The Dominion of Mulk
By John Taylor; 2009 Jan 27, 09 Sultan, 165 BE
Thoughts about Next Month's Feast Virtue
Several years ago I wrote a series of essays on the 19 virtues in the Badi' Calendar -- probably the main reason I called this the "Badi' Blog." Since then, a book on the calendar has been published by George Ronald, and a study of the Writings of the Bab has come out as well. The mistakes I made back then are clearer. Still, some still stands, and I want to go over it and re-post the best of them over the next year or two. So let us start with the virtue for the next feast: Mulk, or Dominion.
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The Dominion of Mulk
In the early 1860's the safety and sovereignty of Canadians were gravely threatened by the great power to the south, which had split into a bloody Civil War among its states. Young men walking the streets of Canadian cities, including my home town of Hamilton, were regularly shanghaied by army recruiters with urgent quotas to fill. Some were persuaded, others seduced by prostitutes, plied with free alcohol only to wake up the next day as canon fodder. One day a boy or young man might walk free and two weeks later die a foot-soldier, overtaken by a violent, obscure death in the front lines of a foreign war. Nobody knows precisely how many disappeared there were. Most fought for the Northern Union but others, willingly or not, somehow turned up in the dead lists of the Confederate Army.
After hostilities stopped there came threats and saber rattling by hawkish elements pressuring a victorious American government to invade Canada. This persuaded a reluctant Canadian government, in spite of reservations about how ready we were for independence, that there was no choice but to join in confederation. In 1867, the provinces merged into a single country they called the "Dominion of Canada." The Fathers of Confederation chose the word "Dominion" carefully. They wished to have the rights due an independent nation, but not to follow the rebellious ways of their neighbor to the south and arrogate to themselves absolute sovereignty. Canadian leaders, backed by large numbers of "United Empire Loyalists" who had immigrated from America, held fiercely to the British Empire. They wished to leave all final decisions to the English parliament in London. Canada persisted in its reluctance to take the reigns completely for many decades afterward.
Only in 1983 was the Constitution repatriated and Canada ceased technically to be a dominion and became a fully federated nation. Still, that did not mean that we had to get rid of the name. Partly out of a misguided fear of offending anti-royalist sensibilities in Quebec, we got away from using this wonderfully distinctive appellation. Dominion Day has been changed to Canada Day, and the Dominion Government is now called the Federal Government. As the Faith becomes better known, I hope that Canadians will return to using this wonderful attribute of God in our name.
It was therefore with a thrill of nostalgia that I read the recent letter of the Universal House of Justice addressing us thus,
"With exultant hearts we hail the followers of Baha'u'llah assembled at the conferences convened in the Dominion of Canada." (Letter, 10 Jan, 2009)
What is past is prophesy. May the day come soon when Canada is a dominion again, only this time not of an empire but a world government whose dominion extends wherever humans abide.
Anyway, the delegates gathered at Canada's Confederation convention in 1867 considered for a while calling the new nation the "Kingdom of Canada." However our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, thought the name would "wound the sensibilities of the Yankees." The Canadian Fathers of Confederation were not ignorant of the Bible. As a result, Sir Samuel Tilley suggested the name, "Dominion of Canada;" his inspiration was from the Psalm,
"He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." (72:8)
Because of this, the Coat of Arms for Canada has the Latin inscription "Ad mari usque ad mare," from sea to sea. Baha'is believe that this is a prophesy of the banishment of Baha'u'llah from the Caspian to the Mediterranean seas. As we shall see later on, 'Abdu'l-Baha made much of the fact that we are (or were) the only nation in the world to call itself a dominion.
The word "Dominion" is a Biblical term with a long history and far reaching millennial implications. The Psalm speaks of the power of God reaching out everywhere, without limit, as a dominion from sea to sea,
"He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust." (Ps 72:8-9, WEB)
This reminded Canadians of our borders, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. In fact, now that the Arctic Ocean is melting, soon we may be a land extending from sea to sea to sea. The river going to the "ends of the earth" was in their view our largest river, the St. Lawrence. The mention of "wilderness" struck a chord, since we were a nation of pioneers, many subsistence farmers lost in the endless forests of the north. Canadians living a hardscrabble life looked with longing eyes at the permanence and compassion, the absolute over-lordship of God's kingdom.
"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations." (Ps 145:13, WEB)
Having been tossed in the wake of the terrible Civil War so close to home, the word dominion in the 19th Century also offered a promise of peace.
"...the battle bow will be cut off; And he will speak peace to the nations: And his dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth." (Zech 9:10, WEB)
At the same time, as a scriptural term dominion implies moral rule, placing the Word and teachings of God first, and putting them into action in our lives.
"Establish my footsteps in your word. Do not let any iniquity have dominion over me." (Ps 119:133, WEB)
This moral nuance shows up in the prophesies of Amos, who predicted the desolation of materialism that now grips the world, from sea to sea.
"Behold, the days come," says the Lord Yahweh, "That I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh. They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the word of Yahweh, and will not find it." (Amos 8:11-12, WEB)
During this month of Mulk we living here might well reflect: How can we escape the ravages of materialism? Might it not be our destiny, handed to us by Sir Samuel Tilley, to be the first nation to submit to the material dominion of a world government, or even to the spiritual dominion of the Lord of Hosts? Could it be that the many blessings showered upon our nation, both material and spiritual, are meant as steps to that high calling?
Next time we will look in detail at the link Abdu'l-Baha made to Canadian Dominion in the Tablets of the Divine Plan.
