Tonight’s Prayer Station brought together four men from four different countries — Ethiopia, Turkmenistan, USA and Bulgaria. Hillary brought his guitar so the recorded music was replaced by live songs. The readings on the topic of the Advent stayed, and so did the prayers: from the promised prayer for Mr. Ian Semple, to the healing prayers requested for the daughter of a Kenyan friend, to prayers for the infant grandson of an Israeli friend who contacted me through this blog, to prayers for my loved ones. the banana bread was a hit and thankfully I baked two loaves, so one will be for my colleagues tomorrow.

May peace be with you all! And may your soul rejoices as you meet the Blessed Beauty, dear Mr. Semple!

In this day, to thank God for His bounties consisteth in possessing a radiant heart, and a soul open to the promptings of the spirit. This is the essence of thanksgiving.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 179)

Just like last week, we started with SKY — this time with their gorgeous “Rose of Love“:

Then we shared selections from holy writings of several world religions — Judaism and Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, Islam and the Baha’i Faith:

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
(Judaism / Christianity, King James Bible, Habakkuk, 3:17 – 19)

The Blessed Beauty saith: ‘Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch.’ Thus hath He likened this world of being to a single tree, and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the blossoms and fruits. It is needful for the bough to blossom, and leaf and fruit to flourish, and upon the interconnection of all parts of the world-tree, dependeth the flourishing of leaf and blossom, and the sweetness of the fruit.

For this reason must all human beings powerfully sustain one another and seek for everlasting life; and for this reason must the lovers of God in this contingent world become the mercies and the blessings sent forth by that clement King of the seen and unseen realms. Let them purify their sight and behold all humankind as leaves and blossoms and fruits of the tree of being. Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help. Let them see no one as their enemy, or as wishing them ill, but think of all humankind as their friends; regarding the alien as an intimate, the stranger as a companion, staying free of prejudice, drawing no lines.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 1)

When the mind maintains awareness, yet does not mingle with the senses, nor the senses with sense impressions, then self-awareness blossoms.
(Hinduism, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2.54)

He is always near at hand; He is never far away.
Through the Word of the Guru’s Shabad, realize that He is very near.
Your heart-lotus shall blossom forth, and the ray of God’s Divine Light shall illuminate your heart; He shall be revealed to You. The True Lord is Himself the Creator.
(Sikhism, Shri Guru Granth Sahib, Section 25 – Raag Maaroo)

CLII. Thine eye is My trust, suffer not the dust of vain desires to becloud its luster. Thine ear is a sign of My bounty, let not the tumult of unseemly motives turn it away from My Word that encompasseth all creation. Thine heart is My treasury, allow not the treacherous hand of self to rob thee of the pearls which I have treasured therein. Thine hand is a symbol of My loving-kindness, hinder it not from holding fast unto My guarded and hidden Tablets…. Unasked, I have showered upon thee My grace. Unpetitioned, I have fulfilled thy wish. In spite of thy undeserving, I have singled thee out for My richest, My incalculable favors…. O My servants! Be as resigned and submissive as the earth, that from the soil of your being there may blossom the fragrant, the holy and multicolored hyacinths of My knowledge. Be ablaze as the fire, that ye may burn away the veils of heedlessness and set aglow, through the quickening energies of the love of God, the chilled and wayward heart. Be light and untrammeled as the breeze, that ye may obtain admittance into the precincts of My court, My inviolable Sanctuary.
(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 322)

We beseech God to extend wide His shadow, that the true believers may hasten thereunto and that His sincere lovers may seek shelter therein. May He bestow upon men blossoms from the bowers of His grace and stars from the horizon of His providence. We pray God, moreover, to graciously aid the King to do His will and pleasure, and to confirm him in that which shall draw him nigh unto the Dayspring of God’s most excellent names, so that he may not give countenance to the injustice he witnesseth, may look upon his subjects with the eye of loving-kindness, and shield them from oppression. We further beseech God, exalted be He, to gather all mankind around the Gulf of the Most Great Ocean, an ocean every drop of which proclaimeth that He is the Harbinger of joy unto the world and the Quickener of all its peoples. Praise be to God, the Lord of the Day of Reckoning!
(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 141)

