Bloggin' the BMG Part 4

Ok, I'm about to go to sleep, or maybe play some Monopoly with some trash talking brothers. We'll see who has the courage to meet me on the Monopoly board. So, what we did after studying the other letters from the Universal House we studied the latest one of March 25th that is hot off the press so to speak. The focus of the letter is on the importance of Baha'i participation in the Baha'i elections and how the process by which Baha'is chose the membership of those institutions who have authority in Baha'i life is unique in the world. The consultation sparked by the remarkable letter was rich, rich, rich. We talked about ourselves as present day citizens of a new world of which the Baha'i institutions are a "nucleus" and "pattern" and what responsible citizenship demands of us in the midst of a declining social order in which people have rightly lost faith in elected institutions. It was too deep to sufficiently get into, especially as I am half asleep. I may remember more later. After a world class dinner, we enjoyed watching the video of the presentation that those of us who went to Ghana in December gave to the folks serving at the Baha'i World Center in Israel. There were moments of inspiration and loud laughter. My favorite part was that the video included the brothers praying in the BMG style and the participants in this weekend joined in. It was this interesting moment of past and present coming together in a timeless moment of worship through the power of technology. Wow. Anyway, I need to go, but may have a moment tomorrow to continue reporting before we head over to the 20th anniversary celebration of the Black Men's Gathering that will be taking place at the Baha'i Center in Boston. I'm also looking forward to seeing my wife whom I'm missing (I'm including this just in case she's reading this). My mother will also be joining us which will be pretty cool. Be back tomorrow.

Bloggin' the BMG 3

The brothers are taking a little break between studying so I have a moment to let you know where we are at this point. We just got finished studying and discussing a section about the individual believer in a letter addressed to the Baha'is of the world on December 27th of 2005 by the Universal House of Justice the International Governing Council that is the Head of the Baha'i Faith. This letter provides guidance on the next stage of the growth and development of the Baha'i community and the advancement of the mission of the Baha'i Faith which is to unite humanity. We had a nice discussion about what we are called by God to do in the world and the importance of relying on God's assistance in meeting the challenge of fulfilling our mission. We also wondered at the fact that we are provided with ongoing, reliable guidance about how to better the world because of our being Baha'is. Earlier, we studied the annual message addressed to the Baha'i world by the Universal House of Justice in which commentary is provided on the progress of the Faith and guidance as to where it is headed. This letter offered a great deal of commentary on the global context in which Baha'is are trying to achieve their aims, a world in which human society is experiencing both a process of integration and a process of disintegration, both of which are propelling humanity toward its destiny which is unity. Virtually every sentence of this message provoked both thought and emotion. It seemed to me that it deepened our appreciation of the spiritual significance of our personal and collective efforts to live out the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, as well as the magnitude of the disintegrative forces as work in the world. In any case, another brother has just joined us from New York and so now New York is in da house! It's time to get back to the study and discussion. I'll check back in around dinner time.

Bloggin' the BMG Part 2

I'm about to pass out from hunger but here is a quick update. We started with sweet, sweet drumming this morning that included the smooth sound of a saxophone from one of the young brothers who came. I forgot to mention that in addition to the various New England states represented, we also have Honduras, Cameroon, Ghana, Cape Verde and Jamaica in the house as well. After the drumming we got down in BMG style with prayer that shook the building. It was magnificent and kind of amazing given that we really just got started. Next each brother introduced himself, saying who he is, where he is from and why he came. The answers were as varied as the men, none of which I can include in print because we strive to maintain confidentiality at the Gathering, but what I can say is that it was really moving to have each man have the space to speak from the heart in complete safety, a safety few of us feel on a daily basis as black men in America. Part way through the were able to hear from Dr. William Roberts and Counselor Eugene Andrews, both of whom emphasized the importance of the work of the Gathering to advancing the growth of the Baha'i community and the creation of a new civilization through spiritual transformation. A couple of things stood out, that the local Gatherings like the one we are participating in this weekend are having an impact throughout the United States on Baha'i community life and that our humble efforts have earned the respect and admiration of the highest institutions of our faith. Another point was to stick to the guidance given to us by the Universal House of Justice, a focus that the Gathering has distinguished itself for over the past two decades. Anyway, I really have to eat or I will start saying things that make no sense. I'll be back in a couple of hours with another update. This Gathering has already been one of the best I have attended.

Bloggin' the BMG

It turns out that the retreat Center where we are having the Black Men's Gathering New England has wireless internet. So I'm going to try something that I've been wanting to do for a long time, which is to live blog the Gathering. There will be limits to this of course, for instance it would not be reverent to be typing on my computer during prayers, but other periods seems like fair game. I'll learn if this is true or not. I may not be able to have a lot of fancy pictures right away, but hopefully the writing will be interesting enough. What we have done so far is to welcome the brothers from all over New England, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. There's about 20 of us here so far. We started as always with drumming. We got a real nice groove going. We then raised our voices in praise, supplicating God for guidance, protection, healing, and power. We then listened to a talk that Dr. William Roberts who convened the first Gathering 20 years ago, gave at the Association of Baha'i Studies in 2002 I believe. It was a nice explanation of the inspiration and origin of the Gathering, touching, funny and thought provoking. Right now we are having consultation about what the listened to and exploring the challenge of unity in diversity in the Baha'i community. I'm about to make a comment so have to come back to this later.

Blogwarriors: March 29th Edition

One day when the Baha'i bloggers become famous they will make an epic movie about our herioc exploints to save the world. Maybe it will be called "Lord of the Laptops" or something like that. I knew I should have gone to film school. By the way, ever notice that in the Fellowship of the Ring, there were exactly 9 members of that group. Imagine if these guys were the members of your Local Spiritual Assembly!

