Greater Philadelphia Main Line Bahais

Tredyffrin Township officials with members of the Bahá'i community dedicate park bench at the Wilson Farm Park.

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 13:08:12 -0700

Tredyffrin Township officials with members of the Bahá'i community dedicate park bench at the Wilson Farm Park.

Members of the Baha'i Community, along with Tredyffrin township Supervisor and Board Chair Heather Greenberg, Township Manager Bill Martin and Assistant Township Manager Matt Baumann, gathered at Wilson Farm Park for a bench dedication on October 9th, 2018. The bench shares a simple message; "So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth." - Bahá'u'lláh

Thank you to our township officials who dedicate their time and efforts to the betterment of our community.

World illumined by light of bicentenary celebrations | Bahá'i World News Service

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 12:47:35 -0700

http://news.bahai.org/story/1213/

BAHA'I WORLD CENTRE — Two hundred years after the birth of Baha’u’llah, countless communities in every corner of the globe are honoring His compelling vision of a better world.

In Iran, the land where Baha’u’llah was born and where His Faith has suffered endless waves of persecution, one of the many simple gestures of unity came from a Muslim family, who offered a beautifully decorated cake as a gift to their Baha’i neighbors in honor of the bicentenary. Particularly poignant was the fact that some members of that family only a generation before had been antagonistic towards the Faith and had even refused to touch Baha’is, believing them to be unclean.

Throughout Europe, gatherings both large and small have attracted many participants today. In Paris, at an apartment that was once graced by the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, a small group of dignitaries and other prominent officials met this morning to say prayers together. This intimate event followed a set of round table discussions held by the Baha’i community on social cohesion and inclusion in France. SLIDESHOW 8 images

Princess Soamsawali watches a dance performance at a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Baha’u’llah’s birth in Bangkok.

Another significant aspect of the bicentenary period in France unfolded in Corsica. For the first time, a selection of Baha’i prayers and writings has been translated into the Corsican language and published in a bilingual Corsican and French book. A musical composition in Corsican can be heard here.

In Thailand, the Royal...Read More

Senator Andy Dinniman, Mayor Jordan Norley of West Chester, and Representative Carolyn T. Comitta’s office, present proclamations recognizing the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah.

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:36:23 -0700

“Now therefore, Senator Andrew Dinniman of the 19th District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, recognizes the Bicentennial of the Birth of Bahá’u’llah and thanks the members of the Baha'i Faith for inspiring individuals and communities as they work to improve their own lives and contribute to the advancement of civilization."

http://www.west-chester.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10182017-600

Hearing “the Divinity in the music”: Dizzy Gillespie remembered at 100

Fri, 06 Oct 2017 07:55:33 -0700

Hearing “the Divinity in the music”: Dizzy Gillespie remembered at 100

Bahá’í World News Service

http://news.bahai.org/story/1204/#podcast

NEW YORK — Dizzy Gillespie is remembered not only for his genius as a trumpeter who broke new ground in jazz but also for his long-standing dedication to the teachings of Baha’u’llah. Reflecting on the life and accomplishments of this iconic figure 100 years after his birth would be incomplete without reflecting on the Baha’i belief that seemed most to inspire and drive his work—that all human beings are part of one family.

“Dizzy represented an organic breakthrough in music,” asserts jazz pianist Mike Longo about Dizzy Gillespie, his late collaborator and friend.

“His music is from such a deep place,” Longo says, scanning the walls of his apartment on Riverside Drive on Manhattan’s upper west side. Framed photographs capture the decades of a musical partnership that ranged from playing sold-out concerts in major venues to private practice sessions at Gillespie’s home in Englewood on the other side of the Hudson River.

IN DEPTH: Listen to an interview with Mike Longo

Robert Weinberg is a journalist who recently sat down with Dizzy Gillespie’s longtime friend and bandmate Mike Longo to talk about Gillespie’s life as a pioneering jazz musician and a member of the Baha’i Faith. All music featured on the podcast comes from a concert Longo and Gillespie performed at in Osaka, Japan, in 1987 and was provided by Mike Longo.

https://cdn.zencast.fm/download/media/1966/cc7f92c8-175c-4769-ad1d-a2a73f6704d9.mp3

But jazz was not the only uniting factor in Gillespie and Longo’s enduring friendship. Both men were attracted to Baha’u’llah’s message of oneness and unity—principles that would lead them...Read More

Harare prepares for Bahá’ís bicentennial celebrations | The Herald

Fri, 28 Jul 2017 07:29:42 -0700

Harare, Zimbabwe

The Bahá’ís of Harare, and thousands of other Baha’is communities around the world, are preparing to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of the birth of Baha’u’llah in October of this year.

