The interior dome of the Baha'i House of Worship for North America in Wilmette, Illinois. I am a bit ashamed that I snuck the photo (no cameras aloud) but I assure you, I did it most respectfully. At the center of the dome is a Baha'i symbol called the "Greatest Name," which translates as "O Thou Glory of Glories."
Another exterior photograph of the Baha'i House of Worship for North America in Wilmette, Illinois. On most of the nine sides are quotes from Bahaullah. He was a prophet from 19th century Iran who, according to Baha'is, is the manifestation of God for the current age. This particular quote - "The Earth is but one Country - and Mankind its Citizens" - is a particularly important one for Baha'is.
Fencing with shadows in front of the Baha'i House of Worship for North America in Wilmette, Illinois. I just love the way the shadows and light play on the pavement.
Las guerras son causadas por diferencias raciales puramente imaginarias; porque la humanidad es una especie, una raza y una descendencia que habita el mismo globo. En el plan creativo no hay distinción ni separación racial.
Im #Iran wurden Anisa Samieian und ihr Ehemann Vesal Momtazi, zwei Baha'i, wegen „Propaganda gegen den Staat, Beleidigung des Islam und Vermittlung abweichender, dem Islam widersprechender Überzeugungen“ zu jeweils 3,5 Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt.
Die #Bahai -Gemeinschaft ist eine der am stärksten verfolgten religiösen Minderheiten des Landes.
So it will come to pass that when women participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world, when they enter confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics, war will cease; for woman will be the obstacle and hindrance to it.
Ayyám-i-Há is a time of celebration when Bahá'ís spread good cheer, perform charitable works, show hospitality, give gifts, and so on. This festival falls in the four or five days that fall before the Bahá'í Fasting month; these are "intercalary days", as they are days added to the Bahá'í calendar to help sync it up with the solar cycle. 🌞
The #BahaiFast is going all right so far. For those who didn't know, Baha'is between the ages of 15 and 70 refrain from eating and drinking from sunup to sundown. You're exempt if you're sick, travelling, pregnant, breastfeeding, or menstruating.
Of course, that's the physical side of the fast. The #spiritual—and more important—side of it is detaching ourselves from our desires and abstaining from indulging them, focusing instead on prayer and becoming closer to God. #Bahai#spirituality
Show #forbearance and #benevolence and #love to one another. Should any one among you be incapable of grasping a certain truth, or be striving to comprehend it, show forth, when conversing with him, a spirit of extreme #kindliness and #goodwill. Help him to see and recognize the truth, without esteeming yourself to be, in the least, superior to him, or to be possessed of greater endowments.
Bahá’u’lláh
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 8 #bahai#quotes
Two close up images of the Baha'i House of Worship for North America in Willamette, Illinois.
It is made of a special concrete designed to withstand the extreme temperatures. It has nine sides (a sacred number for Bahais) and has imagery from many major world religions.
At the absolute end of the Purple Line on the CTA overlooking Lake Michigan is the Baha'i House of Worship for North America in Wilmette, Illinois.
It is the oldest existing House of Worship for the Baha'i Faith. One of the newest world religions, the Baha'i faith emphasizes the unity of all religions, equality of men and women, and a new revelation from Bahaullah, the most recent Manifestation of God.
I came here in February because I was feeling particularly drained from work. I wanted to go to someplace quiet where I could disconnect for an hour or two. The space is peaceful and calm. It is open to all people no matter their beliefs. And when the Spring comes, the gardens around the site bloom.
Los bahá'ís de todo el mundo celebran Naw-Rúz, el año nuevo y el primer día de la primavera. Este día es un símbolo de la renovación de la naturaleza, un recordatorio físico para reflexionar sobre nuestras realidades internas y lo que podemos hacer para contribuir al bienestar del mundo.
Yesterday we had our working bee in my mother's garden. One of my mother's neighbours joined my husband and I and we spent several hours pruning, planting, mulching and chatting. It was lovely for Mum as she had different people to chat with while we were working.
We planted or moved around 25 plants in the garden beds that had been reshaped by the path my brother recently made. Things we planted included camellia, canna, clivia, mondo grass, succulents. Mum's neighbour spent about an hour on a ladder carefully removing jasmine that was covering a large camellia. We filled a green wheelie bin with prunings.
I potted up some geranium, cornea, abutilon and jasmine cuttings that Mum can look after.
I don't have any photos other than this one I took before we started. #GardeningAU#Melbourne
We finished with some more good conversation while eating scones, jam and cream I cooked. Mum and I had Chai Latte that I made. Mum's neighbour went home with potted cuttings.
We left around 2pm, rushed home to get changed and hang out the clothes before going to a friend's place for #Bahai Ridvan celebrations. As these celebrations are about what occurred in a beautiful garden in 1863, I took some geranium cuttings to give children to plant when they got home. I have written about Ridvan and gardening in this article: https://www.bahaiblog.net/articles/holy-days-bahai-calendar/celebrating-ridvan-garden/
Yay! The rain has started! It is just light at the moment. #OfficeKitty is a bit disconsolate. She has enjoyed a couple of months in the backyard with no rain. I think it will be an afternoon on the couch for her.
It will also be an afternoon on the couch for me. after a weekend of gardening projects in 2 gardens (Mum's and ours), various voluntary work for the local #Bahai community, a big grocery shop, other household chores (still have bathrooms to clean though) and a lovely all-day excursion to Port Melbourne and the National Gallery yesterday.
My husband is walking to the Gee in #Melbourne for the #HawksvCats game. He is wearing a rain coat, jumper, waterproof pants and Hawks scarf expecting our team to get creamed by Geelong. That is what a dedicated fan does! He has a seat out in the open and is going alone because other family members didn't want to stand in the rain.
This long Easter weekend has been enjoyable and feels good to get on top of some chores. Hopefully it won't be too wet for the footy this afternoon but we will get a lot of rain this evening.
I wrote this article a few years ago to explain my approach to gardening and how it ties in with the Baha'i calendar.
Today is the first day of a Baha'i festival called the Festival of Ridvan. It celebrates momentous events in a beautiful garden called Ridvan (paradise in English) in 1863. It is celebrated by Baha'is all around the world. During this 12-day festival I do a lot of gardening work. #BahaiFaith#Bahai#gardening