Monthly Reflection: Sultan (Sovereignty) – On Guidance

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A tremendous highlight of the last Baha’i month was the release of two letters from the Universal House of Justice: one was regarding the Nine Year Plan, and it was addressed to the Conference of the Continental Counsellors (and by extension, to all of us), and the other was written to the Baha’is of the World with observations and remarks about the conference.

It was a joy to publish two audio readings of these messages, and even though I listened to them many (many!) times over in order to share them with you, I look forward to studying and reflecting on them to a greater and more profound degree. There were parts that struck me immediately, like a bolt of lightning, which were shared visually on our social media channels:

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With this outpouring of guidance from the beloved Universal House of Justice, I’ve been reflecting on the nature of guidance in general. Last month I shared several musical interpretations of these words of Abdu’l-Baha:

Make haste to love! Make haste to trust! Make haste to give! To guidance come!

What does “to guidance come” mean to you? I personally read this sentence as implying that the guidance we have been given is like a banquet spread out before us, and we are encouraged and invited to step forward and partake of it. Guidance could also be akin to a sweet melody we are encouraged to listen closely, despite the seemingly deafening clamour of the material world. This month we shared a song called “Sweet Melodies” by Payam, Maureen and Saleem. Their Studio Session is based on these words of Baha’u’llah:

…incline mine ear to the sweet melodies of the birds that warble their praise of Thee…

Harkening to guidance–and then becoming sources of guidance–reminds me of this extract from a recently translated Tablet by Abdu’l-Baha where youth are described as banners:

O thou steadfast in the Covenant! Your letter hath come and imparted great delight, with its word that, praised be God, the youth of the Abhá paradise are verdant and tender from showers scattered out of clouds of heavenly grace, that they thrive and flourish in the April rains of heavenly guidance and are progressing day by day.

It is certain that each and every one of them will grow to be as a banner of guidance, a symbol of the bestowals that come from the realm of the All-Glorious.

The prayer goes on to say:

You must attach the greatest importance to the education of children, for this is the foundation of the Law of God and the bedrock of the edifice of His Faith.

If it were known how much joy you have imparted through what hath been done for the children, the believers would surely educate all their children in the same way.

Amidst an ever-turbulent and distressed world, holding guidance close arms me with hope and helps me focus my attention on the next generation.

Similarly, Cherie has been working on creating some free downloadable resources for children’s education. She’s made a spiritual goals chart and a corresponding deck of cards. In preparation for gathering all together, she’s also created invitation templates for Ayyam-i-Ha celebrations and Ayyam-i-Ha greetings that can be personalized and shared.

Spiritual goals chart

Spiritual goals deck of cards

Arts and crafts Ayyam-i-Ha party invitation

Ayyam-i-Ha gathering invitation

Vintage themed Ayyam-i-Ha party invitation

Ayyam-i-Ha greeting

Ayyam-i-Ha greeting

Ayyam-i-Ha greeting

Thank you for taking the time to read this monthly reflection–we truly appreciate it!

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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.