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Posted January 29, 2010 by Clethass

Faith & Action: Power of Unity
BY JOYCE FULLER KLEIKAMP
Baha’i Community of Pinal County

One of the most disheartening and frustrating aspects of the religions of the world is that they seem to be so different from each other. What’s more, each particular religion has numerous branches and sects that can appear as different from each other as the major faiths themselves.

This is why the central theme and purpose of the Baha’i faith, to unite the human family within one universal cause, within one common faith, has sparked hope and excitement in the hearts of people everywhere.

In the past in all other religions, the followers were left to themselves once their manifestation of God was no longer walking among them. Thousands of disputes arose resulting in the fracturing and splitting of the faithful into sects, denominations and groups. The underlying cause of this disunity was often a strong desire for leadership on the part of ambitious individuals. Differences of opinion about what should be done and what should happen created problems that ultimately could not withstand the pressure. No one, no group, was authorized to act. This is now the day, the era, in which the power of unity has been preserved through the unique functioning of the covenant.

The divine design for unity has been safeguarded; Baha’u’llah protected the faith against division by writing his will and testament, in it designating his eldest son, Abdu’l-Baha, to be the sole interpreter of his teachings and Center of the Covenant. Abdu’l-Baha’s life was a gift to humanity. He was the perfect exemplar of the teachings. He lived for 77 years, shared the exiles and tribulations of his father, labored to spread the word of God throughout the east and west, and wrote thousands of tablets and letters which educated the Baha’is in the ways of unity. His writings are an important part of the writings of the Baha’i faith.

By focusing on the life and writings of Abdu’l-Baha, as the center of the covenant, in addition to the life and writings of Baha’u’llah himself, the worldwide Baha’i community remained united in their efforts to create a new civilization based upon the understanding that we are one human family and that there is a blueprint for building unity in our communities. We understand that justice is a key that overlooking the faults of others and developing virtues is vital.

Furthering the protection of the faith, Abdu’l-Baha wrote in his will that his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, would serve as guardian of the faith, to be the authorized interpreter of the teachings and to guide the expansion of the faith in every part of the world. For 36 years, he clarified and educated humanity. And now, as clearly delineated, the affairs of the Baha’i world are handled by elected councils of people, at the local, national and international levels. The supreme institution guiding the faith is called the Universal House of Justice.

Throughout these years of divine revelation, divine interpretation and authorized action, the Baha’is continue to build unity in the world community; this unity is based upon the foundation of the laws and commandments given to us by the manifestation of God for this day, the promised one of all ages.

Next week, we’ll explore some of the most important and exciting of these laws and guidelines. These are the building blocks of our unity, the lamps of guidance for our footsteps. This series of articles is taken directly from the presentation entitled “The Baha’i Faith”.

Visit the Web site for the local Baha’i chapter at www.bahai.org.

I have come from distant lands to visit the meetings and assemblies of this country (US). In every meeting I find people gathered loving each other; therefore I am greatly pleased. The bond of union is evidenced in this assembly today where the power of God has brought together in faith, agreement and concord those who are engaged in furthering the development of the human world. It is my hope that all mankind may become similarly united in the bond and agreement of love. Unity is the expression of the loving power of God and reflects the reality of divinity. It is resplendent in this day through the bestowals of light upon humanity.

Abdu'l-Baha
Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 274

Tags: Land, Union, Power, Faith, Agreement, Concord, Mankind, Love, Unity, Divinity.

One Word: God

Posted November 3, 2009 by Clethass

The Baha'i Influence at the United Nations

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2009
Jennifer Rast

The Baha’i faith now numbers some five million souls and the Encyclopedia Britannica lists Baha’i as the second-most widely spread independent religion in the world, after Christianity. With Haifa, Israel as the site of its international headquarters, its strong presence in the United Nations, and within other international groups, Baha’i is in a position to play a prominent role in the fulfillment of end times prophecy. In fact, they state in their literature that their goal is to do just that. They eagerly await the man who will usher in global peace (known to Christians as Antichrist), and hold as one of their central missions the establishment of a united global commonwealth that will control all things political, financial, and spiritual. At times, while reading from Baha’i writings, one begins to feel like you’ve picked up a Bible and began reading directly from the book of Revelation.

The ultimate deception of the end times will involve the worldwide worship of the Antichrist. But the Antichrist will not rise to power alone. His success will result from a worldwide spiritual deception perpetrated by his sidekick, the False Prophet. The Antichrist will not appear until after the falling away (2 Thess. 2:3), but the spirit of Antichrist is already at work perverting the gospel and corrupting the church. The False Prophet will look religious, sound religious and use religious terms, but his message will be straight from Satan (Rev. 13:11). The final phase of apostasy before the Antichrist arrives on the scene will introduce a religious system to be led by the False Prophet. It will be an ecumenical, interfaith religion much like the Baha’i faith.