Revised from 1995, and Apr 05, 2006
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John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
An Early Peace Plan
Comenius's peace plan, Part II
2009 Jan 26
I have been reading Daniel Murphy's "Comenius, A Critical Reassessment of His Life and Work," which devotes an entire chapter to the precedents and influences on the great educator's thinking. I learned, for example, that the principle of universal education, although advanced significantly by Comenius, was very much a part of the Zeitgeist of the reformation, especially after the invention of the printing press. The idea had been put forward by several previous thinkers, including Erasmus, Montaigne, Luther and Calvin, as well as several others I was not familiar with, such as the German educational innovator and pioneer Wolfgang Ratke, John Henry Alsted and the Spanish philosopher of education, J. L. Vives, an early advocate of universal education for girls as well as boys. Clearly, a great number of giants have to stand on one another's' shoulders to see something as great and panoramic as a divine principle like universal education, equality of the sexes, or peace.
Plus, it is one thing to advocate a beautiful sounding desideratum and quite another to implement it universally, to see that it applies wherever human beings live. In that sense we are as far from principle as ever we were. Even in the wealthiest country, America, poor students who should be considering higher education are refraining for fear of the massive debts that it entails.
In order for an idea like universal education to be applied, there has to be set up, as Comenius taught, though not in as many words, a dynamic equilibrium or feedback loop among knowledge, volition and action. Without such direct experience a thinker remains just that, a mere theorizer or utopian. For example, although Frances Bacon advanced the idea of "nursery gardens of the mind," it was Comenius who took that idea, molded it in his broader hands-on experience running educational institutions, and presented it in a form that became the inspiration for the England's Royal Society, the "think tank" that became the model and impetus for modern science.
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I left off two weeks ago broaching Comenius's peace proposal in the Panorthosia. Let us continue broaching today. Comenius wrote that,
"The goal of human society is general peace and safety. And the good of the people must be the greatest concern of any republic or kingdom. Thus everything must be prevented which could in any way disturb society, confuse or complicate or sever social ties and personal safety. And the first among these things is war." (Comenius, Consultatio, in Wikiquotes)
Since the danger of war and disputation is not going to go away, an indefinite peace must be protected by permanent institutions designed to work what Comenius calls "Universal Politics,"
"Universal Politics is the light of the human mind so directed to all human affairs that over the entire field of human activities fighting, confusion, and revolution are forbidden, but all things are restored to harmony and contribute their share to the common good of all human society." (Panorthosia, Ch. 13, para 12, p. 205)
Just as universal reform is a completely different animal from mere reform, universal politics has completely different goals and rules from mere politics. The present-day United Nations came from mere politics and mere reform, and in fact is designed to prevent their universal forms from coming about. It has at its center a security counsel dealing with politics in its narrowest sense. Upon that other institutions such as UNESCO, UNICEF, and NGO's were tacked on later as afterthoughts.
Indeed, in the 1950's when UNESCO was founded, the three chapters of the Panorthosia dealing with this subject, chapters 15-18, were translated into English from Latin for the first time. Only some three decades later was the project of translating the entire Consultatio (that is, the General Treatise on the Remedy of Human Affairs -- De Emendatione Rerum Humanarum Consultatio Catholica -- which includes the Panorthosia) begun. As far as I know, Daniel Murphy is the only academic to try to assess this later body of work of Comenius, and he is primarily concerned with education rather than peace.
Comenius's vision of a world government in Panorthosia is the most universal and integrated that I have seen outside the Baha'i Writings. It avoids tokenism and takes in philosophy, science, language and religion on an equal basis from the get-go. Comenius is unlike other thinkers about peace who split off into mutually exclusive religious and secular schools, expunging one essential or overvaluing another. Each and all are required for full universality to come into effect.
The governmental pillar, which Comenius termed the "Dicastery of Peace," was just one of three foundational institutions, the other two being a parliament of religions and a ministry of science and philosophy. This is similar to the Baha'i "three onenesses," Mankind, science and religion each aspects of one reality. Each of the three institutions has its own ideal or virtue, and can never be in opposition with any other.
"But please notice that although Universality, Simplicity, and Agreement (the three banners of Christ in his triumph over Babylon) seem to apply to all three estates of Wisdom, Religion, and Politics, yet there is good reason for close relationship between the first and the first, the second and the second, or the third with the third. For example, our new Universal Wisdom or Philosophy ought to be just as universally available to all human minds as is the light of day to all men's eyes, our new Religion just as pure and simple as God, who is its object, and the new Government of man by man just as peaceful as that of the body by the soul." (Panorthosia II, Ch. 10, para 49, pp. 171-172)
Each of the three institutions is charged with a clear sphere of influence and a specific goal of purifying and vivifying one of the three stages of all real, conscious progress: knowing, willing and acting. Each is charged with formulating a common language based on a unitary educational agenda -- thus excluding any need for compulsion, manipulation or propaganda -- and takes in all three phases, knowing, willing and acting. Each institution has its own particular questions, science has "What do I know? What can we know?", politics, "What can we do?" and religion, "Why am I here? What will become of us?"