So I'll be participating in the Black Men's Gathering New England starting tomorrow, one of the many local BMG's happening all over the U.S. and beyond this year. I thus will not be blogging for a couple of days and figured it was time for another edition of Blogwarriors where I point out some of the coolest post that I've seen in the last week or so. Spring seems to be in the air in the Baha'i blogger world and great posts are blossoming all over the place:

The recently discovered (at least by me) Neocrats have a post about the complexity of cultural identity called Colour Me Cosmopolitan.

The ever ferocious Malik at the Struggle Within has a preface to a new series of posts he'll be publishing about the Business of Racism

Poetry of Peace joins the chorus of folks who have discovered that there is a Baha'i actor who is becoming pretty popular for his role on The Office

Love From Leila, where this born again blogwarrior goes for comic relief, has a recipe for Ghee whatever that is. Seriously, this woman should host the Oscars next year

U.K. blogwarrior Barnabas has a post about a meditation class the Baha'is have been hosting that might be interesting for other folks to try

David at Correlating takes on the idea that women are more religious than men because men are more "risky"

Anxiously Concerned, a fellow social commentary blogger has a post about research on Applied Knowledge

Onward, brave Baha'i bloggers!

Correction: It seems that I erroneously suggested that the Arabic prayer on Bilo's blog Baha'i Faith in Egypt was actually chanted by Shoghi Effendi. It's a bit unclear especially as I don't recall prayers written by Shoghi Effendi being used in the Baha'i community, but I've been wrong before. In any case, just to be on the safe side I've removed that reference from this post. Thanks Christine and Brian for commenting on that.

Death Offers Meaning to Life

Death visiting a dying man. This picture is from Wikipedia.

I've read three different but related pieces of writing that have sparked some meditation today the meaning death gives to life, at least for me as a Baha'i. The first the one was an article that dealt with a new area of psychological research called Experimental Existential Psychology:

"The developing field, called experimental existential psychology, or XXP, explores how people find meaning and purpose in their lives. A topic that was once the province of poets and philosophers can now be examined under the cold light of science, researchers say. How people deal with existential concerns could help explain a broad spectrum of behavior, they believe, from political and religious leanings to altruism and the pursuit of riches to patriotism and terrorism. Already, experiments have shown that when people are reminded of their own deaths, they become more patriotic, more conservative, more family-oriented, more security-minded. The fear of death also provokes a need to feel connected to others, to have a clear sense of identity, to know how one fits into the world, and to feel one has free will." (READ THE WHOLE THING)

Another was an article about the efforts in the Durham North Carolina area to fight the problem of school drop outs by African American male children by having more African American male teachers:

“Jonathan (an African-American student) said he dropped out because he ‘felt discarded, like he wasn’t needed’ after a negative encounter with a principal,” cited a national report titled The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropout by Civic Enterprises and Peter D. Hart Research Associates. The report noted that while students have generally have specific reasons for dropping out of school, the common denominator in most cases is a “slow process of disengagement” from their educational experience." (READ THE WHOLE THING)

The final piece is from my friend Phyllis who has a beautiful column about death that just came out today:

"We miss so much of life by avoiding contact with death. In six days that held more than many months ever could, my family and I came to know a level of awe, love and joy that we hadn't even imagined was possible. The beauty of the intimacy in accompanying someone on his final progression toward death, and making that journey together as a family, still moves us to tears that drive any words of description even farther from our reach. But I suspect our ancestors would know exactly what we've experienced." (READ THE WHOLE THING)

All of these different writings by different authors have a common thread for me which is the psychological impact of a sense that one's life does or does not have meaning. Even the story about kids dropping out of school mentions the students experiencing a "slow process of disengagement". I believe that many of these kids (just like many of the adults in their lives) are in the grips of a profound nihilism, a sense that their lives don't really mean anything, so why should what they are learning in school mean anything? The article focuses on the idea that having more African American male role models in their lives will have a positive impact, but my experience suggests that many of these potential role models are hounded by the same feelings of meaninglessness in their lives that the children have. If my life really doesn't mean anything, why should I dedicate my time to educating the next generation? One way of understanding nihilism is that it is a maladaptive response to the profound lack of authentic spirituality in the modern and post-modern world. The Baha'i Writings offer this comment about the lack of spirituality and it's relationship to world problems:

"Indeed the chief reason for the evils now rampant in society is the lack of spirituality. The materialistic civilization of our age has so much absorbed the energy and interest of mankind that people in general do no longer feel the necessity of raising themselves above the forces and conditions of their daily material existence. There is not sufficient demand for things that we call spiritual to differentiate them from the needs and requirements of our physical existence. The universal crisis affecting mankind is, therefore, essentially spiritual in its causes. The spirit of the age, taken on the whole, is irreligious. Man's outlook on life is too crude and materialistic to enable him to elevate himself into the higher realms of the spirit. It is this condition, so sadly morbid, into which society has fallen, that religion seeks to improve and transform. For the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites Man with God." (Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 86)