O my brother! A divine Mine only can yield the gems of divine knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in the ideal Garden, and the lilies of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere except in the city of a stainless heart. “In a rich soil, its plants spring forth abundantly by permission of its Lord, and in that soil which is bad, they spring forth but scantily.”[3]
[3 Qur'án 7:57.]
(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 191)

The universe is pregnant with these manifold bounties, awaiting the hour when the effects of Its unseen gifts will be made manifest in this world, when the languishing and sore athirst will attain the living Kawthar of their Well-Beloved, and the erring wanderer, lost in the wilds of remoteness and nothingness, will enter the tabernacle of life, and attain reunion with his heart’s desire. In the soil of whose heart will these holy seeds germinate? From the garden of whose soul will the blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth? Verily, I say, so fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai of the heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its flame. Oceans can never allay this Leviathan’s burning thirst, and this Phoenix of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the countenance of the Well-Beloved. Therefore, O brother! kindle with the oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding, that the breath of the infidel may extinguish not its flame nor dim its brightness. Thus have We illuminated the heavens of utterance with the splendours of the Sun of divine wisdom and understanding, that thy heart may find peace, that thou mayest be of those who, on the wings of certitude, have soared unto the heaven of the love of their Lord, the All-Merciful.
(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 60)

May you be given life! May the rain of the Divine Mercy and the warmth of the Sun of Truth make your gardens fruitful, so that many beautiful flowers of exquisite fragrance and love may blossom in abundance. Turn your faces away from the contemplation of your own finite selves and fix your eyes upon the Everlasting Radiance; then will your souls receive in full measure the Divine Power of the Spirit and the Blessings of the Infinite Bounty.

If you thus keep yourselves in readiness, you will become to the world of humanity a burning flame, a star of guidance, and a fruitful tree, changing all its darkness and woe into light and joy by the shining of the Sun of Mercy and the infinite blessings of the Glad Tidings.

This is the meaning of the power of the Holy Spirit, which I pray may be bountifully showered upon you.
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 166)

Happy the soul that shall forget his own good, and like the chosen ones of God, vie with his fellows in service to the good of all; until, strengthened by the blessings and perpetual confirmations of God, he shall be empowered to raise this mighty nation up to its ancient pinnacles of glory, and restore this withered land to sweet new life, and as a spiritual springtime, array those trees which are the lives of men with the fresh leaves, the blossoms and fruits of consecrated joy.
(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 113)

Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art the Well-Beloved of all that have known Thee, and the Desire of the hearts of such as are devoted to Thee, inasmuch as Thou hast made me a target for the ills that I suffer in my love for Thee, and the object of the assaults launched against me in Thy path. Thy glory beareth me witness! I can, on no account, feel impatient of the adversities that I have borne in my love for Thee. From the very day Thou didst reveal Thyself unto me, I have accepted for myself every manner of tribulation. Every moment of my life my head crieth out to Thee and saith: “Would, O my Lord, that I could be raised on the spear-point in Thy path!” while my blood entreateth Thee saying: “Dye the earth with me, O my God, for the sake of Thy love and Thy pleasure!” Thou knowest that I have, at no time, sought to guard my body against any affliction, nay rather I have continually anticipated the things Thou didst ordain for me in the Tablet of Thy decree.

Behold, then, O my God, my loneliness among Thy servants and my remoteness from Thy friends and Thy chosen ones. I beseech Thee, by the showers of the clouds of Thy mercy, whereby Thou hast caused the blossoms of Thy praise and utterance and the flowers of Thy wisdom and testimony to spring forth in the hearts of all them that have recognized Thy oneness, to supply Thy servants and my kindred with the fruits of the tree of Thy unity, in these days when Thou hast been established upon the throne of Thy mercy. Hinder them not, O my Lord, from attaining unto the things Thou dost possess, and write down for them that which will aid them to scale the heights of Thy grace and favor. Give them, moreover, to drink of the living waters of Thy knowledge, and ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come.

