Befriended Stranger

Whoso firmly believeth today in the rebirth of man and is fully conscious that God, the Most Exalted, wieldeth supreme ascendancy and absolute authority over this new creation, verily such a man is reckoned with them that are endued with insight in this most great Revelation. Unto this beareth witness every discerning believer.

Walk thou high above the world of being through the power of the Most Great Name, that thou mayest become aware of the immemorial mysteries and be acquainted with that wherewith no one is acquainted. Verily, thy Lord is the Helper, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Be thou as a throbbing artery, pulsating in the body of the entire creation, that through the heat generated by this motion there may appear that which will quicken the hearts of those who hesitate.

(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 142)

O FRIEND!
In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love, and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly.

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

O MY CHILDREN!
I fear lest, bereft of the melody of the dove of heaven, ye will sink back to the shades of utter loss, and, never having gazed upon the beauty of the rose, return to water and clay.

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

…”Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the beloved.” Here love becometh an obstruction and a barrier, and all else save Him is but a curtain. The wise Sana’i hath written:

Never the covetous heart shall come to the stealer of hearts,

Never the shrouded soul unite with beauty’s rose.

(Baha’u'llah, The Four Valleys, p. 60)

O YE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MINDS TO KNOW AND EARS TO HEAR!
The first call of the Beloved is this: O mystic nightingale! Abide not but in the rose-garden of the spirit. O messenger of the Solomon of love! Seek thou no shelter except in the Sheba of the well-beloved, and O immortal phoenix! dwell not save on the mount of faithfulness. Therein is thy habitation, if on the wings of thy soul thou soarest to the realm of the infinite and seekest to attain thy goal.

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

Isaiah saith: “The Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day.” Concerning the greatness of the Revelation He saith: “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty.” And in another connection He saith: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the splendor of our God.”

(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 146)

“Thou art like unto a blooming rose in the rose-garden of the love of God and thou art like unto a fruitful tree on the bank of the stream of knowledge of God. I beg of God that thou mayest always enjoy spiritual nearness and ever be rejoiced.”

Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v1, p. 209

“This fragrance is just as thou didst write, “the fragrance of the rose-garden of the unity of the East and West.” I hope that daily these fragrances may become more powerful and more diffused throughout the world.”

Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v1, p. 127

On Friday night we went to The Birchmere in Alexandria to see Tierney Sutton, a Grammy-nominated singer known to apply Baha’i consultation while collaborating with her bandmates. It was an outstanding concert of three brilliant musicians and a perfect-pitch vocalist able to turn the happiest song into a dark, reflective melody or a funeral-ready tune into a joyful dance. The paradoxes they like to explore, while musically very different, remind me of the Wedding and Funeral Band of Goran Bregovic; then again the theme of musical contrasts is not atypical for New Orleans Jazz either. Which leads me to the surprising observation that the concern was attended almost exclusively by a white audience of a certain age. Now, I am not a jazz expert but for whatever reason I was always under the impression that jazz has always had roots in the African-American tradition — at least that is what I recall from the days I was running a small music store in Bulgaria, selling the tapes of the jazz greats of yesteryears: Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, and you can go on… But this probably proves once again that sometimes I just don’t fully understand this country… At any rate, back to the wonderful concert…

When Tierney Sutton showed on stage, I immediately noticed next to her two cups of cold coffee, “The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys” by Baha’u'llah. The sweetest surprise, however, was when in the beginning of a very mellow piece whose arrangement she said was first performed only two days ago at the Carnegie Hall, she started reciting the following spiritual gems:

O SON OF BEING!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.

…

O SON OF THE SUPREME!
To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that which perisheth. What hath made thee turn away from Our desire and seek thine own?

