Temples symbolize human rights, oneness of humanity

Human Rights Day is marked in Germany with concern expressed over human rights violations in Iran.

"The Baha'i House of Worship is itself an architectural monument to human rights, since different religions come into contact here."

- Kordula Schulze-Asche, chairwoman of the Green Party in the German federal state of Hesse.

The Bahá'í House of Worship in Langenhain, Germany

Full story: "Human Rights Day in Germany puts spotlight on Iran" http://news.bahai.org/story/740

There are spiritual principles, or what some call human values, by which solutions can be found for every social problem. ... [G]ood intentions and practical knowledge are usually not enough. The essential merit of spiritual principle is that it not only presents a perspective which harmonizes with that which is immanent in human nature, it also induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery and implementation of practical measures. ... [A]ll in authority would be well served in their efforts to solve problems if they would first seek to identify the principles involved and then be guided by them.

- The Universal House of Justice, The Promise of World Peace http://info.bahai.org/article-1-7-2-1.html

Musician Anke Keitel explains the ties she feels with the young people of Iran.

Photos Copyright Bahá'í International Community. View here and here.

Prayer -> action: a wholesome recipe for balanced living

Devotional meeting, then children's class - the perfect combination for a successful day. Thanks to those who made it happen!

The Keynote of success in the teaching field is study of the Word, Prayer, Meditation; and then action. Above all, perseverance in action. When these steps are followed in the realm of self-sacrifice, success will be achieved.

- Shoghi Effendi through his secretary, in High Endeavors, p. 27.

Devotional at the Bahá'í Center in Oslo

Love, contentment, tranquillity

Contentment is where tranquility is found;
in assurance that one was "created rich,"
that all that befalls one is of "profit" to oneself
so long as one can be "content" therewith.

O SON OF MAN!
I loved thy creation, hence I created thee.
Wherefore, do thou love Me,
that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.
- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, A4

The cell occupied by Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká (Acre), Israel, restored.

O SON OF BEING!
Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee.
Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me.
For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee.
- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, A11



I swear by My life!
Nothing save that which profiteth them can befall My loved ones.
To this testifieth the Pen of God, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Best Beloved.
- Bahá'u'lláh, quoted in The Advent of Divine Justice, 82


O SON OF SPIRIT!
Ask not of Me that which We desire not for thee,
then be content with what We have ordained for thy sake,
for this is that which profiteth thee,
if therewith thou dost content thyself.
- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, A18

Photo Copyright 2009, Bahá'í International Community. View here.

Dizzying power of "one righteous act"!

One righteous act is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens. It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore the force that hath spent itself and vanished….

- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings 287

Informal picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with Pauline Morse in His arms, Green Acre, United States of America. August 1912.

Photo Copyright Bahá'í International Community. View here.

A lesson in moderation - balancing professionalism with humanity in sport - as per Tiger Woods

The sempiternal lesson: moderation. Here from the Bahá'í writings:

"Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence."

"Whoso cleaveth to justice, can, under no circumstances, transgress the limits of moderation. He discerneth the truth in all things, through the guidance of Him Who is the All-Seeing. ... All...things are subject to this same principle of moderation."

- Bahá'u'lláh, in Tablets 169 and Gleanings 343-4 respectively.

Below are experts from a very thoughtful article in The Times Online that highlights the limits of specialization (and idolization) in sports, with reference to pro-golfer Tiger Woods. Read it in full here.

December 3, 2009

Tiger must grow up – and his fans must let him

by Ed Smith

Once sport was a way to build character, now it tries to eliminate it. So it’s no surprise when the cracks start to show

The Woods legend has entrenched the cult of professional obsession, the Malcolm Gladwell view that anyone can be a genius so long as they practise for 10,000 hours. Woods has been the ultimate pin-up boy for that way of life. It’s long overdue for a serious rethink. Brilliant sportsmen, whatever they may tell you, are a lot like everyone else. Yes, sportsmen have to make sacrifices to get to the top; yes, there is a lot of pressure when they get there; yes, it’s a tough life. So is being a great surgeon, so is being a great teacher, so is being a great actor.

The pursuit of excellence, whatever the discipline, demands bravery and dedication. Sporting exceptionalism — that sport is a special realm populated by a superbreed — is a myth sold to gullible fans to boost TV viewing figures. ...

Doing only one thing for ever, without ever wondering if it can be entirely fulfilling, suits very few human beings.

It is a practical point as well as a moral one. Excessive narrowness isn’t just bad for you as a person, it’s bad for you as a performer. ...