It is this "mystic feeling that unites Man with God" that seemed to be what attracted Phyllis to that family in the hospice who had experienced what her own family would soon have to face, the death of a loved one. One of the great gifts I've received since embracing the Baha'i Faith is that I now experience death as something which is organic, necessary and fundamentally spiritual. I often meditate on my inevitable physical death as a means of intensifying that "mystic feeling that unites Man with God." As a Baha'i I have a clear sense of who I am (a noble, rational soul), what my purpose is in life (to know and love God and promote an ever advancing civilization) and how I can fulfill that purpose (through recognizing the Source of God's Guidance and striving to follow that Guidance). Knowing that my journey through this world will eventually end (physical death) and that I must spend this time preparing for the next part of the journey (toward reunion with my Creator), energizes my daily activity. This may be what the research into Experimental Existential Psychology is trying to better understand. The reality of death does not so much fill me with fear, but rather provides a sense of spiritual clarity and motivation. This is not to say that I don't experience any fear regarding death, just that the focus of my fear is not death itself but the possibility of having wasted my time in this world. I'll close with these Words of Baha'u'llah:

Just as the conception of faith hath existed from the beginning that hath no beginning, and will endure till the end that hath no end, in like manner will the true believer eternally live and endure. His spirit will everlastingly circle round the Will of God. He will last as long as God, Himself, will last. He is revealed through the Revelation of God, and is hidden at His bidding. It is evident that the loftiest mansions in the Realm of Immortality have been ordained as the habitation of them that have truly believed in God and in His signs. Death can never invade that holy seat. Thus have We entrusted thee with the signs of thy Lord, that thou mayest persevere in thy love for Him, and be of them that comprehend this truth. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 140)

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts today. What do you think?

Concentration and the Life of the Spirit

This photo is a shout out to my way too cute niece who is a Winnie the Pooh Lover. In this picture, Pooh is practicing a spiritual discipline: FOCUS.

As usual, the Sunday edition of the New York Times has all the best kinds of articles. This Sunday is no exception as it has a piece that hits on something that I have been meditating on a great deal since I was accepted to a doctoral program that God willing, I will start in the Fall. The issue is the need for concentration in my efforts to serve humanity. The piece deals with research on multi-tasking. Here is a choice quote from the article:

“Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes,” said David E. Mayer, a cognitive scientist and director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan. “Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”

The human brain, with its hundred billion neurons and hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections, is a cognitive powerhouse in many ways. “But a core limitation is an inability to concentrate on two things at once,” said René Marois, a neuroscientist and director of the Human Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University. Read the whole thing here.

While the focus of the article is on the implications of this research for business, I think that it also has implications for the development of the soul. The Baha'i Writings have this comment about the power of focus:

So long as the thoughts of an individual are scattered he will achieve no results, but if his thinking be concentrated on a single point wonderful will be the fruits thereof. One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight when it is cast on a flat mirror, but once the sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thus is it necessary to focus one's thinking on a single point so that it will become an effective force. (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 110)

In all Holy Scripture, "light" is an image that is used for the Divine, for knowledge, and for wisdom. One could think about concentration as a means of being more effective at our activities of daily living, but it could also be seen as essential to spiritual growth itself. I think this becomes even more clear when I consider one of the selections from the Baha'i Writings that deals with work as worship:

In the Bahá'í Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are (counted as) worship. The man who makes a piece of notepaper to the best of his ability, conscientiously, concentrating all his forces on perfecting it, is giving praise to God. (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 176)

It would seem that the Baha'i Writings are telling us that the concentration on a given task is what transforms it from the material to the spiritual, from the mundane to a form of worship.
Thus if I want whatever I am doing to be infused with spiritual power and meaning, then I need to focus, which means I may have to not do a zillion different things at the same time. This may mean that I have to sacrifice the habit of taking on too many things, however worthy those things may be so that I can concentrate on a few, turn my work into worship of God and be in a continual state of prayer, the sweetest of conditions, "This is worship: To serve mankind and minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer."

So dear reader, how concentrated are you in your life?

Baha'i Thought Reaches 1,000!!!! Updated

Ok, maybe I will sound like a geek. But I have to celebrate the fact that as of a couple of minutes ago, this humble Blog, Baha'i Thought reached a cool milestone of having attracted more than 1,000 unique visitors since February 18th, 2007 when I took on a brand new blog counter. To have achieved this in a little over a month is pretty exciting and encourages me to work harder to offer a few Baha'i thoughts about the important issues of religion, race, psychology and social order.

So I'm going to offer a little "best of post" focusing on the past five weeks of Baha'i Thought, particularly for those readers who are new and might not have dug deep into the well of my efforts to understand the Baha'i teachings. So here goes:

The African American Attitude: A Few Baha'i Thoughts

The Problem With Political Religion

Psyche and Social Order

Faith, Integrity and Flexibility

Are You Happy?

A Baha'i Thought Reader named Allison strongly advocated that my post about the Fast be added to this list so here goes:

Fasting=Freedom

Good Morning Vietnam!

This just in. I first heard about it through Marco at Povo De Baha and then saw it again at Bilo's Blog, the Baha'i Faith in Egypt. The government of Vietnam has formally recognized the Baha'i Faith in that country. You can read all about it right here! God willing we will hear similar news someday regarding the Baha'i Faith in Iran and Egypt. In tribute to the valiant Baha'i community of Vietnam, I offers these Words of Baha'u'llah from the Fire Tablet, a much beloved piece of Baha'i scripture:

Were it not for the cold, how would the heat of Thy words prevail, O Expounder of the worlds?

Were it not for calamity, how would the sun of Thy patience shine, O Light of the worlds?

Lament not because of the wicked. Thou wert created to bear and endure, O Patience of the worlds.

How sweet was Thy dawning on the horizon of the Covenant among the stirrers of sedition, and Thy yearning after God, O Love of the worlds.

By Thee the banner of independence was planted on the highest peaks, and the sea of bounty surged, O Rapture of the worlds.

