Befriended Stranger

Last night’s Prayer Station was attended by me alone… and of course, Abdu’l-Baha. In a way, being by myself with the prayers, the Holy Writings and the presence of the Center of the Covenant of God made it a perfect occasion to reflect on the bounty I have had by experiencing divine healing myself, and to pray for the healing of others.

And divine healing I experienced indeed, some two months ago.  What is fascinating is how it happened — not as an automatic switch but as the result of a crystal clear choice I was aware I had to make. So, having made many bad choices in life, I experienced the benefit of making the right choice. Very profound, very awe-inspiring. With a certainly I cannot explain in words, I found myself immersed in God’s love, grace and healing. So, while I have, of course, benefited from the care of professionals, in the end it was God’s power that provided that miraculous, divine healing. And for those who want to question this, I can assure you with that same certitude I have in my heart that Baha’u'llah is the Messenger of God for this day and age, that I have been healed:

There was an illness, and then it was gone.

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
(King James Bible, Jeremiah)

O mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts — and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy.

(The Holy Qur’an, Surah 10)

Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy.
(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 262)

So, having experienced divine healing myself, now I am praying for such healing to be granted to others I love and to those I have crossed path with and have probably hurt throughout my life. The freedom I have experienced in the past two months can never be compared to anything I am aware of from the past 30 years of my life. I wish such healing and freedom to everyone. I trust such healing and freedom is possible for everyone!

So that was the main thing about the Prayer Station — reflecting on what divine healing means for me. Other that this, of course, I had the usual menu — banitza, banana bread and salad. Music was served by:

• Eric Harper – “Cura” from the CD “Romper a madrugad”
• Eric Dozier & JB Eckl -”Healing Suite” from the CD “Badasht”
• Tara Ellis – “Healing” from the CD “Devotions by Tara Ellis”
• Adrienne Ewing-Roush & Harry Beall – “Healer of the Hearts” from the CD “Eastwind”

This is how the announcement went:

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 BYOP (bring your own prayer).

We’ll read and reflect on selected writings on the theme of Divine Healing, uplift and refresh our souls with music, and offer prayers as the spirit moves us.  We’ll conclude with tea and refreshments.

Next week, the Prayer Station will be indeeed special. TaliaSafa and New Creation will come and perform a house concert “Let All Associate“. Would you come and join me? Let the healing begin!

The body of the human world is sick. Its remedy and healing will be the oneness of the kingdom of humanity. Its life is the Most Great Peace. Its illumination and quickening is love. Its happiness is the attainment of spiritual perfections. It is my wish and hope that in the bounties and favors of the Blessed Perfection we may find a new life, acquire a new power and attain to a wonderful and supreme source of energy so that the Most Great Peace of divine intention shall be established upon the foundations of the unity of the world of men with God. May the love of God be spread from this city, from this meeting to all the surrounding countries. Nay, may America become the distributing center of spiritual enlightenment, and all the world receive this heavenly blessing! For America has developed powers and capacities greater and more wonderful than other nations. While it is true that its people have attained a marvelous material civilization, I hope that spiritual forces may animate this great body and a corresponding spiritual civilization be established. May the inhabitants of this country become like angels of heaven with faces turned continually toward God. May all of them become the servants of the Omnipotent One. May they rise from present material attainments to such a height that heavenly illumination may stream from this center to all the peoples of the world.

(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 19)

The past two months have been a fascinating ride. God granted me one freedom and I lost a different one. I gained new insights and found that they open the door to yet deeper insights. In many ways I have grown a lot; in many ways I am still back to where I started. What used to help me run away from myself is thankfully left behind for good but I still need to find myself, to face myself. I discovered that my fear and selfishness are tremendous obstacle in front of my progress and growth and an enormous source of pain to those I love. I am starting to realize that the only way to conquer this selfishness is to love others selflessly. To love selflessly is the freedom I have longed for. To love selflessly is only possible by loving God. To love God is the only source for such freedom.

Now is the moment in which to cleanse thyself with the waters of detachment that have flowed out from the Supreme Pen, and to ponder, wholly for the sake of God, those things which, time and again, have been sent down or manifested, and then to strive, as much as lieth in thee, to quench, through the power of wisdom and the force of thy utterance, the fire of enmity and hatred which smouldereth in the hearts of the peoples of the world.
(Baha’u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 12)

Now is the time for selfless love, detachment and faith:

ASL-I-KULLU’L-KHAYR

(Words of Wisdom)

In the Name of God, the Exalted, the Most High

THE source of all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, and contentment with His holy will and pleasure.

