the term “Mashriqu’l-Adhkár” has variously been used to designate the gathering of the believers for prayers at dawn; a structure where the divine verses are recited; the entire institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and its dependencies; and the central edifice itself, often also referred to as a “Temple” or a “House of Worship”. All these can be regarded as aspects of the gradual implementation of the law set out for humankind by Bahá'u'lláh in His Most Holy Book.            The Universal House of Justice 18 December 2014  to the Bahá'ís in Írán  

Passing of Cyril Capillaires

NEWS   October 2018

8th October 2018

Passing of Cyril Capillaires

A seed of God's love has been cast into the ground….

We request your prayers on His Behalf as He enters  the sea of light in the world of mysteries.





========

With reference to attending dawn prayers in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the Bahá’í House of Worship, Bahá’u’lláh has explained that, although the actual time specified in the Book of God is “the hour of dawn,” it is acceptable at any time from “the earliest dawn of day, between dawn and sunrise, or even up to two hours after sunrise” (Q&A 15).

The following is a passage about prayer from Prelude to the Guardianship, by Riaz Khadem, Chapter 6, ‘In the Service of the Master, Summer 1919,’  pp. 78-79. It is based on a youthful Shoghi Effendi’s notes, as recorded in his diary, of Abdu’l-Baha’s response to a question:

…man cannot stimulate and awaken others if he is speechless and inactive. His prayer can only bring a change through divine power. However, as soon as the person puts his thoughts into action his hearers can be inspired. 

Regarding the condition of prayer, the Master said that the best time for prayer is at dawn and dusk.  When one is not in a receptive mood and is rather immersed in one’s worldly affairs, he can pull himself into the condition of prayer by an act of will:

By a force of will and an effort of mind, man turns his attention to God, to His knowledge, His wonderful creation, His wisdom and His Omnipotence, and then by thinking frequently and deeply of Him, attains the state of Love, of desire for prayer, of  supreme ecstasy. But sometimes one finds that the divine power and not human effort transports man into that condition.

[The following are two extracts from an unsigned transcript of a talk given by Hand of the Cause of God Abu’l-Qasim Faizi in Sydney, Australia, on November 29, 1969. It was discovered in the archives of the Baha’is of Nevada County, California, among the papers of the late double Knight of Baha’u’llah, Elise Schreiber Lynelle.]

‘Now I will quote some of the traditions of Islam. He [Baha’u’llah] says Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad said, I never looked at anything except I saw God behind it, in front of it, and in it. [See The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 102.] This was the successor of the Prophet Muhammad. I tell you about his power of concentration when he stood for prayer. When you study wrestling or boxing the coach always says that you must concentrate on one person, never pay attention to the thousands who are spectators. At the time of worshipping also, we must do this exercise. Concentrate our whole attention, our whole soul, our mind to God Himself. At first it is very difficult. We cannot do it even one second. When we are praying to God our minds roam in the market, buying things, selling things, buying pieces of land, buying skyscrapers and selling them. Suddenly we see the prayer is over, and our mind has been somewhere else. Baha’u’llah knows this, and that is why He made it obligatory prayer. You are obliged to repeat it day after day. It is a spiritual discipline we must follow, and the time will come when we can really concentrate.

‘The same Ali received a poisonous arrow in one of the fights that they had in Arabia—in his leg. They wanted to pull it out but couldn’t because it was too painful. At such a moment they would all turn their attention to the Prophet, go to Him and say, “What shall we do? Ali is in pain and we don’t know what to do.” He said, “Wait until noontime. When he stands for prayer, pull it out!” He stood for prayer and when he prostrated, they pulled it out. Ali did not feel it at all because his full attention had been concentrated on God and on his prayer. 

*****

“To me, many of the hard problems of all the religions of God have been explained by the Bab, very easily. He brought these things from heaven to earth, and said this is what it means…

“Why do we pray? The Bab says, when we pray, what do we take to God? What do we talk to Him of, what do we offer Him? Do you offer your knowledge? He is the Source of knowledge. Do you offer Him your wealth? Do you offer Him your strength, the strength of body or mental strength? All these things are not even worthy of being mentioned in the sight of God.

“Therefore, why do we pray? The Bab says, I will give you an example. Suppose you want to go and visit a king. You will go here and there and ask many people: what is it that the king does not have in his treasury? I would like to take it as a gift to him. And, for instance, suppose somebody will say if you take a moonstone, he does not have it, then you will take it.

Now, if you take the whole treasure of the world, God has it. The whole knowledge of the world—He is the source of it. Strength? He is the source of Power. But the Bab says, as I advise you and tell you, there is one thing that God does not have in His treasure house, and that is NOTHINGNESS. Take your nothingness to Him. When you sit down in front of Him and pray, have an attitude that you are nothing as compared with God. You take that attitude and He says this will immediately be accepted.

" By concentrating on the advance that must be made in a cluster in an initial period— for instance, in the six cycles occurring before the first of the bicentennial anniversaries—the friends will do much to bring their goal for the full five years within reach. In each cycle are vested fleeting opportunities for a stride forward, precious possibilities that will not return."

