February 2008 Archives
I'd been meaning to blog about these 5 days, the 26th of February to the 1st of March, as they're a special time for Baha'is. However, I've been rather busy and not able to. Luckily, Alice has done it for me!
Basically, the Baha'i Calendar is 19 months of 19 days each - this gives us 361 days (what, you don't know your 19 times table?). To make the year equivalent to a solar year, four more days are added (five in a leap year), and these are called intercalary days. The month following the intercalary days is the month of fasting.
It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end --these days of giving that precede the season of restraint--let them enter upon the Fast.
Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas p25
Go read Alice's post - she covers basically what I've said but in more detail, more emphasis on the fast, and some personal reflection. It's good.
Edinburgh University's Student Newspaper, imaginatively titled Student, came out this week with a "God Issue", with particular emphasis on religion and the like. As a well-known Baha'i on the scene, I was asked to write a short comment piece about God. Student don't seem to have updated their website with the latest issue (or indeed with any recent issues) so I can't link you to the article, but below I reproduce my pre-edit copy that I sent to them. (The actual one that was printed is shortened for space constraints and was made a little less academic.)
(Also, if anyone wants to source the three quotations: they're from Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p51-52, p46-48, and p215 respectively.)
I'm a Bahá'í student studying here at the University of Edinburgh. I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts on God, and how that fits into my belief system. The Bahá’í Faith originated in Persia, modern-day Iran, around the mid 19th-Century. Bahá’ís follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic for ‘the glory of God’), a Persian nobleman who spent much of his life in exile for his radical teachings.
Bahá’u’lláh’s main teaching was that we have reached a new stage in humanity’s social evolution, where the unity of mankind must be embraced in the creation of a global and just society. Bahá’u’lláh also taught that all of the world's great religions come from the same divine source.
If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them [religious prophets] all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith.
That all sounds very nice, but how does this work, when the various religions of the world have such diverse views on the divine reality? For example, the Islam promotes a strictly transcendent monotheism: there is but one God, exalted above all and completely unreachable to humans. Many Christians and Vaishnavite Hindus hold a belief in an imminent monotheism: that God is one, but was incarnated in flesh in the form of Christ or Krishna. Zen Buddhists adhere to a monistic vision of the absolute reality: that the absolute (Nirvana) is the only true existence, all else is illusion. Hindus who hold to the Advaita Vedanta will attest that the divine reality permeates all things – arguably a form of pantheism, or panentheism. And finally, there are concepts of polytheism and animism that we find in indigenous tribal beliefs.
The Bahá’í Faith affirms all of these teachings. Central to the Bahá’í understanding is that God (or the Divine Reality, or Yahweh, or Allah, or Brahman, or Dharma, etc...) is unknowable in His Essence. (The masculine pronoun is here used to refer to God simply as an accident of language: no masculinity or gender is being assigned to the Divine. The Bahá’í Faith, incidentally, is one of the first world religions to directly and unequivocally proclaim and uphold the fundamental equality of the sexes.)
A painting cannot comprehend its painter, and in a similar way, humanity cannot comprehend God. God both encompasses all creation, and transcends it. Any attempt on our part to come to some understanding of the divine will invariably be inadequate. In this way, we can state that each of the seemingly contradictory views outlined above are in fact complementary aspects of the unknowable essence. God is all of these things, and none of these things. The Bahá’í Writings speak of God as being the ‘all-knowing’ and ‘all-powerful’, but also that the station of God is that of ‘nothingness’. The divine reality is not constrained by human limitations, such as gender, power, space, time, or even existence. No words can suitably describe that which is beyond all understanding. As such, the Bahá’í concept of God is radically different from that of other religions, believing in an ‘Essence of essences’ that underpins all reality. As Bahá’u’lláh explains:
To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. He is, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the sight of men.
This unknowable nature of God, however, does not mean that humanity is completely bereft of divine knowledge, or that any attempt at religious certitude is futile. On the contrary – an inability to completely understand something does not preclude a partial understanding. In the Bahá’í view, God has progressively revealed Himself to humanity through a series of messengers, including (but not limited to) Abraham, the Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, and, more recently, Bahá’u’lláh. This line of messengers stretches far back into prehistory – although their names have been lost to antiquity – and will continue well into the future. The purpose of these messengers, called ‘Manifestations of God’ in Bahá’í terminology, Bahá’u’lláh outlines as follows:
The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship among men.
In my opinion, this understanding of God resolves controversial problems about which religion is ‘correct’. It makes it easier to reconcile science and religion – a major Bahá’í principle – by abstracting God away from physical reality. It calls for all people to have respect for all faiths. I think that this kind of global perspective is sorely needed in today’s suffering world.
The other day I just finished Moojan Momen's Baha'u'llah: A Short Biography. I bought this book on the strength of a personal recommendation and a few reviews. One of the reviews I read (I cannot recall where) used the word "hagiography", a word that was new to me at the time. (It means the biography of the life of a saint, usually in gushingly praising terms.) The review was spelling out that this work is decidedly not a hagiography. I am compelled to agree. The book is undeniably Baha'i in its angle - it is written by a Baha'i, about the founder of the Baha'i Faith, and supports the Baha'i line on many aspects of the history of the early years of the religion. However, it is neither apologetic nor preachy, being decidedly academic in tone and objective in its treatment of sources.