"This will come to pass if philosophy submits all things to the human intellect, and politics commits human power itself to human prudence, and religion truly refers all men and all things to God. To achieve this, Philosophy must be a true mirror of God's wisdom, which contemplates all things; Politics must be a living example of the power of God, which manages all things rightly; and Religion must sweetly dispense the goodness of God, which spreads through all things." (Panorthosia II, Ch. 10, para 38, pp. 167-168)
Keeping to an overall plan for the entire human race would give to each individual a clear role in carrying it out. That is, it would be based on what Baha'is call the principle of independent search for truth,
"Universal Politics will strive to keep the common faculties of all men in order so that we do not disagree in our policies and endeavours, but every individual plays his private part peacefully and thereby fosters and promotes public peace." (Panorthosia II, Ch. 13, para 12, pp. 203)
As mentioned, Comenius was not at all pie-in-the-sky; he held that every ideal requires a means for carrying it into action. As Benjamin Jowett put it, "We cannot seek or attain health, wealth, learning, justice or kindness in general. Action is always specific, concrete, individualized, unique." Each of the three institutions, therefore, has its own means as well as its own questions and purposes,
"The means or instruments of Philosophy are all books of divine and human authorship according to necessity and choice. Nothing is excluded except what is evil, useless, or harmful. Those of Religion are all manner of ceremonies appropriate to the needs of the occasion, as for example in prayer, sitting, standing, kneeling, or bowing the head, etc. Those of Politics are any measures, popular or unpopular, which make for the introduction and maintenance of peace and tranquillity." (Panorthosia, Ch. 13, para 12, pp. 205-206)
When he speaks of philosophy (science) as being concerned with "books," he meant the "book of nature" as well as what we now would call the media and information technology. Thus the press and public opinion would not be left to the devices of private ownership as they are now, but would the direct instrument of the science wing of a world system of governance.
Next time we will look at who will make up these three institutions of world order.
--
John Taylor
John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/
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Sunday, January 25, 2009
More on William Sears
Bill Sears childhood bedroom floor plan
Here is Silvie's depiction of the funniest passage we have ever read in any book, the story in God Loves Laughter of how Bill Sears secretly read the Bible under the bedcovers, late at night in his darkened room. The kids were screaming, literally ROFL, rolling on the floor laughing.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Badi' Report
Progress Report on the Badi' Essays Blog
By John Taylor; 2009 Jan 24, 06 Sultan, 165 BE
We have begun the huge job of moving my entire office, complete with desk and filing cabinets, from the back 1/2 bedroom to the living room and garage in order that the kids can have separate bedrooms. As a result I missed a couple of weeks of the promised essay each day, though if you look on the Badi' blog you will find that I have been posting directly there on a regular basis, though little is original material. I have also been hindered by frequent migraines, partly due to a lack of the rush of pleasure I get from completing an essay, no matter how inadequate. That daily boost helps stave migraines off.
But these attacks were chained to one another, the aftermath of the first attack contributing to the next, just like in the horrid days of my youth. Then last night I found what I think is the cause. I had noticed a strange smell of oil or tar on the area around my pillow. I even bought a new pillow in hopes that this repulsive odor would go away. Then last night I craned my head way over into the back and found that Thomas had lodged a tennis ball, reeking of neoprene or whatever it is, into the lower space behind the headboard. I squeezed it out and the smell was soon gone.
And, so far, no more migraines.
And the really good news is that at last, after the purchase of two computers, one used and one new, I have a set up in the living room where I can use my ancient (1988) writing program, Maxthink, which runs under DOS only. I am a slightly more modern version of the greying old writer with his beat up typewriter. I have used Maxthink, an "idea processor," for so long that I cannot imagine making a change. I had to leap through many hoops to be able to write this to you. At one point I had Maxthink running filtered at two removes, an emulator and a virtualizor. That did not prove adequate either, though I did learn a great deal about VmWare, a type of virtualization software, and the flavor of Ubuntu Linux that it ran for me. Finally I broke an old rule I had for myself -- never buy used computer hardware -- and forked out a hundred and thirty dollars for a refurbished small footprint desktop Compaq running XP Pro, which runs Maxthink almost natively. That is what I am writing on now.
But more problems cropped up.
With so many computers to deal with, things got impossibly complicated. What about weekends and holidays, when the living room is far too noisy and busy (we have five people living here under one roof) and I need to concentrate alone in tranquility? A writer, it has been said, must have "a room of one's own." I could put this Compaq in the garage or my bedroom for those hectic times, but then I would have to switch quickly among computers. The solution I came up with is to put my whole research database and writing system, including Maxthink, onto a flash drive. Then all I would have to do is take it out, put it into a pocket and walk over to another machine. The old "sneakernet" form of connectivity. All I would have to do is reassign the drive letter of the flash drive to "d" drive, which DOS and Maxthink imperiously demand. Unfortunately, that was way beyond my expertise, even way back when I could remember DOS commands like "assign." Fortunately, a few seconds pumping keywords into Google Search and I found a little step-by-step tutorial. After a few minutes I was reassigning drive letters like a madman. Two machines have flash drives as their "d" drive, and, with more fiddling, I hope to be able even to run it on the iMac again.
John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/
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Replaying peace
Planet embracing music, and words about world peace
"A friend sent me this you tube video about 2 guys who went around the world getting street singers to sing and dubbed them together into one song." I had this on the Badi' Blog before but this is a better version.
At my daughter's request, another reprise.
The Coming of Peace "By what process" continued the questioner, "will this peace on earth be established? Will it come at once after a universal declaration of the Truth?" "No, it will come about gradually," said 'Abdu'l-Bahá. "A plant that grows too quickly lasts but a short time. You are my family" and he looked about with a smile, "my new children! if a family lives in unison, great results are obtained. Widen the circle; when a city lives in intimate accord greater results will follow, and a continent that is fully united will likewise unite all other continents. Then will be the time of the greatest results, for all the inhabitants of the earth belong to one native land." (Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 106)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Calling All Singers
JET: from what I hear, there is an especial need for male voices.
Voices of Unity is recruiting new members.
Voices of Unity is recruiting new members.
The choir attracts members from around the Niagara, Hamilton, Burlington area. VOU practises two Sundays per month at the Grimsby Pump House. The choir sings a variety of musical styles and performs in retirement homes, for Holy Day celebrations and at community events.
