April222009
"The present time is not an economic revolution but a spiritual revolution. We, the people of today, are passing through the most momentous and far-reaching changes that have taken place since the beginning of recorded history. Science has made us the undisputed masters of all the forces of Nature. There is enough grain to feed everybody. There is enough wool to clothe everybody. There is enough stone and mortar to house everybody. And yet the picture all around us is one of vast hopelessness and despair.
Something therefore must be wrong with the picture! That is what we say. Would it not perhaps be a little fairer to confess: ‘Something is wrong with ourselves?’
‘To have or to be!’ I shall submit that terrific sentence to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear and that true spiritual courage that is the basis of all permanent progress."
— Hendrick Van Loon. “To Have or to Be.”
Tags: /Hendrick Van Loon /To Have or to Be /social transformation
Baha'is commemorate Baha'u'llah's public declaration of His mission
Yesterday marked the first day of a twelve day festival commemorated by Baha’is throughout the world. It is known as the period of Ridvan, named after the garden where Baha’u’llah publicly declared Himself as the Messenger of God for this Day in age. The article below sums it up well and is taken from the US Baha’i website:
In a garden of Paradise, the Baha’i Faith takes root
April 20, 2009 - 12:00am
What makes the Festival of Ridvan, celebrated April 21 to May 2, the holiest of days for Baha’is? It commemorates the anniversary of Baha’u’llah’s declaration in 1863 that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions.
Up to this point, Baha’u’llah, who was born into a noble Persian family in 1817, had dedicated His life to improving the world and helping others. He became one of the foremost followers of the Bab, for which He was imprisoned, tortured and banished from His native land.
After spending 10 years in exile in Baghdad, Baha’u’llah was ordered to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) for another period of exile. Before leaving Baghdad, He spent 12 days in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. The garden later was named Ridvan, meaning “Paradise” or “good pleasure” in Arabic.
As His followers gathered around Him, Baha’u’llah announced that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions — “Him Whom God shall make manifest.” His declaration marks the beginning of the Baha’i Faith.
Tags: /Ridvan