There are nearly 130 agencies and organizations operating within the UN system, each overseeing programs that require vast sums of money and massive bureaucracies to operate. These UN programs are all strategic parts of a plan to achieve global governance and eliminate national sovereignty from the planet. Most of these programs are never covered in the world’s media and are able to operate outside of the awareness of the public they hope to govern. This giant bureaucracy is so far outside the realm of accountability that most people have no idea how it is operating or what agenda it is moving forward. Most Christians would be shocked to know how deeply involved the United Nations is in the spiritual agenda of the interfaith movement. Just as they are striving for a world government, they are also working with religious leaders and organizations to create the one world religion found in Bible prophecy - the religion that is to be an integral part of the Antichrist’s rise to power.

The Baha'i community has, as a duly accredited non-governmental organization, long worked closely with the United Nations, supporting many of its goals and programs, and taking a leadership role in several international gatherings. Its involvement in the United Nations dates back to the founding of the UN in 1945. In 1947, the Baha’i communities of the United States and Canada were recognized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), and the next year, the Baha’i International Community itself was recognized by the UN DPI as an international non-governmental organization. In May 1970, they were granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), allowing for a greater degree of interaction with the Council and its subsidiary bodies. Since then they have also been granted consultative status with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and relationships with the many UN bodies have deepened and expanded over the years. Today for example, the Baha’i organization has a working relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO), is associated with the United Nations Environment Programme, and is involved in joint activities with UNIFEM and UNICEF as well as many other religious, environmental and social programs within the UN, to include peace-building, human rights, women’s affairs, education, health, and sustainable development.

When you examine the beliefs and writings of the Baha’i community, it is not hard to understand the United Nations’ support and confidence in this organization. Their end goal is the same. Just as the United Nations believes that a new world order is just around the corner, the Baha’i believe the human race is nearing the next stage in their spiritual evolution - a phase that brings us one rung higher on the evolutionary ladder toward world peace and utopia. In their belief statement they write that, “The current world confusion and calamitous condition in human affairs is a natural phase in an organic process leading ultimately and irresistibly to the unification of the human race in a single social order whose boundaries are those of the planet.” They use their voice at the United Nations to convince global leaders of the need for a spiritual element in the development of the new world order. In the Baha’i document “A Vision of World Peace”, written by the Universal House of Justice, they state that “no serious attempt to set human affairs aright, to achieve world peace, can ignore religion.” The Baha’i “incarnation of God”, Abdu’l-Bah, said, “religion is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world.” They refer to the organized religions of today as “stuff of history” and claim that these religions of exclusivity, intolerance, and perversions of truth are the root of all evil and the cause for all of the world’s social, political, and economic ills.

“A Vision of World Peace” goes on to say that “those who have held blindly and selfishly to their particular orthodoxies, who have imposed on their votaries erroneous and conflicting interpretations of the pronouncements of the Prophets of God, bear heavy responsibility for the confusion and artificial barriers erected between faith and reason, science and religion”. They blame the resurgence of “fanatical religious fervor” occurring across the globe for what they call a “dying convulsion that is undermining the spiritual values which are conducive to the unity of mankind”.

In 2 Peter 3:3-5, the Bible warns the following: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.”

Always eager to fulfill prophecy, a Baha’i statement reads: “The time has come when those who preach the dogmas of materialism, whether of the east or the west, whether of capitalism or socialism, must give account of the moral stewardship they have presumed to exercise. Where is the “new world” promised by these ideologies? Where is the international peace to whose ideals they proclaim their devotion?” Of course the new world of peace will come when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth.

I Thessalonians 1:10 “..and wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

God warns us not to be deceived by those who will try to pave the way for the Antichrists false peace and deception.

II Thessalonians 2:3, 6-7 "Let no one in any way deceive you for it (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. And you know what restrains him now, so that in this time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way."

The Bible teaches us that in the end times a global religion will be established. It is referred to as Mystery Babylon, the mother of all harlots, and it will ride in on the Beast that is Antichrist. We can see the beginnings of this global faith today in our increasingly ecumenical religious leaders, such organizations as the United Religions Initiative, the Parliament of World Religions, and in the United Nations.

The Baha’i faith sees the United Nations as the vessel by which the unifying of the world’s religions into one faith will come to fruition. Their plan for the future of our world and the role of the United Nations and a regionalized world, are an eerily complete and detailed picture of Bible prophesy. Baha’i writings state “the oneness of humanity implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced…It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world – a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language.” They also promote a redistribution of wealth and a communist system of government that would be able to bring about this leveling of the playing field. This brings to mind the Antichrist’s future financial system in which no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the Beast.