                                                                                                                                                                  Ridvan 2016

  

When the friends do not endeavour to spread the message, they fail to remember God befittingly, and will not witness the tokens of assistance and confirmation from the Abhá Kingdom nor comprehend the divine mysteries. However, when the tongue of the teacher is engaged in teaching, he will naturally himself be stimulated, will become a magnet attracting the divine aid and bounty of the Kingdom, and will be like unto the bird at the hour of dawn, which itself becometh exhilarated by its own singing, its warbling and its melody.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections, #211

A call to a believer

Reflection  meeting 24th may 2015

We  were  all gathered  in the  Local  Bahais centre of Port Louis
to  celebrate  and rejoice  for the launching of the 34th cycle . We were singing in unisson with  guitars  prayers and song Togo Zani...... hidden words  and mor
All  the  sessions were filled with joy
We  know we have a long way to go but undoubtly  we are sure going to accomplish  the goal of the five year plan
onward to victory
some  key point to remember
--Teaching passionately  to bring the healing  remedies 2 weeks
--enrolling  preyouth
-- to consolidate children classes
--to start one in Les Salines  (with children use to go  to centre)
----need resource person  to help in children and  preyouth classes in P aux sables
 for wednesday 3 to 4 pm  sheila  home
  for saturday  1 to  2pm   centre ciroze

--mini conference the 5 6 7  june at pointe aux sables
--mini conference   12  13 14 june at Triolet

Reflection meeting 25 may 2015 (34th Cycle)

07-05-2015

PORT LOUIS  CLUSTER ONE  SUR LE RIVAGE  aux  frontieres de lápprentisage 

what an amazing start we’ve had to this campaign.

Ce  jeudi  7 Mai  autour de la table de consultation L’Ássemblees  sprirituelle  des bahai s de Port Louis ,Melle  Hassina Personne  de Ressource de Tana , ABM Mme Radha  Tambanivoul  ,Voangy  Cluster Co-ordinatrice Cluster One et  Melle Pallavi National Co-ordinator  study circle

Consultation axer  sur e Programme de Croissance et l’augmentation des pre-jeunes  aux cours  allant de 200 au  500 díci la fin du plan avril 2016

Plan pour Port louis

Wider community  20 jeunes cibler pour etre former animateur  pour un mini conference a Pointe aux sables  le 12.13.14  juin 2015

Lieu Fi Candasaamy TERRASON p aux sables

Action visite apres le Tutors meeting aux Les Salines  youth empowerment programme famille Dholah

Action  11 et  13 mai invitation et  visites des parents

Jeudi 21 Mai   Orientation pour les facilitateurs 5-6 jeunes cibler  inviter plus  (Lsa  members to collaborate and same time to re-learned refresher course  revision Ruhi 5)

A ENCOURAGER LES AMIS 

Rester  en contact  avec les personnes  de Ressource –Cordinateurs  ect

A commencer  des activiter simples

--lancer  des campagnes  dEnseignement 

--Commencer des cercles detudes 1

--recruiter des pre-jeunes  pour les cours

---coins de feu

-----ENSEIGNER

----reunion devotionelles

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Riḍván 2015

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

The resplendent season of Riḍván is at hand, and from the heights to which the community of the Greatest Name has attained, bright prospects are visible on the horizon. A vast terrain has been traversed: new programmes of growth have appeared, and while hundreds more must still emerge in the next twelve months, efforts to set in motion the necessary pattern of activity have already begun in almost every one of the clusters required to reach the 5,000 called for in the Five Year Plan. Existing programmes are gaining in strength, many showing more clearly what it means for the Cause of God to extend further into the social landscape across a cluster and within a neighbourhood or village. The paths that lead to sustained large-scale expansion and consolidation are being followed with firmer footsteps, valiant youth often setting the pace. Ways in which the society-building power of the Faith can find release in various settings are becoming more apparent, and those defining features that must come to mark the further unfoldment of the growth process in a cluster are becoming gradually discernible.

The call to carry out and support this work is directed to every follower of Bahá’u’lláh, and it will evoke a response in every heart that aches at the wretched condition of the world, the lamentable circumstances from which so many people are unable to gain relief. For, ultimately, it is systematic, determined, and selfless action undertaken within the wide embrace of the Plan’s framework that is the most constructive response of every concerned believer to the multiplying ills of a disordered society. Over the last year, it has become clearer still that, in different nations in different ways, the social consensus around ideals that have traditionally united and bound together a people is increasingly worn and spent. It can no longer offer a reliable defence against a variety of self-serving, intolerant, and toxic ideologies that feed upon discontent and resentment. With a conflicted world appearing every day less sure of itself, the proponents of these destructive doctrines grow bold and brazen. We recall the unequivocal verdict from the Supreme Pen: “They hasten forward to Hell Fire, and mistake it for light.” Well-meaning leaders of nations and people of goodwill are left struggling to repair the fractures evident in society and powerless to prevent their spread. The effects of all this are not only to be seen in outright conflict or a collapse in order. In the distrust that pits neighbour against neighbour and severs family ties, in the antagonism of so much of what passes for social discourse, in the casualness with which appeals to ignoble human motivations are used to win power and pile up riches—in all these lie unmistakable signs that the moral force which sustains society has become gravely depleted.