After a short introduction, chapter one deals with the childhood and early life (1817-1844) of Baha'u'llah, born Mírzá Ḥusayn 'Alí. Chapter two covers 1844-1853, as Baha'u'llah becomes involved in the Cause of the Bab. His exile to Baghdad, and the next 10 years (1853-163), often called the "Baghdad period" for obvious reasons, is the subject of chapter three. The next chapter covers Baha'u'llah's time in Europe, namely Istanbul and Edirne (1863-1868). As is common in historical treatments of Baha'u'llah's life, the time from 1868 to his death (1892) is split into two - "The Early 'Akká Period" (1868-1877) and "The Later 'Akká Period" (1877-1892), detailing the time Baha'u'llah spent in the prison-city of 'Akká under the control of the Ottoman Empire. These form chapters five and six respectively. The book continues with three more chapters on more general themes: chapter seven is on Baha'u'llah's writings; chapter eight on his claims as to who he was and what he represented; and chapter nine on his teachings as a religious leader.
The history of the Baha'i Faith is something I'll readily admit to an incomplete knowledge of. As such, I found this book really helpful in both contextualising and understanding many of the events of Baha'i history, and also many of the writings of Baha'u'llah. It gave me a real sense of Baha'u'llah's humanity - he was a real person, with feelings and tragedies - and also a greater appreciation of his majesty and grace with which he endured his relentless sufferings.
The book is well-researched, and, as I'm coming to expect of Momen, referenced throughout, with helpful suggestions of further reading. While towards the end it gets a little heavy on quotations, it is excellent reading throughout. I'd recommend it to both Baha'is seeking a greater understanding of the founder of their faith, and to those who aren't Baha'is who simply want to know more about the origins of the religion, and the story of the personage behind it.
Momen, Moojan. Baha'u'llah: A Short Biography. Oxford: Oneworld, 2007.
Okay, two quick things. A while ago I mentioned my blossoming love for Vye computers and their ultraportable laptops, particularly the mini-v s37. Well, I've discovered something better. The Asus Eee. I really want one, especially seeing as my current laptop (an old reliable iBook G4) has got a broken screen, so portablility is limited.
Secondly, I've also fallen in love with Martyn Bennett, a Celtic Fusion musician. I've listened to his album Bothy Culture twice in a row now, which is something I almost never do. It's amazing, and has everything you could ask for in an album - bagpipes, traditional Scottish melodies, flutes, fiddles, Irishmen, ouds, Scandinavian singing, poetry, pumping beats, cut up drum and bass samples... I really want to get his other stuff now. It's a real shame that he died in 2005, as he was so talented.
I was at an interfaith dinner this evening, a joint effort organised by a collection of different faith and belief-based societies here at Edinburgh University. At the dinner there were representatives from the Christian Union, the Catholic Students' Union, the Buddhist Society, the Islamic Society, the Vedic Society, the Baha'i Society, and the Humanist Society. It was held at the university chaplaincy, and the chaplaincy staff covered all the costs for the event, so kudos to them!
It was planned as a relatively informal get together - a chance for the various societies and their members to get to know each other on a more personal level, hopefully learn something about each other (and themselves), and to build lasting friendships.
That last point was emphasised in the opening comments of Rev Di Williams, the university chaplain, who encouraged us to go beyond the facile "speak to 3 new people tonight" or "meet someone from a different religion" ideas, and really challenge ourselves to connect with and develop friendships with those present. After her speech, there were a few icebreaker games, courtesy of the Baha'i Society, followed by lots and lots of delicious Indian food, courtesy of the Vedic Society (who had been cooking for 3 hours prior to the event!).
After eating, each society gave a short presentation of an item. The Baha'is having already given their icebreakers and a short talk, the Christian Union gave a short talk on Christianity followed by a song about Jesus. The Buddhists followed, with a Pali language chant, and then the Islamic Society with a quiz about Islam. Next the Vedic Society performed a dance and a song, the Catholic Union sang a couple of hymns, and the Humanists ended with some fun games for all. Thank yous were announced, and everyone pitched in at the end to help tidy and wash up. Afterwards, some of us went over to the Catholic Chaplaincy on George Square to have some tea, biscuits, and chat.
In all, there were about 50 people present at the dinner. It was funded by the chaplaincy, but we had a wee donation bucket for Oxfam, and we managed to raise £9.71 for the charity. That might not seem like much, but this event wasn't planned as a fundraiser - it was planned as a get-together.
I have a bit of a puzzle at events like this, that I'm involved in organising - on the one hand, I dislike organising things, and get stressed out during them, making sure that everything is running to plan and on schedule (one of the few times I will actually get stressed out, incidentally). On the other hand, I really enjoy interfaith, getting a chance to talk about my faith and listen to other people give their perspective. In spite of my inner turmoil, however, I have to say I definitely enjoyed tonight - great people, great food, great presentations.
It's really refreshing when things like this work, and work well - and to see the enthusiasm of everyone present about doing interfaith work, fostering understanding and friendships between societies. I've had a good day today.
No pictures as yet, but will be up as soon as I can get them. If you're reading an RSS feed, check the website itself.
Computers confuse me. I've been using them most of my life and yet they still manage to get the better of me. Just today, the "feeds" menu in my web browser Opera seems to have disappeared, making it a lot harder for me to browse my RSS updates. I've also been playing around with LaTeX a lot lately, and (as well as getting bogged down in dependency issues) I've been struggling to understand why many of my neat formulae and tables refuse to display correctly.
As such, when I'm looking for ways to unwind,a it's refreshing to find a video as hilarious as this one. Football (soccer, if you must) with all the players wearing binoculars. Enjoy.
Looks like your man Simon Munro has got the videos of his album launch up on YouTube. You can see them here. Go looky. The lighting could be a little better, but the performance is spot on.
