Befriended Stranger

I am in Sofia, the capital of my homeland, Bulgaria. The jetlag is starting to hit me and I can sense my brain slowing down, which probably is not bad anyway. It is wonderful to be here during the summer. The weather is lovely and even a bustling, dusty and busy city like Sofia is very pleasant and inviting. Of course there are plenty of quirky things about being here. I spent close to an hour trying to find the Baha’i Center by reading street signs too confusing even for someone who grew up in Bulgaria: There were the overlapping street names — several houses on the street had two numbers, one for each of the active street names, i.e. the same house would be #1 Mura St. and #20 Boyanski Vaszhod. Then, there were the streets who had to zigzag around to follow their names. And then, there were the puzzled looks of the people on the street who kept on answering my questions with “I don’t know, I don’t live here”. Yet in the end, after a prayer, when I decided to ask not for the street address but just for the Baha’i Center, a nice lady showed me the way.

The teaching project, coordinated by a fine young man from England, is still in the works. We are still trying to identify activities and receptive population but the important thing is that the first steps have been taken. Next Wednesday and Thursday few other travel teachers will come — from Greece, Macedonia and Germany — and hopefully I will be able to assit them and do some door-to-door teaching using the visual presentation.

My first teaching opportunity came already – as soon as I showed up in the Lufthansa airplane at Dulles Airport. As I was taking my seat, I noticed that the lady who was sitting next to me was greeted by her passing daugther who had to go and sit somewhere way back. I offered to switch my seat with her so they could be together. She gladly accepted and I left a “Baha’is believe in… ” card on the seat to greet the new passenger…

In the mean time, I am thoroughly enjoying the Bulgarian culture and visiting with my family. There is something very refreshing about spending time with my brother and sister-in-law, pouring our hearts out and after that deep, honest conversation, feeling better about life, universe and everything else.

Tomorrow I will coincidentally attend the engagement party of a nephew of mine, and later in the week I will go on a mountain hiking trip with another Baha’i friend from my hometown.

Last but not least, my dad will celebate his 75th birthday and I am sure having his two sons together again will be the best gift he could ask for.

As I am wrapping up this post, I can smell the delicious flavor of my sister-in-law’s home cooking! Yummy! Not bad for a first day back in Bugaria.

I stand, life in hand, ready; that perchance, through God’s loving-kindness and grace, this revealed and manifest Letter may lay down his life as a sacrifice in the path of the Primal Point, the Most Exalted Word.
– Bahá’u'lláh, quoted by Shoghi Effendi on the opening paragraph of The Dawn-Breakers

Today is the day of the Martyrdom of the Primal Point, the Bab, and I am very emotional. I was unable to attend my community’s commemoration of this Holy Day. I had to sit at a dull and rather annoying personnel law training at work, and the only bright light, besides the news that the Baha’i shrines have been chosen as World Heritage sites, was that a colleague sitting next to me asked me about the plans for my departure tomorrow to Bulgaria which lead to a question about the Baha’i Faith and a short conversation on the similarities with the teachings of the Buddha which she tries to practice.

As I am writing this, I am putting together compilations of CDs for my children of audio stories of the life of the Blessed Beauty and soothing music which illustrates artistically these same stories. I will dedicate my life to making sure that my daughters have the spiritual protection of the Baha’i Faith and for this I am infinitely grateful to the Bab and Baha’u'llah.

Which brings me to the point of where I feel I stand today — at a turning point of my life. And the Bab’s Martyrdom and the sacrifice of His followers are a guiding light. May my trip tomorrow be a first step in that new direction. May the Blessed Beauty protects me and my loved ones.

O Friends of the Pure and Omnipotent God! To be pure and holy in all things is an attribute of the consecrated soul and a necessary characteristic of the unenslaved mind. The best of perfections is immaculacy and the freeing of oneself from every defect. Once the individual is, in every respect, cleansed and purified, then will he become a focal centre reflecting the Manifest Light.

