Obligatory Jasmin Pictures

Passages

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 20th, 2006, my grandmother Aarona Booker Kohlman passed on to the next world at the age of 93. My grandfather Leslie, also 93, passed away in September.

In tribute to her long full life as teacher, writer, traveler, mother, grandmother, and friend to all I offer the following passages from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh:

"Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. Consider the light of the lamp. Though an external object may interfere with its radiance, the light itself continueth to shine with undiminished power. In like manner, every malady afflicting the body of man is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power. When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal. Every pure, every refined and sanctified soul will be endowed with tremendous power, and shall rejoice with exceeding gladness."

"Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty. The movement of My Pen is stilled when it attempteth to befittingly describe the loftiness and glory of so exalted a station. The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal, nor any other earthly agency describe. Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, inmates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship. With them that soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds. If any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul in the worlds of God, the Lord of the throne on high and of earth below, his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that most exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station...."

"Know thou, of a truth, that if the soul of man hath walked in the ways of God, it will, assuredly, return and be gathered to the glory of the Beloved. By the righteousness of God! It shall attain a station such as no pen can depict, or tongue describe. The soul that hath remained faithful to the Cause of God, and stood unwaveringly firm in His Path shall, after his ascension, be possessed of such power that all the worlds which the Almighty hath created can benefit through him. Such a soul provideth, at the bidding of the Ideal King and Divine Educator, the pure leaven that leaveneth the world of being, and furnisheth the power through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. Consider how meal needeth leaven to be leavened with. Those souls that are the symbols of detachment are the leaven of the world. Meditate on this, and be of the thankful."

Road Trip to Christmas Town

There were a lot of directions I could have gone with this post. One that first came to mind was to call it "the insane 5-hour white-knuckle terror ride" and talk about the incredible danger of taking a simple road trip due to Brazil's substandard highways and traffic-law-ignorning drivers. But, for the first time on a Brazilian road trip, we actually didn't come within a split-second of death, so that was a no go. Sure, there were the same bad roads and drivers, but this time the trip went remarkably smoothly. Only once did I see a car make a pass by going 3-wide on a 2-lane highway, and no one even attempted the daredevil 4-wide (this time).

The second possibility was to spend this post talking about how the highway (BR-101) is now being 4-laned and how this will affect all the little towns along the route like it did in the 1960s in the US when the interstates went in, but that was just too socialogical and boring to even know where to begin.

What I will mention is that Natal ("Christmas" in Portuguese - hence the title) is the most beautiful city in the Brazilian northeast, it has one of the strongest and most active Bahá'í communities in the region, and it will be host to one of 3 huge summer (Southern hemisphere, remember) youth conferences from 25-28 of January (hint, hint). Emilia is now a member of the Regional Bahá'í Council, so we will be making this trip several times in the year to come. To keep from getting long-winded: the meeting went well, Jasmin met some new friends her age, and we got to spend a little time with some of the Friends that we haven't seen for months and/or years. All-in-all, a very nice weekend and a lovely experience. I'll try to get some photos up in the next day or so, since I have been lacking in that department lately.

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season!

Payback can be fun (and funny!)

I've been pretty sick the past week or so, and am finally starting to feel better. Anyway, I don't have a lot to say today, but someone sent me the following link a couple of days ago and since I almost burst a lung laughing, I figured it might be fun to pass it along.

If you've ever received the "Nigerian bank scam" emails (and if you have email, you've probably received hundreds of 'em), you know you're supposed to delete them, right? Or...you could decide that it is time to have some fun. You won't believe what this guy did!

(Caution, if you are in a public place, people will be asking you why you are laughing so hard and may possibly summon medical attention on your behalf.) OK, fair warning. Laughter is the best medicine, after all. CLICK HERE.

A Arquitetura da Unidade

A couple of weeks ago (November 22nd, to be exact), the Brazilian public television station TV Cultura aired a 54-minute documentary entitled A Arquitetura da Unidade ("The Architecture of Unity"). This documentary showed the architecture of the Bahá'í Temples around the world and of the Holy Shrines in Haifa, included interviews with people who serve in Langenhain, Wilmette, and Bahapur, showed clips of various Bahá'í choirs singing in the Temples, and officially announced the construction of the new Temple in Chile. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch it, but the friends who did have the opportunity have all said it was spectacular. I am hoping it will be re-aired.