The celebration being planned in Harare will be a multi-cultural event as observed in many other parts of the world. The celebration will at the same time reflect the character of the local community.

Born in Persia, in 1817, Bahá’u’lláh began at age 27 an undertaking that has gradually captured the imagination and loyalty of several million people from virtually every race, culture, class, and nation on earth.

Bahá’u’lláh is regarded by the Bahá’ís as the most recent in the line of the Messengers of God.

He delivered a new Revelation from God to humanity.

Thousands of verses, letters and books flowed from His pen. In His Writings, He outlined a framework for the development of a global civilization which takes into account both the spiritual and material dimensions of human life.

As in the case of the other Messengers of God, Bahá’u’lláh was the direct recipient of Revelation from God. Revelation, in the Bahá’í view, is the infallible and direct conveyance of God’s creative Word that is accessible only to the Messengers of God who transmit it to mankind.

This innate, divinely revealed knowledge enables them to establish laws and teachings that correspond to human needs and conditions at a given time in history.

Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings offer spiritual guidance as well as directives for personal and social conduct.

They are designed to reshape the divisive society of the present world and usher in an era of universal peace. The belief and conviction that we all belong to one human family is at the heart of the Bahá’í Faith.

The principle of the oneness of humankind is “the pivot round which the...Read More

Bicentenaries highlight unity | News.Bahai.org

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 08:56:23 -0700

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — As the Baha'i community prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baha'u'llah, the Harvard Divinity School is also commemorating its bicentenary.

This confluence of noteworthy anniversaries has more in common than the mere overlap of dates. In the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, a number of eminent American philosophers, artists, and writers connected to both the Baha'i Faith and Harvard University were engaged in a dynamic, emerging discourse on unity.

This was a subject of a recent presentation, which addressed how the Baha'i principle of unity expressed itself in the development of the American Baha'i community. The presentation took place at Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions and was titled "The Religion of Unity and the Unity of Religion." It was given by Sasha Dehghani, a visiting scholar at Harvard, who is doing research on the Baha'i Faith as an independent world religion.

"When I first arrived at Harvard," said Dr. Dehghani, "Prof. Francis Clooney, Director of the Center of the Study of World Religions, welcomed me by saying: 'We need religions today that create unity and tear down walls.'"

Addressing how the concepts of unity and the oneness of humankind shaped Baha'i endeavors in the early years of the American Baha'i community, Dehghani highlighted major milestones and discussed some of the significant thinkers of that time.

The earliest public mention of the Baha'i Faith in the United States was at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, where the concept of the unity of religions was among the most remarkable topics explored.

The spirit that animated the World's Parliament that year inspired Sarah Farmer, the owner of the Green Acre Inn in Maine and one of America's early...Read More

Baha’is Celebrate Nine Holidays Each Year | St. Croix Source

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 08:20:51 -0700

Christiansted, Virgin Islands by Source staff

The Baha’is of the Virgin Islands brought in the Baha’i New Year with prayers and festivities on March 19. Their New Year parties also brought an end to their 19-day period of fasting and spiritual renewal.

The Baha’i calendar is based on a solar calendar of 19 months and 19 days. The four or five days remaining make up the 365 days of the Gregorian calendar. These days are used for “Intercalary Days,” which is a time of hospitality and gift-giving used to prepare for the last month of the Baha’i year, which is for fasting. The Baha’i calendar was inaugurated in 1844 with the declaration of The Bab, the forerunner of the Baha’i Faith.

The New Year is the first of nine Baha’i holy days held throughout the year. It began the year 174 B.E. and is significant as Baha’is all over the world are eagerly anticipating the 200th anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah, the Promised One of all ages, on Sunday, Oct. 22. This historic occasion is immediately preceded by the celebration of the Birth of The Bab on Oct. 21. (Bahá’í dates begin at sunset, so celebrations may be held from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon).