Yet there is reassurance in the knowledge that, amidst the disintegration, a new kind of collective life is taking shape which gives practical expression to all that is heavenly in human beings. We have observed how, especially in those places where intensity in teaching and community-building activities has been maintained, the friends have been able to guard themselves against the forces of materialism that risk sapping their precious energies. Not only that, but in managing the various other calls upon their time, they never lose sight of the sacred and pressing tasks before them. Such attentiveness to the needs of the Faith and to humanity’s best interests is required in every community. Where a programme of growth has been established in a previously unopened cluster, we see how the initial stirrings of activity arise out of the love for Bahá’u’lláh held in the heart of a committed believer. Notwithstanding the orders of complexity that must eventually be accommodated as a community grows in size, all activity begins with this simple strand of love. It is the vital thread from which is woven a pattern of patient and concentrated effort, cycle after cycle, to introduce children, youth, and adults to spiritual ideas; to foster a feeling for worship through gatherings for prayer and devotion; to stimulate conversations that illuminate understanding; to start ever-growing numbers on a lifetime of study of the Creative Word and its translation into deeds; to develop, along with others, capacity for service; and to accompany one another in the exercise of what has been learned. Beloved friends, loved ones of the Abhá Beauty: We pray for you in earnest on every occasion we present ourselves at His Holy Threshold, that your love for Him may give you the strength to consecrate your lives to His Cause.

The rich insights arising from clusters, and from centres of intense activity within them, where the dynamics of community life have embraced large numbers of people deserve special mention. We are gratified to see how a culture of mutual support, founded on fellowship and humble service, has quite naturally established itself in such quarters, enabling more and more souls to be systematically brought within the pale of the community’s activities. Indeed, in an increasing number of settings the movement of a population towards Bahá’u’lláh’s vision for a new society appears no longer merely as an enthralling prospect but as an emerging reality.

We wish to address some additional words to those of you in whose surroundings marked progress is yet to occur and who long for change. Have hope. It will not always be so. Is not the history of our Faith filled with accounts of inauspicious beginnings but marvellous results? How many times have the deeds of a few believers—young or old—or of a single family, or even of a lone soul, when confirmed by the power of divine assistance, succeeded in cultivating vibrant communities in seemingly inhospitable climes? Do not imagine that your own case is inherently any different. Change in a cluster, be it swift or hard won, flows neither from a formulaic approach nor from random activity; it proceeds to the rhythm of action, reflection, and consultation, and is propelled by plans that are the fruit of experience. Beyond this, and whatever its immediate effects, service to the Beloved is, in itself, a source of abiding joy to the spirit. Take heart, too, from the example of your spiritual kin in the Cradle of the Faith, how their constructive outlook, their resilience as a community, and their steadfastness in promoting the Divine Word are bringing about change in their society at the level of thought and deed. God is with you, with each of you. In the twelve months that remain of the Plan, let every community advance from its present position to a stronger one.

The all-important work of expansion and consolidation lays a solid foundation for the endeavours the Bahá’í world is being called to undertake in numerous other spheres. At the Bahá’í World Centre, efforts are intensifying to methodically catalogue and index the content of the thousands of Tablets which constitute that infinitely precious bequest, the Holy Texts of our Faith, held in trust for the benefit of all humankind—this, so as to accelerate the publication of volumes of the Writings, both in their original languages and in English translation. Endeavours to establish eight Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs, sacred Fanes raised up to the glory of God, continue apace. External affairs work at the national level has gained markedly in effectiveness and become increasingly systematic, further stimulated by the release of a document, sent to National Spiritual Assemblies six months ago, which draws on the considerable experience generated over the last two decades and provides an expanded framework for developing these endeavours in the future. Meanwhile, two new Offices of the Bahá’í International Community, sisters to its United Nations Office based in New York and Geneva and to its Office in Brussels, have been opened in Addis Ababa and Jakarta, broadening the opportunities for the perspectives of the Cause to be offered at the international level in Africa and Southeast Asia. Often prompted by the demands of growth, a range of National Assemblies are building up their administrative capacity, visible in their thoughtful stewardship of the resources available to them, their efforts to become intimately familiar with the conditions of their communities, and their vigilance in ensuring that the operations of their National Offices grow ever stronger; the need to systematize the impressive body of knowledge now accumulating in this area has led to the creation at the World Centre of the Office for the Development of Administrative Systems. Initiatives for social action of various kinds continue to multiply in many countries, enabling much to be learned about how the wisdom enshrined in the Teachings can be applied to improve social and economic circumstances; so promising is this field that we have established a seven-member International Advisory Board to the Office of Social and Economic Development, introducing the next stage in the evolution of that Office. Three members of the Board will also serve as the Office’s coordinating team and be resident in the Holy Land.

At this Riḍván, then, while we see much to be done, we see many ready to do it. In thousands of clusters, neighbourhoods, and villages, fresh springs of faith and assurance are pouring forth, cheering the spirits of those touched by their reviving waters. In places, the flow is a steady stream, in some, already a river. Now is not the moment for any soul to linger upon the bank—let all lend themselves to the onward surge.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

Calendar of Activity
for Port Louis Community

11th May  Cluster 1 and 6  meeting at Choisy Beach Relaxing  Naw-Ruz and Ridvan Festivals
------ >  meeting point  Wall Boundary  at the end of the beach as usual

 17th May--  Regional Devotioanl meeting

18th May --  19th Dys Feast (briefing on Ridvam Message )

25th May  Temple Site Visit  10.00 am (National activity )

