Befriended Stranger

A few weeks ago, at the Web Analytics Wednesday local gathering I saw an old friend whom I had met through the activities of the Web Managers Roundtable several years ago, Joe Pagano. As Joe and I spoke about interests beyond our profession, he enthusiastically invited me for a tour around the Library of Congress where he worked. We agreed to meet for lunch with another fine friend of mine — and a Library of Congress fellow — Bill Collins. I thought that such a lunch would give me an opportunity to talk to Joe — a truly special human being — about the Baha’i Faith. We had originally planned to meet for lunch on February 10th but had to shift it to February 9th due to other activities. The big DC snow of February 2010 then had us postpone again, and then came my trip to Bulgaria. Now that I am back, I was about to send a message to Joe and Bill to start planning again for our lunch.

This morning however, I got Jim Sterne’s newsletter, Sterne Measures, and read in horror the following:

So Long Joe, You Will Be Missed

Last month, we lost Joe Pagano, a vibrant member of our community. Joe was the digital media project coordinator
in the Office of Strategic Initiatives at the Library of Congress where he led the Library’s Web site analytics
program. He worked in web metrics for the last eight years, was co-chair of the Web Manager’s Advisory Council Web
Metrics Task Group and was very active in the Web Analytics Association. Rest well, Joe.

31. O SON OF BEING!
Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds.

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

Sometimes you get stuck and try as you might, nothing comes out of it — it might be the wrong time for a solution or just the wrong approach to a solution. Stepping back and seeing things in perspective helps but sometimes all you can do is persevere… and ask for help — from friends, strangers, and God.

These days the world seems stuck. And badly needs unstucking…

In Iran, the 7 Baha’i leaders are stuck in a jail, falsely accused of crimes they never committed and we all fear for their lives. Please pray for them!

I will not even comment on the insanity of the battle in which I am stuck in my attempts to be a father…

All of this while Washington, DC, is stuck under record amounts of snow.

This morning on my way to pick my baby sitter, my car got stuck on her street as I was driving back towards the cleared road. It took me an hour and a half trying so many different ways to get unstuck. I pushed, I pulled, I tried forward, I tried backward. A nice lady let me borrow her shovel on three occasions, each attempt getting me closer to the goal but never actually enabling me to be free. What a metaphor for my life these past years! The harder I was trying, the deeper I was getting into the snow. At some point I asked for help from some Pakistani men. They came and tried to help to no avail. Then I decided to walk to the store to buy some sand (the idea of buying sand sounds insane to me but on a snowy day you do not have much choice). They did not carry sand but they had cat litter crystals so I tried that — again, to no avail. Finally I asked a group of young men from Nicaragua to help me and after a good wait during which they uncovered somebody else’s car, they came to my rescue and off I went…

So, I’ve been thinking to myself about the connection between stuckness and unstuckness, freedom and detachment.

Like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the point of a pin, he who is not stuck to the senses – that is what I
call a brahmin.
(Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha)

The Virtues cards I peruse each day give good insights and suggestions. The one on peacefulness suggests giving up the love of power for the power of love. A beautiful friend send me today this quote to reflect on as I was sharing about my difficulties:

The more difficulties one sees in the world the more perfect one becomes. The more you plough and dig the ground the more fertile it becomes. The more you cut the branches of a tree the higher and stronger it grows. The more you put the gold in the fire, the purer it becomes. The more you sharpen the steel by grinding …the better it cuts. Therefore, the more sorrows one sees the more perfect one becomes. That is why, in all times, the Prophets of God have had tribulations and difficulties to withstand. The more often the captain of a ship is in the tempest and difficult sailing the more greater his knowledge becomes. Therefore I am happy that you have had great tribulations and difficulties . . .

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

So, all these tests and tribulations are a good sign that God indeed loves me! Much to be grateful for! So, I decided to be grateful and I baked two banana breads this afternoon to take to the people who helped me in my attempts to unstuck my car from the snow. The Pakistani men were not at home but two shy yet kind ladies opened the door and while giving them the freshly baked banana bread, I told them of my gratitude for the help I received from strangers. The American lady who gave me a shovel was very kind as well and I gave her also a Baha’i prayer for peace — we both agreed that the world needs more helping strangers, shovels, banana bread and prayers

So, for every one who is stuck in this world, let’s give them a spiritual push. And a prayer:

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that tribulations have showered upon me from all directions and that no one can dispel or transmute them except Thee.  I know of a certainty, by virtue of my love for Thee, that Thou wilt never cause tribulations to befall any soul unless Thou desirest to exalt his station in Thy celestial Paradise and to buttress his heart in this earthly life with the bulwark of Thine all-compelling power, that it may not become inclined toward the vanities of this world.  Indeed Thou art well aware that under all conditions I would cherish the remembrance of Thee far more than the ownership of all that is in the heavens and on the earth.

