But if you think about it, all  religions have some version of a pilgrimage: a visit to a holy site which is usually linked to its Central Figure/s.  Aside from Baha’i holy sites, I have also visited Muslim, Christian and Jewish ones, and there is no question of the fervour and devotion of the devotees who have come (mostly from far distances) to pay their respects and to pray.

The main Baha’i Pilgrimage takes place in the Holy Land, spans nine days and consists of guided visits to the resting places (or Shrines) of the Central Figures of the Faith, various other sites in the Holy Land associated with them, and the Terraces and gardens on Mount Carmel.

But what is the purpose? For me, pilgrimage is similar to fasting, a time during which you focus your thoughts and energies on your spiritual life, a time to reflect and meditate.  Just the physical act of leaving your home and travelling to the Holy Land helps to divorce you from everyday concerns, the distance helping you to achieve a perspective which will allow you to properly evaluate your inner life. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that:

Holy places are undoubtedly centres of the outpouring of Divine grace, because on entering the illumined sites associated with martyrs and holy souls, and by observing reverence, both physical and spiritual, one’s heart is moved with great tenderness.

Another aspect of the spiritual experience of pilgrimage is that you are one of a group of Baha’is from around the world.  Your pilgrim group (of a few hundred people per nine-day cycle) will have dozens of races, ethnicities and nationalities.  And for me, there are few things more uplifting than being part of a diverse but unified group of people.  Especially in the Holy Land, the nexus of almost all the world’s religions.  As explained so eloquently in God Passes By:

…the Holy Land—the Land promised by God to Abraham, sanctified by the Revelation of Moses, honored by the lives and labors of the Hebrew patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets, revered as the cradle of Christianity, and as the place where Zoroaster, according to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s testimony, had “held converse with some of the Prophets of Israel,” and associated by Islám with the Apostle’s night-journey, through the seven heavens, to the throne of the Almighty. Within the confines of this holy and enviable country, “the nest of all the Prophets of God,” “the Vale of God’s unsearchable Decree, the snow-white Spot, the Land of unfading splendor” …

He confessed waking up that morning in a contemplative mood, filled with profound thoughts about meaning and purpose – rather uncharacteristic of him, he added. But these thoughts were not entirely random either. For one, he had observed his classmates devoting every waking hour to their studies, in an almost mechanistic way, without pausing to ask themselves why they were doing it. Was the lure of the job that might follow really worth all the fuss?

Life in London wasn’t as enriching as he had imagined either. Sure, it is pacey, hip and multicultural, but like most newcomers to the city – and even some who have been here for years – he had fallen prey to the paradox of big city life. That acute awareness of being surrounded by masses of people from all walks of life, yet at the same time feeling isolated and alone.

On this latter theme, we tossed some thoughts around for a while. What was it about life in the urban sprawl, or the structure of the education system, or the norms of acceptable dialogue and interaction that give rise to feeling like you may as well be the only living organism on this planet? Surely there are elements of the human condition that are being overlooked here, but what could they be? As I suggested that they might be related to conditions that uplift the human spirit, a palpable expression of acknowledgement appeared on his face, at which point the conversation somehow drifted to other themes.

Yet in my mind, the words “systematic” and “exclude” rang loud and clear, as I recalled the passage from Century of Light that seemed to encapsulate the moment :

…the pressure of a dogmatic materialism, claiming to be the voice of “science”, that seeks systematically to exclude from intellectual life all impulses arising from the spiritual level of human consciousness.

Applying this statement to most tertiary education systems, it is quite an indictment. And another passage from the Prosperity of Humankind (part of a larger critique on contemporary development theory, and well worth reading in its entirety):

For the vast majority of the world’s population, the idea that human nature has a spiritual dimension — indeed that its fundamental identity is spiritual — is a truth requiring no demonstration. It is a perception of reality that can be discovered in the earliest records of civilization and that has been cultivated for several millennia by every one of the great religious traditions of humanity’s past. Its enduring achievements in law, the fine arts, and the civilizing of human intercourse are what give substance and meaning to history. In one form or another its promptings are a daily influence in the lives of most people on earth and… the longings it awakens are both inextinguishable and incalculably potent.

These two passages, referring to the potent longings of the human spirit, help to explain why strictly rational approaches to development would alone fail to yield the inner satisfaction sought by every soul. We might imagine, for example, that putting people of different cultures within close vicinity of one another (the so-called “melting pot”) will magically lead to people holding hands and singing together.

Unfortunately, it’s not so straightforward. This year, the Scottish Interfaith Council produced a document entitled Values in Harmony, containing representations from 10 major Religion and Belief communities, including the Baha’i Faith. In it, one finds this striking quote from Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:

Multiculturalism has run its course, and has not led to integration but segregation. It has allowed groups to live separately with no incentive to integrate…Culture is fragmenting into non-communicating systems of belief in which civil discourse ends and reasoned argument becomes impossible.