While the Baha’i praise the United Nations as the only hope for the “world peace promised by all the major religions”, they are not satisfied with its progress and are a loud voice on the international stage for stepping up the pace of our “spiritual evolution”.

In a statement to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002, the Baha’i Community wrote, “despite significant achievements, the United Nations has yet to grasp fully both the constructive role that religion can play in creating a peaceful and prosperous global order, and the destructive impact that religious fanaticism can have on the stability and progress of the world.” They go on to say “while the United Nations’ human rights machinery has been used to condemn religious intolerance and persecution, UN development policies and programs have hardly begun to address religious bigotry as a major obstacle to peace and well-being.” While we do not deny that the world has seen a great deal of death and violence due to religious fanaticism (most prevalently today from Islamic fundamentalists), the Baha’i view goes further. The Baha’is won’t be satisfied until Bible-believing Christians join them in believing that all paths lead to God, and all claims to truth are silenced. In response to what they call religious fanaticism, they suggest that religious leaders need to “work untiringly to exorcise religious bigotry and superstition from within their faith traditions and renounce claims to religious exclusivity and finality”. And who decides what is superstition and what is truth? The Baha’i and the world community, of course. “Abdul’-Bah, the Baha’i “incarnation of God”, in “The Promulgation of Universal Peace”, defined superstition as “beliefs and opinions that are found contrary to the standards of science; for the antithesis of knowledge is ignorance, and the child of ignorance is superstition.”

Baha’i writings also stress that force and coercion in matters of religion and belief are violations of the Divine command. This sounds reasonable. No one should be forced to accept a religion. However, Baha’i writings also consider simple proselytizing to be coercive. They believe humans should be able to investigate reality for themselves, and to present your truth to another is to violate that spiritual right. They believe all religions are equally valid and just different expressions of the same God, so there is no reason share your faith with others.

The Baha’i make no distinction between the government and private citizens when condemning intolerant religious speech and expression. They support building on the “Convention Against Discrimination in Education” to include sanctions for those who, in the name of religion, would use education and media to oppress freedom of conscience and to promote division. Whether public or private, they say, there should be no tolerance for educational institutions and initiatives, or media policies and programs that promote intolerant attitudes and behaviors. Remember, as proselytizing to others, claiming an exclusive path to salvation, or condemning a lifestyle like homosexuality is deemed intolerant, this would apply to private religious schools and quite possibly churches. In a statement to the United Nations on the spiritual dimension of Sustainable Development, the Baha’i International Community wrote “Ultimately, the creation of a peaceful and just global civilization, in which the diverse peoples of the world live in harmony with one another and with the natural world, will require a significant reorientation of individual and collective goals and a profound transformation in attitudes and behaviors.”

So, just how do they plan to bring about this transformation? In a statement to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Baha’i community presented several possible next steps for transforming the United Nations. As a first priority, they proposed holding a convention on freedom of religion and belief to be drafted and ratified as expeditiously as possible by all of the governments of the world. They suggested the foundation within the United Nations system of a permanent religious forum, patterned on the UN’s recently founded Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The creation of this body would be responsible for beginning the integration of religion into the UN’s work of establishing a peaceful world order.

Of course, to participate in this forum, religious leaders would need to meet certain criteria. Their proposal states “only those religious leaders who make it clear to their followers that prejudice, bigotry and violence have no place in the life of a religious person should be invited to participate in the work of this body.” You can be sure that any religious leader who actually believes that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him”, would be disqualified from participation. A belief in the Bible as absolute truth puts you in the category of intolerant and would make you guilty of prejudice.

The statement closes by saying that “until the religions of the world renounce fanaticism and work wholeheartedly to eliminate it from within their own ranks, peace and prosperity will prove chimerical. It is they who must raise their voices to end the hatred, exclusivity, oppression of conscience, violations of human rights, denial of equality, opposition to science, and glorification of materialism, violence and terrorism, which are perpetrated in the name of religious truth.” How very tolerant! Oppress someone’s conscience, have the nerve to believe the Bible is the only absolute truth, or claim there is only one path to God, and you will be eliminated. Once again, the Baha’i have written their script for the world’s future directly from the prophecies of the Bible, and have given us a perfect example of the Spirit of Antichrist that marks all false prophets and false religions.
Source: http://www.contenderministries.org/UN/bahaiun.php

I have come from distant lands to visit the meetings and assemblies of this country (US). In every meeting I find people gathered loving each other; therefore I am greatly pleased. The bond of union is evidenced in this assembly today where the power of God has brought together in faith, agreement and concord those who are engaged in furthering the development of the human world. It is my hope that all mankind may become similarly united in the bond and agreement of love. Unity is the expression of the loving power of God and reflects the reality of divinity. It is resplendent in this day through the bestowals of light upon humanity.