By Thine aloneness the Sun of Oneness shone, and by Thy banishment the land of Unity was adorned. Be patient, O Thou Exile of the worlds.

We have made abasement the garment of glory, and affliction the adornment of Thy temple, O Pride of the worlds.

Thou seest the hearts are filled with hate, and to overlook is Thine, O Thou Concealer of the sins of the worlds.

When the swords flash, go forward! When the shafts fly, press onward! O Thou Sacrifice of the worlds.

Dost Thou wail, or shall I wail? Rather shall I weep at the fewness of Thy champions, O Thou Who hast caused the wailing of the worlds.
(Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 217)

The Baha'is throughout the world will continue our long walk to freedom until victory is won.

Blogwarriors: New Year's Edition

Photograph of the interior of the cell in which Baha'u'llah was held prisoner by the Ottoman's in Palestine during the 19th century.

"The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to build anew the whole world, behold, how they that have joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!"
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 99)

Happy New Year to all the people's and kindred's of the earth. It's time for the Blogwarriors New Year's (that's Baha'i New Year for those who don't know) Edition. So here are some of my favorite Baha'i bloggers doin' there thang!

New Legal World Order has an analysis of the utterly absurd court decision that essentially rendered Baha'is in Egypt non-persons.

David at Correlating keeps up the gender equality discussion with an interesting post about men's family involvement and social science.

George at Baha'i Views, has a nice little round up of Naw Ruz greetings from around the web.

Bilo at the Baha'i Faith in Egypt, keeps up his world class blogging with a cool link to a BBC story about the Baha'is struggle for religious freedom.

Barney at Barnabus Quotidianus asks the provocative question "Does God Believe In Human Rights?"

The ever prophetic Malik at The Struggle Within has some choice words for T-Shirt Revolutionaries.

Finally, my friend Phyllis Ring at ReligionAndSpirituality.com, adds her voice to the New Year's greetings and reflection.

Are You Happy?

Members of the Dawn of Carmel Choir in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2003. They are happy to praise the Lord!

The Concord Monitor has a short and sweet piece about the opening of a Ph.D program in Positive Psychology, a nifty new area of research that I was first introduced to at a Baha'i Association of Mental Health Professionals Conference a couple of years ago. Here's a snippet:

Although the desire to live a better life is fundamental for ordinary folks - think pursuit of happiness - researchers long have devoted their energies elsewhere.

"Most research on human behavior has focused on what goes wrong in human affairs: aggression, mental disease, failure and so on," said Claremont professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ("Mike" to his friends). He is one of the pioneers in positive psychology and a leader of the doctoral program.

Csikszentmihalyi, whose 18 books include the 1990 best seller, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, calls the study of human pathologies essential but adds, "We don't know enough about what makes life worth living, what gives people hope and energy and enjoyment." (Read the whole thing here)

So I pose this question to my readers out there: Are You Happy? This was a question that 'Abdu'l-Baha, was famous for asking people who he would meet. The Baha'i Writings are filled with references to joy and happiness (more than any religion that I've studied, in my humble opinion). Here's just a few examples:

"...No breeze can compare with the breezes of Divine Revelation, whilst the Word which is uttered by God shineth and flasheth as the sun amidst the books of men. Happy the man that hath discovered it, and recognized it, and said: "Praised be Thou, Who art the Desire of the world, and thanks be to Thee, O Well-Beloved of the hearts of such as are devoted to Thee!"
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 42)

"Happy are they who act; happy are they who understand; happy the man that hath clung unto the truth, detached from all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth."
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 139)

"The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 12)

"Say: True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty. Happy is the man that hath apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will, that pervadeth all created things. Say: The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 336)

"By the Ancient Beauty! -- may my life be a sacrifice for His loved ones -- Were the friends to realize what a glorious sovereignty the Lord hath destined for them in His Kingdom, surely they would be filled with ecstasy, would behold themselves crowned with immortal glory and carried away with transports of delight. Erelong it shall be made manifest how brilliantly the light of His bountiful care and mercy hath shone upon His loved ones, and what a turbulent ocean hath been stirred in their hearts! Then will they clamour and exclaim: Happy are we; let all the world rejoice!"
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 309)

"Let all your striving be for this, to become the source of life and immortality, and peace and comfort and joy, to every human soul, whether one known to you or a stranger, one opposed to you or on your side."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 256)

"In this world we are influenced by two sentiments, Joy and Pain.
Joy gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us we become weak, our strength leaves us, our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, the eyes of our spirits fail to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become even as dead beings.
There is no human being untouched by these two influences; but all the sorrow and the grief that exist come from the world of matter -- the spiritual world bestows only the joy!"
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 109)

"Do ye know in what cycle ye are created and in what age ye exist? This is the age of the Blessed Perfection and this is the time of the Greatest Name! This is the century of the Manifestation, the age of the Sun of the Horizons and the beautiful springtime of His Holiness the Eternal One!...If we are not happy and joyous at this season, for what other season shall we wait and for what other time shall we look? This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering! Take the cup of the Testament in thy hand; leap and dance with ecstasy in the triumphal procession of the Covenant! Lay your confidence in the everlasting bounty, turn to the presence of the generous God; ask assistance from the Kingdom of Abha; seek confirmation from the Supreme World; turn thy vision to the horizon of eternal wealth; and pray for help from the Source of Mercy!"
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 351)

Anticipating a joyous celebration of the Baha'i New Year, Naw Ruz, I especially like this last selection from the Baha'i Writings. What I find common in all these selections is that happiness and joy are more than just ephemeral emotions based on the chances and changes of this world, they spring organically from the soul's response to the Word of God, the Knowledge of God and the Love of God. It is through striving to live according to the Word of God that we are able to know and love God and thus become empowered to better know and love our neighbor as well as our selves. As psychology and social science become increasingly liberated from materialistic assumptions about human experience, psychologists and social scientistics will be able to use the power of quantitative and qualitative research to advance our understand of the relationship between spirituality and happiness, for "human happiness is founded upon spiritual behavior".

