A Place of Peace :: Baha'i Perspectives

A Place of Peace

shadi January 3rd, 2009

A few weeks ago, an agnostic, a Christian, and two Baha’is headed to Kampala, Uganda together to visit the only Bahá’í House of Worship in all of Africa. Our first visit involved spending time both within the house of worship and exploring the surrounding gardens. As I walked around the incredibly serene and beautiful grounds overlooking the rest of Kampala, my mind was quiet, my body relaxed, and my heart open. When I looked at the faces of my fellow travel companions, I saw a similar mood.

I wondered to myself: why can’t this simply be the norm? To have people of different faiths or no faith come to a common place of peace intended for meditation or prayer or simply to breathe.

In The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Abdu’l-Bahá beautifully summarizes the purpose of the Baha’i houses of worship:

In brief, the original purpose of temples and houses of worship is simply that of unity — places of meeting where various peoples, different races and souls of every capacity may come together in order that love and agreement should be manifest between them.

We attended the morning Sunday devotionals at the House of Worship and heard writings from the Koran, the Bible, and the Baha’i Writings recited and chanted in multiple languages by people of various faiths and backgrounds. In between the readings, there was an awe-inspiring choir singing songs of peace and unity, their fantastic voices echoing from the high reaching inner dome as cool breezes flowed in and out of the nine gigantic doors displaying a panoramic view of Kampala. It was one of those magical moments you want to permanently freeze.

With the current state of the world and the seemingly endless between people of varying ideologies, it was powerful, if only for a brief moment on a hilltop in Kampala, to actually EXPERIENCE how peace looks and sounds and feels.