Thou art, verily, the Lord of Baha, and the Beloved of his heart, and the Object of his desire, and the Inspirer of his tongue, and the Source of his soul. No God is there but Thee, the Inaccessible, the Most High. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u'llah, p. 107)

Before concluding with prayers (for friends and strangers, from Maryland through the Middle East, from South America through Central Asia and all the way to the Far East), we listened to an amazing Flamenco-inspired song “Quien Puede Librarnos?” performed beautifully by Giti, with Eric Harper on the guitar. The rousing finale was Eric Dozier’s take on “The Wilderness” from the Holy Bible:

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 excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
(Judaism / Christianity, King James Bible, Isaiah, 35:1 – 10)

Let us cling together as the years go by
Oh my love my love
In the quiet of the night
Let our candle always burn
Let us never lose the lessons we have learned

Teo torriatte konomama iko
Aisuruhito yo
Shizukana yoi ni
Hikario tomoshi
Itoshiki oshieo idaki

These comforting words of Queen’s gorgeous song dedicated to the people of Japan, “Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)” closed a beautiful evening which saw a dozen of befriended strangers from places as diverse as Turkmenistan and San Salvador, Bulgaria and Cameroon, the United States and Japan, get together to say prayers for the relief of the sufferings of our sisters and brothers of Japan, and for their protection. We read Thich Nhat Hanh‘s message to friends in Japan and contemplated that “The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind“. We read a message from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Japan and reflected on the ”humbling experience to see and experience the powerlessness against nature, yet at the same time, a reconfirming experience of the strength of the human soul, when one witnesses people bravely standing up to unite and help each other, and begin the process of putting their lives back together.”

We read from the Holy Writings and shared prayers for protection, healing and detachment, heeding Baha’u'llah’s instructions written in the Kitab-i-Aqdas:

On the appearance of fearful natural events call ye to mind the might and majesty of your Lord, He Who heareth and seeth all, and say “Dominion is God’s, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation”
Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 23

We listened to the angelic voices of ShirinKarenYasmin (SKY), and comforted ourselves with the company of new and old friends, and the flavorful aroma of freshly-baked banana bread… May God protect all!

O SON OF MAN!

Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not; wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished; why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory.
(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, #14)

For thy power standeth not in multitude nor thy might in strong men: for thou art a God of the afflicted, an helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them that are without hope.
(Christianity, Deuterocanonical Apocrypha, Judith)

All that is in Heaven and all that is in Earth is God’s! God is a sufficient protector!
(Islam, The Holy Qur’an, Sura 4 – Women)

We must consider all as the leaves, branches and fruit of one tree, children of one household; for all are the progeny of Adam. We are waves of one sea, grass of the same meadow, stars in the same heaven; and we find shelter in the universal divine Protector.
(Baha’i Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 174)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, tea poured in peace, homemade banana bread baked with love and shared with a smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator.

This Friday, March 18th, I invite you and your loves ones to an interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington on the theme of “Divine Protector” in honor of the suffering people of Japan. We’ll start at 8 pm with reading of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and homemade banana bread.

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!

My home is the home of peace. My home is the home of joy and delight. My home is the home of laughter and exultation. Whosoever enters through the portals of this home, must go out with gladsome heart. This is the home of light; whosoever enters here must become illumined….
(Abdu’l-Baha)

What a joyous weekend I had! My dear parents arrived from Bulgaria on Friday night and on Saturday they reunited for the first time in three years with the granddaughters they helped raise. Seeing the joy on their faces — grandparents and granddaughters alike — as they embraced and hugged and kissed, gave me such a joy! Praised be God!

Then we all welcomed into my home my wonderful friends Roya Bauman and George Branyan who joined us with their lovely girls for a home cooked dinner and later on a beautiful evening of spiritual nourishment, uplifting music and fellowship — the last Musical Prayer Station for 2010.

I first heard Roya’s gorgeous soprano in 1996 in Rochester, NY, when she sang “O Baha’u'llah” at a Baha’i celebration there. That was the first time I ever heard this song and I was just amazed at the beauty of it. Later on, Roya’s husband George helped me fix the little car other generous Baha’i friends had given me so I could go to work. The amount of support I had received in those days, by the Baha’i friends at that community is unbelievable. Among them, a true star of selfless support to me was Akin — another dear friend who joined us last night and then stayed for one of those late night heart-to-heart talks, which solidified my decision to try my best to be a Baha’i — back then, and back now — talks about our lives’ journeys and what our hearts’ true calling is.