I pray that I can make my own contribution to this kind of revolutionary, emancipatory research. It would make me really happy.

Faith, Integrity, and Flexibility

Yours truly near the seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mt. Carmel in Israel. I LOVE THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE!

Jim Carrol, a fine editorialist for the Boston Globe with whom I often disagree has an interesting piece about "fundamentalisms". While his focus appears to be Catholicism, he makes some more general points that are worth thinking about. Here's a taste of his editorial:

"But all fundamentalisms, rejecting a secular claim to have replaced the sacred as chief source of meaning, are skeptical of Enlightenment values, even as the Enlightenment project has begun to criticize itself. But now "old time religion" of whatever stripe faces a plethora of threats: new technologies, globalization, the market economy, rampant individualism, diversity, pluralism, mobility -- all that makes for 21st-century life. Fundamentalisms will especially thrive wherever there is violent conflict, and wherever there is stark poverty, simply because these religiously absolute movements promise meaning where there is no meaning. For all these reasons, fundamentalisms are everywhere." (Enjoy the whole thing here)

Here's a few Baha'i thoughts while I finish my morning tea before the sun comes up (I'm still participating in the Baha'i Fast!). It seems to me that "fundamentalism" or "conservatism" in religion and "liberalism" in religion are two sides of the same coin of faith and are really about two dimensions of religion that are key in Baha'i belief and practice, integrity and flexibility. Integrity and flexibility are mentioned in the Constitution of the Universal House of Justice (one of my favorite documents ever!):

Bahá'u'lláh, the Revealer of God's Word in this Day, the Source of Authority, the Fountainhead of Justice, the Creator of a new World Order, the Establisher of the Most Great Peace, the Inspirer and Founder of a world civilization, the Judge, the Lawgiver, the Unifier and Redeemer of all mankind, has proclaimed the advent of God's Kingdom on earth, has formulated its laws and ordinances, enunciated its principles, and ordained its institutions. To direct and canalize the forces released by His Revelation He instituted His Covenant, whose power has preserved the integrity of His Faith, maintained its unity and stimulated its world-wide expansion throughout the successive ministries of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. It continues to fulfil its life-giving purpose through the agency of the Universal House of Justice whose fundamental object, as one of the twin successors of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is to ensure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of the Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers, and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. (The Universal House of Justice, The Constitution of The Universal House of Justice, p. 3)

How this integrity and flexibility are maintained is worthy of a much longer post than I am able to offer before the sun comes up, but to put it simply Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith has empowered the Universal House of Justice, the International Governing Council of His religion to legislate on those matters that have not been explicited addressed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book) which contains those laws which are to form the foundation of the global civilization. The House of Justice is also able to elucidate upon those issues that are "obscure" or "cause difference" within the community of Baha'u'llah's followers in a way that allows the Baha'i Faith to be flexible and evolve according to the needs of the social evolution of humanity. This evolutionary quality of the Baha'i Faith is balanced with the integrity of the Laws that have been explicitedly addressed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and cannot be changed by any institution or individual in the Baha'i community.

It could be said that those with a more fundamentalist mind set, place a greater emphasis on the integrity of their faith, seeking to protect the divine authority of the Founder, the sacred scripture or religious institutions. This sometimes involves a rigid adherence to a literal interpretation of the Word of God. The problem is that it does not allow for the flexibility that maintains the dynamic and organic nature of religion, rendering it a static and dead thing which is not capable of meeting the challenges of a changing world.

Those with a more liberal mind set, place a greater emphasis on the flexibility of faith, seeking to protect the free exercise of reason in matters of belief and practice, and the sanctity of individual conscience in meeting the challenges of morality. This sometimes involves the rejection of any divine authority of either the Founder of their faith, scripture or religious institutions. Personal or popular opinion of the meaning of their religion becomes the authority to which such people turn for guidance in their lives. The problem with this is that it tends to undermine the integrity of religion, turning the mind or the ego into the object of worship rather than God. It also exposes religion to the chances and changes of popular culture such that rather than being a means of transforming the social order, religion simply lends its authority to whatever trends capture the imaginations of human beings in the moment. Anyone who takes seriously the understanding that God is the Sovereign Lord and Creator of all things must accept that humanity does not inhabit a moral universe that springs from our own imagination, or is simply the product of our social constructs.

There are fundamentalist and liberal proponents in all religious communities and indeed, both elements of belief can be found struggling for dominance within each of our own hearts. As a Baha'i, I believe that a mature faith requires commitment to both integrity and flexibility in equal measure and that a sane, balanced and truly spiritual civilization does as well.

The Reality of Christ: It's Not About the Body

Picture of the "Latin Cross"
I stumbled across this interesting article about how various religions view the resurrection of Jesus and was delighted to see that not only was the Baha'i Faith respectfully represented, but the writer of the article actually quoted Baha'i scripture directly rather than relying on the opinion of some random Baha'i that the writer came across:

The Baha'i Faith gives the Resurrection a more metaphorical than physical emphasis.