Strengthen my heart, O my God, in Thine obedience and in Thy love, and grant that I may be clear of the entire company of Thine adversaries.  Verily, I swear by Thy glory that I yearn for naught besides Thyself, nor do I desire anything except Thy mercy, nor am I apprehensive of aught save Thy justice.  I beg Thee to forgive me as well as those whom Thou lovest, howsoever Thou pleasest.  Verily, Thou art the Almighty, the Bountiful.

Immensely exalted art Thou, O Lord of the heavens and earth, above the praise of all men, and may peace be upon Thy faithful servants and glory be unto God, the Lord of all the worlds.

The Báb

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
(Judaism / Christianity, Holy Bible, Joel, 2:32)

O LORD! Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the Dispeller of every affliction. Thou art He Who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the Redeemer of every soul. O Lord! Grant deliverance through Thy mercy and reckon me among such servants of Thine as have gained salvation.
(Baha’i Faith, The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 193)

Dear friends!

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Last night I was watching the news on France24 and I caught an interesting 5 minute interview with Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University on what is wrong with global governance and why we are not seeing results after so many promises made. Among other things, Mr. Sacks talked about how the political system in the U.S. is totally dysfunctional, crippled as it is by 2-year elections cycles, money interest and narrow-mindedness.

This morning I watched a short movie “Beyond King of the Mountain” which not only highlights the limitations of the systems and institutions based on the culture of mutually-exclusive competition, but points to the unavoidable fact that we do have the capacity to cooperate beyond our own limitations and search for what is good for all:

Beyond King of the Mountain from doubletake tv on Vimeo.

The apparatus of conflict will, as preparations go on at their present rate, reach the point where war will become something intolerable to mankind.
(Abdu’l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 66)

Dear friends,

I would like to personally invite you all to a public gathering in support of religious freedom and human rights in Iran, which will be hosted by Bahá’ís from communities in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area on Saturday, September 12 at 7 p.m. at the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University. The event is dedicated to seven Iranian Baha’i leaders who have been imprisoned in Tehran for more than a year on false charges stemming from their membership with the country’s Baha’i religious minority.

• What: A moving and dignified evening of arts, multimedia and presentations.
• When: Saturday Sept 12th – 7PM
• Where: George Washington University, Lisner Auditorium. 730 21st St NW, Washington, DC
• Admission: This event is free and open to the public.

Confirmed guests include:

• Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Academy Award Nominated Actress, “House of Sand & Fog”, “The Stoning of Soraya M.“
• Dr. Azar Nafisi, Johns Hopkins Visiting Professor and NY Times Bestselling author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran“
• Dr. Dwight Bashir, Associate Director for Policy – US Commission on International Religious Freedom

The program will also feature arts and a moving multimedia presentation with comments from local Washington DC Metro Area Bahá’ís that have been personally affected by the continued persecution in Iran. Van Gilmer and the Washington Metropolitan Baha’i Chorale will perform three songs, so I would be delighted if you could join me for this special event.

For more information about this even please go to http://dcbahai.org/iran and for more information about the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran please visit iran.bahai.us.

I was born in a country (Bulgaria) which ratified the global treaty on women’s rights (CEDAW) at its inception but now I live in one of the eight countries (Iran, Nauru, Palau, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga, USA) which has not ratified it yet. If you can guess which country I live in and you happen to live in the same country, please call your senators at 202-224-3121 and tell them that for the love of their mother at least, they should ratify the CEDAW treaty for the Rights of Women today!

As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibility, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.
– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

We entreat God to deliver the light of equity and the sun of justice from the thick clouds of waywardness, and cause them to shine forth upon men. No light can compare with the light of justice. The establishment of order in the world and the tranquillity of the nations depend upon it.
- Baha’u'llah

Dear friends!

In support of the United For Iran day of action, I invite you and your loves ones to the regular Monday evening interfaith Prayer Station!

We’ll start at 7 pm with light refreshments followed, at 7:30 pm, by prayers for all citizens of Iran, in support for their basic human rights and in particularl for the safety of our Baha’i sisters and brothers. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and offer prayers as the spirit moves us.  We’ll conclude with tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and  would like to request prayers please contact me.

On this Baha’i Rights Day, day of awareness of the denial of human rights to Baha’s in the cradle of this world-unifying religion, we sigh with relief — the trial of the 7 Iranian Baha’i leaders has been postponed. But can you imagine the prolonged agony and anxiety of not knowing what will happen next? Can you imagine the spiritual strength these souls must have acquired in their reliance on God alone? Can you imagine how they must face moments of weakness when it would be only natural to wonder if they are forgotten — by the world, by the friends, by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, by Baha’u'llah, by God?

