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.
Iain Nabil Ferguson is a fellow Canadian who has been serving at the Baha’i House of Worship here in New Delhi for the past few months. He sings a number of songs based on the writings of the Baha’i Faith in this wonderful style that strikes me as quintessentially Canadian. This one is based on the following two selections from The Hidden Words by Baha’u'llah:
O SON OF SPIRIT! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting. (Number 1, from the Arabic)
O SON OF BEING! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant. (Number 5, from the Arabic)
You can listen to more of Iain’s music and keep track of him online on his Myspace and Facebook pages. For another such video, check out this one I made with Honeyman and the Brothers Farr. For more great music based on the Baha’i writings, check out this selection from the band The Hidden Words.
I have always been fascinated by how Baha’i and Baha’i-inspired organizations tend to evolve so drastically to meet changing conditions and build on experience. The Baha’i Academy is a perfect example. It began in 1982 to provide an academic home for some of the many Baha’i scholars who were forced to flee Iran during the Islamic Revolution. For many years they ran training programs for Baha’is who were coming in from all over the world in venues all over Panchgani like the campus of the New Era Teacher Training Centre and the famous Prospect Hotel. In 1998 the Academy moved into its current home right next to the Baha’i Bhavan (Baha’i Centre) and an old house that apparently Gandhi had stayed in at some point.
'Baha'i Academy 002' by Flickr user Neissan Alessandro
In 2000 it began to collaborate with a number of colleges and universities across the state of Maharashtra to offer a program that helps to fill the gap that exists in value education offered to students. Since then the Academy has gone on to focus more and more on this program and develop curriculum that is used along side curriculum developed by the The Foundation for the Application and Teaching of the Sciences (FUNDAEC) in Columbia.
To support the Academy’s efforts to build institutional capacity I have had the chance to help out things like their three year planning process, website planning, curriculum development and public relations work. One of the main reasons I decided to set out on from home again this year was to have the chance to work in an environment where I could more directly and explicitly apply the teachings of the Baha’i Faith in the context of a formal organization. It’s been incredibly stimulating to spend so much time studying material to try to draw from the experience of other Baha’i-inspired organizations all over the world that are part of this collective learning process about how to effectively engage in social action and discourse.
Click here to see a small set of photos from trip I went on to Nashik for the Baha’i Academy. Click here to see a larger set from the Baha’i Academy, including many of enormous toads.
This Saturday 14 May 2011 will mark the completion of a full three years behind bars for six of the seven Iranians who had been serving as ad hoc administrators Baha’i community of Iran, known as the Yaran (Farsi for ‘friends). This milestone comes at the same time as we receive word that the two imprisoned women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet have been moved from Gohardasht Prison to Qarchak Prison. Apparently Qarchak Prison is basically a warehouse occupied by about 400 female criminals and political prisoners somewhere outside Tehran.
While Baha’is are encouraged to raise awareness of the oppression of their coreligionists in Iran, we are also asked not to circulate information until it has been confirmed to be completely true. That said, Facebook messages and emails currently circulating on this recent development are underscoring the fears of friends and loved ones around the world for the health and safety of Mrs. Kamalabadi and Mrs. Sabet now that they are in Qarchak Prison.
Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet before their imprisonment
What type of people are we talking about here? American journalist Roxana Saberi shared a cell with Mrs. Kamalabadi and Mrs. Sabet in Evin Prison for a few weeks in 2009 and shared this account in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post:
…my cellmates’ spirits would not be broken, and they boosted mine. They taught me to, as they put it, turn challenges into opportunities — to make the most of difficult situations and to grow from adversity. We kept a daily routine, reading the books we were eventually allowed and discussing them; exercising in our small cell; and praying — they in their way, I in mine. They asked me to teach them English and were eager to learn vocabulary for shopping, cooking and traveling. They would use the new words one day, they told me, when they journeyed abroad. But the two women also said they never wanted to live overseas. They felt it their duty to serve not only Bahais but all Iranians.
Later, when I went on a hunger strike, Mahvash and Fariba washed my clothes by hand after I lost my energy and told me stories to keep my mind off my stomach. Their kindness and love gave me sustenance.
…I know that despite what they have been through and what lies ahead, these women feel no hatred in their hearts. When I struggled not to despise my interrogators and the judge, Mahvash and Fariba told me they do not hate anyone, not even their captors.
We believe in love and compassion for humanity, they said, even for those who wrong us.
What can reasonable, concerned people do about this? We are talking about the actions of a government that seems to be totally ambivalent to international pressure, content to live in its own version of reality. Do they care what we think? I have no idea what will prove effective in the long run, but it behooves us to do whatever we can, right? Here are some ideas:
This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue.