Abdu'l-Baha
Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 274

Tags: Country, Meeting, Union, Faith, Concord, World, Mankind, Love, Power, Divinity, Day, Light

One Word: God

Posted August 11, 2009 by Clethass

<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>: Evening in Support of Human Rights<o:p></o:p>

byMassoud
09-Aug-2009
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The Bay Area event will take place on Wednesday, August 12, at 8 PM, at the Herbst Theater (http://www.sfwmpac.org/herbst/ht_index.html ) in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>. The keynote speakers will be Dr. Farhad Sabetan, of the UN's Baha'i International Community and Dr. Abbas Milani. Dr. Abbas Milani is a visiting professor in the department of political science. In addition, Dr. Milani is a research fellow and co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution. His expertise is U.S./Iran relations, Iranian cultural, political, and security issues.<o:p></o:p>

The Baha'i Faith is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, with about 300,000 adherents. Ever since its inception in that country in the mid 1800's, the Baha'is have been severely persecuted. Since the revolution in 1979, hundreds of Baha'is have been executed or "disappeared," others have been imprisoned, sometimes for years, without access to any kind of due process. Thousands have had their possessions confiscated, pensions and employment denied, and prohibited access to higher education. Even in grade schools, Baha'i children are singled out for scorn, ridicule, and punishment by their teachers, who encourage other students to do the same. Baha'i properties have been confiscated, even Baha'i cemeteries have been desecrated.<o:p></o:p>

All official Baha'i institutions have been disbanded by the government. About a year ago, seven Baha'is working as an ad-hoc group to serve the Baha'i community were arrested. They remain in prison, again with no access to attorneys or any due process, facing baseless and even bizarre charges ranging from apostasy to espionage to "corrupting the public morals." Some of the charges bring a penalty of death. Their case is being handled by the law offices of Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, but they have not been allowed to meet with their clients.<o:p></o:p>

Some links about the Iranian Baha'is:http://www.bahai.org/dir/worldwide/persecutionhttp://news.bahai.org/http://iran.bahai.us/http://www.iranpresswatch.org... <o:p></o:p>

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/06/iran.bah... <o:p></o:p>

http://middle-east-analysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/m... <o:p></o:p>

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-hr175/show <o:p></o:p>

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Amongst them <is this>: "The faith of God and religion of God hath been revealed and manifested from the heaven of the Will of the King of Preexistence only for the union and concord of the dwellers upon earth: make it not a cause of discord and dissension. The principal means and chief instrument for <bringing about> the appearance and irradiance of the luminary of concord is the religion of God and the Law of the Lord; while the growth of the world, the education of the nations, and the peace and comfort of those in all lands are through the divine ordinances and decrees. This is the principal means for this most great gift; it giveth the cup of life, bestoweth everlasting life, and conferreth eternal blessedness.<o:p></o:p>

(Abdu'l-Baha, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 84)<o:p></o:p>

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Tags: Faith, Religion, Will, Union, Earth, Law, Education, Peace, Life

One Word: God

Posted June 5, 2009 by Clethass

Calling all baby boomers: choose to go nonalcoholic<o:p></o:p>

It is the 40th anniversary of my graduation from <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename>, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:place></st1:city>. I was a 17-year-old freshman in 1965 and finally legal to drink at 21, my senior year in 1969. Ive been reflecting on how my attitudes toward drugs and alcohol have changed since being a student in the 60s and now a mom and a psychologist on <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mercer Island</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p>

At <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:place></st1:city>, my fellow students were advocating tearing down the military-industrial complex, boycotting all our classes, stopping troop trains and following Timothy LearyҒs call to tune in and drop out. I attended all my classes, worked part time, marched against the war and only used drugs on the weekends. It started out all peace and love and ended with Peoples Park, death, violence and marijuana laced with PCP.<o:p></o:p>

Three months later, I started grad school at <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename>, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>. A group of fellow grad students and I received funding to train drug-abuse counselors for the Army, Navy and Marines on bases ranging from the Naval Station in San Diego to the Marine base in Camp Pendleton. They also flew men in from the Army stationed in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> to be trained. At first, I couldnҒt understand why the military was so hostile toward drug users. They wanted to line them up and shoot them,Ӕ and we were trying to train them to counsel and help them get treatment. Then I started to get it.Ӕ When you are facing enemy fire, you dont want to be injured or killed by ғfriendly fire from a ԓdruggie you were counting on to watch your back.<o:p></o:p>