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

Now, that was the true dessert for me — even better than the terrific raspberry and chocolate cheese cake

Photo of Tierney Sutton Band, copyright of Richard Termine / The New York Times

Last night, after the study circle on “Reflections on the Life of the Spirit”, I went up the hill anxious to catch the bus but also to meet again Smith, my new friend, whom I met few days ago, after the Feast. He was sitting there on the sidewalk as friendly as usual. I sat next to him, doubly relieved. We started talking — about the weather again, about his new roommates from Russia who work as guards in the nearby pool, and about his plans to go on vacation in two more days. I told him that I would love to invite him to a prayer meeting after he is back from vacation. Then he said that he is an Adventist and that he would not feel good about straying too far from his newborn faith. I talked a bit more about the expectation of the return of Christ in 1844 and that Baha’is believe that His return did indeed happen but I, having grown from an atheist, emphasized my admiration for anyone of faith and promised to pray for him.

Then later at the apartment I reflected on that promise, to pray for him. How often, I thought, I would tell people I would pray for them and never follow up. I myself have so often benefited from the prayers of others  — only yesterday I got a sweet message from a Wilmette Institute classmate from New Zealand who had said several prayers for me! So, as promised, I decided to pray for Smith.

This morning in my usual meeting with a teammate who is also a 7th Day Adventist, I asked him about Miller’s expectation that Jesus will return in 1844. He explained that Miller originally thought that Jesus would return in 1844 but then realized that in 1844 would start the judging of the saints but the actual return would take place in the Day of Judgment. This is quite interesting because now that I am studying about the prophetic expectations of Muslims and the powerful explanation Baha’u'llah provides in The Kitab-i-Iqan of the Day of Judgment, I can see how indeed having the power of knowledge the Baha’i Faith has provided, one can see all old religions in totally new light. But I am getting off-topic. The reason I brought this up is because I truly trust my coworker has always kept his promise to pray for me. I can feel it, I know it also from his amazing work ethic. So, I have a wonderful example and inspiration from both Baha’is and non-Baha’is to keep the sanctity of my pledge, just as Baha’u'llah has admonished one of His sons:

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility. We pray God to protect thee from the heat of jealousy and the cold of hatred. He verily is nigh, ready to answer.

(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 92)

OK, it is time to thank for the inspiration and encouragement I get from other Baha’i bloggers:

• Brian Kurzius through his thoughtful comments, prayers and book has offered so much support and inspiration over the past year that I have no words to express my gratitude!
• BahaiViews by GWD has inspired me to write more consistently and has introduced me to many fascinating sites, among which the site below. George is also a fellow gardener and that makes him doubly cool in my opinion
• The Covenant of Baha’u'llah by an unknown believer in the World Centre whose love for the Undying Covenant will surely help me with my Wilmette Institute studies
• BahaiWords by fellow Arlingtonian David Henderson, who is also the author of Blog Strategies
• Teaching.Bahai.Us is full of inspiring stories of friends throughout the country, and the world, sharing the healing message of Baha’u'llah
• BahaiThought shares its author’s take on how the Baha’i Faith inspires social justice
• BahaiPerspectives reflects on the interaction between individuals and society and the Baha’i take on building an ever-advancing civilization
• The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights is a unique one indeed — created by Muslim in defense of the rights of Baha’is in Iran and Egypt
• BahaiNine is a portal of Baha’i blogs and websites
• BahaIndex is the original Baha’i portal
• Wendi Momen’s Wanderings - she is the editor of the great Baha’i publishing house, George Ronald

and the main official ones:

• Baha’i International Community
• Baha’u'llah - His life in pictures
• Baha’u'llah - His writings and teachings
• Baha’is of the United States
• Bulgarian Baha’i Community

and I am sure numerous others I am forgetting now but I shall be linking to in near future.

On Monday, my beautiful daughters helped us host the Feast of Rahmat (Mercy). In preparation, they had colored these 9-pointed stars in “rainbow” colors with signs for different virtues on each welcome card — I had told them that we will have many Baha’i guests and even the spirit of Abdu’l Baha will be with us. As the guests started arriving, the girls would enthusiastically greet each of them and would hand them one of the cards. Their mom had had the wonderful idea, following suggestions from JB Eckl and Eric Dozier, to spread rose petals on the stairs leading to the room where the Feast was hosted and that helped create a truly magnificent atmosphere! There were vases full of cream-colored roses and, at the end, the girls gave each guest a rose to take home! It was beautiful a beautiful Feast indeed!