While multiculturalism has helped to weaken age-old prejudices and contributed to a greater sense that we are a single human race, I can also see where Rabbi Sacks is coming from. How will the motivation arise to genuinely reach out and integrate with other cultures, if not driven by an inner belief system that encourages it? And how nice would it be if more welcoming neighbourhood communities started to spring up across our cities as a result?

As I come full circle to my flatmate’s sentiments on that day, I am left with two conclusions:

• That at some point, every individual will experience those inner promptings that lead to the question “why?” and we can scarcely predict when that point will be.
• That to be an effective antidote to alienation in the big city, multiculturalism has to be infused with a big dose of spirit…

I pray Thee, O my Lord, by Thy hidden, Thy treasured Name, that calleth aloud in the kingdom of creation, and summoneth all peoples to the Tree beyond which there is no passing, the seat of transcendent glory, to rain down upon us, and upon Thy servants, the overflowing rain of Thy mercy, that it may cleanse us from the remembrance of all else but Thee, and draw us nigh unto the shores of the ocean of Thy grace…

(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 300)

We know that prayer is a form of spiritual nourishment, that it connects us with our Creator, and that it is part of our covenant with God.  I would like to discuss another light in which the practice may be viewed – that prayer is an act of remembrance.

It may seem inherently clear that when we pray we are remembering our Maker, but I find that this is true on very profound levels, and that this view might help us understand the various practices associated with prayer. There are many prayers which have been revealed by the Central Figures in the Baha’i Faith. Three of these have been designated as “Obligatory” prayers, and each day Baha’is choose one of these prayers to recite. I will focus on this practice in particular.

“O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the Maker of the heavens!” “Thou, in truth, art the Mighty, the All-Knowing.” We are reminded of who we are conversing with. Our human tendency is sometimes to forget.

Daily, we are called to remember that we were created to know and worship God, and we humbly remember our powerlessness before His Might, and our poverty before His Wealth.  That we are called upon to wash our hands and face and turn towards the Most Sacred Spot when we do this allows us to understand the importance of our commitment to keep these things in mind. In the case of the Long Obligatory Prayer, the prayer is accompanied with bodily postures and gestures. I remember the first time I said this prayer. I was ever so self-conscious when kneeling or raising my arms in front of little else than a wall, alone in my room.

But when we practice these gestures we ask ourselves whether or not we feel the same love inside that we are expressing outwardly to God and His Manifestation. I feel this is a very important reflection to have. We are reminded of our position in this world with respect to our Creator.

Furthermore, the body itself also has an ability to remember. When we type on a keyboard we don’t think expressly about where each key is, because our fingers seem to “know” what they’re doing. When it comes to prayer – what better way to actively remember our connection with Him than to involve our entire bodies?

These are but a few thoughts on prayer as an act of remembrance. There is so much that can be said about prayer. I would encourage anyone interested to read a more in-depth article on the subject of prayer as remembrance by Christopher White, which I personally found to be quite illuminating!

It made me cry because she describes so well the devastation of death.  I recognized it because I lost my father eight years ago, only a few months after the death of my aunt.  One of the most poignant descriptions O’Rourke gives is that bereavement feels “like you’re pacing in the chilly dark outside a house with lit-up windows, wishing you could go inside. You feel clueless about the rules of shelter and solace in this new environment you’ve been exiled to“.

In the third instalment of the blog, O’Rourke touches on several theories of grief, including the one they taught us in Psych 101, Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.   I tried to figure out if I had gone through the five stages, and in what order and how quickly.  And then I realized that perhaps a belief in an afterlife would affect how you cope with death.  If you see this life as an end to itself, then death has a finality and cruelty which would be hard to accept.

But if you believe that the soul is immortal, and that this life is just a period of its existence and not its whole, then death is not so much a “goodbye” as a “see you later”.  Even in the darkest days after my father’s death (from a car accident caused by a drunk driver), and the surreal wrongness of it all, I knew with all my heart that he was still with me, and in a better place.  And the Baha’i Writings on the nature of the human soul, and its journey towards God, were my constant solace. 

Bahá’u'lláh, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, gives the following explanation of the journey of the soul after death.

And now concerning thy question regarding the soul of man and its survival after death. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. …

The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples.They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. …

The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother.When the soul attaineth the Presence of God, it will assume the form that best befitteth its immortality and is worthy of its celestial habitation.

O’Rourke talks about the great metaphor for picturing her mother’s existence after her death.  I picture my dad reading over my shoulder as I write this, because he always bugged me to become a writer.  And I imagine him playing backgammon and drinking coffee. But my favourite images of him are from the following Baha’i prayer (which is also inscribed on his tombstone):

O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.