Abdul Baha, son of the faith's founder, Baha'u'llah, wrote in "Some Answered Questions" that "His resurrection from the interior of the earth is also symbolical; it is a spiritual and divine fact, and not material; and likewise His ascension to heaven is a spiritual and not material ascension."

Baha also said that "The Cause of Christ was like a lifeless body" after his death.

"When after three days the disciples became assured and steadfast, and began to serve the Cause of Christ, and resolved to spread the divine teachings, putting His counsels into practice, and arising to serve Him, the Reality of Christ became resplendent and His bounty appeared; His religion found life; His teachings and His admonitions became evident and visible."

." (Enjoy the Whole Article Here)

What bugged me a bit about this article is that the resurrection is described as a "conundrum" for other faiths. I don't experience it as a conundrum at all, as a Baha'i I believe in the resurrection without any cognitive dissonance or latenight wrestling with my faith. What I find peculiar, as someone who believes in Christ is the preoccupation that some people have with His physical body and the belief that if He did not physically rise from the dead then Christianity itself is somehow completely undermined. I found myself pondering this issue recently with all the drama surrounding the alleged discovery of the "tomb of Jesus and his family". I was equally amused during the furor over The Divinci Code. I found myself thinking "It's not about the body of Jesus but His spiritual reality". Why do I think this way? Because the Bible (in which I believe) says so:

John 6:63-It is the spirit which quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

John 3:3-6-Jesus answered, 'In truth, in very truth I tell you, unless a man has been born over again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 'But how is it possible', said Nicodemus, 'for a man to be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?' Jesus answered, 'In truth I tell you, no can enter the kingdom of God without being born from water and spirit. Flesh can give birth only to flesh; it is spirit that gives birth to spirit.

Matthew 10:28-And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

John 3:5-That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

I Corithians 15:50-Now I say this brethren, that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The passages in the Bible that give priority to spiritual reality over the physical body are too numerous to site in this humble blog, but I think that you get the point. This is why I find people's concern with the body of Jesus so puzzling. Whether He physically rose from the dead, whether He had a wife and children, whether His tomb was discovered, none of these have anything to do "the spirit which quickeneth" and are all about the "flesh" which we are clearly told in the Bible "profiteth nothing".

One way of understanding the whole "body of Jesus" obsession is through seeing spiritual consciousness as going through developmental stages analogous to the psychological and physical stages that a person's goes through in their life. The Baha'i Writings tell us that humanity as a whole is experiencing a challenging transition from adolescence into the stage of maturity. Adolescence is a time when obsession with one's physical reality is normative given all the wild and crazy things that are happening to one's body. Thus, the "body of Jesus" obsession could be understood as reflecting a kind of adolescent spiritual consciousness that must and eventually will, give way to a more mature understanding of the spiritual reality of Christ that is actually more aligned with what the Bible says than many traditional interpretations and dogmas. Such an evolution of consciousness is necessary for a human race which must assume the responsibilities of its collective maturity:

Whatever their value at earlier stages in the evolution of consciousness, conceptions of physical resurrection, a paradise of carnal delights, reincarnation, pantheistic prodigies, and the like, today raise walls of separation and conflict in an age when the earth has literally become one homeland and human beings must learn to see themselves as its citizens. (Commissioned by The Universal House of Justice, One Common Faith)

Baha'i Bloggin' Goes Mainstream (Sort of)

So it seems that Baha'i blogging has stepped from behind the veils of concealment. The American Baha'i News has a nice piece about this grassroots revolution going on throughout the nation. Baha'i Thought gets mentioned in the piece as well, which gives this bare knuckle blogwarrior the warm fuzzies. Here's a taste of the article:

"Anything you ever wanted to know about the Baha'i Faith and weren't afraid to ask is out there in the blogosphere. Blogging , for Baha'is, has proved to be an ideal format to talk about the faith, how it has changed their lives and how it may change the lives of others.

There are about 200-300 Baha'i blogs on the blogsophere at any given time. Conveniently and courteously, many Baha'i blogs provide links to other blogs. They're all in this together -- to connect with those in and outside the faith." (Enjoy the whole thing right here)

The proliferation of Baha'i bloggers reminds me of an interesting statement by Baha'u'llah that I first read ten years ago when I embraced the Baha'i Faith. While it refers to "newspapers" I think that it could be applied to blogging as well which many believe represents the "new media":

In this Day the secrets of the earth are laid bare before the eyes of men. The pages of swiftly-appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world. They reflect the deeds and the pursuits of divers peoples and kindreds. They both reflect them and make them known. They are a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech. This is an amazing and potent phenomenon. However, it behoveth the writers thereof to be purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity. They should enquire into situations as much as possible and ascertain the facts, then set them down in writing.
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 39)

Psyche and Social Order

A fine picture of the brain courtesy of MIT

There is a passionate editorial in the Boston Globe this morning about the problematic nature of clinical practice and the art/science of diagnosing potential mental illness. As most of you know I work in this field and psychological empowerment is dear to my heart. There's one portion of the editorial that really struck me and reminding me of some things I've been thinking deeply about lately. The editorial said:

"The field of mental health has regressed in a most dramatic fashion. We now have a whole culture obsessed with diagnostic labels. The focus is on taking the right medicine, as opposed to a consideration of basic issues of psychology and human development.

