Personal Reflections on the Baha’i Faith from Around the World – Collection 13

“Personal Reflections on the Baha’i Faith from Around the World” is a Baha’i Blog initiative in honor of the bicentenary anniversaries of the Births of Baha’u’llah and the Bab, the two Prophet-founders of the Baha’i Faith.

In this initiative, we share portraits of Baha’is and their friends from different countries and territories all over the world, along with a few of their words about what the Baha’i Faith means to them or how it has touched their lives.

You can stay updated by following the “Personal Reflections” social media pages Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also visit the website dedicated to this project:personalreflections.bahaiblog.net

In 2017 we shared 200 portraits and reflections in honor of the Birth of Baha’u’llah and in 2019 we decided to share another 200 to celebrate the bicentenary of the Bab’s Birth. Our hope is that by sharing these pictures and excerpts, we will answer the call from the Universal House of Justice to communicate “a sense of what it means for humanity that these two Luminaries [the Bab and Baha’u’llah] rose successively above the horizon of the world.”

Here is the 13th collection of images displayed here via our Instagram page, and it’s the third set of 20 in honor of the Birth of the Bab.

We hope you find this project as inspirational as we do!

 

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“I encountered the Baha’i Faith during a period where I was thinking about who, why and how I am. Thinking about purpose and character, the words of Baha’u’llah resonated with me the moment they touched my ear and my heart. In the Baha’i writings it suggests every community, and in turn every individual, finds ‘in these Divine Teachings the realization of its highest aspirations.’ This reflects the effect it had on my life: providing a path for which to strive and aspire. In it, my soul has found expression.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryoftheBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphotos #Bahaiphoyographer #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on May 9, 2019 at 2:09pm PDT

 

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“The teachings of the Baha’i Faith help us think about how we can reorganize our society and build a new civilization where everyone has a part to play… The Bab and Baha’u’llah are Twin Luminaries that have reenergized the world in a way that will help us achieve new successes, and to think about the spiritual aspect of our being.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on May 13, 2019 at 5:43pm PDT

 

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“When I think of the Bab and Babis, certainly courage comes to mind, a different kind of courage… It’s only from the example of the early Babis that we can recognize just the level we have to strive for in terms of our steadfastness, courage and perseverance.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on May 17, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT

 

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“I learned about the Baha’i Faith’s teaching about all religions, how even Islam, Christianity, and all the religions belongs to one God. That’s what attracted me.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphotos #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on May 21, 2019 at 4:17pm PDT

 

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“On a daily basis I remind myself that reality isn’t out there — reality is based on my actions, they will change the reality around me. And if my actions are strong, spiritual Baha’i actions, that’s going to have a much, much bigger impact.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on May 25, 2019 at 4:31pm PDT

 

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“The Bab and Baha’u’llah never met. Tahirih never met the Bab. It’s just astounding to me how all these people were so moved by His message without even meeting Him. And just pure faith alone managed to create this huge [revolution]. It’s just very inspiring to me actually.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on May 29, 2019 at 5:06pm PDT

 

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“The point of getting a high degree of education for members of the Baha’i community isn’t to have that elite status of being an educated community — it’s more so to advance knowledge as a whole, so through researching and different studies, you can bring knowledge as a whole to greater heights.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphotos #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 2, 2019 at 3:55pm PDT

 

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“To me the meaning of spiritual is being connected to God, and doing what’s right.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphotos #Bahaiphotography

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 6, 2019 at 4:34pm PDT

 

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“I was born and raised a Christian and there’s a part in the Bible that says Jesus will return again like a thief in the night, and I’m like, ‘Hmmm… What if He already came back, and the world missed it, the rest of the world?’ Because Baha’is believe He already came back, and He brought this new book and He brought this whole Revelation, and He brought all these people together of all different nationalities, all these different faiths, all these different cultures. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute! That’s what Jesus talked about! Man!’ Because no thief that you know says, ‘Hey! I’m going to rob you next week!'” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer #Bahaiphotograph

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 10, 2019 at 5:35pm PDT

 

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“Recently I moved to a new country to pursue my Masters in Architecture. The first two months of my program were very challenging. The excitement of entering something new had faded and the reality of the next three years seemed daunting. It was then that I connected with some friends who are learning to strengthen and maintain the Junior Youth Program in their neighborhood. We started to meet young people who desire to see their community grow spiritually and materially. Their vision is strong and unshakeable. This vision revitalized my own, strengthening the purpose of my education. It has led to many conversations with colleagues and professors about the role of a community in the design of a city and how a community can be inspired to transform itself. I am eager to continue learning about how the principle of universal participation can be applied to my field, by learning alongside the youth in our neighborhood.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #JYSEP#BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 14, 2019 at 4:05pm PDT

