O OPPRESSORS ON EARTH!
Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledged Myself not to forgive any man’s injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in the preserved tablet and sealed with My seal.
(Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words, #64)

Last night I read the powerful Tablet of Ahmad with my heart’s thoughts centered on those innocent souls so unjustly imprisoned. That same evening, a friend of mine dedicated her Yoga practice to the cause of their liberation. What would you do? Let us all pray:

Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who beholdest all things and art hidden from all things! From every land Thou hearest the lamentations of them that love Thee, and from every direction Thou hearkenest unto the cries of such as have recognized Thy sovereignty. Were their oppressors to be asked: “Wherefore have ye oppressed them and held them in bondage in Baghdad and elsewhere? What injustice have they committed? Whom have they betrayed? Whose blood have they spilled, and whose property have they plundered?” they would know not what to answer.

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that their only crime is to have loved Thee. For this reason have their oppressors laid hold on them, and scattered them abroad. Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou wilt send down upon Thy servants only what is good for them, I nevertheless beseech Thee, by Thy name which overshadoweth all things, to raise up, for their assistance and as a sign of Thy grace and as an evidence of Thy power, those who will keep them safe from all their adversaries.

Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou art, verily, the Supreme Ruler, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting
(Baha’u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 23)

“Hiroshima” by Gary Moore:

They still remember the day when Little Boy dropped from his womb.
They still remember how their homes became their children’s tombs.
Their suffer mourn each soul who died that August morning
Why don’t we listen, why don’t we heed the warning?

Hiroshima, the place where innocence was burned.
Hiroshima, the memory makes my stomach turn.
Hiroshima, the world should truly feel the shame.
Hiroshima, the place where facing death became the way of life.

So many children have been born who cannot read or write.
They cannot speak, they cannot hear and some have lost their sight.
Adults with infant minds don’t know the reason why,
for they were in their mothers’ wombs when death fell from the sky.

Hiroshima, the place where innocence was burned.
Hiroshima, the memory makes my stomach turn.
Hiroshima, the world should truly feel the shame.
Hiroshima, the place where facing death became the way of life.

The rest of us should learn a lesson from their sorrow,
so we can stop it all happening tomorrow.

Hiroshima, the place where innocence was burned.
Hiroshima, the memory makes my stomach turn.
Hiroshima, the world should truly feel the shame.
Hiroshima, the rest of us must take the blame.

Hiroshima, the place where innocence was burned.
Hiroshima, the memory makes my stomach turn.
Hiroshima, men came to shadows where they stood.
Hiroshima, this kind of evil brings no good.

No, no.
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, woah.

“Hiroshima Mon Amour” by Alcatrazz:

It was newborn and ten feet tall,
But they called it little boy,
And C7, H5, O6, N3 they called him
T-N-T.

The fireball would dim the sun,
Promising death in its cruelest form.

Hiroshima Mon Amour
As we beg to be forgiven do you spit,
In our face and curse us all.

The fireball that shamed the sun,
Burning the shadows on the ground,
As the rain falls to dry the land,
Leaving desert for the thirsty man.

They all said it would end the war,
And we thanked Christ for the bomb,
And the priests and witches all agreed,
They should die to keep them free.

The fireball that shamed the sun,
Burning the shadows on the ground,
As the rain falls to dry the land,
Leaving the desert for the thirsty man.

HIROSHIMA!!!

During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop. War must cease. Let us be united and love one another and await the result. We know the effects of war are bad. So let us try, as an experiment, peace, and if the results of peace are bad, then we can choose if it would be better to go back to the old state of war! Let us in any case make the experiment. If we see that unity brings Light we shall continue it.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 61)

Earlier today I witness a small but passionate procession of peaceful demonstrators down Pennsylvania Avenue with Iranian flags.

I am reading these days Roxana Saberi’s book “Between Two Worlds“, which presents a fascinating view of the torturous Evin prison, where the 7 Baha’i leaders have been imprisoned since March 2008.

Let’s pray for freedom and the release of these brave, innocent souls!

O true companions! All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer. In the school of realities they educate these sons and daughters, according to teachings from God, and foster them in the bosom of grace, so that they may develop along every line, show forth the excellent gifts and blessings of the Lord, and combine human perfections; that they may advance in all aspects of human endeavour, whether outward or inward, hidden or visible, material or spiritual, until they make of this mortal world a widespread mirror, to reflect that other world which dieth not.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 127)

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)

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.

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)

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.

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