It is not necessary to be able to read music to participate. If choral singing interests you as an avenue of service, please contact Colleen at onefamily@care2.com for more details.
Colleen Smith
Secretary
Voices of Unity.
Secretary
Voices of Unity.
Silvie, who is 14 years old, just saw this video about junior youth and says: "I liked the whole thing." She is an occasional member of the Hamilton Junior Youth group, run by Pat Cameron and Lucy Pearson.
This film was put out by the NSA of the US. I was reminded how the plans in the past decade started out with three main focuses, study circles, devotional meetings and children's classes, but that a fourth was tacked on, junior youth. This is the first good explanation of how the fourth prong of the fork is getting on.
Stork Catcher
Stork Catcher
Here is Silvie's illustration for an incident involving a stork trap, a bear trap set on the roof that a very young Bill Sears set in order to catch the stork. While doing so, the future Hand of the Cause of God fell and broke his ankle. This is told in the second chapter of God Loves Laughter.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
In the Park with Bill Sears
My thanks to the anonymous reader who pointed this gem out to me, broadcast in 1956, the year of my birth.
And here is something from his later career, a presentation called "arise."
Regional Baha'i Conference (Toronto)
This conference was held for eastern Canada and Bermuda. We learned that Bermuda was honored by the first use of the word "cluster," by none other than the Master Himself.
I had the pleasure of meeting old friend and Badi blog reader Ed, after almost thirty years. He is taking visual notes here.
More Badi' blog readers, Tim and Jim, and Tim's new bride, Tala.
Peter declaring his availability, presumably for fulfilling the goals of the Plan.
This woman from New Brunswick explained her success in reaching out to new immigrants.
Toronto's South York Baha's have been reaching Iranian immigrants with great success. This believer explained what does not work, long lectures, and what does, professionally recorded prayers followed by informal fellowship.
Below is a photo of a remarkable new Baha'i. She is a university student, though she looks and sounds like a junior youth herself. She had been heavily involved in charity work in Toronto before she came across the Baha'i junior youth program. This put her in a unique position where she could compare how the Baha'i program works to how non-Baha'i youth groups operate. Unlike them, the Baha'i junior youth were left completely to themselves, other than being brought into contact with the Creative Word. What they did with that so amazed her that she recently declared her faith in Baha'u'llah.
The Toronto Baha'i bookstore was full in the morning and all but empty at night. I made the mistake of setting aside some books to buy later when the huge crowds were lighter later on. But they were all gone when I got back. Now I have to wait.
Brian Graham at the Sunday breakout session where we consulted on how to get an accelerated program of growth in Niagara region. As you see on the people's faces, there was some headscratching going on.
The ever dapper Carson Knox regaled me with stories of his travels to China, Singapore and Malasia. I later told them to the kids, and they were amazed at the contrast between the laws of the latter two countries.
Contrast Carson's immaculate garb with my slovenly appearance. This is me in the hotel room just before checking out. Note the bottle of water, my almost-free migraine medication.
For another blogger's impressions of this meet, go to: http://pizza.sandwich.net/2009/01/toronto-regional-conference-first-reflections.shtml
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
GLL Sample Chapter
God Loves Laughter
The Haldimand community has been holding feasts in Edgewater Gardens, a local retirement home, in order that an aged Baha'i couple can attend. Because of their move here from Port Colbourne, they have been downsizing their library and donating some of their books to the local Baha'i library. Since I am the librarian, I get to handle them first. Some of the books we have found quite suitable for our little daily Baha'i class. We go through a surprising number of books, reading just a few pages or chapters each day. At the last feast they donated a children's prayer book and "God Loves Laughter" by William Sears. The latter is a very old copy that came out in 1960, undoubtedly the first edition. Here is the blurb on the jacket:
"This is the hilarious story of a poor boy from the Middle West who became one of America's top-flight TV stars. But he was bothered with a hoyhood dream and eventually left the big time to go to Nineveh. (Like Jonah!)*
"Through all the laughter -- and it is uproarious at times -- there is an underlying serious note, and the fact that his dream dream came true and brought him long-sought spiritual assurance is a considerable satisfaction to the rcader.
*"Better read the book; the author says he has explained this." -Ed.
Although we are already reading a novel, I thought I would start right away on this book. I introduced it by saying that this is probably the funniest of all Baha'i books, and that a few non-studious friends I have known lived all their Baha'i lives having read this book only. That is it, nothing else, just "God Loves Laughter." Anyway, I showed them the frontspiece photograph of Bill Sears with his menagerie of stuffed animals that he had on his kids' television show, "In the Park", and launched into it.
I must say, my expectations were not high. I read GLL when I first became a Baha'i and enjoyed it immensely. Then, maybe fifteen years later I read it again and was not impressed. Maybe I was in a bad way at the time, but it seemed dreary and depressing, even a little embarrassing.
But I was not prepared for the kids' reaction to it last night.
I have never read anything to them that they reacted to so uproariously. They laughed so loud that they drowned me out. I had to stop every few lines for them to quiet down. Talk about laugh a minute, this was a laugh every three or four seconds. The consternation of this Irish Catholic father at having a son whose first word is "God" struck them as absolutely hilarious. And the song his father sang with his drinking buddy! My ears were ringing afterwards they bellowed so loud.
In view of that glowing recommendation, I thought I would give you a chance to judge for yourself how funny this book is. I had to get my scanner installed anyway, so I tested it out this morning by scanning in the first chapter. Consider it a sample chapter, like you find in a magazine.