The most beautiful was, of course, seeing the inspired faces of our girls — the older one almost 5 years old and the younger one almost 3 years old — as they listened to the gorgeous song “Let All Associate” by New Creation / TaliaSafa, proud as they were to have welcomed all the guests to Baha’i Feast.

Then the time to say prayers came. My older daughter decided she was too shy. We probably should have been more patient and give her a chance but we had to move on with the Feast program and covered for her. My younger one was less shy, or more oblivious, and sang her soft version of “Say God Sufficeth”. In the end all went fine, of course, and everyone liked the Feast.

What I personally liked the most was the sense of pride you could see on my daugthers’ faces, and the questions my big girl asked when I was putting her to bed. When I praised her for doing wonderful job in preparing for the Feast and welcoming all the guests, she said, “But daddy, God did not come!” And I said, “Yes, He did come, He is always in our hearts; we just need to notice He is there. And how we notice is by keeping our hearts pure.” Then I had to explain that yes, she is pure, and how she can stay this way is by keeping her thoughts and deeds pure. You can only imagine the sweetness of the hugs this girl and her younger sister give.

This same night, Baha’u'llah, provided another lesson in patience. As I was waiting for the next bus, an African-American gentleman who was on his way to work as a night guard at the Ballston Commons Mall came by and we started talking: about the weather, about the climate changes and the economy, and the world we live in, and that we should be grateful for what we have. I kept on thinking that I should talk to him about the Baha’i Faith, but I was hesitant, just as my daughter had been only a couple of hours earlier. I did asked him if he was religious and he replied, “Yes, Revelations and all”. Then we got on the bus and he commented on the rose I was carrying. I told him I was coming from a Baha’i Feast and asked him if he was familiar with the Baha’i Faith. He said no, so I recited for him the brief introduction from the “Visual Presentation” (Anna’s Presentation). He slightly moved back probably to show he was not very interested, and then I mentioned the name of Baha’u'llah. I wish you could have seen the sparkle in his eyes — he sighed with what it seemed a relief, “Ah, Baha? Is he from India?“, I said, no, He was from Persia what is now Iran, and He is the fulfillment of the all religions including the promise of Christ to come back. Then, as the bus was approaching his stop, the man said “But what about Jesus, the Savior? Didn’t he come and die for all of us?” I had only time to say, “Yes, we do believe in that and that the spirit of Christ has come back in Baha’u'llah”, and to hand him one of those “Baha’is believe in…” cards… That truly was a spiritual dessert after all the wonderful food at Feast.

The next day, I had another little surprise:

I had stopped by to check what my rent increase will be next year and started talking with the building manager, who is from Yemen but grew up in Germany. I told her about the class I am taking on Islam and what I am learning in it and how illuminating it is. The deeper we went into the topic of the importance of knowing the life of Muhammad and the traditions (hadith), in importance to reading the Qu’ran, the more surprised she was that a non-Muslim would take interest in her religion. Then she asked me, “Why are you taking this class?” I said, because I am a Baha’i and Baha’u'llah came from Shi’i Islam, just as Jesus came from among the Jews. She did not know anything about the Baha’i Faith and was perplexed why not, and why are Baha’i persecuted if they believe in the same One God. She asked many questions about how we worship and I decided to suggest she attend a devotional gathering I plan on hosting with a friend, and she said she would be very interested in attending.

Ya’Baha’ul’Abha! It would be great if I am given a chance to share the Message of Baha’u'llah with one new soul each day! But whether that happens or not, I will keep teaching myself!

In honor of my birthday, I will share the recipe for my favorite birthday cake. It is not a fancy-looking cake but anyone has ever tried it has praised it.

This is a three layer cake where the top and bottom layers are identical but the middle one has walnuts. Each layer is baked separately. After the sugar syrup and the cream are prepared, each layer is covered with syrup and then cream. Finally, the top is decorated with walnuts and chocolate.

