Archive for October, 2006

“Lotus Temple” on flickr, uploaded on March 14, 2005 by CaritoJames

Got an email from Jess, whose blog has been a rich source of material for re-posting (see here). -gw

George, I know you collect excerpts about Baha’i for your blog. There is an very lengthy thread about the Bible and religion on my mom’s board and this was a post made in the thread:

“Btw, Jess, about Bahai, are they the group that has these huge praying centers all over the world? I ask because there is a large building in Delhi India that is shaped kind of like a lotus flower. The accoustics in there is so amazing. My friend took me there and we just sat there and soaked up the atmosphere (and energy). Anyway, the energy from there was so strong it actually made me start to cry with how it was resonating around through everything. I’m getting a little teary just remembering even now years later. (A good kind of cry.) I don’t think I’ve even been in so sacred feeling a place.

Anyway, just wondering if that’s one of the places. I can’t remember what the name of the organization was, but Bahai sounds right to me as being the one with that place. It was a place where you can’t speak inside and they state they welcome all faiths and they have people all day just walk up and sing or chant or something.”

Just thought I would share! (She gave me permission to share it with you!)

Best, Jess

You think you’re busy! How ’bout Amanda. -gw

Another all-nigher tonight…work till 4am, study histology write my EE paper and do laundry till 10am, open lab from 10am-2pm, maybe a nap, Ruhi at 4:30, and possibly a Baha’i Club thingy after that…if I don’t drop dead from exhaustion.

Amanda, “This intrigues me,” Some sort of fantasy…

A LiveJournal testimonial about a Baha’i youth in Chile. -gw

(chileancholula) wrote,@ 2006-10-23 19:16:00

Let me take a minute to describe this wonderful wonderful girl. She never has anything bad to say, I have seen and heard her play the violin and there are no words to describe how great she is. She’s of Baha’i faith. She’s a great dancer, not only at the clubs but I mean, she studies music theory and she can theatrically dance Indonesian and other ranges of Indo-Asian stuff. She always has an open mind, open heart, and I’ve never met anyone like her ever before in my life. I wish I were more like her. She dislocated her elbow bicycling in Perú. But she can still dance with it.

Jared describes himself in his MySpace profile as “an average guy.” -gw

So Nikki told me to download Ocean. It’s a complete library of religious texts ranging from Baha’i to Christianity. I’m becoming more and more interested in the Baha’i faith. I thought it would be nice to show everyone what the Baha’i religion is through a great, albeit, lengthy quote from a great Baha’i, Shoghi Effendi. Here it is:

The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the unity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-in-hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, an ordered and progressive society. It inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsory education, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommends the adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace. – SHOGHI EFFENDI

I really don’t know why I’m looking into the Baha’i faith. I’m really wondering if it’s rebellion against what I grew up knowing or an actual interest in the Faith. I’m still trying to figure that out. The only why I know for sure is by reading the Baha’i scriptures and figuring it out from there.

Jared, “Shoghi Effendi Defines the Baha’i Faith,” MySpace

{Re-posted with permission}

Jared describes himself in his MySpace profile as “an average guy.” -gw

So Nikki told me to download Ocean. It’s a complete library of religious texts ranging from Baha’i to Christianity. I’m becoming more and more interested in the Baha’i faith. I thought it would be nice to show everyone what the Baha’i religion is through a great, albeit, lengthy quote from a great Baha’i, Shoghi Effendi. Here it is:

The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the unity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-in-hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, an ordered and progressive society. It inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsory education, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommends the adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace. – SHOGHI EFFENDI

I really don’t know why I’m looking into the Baha’i faith. I’m really wondering if it’s rebellion against what I grew up knowing or an actual interest in the Faith. I’m still trying to figure that out. The only why I know for sure is by reading the Baha’i scriptures and figuring it out from there.

Jared, “Shoghi Effendi Defines the Baha’i Faith,” MySpace

{Re-posted with permission}

From Malaysia another Baha’i on flickr. -gw

I’m a very sentimantle person and I crave to be back in nature, where green trees and lovely, exotic flowers seround me as if calling me back to them. I have an idea of what I want to do, where I want my life to go. I love taking photographs, if only I had my own camera!

From Daphne Ling in Malaysia comes the following email. -gw

Thought you might like to know that the boy (Adam) who was featured in the story you picked up from the ‘Terraces of Youth’ page to be put on your blog has gone to a home. In fact, he left for a home for the handicapped a week after the story was originally published in the Malaysian papers.

Here’s the link: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/7/16/lifefocus/14755990&sec=lifefocus

From Daphne Ling in Malaysia comes the following email. -gw

Thought you might like to know that the boy (Adam) who was featured in the story you picked up from the ‘Terraces of Youth’ page to be put on your blog has gone to a home. In fact, he left for a home for the handicapped a week after the story was originally published in the Malaysian papers.

Here’s the link: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/7/16/lifefocus/14755990&sec=lifefocus

Here is her comment.

Well baby it certainly sounds interesting enough. But…how do you say that guys name? I sat there for like ever trying to say it and I couldn’t. I deffinately want to go to one of them thingies with you and Kathy. k? K love you!

Posted by m.g.n. ♥ smunchy on Monday, October 23, 2006 at 5:39 PM

Here is the original post. -gw