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His remains were laid to rest in a small stone house adjacent to the mansion. This Shrine is the holiest place on earth for Baha’is, and is the point towards which we turn in prayer each day.

In the early hours of this morn, those lucky enough to be physically present at Bahji gather in prayerful tribute to circumambulate this most sacred spot; while Baha’i communities in localities spanning the planet likewise gather for their own unique commemorations.

(Click on image to enlarge)

While the excerpt below was penned in 1992, I’ve been reflecting on its words today and wanted to share it with you.

Tribute by the Universal House of Justice to Bahá’u'lláh on the Centenary of His Passing

With soul-stirring emotion we gather in the hallowed environs of His resting place to honour the memory of the Supreme Manifestation of God, Bahá’u'lláh, on the solemn, historic occasion of the centenary of His ascension.

We lift our voices at the prompting of our hearts’ desire to pay tribute to a life infinitely beyond compare. But how shall we realize such a wish when it is evident that no mind can attain the comprehension which would make possible the vocabulary worthy of His celestial court? In very truth, our tongues falter in their impotence to describe, let alone extol, the prodigies of a prophetic career which was framed in superlatives. For here at Bahji, one hundred years ago, was drawn the last breath on earth of the world’s greatest Luminary, Founder of the Dispensation marking the culmination of the six- thousand-year-old Adamic Cycle, and Inaugurator of the five-thousand-century Bahá’í Cycle. He, the Most Great Manifestation, appeared in the Most Great Name and endured the greatest suffering in authoring the Most Great Revelation, which is the wellspring of the Most Great Peace. In our attempt to appreciate these matchless bounties, we recite the gem-like names of the Adored One, picked out as pearls from the veritable ocean of His Revelation, bestrewing them throughout our testimonial that they may lend an acceptable gleam to our expression of His glory and majesty.

King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Supreme Mediator, Most Ancient Beauty: He is the Well-Beloved of all worlds. We hail Him as the long-awaited Promised One, the Object of the adoration of the world. And we exclaim: “Hallowed be the Lord in Whose hand is the source of dominion!”

How grievously Bahá’u'lláh suffered to regenerate the world! Wrongly accused, imprisoned, beaten, chained, banished from country to country, betrayed, poisoned, stripped of material possessions, and “at every moment tormented with a fresh torment”: such was the cruel reception that greeted the Everlasting Father, Him Who is the Possessor of all Names and Attributes. For two score years, until the end of His earthly days, He remained a prisoner and exile — persecuted unceasingly by the rulers of Persia and the Ottoman Empire, opposed relentlessly by a vicious and scheming clergy, neglected abjectly by other sovereigns to whom He addressed potent letters imparting to them that which, in His truth-bearing words, “is the cause of the well-being, the unity, the harmony, and the reconstruction of the world, and of the tranquillity of the nations”. “My grief”, He once lamented, “exceedeth all the woes to which Jacob gave vent, and all the afflictions of Job are but a part of My sorrows.”

The voice halts for shame from continuing so deplorable a recitation, the heart is torn by mere thought of the Divine Target of such grief — grief no ordinary mortal could endure. But lest we give way to feelings of gloom and distress, we take recourse in the tranquil calm He induces with such meaningful words as these: “We have borne it all with the utmost willingness and resignation, so that the souls of men may be edified, and the Word of God be exalted.” Thus, the Wronged One, patient beyond measure, preserved a majestic composure, revealing His true Self as the Merciful, the Loving, the Incomparable Friend. Concentrating His energies on the pivotal purpose of His Revelation, He transmuted His tribulations into instruments of redemption and summoned all peoples to the banner of unity.