The band came out of a group of young people in Montreal informally getting together regularly to experiment with the challenge of putting some of the sacred verses of the Baha’i Faith to music. They went on to perform a few shows in Montreal and Ottawa until Alden up and went on an epic trip across the world. Now that he’s back the possibility of more shows and a proper recording is looking much better. This is good news for those of us who think that spiritual music should more than a text delivery mechanism.
Here are three of my three favorite tracks of theirs by way of YouTube videos from one show they gave a few months ago at a coffee shop in Ottawa.
Yeah, that’s Jamie Thompson rocking the suitcase. No big deal. I love the joy that oozes from Eric and James in this video as they clap their gangly little hearts out to Alden’s composition. This one is based on the following Hidden Word:
O OFFSPRING OF DUST! Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive not thyself of everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless. (n. 30)
No man shall attain
Despite their name, they have not confined themselves exclusively to one text. This track is based on the opening words of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, the book described by Shoghi Effendi as “Bahá’u’lláh’s masterly exposition of the one unifying truth underlying all the Revelations of the past” (The World Order of Baha’u'llah p. 61):
No man shall attain the shores of the ocean of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth. Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world, that haply ye may attain that station which God hath destined for you and enter thus the tabernacle which, according to the dispensations of Providence, hath been raised in the firmament of the Bayán. (p. 1)
Temple
The sacred writings of the Baha’i Faith were originally revealed in Arabic and Farsi but have been translated into hundreds of languages so that everyone can read and study them for themselves. And really, the Hidden Words wouldn’t be a hip Montreal band worth it’s salt if it didn’t have at least one song in French. This one is based on a tablet revealed by the Báb, the Prophet who launched a movement across Persia to to prepare people for the coming of Baha’u'llah.
Je suis le Temple mystique édifié par la main de la toute-puissance. Je suis la Lampe que le doigt de Dieu a allumée dans sa niche et a fait briller d’une splendeur éternelle. Je suis la Flamme de cette céleste lumière qui scintilla sur le Sinaï à l’endroit bienheureux, et qui demeura cachée au milieu du Buisson ardent. (Sélections des Écrits du Báb, p. 67)
In English:
I am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and caused to shine with deathless splendour. I am the Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst of the Burning Bush. (Selections from the Writings of the Bab p. 74)
No, they don’t yet have an album or even a proper website yet, so now is a good time to click over to their Facebook page and become a fan to find out future shows, videos and recordings. Alden has also just released an EP entitled Odes to the House that is similarly inspired by teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Here is a super-hip video of him playing the song ‘Last shelter’:
Every 19 days Baha’i communities all over the globe get together for an event called the Nineteen Day Feast. The Feast generally consists of collective worship, consultation and socializing – but each of those elements can take any of a number of forms depending on the culture and style of the community. Continue reading →
Over the past few weeks I have been working with a committee of the Baha’i Community of Ottawa to organize Ottawa’s World Religion Day celebration. World Religion Day is in Ottawa is normally themed around one of today’s major global challenges such as peace, the rights of the child and education. In the past the event has rarely dug very deep into these issues as it adheres to a strictly family-friendly format. This year we want dig a bit deeper while still being friendly to the families.
Our special guest speaker will be David Chernoshenko, the new City Councillor for Ottawa’s Capital Ward. He is well known for his involvement in the environmental field as a filmmaker and the former deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s his inspired ad for his successful bid for a seat in council:
The title of the event is “Faith and the Environment: Celebrating Common Ground” and it can be seen as part of an important discourse about the interaction between science, religion and the environment.
I’m tempted to call it a new discourse, but in reality religion has been talking about science and the environment for as long as there has been science and religion. It’s just that it can feel like a new discourse because it’s moving really fast right now as more and more religious people, scientists and environmentalists are taking each other more and more seriously at the same time as everyone is getting a little freaked out about the future. What do our religions say about how we should be interacting with with the planet and all the other people who live on it?
There’s a statement of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s (one of the central figures of the Baha’i Faith) from a lecture he gave in 1912 that I don’t think can possibly be quoted enough where he claims that
…Religion and science are the two wings upon which man’s intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible to fly with one wing alone! Should a man try to fly with the wing of religion alone he would quickly fall into the quagmire of superstition, whilst on the other hand, with the wing of science alone he would also make no progress, but fall into the despairing slough of materialism. (Paris Talks, p. 143)
Ottawa’s World Religion Day celebration will be happening from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday, January 16th at City Hall (110 Laurier Avenue West). If you can’t come (or even if you can) check out Worldwatch Institute Senior Researcher Gary Gardner’s 2006 book Inspiring Progress: Religion’s Contributions to Sustainable Development. It’s the resource that came to mind as I tried to think of the first best place to dive into the subject. I’ll write more about this discourse into the future as I plan telling the internet more about the things I am up to in this area.