28th May    The Ascension  of Bahá'u'lláh   From 10.00 pm to  3 .30 am
               
       
           How grievously Bahá’u’lláh suffered to regenerate the world! Wrongly accused, imprisoned, beaten, chained, banished from country to country, betrayed, poisoned, stripped of material possessions, and “at every moment tormented with a fresh torment": such was the cruel reception that greeted the Everlasting Father, Him Who is the Possessor of all Names and Attributes. For two score years, until the end of His earthly days, He remained a prisoner and exile—persecuted unceasingly by the rulers of Persia and the Ottoman Empire, opposed relentlessly by a vicious and scheming clergy, neglected abjectly by other sovereigns to whom He addressed potent letters imparting to them that which, in His truth-bearing words, “is the cause of the well-being, the unity, the harmony, and the reconstruction of the world, and of the tranquillity of the nations.” “My grief,” He once lamented, “exceedeth all the woes to which Jacob gave vent, and all the afflictions of Job are but a part of My sorrows.” The voice halts for shame from continuing so deplorable a recitation, the heart is torn by mere thought of the Divine Target of such grief—grief no ordinary mortal could endure. But lest we give way to feelings of gloom and distress, we take recourse in the tranquil calm He induces with such meaningful words as these: “We have borne it all with the utmost willingness and resignation, so that the souls of men may be edified, and the Word of God be exalted.” Thus, the Wronged One, patient beyond measure, preserved a majestic composure, revealing His true Self as the Merciful, the Loving, the Incomparable Friend. Concentrating His energies on the pivotal purpose of His Revelation, He transmuted His tribulations into instruments of redemption and summoned all peoples to the banner of unity.
(The Universal House of Justice, A Wider Horizon, Selected Letters 1983-1992, p. 239-240)

30th May  Institutional Meeting at Port louis 19.00pm
    (all LSA's of Cluster 1 plus ABM and ATC)

31st May   TEACHING WORKSHOP at Port Louis  time 15.00pm  to  20.00pm
    ----Teaching  

When the friends do not endeavour to spread the message, they fail to remember God befittingly, and will not witness the tokens of assistance and confirmation from the Abhá Kingdom nor comprehend the divine mysteries. However, when the tongue of the teacher is engaged in teaching, he will naturally himself be stimulated, will become a magnet attracting the divine aid and bounty of the Kingdom, and will be like unto the bird at the hour of dawn, which itself becometh exhilarated by its own singing, its warbling and its melody.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections, #211

1st  June    BRING AND BUY SALES   National Convention Centre

2nd June   LSA meeting Port louis

8th June    Reflection Meetings  Port louis 9.30 am

14th June   Regional Devotioanl meeting

23 rd June 19th Days Feast

The Declaration of the Bab

The celebration of the Declaration of the Bab will be held on the 22nd  day of May

at the Baha'i Center Port Louis and the Devotional Program will begin at 20.00pm 
LSA will provide refreshment and a variety of  snacks   
bring your friends and family 

Orientation For Delegates Cluster 1-6-7 (29th March 2014)

On qualifications for election, Shoghi Effendi wrote:

...vote only in favour of those whom he is conscientiously convinced are the most worthy candidates...

...the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience....

The Assembly should be representative of the choicest and most varied and capable elements in every Bahá'í community.

Bahais of Port Louis celebrating Naw-Ruz

Photos Ramraj Meetun

"I did at least go..."

“I did at least go and I can assure whoever goes will have rebuffs. But
remember this, no one can remove the footprints you made, or the echo of
your voice, or the smiles you gave and those you got in return, and as you go
around in your travels, you will see beauty spots, all belonging to God. ”
These are the words of Knight of Bahhá’u’lláh Charles Dunning, a UK pioneer
on the home front. A pioneer to Belfast and Sheffield, in 1953 Charles arose to
become the first Bahá’í on the Orkney Islands and thus a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.
As an outsider on the islands, Charles was often ridiculed and treated with
suspicion; and on occasion pursued by gangs of children throwing stones at
him, a situation he faced with qualities of sincerity, endurance and radiance
of spirit, as recounted by Brigitte Hasselblatt. Two children, who never joined
their peers in taunting him, because they felt attracted to him, are now Bahá’ís
living in Kirkwall.
Brigitte tells us also: “The Guardian received Charles Dunning with great
love when he went on Pilgrimage to Haifa in the winter of 1957. Charles was
completely himself during the evening meal with the guardian. After dinner,
he took a cigarette butt from his pocket, impaled it on a needle and began to
smoke it with great enjoyment. The Guardian asked him why he would smoke
such a short cigarette end. Charles’ reply was: “I am a poor man and I have
to use everything to the very last in order to get by.” The following evening, a
pack of American cigarettes was beside his place. They had been put there at
the wish of the Guardian.
A story follows in the words of Mr Ian Semple - a story often told by Rúhhíyyih
Khánum.
“Charlie Dunning was the Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Orkney Islands, a
wonderful Bahá’í. He was a little man, and he looked like Popeye. He and
Shoghi Effendi would talk, and he would wave his finger at Shoghi Effendi’s
nose and say “Guardian, they tell me so and so”, and the Guardian would lean
towards him and answer, and they would talk in this way. The Guardian loved
Charles Dunning. He saw the beauty and the spirit in Charlie although most
people would think he was a funny little man. And the thing that struck me after
Charlie had been on pilgrimage, and it’s made me think a lot about the way
one’s appearance mirrors one’s soul, you might say, because Charlie spoke
at the National Convention about his pilgrimage, and the thing that struck me
was that superficially Charlie was an ugly little man, but when he was talking
about his pilgrimage he was beautiful, really beautiful. He hadn’t changed, his
features were the same, but this was a beautiful person talking, and I think his
soul was as it were reflecting what the Guardian had seen in him.”
London 28 January 2006.
"I did at least go..."
If you met Charles Dunning, the Bahá’ís in the Orkneys would love to hear from you. They are
researching information and stories on this Knight of Bahá’u’lláh during this anniversary year of his
arrival in Kirkwall.
---FromUK Bahai  issue 13  march 2014

