Tag Archives Bicentenary

Gate of Heaven: An Album Dedicated to the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab by Luke Slott

Interviews, Music 6 Comments

Over the last two years, Baha’is and their friends around the world have been celebrating two landmark occasions: firstly, the bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah in 2017, and now in 2019, the bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of the Bab. In relation to these two special anniversaries, the Universal House of Justice wrote that “At the heart of these festivities must be a concerted effort to convey a sense of what it means for humanity that these two Luminaries rose successively above the horizon of the world. Of course, this will take different forms in different contexts, extending to a myriad artistic and cultural expressions, including songs, audio-visual presentations, publications and books.”

Over the course of these two special years, we witnessed a wonderful response of artistic expression from around the world. One of the efforts came from singer-songwriter, Luke Slott, who decided early on to honor these two special occasions by releasing two albums: the first is called Year of the Nightingale, to honor Baha’u’llah, and the second and more recent album is called Gate of Heaven, to honor the Bab. Continue reading →

Meditation and the Baha’i Faith: A Personal Exploration

Baha'i Life, Opinion 10 Comments

Prayer and meditation are often jointly mentioned as one of the primary requisites for spiritual growth. For example, the Universal House of Justice tells us:

In His Writings, Baha’u’llah states clearly the essential requisites for our spiritual growth, and these are reiterated and amplified by Abdu’l-Baha in His talks and Tablets. They can be summarized briefly as prayer and meditation, the endeavor to conform one’s behavior to the exalted standard set forth in the Baha’i Teachings, participation in the life of the Baha’i community, teaching the Faith and contributing to the Baha’i Fund. Different individuals, according to their natures, will follow these paths in varying ways, but all are essential to spiritual growth.

I personally have had many conversations about prayer, but very little about meditation and so I wanted to explore what the Baha’i Writings say about meditation. Continue reading →

19 Glimpses of the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab Celebrations Around the World!

Holy Days 2 Comments

It’s been so exciting to see the thousands of celebratory initiatives and activities happening around the world in honor of the Bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of the Bab, the Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith!

Many of these initiatives and activities have been featured on bicentenary.baha.org/the-bab/glimpses, a page created by the Baha’i World Centre in honor of this special occasion, so we thought we’d share 19 glimpses of bicentenary celebrations and events from around the world, found on the bicentenary page. Here they are listed in alphabetical order, and if you click on the country or image, it’ll take you to more related images: Continue reading →

New Letter from the Universal House of Justice Following the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab

News 1 Comment

What a bounty to have a new letter from the Universal House of Justice released to the Baha’is of the world! Dated 8 November, 2019, this letter outlines what occurred in the months leading up to and during the bicentenary celebrations of the Birth of the Bab, Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith. You may already have caught a glimpse of the celebrations that were held around the world from the official bicentenary website, www.bicentenary.bahai.org. This letter, however, describes what the future holds; it is quoted in full below. You can also read it online, or download it, here from the Baha’i Reference Library.

Continue reading →

Bicentenary Events at Baha’i Houses of Worship Around the World: A Roundup of Live-stream Recordings

Holy Days, Videos Leave a comment

As celebrations in honour of the bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of the Bab, Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith, unfolded around the planet special events held at the Baha’i Houses of Worship were live-streamed from the official website for the Bicentenary, bicentenary.bahai.org. The majority of these events were recorded and can now be watched at any time on the Baha’i World Centre’s YouTube channel and we definitely encourage you to take a journey around the world by watching them! Continue reading →

Bicentenary Website Showcases Artistic Expression from Around the World

Art & Creative Works, Holy Days, News Leave a comment

At Baha’i Blog, we’re huge fans of artistic expressions so we wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the wonderful section on the official bicentenary website dedicated to artistic expressions from around the world in honour of the 200th anniversary of the Birth of the Bab, Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith.

From Bolivia to Iraq, and from Singapore to the Netherlands, this website showcases various artistic initiatives and activities created by individuals and communities, and the page is constantly being updated too! Continue reading →

Live Streaming of Bicentenary Celebrations at Temples Around the World

Baha'i Life, Holy Days, News 1 Comment

The official website of the bicentenary celebrations of the Birth of the Bab, Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith, has just added a broadcast schedule of events occurring at many Baha’i Houses of Worship around the world.

The schedule, which can be seen in full here, includes a useful indicator of how many hours remain until the broadcast from a specific House of Worship. These celebrations, occurring at Houses of Worship, or Temples, in India, Australia, Samoa, Panama, Cambodia, the United States, Germany, Uganda, Colombia and Chile will be live streamed directly from the bicentenary website: bicentenary.bahai.org Continue reading →

The Martyrdom of the Bab: An Oratorio by Keivan Towfigh

Interviews, Music 5 Comments

As Baha’is and their friends begin to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of the Bab, artistic expressions in all sorts of media are emerging that testify to the connection between people’s hearts and the Bab, Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith. Keivan Towfigh’s oratorio, The Martyrdom of the Bab, is one such example in a style we don’t often see or feature here on Baha’i Blog. What’s an “oratorio” you ask? An oratorio is a large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, like Handel’s Messiah. It usually tells a religious story and is performed without costumes or staging.

I was curious to hear all about this special oratorio and how it came into being, so I connected with Keivan Towfigh to find out more: Continue reading →

30 Books Relating to the Bab

Books 2 Comments

In honor of the bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab, Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith, we thought we’d share an updated post of books relating to the Bab, His station, His ministry, His family and His early believers. This list of 30 books is in no particular order and it describes titles written for a variety of audiences and in a diversity of styles, including some creative non-fiction. We hope you find this list useful in these days leading up to the bicentenary and beyond! Continue reading →

Mulla Husayn: A Book for Young Children by Alhan Rahimi

Books, Interviews Leave a comment

Alhan Rahimi is a lovely young mother who saw a need and filled it. She has recently written a book called Mulla Husayn: The Story of the Declaration of the Bab for Young Children. The colorful book includes soft illustrations and thoughtful text. I found myself sitting next to Alhan at this year’s ABS conference and it was wonderful to meet her. Here is what she shared about her book:

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Alhan Rahimi. I’m a Baha’i mother of two young girls (ages three and one). I also work as a medical Arabic interpreter and live in Ontario, Canada.

Baha’i Blog: What inspired you to write this book?

My children were my inspiration. I wanted my 3-year-old to have a better understanding of the Declaration of the Bab celebration. I actually want them both to have a good understanding of all the Baha’i Holy Days!

Continue reading →