Many creative people have shared their inspiration online — see this video of Elika Mahony’s beautiful song “Persecution“:

or this video adopted from the award winning movie “Persepolis”:

But what most personally touches my heart these days, probably because I relate to it on a very deep level, is the beautiful, touching song “Forgotten” by Grant Hindin Miller:

The cell was like a kennel, they dropped him like a dog
Staring at cold metal, in a blurred and darkened fog
Plucked from his own work-place, innocent of crime
Taken, shaken, in the late daylight

The prison was a chasm, wind was in the yard
They took him out an hour each day, herded by the guards
Shuffling over concrete, with the other inmates there
Not allowed to speak in open air

And the iron bars, dark and hard, spider-webbed, human cage
Especially when evening came, they drilled into his brain

Left alone in shadow, not knowing noon from night
Mealtimes infrequent, rudimentary slop
The cell was cramped, inhuman, with a never-ending smell
He tried to pray, but every day, his thoughts went to himself

I’m forgotten, I’m forsaken, I’ve been left here on my own
I’m forgotten, I’m forsaken, left here to die alone

Cut off from his family, cut off from his friends
Where was Baha’u'llah, now he needed Him
Even Abdu’l-Baha, neglected where he was
He felt his consciousness slip down – to the abyss

I’m forgotten, I’m forsaken, You have left me on my own
I’m forgotten, my faith is shaken, left here to die alone

In the yard a prisoner brushed against his arm
No bigger than a finger-nail, something squeezed between his palms
And in his cell when guards had gone, he found it like a star
The torn-off photograph of Abdu’l-Baha

And words arose, in the Master’s tone, stirred up from long ago
Learnt by heart in a children’s class, now they echoed in his cell
“Do not think that ye are forgotten, for one moment, do not think
Do not think that ye are forgotten, for one moment, do not think ”

And the iron bars, like candelabras, they dissolved in a rosy gold
Angels soared within his soul, as the words spoke to his heart

“Do not think that ye are forgotten, for one moment, do not think
Do not think that ye are forgotten, for one moment, do not think.“

I was just listening to Oprah’s Soul Series webcast of an interview she had with Rainn Wilson on life’s big questions when I was struck by Rainn’s reference to religion based on the etymology of the word religio which means… to bind together, to reconnect. What an uplifting concept, and what an unfortunate contrast with the way religion is used in the case of the false accusations against the seven members of the Baha’i council in Iran. It is not the first time Rainn Wilson has publicly stated his adherence to the Baha’i Faith and used wisely and tastefully his prominent position in media. You might recall his recent commentary on CNN “Stop religious persecution in Iran“.

So, what about us who are not Holywood stars? Shall we sit silently when such unfair persecution takes place or shall we speak out for the Baha’is in Iran?

The Baha’i International Community gave us a marvelous answer by addressing directly Iran’s prosecutor general in an open letter outlining the tragic history of the persecution of Baha’is in that country, explaining their innocence in the face of accusations made by the government, and asking for fairness in any upcoming trial of seven Baha’i prisoners.

The Baha’is News Service provided wonderful summary of the letter but the full text is very much worth reading and pondering. Please share the news of this dignified missive and continue praying for the speedy release of these noble souls. I will make sure tonight’s Prayer Station includes prayers for justice and freedom for the Iranian Baha’i friends.

You can read the full text of the letter by the Baha’i International Community to Iran’s prosecutor general by following this link (requires Adobe PDF reader).

As tension is rising in anticipation for what promises to be an unfair trial of the seven members of the coordinating committee of  the Baha’is in Iran, in the campaign to eradicate the largest non-Muslim minority of Iran, the news that more and more governments are standing up for the freedom and dignity of the followers of Baha’u'llah are spreading. The truth shall be revealed and hopefully, these noble souls will be freed from prison.

But they are already free — for they, unlike their interrogators, are free from prejudice:

Your eyes have been illumined, your ears are attentive, your hearts knowing. You must be free from prejudice and fanaticism,  beholding no differences between the races and religions. You must look to God, for He is the real Shepherd, and all humanity are His sheep. He loves them and loves them equally. As this is true, should the sheep quarrel among themselves? They should manifest gratitude and thankfulness to God, and the best way to thank God is to love one another.
(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 468)

Just a few minutes ago, Tara Ellis and Benny Cassette launched the Be Free Campaign:

Be Free is a non-profit organization which aims to promote the active involvement of youth for human rights thru grassroots new media based campaigns. Its first project “Azad Bash” (Be Free), aims to contribute to creating a society of dialogue and openness in Iran by using music to involve Iranian youth. Be Free is a initiative free of any political agenda.

As part of this launch, they released three songs, including a new rendition of “Mona and the Children”, a beautiful song dedicated to the memory of Mona Mahmudnizhad, the 16 year old Baha’i martyr of Shiraz:

Until now, it had not dawned on me that Mona would have been my age, were it not for her dedication to the Baha’i Faith. It is good food for thought, particularly now that the Ruhi 1 study circle is complete and the last assignment reads, very appropriately:

Now that I understand that my life begins here on earth but leads me towards God for all eternity, how important are the following aspects of my life for me?

1. Obedience to the laws of Baha’u'llah
2. My contribution to the well-being of the human race
3. My service to the Cause and to humanity
4. My firmness in the Covenant

It is time to reflect, yes, but also time to take action. Be free, friends, and keep on praying!

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)