Man is even as steel, the essence of which is hidden: through admonition and explanation, good counsel and education, the essence will be brought to light. If, however, he be allowed to remain in his original condition, the corrosion of lusts and appetites will effectively destroy him.

~ Baha’u'llah

The article which forms the background of this blog entry is from the UK’s Sunday Times. Entitled “Cure for the Facebook generation“, the article actually has little to do with Facebook itself (I imagine the reason was purely to capture the reader’s attention). Rather, it highlights a study conducted which examines the impact of greed culture and individualism on today’s children.

Britain’s cult of individualism, greed and selfishness has so blighted children’s lives that families and pupils need basic training in love and moral responsibility, according to a landmark report on the state of childhood.

More than 35,000 people contributed to the inquiry, which recommends measures including emotional report cards for children to give a snapshot of their mental and moral state at the ages of 5, 11 and 14.

Every now and again, we come across an article that strikes a chord within us, one that has us nodding thoughtfully as our eyes slide down the screen (or newspaper if you’re old-fashioned). Not only did this article have me nodding, but it actually evoked feelings of impatient anxiety.

Here’s one way to describe the feeling:

Imagine being back in high school and your science teacher asks the class a real brainteaser, which (to your surprise) you know the answer to. You wave your arm frantically trying to catch the teacher’s attention. only for your gestures to go unnoticed. You squirm so much that you almost fall off your chair, as you watch those around you fail in their responses, until at long last the skinny finger is extended in your direction.

Further extracts from the Times article:

A Good Childhood states emphatically that society has been damaged by rampant individualism… and that this ethos needs to be replaced by a greater sense of personal responsibility and the common good.

It calls for “a radical shift away from the excessively individualistic ethos which now prevails, to an ethos where the constant question is, ‘What would we do if our aim was a world based on love?’ ”

It paints a stark picture of social breakdown. The report cites evidence that this country [Britain] has some of the worst rates of child unhappiness, poverty, family breakdown and child violence in the western world.

Two-thirds of respondents say the moral values of children have declined; other polls show people’s trust in one another has crumbled.

These results are hardly a surprise. We see the evidence all around us, yet to pinpoint exactly how it happened is far from easy. The cults of individualism and greed have certainly played a role. However one can also mention the declining influence of true religion as a positive guiding force, replaced by moral laxity, on the one hand, and fanaticism on the other. One can talk about the initiatives to remove religious instruction classes from school curricula, or the increased demands placed on parents to provide for their families. And then there’s the good old World Wide Web, which when taken to excess has it’s own pitfalls, like Facebook addiction, stunted social skills, etc.

You will probably have your own list of modern-day offenders, so enough on that topic.

Before examining the solution proposed in the article, a few words should be mentioned about the recent experience of the Baha’i community.

Baha’is have long recognized the plight faced by children the world over, children living in societies where the sense of close community has all but vanished and moral education neglected almost in it’s entirety. Aware of the dire need for a remedy, Baha’i communities worldwide have, in the past decade, put classes for the moral and spiritual development of all children — not just children of Baha’i parents — at the very top of their plans of action.

More will be said about this later on, in the meantime let’s read on…

The solution, according to the experts who wrote the report, is to emphasise love and mutual respect in education, public policy and personal life. The recommendations include “civil birth” ceremonies to foster a sense of commitment for atheist parents who do not want their children christened; more prenatal classes to educate parents about child-rearing responsibilities; promotion of team sports; and the development of a sense of wonder and inner peace.

Without delving into the points above, I would invite the reader to consider whether they fall into the realms of:

A) definite non-solution
B) partial solution
C) the only solution
D) too vague a suggestion

(For the record, my answers were mainly B and D, sprinkled with a bit of A).

Going further, it makes sense to then pose the question: is it worth making the effort to develop an educational curriculum that will encompass these partial solutions, or, as some might suggest (adopting the attitude that it’s impossible to please everyone) do we “leave it up to the parents”? But what of parents who have psychological and emotional problems of their own? Or those who feel that teaching their kids about moral virtue in the face of MTV-culture is simply an exercise in futility? Or, and this is the true story of someone I met recently, you are a mother who has to work 18 hours a day, 6 days a week, just to earn enough money for your family to survive?

The Baha’i community recognizes that these are very real problems which cannot be ignored. Moreover, it recognizes the diversity of thoughts, feelings and convictions that characterize each individual’s set of beliefs, differences which contribute to the richness of society, yet all too often become barriers to (or excuses against) a solution.

But should we accept this to be the case? Can we allow this to be the case?

Indeed, the Scriptures of the world’s major faiths share a wealth of common ground in terms of teaching us how to lead spiritual lives. More so, it seems, than leaders of religion will care to admit.