As I was proofreading the chapter just now, I was aware that Sears was born just when the Master was about to be leaving Egypt for Europe and America. The time of his dream, though unknown by Sears himself, may have coincided with the Master's travelling nearby where he lived.
GLL is truly Bill Sears chef d'oeuvre, and it reminds me of how urgently, desperately, intensely we need more humor and light reading on the Baha'i bookshelf. Yes, spirituality is what the Cause is all about, but laughter is surely a step in that direction. For every weighty tome being bought and read by serious readers today, there are probably a dozen or two non-scholarly types eager for something funny, for a little light recreational reading. God willing, a talented humorist with a wit like Mr. Sears, our revered and everybody's favorite Hand of the Cause, is entering the faith right now and we will be able to enjoy more books like GLL soon.
God Loves Laughter, by Bill Sears
Chapter One: A SEVENTH SON-OF-A-GUN OF A SEVENTH SON-OF-A-GUN
I WAS BORN in a caul. Wrapped "in a veil" my Irish father bragged. My Uncle Duffy was more picturesque.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and all the saints in purgatory! The laddie's come in a cocoon!"
The midwife was the first to rush the news to my father. "It's a genius that's born to you," she cried, "all wrapped up like the seventh son of a seventh son."
"Never mind that," Father told her. "Is it a boy genius or a girl genius?"
"A big boy-child, and the finger of God is on him."
I was born on March 28, 1911, in Duluth, Minnesota, in Pumpkin Row. My father never quite forgave me for missing St. Patrick's Day by less than two weeks. As a news event, I was a poor second to the storm that blew in off Lake Superior with hailstones as big as golf balls.
My father's family originally came from Court MacSherry Bay at the foot of County Cork. On a Saturday night Father would stand for hours around the piano at Hennessy's house with the only other two Irishmen in town and they would sing one short song over and over:
"O000h ... McGinty was dead and McCarthy didn't know it; McCarthy was dead and McGinty didn't know it; They both lay there dead in the very same bed And neither didn't know that the other was dead."
Then off they'd go into gales of laughter, then back to the song, then off they'd go again. Only this time it was to McMurtry's pub.
Mother, who was French, Spanish, German, Welsh, English, and Scotch, would often tell Father, especially when he had displeased her, which was almost daily, that St. Patrick had made one great mistake.
"He should have left the snakes," she said, "and driven Out the Irish."
Within a week after I was born, Father was spreading it all over town that he'd come into a great piece of fortune. "It's my son," he said. "He came in a caul, like a pea in a pod. It's a sign from heaven. He's bringing us great good luck, and in no time at all now, we'll be coming into a nice piece of money."
Mother was annoyed. "I know your whole family," she told Father, "both here and in Ireland, and you could keep all the money they own together in the toe of one boot."
"You've got no faith, woman. Just wait 'till the young lad begins to speak. He'll tell you."
I began to walk when I was ten months old, but I began to speak when I was only six months. It made my father very nervous. Especially since the first word I said was not "Daddy", but "God".
"The boy's creepy," he told Mother. "Where did he pick that up?"
"He didn't get anything as mild as that from you certainly," Mother told him.
"I don't like it. It's spooky. I don't know if he's swearing or prophesying."
By the time I was a year-and-a-half old, my father was quite frightened of me. I knew several words that he didn't. It was at this time that I first had the dream. When I told mother about my dream she told Father. He wanted to take me to a doctor, but Mother said, "He's just precocious."
"He's weird," Father told her, "and I'm not at all sure it was wise to have him. But there's no sending him back now."
Mother told me about these things in detail years later. All I could recall myself about the dream the first time I had it was that the room had been full of a wonderful bright light, that I was very happy, and that I wanted to remain there.
Mother said she remembered the day of my dream very clearly. It was the morning that Father came downstairs after being desperately ill. He'd eaten some string beans from a bad jar and had been poisoned. For three days he thought he was going to die. At the height of his fever he confessed to Mother that ten years ago when they had first been married he'd taken Alma Jensen to a barn dance, and he didn't want to die with that on his conscience. Unfortunately for him, he recovered. When he came downstairs he was openly cheerful. He hugged Mother and gave her a playful poke in the ribs.
"I hope you didn't pay any attention to my little ravings while I was hysterical with fever."
Mother dug him a good one in the ribs in return. She laughed coldly. "Of course not, Frank. I imagine I'll forget all about it in a few years."
That's how Mother came to remember so clearly the day of my dream. Women are funny that way. The date I had the first dream was September 20, 1912.
By the time I was five I was making my poor father's life a misery. I seemed to have an inordinate interest in God, and he didn't care to discuss it with me. One day at the circus, while the bare-back riders were galloping through the big rings of fire, I turned to Father and said suddenly, "Is that what hell is like ?"
Father nearly swallowed his cigar, it upset him so.
"Don't ask me," he said angrily, "I've lived all my life in Minnesota."
Since Father had opened the subject, I said, "Where does God live, Father ? How big is He? Does He have brown eyes?"
We left the tent immediately. Father stopped at a sideshow and bought me a rubber ball. "Here," he said patiently, "play ball. Be like the other little boys. Bounce the ball on the ground."
I did, obediently. Then I looked up at him proudly. "God made the ground," I informed him.
Father threw up his hands and took me home.
About a month later, according to Mother, I had the dream a second time. I didn't say anything about it until my father came home from work. I was a cock-horse and Father was riding me to Banbury Cross astraddle his toe when I told him.
"The man came again," I said.
"Who came?" Father laughed.
"The man."
"What man?"
"The man in light."
"Where?"
"In my dream again."
I got off before Banbury Cross. "Ethel?" Father called, "He's at it again."
Mother came hurrying in. "What's wrong ?"
