The team at BahaiTeachings.org has just launched a new initiative called Light Up the World. This website, lightuptheworld.org, is a devotional space for everyone, regardless of their beliefs, to offer prayers and positive thoughts of peace and healing as the world continues to suffer from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Continue reading
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
The Baha’i World Centre has recently released a new compilation on prayer and devotional life which can be read online at the Baha’i Reference Library here. Prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, this compilation features extracts from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, the Bab, and Abdu’l-Baha and the letters of Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice. Continue reading
In its 2018 Ridvan message to the Baha’is of the world, the Universal House of Justice referred to a new compilation dedicated to the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar. The Universal House of Justice said:
… we have every expectation that the recently released statement and compilation about the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, prepared by our Research Department, will further stimulate the friends’ appreciation of the significance of worship in community life. For in their acts of service, especially in their regular devotional gatherings, Baha’is everywhere are laying the spiritual foundations of future Houses of Worship.
The term “Mashriqu’l-Adhkar” means “Dawning place of the praise of God”. The term is used primarily to refer to a Baha’i House of Worship, or Temple, and its surrounding dependencies.
The compilation was put together by the Research Department at the Baha’i World Centre and it includes a statement, as well as quotations from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha, and Shoghi Effendi and excerpts from letters written by the Universal House of Justice.
The Universal House of Justice wrote a letter to those gathered to celebrate the inauguration of the world’s first local House of Worship (also called a Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, or temple) in Battambang, Cambodia on September 1st, 2017.
The letter highlights the physical, geographical and spiritual context in which the temple was built. The letter can be read in full on the website for the Universal House of Justice here, and we have also quoted it in full below. Continue reading
Photo: courtesy of the Baha'i International Community
From October 13th-16th, the House of Worship in Chile will be inaugurated as a gift to humanity! This temple is the last of the continental Houses of Worship to be built and its dedication is a joyous and jubilant historic occasion. In honour of this event, we’ve gathered details on how you can watch the inauguration, the official social media accounts for the Templo Baha’i de Sudamerica (the Baha’i Temple of South America), and previous articles and videos showcased on Baha’i Blog about this unique edifice. Continue reading
I want to describe a way of worship that I am familiar with. Perhaps you will recognize it. Continue reading