doberman pizza. a baha'i (bahai, bahá'í) blog.

The Laws of God are not imposition of will, or of power, or pleasure, but the resolutions of truth, reason and justice.

Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 154

I was so glad when I first ‘got’ the Baha’i concept of laws. I’ve always said that I’m a Baha’i because the Baha’i Faith just makes so much intuitive sense, and for me this was further confirmation. Basically, people get all down about laws sometimes because they think THE MAN is laying it down on them, tying them up with his RULES AND REGULATIONS and not allowing them their FREEDOM!!!! Except that laws (or at least the Laws of God) are actually nothing like that. They’re more like statements of the principles underlying all reality. Like, for example, the law of prayer. Baha’is must pray every day; it’s one of Baha’u'llah’s Laws. But that doesn’t mean there is (or indeed should be) a PRAYER POLICE that busts down your door and messes you up good if you don’t say your prayers every day. Prayer is a conversation between oneself and God. Baha’u'llah teaches us that we need to converse with God every day in order to further our own spiritual growth—to allow our souls to grow and be healthy. So, just as going a long time without food will make our bodies weak, going a long time without praying will make our souls weak. That’s a reality of our existence, and it’s enshrined in a Law for our own good. Human beings have free choice, so we can choose to observe or disregard that Law. That doesn’t change the facts, of course; the law will still apply. And so we continue to pray every day—it allows us to remain in harmony with the natural rhythms of the universe, otherwise known as following God’s Will.

Voici une présentation vidéo qui expose les faits concernant l’arrestation récente des “Amis”—délégués Baha’is en Iran dont le seul crime était d’aider les Baha’is d’Iran à coordonner leurs activités et maintenir la vie de leur communauté.

Vous pouvez en savoir davantage sur la situation des Baha’is d’Iran sur le site officiel des Baha’is de France.

Articles reliés:

• L’Union européenne appelle à la libération des responsables bahá’ís arrêtés en Iran
• La Communauté internationale bahá’íe rejette les allégations récentes du gouvernement iranien
• Inquiétude d’une parente française d’un des responsables bahá’ís incarcéré en Iran
• Les responsables bahá’ís iraniens détenus au secret : l’inquiétude grandit

Personal effort is indeed a vital prerequisite to the recognition and acceptance of the Cause of God. No matter how strong the measure of Divine grace, unless supplemented by personal, sustained and intelligent effort it cannot become fully effective and be of any real and abiding advantage.

From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, Feb. 27, 1938

This struck me when I read it tonight, because of what it’s saying—personal effort will make at least two things happen: 1. Recognition and acceptance of the Cause of God, and 2. Divine grace will become fully effective. Interesting, because my own understanding of those concepts—those of recognition and acceptance of the Baha’i Faith, and that of Divine grace—never really included a lot of thought about the effort needed to make them happen. I guess #1 could be somewhat understandable for someone who was brought up in a Baha’i family; to me, the Baha’i Faith made sense as a matter of familiarity before it ever became a conscious spiritual decision. As in, “of course I accept the Baha’i Faith, I’m so familiar with it.” (There’s more to acceptance than that, of course, but I won’t get into that right now.) My reaction to #2 probably shows that I don’t understand the concept of grace—and, perhaps, the concept of God Himself and of His relation to the individual—well enough. It’s as if I always figured God’s grace would pop up and fix things as long as I prayed enough, without me having to make a whole lot of effort. You know, like nine doves would suddenly settle onto my balcony, each bearing an olive branch. Heh. We sometimes end up believing strange things if we don’t bring ourselves to account properly each day…

While making my way back home on a humid, muggy Friday, I passed by the local Baha’i Centre — well, not exactly passed by; upon realizing that it was packed with people, I stopped and walked in to say hello and to find out what was going on.

Many of you will have heard so far about the recent arrests of six Baha’i “leaders” (”delegates” or “coordinators” would be a more appropriate title, but isn’t quite as simple to explain) in Iran; in an act remarkably similar to the mass arrests and executions of Baha’i leaders in the 1980s, they were arrested on the 14th of May and — it was thought — taken to one of the most notorious prisons in Tehran. Apparently they are now being held in communicado, their whereabouts being unknown. The only official response from the Iranian government on the issue? They were arrested for “security issues” and not because of their religious beliefs — an allegation which the Baha’i International Community categorically rejects as being “untrue” and “utterly baseless”. This is only the most recent — and probably best publicized — among many recent violations of the rights of Baha’is. Amongst other things, Baha’i schoolchildren have endured harrassment in Iranian schools, a fact pointed out by the Baha’i International Community over a year ago.

And it’s to address this issue that that night, at the Ottawa Baha’i Centre, around thirty Baha’i junior youth and their parents gathered for animated and pointed discussion, as well as workshops to encourage the junior youth to respond to the injustice aimed at their Iranian counterparts. Suggestions were exchanged, ranging from creating and circulating official petitions to preparing presentations to be given at school to arranging devotional meetings where they and their friends could hear stories and pray for the well-being of Iran’s Baha’is. One suggestion struck home, however - that, more than just praying for their well-being, the junior youth present could make special effort to teach the Baha’i Faith in the name of those children in Iran who are shamed and harrassed for their Faith - those children who are denied that same privilege of sharing the life-giving Message of Bahá’u'lláh with their peers.