Father was already putting on his coat. "He's seen that man in a light in his dream again."
Mother picked me up tenderly and kissed me. "Of course, he has." She hugged me to her. "We all have nasty bad dreams."
"It was a good dream," I told her.
"What did the man look like ?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
"Don't follow in their footsteps."
Mother nearly dropped me. Father turned in the doorway.
"Thank God I work in an underground mine and don't have to come up until it's dark."
The very next morning Father was shaving when I came into the bathroom.
"What's my name ?" I asked him.
Father had often played this game with me. "Your name is William."
"Then why did he call me Peter ?"
"Who ?"
"The man in my dream last night."
Father cut his chin. "Ethel!"
Mother appeared from nowhere. She was very patient about it.
"Are you sure he called you Peter, dear ?"
I nodded. "He said: 'Fish like Peter."'
Father went to work that morning with his face half shaved. He told Mother to take me to a doctor before he came home.
"It's not normal. He talks like an old man, and it's not comfortable living in the same house with him. He'll be dead before he's six."
"Frank!"
Father was not at all happy. Whenever he became upset he talked with a brogue and waxed poetic. "If I'd known what was coming that dark March night, I'd have stuffed him back into the 'caul' and returned him."
When Father got home that night he and Mother decided that the best thing to do was to send me to Sunday school. So the next week I went with my sister Ella.
"Let the boy worry Father Hogan for a while," Father told Mother. "I pay my pew-rent regularly and hardly ever use it. Let him earn the money."
Sunday school opened up a whole new world of material for me. It gave me an abundance of new questions to ask my father. I think I must have known instinctively how terribly skittish it made him, especially after the morning he drove the family car into the oak tree in the yard. As he was coming out of the garage I called out to him:
"I thought I saw God on the front seat with you."
Father sent me to bed early that night, then he took refuge with Mother. "We've got to do something about this morbid interest. It's upsetting."
Ella chimed in. "If you think he's upsetting now, wait until next week when Father Hogan tells us about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Then he'll really be creepy!"
This was too much for Father. He withdrew me from Sunday school as of that night. It was just as well, for the church and I were soon to clash. It happened shortly after I entered the third grade. It was the week I promised Margie Kelly that I would bring the stork to the church picnic.
--
::
Monday, January 19, 2009
World Religion Day, Part I
18th Annual World Religion Day
Held at Grace United Church
Held at Grace United Church
Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity
Toronto and Vancouver Regional Conferences
More on the Regional Conferences
With a little help from my friends
My technical difficulties with Maxthink and Dosbox continue, so to keep you busy, here are some contributions from my friends, Jimbo and Joe,
Hi John,
Just thought I would give you a quick report of the Vancouver Regional Baha'i Conference which I just attended this past weekend.
About 3000 Baha'is gathered at the Vancouver conference which took place simultaneously in the large meeting rooms at the Sheraton, Fairmont, and Hyatt hotels in downtown Vancouver, Jan. 17-18, 2009.
This conference was a glorious gathering of western and northern Canadian Baha'is. Many of us hadn't seen each other literally in decades. Here we were all invited by the Supreme Body to this celebration and workshop in an inspiring, uplifting and loving Baha'i atmosphere. Many professional photos were taken of the event in action and a lot of the conference was videotaped.
The organization of this event went very smoothly and the venue was perfect.
The two representatives of the Universal House of Justice, Uransaikhan Baatar of Mongolia and Stephen Birkland of the United States, both of whom currently serve at the Baha'i World Center, really gave us what we needed most: a feeling of joy and great privilege in what we are doing to serve the Cause of God at this time in Baha'i history.
Counsellor Uransaikhan Baatar inspired us gently, sweetly, and dynamically with a vision of what the House of Justice wants us to do at this time. Counsellor Ann Boyles likewise was very encouraging and uplifting.
Counsellor Stephen Birkland told this story (as I recall it):
Well-known Baha'i, Mr. Azizi, whose resting-place is Vancouver had once told a story about his grandfather, who had a thriving business and a shop in Akka during the time that Baha'u'llah was in prison. One day 'Abdu'l-Baha came and told him that Baha'u'llah wanted him to go on a mission to Morocco. Mr. Azizi, said yes he would go, but requested first to go into Baha'u'llah's presence to receive His blessing. 'Abdu'l-Baha said that there was no time for that and that he should gather up whatever money he had and go right away. Being obedient, Mr. Azizi did what 'Abdu'l-Baha told him to do, and it wasn't till he was well into his trip that he realized that he hadn't even asked 'Abdu'l-Baha what his mission was. He worried and prayed fervently all the ay there that he be guided to know what he was supposed to do when he got to Morocco. When he got there he found that a well-known Baha'i had just been released from many years in prison and right away he knew that his mission was to bring him back to 'Abdu'l-Baha.
(end of story)
So Mr. Birkland said that it is often like that that we Baha'is have no idea what we are doing before we do it, but being obedient to Baha'u'llah and the Universal House of Justice, we start out on this new enterprise of intensive teaching, and it becomes more clear as we study, act and reflect.
Another similar example is told by Mr. Birkland in another story (in my own words):
A friend of Hand of the Cause, Mr. Khadem, accompanied him once to see the Guardian Shoghi Effendi in Haifa, Israel. The Guardian asked Mr. Khadem to go to Egypt to "spread the glad-tidings". As Mr. Khadem and his friend were on their way to Egypt, one of them said to the other, "What did Shoghi Effendi mean by 'glad-tidings'?" The other answered by saying, "I don't know. I thought that you knew." So they prayed fervently all the way there and when they got there, Mr. Khadem was asked to speak to the Baha'is. When he got up to speak he felt immediately inspired to say what was needed. (end of story)
So Mr. Birkland again emphasized that we Baha'is often don't know what we are doing at first, but out of obedience we do it and then it all becomes clear. This is true today more than ever. These stories brought a lot of laughter, as all related to being in this clueless state before we embark on carrying out the Plan of God for this day. I felt more than ever that it is clear that all we have to do is begin making the four core activities of the Plan the central focus of our actions and then persevere as we learn from each other's experiences.