The monomania of Tiger Woods or Geoff Boycott doesn’t work for many people. Now we are learning that it isn’t even working for Tiger Woods.

And anyway, surely one day it is only natural that golfers must fall out of love with golf. ...

Tiring of sport should be considered an essential part of growing up, a human badge of honour, not a cause for reproach. Professional sport is stuck in a dangerous state of arrested development where it demands that grown adults indefinitely retain the egotistical narrow-mindedness of teenagers. ...

Let's hope Woods’ unravelling prompts a shift in mood. So far he has been the standard-bearer for our age of professionalism: workaholic relentlessness, nothing left to chance, the elimination of emotion, it’s only the winning that counts, say nothing, follow the endorsements. ...

Now it is time for Act II... It’s time we all grew up — and allowed sportsmen to do the same.

Ed Smith is a former England cricketer. He is now a Times leader writer. www.edsmith.org.uk

Read the full article here.
Image from stock.xchng. View here (Image ID: 1166782).

Motion, movement an inseparable concomitant of existence

If the full moon is almost straight above my head,
then the sun is almost directly below my feet.
And where am I?
On a globe traversing the heavens!

(The following is from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's "Tablet of the Universe")

Divine and all-encompassing Wisdom hath ordained that motion be an inseparable concomitant of existence, whether inherently or accidentally, spiritually or materially. This movement must be governed by some check or rein, some regulator or director, otherwise order will be disrupted and the spheres and bodies will fall from the heavens. For this reason God brought into being a universal attractive force between these bodies to hold sway over them and govern them, a force deriving from the firm ties, the mighty correspondence and affinity that exist between the realities of these limitless worlds. By the operation of this attractive force those holy and resplendent suns, with their luminous worlds, satellites and planets, circling and orbiting in their heavens, at once exerted attraction and were subject to it, induced motion and were themselves moved, began orbiting and set into orbit other bodies, shone forth and caused others to shine. ... Glory be to Him Who attracted them, laid firm hold on them, imbued them with effulgence, ordered them and set them in motion; and far from His glory be that which any of his creatures can affirm of Him or attribute to Him. ...

Know thou that the expressions of the creative hand of God throughout His limitless worlds are themselves limitless. Limitations are a characteristic of the finite, and restriction is a quality of existent things, not of the reality of existence.

This being the case, how can one, without proof or testimony, conceive of creation being bound by limits? Gaze with penetrating vision into this new cycle. Hast thou seen any matter in which God is bounded by limits which He cannot overstep? Nay, by the excellence of His glory! On the contrary, His tokens have encompassed all things and are sanctified and exalted beyond computation in the world of creation.

These are spiritual truths relating to the spiritual world. In like manner, from these spiritual realities infer truths about the material world. For physical things are signs and imprints of spiritual things; every lower thing is an image and counterpart of a higher thing. Nay, earthly and heavenly, material and spiritual, accidental and essential, particular and universal, structure and foundation, appearance and reality and the essence of all things, both inward and outward -- all of these are connected one with another and are interrelated in such a manner that you will find that drops are patterned after seas, and that atoms are structured after suns in proportion to their capacities and potentialities. ... Universal and particular are in reality incidental and relative considerations. The mercy of thy Lord, verily, encompasseth all things!

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablet of the Universe (provisional translation), read it here.

Photos of tonight's moon by the undersigned.

The poor as an inspiration

"[A]ssist the poor as much as possible, even by sacrifice of yourself."

Show me a greater motivating power to work for the common weal than this -

What could be better before God than thinking of the poor? For the poor are beloved by our heavenly Father. When Christ came upon the earth, those who believed in Him and followed Him were the poor and lowly, showing that the poor were near to God. When a rich man believes and follows the Manifestation of God, it is a proof that his wealth is not an obstacle and does not prevent him from attaining the pathway of salvation. After he has been tested and tried, it will be seen whether his possessions are a hindrance in his religious life. But the poor are especially beloved of God. Their lives are full of difficulties, their trials continual, their hopes are in God alone. Therefore, you must assist the poor as much as possible, even by sacrifice of yourself. No deed of man is greater before God than helping the poor. Spiritual conditions are not dependent upon the possession of worldly treasures or the absence of them. When one is physically destitute, spiritual thoughts are more likely. Poverty is a stimulus toward God. Each one of you must have great consideration for the poor and render them assistance.

- `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 216

Teaching the Faith in Nedrini, Panama

Photo © Bahá’í World Centre - view here