Pioneer song

By lessan | Published: March 4, 2009

One of my favorite songs is the pioneer song by Joanny Lincoln. It evokes memories of life in Cameroon when I was growing up, with its vivid imagery and encouraging words. And one quote from the song, where Joanny says “you only have one life to offer in service” really stands out for me. She also mentioned this concept in a recent talk at the gathering of staff to celebrate achievements, the idea that we only having one life to offer and that we should make the most of it. An understanding of this inspires me in planning for a life of effective, consistent service.

To download the full album (free) visit DivineNotes.com. It is a digitizing of a tape from the 70s, so the quality is not that great, but is quite enjoyable nonetheless.

sunshine

Here are the lyrics, as far as I could make them out…

Oh well it’s 5:30 in the morning
Kids are jumping on our bed
5:30 in the morning
Kids are jumping on our bed

And that strong, brilliant sunshine
That’s streaming in our window
That strong, brilliant sunshine
Opens our new day

Birds singing
Roosters crowing
Donkeys braying
People laughing
Chickens squawking
Trucks are rattling
The day is well on its way

Oh well it’s 5:30 in the morning
Kids are jumping on our bed already
5:30 in the morning
The day is well on its way

Vines racing up our walls
Flowers pouring over the balcony
Sweet fragrances in the air
Greenness everywhere

And plenty of strong, brilliant sunshine
Streaming in our window
Strong, brilliant sunshine
Opens our new day

Dusty roads
Clusters of huts
Women with loads
High on their heads
Mango trees casting merciful shade
Children run everywhere

Under that strong, brilliant sunshine
Which has opened our new day

Suffering is an integral part
Of Pioneering, says Shoghi Effendi
Strong, brilliant sunshine
Opens our new day
Of suffering
And pain

Away down here in the heart of Africa
We haven’t seen a visitor in over a year
It’s the end of the world
Where time nearly stops
What are we doing a-here?

What of our careers?
And what of our funds?
Without any job
And living in these rooms
With noise all around
And our kids in this heat
What are we doing a-here?

In the rainy season there’s mud all around
There’s no hot water
But the cockroaches abound
The leaky roof
Leaves puddles on our floor
What are we doing a-here?

I’ve had Malaria
You’ve had Hepatitis
The kids have the runs
Now what’ll it be next
Nine solid months
Of tests without a break
What are we doing a-here?

We’ll stick together
You and me babe
These tests will pass us by
Just like a parade
If we’re supposed to stay
Baha’u’llah will find a way
Ya Baha’u’l-Abha

The fruits of our sufferings
We may not see
But Baha’u’llah knows better than we
So we’ll stay at our post
And continue to serve
And that’s what we’re doing a-here

Patience, patience, perseverance
Patience, patience, perseverance
Patience, patience, perseverance
That’s what we’re learning a-here

And that strong, brilliant sunshine
Still opens all of our days

It’s a new world we’re building
It’s a new race of men we’re striving for
All around this world
Now you only have one life
To offer in service
Anywhere in this world

So go where you’re really needed
Go obeying the institutions
Go and do your best to stay
And as your faith is, so shall your powers be
As your faith is, so shall your blessings be
Go to serve your lord, your lord
Go to serve your lord

Unity is the most important
Thing that you’re working for
Among the friends and pioneers
Since you only have one life
To offer in service
Leave now or your chance may be no more

Go to lead a full life
Rich in the love of God
Rich in sacrifice and reward
And as your faith is, so shall your powers be
As your faith is, so shall your blessings be
Go to serve your lord, your lord
Go to serve your lord

Well, you know, life is ever so nice here
I’m glad I could come
Well you know, life is ever so nice here
Simple, but real
Simple but real

Matter of fact, you know I wouldn’t go back
No, no no no
Matter of fact, you know I couldn’t go back
I’d miss it so
I’d miss it so

Well you can have, your chocolate ice-cream
And all your fancy machines
You can have
Your fast pace of life
For it’s naught but a dream
For it’s naught but a dream

I finally found
The tranquillity
Down in the depths of my soul
And now my heart is here to stay
My bones are here to lay
My bones are here to lay

My bones are here to lay

Oh well its 5:30 in the morning
Kids are jumping on our bed
5:30 in the morning
Kids are jumping on our bed
And that strong, brilliant sunshine
Is streaming in our window
That strong, brilliant sunshine
Still opens all of our days

Birds singing
Roosters crowing
Donkeys braying
People laughing
Chickens squawking
Ducks a quacking

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Happy Ayyám-i-Há

By lessan | Published: February 26, 2009
Happy Ayyam-i-ha

What a bounty to have days set aside in the year for hospitality and the giving of gifts! A few personal thoughts on the matter:

If we think of humanity as one organic entity, similar to the human body, with each cell representing an individual and all of us working together for the smooth functioning of the whole, we realize that the welfare of each person lies in the welfare of the body of humanity. We also start to see that if one person is very kind and generous and gives everything they have for the joy and gladness of others, in the final analysis they are benefiting themselves too, as if the body is healthy then each member is at peace. To get comfortable with this concept one needs to unlearn some of the ideas that we have inherited from the culture of individualism to which we are constantly exposed.