Cluster meeting with Mr Pouva Murday Knight of Baha'u'llah

Diet

Day by day friends brought offerings of flowers and fruit, so that the dinner table was laden with these beautiful tokens of love for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Whilst cutting off bunches of grapes and giving them to various guests, He talked to us of the joy of freedom, of how grateful we should be for the privilege of dwelling in safety, under just laws, in a healthy city, with a temperate climate, and brilliant light - “there was much darkness in the prison fortress of ‘Akka!” After His first dinner with us He said: “The food was delicious and the fruit and flowers were lovely, but would that we could share some of the courses with those poor and hungry people who have not even one.” What a lesson to the guests present! We at once agreed that one substantial, plentiful dish, with salad, cheese, biscuits, sweetmeats, fruits, and flowers on the table, preceded by soup and followed by coffee or tea, should be quite sufficient for any dinner. This arrangement would greatly simplify life, both as to cookery and service, and would undeniably be more in accordance with the ideals of Christianity than numerous dishes unnecessary and costly.
(Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway)

---

‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke about the excessive drinking and eating habits of the Europeans. ‘It is hardly two hours since they took their lunch and now they are having a full meal with their tea.’
(Mohi Sobhani, Mahmud’s Diary, Mar 25, 1912)

---

Shortly before leaving Denver, someone asked Him about eating meat. The Master noted that birds have beaks so they can pick up seats while goats and cows have teeth for eating grass. Carnivores have claws like forks and sharp teeth for eating meat. Man, however, does not have teeth for eating meat. “God", He said, “has given him beauty of form and has created him blessed and not rapacious and bloodthirsty.”
(Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 206)

---

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s recipe for pilau:
Lamb-cut in very small pieces-cutting away all fat, bone, gristle. Put butter in frying pan and when it bubbles, stir in the meat and continue to stir constantly until the meat is done. Season with salt. Raisins-look them over and wash them. Cook with equal amount of Syrian pine nuts-in another frying pan in same manner as lamb-in butter-stir nuts and raisins constantly. When ready to serve, mix most of nuts and raisins with the meat, using more meat than nuts and raisins. Place this mixture in the center of a serving platter and arrange a border of cooked rice around it, using the remaining nuts and raisins as decoration, according to taste.
(Julia M Grundy, Ten Days in the Light of Akka)

---

Some evenings His meal consisted only of a cup of milk and a piece of bread. He described it as a healthy meal, and recalled that Bahá’u’lláh had said that during His sojourn in Sulaymaniyyih His food was just milk most of the time, and sometimes milk and rice cooked together.
(H.M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá - The Centre of the Covenant, p. 392)

---

The Master … ate little food. He was known to begin His day with tea, goat’s milk cheese and wheat bread. And at the evening meal a cup of milk and a piece of bread might suffice. He considered the latter a healthy meal. Had not Bahá’u’lláh, while at Sullaymaniyyih, subsisted mostly on milk?
(Sometimes Bahá’u’lláh ate rice and milk cooked together.) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sparse diet also included herbs and olives – it rarely included meat.
(Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

---

Mary Bolles (Maxwell) took an early pilgrimage to the prison city. She heard that the food man eats is of no importance, as its effect endures but a short time. But the food of the spirit is life to the soul and its effects endure eternally.
(Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

---

Their food was of the simplest: lentils, dried beans, delicious olives and their oil, and sometimes milk, eggs, and even some goat’s meat.
(Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway)

---

He does not permit his family to have luxuries. He himself eats but once a day, and then bread, olives, and cheese suffice him.
(Myron Henry Phelps and Bahiyyih Khanum, Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi)

Divorce

In the 1970’s I met Inez Greeven.  She went on Pilgrimage during the days of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in 1920 and again in 1921.  She told me that during her Pilgrimage the Master asked her, “Where is your husband?”  She said, “This was the one thing I did not want Him to ask me about.  I answered, “Well, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, he is not here.”
“Yes, I can see that he is not here.  Where is your husband?”
I told Him, “‘Abdu’l-Bahá, he left me for another woman.”
“Yes, I know,” He replied. “And because you have forgiven him, God has forgiven him.”
At the time, she was Inez Cook.  She later met and married Max Greeven, a wonderful Bahá’í, of whom Shoghi Effendi thought highly. You can read about them in “Dear Co-Worker: Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the Benelux Countries”.  You can also read about Inez’ first Pilgrimage here: http://bahai-storytelling.blogspot.com/2010/02/abdul-bahas-use-of-storytelling.html and http://bahai-storytelling.blogspot.com/2010/07/story-of-gate-of-garden-quote-from.html (Brent Poirier)

