Writing about the unpleasant but [I'm hoping] relatively sanitary conditions for the Baha'is currently imprisoned in Iran for their beliefs, reminds me of another cold prison floor; the imprisonment of Baha'u'llah in Iran when He was a follower of the Bab, over 150 years ago. There was an outbreak of violence against the Babi's; knowing He was sought by the authorities, Baha'u'llah surrendered Himself and was locked into a prison in Tehran with appalling conditions. It was known as the Black Pit.
This dungeon, a cistern previously used to store water, was a stone room far underground with only one exit; the entrance, a flight of stairs leading upwards to the only light; light which never entered that cavern. Together with murderers and thieves, the Babi's were chained together in two rows. Baha'u'llah wore a chain weighing over one hundred pounds which encircled His neck, and which had to be supported by a Y-shaped device. He wore the scars from this mighty chain the rest of His life. There was no provision for the disposal of human waste, and food was provided only rarely. Nearly every day, one Babi would be called by the guards, would say their goodbyes, and leave for an appointment with execution for their Faith.
Baha'u'llah taught the Babi's to chant a verse which He revealed, the sound of which, because of the underground tunnels, reached to the palace of the Shah. One row would chant:
"God is sufficient unto me.
He, verily is the All-sufficing,"
whereupon the second row would reply,
"In Him let the trusting trust."
It was in this place, at this time, that the Manifestation of God for this day received His Revelation from God.
Post-script: what terrible beliefs did the Babi's and the Baha'is hold which caused then, and still causes, such a response on the part of the government and clergy in Iran?
"So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."
~Baha'u'llah
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Eating For Armenia
The courageous, outward-looking Baha'is are walking through neighborhoods, inviting people to engage in building spiritual communities. Knocking on doors to speak to people I haven't met yet, uninvited, feels like agony. At Ethnic Fest in Tacoma Washington every year, I see Baha'is accosting those walking past the booth to involve them in conversations about the Baha'i Faith; I would almost rather walk through fire. Although I see otherwise introspective people doing it, it's hard to bear the thought of it. My solution is usually to lurk somewhere in safety, praying like crazy for the teaching work.
My relationship to society is sometimes like a wolf emerging from the shadows to snatch a morsel of fellowship by the fire, then growling over it back in my den. I don't tend to make friends; I have associates I know, like, and even love who haven't kicked me out yet.
Previously I mentioned that whenever I drive past a For Sale sign I say a little invocation to God for those poor souls trying to sell their house; a little free gift of compassion for the unknown friend. It keeps me remembering God. Zikhrullah. Then I realized I'm praying a lot for these random people, why not pray more often for the Baha'is imprisoned in Iran? So I added a second invocation for them in at the same time.
There are no beds or mattresses in the cells of Even Prison, which makes the reality of their cold days and nights on the floor abruptly seem more concrete. These friends of God suffer this agony. Why can't I suffer the agony of initiating conversations with people I haven't met?
Spreading the teachings of the Baha'i Faith and the knowledge of the station of Baha'u'llah is the best remedy and the only way to alleviate the suffering, not just of persecuted Baha'is, but of oppressed people all over the planet. I believe this completely; yet sometimes the notion can seem like cleaning your plate because of the starving Armenians.
It would be nice to think that there were people all over the world who were well nourished because of my diligence in cleaning my plate. I'm sure there are millions now craving the Bread of Life.
My relationship to society is sometimes like a wolf emerging from the shadows to snatch a morsel of fellowship by the fire, then growling over it back in my den. I don't tend to make friends; I have associates I know, like, and even love who haven't kicked me out yet.
Previously I mentioned that whenever I drive past a For Sale sign I say a little invocation to God for those poor souls trying to sell their house; a little free gift of compassion for the unknown friend. It keeps me remembering God. Zikhrullah. Then I realized I'm praying a lot for these random people, why not pray more often for the Baha'is imprisoned in Iran? So I added a second invocation for them in at the same time.
There are no beds or mattresses in the cells of Even Prison, which makes the reality of their cold days and nights on the floor abruptly seem more concrete. These friends of God suffer this agony. Why can't I suffer the agony of initiating conversations with people I haven't met?
Spreading the teachings of the Baha'i Faith and the knowledge of the station of Baha'u'llah is the best remedy and the only way to alleviate the suffering, not just of persecuted Baha'is, but of oppressed people all over the planet. I believe this completely; yet sometimes the notion can seem like cleaning your plate because of the starving Armenians.
It would be nice to think that there were people all over the world who were well nourished because of my diligence in cleaning my plate. I'm sure there are millions now craving the Bread of Life.
Friday, June 25, 2010
This and That
I guess I need to blog every two weeks whether I know what it is going to be about or not. Whoo! Our final Farsi class for the year was held last week. I continue to be a one-trick pony with my one Farsi prayer until I memorize more. I need to go back to the selections I wrote down from other classes, get back into it and get studying again. Ideal some time would be to collect Farsi editions of Baha'i writings so I can identify selections I already know in English and memorize the authorized translations [identified and read by my favorite local Persian.] I guess, technically, that would be originals, not translations.
Have learned to 80 or 90% accuracy the alphabet, still just starting to see how letters connect. Baby steps.
So much is going on. At work our census is very low, so nurses are trying to work shorter hours so no positions get cut. Today I innovated with a split shift: I came in at 9:30, worked until 1 PM, then clocked out, returning from 4 PM to 10 PM. That way I gave up hours when there was plenty of other staff available, and was not feeling so pressured to leave early during the evening hours when there are family visits and lots of skin issues which crop up, as well as [unfortunately] the occasional fall.