So, what does it mean to have certain days of the year dedicated to feasting, rejoicing, charity, hospitality and the giving of gifts? To “provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy…”?

Our normal mode of operation should be to be generous and sacrificial, but to me this doesn’t include regular giving of material “gifts”. Sure, one should give of whatever material goods we may have to those who need them, but to me these are not so much “gifts” but a natural expression of our concern for others and belief in the oneness of humanity. And in many cases, more important than any giving of goods is the providing of services to others and the uplifting of their spirits.

So on these days, one would have a special sanction for the giving of material goods, as a symbol of the spiritual act and for the sake of God. Also, we would give to all in our social circle, not just to the poor and needy. This is because we are giving not only for the sake of the recipient, but also as an element of our belief in God and in following His laws and Most Holy Book. And since we are sharing these physical objects for the sake of God we would make effort to present them in the most beautiful manner, so the wrapping of presents also has spiritual significance.

In the larger scheme of things, we have individuals exchanging material goods, feasting and spreading joy; therefore each of them are contributing to improving the health of the body of humanity. Each organ of the body is resuscitated, has a boost of energy. Maybe we could think of it as taking vitamins? Or as a release of adrenaline?

And, this burst of social energy and of individual upliftment which we get from giving, sets us on course for the season of restraint that is to follow.

Prayer for Ayyám-i-Há

My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Ha, Intercalary days) in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.

These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee.

Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.

I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds.

Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, p. 66.
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Prayers for the Friends in Iran

By lessan | Published: February 18, 2009

In hearing the recent news about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran and the pending trial of the Friends in Iran, I have had multiple occasions to offer prayers for them. Here are two prayers I found to be useful.

The seven members of the Friends in Iran arrested in 2008 and pending trial

He is, in truth, the Omnipotent, the Unconstrained! O Lord of Names and Fashioner of the Heavens!

Free Thy lovers from the prison of the enemy. Verily, Thou art the Sovereign Ordainer of Thine irrevocable decree. He who alone shineth resplendent on the horizon of creation. O Everlasting Root! By the life of the All-Glorious, deprive them not of hope, nay rather aid and assist them. Verily, Thou rulest as Thou pleasest and within Thy grasp lie the kingdoms of creation. The fangs of Thine enemies have been whetted, ready to bite into the flesh of Thy lovers.

Protect these companions, O Thou Who rulest over all humankind and art the Judge on the Day of Judgement.

Bahá’u’lláh, (provisional translation)

He is the All-Glorious!

O God, my God! Verily, Thou seest Thy servants acting with sincerity toward the whole of mankind, even the ill-disposed enemy. They are serving the entire human race with pure hearts and sanctified breasts and are exposed to grave danger. Darts are aimed at them, arrows directed towards them. Spears are pointed at them, swords drawn against them.

O Lord! They are victims of tyranny, at the mercy of the enemy. They are prisoners in the hands of blood-thirsty wolves and ravenous dogs from amongst the wicked. They have no refuge, no haven save the stronghold of Thine all-encompassing protection. Shelter them, O my Lord, with the eye of Thy loving-kindness neath the shadow of Thy shield and protection and guard them in the shelter of Thy care from the wicked-doers among Thy people. O Lord! They have no helper except Thee, no protector besides Thee.

Ordain, O my Lord, all manner of affliction for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Make me a target for the darts of men and protect Thy faithful servants from the wickedness of the ignoble. Grant that I may offer up my life for the whole body of Thy lovers so that my heart may find rest, my soul may be quieted, and my eyes may be solaced in the arena of supreme martyrdom. Verily, Thou art the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Most Exalted.

O ye beloved of the Lord! Be calm and composed.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’, (provisional translation), original

And a couple of quotations that could be useful when meditating on this phase of persecution.

Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou beholdest my dwelling-place, and the prison into which I am cast, and the woes I suffer. By Thy might! No pen can recount them, nor can any tongue describe or number them. I know not, O my God, for what purpose Thou hast abandoned me to Thine adversaries. Thy glory beareth me witness! I sorrow not for the vexations I endure for love of Thee, nor 11 feel perturbed by the calamities that overtake me in Thy path. My grief is rather because Thou delayest to fulfill what Thou hast determined in the Tablets of Thy Revelation, and ordained in the books of Thy decree and judgment.

