punish the aggressor but will not take revenge. This punishment has for its end to warn, to protect and to oppose cruelty and transgression so that other men may not be tyrannical.

But if he who has been struck pardons and forgives, he shows the greatest mercy. This is worthy of admiration.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 267)

Last but not least comes the initial prejudice expressed by both the Silent Monk (Jet Lee) and the Drunken Master (Jackie Chan) towards the young guy who is to fulfill the prophecy of the mortal ones:

“But, he’s not even Chinese.”

To which Baha’u'llah responds:

National rivalries, hatreds and intrigues will cease, and racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial amity, understanding and co-operation.
(Baha’u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha’u'llah, p. xii)

And as Baha’u'llah stated in His meeting with E.G. Browne:

Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.

Disclaimer: The images of the movie actors are from Crystal Liu Yifei’s Photo Gallery.

I am in pain these days — the pain of separation whose only soothing medicine, I know, is detachment. And while convulsing in this pain, I ask questions of why and how, Baha’u'llah gracefully provides answers:

But, O my brother, when a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error. That seeker must at all times put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords.

(Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 192)

Baha’u'llah further offers an unfailing recipe for how to remain in His presence:

At the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and with all his soul persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of lightning, pass by all else save Him.
(Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 192)

The communing with God is pretty obvious — daily prayer and meditation on the Holy Writings. The wayward thoughts are trickier to define, and to deal with. I am pretty sure for everyone they are different. For me sometimes these have been thoughts of things I used to do when I was too afraid of the painful reality of needing to grow; other times these were thoughts magnifying the faults of others with the same idea — of minimizing my own shortcomings.

But lately I am discovering a whole different category of thoughts that, when left unchecked, is a sure way of bringing pain upon myself — the thoughts that get me carried away from the present, whether back in the past reliving painful mistakes I have made or the future in a feeble attempt to plan it, calculate it, control it. The simple truth is, no one can predict the future. All that we know is the general direction of where things are going — spiritual progress not only despite physical pain but because of it. If we embrace the truth that growth is painful, the hope is we will not fight it, but will focus on enjoying God’s presence, one moment at a time.

I was reading about Marzieh Gail, a writer and translator of Baha’i Writings, and an interesting story got my attention:

As a little girl, Marzieh Khanum wrote a letter to the Master: “Dear ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I love you. I hope you will come to see us.” And He wrote His reply in Persian on the same letter, turning it into a Tablet: “Oh God, make Marzieh, Razieh.” The reference was from the Qur’án (89:28), and it voiced His desire that she who is pleasing to God (Marzieh), might be well-pleased with God (Razieh).

Abdul-Baha quotes this from the Qur’an in Memorials of the Faithful, p. 121:

“O thou soul who art well-assured, return unto thy Lord, well-pleased with Him, and well-pleasing unto Him.”[1]
[1 Qur'án 89:27.]

So it made me reflect on what it means to not only be pleasing to God — because we are clearly admonished to be pleasing to God through our conduct — but also to be pleased with God? The way I take it is to accept God’s Will no matter what.

Baha’u'llah clearly means that all things, tests and victories alike, are of God, when in the Kitab-i-’Ahd (Book of the Covenant), He says:

Say: O servants! Let not the means of order be made the cause of confusion and the instrument of union an occasion for discord. We fain would hope that the people of Baha may be guided by the blessed words: ‘Say: all things are of God.‘ This exalted utterance is like unto water for quenching the fire of hate and enmity which smouldereth within the hearts and breasts of men. By this single utterance contending peoples and kindreds will attain the light of true unity. Verily He speaketh the truth and leadeth the way. He is the All-Powerful, the Exalted, the Gracious.
(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 221)

And in the Kitab-i-Iqan, He says:

Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you, that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable fragrance, and that you may acknowledge the truth that from time immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and will continue to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished from darkness, truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from error, happiness from misery, and roses from thorns.
(Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 8 )

Accepting God’s tests, embracing them, means, to me at least, to be pleased with God.

So I pray today, and for the rest of my life, to be pleasing to God, and pleased with God! May God help me in that!