I'm working on increasing my communication ability to become more assertive; some of the results are painful and difficult. Family members form perceptions of me being unfriendly, when I may just be concentrating. I'm revisiting the notion of introversion as how it relates to the way I come across at work and elsewhere. Also, for a person who draws energy from an inward focus, multiple interactions over a long, 12-hour shift build up a lot of frustration for me. It's difficult to be alone, to think, to recharge. People notice. I work in a virtual fishbowl [only drier.]
Just identifying these issues so I can think about them and figure out strategies to help, is helping me. And so was the split shift today.
Have learned to 80 or 90% accuracy the alphabet, still just starting to see how letters connect. Baby steps.
So much is going on. At work our census is very low, so nurses are trying to work shorter hours so no positions get cut. Today I innovated with a split shift: I came in at 9:30, worked until 1 PM, then clocked out, returning from 4 PM to 10 PM. That way I gave up hours when there was plenty of other staff available, and was not feeling so pressured to leave early during the evening hours when there are family visits and lots of skin issues which crop up, as well as [unfortunately] the occasional fall.
I'm working on increasing my communication ability to become more assertive; some of the results are painful and difficult. Family members form perceptions of me being unfriendly, when I may just be concentrating. I'm revisiting the notion of introversion as how it relates to the way I come across at work and elsewhere. Also, for a person who draws energy from an inward focus, multiple interactions over a long, 12-hour shift build up a lot of frustration for me. It's difficult to be alone, to think, to recharge. People notice. I work in a virtual fishbowl [only drier.]
Just identifying these issues so I can think about them and figure out strategies to help, is helping me. And so was the split shift today.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Tongue
The quotation we are memorizing in the Farsi [children's] class is regarding the tongue, how it was created for the remembrance of God, and not to defile it with unseemly speech. Today the instructor told this story in Farsi, translating for my benefit:
The shah sent his minister to search the world and bring him the best object he could find. The minister returned with a sheep's tongue. Puzzled, the shah sent the minister to find the worst object and bring it back. Again, he returned with a sheep's tongue. The minister explained that if used to praise and encourage people, the tongue is the most wonderful thing. If it is used to criticize and discourage them, it is the worst.
Story number two:
The shah dreamed that all of his teeth fell out except one. He asked for a soothsayer to interpret his dream, and the soothsayer said: "The dream means that all of the members of your family will die before you do." Grieved and angry, the shah had the soothsayer executed. Then he sent for another interpreter, who gave the same explanation: "All the members of your family will die before you do." Again, that person lost his head. Finally the shah sent for a man to interpret his dream, who said: "You will live longer than any other member of your family." He was rewarded with gold and gifts of land, praised and sent on his way.
The shah sent his minister to search the world and bring him the best object he could find. The minister returned with a sheep's tongue. Puzzled, the shah sent the minister to find the worst object and bring it back. Again, he returned with a sheep's tongue. The minister explained that if used to praise and encourage people, the tongue is the most wonderful thing. If it is used to criticize and discourage them, it is the worst.
Story number two:
The shah dreamed that all of his teeth fell out except one. He asked for a soothsayer to interpret his dream, and the soothsayer said: "The dream means that all of the members of your family will die before you do." Grieved and angry, the shah had the soothsayer executed. Then he sent for another interpreter, who gave the same explanation: "All the members of your family will die before you do." Again, that person lost his head. Finally the shah sent for a man to interpret his dream, who said: "You will live longer than any other member of your family." He was rewarded with gold and gifts of land, praised and sent on his way.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Catching Up
Sorry about so few posts in so much time. Very busy!
We were planning to attend the Shajirian concert Friday in Vancouver but it was sold out. All packed up and nowhere to go, except back to Eatonville with a mission to fill our time together with music and learning. We did at last locate the electronic tuner so Enayat could tune his santur, however, it wasn't working properly. So no santur. We did listen to some marvelous music on tape.
We are trying to find a correlation between Farsi and English scripture for me to memorize so I have the authorized translation. So far, no soap.
My new happy place is on a chair in the road next to the field of timothy hay with reading material or something to study, a snack, birds to watch and listen to, sunshine [bonus], and now my iPod, which I am still figuring out. I spent hours out Saturday collecting Vitamin D. I wrote and rewrote the Farsi alphabet, testing myself, going between letter names, capitol and small case forms.
This morning I went to Farsi class and this time received two new quotations to learn, which I was unable to locate on the Baha'i Scripture website by key words. Oh, well. I am getting much faster at copying the quotation in phonetic English [by ear] and in Farsi script, which I still can't really read. Only three more classes until the summer break, and I'm just beginning to catch on.
Now, to work.
We were planning to attend the Shajirian concert Friday in Vancouver but it was sold out. All packed up and nowhere to go, except back to Eatonville with a mission to fill our time together with music and learning. We did at last locate the electronic tuner so Enayat could tune his santur, however, it wasn't working properly. So no santur. We did listen to some marvelous music on tape.
We are trying to find a correlation between Farsi and English scripture for me to memorize so I have the authorized translation. So far, no soap.
My new happy place is on a chair in the road next to the field of timothy hay with reading material or something to study, a snack, birds to watch and listen to, sunshine [bonus], and now my iPod, which I am still figuring out. I spent hours out Saturday collecting Vitamin D. I wrote and rewrote the Farsi alphabet, testing myself, going between letter names, capitol and small case forms.
This morning I went to Farsi class and this time received two new quotations to learn, which I was unable to locate on the Baha'i Scripture website by key words. Oh, well. I am getting much faster at copying the quotation in phonetic English [by ear] and in Farsi script, which I still can't really read. Only three more classes until the summer break, and I'm just beginning to catch on.
Now, to work.
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