No worldly power could thwart the purpose of the Most Exalted Pen. Through the copiousness of His writings, He poured upon the planet the healing waters of the Word of God renewed. Descending upon Him like a spring rain, His Revelation comprises some one hundred volumes — “volumes replete with unnumbered exhortations, revolutionizing principles, world-shaping laws and ordinances, dire warnings and portentous prophecies, with soul-uplifting prayers and meditations, illuminating commentaries and interpretations, impassioned discourses and homilies, all interspersed with either addresses or references to kings, to emperors and to ministers, of both the East and the West, to ecclesiastics of divers denominations, and to leaders in the intellectual, political, literary, mystical, commercial and humanitarian spheres of human activity.” Foremost among His Books is His Kitab-i-Aqdas, the charter of the future world civilization in which He has announced the Laws of God for this age. Our hearts thrill to the prospect that during the course of this centennial year, the annotated English translation of this Mother Book of Bahá’u'lláh’s Revelation is to be published. We acknowledge with astonished joy the prolific legacy of this divine outpouring. And we exclaim: “Praised be Thou, Who art the Desire of the world, and thanks be to Thee, O Well-Beloved of the hearts of such as are devoted to Thee!”

Today, we bear witness to the further abundance of a peerless heritage. With the setting of the Sun of Baha, the Moon of His Covenant rose in reflected glory, lifting the darkness of a night of despair, and lighting the path to the unity of all humankind. In the fullness of its radiance stands the magnetic Figure of `Abdu’l-Bahá, the beloved Son Whom Bahá’u'lláh designated as the Interpreter of His Word and Executive of His authority, and Whom He appointed the Centre of His Covenant, an office without parallel in all religious history.

We acknowledge the mysterious power of His wisdom, the illuminating potency of His words, the immortal example and unific character of His deeds. By His untiring exertions the fame of the infant Cause was spread abroad, the design of its Administrative Order was completed, the World Centre of the Faith emerged into clear visibility, and the splendours of the Mountain of God, as alluded to in Bahá’u'lláh’s Tablet of Carmel, began to be manifested. With profound gratitude for such evident blessings we reaffirm our loyalty to the Covenant of Bahá’u'lláh. And we exclaim: “Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Lord of Grace abounding!”

As a result of the phenomenal effects of His Covenant, a world community has been raised up on an “unassailable foundation”. The entire system of the Administrative Order originated by Bahá’u'lláh in His Most Holy Book has been erected. A vigorous network of local, national, continental and international institutions functions in exemplary harmony throughout the planet. Vitalized and nurtured by His stupendous Revelation, watered by the precious blood of countless martyrs, and tended by the loving care of unnumbered, devoted servants, the Tree of the Cause has, in these hundred years, grown mightily, has put forth its far-stretching branches and borne its first and plentiful fruit.

Bahá’u'lláh found the world in a “strange sleep”. But what a disturbance His coming has unloosed! The peoples of the earth had been separated, many parts of the human race socially and spiritually isolated. But the world of humanity today bears little resemblance to that which Bahá’u'lláh left a century ago. Unbeknownst to the great majority, His influence permeates all living beings. Indeed, no domain of life remains unaffected. In the burgeoning energy, the magnified perspectives, the heightened global consciousness; in the social and political turbulence, the fall of kingdoms, the emancipation of nations, the intermixture of cultures, the clamour for development; in the agitation over the extremes of wealth and poverty, the acute concern over the abuse of the environment, the leap of consciousness regarding the rights of women; in the growing tendency towards ecumenism, the increasing call for a new world order; in the astounding advances in the realms of science, technology, literature and the arts — in all this tumult, with its paradoxical manifestations of chaos and order, integration and disintegration, are the signs of His power as World Reformer, the proof of His claim as Divine Physician, the truth of His Word as the All-Knowing Counsellor.

Bahá’u'lláh wrote voluminously about the purpose of this mysterious force and its transformative effects, but the essence can be drawn from these few perspicuous words: “Through the movement of Our Pen of Glory We have, at the bidding of the Omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this worldwide regeneration.” And again: “A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause or perceived its motive.” And yet again: “He Who is the Unconditioned is come, in the clouds of light, that He may quicken all created things with the breezes of His Name, the Most Merciful, and unify the world, and gather all men around this Table which hath been sent down from heaven.”

Let the denizens of the earth wake from their slumber at the resonances of His Name and arise from their confused dreams to embrace the clarity of the new Day: For “This is the King of Days, the Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-beloved, Him Who through all eternity hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World.”