We seem to have forgotten that we are dealing with complex human beings, not just biological organisms." (Read the whole piece here)

What I'd have to say is this, no one has "forgotten that we are dealing with complex human beings, not just biological organisms", many people in the clinical professions simply don't believe it and never did. Why? Because for decades people, particularly in Western societies have trained to believe that a human being is really just a super smart chimpanzee or, more recently a kind of computer with consciousness. Thus we can either simply be drugged and retrained like a monkey in a circus or reprogrammed like software. The regression that the editorial is talking about is no aberration but a logical consequence of the materialistic world view that has long come to dominate thinking about human psychology and behavior all the while being trumpeted as "science" and "enlightenment" that would lead to psychological salvation for all humanity. Guess what? It didn't work out that way. This is not to suggest that psychology has made no positive contribution to the betterment of human minds, but that in some of it most fundamental early assumptions, lay the seeds of what this editorial is rightly alarmed about. In addition to a materialistic world view, there is the issue of the relationship between the psyche and the social order. I would argue that much, if not all of the psychopathology that we see in children, adolescents and adults can be traced directly to the abscence of real unity and justice in the world. You cannot have a truly healthy mind in a fundamentally unhealthy environment. Not clinicians know this but many approach the healing process as if psychopathology resides primarily in the individual, whether biologically or psychologically. The Baha'i Writings offer this important insight:

We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions. (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 84)

The pursue of true mental health must involve the pursuit of unity and social justice, the transformation of the social order. In deed supporting people's involvement in such an effort is inherently empowering and healing on a much deeper level that medication or talk therapy could ever provide.

As it is written in the Holy Gospel:
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (King James Bible, Romans)

The Problem With Political Religion

Photograph of the American Flag compliments of Ian Britton at
www.freefoto.com



A few months ago I read Cornel West's newest book Democracy Matters and made a note of copying my favorite chapter called The Crisis of Christian Identity In America. It is a fascinating critique of what West refers to as Constantinian Christianity. The following paragraph is typical of this piece of prophetic scholarship:


"Most American Constantinian Christians are unaware of their imperialistic identity because they do not see the parallel between the Roman empire that put Jesus to death and the American empire that they celebrate. As long as they can worship freely and pursue the American dream, they see the American government as a force for good and American imperialism as a desirable force for spreading that good. They proudly profess their allegiance to the flag and cross not realizing that just as the cross was a bloody indictment of the Roman empire, it is a powerful critique of the American empire..."

I encourage you to read the book if you are curious about how exactly "Constantinian Christianity" is defined by West as well as to decide for yourself if you agree with the above statement. I include it because I think that is captures the essence of the "crisis" West is pointing out in American Christian identity and has provoked and deepened some of my own Baha'i thinking regarding the broader issue of the problem of political religion itself.

I define political religion as the effort by individuals or institutions to manipulate the power of religion to achieve narrow, partisan agendas. This includes both theocratic projects that seek to seize state power in order to impose particular interpretations of religious truth on society and secular progressive projects that utilize the language, symbols, organizational resources of faith communities, and the passion of religious individuals to impose their interpretation of reality on society. Both sides of this coin of political religion have their forms of zealotry and fundamentalism, though each attempts to claim moral superiority in the discourse regarding the future of the human race on this planet. The problem with political religion is not simply an issue of "church-state" separation but rather goes to the heart of what politics and religion are.

Politics, as currently practiced in American society is fundamentally divisive in nature, operating on a pitched battle between partisan interests whose ultimate goal is to win at the expense of their opponents. The prize is power, the power to create a society in the image of one's own group at the expense of others (though often while professing that it is for the good of everyone).

Religion, as defined by Baha'u'llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith has a very different purpose:

The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 215)

Political religion has little patience or use for the way that religion is described by Baha'u'llah. Even in the most enlightened and inspired efforts toward social change, the politically religious person must ultimately square off against his brother or sister and struggle for power. One will win, one will lose and the cycle "of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity" will roll on and on driving both the winners and losers further from the "fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God...to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men." At a time in human history where daily events demonstrate the urgency of unity, political religion is ascendant all over the world, fueling division that some thinkers have described as hastening us toward a "class of civilizations". This is the very reason that Baha'is abstain from involvement in partisan politics. It is not a practice of a religious community passive in the face social problems but a powerful, counter-cultural discipline of a religious community committed to promoting change through the power of unity. For more on my understanding of the Baha'i perspective on abstaining from politics, you can read here, here, and here.

Thank God that humanity has the capacity to chose its future and recognize the truth of these words:
My hope is that in this enlightened century the Divine Light of love will shed its radiance over the whole world, seeking out the responsive heart's intelligence of every human being; that the light of the Sun of Truth will lead politicians to shake off all the claims of prejudice and superstition, and with freed minds to follow the Policy of God: for Divine Politics are mighty, man's politics are feeble!
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 150)

And furthermore:
Our hope is that the world's religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy it requireth.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 215)

I share these same hopes for humanity. Do you?

The African American Attitude: A Few Baha'i Thoughts

Photograph of a young revolutionary and future Baha'i, Nashville, Tennessee 1977



















As some of you know, I offered a few Baha'i thoughts about WHITE RAGE, based on a powerful piece of Baha'i literature called The Advent of Divine Justice, which among others things, identifies racism as America's most vital and challenging issue. This time I'm going to address the flip side of WHITE RAGE, which I call the African American Attitude.