The essence of wisdom is the fear of God, the dread of His scourge and punishment, and the apprehension of His justice and decree.

The essence of religion is to testify unto that which the Lord hath revealed, and follow that which He hath ordained in His mighty Book.

The source of all glory is acceptance of whatsoever the Lord hath bestowed, and contentment with that which God hath ordained.

The essence of love is for man to turn his heart to the Beloved One, and sever himself from all else but Him, and desire naught save that which is the desire of his Lord.

True remembrance is to make mention of the Lord, the All-Praised, and forget aught else beside Him.

True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as in His Hands is the destiny of all His servants.

The essence of detachment is for man to turn his face towards the courts of the Lord, to enter His Presence, behold His Countenance, and stand as witness before Him.

The essence of understanding is to testify to one’s  poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord, the Sovereign, the Gracious, the All-Powerful.

The source of courage and power is the promotion of the Word of God, and steadfastness in His Love.

The essence of charity is for the servant to recount the blessings of his Lord, and to render thanks unto Him at all times and under all conditions.

The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.

The essence of true safety is to observe silence, to look at the end of things and to renounce the world.

The beginning of magnanimity is when man expendeth his wealth on himself, on his family and on the poor among his brethren in his Faith.

The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not is indeed of the poor and needy. This is that which the Finger of Glory and Splendour hath revealed.

The source of all evil is for man to turn away from his Lord and set his heart on things ungodly.

The most burning fire is to question the signs of God, to dispute idly that which He hath revealed, to deny Him and carry one’s self proudly before Him.

The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His Glory, and this cannot be attained save through the knowledge of His Divine Manifestation.

The essence of abasement is to pass out from under the shadow of the Merciful and seek the shelter of the Evil One.

The source of error is to disbelieve in the One true God, rely upon aught else but Him, and flee from His Decree.

True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter ignorance of his self.

The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye.

Thus have We instructed thee, manifested unto thee Words of Wisdom, that thou mayest be thankful unto the Lord, thy God, and glory therein amidst all peoples.

(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 153)

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)

The day the tired snow started falling
From the branches kissed by the Sun
That day I thought ’bout my cooking calling
“To cook for just one no more is fun”
That day Segovia came home
But I wanted something new
I just wanted to write a song for you…

Now this song was supposed to be impression
About a winter day spent alone
Nothing about feeling suppression,
Nor about whatever is gone
But I heard in the distance your laughter
And I took it to be a sign
That my winter day might have a spring design.

—-

Here is a simple audio file with my voice singing the song:

winter-day-with-a-spring-design

The true morn dawneth from the depths of a darksome night, and the world-illuminating light of day poureth forth from the canopy of
a night of gloom. The enchanting flower bloometh on a branch of thorns, and multitudinous plants grow out of the sad, sodden earth.
The delightful fruit sprouteth upon a piece of wood. Thus is seen the truth of the words: ‘Thou bringest the living out of the dead,
and Thou bringest the dead out of the living.’ [Qur'án 3: 271]

(Abdu’l-Baha, quoted in H.M. Balyuzi, Eminent Baha’is in the Time of Baha’u'llah, p. 28)

Dan Seals, the country singer who gave the world the song “We Are One” passed away March 25, 2009 following a valiant struggle with mantle cell lymphoma.

“We Are One” was probably my most favorite Baha’i-inspired song in the 1990s. Here are its beautiful lyrics:

We Are One

(Dan Seals)

In a bombed out room in Belfast
A young boy is crying
He’s alone and he don’t understand
How the teachings of one book
Built on love and understanding
Could cause the hurt and killing in his land

In an old part of Jerusalem
Two children are playing
They run and laugh
The way it’s meant to be
But one will wear the star and one will wear the crescent
And they’ll grow up and change from friends to enemies

Chorus

But we are one
Flowers of one garden
We’re one the leaves of one tree
Let the walls come down
And stand here together
We are one family

In a Pakistani village
A young boy on crutches
Takes a fall
And lies helplessly there
And he holds out his hand
But no one will take it
They won’t touch him
Or the clothes that he wears

On a side street in Selma
A black child is sitting
In a squad car
Protected from the whites
‘Cause they’re burning a cross
To send her a message
And you can see
The fear in her eyes

Chorus

But we are one
Flowers of one garden
We’re one the leaves of one tree
Let the walls come down
And stand here together
We are one family

Ponder in our hearts
How we were all created
From the same dust
And searching we will find
That spirit of the age
Has come to find us
To find us

Chorus

But we are one
Flowers of one garden
We’re one the leaves of one tree
Let the walls come down
And stand here together
We are one family

Dan Seal will be missed but his art will endure. Keep Dan and his loved ones in your prayers!