Our thoughts turn back to the mourning time in 1892 when a vast number of residents from the surrounding area came to join His bereaved followers in lamenting the departure of the immortal Beloved. These were not adherents of His Cause and had no real understanding of His station, but the effect of His presence among them was such as to fill them with a grave sense of loss. Today, a century later, it is we, who identify ourselves with His community, who have come in multitudinous array from the far corners of the earth to pay homage to the King of Glory. With us in spirit are the millions of His lovers scattered among tens of thousands of villages, towns and cities, themselves observing in their own localities this solemn anniversary, their hearts focused on the Primal Spot here at Bahji…” (source)

Developers at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco were apparently fired up by the news of the Google Wave… though the deal was unquestionably sweetened by the complimentary Android the conference attendees each received yesterday !

Well, all I know is that if Payam’s actually tweeting about something during a session, it’s gotta be good! And so now, here’s waiting on the Wave!

TechCrunch article here. Link to Google’s description (and preview video) below.

Much was made over last month’s Nielsen report about “Twitter Quitters” quickly losing interest, but I was struck by an ABC article about how “Twitter Quitters Just Don’t Get it”. The latter stated,

“The most commonly heard complaints about Twitter stem from a misunderstanding of it. Chief among these complaints is the utterly bunk assertion that it’s just a whole bunch of people heralding the trivial events of their daily lives into the void. (i.e., “I’m going to the bathroom now!” or “Eating a yummy ham sandwich!”)

Frankly, if that’s how you’re using Twitter, you’re doing it wrong, and you should stop without subjecting your friends to a full week of that rubbish, let alone a full month.”

OK, that was definitely my initial frustration! I’d log-on to my account (albeit populated only by friends), hold-off on tweeting out anything, and just passively watch what others were writing. I caught glimpses of a few innovative applications of the real-time mine-able technology, but for the most part it seemed just like watching my Facebook stream on hyper-narcissistic speed.

In recent conversations it’s become apparent that many people aren’t quite sure what to make of Twitter. For the most part, it seems that people who see it as simply an extension of their Facebook status updates hate it. For whatever it’s worth, I’ve written-up some of my own discoveries in playing around with it and would appreciate hearing your own views!

SO…

1.) Don’t worry too much about, “What are you doing?” It’s a simple question, and while it does constitute the crux of the whole site, don’t obsess.  If you’re preoccupied with coming up with just the right content and the perfect frequency for updates, you can easily miss the point that the power of Twitter lies in interaction and engagement.

2.) Think one mega, global, public IM conversation… not how should one maintain a one-way steady stream of updates on one’s life. No matter how fascinating a life you lead — even if you manage to attain that seemingly elusive combo of witty, insightful, mundane, profound, yet personal commentary on the world — if you’re having a one-way conversation exclusively about yourself and all the wonderful escapades you and yourself get up to, even you’ll get bored of said self.

3.) Don’t just follow people you already know. While it’s customary on Facebook to skim through common friends, maybe even google a name, in an attempt to place an individual before accepting or sending a friend request; Twitter is all about striking up conversations with total strangers on topics of common interest. Besides, if you’re only following your friends, you’ll basically create a mirror of your Facebook homepage — great. This is especially the case if you have friends who link their blogs to their FB status bar and in turn to their Twitter feed…

4.) Play around with search.twitter.com. Just as many people have taken to reading online movie reviews before forking out $10+ at the theater, or to skimming Yelp reviews before trying out a new restaurant, Twitter can be fun for gauging public reaction to anything en masse — à la global village voice. There were some awesome visualizations made from the data gathered around Obama’s inauguration — like this worldwide map of tweets including “inauguration” with a positive attitude. And speaking of elections in which over a hundred million votes were cast… Payam and I tried typing “Idol” or a contestant’s name into search.twitter.com one night during the judge’s commentary and the responses were far more funny than any of the official remarks!