My blood, at all times, addresseth me saying: “O Thou Who art the Image of the Most Merciful! How long will it be ere Thou riddest me of the captivity of this world, and deliverest me from the bondage of this life? Didst Thou not promise me that Thou shalt dye the earth with me, and sprinkle me on the faces of the inmates of Thy Paradise?” To this I make reply: “Be thou patient and quiet thyself. The things thou desirest can last but an hour. As to me, however, I quaff continually in the path of God the cup of His decree, and wish not that the ruling of His will should cease to operate, or that the woes I suffer for the sake of my Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, should be ended. Seek thou my wish and forsake thine own. Thy bondage is not for my protection, but to enable me to sustain successive tribulations, and to prepare me for the trials that must needs repeatedly assail me. Perish that lover who discerneth between the pleasant and the poisonous in his love for his beloved! Be thou satisfied with what God hath destined for thee. He, verily, ruleth over thee as He willeth and pleaseth. No God is there but Him, the Inaccessible, the Most High.”

Whatsoever occurreth in the world of being is light for His loved ones and fire for the people of sedition and strife. Even if all the losses of the world were to be sustained by one of the friends of God, he would still profit thereby, whereas true loss would be borne by such as are wayward, ignorant and contemptuous. Although the author of the following saying had intended it otherwise, yet We find it pertinent to the operation of God’s immutable Will: “Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager.” The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry. Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men. Gain is their lot, whatever the deal. To this testifieth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear.

The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 437
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Ocean 2.0

By lessan | Published: February 9, 2009

Well, not really Ocean 2.0, but we now have another program that is similar to Ocean. But better in some ways. It is called Interfaith Explorer. It has the best of both worlds – a web based search engine, and a program you can download and take with you into the disconnected world.

 

Online

To start searching, head on over to http://bahairesearch.com/. It is easy, just type your search terms and hit Enter:

 

As you’ll soon notice, there’s a fun little feature where it suggests possible searches under “Try It:”, to get you familiar with the options for searching. I found the one in the above screenshot particularly funny.

It seems to have more texts and be more up-to-date than Ocean. Hopefully maintenance will continue far into the future.

 

Offline

To grab the offline version, only available for Windows PCs at this time, go to this page:
http://bahairesearch.com/WinApp/Pages/Download.aspx

There you can download the main program (top link), as well as many plug-ins such as Arabic, French or Persian texts.

 

Once you’ve downloaded the main program, extract the contents of the Zip file and double-click on it. The resulting installer will guide you through the process of installing Interfaith Explorer on to your computer. The same process applies to the plug-ins. If you’re successful you should see this loading screen:

 

And this is how the main screen looks:

 

When you run Interfaith Explorer for the first time, and also whenever you install new texts, you will get the following message explaining that it is indexing the texts and will take a few minutes to do so, and not to be worried if it seems stuck (i.e. “Don’t Panic!”).

 

This version is credited to Ian Vink and Runa Ali, according to their About page. Remember, if you like it, send them a post card:

               IAN VINK
               2 Front St
               Hamilton, HM11
               Bermuda
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A diamond-mine of communion with God

By lessan | Published: February 7, 2009

Last night I attended a study class which was about the book Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah. I had come across this book before, as a compilation of prayers, but never took the time to look through it or use many of the prayers within it, as the more common “Baha’i Prayers” is easier with its shorter selection and thematic grouping. However, after this class I have a much better appreciation of this book and hope to make better use of it.

 

About the book

Ruhiyyih Khanum in the Priceless Pearl has described this book as a “diamond-mine of communion with God, unsurpassed in any religious literature of the world.” Some more references to the book that I found:

In 1935 Shoghi Effendi published a compilation of excerpts called Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, which he himself has described as ‘consisting of a selection of the most characteristic and hitherto unpublished passages from the outstanding works of the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation.’ This was followed by the translation in 1936-1937, and publishing in 1938 of what might almost be termed a companion volume, comparable in richness and complementary in material, namely, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, The Priceless Pearl, p. 218)

“He is indeed pleased to know that the Book of Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh has been out in time to enable the friends to read it during the Fast, and he has every hope that the perusal of such a precious volume will help to deepen more than any other publication, the spirit of devotion and faith in the friends, and thus charge them with all the spiritual power they require for the accomplishment of their tremendous duties towards the Cause.”

(Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 58)

 

A brief look at the content

Some prayers we are already familiar with are included, such as the short healing prayer and the tablet of visitation for Baha’u’llah:
170/CLXX: Thy Name Is My Healing, O My God, And Remembrance… (HEALING)
180/CLXXX: The Praise Which Hath Dawned From Thy Most… (TABLET OF VISITATION)

Also, the three obligatory prayers and the prayer for the dead:
167/CLXVII: O My God! This Is Thy Servant And The Son Of… (PRAYER FOR THE DEAD)
181/CLXXXI: I Bear Witness, O My God, That Thou Hast Created… (SHORT OBLIGATORY PRAYER)
182/CLXXXII: Whoso Wisheth To Pray, Let Him Wash… (MEDIUM OBLIGATORY PRAYER)
183/CLXXXIII: Whoso Wisheth To Recite This Prayer, Let… (LONG OBLIGATORY PRAYER)

A number of prayers for the fast, as well as a long prayer which I think would be great to say during the fast:
7/VII: Praise Be To Thee, O Lord My God! I Beseech Thee… (FAST)
45/XLV: My God, My Fire And My Light! The Days Which… (AYYAM-I-HA)
46/XLVI: Praised Be Thou, O My God, That Thou Hast Ordained… (NAW RUZ)
56/LVI: Glory Be To Thee, O Lord My God! These Are The… (FAST)
85/LXXXV: These Are, O My God, The Days Whereon Thou Didst… (FAST)
176/CLXXVI: Praise Be Unto Thee, Who Art My God And The… (LONG)
177/CLXXVII: I Beseech Thee, O My God, By Thy Mighty Sign,… (FAST)
178/CLXXVIII: Praised Be Thou, O Lord My God! I Supplicate… (FAST)

In addition to the above, some of the themes to be encountered are:

  • the colloquy and relationship between the Supreme Revelator and His Creator
  • the bewildering power of the Almighty, His attributes and exaltation above the realm of being
  • the relative unreality of creational existence, yet the tender acceptance by a loving God of all that His creatures can offer in praise and service
  • the brutal facts of everyday living of the early believers, in exile and at ‘Akka, and the contrast with the Covenant breakers
  • the exhortation and reminders to those same believers in which Bahá’u’lláh Himself also indicated that His tribulations served but to advance His Cause

 

Systematic study

In our study class we were given a copy of a short article, published in the British Bahá’í Journal in December 1964, which provides a description and study guide for this book. Some of the activities suggested in the article (which has more detail and examples):

  1. A study of the attributes of God, their variety, range and cogent cumulative effect
  2. Selection of a specific Bahá’í teachings then tracing them through the book and allowing the cross comparison of the passages so found to play upon and enrich each other, adding meaning and value
  3. Observing the perfect blending of the different kinds of prayer
  4. A straight search for perfectly phrased, astonishingly logical and gloriously fuller amplification of truth in gemlike utterances that occur all through the book
  5. Appreciating the soul-moving range of Bahá’u’lláh’s own expression of Himself and of His circumstances
  6. The simple felicity of phrasing and the cadences are often most stirring and invite the reminder that prayers are aided by adding the sense of hearing to the sense of sight in conformity with the sense of the Word
  7. Whole paragraphs of most memorable content occur in many of the prayers, and each of us may like to build his own private anthology of them
  8. A particularly interesting study is the concept of ‘remembrance of God’ and the meanings it gathers to itself in the different contexts of its appearance

 

An activity suggested in the class was to identify and tabulate references to the Living Waters, which occur maybe thirty times in the text.

Another activity that can be associated with this book is memorization; there are many prayers and quotations that are good candidates to be memorized – in fact one could memorize the whole thing, giving added meaning to immersing oneself in the ocean of His words.

 

Roman Numerals

photo from FlickrA final note, on the numbering system used in some publications of this book including in the version provided on the Baha’i Reference Library website; Roman numerals are used, therefore it may be worth taking a few minutes to learn how to read them.

Roman numerals are, as the name implies, a number system attributed to the Romans. The system includes certain symbols for numbers, and some rules for combining the symbols when they appear together to make up a number (by adding or subtracting their corresponding values). The symbols used are:

Symbol Value
I 1 (one)
V 5 (five)
X 10 (ten)
L 50 (fifty)
C 100 (one hundred)
D 500 (five hundred)
M 1000 (one thousand)

 

The first rule is that you add up the symbols when they appear together. For example, XX is twenty. Or VI is six. The second rule however, is that if you put a smaller symbol before a bigger one you subtract the value of the smaller one from the bigger one. For example, IV is four. Or XC is 90. There are some more rules but these two are enough to be able to read and make sense of the roman numerals that appear in this book.

For a little practice with the first three numbers, here’s a game matching Roman to Arabic numerals: http://www.fi.edu/time/keepers/Silverman/html/RomanMatch.html

To help recall the order of the last four symbols, here are some mnemonics:

  • Let Caesar Destroy Mountains
  • Lazy Cows Don’t Moo
  • Little Cats Drink Milk
  • LCD Monitor
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