This is the second documentary about the Bahá'í Faith produced by TV Cultura, the first being Seguidores da Glória ("Followers of the Glory") which was first shown in 2003.

Here is my attempt at translating an interview with the program's creator, journalist Vicente Adorno. All errors in translation are 100% mine (the original Portuguese version can be found here.)

What were your personal impressions of the Bahá'í Temple in Frankfurt?

Adorno -What attracted my attention the most was the fact that the Temple is in a very tranquil, practically rural, area and it stands out as a modern and hospitable landmark in the middle of the traditional landscape of the region. I was very impressed by the perfect acoustics inside the temple and with the impeccable organizationl structure around it.

How was your contact with the German architect?

Adorno - We were afraid that Teuto Rocholl was not going to be able to appear because his wife had suffered an accident and had been hospitalized. But the architect graciously made time to come from Frankfurt to Langenhain to record our interview. He was extremely cordial, very clear in his explanations and he became happy when I told him that the temple was a perfect combination of architectural daring, having a lot of light and a very welcoming aspect, and at the same time classical tradition, because it made us feel, despite all of its modern stylings, that it invited us to reflect - it is a house of prayer in the oldest and fullest sense that we know, reclothed in a contemporary form.

What were your personal impressions of the Bahá'í Temple in New Delhi?

Adorno - The Lotus Temple is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen in my life. It appears to grow naturally out of the landscape while at the same time opposing it, because it represents an oasis of serenity in the middle of the frenetic agitation of the Indian capital, today one of the largest "human anthills" on the planet. The best proof that its audacious and magnificent form accomplishes what was hoped for in its original design is that thousands and thousands of people are enchanted daily by this monument of incredible beauty and they leave it visibly moved, at ease with themselves and with life. And more, despite the great number who have visited, not one incident has been registered. Aggressiveness seems to dissipate as people comtemplate the stylized lotus that dominates its surroundings.

What were your personal impressions of the Bahá'í Temple in Chicago?

Adorno - In my conversation with the architect, Bob Armbruster, who is responsible for the restoration and conservation of the Wilmette Temple, I spontaneously used the expression "intricate embroiderings" to refer to the ornaments that cover the entire edifice and, more, to say that I considered these ornaments to be an ingenious way of beautifying the building while at the same time making it such that it will always be full of light. He smiled and told me that this was exactly the effect planned by architect Louis Bourgeous. And the location chosen, at the shore of an enormous lake that separates the United States from Canada, is really very beautiful. The building is integrated well within the landscape as an architectural landmark and as a house of prayer.

What drew your attention most about the Bahá'í Temples?

Adorno - In all of them, I was impressed by the beauty and perfection of the construction, the preocupation in following a well-defined model but with attention to the characteristics of each place and the extremely hospitable atmosphere. I was also drawn to the care and dedication of all of the people involved in the administration and maintenance of the temple.

How much time was spent in the editing of this documentary?

Adorno - With various interruptions, about 9 months. We could have concluded the work in less time, if our infrastructure were a little more adequate. Our documentary department has a series of projects in progress and should have many more on its plate for next year - our team, however, has remained quite small for so much work. But in some ways the delay was good, because, with the help of Flávio Rassekh, our ideas for the script matured and we arrived at a harmonious consensus regarding the program's final form.

Whose voices are used in the documentary?

Adorno - For this job we invited some of the professionals in the service of the Padre Anchieta Foundation. Valéria Grillo, with her habitual brilliance, performed the narration of the principal passages. Carlos Oliveira is the voice that introduces the concepts that orient each of the segments; Hélio Vaccari dubbed the masculine figures, and Madeleine Alves, the feminine. In other words, a team without defect.

How was your visit to the Bahá'í office at the United Nations, and your contact with Ms. Bani Dugal?

Adorno - I insisted from the beginning that we had to also go to New York because I felt that the Bahá'í presence at the UN has been little known and deserved to have fuller recognition, because of its pioneering spirit and because of the many aspects covered by the actions of the Bahá'ís in this international body - which is perfectly in accord with the fundamental concepts of the Bahá'í Faith itself, connected to the principle of "the Earth is one county." Ms. Bani Dugal is an extremely busy person but also showed us great generosity and invited us to a short but very enlightening interview. I believe that a good number of our viewers will feel enthusiastic about the marked participation of the Bahá'ís at the UN and with the fact that they are represented by a woman - who is serious and compentent, by all appearances.