Also in April, the Baha’is celebrate the King of Festivals, Ridvan, when Baha’u’llah announced His mission. It will be celebrated on Monday, April 20, the First Day; Friday, April 28, the Ninth Day; and Monday, May 1, the Twelfth Day. The public are invited and welcome to any Baha’i holy day.

For more information on the Baha’i Faith and local activities including study circles, devotional meetings, junior youth groups and children’s classes in Christiansted, call 277-8470; in Frederiksted, call 772-3827; on St. John, call 714-1641; and on St. Thomas, call 643-5059.

Moving tribute by India’s President | Bahá'i World News Service

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 12:29:30 -0700

NEW DELHI — 2017 marks the two hundred year anniversary of the birth of Baha’u’llah, and thousands of Baha’i communities in localities around the world are preparing to commemorate this momentous occasion in October of this year.

In India, as preparations advance, the Baha’i community has received from the President of India—His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee—a moving tribute honoring this bicentenary year. President Mukherjee’s message draws attention to the relevance today of Baha’u’llah’s well-known statement, “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,” and calls on all Indians to reflect on the life and vision of Baha’u’llah.

This Year Baha'is Will Celebrate Bicentennial of Twin Holy Birthdays | World Religion News

Sun, 08 Jan 2017 12:18:25 -0800

The Baha’i House of Worship, Germany

OCTOBER 2017

The Baha’i community is gearing up to celebrate the twin-celebration of the Birth of the Bab and the Birth of Baha’u’llah. One of the world’s most recent religions, Baha’is today are present on every continent, and have some of the world’s most beautiful houses of worship, such as the Lotus Temple in Delhi (one of the most visited buildings in the world) and the new House of Worship in Chile. This Year Baha’i's will celebrate the bicentennial of the Twin Holy Birthdays. While Baha’i from all over the world are excited about the festivities, the members of the community in Iran are going to have to celebrate the events in prison. Ironically, Baha’u’llah was born in the Iranian city of Tehran.

The birth of the founder of the Baha’i faith -Baha’u’llah and his predecessor, the Bab, whose ideas laid the foundation and are considered very sacred days for the Baha’is. Although their birth dates are separated from each other by a short period of time, this year the Baha’i solar calendar puts their birthdays as two consecutive days.

The Twin Holy Birthdays will be October 21 and 22. Baha’u’llah and the Bab are both considered to be manifestations of God. The Bab is considered to have paved the way for Baha’u’llah. To the West, this would translate as the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. The bicentennial anniversary will be celebrated on October 21 and 22 this year in around 100,000 localities around the world by more than 6 million Baha’is. The only place where the festivities will not be in full vigor will be Iran, where a systematic persecution of the Baha’i by the government threatens to bring the community to extinction. Despite repeated pleas by the leaders of the community, the Baha’i in Iran are still denied education opportunities, permission to start businesses, or jobs. This economic and intellectual impoverishment is slowly killing the Iranian Baha’i community,...Read More

Baha’is Prepare for Bicentennial in 2017 | The Huffington Post

Fri, 30 Dec 2016 12:07:26 -0800

As 2017 begins, over 5 million Baha’is worldwide are preparing for major upcoming celebrations. On October 22, 2017, in some 100,000 localities worldwide, they will celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith.

The global festivities involving people of thousands of ethnic backgrounds is demonstrative of a key message of Baha’u’llah’s life and teachings: that a special time has arrived for the entire human race as it gradually moves from a stage of collective adolescence to one of maturity and wholeness.

The Baha’i writings explain:

In cycles gone by though harmony was established, yet, owing to the absence of means, the unity of all mankind could not have been achieved. Continents remained widely divided ... In this day, however, means of communication have multiplied, and the five continents of the earth have virtually merged into one.... In like manner all the members of the human family, whether peoples or governments, cities or villages, have become increasingly interdependent. For none is self-sufficiency any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century.

How to achieve this unity of humankind, while at the same time cherishing the tremendous diversity of the world’s cultures, is at the core of the teachings of Baha’u’llah, contained in letters and books spanning over 100 volumes. Luis Gushiken, a member of Brazil’s parliament in 1992 when it held a special session to pay tribute to the life of Baha’u’llah, described His writings as “the most colossal religious work written by the pen of a single Man.” Readers will find that Baha’u’llah’s writings are...Read More