 

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“You know there’s an interesting quote by the poet Alexander Pope, in which he says: ‘Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.’ And there’s research to back that up. Good deeds that go without attribution, cause the performer of the good deeds to feel better for a longer period of time, than if they get a lot of credit for the good deeds that they’ve done. But they don’t do it for the good feeling, they do it because it’s right. But any good deed, in my judgement, has powerful effects and they can continue throughout eternity…” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotography #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 18, 2019 at 3:27pm PDT

 

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“When I think about the Revelation of the Bab I think of a process of preparation that one needs to undertake in one’s life be spiritually ready to be a light for others, to be ready to be accepting, to be understanding, to be patient, to be loving, to be kind. But the pre-requisites are commitment, steadfastness, loyalty and understanding. And wisdom is generated out of those things.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphotos #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 22, 2019 at 6:24pm PDT

 

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“I suppose I realized my love for the Baha’i Faith when I was able to translate the Teachings of Baha’u’llah into action, through facilitating children’s classes, junior youth groups, and being able to witness first-hand the meaningful impact that the Teachings and Writings of God are able to have on people’s lives, people’s families and communities. That’s when I started to actually realize the magnitude of this Revelation, and its significance.” #BahaiFaith #Bahai #Bahaipeople #BicentenaryoftheBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphotographers #Bahaiphotos #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 26, 2019 at 8:46am PDT

 

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“I was living in France, and living with a family and their son was a Baha’i. He started talking to me about things, and what he said was all the stuff I believed in, but he said it more eloquently than I had thought about before. He was basically teaching me all the Baha’i Teachings at a time when I was really questioning things.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jun 30, 2019 at 3:03pm PDT

 

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“When I hear about the Dispensation of the Bab, I think of just priming [the world] for the coming of Baha’u’llah, of making the people ready for Baha’u’llah’s message because it was so impactful. They couldn’t just go from A to B. You know they had to have an intermediary step, which is just as important because if the Bab didn’t come, Baha’u’llah’s message would not have made as much of a strong effect as it did on the people.” #Bahai #Bahaipeople #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphotos

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jul 5, 2019 at 4:50am PDT

 

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“The Bab prepared the way for this great Dispensation, and the fact that He went through a lot of suffering and a lot of tribulation assures us that whatever is going on in the world today is preparation for a greater thing afterwards.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphoto #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jul 9, 2019 at 5:37pm PDT

 

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“One example of a law from the Bab is His emphasis on beauty and refinement. Some of the laws are so interesting when you think about them, because He knew that they didn’t have to be applied [because after Baha’u’llah declared His Station, He abrogated the Bab’s laws]. So for example: building a door that a tall person doesn’t have to bend under. I mean with laws like that, you go: Wow! When you think about it more deeply, there’s the principle behind it, and the deep spirit behind it. […] There’s so much layers and layers and layers of symbolism and changing conventions, and turning things on its head, and metaphors, and numerology, and also 5 million words of Revelation. It just will change the planet, it is changing the planet.”#Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jul 14, 2019 at 4:58pm PDT

 

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“When I think about the Revelation of the Bab I think about unity. Because it is a message to the whole world. Your country, religion and race does not matter. All people are one.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bicentenary #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphotos #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jul 18, 2019 at 5:40pm PDT

 

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“What I try to teach in my classroom is that it’s about personal transformation, but you’re also thinking about society as well — which is a big camel to eat but you have to just do a little piece at a time…” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #Bicentenary #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphoto #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jul 22, 2019 at 5:42pm PDT

 

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“What made me fall in love with the Baha’i Faith the most was the principle of the unity of the human race, even if we’re from different religions. The Baha’i Faith is a gift for everyone, not an isolated group. Also, the freedom of people to follow their own growth process without any judgment from others. The unique bond is with each of us and God.” #Bahai #BahaiFaith #Bicentenary #BicentenaryBirthoftheBab #Bahaiphotos #Bahaipeople #Bahaiphotographer

A post shared by Personal Reflections Baha’i (@personalreflectionsbahai) on Jul 26, 2019 at 4:14pm PDT

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.