The Baha’i community places great emphasis on the moral and spiritual education of children and youth, with a focus on providing ongoing opportunities for developing a sense of world citizenship and a lifelong commitment to serve humanity.

Children are the most precious resource a community has. Like young trees, children grow and develop in whatever way they are trained and according to the influences they experience. Baha’i spiritual education for children is intended to nurture spiritually vibrant and healthy young people who will grow up without prejudice and with a positive, powerful sense that they are important to God and have a role to play in serving humanity.

(From www.bahai.us)

A remarkable movement is taking shape and gaining in momentum across thousands of neighbourhoods. It is characterized by a curriculum that teaches eternal spiritual verities while addressing challenges that are unique to the modern age. This movement is still in its early stages. Its aim is to dispel the gloomy picture painted by the Times article. For now it remains under the radar, yet within it lies the solution which independent studies, like the one described here, are crying out for.

A few days ago I was reading The Covenant of Baha’u'llah (by Adib Taherzadeh) and learned that Baha’u'llah explains “there are three barriers between man and God…The first barrier is attachment to the things of this world, the second is attachment to the rewards of the next world, and the third is attachment to the Kingdom of Names.” (pg.20)

The Kingdom of Names is described as essentially God’s attributes that are revealed in this world to man.

Every created thing manifests the names and attributes of God. In the spiritual world, these attributes are manifest with such intensity that man will never be able to comprehend them in this life. In the human world, however, these attributes appear within the ‘Kingdom of Names’ and man often becomes attached to these names.

Wait a minute! I’m pretty attached to kindness I must admit AND really try my best to be kind AND really want people to see my kindness… is that essentially the wrong way to go about it? And the passage very eloquently went on to reply:

Human society at present exerts a pernicious influence upon the soul of man. Instead of allowing him to live a life of service and sacrifice, it is highly competitive and teaches him to pride himself on his ego and to seek to exalt himself above others, in the ultimate aim of achieving self-importance, success and power… The Revelation of Baha’u'llah aims to reverse the process. The soul of man needs to be adorned with virtues of humility and self-effacement so that it may become detached from the Kingdom of Names.

This new way of looking at my attachment to kindness has definitely spurred some critical self reflection and consequently opened the door to other attributes I realize also need to be thrown into the kindness pot. I found a very encouraging sentence from the Covenant of Baha’u'llah that I keep rereading to myself in order to guide this transition in thinking and acting around attributes:

If a man can realize that his virtues are not intrinsically his own, but rather are manifestations of the attributes of God, then he is freed from the Kingdom of Names and becomes truly humble.

More on my spiritual war with religion.

In the last installment, I’d said, “I was known for my spirited discussions about religion, challenging anyone available to prove to me even a shred of evidence that religion was the correct way to worship God…”

Even though I’d had a huge turn-off toward religion, I continued to search for one I could call my own, devote myself to, claim as my Truth.

I should inject a bit of clarity concerning morality, spirituality, and religion.

Having a “moral code” may keep you from reprehensible actions but it won’t necessarily help you transform your consciousness or achieve the heights of spiritual awareness.

Being “spiritual” may bring some measure of heightened consciousness and may or may not have an influence on moral behavior.

Being “religious” can improve the morals, heighten spirituality, and induce an attitude that aids an individual in working cooperatively to build better forms of social existence.

Our ancestors had a chance to try all three modes of behavior and understanding, over and over again. They, with the help of the Avatars and Prophets down through the ages, built moral codes, devised activities to heighten spirituality, and formed religious societies. Something they also did, that worked against all three forms of social betterment, was to weave highly materialistic and basely human rituals and institutions around the pure forms bequeathed to them by the Prophets. This is what led to the divisiveness of religion against religion—the fighting against the outer forms of worship and dogmatic theologies while ignoring the eternal spiritual truths.

I did the very same thing in my individual development. I’d receive a small bit of the Truth, immediately appropriate it to my personal whims and fancies, project it on anyone willing to listen, and defend it till I’d lose the other person’s respect…

I came from an American-Christian background. I’ve always honored and respected Jesus. I also explored other religions and found cause to honor and respect their Prophet-Founders. The predominant American religious game is to deal out a deck stacked against any religion but the one crafted by either very mortal popes or very mortal ministers. I’d grown up with two very mortal ministers (mom and dad), had them shape my early understandings of religion. How in the world to reconcile my religious birthright of the exclusivity of Jesus with the apparently equal exclusivity of the other Prophet-Founders?

The answer was found after an excruciatingly painful descent into my Dark Night of the Soul.

Spiritual Quote :

“What ‘oppression’ is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely differed, and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This ‘oppression’ is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of error.”

Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 31

For an in-depth and rigorous discussion of the principles explored in this story, reference One Common Faith and Changeless Faith.