---

The Master was averse to divorce. In reply to a question, He said “It is not that divorce should be more easy, but that marriages should be more difficult.” In all the years that Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were dwelling in Syria there was not one case of divorce among the Bahá’ís.
The wife of an Armenian Bahá’í implored the Master to allow her husband to divorce her; many were her accusations against her husband. The Master said to her: “You are a Christian, how can you ask to be separated? Christ Jesus, Whom I reverence, came not to part but to unite.” At length, seeing that the woman loved another man, the Master said: “You may divorce her, she is no longer your wife.” When the woman fled with the man, taking much of her husband’s money with her: “You now see the reason for my consent,” said the Master.
 Another instance:
‘Abdu’l-Qasim, the gardener of the Ridván, wished to marry an Arab peasant woman; he was advised by Bahá’u’lláh not to do so. But as he was very much in love with her, consent was at length given. In a few years he came saying: “I want to divorce Jamilih, and marry a younger woman.” “It is absolutely forbidden, you have married her; you must take care of her to the last moment of your life.”
(Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway, p. 213-214)

Deeds not Words

On the evening of the same day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke briefly again to a group of Bahá’í friends of the subject which, on these last days seemed very close to His heart and lips - the station to which those who had accepted the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh were called and expected to attain by the very fact that they had accepted them. I remember, in this connection, a story told me by one of the friends present at a meeting of the executive committee of the New York Spiritual Assembly. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been asked to be present. After listening to their deliberations for a half-hour or so He calmly arose to leave. At the door He paused a moment and surveyed the faces turned towards Him. After a moment of silence He said, that He had been told that this was a meeting of the executive committee. “Yes, Master,” said the Chairman. Then why do you not execute. Always was His emphasis upon deeds: and deeds of such quality and purity as seemed, to those who listened, unattainable. Nevertheless there was no lowering of the standard. And He set the example. There was no doubt of that. Like the true Leader He never called upon His followers to go where He had not blazed the Path.
(Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom, p. 200-201)

Recent Activity in Images

Reflection meeting Feb 2014

Mona With the Children – Lyrics by Seals and Crofts, Music by Doug Cameron

     ,,........L'ets  sing  .....

A 16 year old girl living in a land so cruel, she said this where I've got to be.

Taken in the night, her heart full of light, she said this where I've got to be.

How can I tell you, how could she be so young to know the truth in all her dreams.

She stands before them to hear them say, save your life and throw your faith away.

Mona With the Children send your love to me

All around the world we'll go dancing.

Mona With the Children send your love to me

Every precious moment you'll be dancing

Every precious moment we'll be free.

I can see her in my heart when the whole world is falling apart she said, this where I've got to be.

Captive in the light, a love that burns so bright, this where I've got to be.

When they asked her, what could she say, she said

You can't break my heart, you can't take my faith away

When they told her the price she'll have to pay

She said take my life, take it all the way, all the way.

Mona With the Children send your love to me

All around the world I see you dancing.

Mona With the Children send your love to me

Every precious moment you'll be dancing

Every precious moment you'll be free.

Mona With the Children send your love to me

All around the world our souls go dancing.

Mona With the Children you gave your life

All around the world we’ll go dancing

All around the world we’ll be free.

Mona With the Children send your love

All around the world souls are dancing.

Mona With the Children, send your love to me

All around the world I see you dancing, so pretty dancing.

Mona With the Children Mona send your love

All around the world we’ll go dancing.

Mona With the Children send your love to me

Every precious day, I’ll be dancing, I’ll be dancing.

Kinds of service the friends perform (1 Jan. 2011 message)

The 1 January 2011 message from the Universal House of Justice addressed to the Bahá’ís of the world gives a succinct summary of the nature of the activities the friends are striving to accomplish in service to their Faith:–

It is hard to express in words how much love for you has been shown in these few, fleeting days [of the Continental Counsellors' conference]. We praise God that He has raised up a community so accomplished and render thanks to Him for releasing your marvellous potentialities. You it is who, whether in collective endeavours or individual efforts, are presenting the verities of the Faith and assisting souls to recognize the Blessed Beauty. You it is who, in your tens of thousands, are serving as tutors of study circles wherever receptivity is kindled. You it is who, without thought of self, are providing spiritual education to the child and kindly fellowship to the junior youth. You it is who, through visits to homes and invitations to yours, are forging ties of spiritual kinship that foster a sense of community. You it is who, when called to serve on the institutions and agencies of the Cause, are accompanying others and rejoicing in their achievements. And it is all of us, whatever our share in this undertaking, who labour and long, strive and supplicate for the transformation of humanity, envisioned by Baha’u'llah, to be hastened.

- The Universal House of Justice

History and news

Teaching  

When the friends do not endeavour to spread the message, they fail to remember God befittingly, and will not witness the tokens of assistance and confirmation from the Abhá Kingdom nor comprehend the divine mysteries. However, when the tongue of the teacher is engaged in teaching, he will naturally himself be stimulated, will become a magnet attracting the divine aid and bounty of the Kingdom, and will be like unto the bird at the hour of dawn, which itself becometh exhilarated by its own singing, its warbling and its melody.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections, #211

What is in one’s heart, that to say

Notes from ‘Abdu’l-Bahás words on teaching and divine inspiration to a few youth in San Francisco, 23 October 1912. The talk He encourages them to memorize is found here.

* * * * * *

These young ladies have asked Me how to teach and the method of teaching. I have told them a few days ago, and now I will recapitulate.

