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Naysan is the editor of Baha'i Blog and he has worked in various avenues of media for two decades. He’s passionate about using the arts and media to support and explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith and he has produced and collaborated on popular music projects like the "DawnBreaker Collective" and the successful Ruhi-inspired sequence of "MANA" albums. His experience as a producer for CNN was invaluable while working on a number of special projects for the Baha’i World Centre, including the "Building Momentum" and "Pilgrimage: A Sacred Experience" videos. If there’s a media-related Baha’i project out there, chances are that Naysan was involved with it somehow!

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HAPPY AYYAM-I-HA – Andy Grammer

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Baha’i Blog is super excited to share this fun little song called “HAPPY AYYAM-I-HA” performed by Andy Grammer and written by Andy Grammer, Red Grammer, and Jamey Heath.

Ayyam-i-Ha is a multiple-day Baha’i festival that is joyously celebrated all over the world, and it typically falls around the end of February and beginning of March. It’s a period dedicated to socializing, being hospitable, giving generously to the poor and needy, and preparing for the upcoming Baha’i month of fasting. Everyone celebrates Ayyam-i-Ha differently, and you can find out more about this special time here: An Introduction to Ayyam-i-Ha

Special thanks to Andy Grammer, Red Grammer and Jamey Heath for this fun song, and for letting Baha’i Blog share it with everyone, and below are the lyrics and chords so you can all sing along! Continue reading →

100 Musical Initiatives, Musicians and Albums Featured on Baha’i Blog So Far!

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We’re super excited to share 100 musicians, musical initiatives and albums featured on Baha’i Blog so far!

It’s been so awesome seeing all the amazing initiatives and talent from all over the world, and so now, in order to celebrate the fact that we’ve featured 100 posts in this category so far, we thought it would be a good time to list them all, starting from our very first interview with producer, Navid Bahmani, to our most recent interview with Persian Baha’i rapper, Ahdi, and everything in between!  Continue reading →

Making Space for Truth: The Healing that Precedes Reconciliation – A Talk by Tiffany Jana

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This talk titled “Making Space for Truth: The Healing that Precedes Reconciliation” was given by Dr. Tiffany Jana at the Justice Conference, 2019.

Dr. Tiffany Jana shares experiences in creating space for healing through an emerging national, grassroots truth and reconciliation movement in the United States. While many such efforts have taken shape around the world, this equity and inclusion expert has collaborated with a diverse cohort of leaders to model a contemporary way forward. Come hear about a journey that has taken them from the Deep South, up the east coast and across to California in search of personal, local, and national narratives that reveal the pain and truth of America’s shared and shattered history. Dr. Jana and her American Truth and Reconciliation collaborators believe that the truth can and must be exposed and shared in order to begin the healing that must precede the desperately needed reconciliation in the United States and beyond. Continue reading →

Making Space for Truth: The Healing that Precedes Reconciliation – A Talk by Tiffany Jana [Audio Version]

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This is the audio version of a talk titled “Making Space for Truth: The Healing that Precedes Reconciliation” given by Dr. Tiffany Jana at the Justice Conference, 2019.

Dr. Tiffany Jana shares experiences in creating space for healing through an emerging national, grassroots truth and reconciliation movement in the United States. While many such efforts have taken shape around the world, this equity and inclusion expert has collaborated with a diverse cohort of leaders to model a contemporary way forward. Come hear about a journey that has taken them from the Deep South, up the east coast and across to California in search of personal, local, and national narratives that reveal the pain and truth of America’s shared and shattered history. Dr. Jana and her American Truth and Reconciliation collaborators believe that the truth can and must be exposed and shared in order to begin the healing that must precede the desperately needed reconciliation in the United States and beyond. Continue reading →

“El Mérito del Hombre (Man’s Merit)” by Arrayanes

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Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions is an initiative where we invite Baha’is and their friends from around the world to come into a studio and share the Baha’i Writings put to music.

In this Baha’i Blog Studio Session, we’re in Santiago, Chile with the band Arrayanes singing “El Mérito del Hombre (Man’s Merit)” in Spanish from the Writings of Baha’u’llah. Continue reading →

“El Mérito del Hombre (Man’s Merit)” by Arrayanes [Audio Track]

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Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions is an initiative where we invite Baha’is and their friends from around the world to come into a studio and share the Baha’i Writings put to music.

In this Baha’i Blog Studio Session, we’re in Santiago, Chile with the band Arrayanes singing “El Mérito del Hombre (Man’s Merit)” in Spanish from the Writings of Baha’u’llah. Continue reading →

BWNS: How Can Humanity Live in Harmony With the Planet?

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In the latest video from the Baha’i World News Service, we learn about how a cross section of social actors in the United Kingdom, including scientists and representatives of civil society and religious communities, recently gathered at St. George’s House in Windsor Castle to examine how religion can inspire unity of thought and action on climate change issues.  Continue reading →

Baha’i. Persian. Rapper: An Interview with Ahdi

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As a huge fan of rap – especially the “conscious” kind – and with a personal passion for listening to global hip-hop artists no matter what language they rap in, I was excited to meet Ahdi, a Persian rapper based in the United States, and who, for over a decade now, has been “spittin’ out lyrics” in Persian relating to racism, drug abuse, the equality of women and men, and other social issues including the oppression of his fellow Baha’is in Iran.

Ahdi recently released a track called ‘Toloue Bamdad (Rise of Dawn)‘ in honor of the bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab, and so with a stack of tracks behind him, I decided it was time to catch up with my dear friend Ahdi, to find out more about him and his music: Continue reading →

Becoming the Vanguard and Champions of a New Civilization – A Talk by Rod Clarken

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This talk titled “Becoming the Vanguard and Champions of a New Civilization” was given by Dr. Rod Clarken at the Justice Conference, 2019.

In this talk, Dr. Clarken asks, “How do we become a source of social good and lay hold of all those instrumentalities that promote the peace and well-being and happiness, the knowledge, culture and industry, the dignity, value and station, of the entire human race?”, as Abdu’l-Baha has hoped for us? The presentation addresses this question by developing a conceptual framework derived from the Baha’i Writings that provide insight into human nature, purpose and transformation, and that challenge the dominant narratives of progress, accomplishment, meaning, power and happiness that pervade contemporary societies; by instead exploring truth, love and justice as the foundational instruments for transforming the individual, community and institutions; and discuss how we can develop our spiritual virtues, powers and capacities to enable us to become the vanguard and champions of a new civilization. Continue reading →

Becoming the Vanguard and Champions of a New Civilization – A Talk by Rod Clarken [Audio Version]

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This talk titled “Becoming the Vanguard and Champions of a New Civilization” was given by Dr. Rod Clarken at the Justice Conference, 2019.

In this talk, Dr. Clarken asks, “How do we become a source of social good and lay hold of all those instrumentalities that promote the peace and well-being and happiness, the knowledge, culture and industry, the dignity, value and station, of the entire human race?”, as Abdu’l-Baha has hoped for us? The presentation addresses this question by developing a conceptual framework derived from the Baha’i Writings that provide insight into human nature, purpose and transformation, and that challenge the dominant narratives of progress, accomplishment, meaning, power and happiness that pervade contemporary societies; by instead exploring truth, love and justice as the foundational instruments for transforming the individual, community and institutions; and discuss how we can develop our spiritual virtues, powers and capacities to enable us to become the vanguard and champions of a new civilization. Continue reading →