I finally saw James Cameron’s epic new film Avatar with my father and uncle this afternoon and we found it both visually and thematically striking. Yes it was just the Pocahontas story only with aliens and explosions, but on the other hand – it was the Pocahontas story with ALIENS and EXPLOSIONS! Besides, as one of the most expensive movies ever made – don’t you think you should do your part and pitch in?
The story took place in the distant future on a far away planet called Pandora but had everything to do with planet Earth right now. During one tragic scene when the human forces attack ‘Hometree’ (a giant tree the locals live in) in order to access the mineral deposits beneath it, I was reminded of the following words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, the Son of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, on the double edged sword of civilization (emphasis mine):
…on the one hand, material achievements and the development of the physical world produce prosperity, which exquisitely manifests its intended aims, on the other hand dangers, severe calamities and violent afflictions are imminent.
Consequently, when thou lookest at the orderly pattern of kingdoms, cities and villages, with the attractiveness of their adornments, the freshness of their natural resources, the refinement of their appliances, the ease of their means of travel, the extent of knowledge available about the world of nature, the great inventions, the colossal enterprises, the noble discoveries and scientific researches, thou wouldst conclude that civilization conduceth to the happiness and the progress of the human world. Yet shouldst thou turn thine eye to the discovery of destructive and infernal machines, to the development of forces of demolition and the invention of fiery implements, which uproot the tree of life, it would become evident and manifest unto thee that civilization is conjoined with barbarism. Progress and barbarism go hand in hand, unless material civilization be confirmed by Divine Guidance, by the revelations of the All-Merciful and by godly virtues, and be reinforced by spiritual conduct, by the ideals of the Kingdom and by the outpourings of the Realm of Might.
I have just returned to Ottawa from Madison, Wisconsin by way of Toronto, Buffalo , Chicago and Milwaukee to present another version of my research on hope and faith in environmentalism at the first meeting of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) as well as to a group of keeners at the Madison Baha’i Centre. The title of the conference was something like “Bonsai Trees: How to Grow Them in Your Hand” (see thier image above) or “Environment: The Interdisciplinary Challenge” – I can’t remember.
The whole thing was really the result of one of the most reckless sequences of events in my short life to date. When I received the invitation to present my paper back in June or July I could scarcely remember the late night paper-submitting session that must have occurred months earlier. Did I do that? Is that my name? Is that my paper?
More recklessness ensued when I went on to book myself about four days rent on various Amtrak trains. One highlight of that experience was the following telephone exchange with an Amtrak booking agent:
Me: “So what does that come out to?” Agent: “About nine hours and forty-five minutes, Sir.” Me: “Wow… Buffalo and Chicago look so much closer on the map!” Agent: “Yep… maps’ll do that… Sir.”
And do that they did – oh, how they did that. Something about this thing people are calling scale.
Memorial Union building, 1959 - from the University of Wisconsin digital collections on flickr
Some other highlights of the experience include:
Literally running from the L train station to the Baha’i House of Worship outside Chicago out of excitement to see it again after more than ten years.
Grabbing my first ever hard copy of the legendary satirical newspaper, the Onion.
The Yaganagis
Realizing that my host in Madison is none other than the son and brother of my hosts in Bangalore way back in 2007.
Getting to the conference to discuss strategies to influence the public to adopt more environmentally sustainable behavior while munching on the provided individually wrapped bags of chips, granola bars, yogurts, cream cheeses spread on bagels over disposable plates and sipping on tiny boxes of soy milk.
Witnessing several develop major academic crushes as they meet in person with others doing research into the same obscure fields and questions.
Listening to a Plymouth State University prof describe a recent citizen-science research initiative while the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” thumps outside from a university event.
The organizer’s fanatical dedication to interdisciplinarity placed me in session with two profs presenting their research on hurricane Katrina. Putting me, the last presenter, in the position of trying tieing my presentation on the environmental movement on with something I know nothing about.
Looking forward to my seven hour stopover in Buffalo because at least it was four hours less than the first one.
Baha'i House of Worship by Giant Ginkgo on flickr
To read a very brief summarry of an earlier version of the same presentation, check out this entry from the International Environment Forum 2009 conference blog. Serious readers are welcome to contact me to have the latest version e-mailed to them.