It was truly a night of the reunion of hearts!

And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
(Judaism / Christianity, Holy Bible, Isaiah, 2:17)

And we solemnly declared to the children of Israel in the Book, “Twice surely will ye enact crimes in the earth, and with great loftiness of pride will ye surely be uplifted.”
(Islam, The Qur’an, Sura  17 – The Night Journey)

The first Taraz and the first effulgence which hath dawned from the horizon of the Mother Book is that man should know his own self and recognize that which leadeth unto loftiness or lowliness, glory or abasement, wealth or poverty.
(Baha’i Faith, Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 34)

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.

This Monday, March 15th, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington on the theme of “Loftiness“. We’ll start at 7:14 pm with light dinner followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and sweets.

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.

Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
(Christianity, Holy Bible, Ephesians, 6:2-3)

Thy Lord hath commanded that ye worship none, besides Him; and that ye shew kindness unto your parents, whether the one of them, or both of them attain to old age with thee.
(Islam, Holy Qur’an, 17:23)

Say, O My people! Show honour to your parents and pay homage to them. This will cause blessings to descend upon you from the clouds of the bounty of your Lord, the Exalted, the Great.
(Baha’i Faith, Bahá’u'lláh, from a Tablet-translated from the Arabic)

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.

This Monday, February 22nd, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington on the theme of “Honoring one’s parents“. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and sweets.

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.

Though (by his learning and sanctity) he may be entitled to accept presents, let him not attach himself (too much) to that (habit); for through his accepting (many) presents the divine light in him is soon extinguished.
(Hinduism, Laws of Manu)

The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light.
(Baha’i Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 14)

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.

This Monday, December 14th, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington which will be dedicated to the topic of Divine Light as reflected in different religious traditions. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and 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.

Rid thou thyself of all attachments to aught except God, enrich thyself in God by dispensing with all else besides Him, and recite this prayer:

Say: God sufficeth all things above all things, and nothing in the heavens or in the earth or in whatever lieth between them but God, thy Lord, sufficeth. Verily, He is in Himself the Knower, the Sustainer, the Omnipotent.

Regard not the all-sufficing power of God as an idle fancy. It is that genuine faith which thou cherishest for the Manifestation of God in every Dispensation. It is such faith which sufficeth above all the things that exist on the earth, whereas no created thing on earth besides faith would suffice thee. If thou art not a believer, the Tree of divine Truth would condemn thee to extinction. If thou art a believer, thy faith shall be sufficient for thee above all things that exist on earth, even though thou possess nothing.
(The Bab, Selections From the Writings of the Bab, p. 123.)

And last night the Prayer Station was so wonderful! Ghaneh joined me, Farah, Wil, Madeleine and Merrie. He spoke so eloquently and with such sincere love for Jesus Christ, explaining the spiritual meaning of the tests faced by those who two thousand years ago had a chance and responsibility to recognize the Son of God, just as we all today are being tested in our readiness to recognize His Return, that Merrie was in tears and shared that she had never been so touched and so enlightened by another person shedding light on the wisdom in God’s Holy Book, and that Ghaneh was the answer to her dream from two week ago. Ghaneh humbly replied that his hope is we all become worthy of such responsibility. Rejoiced as we all were in praising the Lord, dear Madeleine encouraged us all to keep in our hearts the hunger for God, for only God can satisfy the hunger of the soul:

I counsel you, in the end, not to overstep the bounds of God, nor to heed the ways and habits of men, for these can neither “fatten nor appease your hunger”. Fix, rather, your gaze upon the precepts of God. Whosoever desireth, let him accept this counsel as a path leading unto his Lord, and whosoever desireth, let him return to his own idle imaginings. My Lord, verily, is independent above all who are in the heavens and on the earth, and above all that they say and do.
(Baha’u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 237)