Ingredients for each layers

• 3 eggs
• 1 not-full cup of sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• a few drops of vanilla extract
• 1 tea spoon of baking powder

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer and add the sugar and the vanilla. In another mixing bowl, mix the flour and baking powder Add the flour and baking powder mix to the eggs and sugar and make smooth batter. Pour the batter into a round baking pane and bake for 15 - 20 min at 380-400 degrees. Do the same for each layer with the only difference for the middle layer, adding a cup of walnut finely chopped in a good processor.

Ingredients for the sugar syrup

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of sugar

Instructions

Put the water and sugar in a pot on medium fire and mix until the sugar is fully absorbed by the water. Warm syrup works best.

Ingredients for the cream

• 1 liter of milk
• 2 egg separated into yolks and whites
• 100 ml of cold milk
• 1 cup of sugar
• 8 spoonfuls of flour
• a few drops of vanilla

Instructions

Pour the 1 liter of milk into a pot and put it on medium fire to heat. Add the cup of sugar to the hot milk. Mix regularly so it does not burn on the bottom of the pot. Mix the egg yolks and the 100 ml of cold milk in a mixing bowl. Add the 8 spoonfuls of flour and the vanilla extract. Mix into smooth batter. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and set aside for the end. Very carefully, start adding the egg yolk / flour batter into the pot with the warm milk and mix energetically so that they mix nicely. Continue mixing until the mix thickens.

At the end, add the beat the egg whites into the mix to make the butter more airy. Turn off the fire. Put each baked cake layer into the baking pan and cover it with sugar syrup and then a think layer of the cream. Repeat for each cake layer and decorate to your heart’s desire on top — I use chopped walnuts for cover and chocolate syrup for the signs. Put aside in a cool space and serve on the next day — that allows for the cake layers to get moist and juicy.

Last but not least, enjoy the cake in the company of your loved ones!

Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.
- BAHÁ’U'LLÁH

Last night, my apartment got blessed by the presence of a Ruhi 1 group studying “Life of the Spirit”, a class focusing on the importance of prayer, reading the Holy Writings, and life after death. The group was as diverse as it gets — a young Baha’i man, a young Baha’i woman, a young post-Christian agnostic of Indian heritage and a young Muslim from Mauritania, plus my old self.

We prayed, shared tea and cake, and discussed questions ranging from “does God answer all prayers?” and “how do we know when a prayer has been answered” to “how to reconcile a merciful God with the atrocities endured by innocent victims in Darfur?”. The highlight for me was a discussion on how we learn to love God — by knowing Him, by experiencing Him in our own lives, and by observing the role He plays in everyone’s life — whether we allow Him or not:

In the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or hell, or hope for bounty or heaven…. When a man falls in love with a human being, it is impossible for him to keep from mentioning the name of his beloved. How much more difficult is it to keep from mentioning the Name of God when one has come to love Him…. The spiritual man finds no delight in anything save in commemoration of God.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá quoted in “Bahá’u'lláh and the New Era”, p. 105

Last night I was sitting at the table helping my older daughter color welcoming cards to be used at the upcoming Feast of Rahmat (Mercy) which she and her baby sister will host next Monday. As she was coloring diligently, trying to stay within the lines (apparently a very important thing for a 4 1/2 year old one, and if you truly reflect on it, important for all of us), she was very concerned that she might make a mistake and cross the lines. I told her not to worry about it, that we all make mistakes but God is forgiving.

And then she asked the question that really made me pause:

“Does God like mistakes?”

I quickly answered:

“God likes it when we learn from our mistakes”.

The start of this talk, in fact, was inspired by our discussion of another mistake that had taken place the previous day — when she had cut, as artistically as she could, the hair of her 2 1/2 year old sister. Her mom (who shared with her that in her own youth she had done exactly the same to her own sister) and our daughter had reflected on whether what she had done was good, and we all praised her for telling the truth. (She clearly enjoys getting praise and confirmation for telling the truth.)