You must first be assured of the fact that whosoever heralds the Cause of God, the Kingdom of Abha, will be confirmed. This has been tried heretofore. Whosoever has stepped forth in this arena, the hosts of the Supreme Concourse have aided. He has been confirmed and assisted. He has achieved extraordinary progress. Upon him the door of Knowledge has been opened. His eyes were opened, and the Breath of the Holy Spirit aided him, and he was instrumental in guiding others. It has been tried. No one has advanced toward this Cause without receiving this confirmation.

Secondly: when a man sings a beautiful melody, he, himself, more than his audience, will be moved by his song. Hence, when a man commences guiding souls, when he expounds the Teachings, he, himself, will experience keenly the sense of joy.

Thirdly: everything in the world of existence is limited. There is nothing which is unlimited, except the eternal confirmation of God, and that eternal confirmation of God through teaching, will be attained by man.

Consequently, His Holiness Christ says, when you speak that which is in your heart, you are inspired to say, that you must expound, and that is the Breath of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I say to you, and to all of you: If you seek the eternal Bestowal, teach. If you seek entrance at the Threshold of God, teach. If you seek eternal glory, teach. If you wish to win eternal life, teach. If you wish the supremacy of heaven, teach. And be confident that confirmation will attend you and that Divine assistance will uphold you. Because it has been tried many, many times.

But it requires firmness, it requires steadfastness. Consider the disciples of Christ, and their steadfastness. They were exposed to the sword, and they were not afraid; they were firm and steadfast. When a man drinks from a fount of salubrious waters, naturally he wants to convey the water to others. If a man reaches a tree bearing luscious fruits, he wishes to enjoy them with others. If a man hears a beautiful voice, he wishes others to hear it also.

If you seek to attain the everlasting bounties, and occupy yourselves conveying the message of God, and to be the means of guiding souls, do not look at your capacity, do not look at your [deserts]. If Peter had looked at his own capacity, he would have remained a fisherman. He was quite devoid of knowledge. But he did not look at his own capacity. Nay, rather, he looked at the divine bounty. And you must not look at your own capacity. You must not say that you are young, that you have not entered college, that you have not attained an extraordinary education. Nay, rather, consider the bounties of the Kingdom of Abha. What beautiful fruits are produced by the black soil. This is not due to the capacity of the soil, but because of the great heat of the sun and of the rain from the clouds. Likewise, you must not say that you are dust. Nay, rather, you must look at the effulgence of the Sun of Reality, which ever shines upon you. You must look at the cloud of the Kingdom that ever pours down its rain upon you. You must feel the breeze of Providence that ever blows toward you.

We three sat spellbound as ‘Abdu’l-Baha impressed upon us in simple and beautiful language the great importance of teaching the Faith and assured us of wonderful confirmations. For a moment, as we remained seated, I silently prayed that I would ever remain firm and steadfast. Then we stood, and just as the Master started to leave the room, I asked Him what I should teach. He smilingly replied, “Memorize the talk I gave at Stanford University.”

(Brown, Ramona Allen, Memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá – Recollections of the Early Days of the Bahá’ís of California, pp. 79-80)

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Every occasion proved by Master an opportunity to share Message, directly or indirectly

A fascinating story of how the Beloved Master’s intuition guided him to find a receptive soul and teach him, in this case indirectly, about one of the fundamentals of religion, namely the reality and existence of the spiritual world, and of the superiority of that dimension over the material one.

* * * * * *

THE MASTER AND THE MUSEUM WATCHMAN

While ‘Abdu’l-Baha was in New York City in 1912, Juliet Thompson recorded the following touching incident, reminding us of so many mystical things in life on which one needs to ponder:

On Monday, 9 July, the Master invited me, with the Persians to go to the Natural History Museum. It was a broiling afternoon and I couldn’t imagine why He should want to go to that Museum, and in the hottest part of the day. But wherever He went, there I wanted to be.

When we reached the Ninth Avenue corner of the Museum the Master, exhausted by that time, sank to a low stone ledge to rest. Between us and the main door on the Central Park corner stretched a long cross-town block in glaring sun, not a single tree on the sidewalk.

“My Lord,” I said, “let me try to find a nearer entrance for You.” And I hurried along the grass, keeping close to the building, searching the basement for a door. The employees’ entrance was locked. Just beyond stood a sign: “No Thoroughfare.” I was rushing past this when a shrill whistle stopped me, and I turned to face the watchman of the grounds. He was a little bent old Jewish man with a very kind face.

“Oh excuse me,” I said, “for breaking the rules, but I must find a nearer door than the main one. See Who is sitting on that ledge! I must find it for Him.”

The watchman turned and looked at the Master, looked and looked, at that Figure from the East, from the Past — the Days of the Old Testament — and his eyes became very soft. “Is He a Jew?” he asked.

“A descendant of Abraham.”

“Come with me,” said the watchman. “Ask Him to come with me.”

I went over and spoke to the Master and He rose and followed with the Persians, I dropping back to walk with them. There was not a nearer entrance, but the watchman, taking a risk perhaps, led us across the grass, where at least it was cooler and the way shorter.

In the Museum we passed through a room in which a huge whale hung from the ceiling. The Master looked up at it, laughed and said: “He could hold seventy Jonahs!”