Again, Mr. Birkland brought up the example of Martha Root, who had no idea what she would achieve as she embarked on her first travel-teaching trip overseas. She just knew that she had to be obedient to the Tablets of the Divine Plan that were just shared (about 1916) at an American Baha'i Convention. We are encouraged to follow her example as regards this new Plan (since 1996) of raising up human resources "to make giant strides towards" the "major aim of advancing the process of entry by troops".
As stated in other regional Baha'i conferences:
"Ms. Baatar's address focused on the importance of the Institute as an engine of growth, and how crucial it is to continually raise capacity in order to sustain activities. She encouraged participants to choose one path of service as a focus."
"Mr. Birkland stressed the importance of not being distracted and dismayed by the situation of the world as well as the importance of taking action despite feelings of inadequacy."
This was a great historical Baha'i conference one would not ever want to miss, or ever forget.
-- Jimbo
--------
Courtesy of Joe Woods, here are the quotes that the UHJ representative and Counselor, Mr. Birkland, made use of in his presentation; or at least the one he gave in Toronto,
"If, however, for a few days, in compliance with God's all-encompassing wisdom, outward affairs should run their course contrary to one's cherished desire, this is of no consequence and should not matter. Our intent is that all the friends should fix their gaze on the Supreme Horizon, and cling to that which hath been revealed in the Tablets. They should strictly avoid sedition, and refrain from treading the path of dissension and strife. They should champion their one true God, exalted be He, through the hosts of forbearance, of submission, of an upright character, of goodly deeds, and of the choicest and most refined words." (Baha'u'llah, Fire and Light, p. 10)
"Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager." The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry. Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men. Gain is their lot, whatever the deal. To this testifieth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear. (Baha'u'llah: Crisis and Victory, p 154)
"One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight when it is cast on a flat mirror, but once the sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thus is it necessary to focus one's thinking on a single point so that it will become an effective force." (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections, 111)
"Regarding your own condition: He strongly urges you not to dwell on yourself. Each one of us, if we look into our failures, is sure to feel unworthy and despondent, and this feeling only frustrates our constructive efforts and wastes time. The thing for us to focus on is the glory of the Cause and the Power of Bahá'u'lláh which can make of a mere drop a surging sea!" (Shoghi Effendi, 13 October, 1947, Unfolding Destiny, 447)
"The champion builders of Bahá'u'lláh's rising World Order must scale nobler heights of heroism as humanity plunges into greater depths of despair, degradation, dissension and distress. Let them forge ahead into the future serenely confident that the hour of their mightiest exertions and the supreme opportunity for their greatest exploits must coincide with the apocalyptic upheaval marking the lowest ebb in mankind's fast-declining fortunes." (Shoghi Effendi, November 3, 1948, Citadel of Faith, 58)
"Putting on the armor of His love, firmly buckling on the shield of His mighty Covenant, mounted on the steed of steadfastness, holding aloft the lance of the Word of the Lord of Hosts, and with unquestioning reliance on His promises as the best provision for their journey, let them set their faces towards those fields that still remain unexplored and direct their steps to those goals that are as yet unattained, assured that He Who has led them to achieve such triumphs, and to store up such prizes in His Kingdom, will continue to assist them in enriching their spiritual birthright to a degree that
no finite mind can imagine or human heart perceive." (Shoghi Effendi, From a letter dated April 1956; Messages to the Baha'i World, p. 102)
--
John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
::
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Shrewd Tank Commander
"A shrewd man sees trouble coming and lies low,
--
::
The simple walk into it and pay the penalty."
(Proverbs 27:12)
We continue going through the Book of Proverbs in our nightly Baha'i class. The wisdom applies often in unexpected ways. For example, when we read this proverb it hit me that that was exactly the strategy I had adopted successfully today when I was playing a game of tank commander on the game of "WII Play" on the kids' Nintendo WII game console. I had found that if I blundered into the fray some enemy tank would always come up behind me and blow my tank away, especially once you get to the higher levels. Like a simpleton, I did just what it says, I walked into it and paid the penalty. No matter what I did I could not get past a certain level in these tank duels, except by pure luck. So today I came up with the strategy of sitting back, playing with extreme caution, with my tank sitting in safety and whenever possible firing my shells around a corner -- shells bounce once on most surfaces in this game. Once I have a killing zone set up, preferably in two directions, I can just lie low and let the enemy tanks come at me. No matter how formidably advanced their tanks become, this gets them every time -- at least on the levels I have attained so far.
This is not what I normally write about but I am in the process of transferring my work from my daughter's laptop to a new bottom of the line Acer I just picked up at Best Buy. Our two older computers were down and it was cheaper to just buy a cheap new one -- the cheapest in the store, but still more powerful than our fastest -- than to take them to the shop or try to repair the older ones myself. I feel guilty about being so lazy and unhandy, but that is the way it is now.