5.) Connect with people. Ok, ok, American Idol/pop culture may not be your thing, but whatever your thing is, you’ll likely find a way of connecting with folks across the planet who share an interest in it! Check-out the hashtags in the top trending topics, or explore your own interests. Type in “breast cancer survivor”, or “new religion”, “human rights”, “tips for going green”, “peanut allergies”, “bhangra music”, whatever… You will find people passionate about these topics, people searching for more info on them, and people from whom you can learn. @ these people, or follow them and DM them (send them a “direct message” privately). Be aware though that, unless you restrict access to your updates, others will do the same. If you post “shopping for a new swim suit”, for example, don’t be surprised if a retailer sends you a coupon code for their latest sale .

Other tips? Thoughts?

*Title reference

عيد رضوان مبارك

In case this is your first time hearing about this 12-day festival, here’s a re-post of a great introduction from the U.S. Baha’i website:

Click HERE to view the message, or HERE to create your own geoGreeting (thanks MAY).

And for more fun with Google Lat video messages, click HERE (thanks JOSH).

For the longest time I thought imbibing a caffeinated beverage of sorts was the simplest defense against pesky afternoon lethargy.  I’d heard people refer to “food coma’s” and one sluggish afternoon mentioned to a coworker that I had one.  This solicited a puzzled expression and “But we just split a bagel and minestrone soup!”  Hmmm… mental notes: 1.) soup and bagels (for others) do not a food coma make, and 2.) lest it have a precise definition of which I’m unaware, look up “food coma” before claiming to have one again…

In any case, thanks to mum’s insistence, I recently met with a functional medicine practitioner and discovered that I have a gluten allergy.  After a lengthy questionnaire and a series of tests, the doctor informed me that my body was producing a high level of anti-gliadin antibodies. Yikes! She told me to treat gluten (the protein in wheat, rye, and barley — the “glue” that binds pasta and baked goods) like a poison attacking my immunity.  For a surprisingly high number of individuals, gluten can mean poor digestion, inflammation and skin irritation in the short run; and chronic diseases over time. Yikes²!

Well, sobering news as that was, I’ve spent the past six weeks diligently avoiding “poison”.  And as ubiquitous as wheat may seem in this highly-processed society of ours, there’s a surprisingly tasty world beyond it! Ok, some gluten-free food is downright disgusting, but there’s no gluten in corn, potato, rice, tapioca, arrowroot, carob, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, lupin, lentils, or quinoa.

I’m trying to be as strict as possible and have definitely noticed increased energy levels. I haven’t had that yucky feeling after any meals… you know, where the food seems to’ve drained rather than revitalized you?  I’ve also actually felt hungry at regular intervals — which might seem like a strange thing to celebrate, but when gluten messes with your metabolism it can often be tough to listen to your body.

What’s proving tricky, though, is the fact that (especially in the United States) gluten lurks in lots of unexpected places. For example, you find gluten in:

• soy sauce
• teriyaki sauce
• blue cheese (which comse from mold grown on… bread)
• malt vinegar/extract/syrup
• bulgur and couscous (used in tabouleh)
• semolina
• udon (wheat) noodles
• licorice
• pickles
• imitation crab
• elsewhere?

Gluten is also often used in fillers in many processed foods (like soups, yogurt, snack foods, lunch meats, sausages, ground beef, ice cream, etc.). Check the labels for words like: “stabilizer”, “starch”, “flavoring”, “emulsifier”, “hydrolyzed”, “binder”, “maltodextrin”, and “enriched”.

I’ve heard from friends about gluten-free menu’s at a few restaurant chains — like PF Changs, Legal Sea Foods, Outback Steakhouse , Maggiano’s Little Italy (yes, pasta!), and Amici’s Pizza (gluten-free crusts ).

If others have tips, insights, or personal experience regarding any of this, please share!

“A mechanism of world communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect regularity.”

~ Shoghi Effendi, 11 March 1936

♦

Given the success of virtual gifts it’s obvious our generation has developed a strong interest in this manner of expressing sentiments, but a new initiative launched in the Facebook Gift Shop today allows for gift-giving with purpose. Very cool and, not surprisingly, it’s already raised thousands of dollars since going live.  Also, check out Facebook for Good .

Social media for positive change — Hooray!