In the Advent of Divine Justice we find the following statement regarding the challenges facing African Americans (note: The Baha'i Writings use the racial terminology of the period in which they were written, so prepare yourself for the use of the world "Negro"):

Let the negroes..., show by every means in their power the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipeout every trace of suspicion that may still linger in their hearts and minds.
(Shoghi Effendi: The Advent of Divine Justice, pp.33-34)

But wait, there's more. The Baha'i Writings have this piece of advice for African Americans:

"... it is incumbent upon the negro believers to rise above this great test which the attitude of some of their white brethren may present. They must prove their innate equality not by words but by deeds. They must accept the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh for the sake of the Cause, love it, and cling to it, and teach it, and fight for it as their own Cause, forgetful of the shortcoming of others. Any other attitude is unworthy of their faith (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 9, 1942)

Let's consider each of the three challenges facing African Americans. The three challenges can be summed up in this way:

1. Responding warmly to the efforts by whites to overcome their own prejudice and treat us like human beings (finally!)
2. A readiness to forget the past
3. Wiping out every trace of suspicion



Responding warmly: Ironically this is the first thing on the list which is made really hard if you have not addressed the other two challenges. But it is possible as African Americans throughout history have demonstrated time and again. Figures such as Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Book T. Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King and millions of everyday black folk like my grandmother Willer Dean McKinley, have shown a great capacity for a just and loving response by the sincere effort among white Americans to treat African Americans like human beings. This capacity of warmth in spite of our bitter experience is among those spiritual qualities which the Baha'i Writings tell us people of African Descent have been "richly endowed" with and that, on our better days, we make look easy.

Readiness to forget the past: Say what?! This one can be a bitter pill for a people whose past was systematically brutalized out of them and whose very sanity to some degree has depended on recovering that past and unlearning the propaganda that we have been taught about our history, before, during and after slavery. One way of looking at this is as a spiritual and psychological discipline. There is a fine line between a consciousness of the past experience (whether positive or negative) that empowers a person to meet the challenges of the present and move confidently into the future with nobility and grace, and an emotional attachment to past wrongs (real or perceived) that feeds a self destructive resentment while starving the soul. Readiness to forget the past does not mean literally forgetting the things that African Americans have suffered, but letting go of our emotional attachment to those things. It means not allowing the past to determine our present or our future.

Wiping out every trace of suspicion: This is about healing from that ever present paranoia that a white person is acting this way or that way because of race. You could say that many African Americans engage in an on the spot racial mathematics when interacting with whites, constantly calculating (generally subconsciously) their motives. This springs for a deep and painful sense of insecurity born of centuries of bad experiences and is not easy to shake. Ultimately African Americans have to let go of a preoccupation with what whites may or may not feel towards them and focus on fulfilling their own destiny as a people who will contribute their "great gifts of mind and heart" to the creation of a new social order based on unity and justice. It's a much better use of their time and energy.

African Americans in the 21st century must adopt a new attitude towards our experience in the United States. They must prove to the world their "innate equality not by words but by deeds". They must accept the full implications of Baha'u'llah's teaching that humanity is one, "love it, and cling to it, and teach it, and fight for it as their own Cause, forgetful of the shortcomings of others. Any other attitude is unworthy" of those whom Baha'u'llah has described as the pupil of the eye.

Fasting=Freedom

Photograph of Baha'is in Boston during a dinner to break the Fast:

It's that time of year again. Baha'is around the world are fasting from sunrise to sunset in obedience to Baha'i law in preparation for a New Year of striving to unite the world. This is a spiritually potent time and lots of fun in the Boston area where for 20 years we have had dinners each night of the fast for fellowship and fund raising. There's lot of cool things on web regarding the fast this year that I just have to share with you all:

The American Baha'i News has a nice piece about fasting with comments from all kinds of Baha'is. Some of them are deep others are sweet and some are funny.

John Taylor at Badi Blog has personal reflections on the Fast

The Baha'i World News service has a great article about the Fast

Barney Leith in the UK offers quirky comments on the Fast

Planet Baha'i Blog has Fast commentary

So now it's my turn to weigh in with a few Baha'i thoughts. As you know, I've been doing a lot of writing about African American liberation. One of the things I've been doing for my research is reading the book, "A Strange Freedom" which is a collection of the best of Howard Thurman, the great Christian mystic and prophetic voice that I consider an intellectual and spiritual ancestor of mine. This is what he had to say about "freedom":

There is a medley of confusion as to the meaning of personal freedom. For some it means to function without limitations at any point, to be able to do what one wants to do and without hindrance. This is the fantasy of many minds, particularly those that are young. For others, personal freedom is to be let alone, to be protected against any force that may move into the life with a swift and decisive imperative. For still others, it means to be limited in one's power over others only by one's own strength, energy, and perseverance.
The meaning of personal freedom is found in none of these. They lack the precious ingredient, the core of discipline and inner structure without which personal freedom is a delusion. At the very center personal freedom is a discipline of the mind and of the emotions.

For me the Baha'i Fast is about what Thurman refers to as that "precious ingredient" of true freedom, "the core of discipline and inner structure". Chosing for the love of God to refrain from eating and drinking, those most fundamental of biological impulses, is a spiritual discipline that reminds me that I am more than the animal aspect of my human nature. If I can chose to transcend the material dimension of my experience from sunrise to sunset for 19 days (the duration of a Baha'i month) then I can chose to do so every moment of every day of my life. This may appear like a "strange freedom", especially in a culture that has taken the "pleasure principle" to a whole new level, but it's the kind of freedom that I would not trade for anything. In Baha'u'llah's Words:

Even though outwardly the Fast is difficult and toilsome, yet inwardly it is bounty and tranquility. Purification and training are conditioned and dependent only on such rigorous exercises as are in accord with the Book of God and sanctioned by Divine Law and not those which the deluded have inflicted upon the people. Whatsoever God hath revealed is beloved of the soul.

Blogwarriors March 1: Ayyam-i-Ha and Other Goodies