The Brothers Farr sing for ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Montreal

Yesterday members of the Baha’i community were invited to join the congregation of St. James United Church in downtown Montreal for special Sunday service.  It was nearly 100 years ago to the day that a 68 year old Persian spiritual leader spoke in the same church on the evolution of religion.

From 239 Days in America:

Perhaps it was unexpected that a voice calling for modern religion came from the East. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá argued that religious truth must change along with the evolving needs of society. Rather than deny the existence of a creator, or the benefits religion had given humanity, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke of the need for a reformation so that modern religion could meet the needs of an increasingly complex world. [Full post]

‘Abdu’l-Baha is a central figure of the Baha’i Faith who’s epic journey to North America is being celebrated by Baha’is across the continent this year.

Yesterday’s service closed with two original songs from my friends Eric and James Farr of the band Honeyman and the Brothers Farr with Jacque Proulx accompanying them on the violin.  These wonderful videos were filmed by their friend Clara Haskell at the church before the event.  Here is the other song they performed yesterday morning, it’s called “Children of His Journey”.

To follow the story of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s trip, I highly recommend checking out 239 Days.  It’s a social media documentary that shares a  fantastically well-written post every day that tells you roughly where ‘Abdu’l-Baha was at in his journey 100 years ago to the day.  I’m subscribed to it by email to be notified as articles are posted.

It’s been great to follow this story every day — especially in the run up to these centenary events in Montreal that I got to attend. Coincidentally I am going to be moving from here in Eastern Canada to San Francisco this Sunday to begin graduate studies at around the same time ‘Abdu’l-Baha visited the same city 100 years ago on 3 October 1912.  I feel like one of those devoted fans who follows their favorite band while they are on tour, only 100 years late.

Finally, here is a short clip of the response of the audience and of the Reverend Arlen John Bonnar to performance.

Zach Miloff’s account of the earthquake

Grocery store in Chiba

On the morning of Friday March 11th I arrived in Singapore to visit with some dear friends for a one day stopover between Japan and India.  After a long day of roaming around Singapore (pictures coming later) I wanted to check my email before getting back to the airport for my 2:30am flight.  Working from the newest emails to the oldest I learned that Zach Miloff (one of my spiritual brothers and host in Japan) is okay.  Okay with what?  People are wondering if I’m okay, if Anis is okay, if we made out of Japan alright.  It turns out I missed a massive earthquake by just 14 hours.

Throughout my six day visit to Japan the subject of the next big earthquake was often on Zach’s mind.  He kept saying that the experts are saying that Japan is long overdue for another big one, that Japan isn’t prepared.  Hmm, interesting stuff, Zach — and what’s with that group of teenagers dressed like cartoon characters?

Zach was at a Costo in Chiba City (the city outside Tokyo where he lives) preparing to print some photos when the initial quake happened:

…I’m about to plug my SD card into the reader, when the woman who was just using the computer needs room to push her cart through. I step back, and notice something’s wrong. The floor is beginning to move. I look up, and I’m directly below a huge metal sign board with all the photo lab pricing on it, hanging from two long wires from the ceiling. I step back a few more feet. The shaking escalates quickly. People start screaming and diving under shopping carts. Stuff is falling from the shelves, and lights are crashing from the ceiling. I’m still looking up, and manage to situate myself between the swinging lights. I’ve never been in this large an earthquake, but I’m confident we’ll be okay. I stand calmly and pray for our protection.

Later that day, he writes:

At some point around 5pm, there is a massive explosion, and the windows of my apartment rattle violently. I look out the window and see a great orb of light emanating from behind some buildings southwest of my apartment.

Over the following five days Zach prays and cycles and all over Chiba as he tries to figure out what to do next.  On Monday, three days after the main event:

There are so many aftershocks that standing in one place to brush my teeth or do the dishes makes me nauseous. My world feels like it’s constantly swaying. Could also be the adrenaline. My friend said it feels like walking on a ship.

As the situation has been going increasingly nuclear, last night Zach headed to Narita Airport to get on the next flight to Seoul, Korea.  To read more of this first-hand account of this historical event illustrated by incredible photographs, I highly recommend reading Zach’s blog documenting the experience.  Start from the bottom and work your way up.

Passengers at Narita Airport

Charlatan article on the Baha’i Faith on campus

Click on the image above to read the online version of an article I was interviewed for on what is like to practice the Baha’i Faith at Carleton University as a member of Carleton’s Association for Baha’i Studies.  I tried to convey that it really isn’t difficult to carry out the practical aspects of being a Baha’i – except for when you’re fasting – but then that’s supposed to be difficult now isn’t it?

Here is an old artcile from the same paper more focussed on our efforts to defend the rights of young Baha’is in Iran who are being denied access to higher education.  In that regard, I would like to reccomend Iran Press Watch, a relativley new blog that covers the ongoing persecution of the Baha’is in Iran with an incredible breadth and frequency.  I have activated it’s e-mail subscription option to recieve all the previous day’s posts delivered to my inbox.  A great way to get your blood boiling in the morning.

The Low Carbon Diet Calculator, ‘Abdu’l-Baha and Meat

The great thing about studying ecology is that in every class and lecture everything we look at is relevant and important to our daily lives. I know the anthropologists, sociologists and maybe even the engineers will say the same thing, but I have the bias that ecologists and geographers are the ones that are looking at the really important stuff.  The other day in my core Environmental Studies lecture our prof came equipped with a catalog of ritzy food from President’s Choice (a major Canadian packaged food brand).  As she flipped through the heavily bookmarked and highlighted pages puzzling at the exotic and psudo-ethical products such as salt from the Himalayas and rare coffee beans she basically transformed into this guy:

She went on give a lecture on food and agriculture, a sector that has – perhaps justifiably – twice as much of a greenhouse gas contribution than personal transport.  Even if we are willing to take a little heat so that we can eat, it’s worth looking at how the food business works and where we can make changes.  We tried out a flashy new website that I want to share with you.  Like the all ecological footprint calculators out there, this variant somehow takes all the varied variables and brings them into a very accessible package.  It’s called the Low Carbon Diet Calculator and it is provided by sustainable food management company Bon Appetit, and should be taken with a grain of Himalayan salt.

‘Abdu’l-Baha, the Son of the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith and its Master indicated that meat is on its way into history, and “that our natural diet is that which grows out of the ground”, and in different tablets and talks He highlighted that we are meant to eat fruits, nuts, oils and grain.  In another place He stated that if humankind “lived according to a natural, inborn equilibrium, without following wherever their passions led, it is undeniable that diseases would no longer take the ascendant, nor diversify with such intensity.”

Human health is another story, sufficed to say that what ‘Abdu’l-Baha said keeps getting truer and truer.  If we expand to the disease of climate change caused by our unsettling of the planet’s equilibrium, let’s see if these principles hold any water.  A meal of seasonal fruit, some nuts and oats at one once each earns us 170 carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) points and a cheery, temperate background.

As ‘Abdu’l-Baha indicates, “meat is nourishing and containeth the elements of herbs, seeds and fruits”.  We know that there are those who survive on nothing but meat so let’s have a three ounce meal of grilled steak, fried chicken and some fish from far away.  The outcome is 1637 CO2e points, orange on the threat meter and a desert landscape.  It doesn’t quite break the meter (which you can totally do) but point is to freak us out a bit.

Now I have no idea what eating an ounce of anything means because I’m a Canadaian, but apparently it means something here.  Was my example arbitrary and biased?  Of course it was.  Try it yourself.  For more on the Baha’i teachings on meat, check out my Meaty Compilation.