--
::
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Corporal Mnemonics
JANUARY 15, 2009
Corporal Mnemonics
The Changing Times Blog offers an essay that starts off like this,
"Kitab-i-Hearsay
`"I hear a lot of things from a lot of people who are absolutely sure they know what they're talking about. "Shoghi Effendi said 2/3 of the world's population would be wiped out before the lesser peace is established." Mmm. "'Abdu'l-Bahá used to smack people." Really. "You can have your pets with you in the next world." Aha. "There could be women on the House of Justice someday." Is that so? Where did you read that? "Umm… I think it's in, like, God Passes By." Are you sure? "No, I haven't read it…maybe it was in pilgrim's notes…" Pilgrim's notes. "Or a talk or something. I remember someone saying that." Someone.'
I could not resist offering the following comment on this confident statement on that blog:
John Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 11:52 am
As for your comment: "'Abdu'l-Bahá used to smack people.' Really.", I would answer, really.
I do not want to repeat the references, but go on Ocean and use the keyword "slap." On at least two occasions just that happened, both done not out of anger but to protect the Cause from folly. Both references are documented and legitimate. And don't get me started on the wallop He gave a young Shoghi Effendi who had been late for prayers, as mentioned in Priceless Pearl.
For a whole book full of hearsay, see Piff's "Baha'i Lore." I found it amusing to go around memorizing parts of it and quoting passages to staid older believers as if it were an authority.
I would add right now that the fact that the purpose of politics is peace does not mean that there cannot be a just war; similarly, the fact that a teacher is most effective most of the time using what Baha'u'llah calls "words of milk" does not mean that there are not times when "words of fire," and even blows, are necessary. Sometimes, as one of these incidents implies, it is necessary to hit someone who is endangering everybody.
And it is not unknown to use blows in teaching.
I often mention an anecdote about a teacher whose memoire I once read who taught in a school in remote, rural Iran. His students would not respect their teacher without fear, because they were used to being hit routinely at home. So he had to adapt. He found that this worked: on the first day of school he would suddenly hit a kid (one that he knew could take it) in front of everybody for no good reason. For the rest of the year they would treat him with the utmost respect. They were model students and no further violence was necessary.
As another example, some Ancient Greek philosophers would haul off and smack one of their students just after making an important point in order to be sure that the student would remember it forever, and for sure. Call it corporal mnemonics. Corporal punishment is bad, but corporal mnemonics is legit.
Anyway, here are the full quotes that I mentioned indirectly in that response:
"Many years before, in the days of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Akká had had an official, in charge of the secretariat, named Mustafa Effendi, who constantly incited the Governor to make life unbearable for the Bahá'ís. And the Governor was not averse to using the occasion for personal gain. To his various stratagems 'Abdu'l-Bahá paid no attention. The Governor hit upon the idea of forcing the Bahá'í shopkeepers to close down. 'Abdu'l-Bahá forestalled him and advised them to stop trading. Baulked, the Governor called a meeting in his residence of the notables and the divines who were hostile towards the Bahá'ís. It was intended to concert a plan of action. In the meantime, Sa'da'd-Din Ramadan, the chief of the merchants, hurried to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He begged for money. Only money, he pleaded, would make the Governor give up his machinations; there was no time to lose. 'Abdu'l-Bahá kept him waiting, while he thought that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was filling a purse with gold that he might take it to the Governor. For his pains he had only a hard slap in the face from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and was told not to tarry there, as money had already been sent to the Governor. But what the Governor of 'Akká received was a telegram from the Vali in Beirut, dismissing him and other officials. Three months later this ex-Governor was further humiliated and banished to Damascus. He had to leave his family behind in 'Akká. 'Abdu'l-Bahá provided both for him and his family; and in due time, meeting all the expenses, He arranged to reunite them. Thus did 'Abdu'l-Bahá treat the fallen adversary." (H.M. Balyuzi, Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant, p. 115-116)
'The first night of our arrival we suffered because of lack of water The water in the pool had become malodorous. We wanted to go out and procure fresh water, but they would not permit us. From the house of 'Abdu'l-Hadi Pasha, the Mutasarrif of 'Akká, they brought some cooked rice, but it was not enough. The next day, officials came to see what was happening to us. They went into the presence of the Blessed Perfection, and to them He spoke such words of knowledge and wisdom that, in that very first meeting, they realized that here were people endowed with erudition, wisdom and rare understanding One of them had said, there and then, that never before had such pure and sanctified souls set foot in 'Akká. Some days later they brought Haji Ja'far and his brother, Haji Taqi.'
The ration for each person, according to Aqa Rida and Aqa Husayn-i-Ashchi, was three loaves of black bread, salty and inedible. So revolting was this ration that Aqa Husayn, young and headstrong as he was, made rude and insulting remarks about it in Turkish, directed to the Mutasarrif. This earned him a sharp slap in the face from the Most Great Branch. But it also caused the Mutasarrif, Aqa Husayn says, to take note of the situation. Soon the officials discontinued this ration; instead they gave the exiles a sum of money each day, which was shared by all the companions." (H.M. Balyuzi, Baha'u'llah - The King of Glory, p. 275-277)
This is the reference to the "chastisement" given to the Guardian:
"In those days of Shoghi Effendi's childhood it was the custom to rise about dawn and spend the first hour of the day in the Master's room, where prayers were said and the family all had breakfast with Him. The children sat on the floor, their legs folded under them, they would chant for 'Abdu'l-Bahá; there was no shouting or unseemly conduct. Breakfast consisted of tea, brewed on the bubbling Russian brass samovar and served in little crystal glasses, very hot and very sweet, pure wheat bread and goat's milk cheese. Dr Zia Baghdadi, an intimate of the family, in his recollections of these days records that Shoghi Effendi was always the first to get up and be on time - after receiving one good chastisement from no other hand than that of his grandfather!" (Ruhiyyih Khanum, The Priceless Pearl, p. 7)
John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/
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