So, does God like it when we make mistakes? Does God like the mistakes we make? Seems to me that just as God loves us, He loves anything that would make us grow. So, as long as we learn from the mistakes, it is OK to make them. The trick is not to get in the habit of repeating them.

I have been trying to grow a garden of several vegetable plants, some berries, and a few grape vines. My goal is to make the grape vine climb on a trellis so we could enjoy the beautiful autumn evenings under the cool skies, broad leaves and succulent fruits. The way to make this happen is by lovingly but mercilessly trimming all the branches that the vine insist on growing in the wrong directions so that all its energy is spent for growth in the right direction, “the chosen highway“.

Does the vine like it when once a week I trim the newly sprouted leaves? Probably not. Is the vine grateful that it is reaching heights that only a year ago were unthinkable? Probably yes.

Do I like to see the vine grow all these extra sprouts? Yes, of course — these are signs of healthy growth. Do I call these extra sprouts mistakes? Of course, not — probably only the vine, in its lack of understanding, would label them as mistakes, seeing that I constantly prune them.

So, shall we call the mistakes we make “mistakes”? Perhaps we have no choice but to stick to a commonly agreed and accepted vocabulary, but we should never forget that in the eyes of God we all are loved, and so are our mistakes.

God is the greatest gardener and the best parent. The rest of us, whether gardeners-wanna-be or parents-in-permanent-training, should rely on His loving, and indeed forgiving, assistance:

O God! Educate these children. These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop, and appear in the utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

I very well remember the joy of having 1 (one) banana as the highlight of the new year celebration when growing in socialist Bulgaria. My father would wait in line for hours to bring 4 (four) bananas, one for each family member, and sometimes also 4 (four) oranges. Postponing the pleasure of taking the first bite was part of the pleasure. We all looked forward to this moment. We even had our own substitute: my father grew in his orchard a particularly delicious pear which he likened to a banana.

Then the 90s came and Bulgaria was not anymore restricted by economic isolation and the first thing street vendors did, in addition to pirated CDs, was to sell affordable bananas. I know it well, because I was the guy with the CDs, standing next to the guy with the bananas.

Now, I hardly eat bananas. My younger daughter, though, is a voracious banana eater. She probably eats two a day. I am a seasonal food eater — these days I love cherries and peaches. Few days ago I made a batch of sour cherry jam from the two sour cherry trees we planted in front of the house the year we moved. There were 10 little jars — enough to share with the neighbors and the Armenian coffee shop owner who always takes the time to talk with me about life, universe and everything else.

Now that I have been for almost 18 years in the U.S., I am appreciating more and more the bounty of growing in the family of gardeners. There is mystical joy in seeing how the grapes I planted, the apple trees I planted, the vegetable garden I planted are starting to produce fresh fruits and vegetables. I might not be as skilled a gardener as my parents, but I am deeply grateful to them (although back then I was not as happy camper about it) for making me work every weekend on the family gardens.

As I am reminiscing on this all, the New York Times posted a very enlightening article on the artificially low cost of bananas:

ONCE you become accustomed to gas at $4 a gallon, brace yourself for the next shocking retail threshold: bananas reaching $1 a pound. At that price, Americans may stop thinking of bananas as a cheap staple…

One of the rhetorical questions the article asks is “What other fruit can you slice onto your breakfast cereal?”. Well, you can try to be creative and seasonal too: you can try peaches and even melon with milk-based cereal. You can switch, just as Europeans would prefer it anyway, to yogurt instead of milk, and then the possibilities are limitless. That is how we have muesli.

The first recipe I ever brought home and ask my mom to help me make it, was plain yogurt with shredded apples and honey. It was one of the snacks we were given in the daycare. I must have been four and a half years old, just as my older daughter today.

As I am reflecting on the role of fatherhood these days, I am optimistic about the human ability to adapt to life. Yes, we had it good for many years with cheep produce flown from thousands of miles; and yes, we can enjoy our local produce just as well.

So here goes cheer to all local gardeners!

P.S. It just dawned on me the irony of what I was writing just as my coworkers were praising the banana bread I brought to the office. Indeed, you cannot make banana bread without bananas.