O my God! O my God! Verily Thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon Thee, hath turned his face to Thee, hath offered his supplications to Thee, and hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness. He hath abandoned this mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the favour of meeting Thee.

O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.

Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Powerful, the Forgiver and the Bestower.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 196)

The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men.
(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 66)

For years I thought that unity should come first. I am finally starting to see that justice is required before there can be hope for unity. Better later than never! What a gift for the Baha’i New Year! Happy Naw Ruz!

The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye. Thus have We instructed thee, manifested unto thee Words of Wisdom, that thou mayest be thankful unto the Lord, thy God, and glory therein amidst all peoples.
(Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

It amazes me how life can look totally different depending on the perspective. Allowing fear to rule can have the same effect as when zooming in on the ego. Allowing fear to reside in the heart, immediately crashes the heart, disconnecting it from the source of God’s love:

Love is a light that never dwelleth in a heart possessed by fear.
(Baha’u'llah, The Four Valleys, p. 58)

No connection to God results immediately into the self taking over. A selfish heart leaves no space for love. No love for God means no love to others.

The pure heart is one that is entirely cut away from self. To be selfless is to be pure.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 107)

Whatever the source of fear, one needs to overcome it through prayer and firm faith that God will never leave us alone, no matter what we might have done in the past as long as we strive our best from now on.

O ye loved ones of God! In this, the Bahá’í dispensation, God’s Cause is spirit unalloyed. His Cause belongeth not to the material world. It cometh neither for strife nor war, nor for acts of mischief or of shame; it is neither for quarrelling with other Faiths, nor for conflicts with the nations. Its only army is the love of God, its only joy the clear wine of His knowledge, its only battle the expounding of the Truth; its one crusade is against the insistent self, the evil promptings of the human heart. Its victory is to submit and yield, and to be selfless is its everlasting glory. In brief, it is spirit upon spirit:

Unless ye must,
Bruise not the serpent in the dust,
How much less wound a man.
And if ye can,
No ant should ye alarm,
Much less a brother harm.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 256)

I am just amazed at what growth I have been experiencing throughout this period of the Fast. I will be forever grateful for the healing God has provided! May Baha’u'llah bless all your efforts!

Tonight’s Prayer Station was remarkable. It truly fulfilled its purpose, of providing spiritual nourishment. This weekend was probably the most challenging weekend in my life, yet in all this turmoil, I got a call by a Baha’i lady from Loudoun County to tell me she would come along with a friend of hers from Alexandria. The friend, a former catholic read some beautiful poems by Master Eckhard. We all read a selection of Holy Writings on being meek and lowly. We listened to several song, starting with “Meek and lowly” from JB Eckl and Eric Dozier’s “Badasht”:

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

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Holy Bible, Matthew (11:28 – 11:30)

The Baha’i lady in response to my request for prayers felt inspired to offer the Tablet of Ahmad. After the music and refreshments I offered to share an overview of the Baha’i Faith and we went through the whole Visual Presentation.

After the guests were gone, I started reading over the phone the Gospel of Matthew with a Christian friend, part of my work for the class on the New Testament I am taking at the Wilmette Institute. After two chapters of the Holy Bible, we continued with The Hidden Words of Baha’u'llah. The same voice of God! It is amazing how powerful and soothing and nurturing the Holy Writings can be. Praised be God!

Thanks for reading and please keep me and my loved ones in your prayers!

51. O SON OF MAN!
My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy. Hasten thereunto that thou mayest become an eternal light and an immortal spirit. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it.

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

When a person becomes a Baha’i, actually what takes place is that the seed of the spirit starts to grow in the human soul. This seed must be watered by the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. These gifts of the spirit are received through prayer, meditation, study of the Holy Utterances and service to the Cause of God…. Naturally there will be periods of distress and difficulty, and even severe tests, but if that person turns firmly toward the divine Manifestation, studies carefully His spiritual teachings and receives the blessings of the Holy Spirit, he will find that in reality these tests and difficulties have been the gifts of God to enable him to grow and develop.

(From a letter dated 6 October 1954 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)