First in a human being’s way of life must be purity, then freshness, cleanliness, and independence of spirit. First must the stream bed be cleansed, then may the sweet river waters be led into it. Chaste eyes enjoy the beatific vision of the Lord and know what this encounter meaneth; a pure sense inhaleth the fragrances that blow from the rose gardens of His grace; a burnished heart will mirror forth the comely face of truth.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 146)

This story starts with prejudice and ends with admiration. It is a humbling reminder that when I see with physical eyes, I tend to judge, misconstrue, or simply not honor; when I let (or am forced to let) the spiritual eyes to see, then the soul connects, recognizing the nobility of creation and the God-given talents with which all have been called into being…

The first day of my pilgrimage in the Holy Land, I was sitting at the Pilgrim Center waiting for our guide to start our orientation. I was sitting there, heart-broken, focused on my own plight, firmly placing myself in the center of the universe. Then a group of three came into the room; one of them was a beautiful young woman with multiple tattoos all over her arms and more colors in her hair than the rainbow has. That was enough for me to start the judging. How could such people show up in this holy place, I thought. Of course, I soon caught myself that I am being judgemental so I tried to focus on something more positive. But I did have these judging thoughts and that is why I am sharing them now.

Then the guide invited the group to share a prayer. And then Tara, that same lady I had just judged for her looks, and Jamey, her talented husband, started singing a most beautiful prayer in such harmonious voices that tears started flowing down my cheeks. How could I judge them for their appearance?

Lo and behold, during these 10 days of bliss, during prayers, during meals, during walks and friendly talks, I was honored with Tara and Jamey’s friendship and they both offered such encouragement and strength that I will never forget them. The best part came just as we were to bid farewell at the Tel Aviv airport — Tara came to me to share how from the moment she saw me praying at the Shrine of the Bab, she recognized in me a kindred soul, and then told me the story of how her reliance on Baha’u'llah has brought her a spiritual victory that for the longest time has eluded her. That talk with her stands as one of the enduring spiritual gifts that was bestowed on me during Pilgrimage.

Last November I had a brief encounter with Tara at the Thanksgiving Baha’i Conference in DC and recently I’ve reconnected with her via Facebook. So this morning it was through Facebook that Tara shared the joyful news of the completion of her “Devotions” album. She posted a video for the song “Fetters” that is so beautiful, so inspiring — I wish I could post it here but I am not sure if one can do that with Facebook-hosted videos. At any rate, here are the words for the song:

O MY SERVANT!
Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.

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

So, this is the recommended course of action for all of you: go to the Crimson World online store and buy Tara Ellis’ Devotions albums! Right now

Be ye sincerely kind, not in appearance only. Let each one of God’s loved ones centre his attention on this: to be the Lord’s mercy to man; to be the Lord’s grace. Let him do some good to every person whose path he crosseth, and be of some benefit to him. Let him improve the character of each and all, and reorient the minds of men. In this way, the light of divine guidance will shine forth, and the blessings of God will cradle all mankind: for love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is darkness, no matter where it may make its nest. O friends of God! That the hidden Mystery may stand revealed, and the secret essence of all things may be disclosed, strive ye to banish that darkness for ever and ever.

- Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha

Yet, by the Living God, were there any true seeker, I would divulge it to him; for they have said: “Love is a light that never dwelleth in a heart possessed by fear.”

Verily, the wayfarer who journeyeth unto God, unto the Crimson Pillar in the snow-white path, will never reach unto his heavenly goal unless he abandoneth all that men possess: “And if he feareth not God, God will make him to fear all things; whereas all things fear him who feareth God.”

- Baha’u'llah, The Four Valleys, p. 58

Thou art God’s shadow on earth. Strive, therefore, to act in such a manner as befitteth so eminent, so august a station. If thou dost depart from following the things We have caused to descend upon thee and taught thee, thou wilt, assuredly, be derogating from that great and priceless honour. Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and cleanse thine heart from the world and all its vanities, and suffer not the love of any stranger to enter and dwell therein. Not until thou dost purify thine heart from every trace of such love can the brightness of the light of God shed its radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more than one heart. This, verily, hath been decreed and written down in His ancient Book. And as the human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behoveth thee to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided. Cleave thou, therefore, with the  whole affection of thine heart, unto His love, and withdraw it from the love of anyone besides Him, that He may aid thee to immerse thyself in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a true upholder of His oneness. God is My witness. My sole purpose in revealing to thee these words is to sanctify thee from the transitory things of the earth, and aid thee to enter the realm of everlasting glory, that thou mayest, by the leave of God, be of them that abide and rule therein.

- Baha’u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 214