Then He took us straight to the Mexican exhibit, and this seemed to interest Him very much. In the great elaborately carved glyphs standing around the room He found traces of Persian art and pointed them out to me. He told us this sculpture resembled very closely the ancient sculpture of Egypt. “Only,” He said, “this is better.” Then He took me over to the cases where He showed me purely Persian bracelets.

“I have heard a tradition,” I said, “that in the very distant past this country and Asia were connected.”

“Assuredly,” answered the Master, “before a great catastrophe there was such a connection between Asia and America.”

After looking at everything in the Mexican rooms, He led us to the front door and out into the grounds again. Then, stepping from the stone walk to the grass, He seated Himself beneath a young birch tree, His back to us, while we stood behind Him on the flags. He sat there a long time, silent. Was He waiting for someone? I wondered.

While He — waited? — the old watchman stole quietly up to me from the direction of the Museum.

“Is He tired?” he whispered. “Who is He? He looks like such a great man.”

“He is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of Persia,” I said, “and He has been a great Sufferer because of His work for the real Brotherhood of Man, the uniting of all the races and nations.”

“I should like to speak to Him,” said the watchman. And I took him over to the tree under which the Master still sat with His back to us.

At the sound of our footsteps He turned and looked up at the watchman, His brilliant eyes full of sweetness.

“Come and sit by Me,” He said.

“Thank You, Sir, but I am not allowed.”

“Is it against the rules for Me to sit on the grass?”

The old man’s eyes, softly shining, were fixed on the Master. “No, You may sit there all day!”

But the Master rose and stood beneath the tree.

Such pictures as I see when the Master is in them could never be put upon canvas — not even into words, except by the sublimest poet — but I always want to try at least to leave a trace of their beauty. The Master, luminous in the sunlight, His white robe flowing to the grass, standing beside the white slender trunk of the birch tree, with its leafy canopy over His head. The Jewish watchman standing opposite Him — so bent, so old — his eyes, like a lover’s, humbly raised to the face of his own Messiah! As yet unrecognized, his Messiah, yet his heart worshiped.

Eagerly he went on, offering all he could think of to this Mysterious One Who had touched him so deeply.

“You didn’t see the whole of the Museum. Would You like to go back after You have rested? You didn’t go up to the third floor.” (Unseen by us he must have been following all the time.) “The fossils and the birds are up there. Wouldn’t You like to see the birds?”

The Master answered very gently, smiling.

“I am tired of travelling and looking at the things of this world. I want to go above and travel and see in the spiritual worlds. What do you think about that?” He asked suddenly, beaming on the old watchman.

The watchman looked puzzled and scratched his head.

“Which would you rather posses,” continued the Master, “the material or the spiritual world?”

Still the old man pondered. At last he brought forth: “Well, I guess the material. You know you have that, anyway.”

“But you do not lose it when you have attained the spiritual world. When you go upstairs in a house, you don’t leave the house. The lower floor is under you.”

“Oh I see!” cried the watchman, his whole face lighting up, “I see!”

After we parted from the watchman, who walked with us all the way to the Ninth Avenue corner, leading us again across the grass, I began to blame myself for not inviting him to the Master’s house, forgetting that the Master Himself had not done so. Every day I meant to return to the Museum to tell the old man where the Master lived, but I put off from day to day.

When, at the end of a week, I did run over to the Museum, I found a young watchman there, who seemed to know nothing of the one he had replaced.

Had our friend “gone upstairs?”

Why had the Master visited a Museum of Natural

History in the hottest hour of a blistering July day? Had He instead visited a soul whose need was crying out to Him, to open an old man’s eyes so that he might see to climb the stairs, to take away the dread of death?

(Many years later, in 1947, Juliet wrote: There may have been two meanings to that visit to the Museum and the second meaning I could not have thought of till 1940, when I became so deeply involved in the Bahá’í work in Mexico and completely at one in heart and spirit with the believers there.) (The Diary of Juliet Thompson)

* * * * * *

Under all conditions the Message must be delivered, but with wisdom. If it be not possible openly, it must be done quietly. The friends should be engaged in educating the souls and should become instruments in aiding the world of humanity to acquire spiritual joy and fragrance…

Souls are liable to estrangement. Such methods should be adopted that the estrangement should be first removed, then the Word will have effect. If one of the believers be kind to one of the negligent ones and with perfect love should gradually make him understand the reality of the Cause of God in such a way that the latter should know in what manner the Religion of God hath been founded and what its object is, doubtless he will become changed; excepting abnormal souls who are reduced to the state of ashes and whose hearts are like stones, yea, even harder.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets, p. 391)

* * * * * *

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Depression

A woman visited the Master in Haifa, in May 1910. She later wrote about this visit, saying: ‘As He talked with me, I felt my heart soften under the influence of his goodness and kindness, and the tears came to my eyes. He asked me about myself, if I were well, and if I were happy. I replied to the latter question, “I have had many sorrows!” He replied, “Forget them. When your heart is filled with the love of God, there will not be room for sorrow, there will only be love and happiness.”‘
She continued, ‘I cannot tell you the sweet sympathy of his voice as he said these beautiful and comforting words. Then he had the attendant bring in tea, a cup for him and a cup for me. We drank together, wishing each other health and happiness, and then he told me that he hoped he should take tea with me in the Kingdom of Heaven. “Was that not a pretty thought?) When I praised the tea, he said it was real Persian tea, and presented me with a package to take away with me.’ (Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 127)

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