In the 1970s, I volunteered to be in a study of hallucinations at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and was given LSD, Mescaline, Psilocybin, THC in capsules, Phenobarbital and a placebo. The drug researcher had to wait hours with me until it was safe for me to drive home. Thanks to our governmentԒs National Institute of Health, I was given an optimally safe introduction to psychedelic drugs. As a result, I stopped risking my precious mind to street gradeӔ psychedelics laced with who knows what.<o:p></o:p>

I stopped all drugs and alcohol while pregnant and nursing my children in the 1980s and have been a light social drinker ever since.<o:p></o:p>

In the 90s, I moved my children to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mercer Island</st1:place></st1:city> so that they could attend excellent public schools. All went well until high school, and then the drug and alcohol abuse escalated. Many parents and I had to pay attorney fees to defend our teens arrested for MIPҒs, DUIs or Disorderly Conduct. Other parents were heartbroken as they paid as much for inpatient drug/alcohol treatment as they would have paid for years of private tuition or memorable vacations for the entire family. Some parents were enraged that their teen had dropped out of college and lost their financial aid. The parents were stuck paying off the student loans and tuition.<o:p></o:p>

After praying and meditating on these problems that touch me very deeply, I would like to ask my fellow Islanders to:<o:p></o:p>

Choose to be nonalcoholic: If your doctor or family has asked you to drink less, please start drinking nonalcoholic beer and wine. You can still drink with friends and hold a glass or bottle, relax, fit in and have a good time. This is good for your health, and youҒre a good role model for your teens who are struggling to fit in with their peers.<o:p></o:p>

With the economy tanking and parents experiencing cutbacks and unemployment, teens often continue in their addictions, oblivious to the spiraling chaos and despair around them. Rather than sinking into depression or panic attacks, Im hoping that baby boomers will mobilize their leadership skills to turn things in a more positive direction.<o:p></o:p>

Susan Carol Price www.pnwlocalnews.com Jun 02 2009
Islander Susan Carol Price, Ph.D., is a member of the BahaҒi Faith and a Psychologist in private practice on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Mercer Island</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p>

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The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">God</st1:place></st1:city>. Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world.<o:p></o:p>

(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 6)<o:p></o:p>

Tags: Seeker, Lover, Union, Realm, Spirit, City, Labor, Ardor, World

ONE WORD: GOD

Posted May 9, 2009 by Clethass

When it comes to religion, there is as much that unites us as divides us. That was the message sounded by representatives of eight of the worlds faiths at the Interfaith Brotherhood/Sisterhood Committee of Bergen County annual brunch Sunday.<o:p></o:p>

This yearҒs brunch was hosted by the Jain community, followers of an ancient creed born in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> that stresses non-violence and a reverence for all forms of life.<o:p></o:p>

The interfaith group also encompasses the Bahai, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant, and Sikh communities. Some 350 attended the 23d annual event at the Glenpointe Marriott in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Teaneck</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p>

In separate interviews, representatives of the various faiths spoke of their common thread.<o:p></o:p>

Father Donald Sheehan is one of the committee veterans, having participated for the past 22 years. ғWere all children of God,Ҕ said Sheehan of St. Matthews Catholic Church in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ridgefield</st1:place></st1:city>. ғWe must have the ability to accept people as they are, and stand behind and have respect for one anothers religious experience.Ҕ<o:p></o:p>

We are different faiths that respect each other,Ӕ said Pat Kinney of Leonia, speaking of the Bahai faith. ғWe believe there is one God, she said. ԓWe come together and realize that the fundamental beliefs are not far apart.<o:p></o:p>

There is unity in diversity, said Harkishan Singh Jassal of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Clifton</st1:place></st1:city>, speaking of the Sikh community. ԓWe do not have a melting pot, Jassal said, but rather a ԓbouquet of flowers. Each flower has its own fragrance.<o:p></o:p>

Artul Prakash of Cedar Grove spoke for Hinduism, saying ԓWe have different paths for getting there, but we share the concept of God. ԓWhat has divided us is the feeling that our own way is the only way, but thats the wrong message,Ҕ he said.<o:p></o:p>

We all believe in the Creator,Ӕ said Imam Saeed Qureshi of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Teaneck</st1:place></st1:city>. The details might be different, but we all believe in God,Ӕ he said.<o:p></o:p>

Vinay Bakani of Oradell said that reverence for life is key, and that includes animal and plant life. Bakani explained that Jains believe all living things have a soul.<o:p></o:p>

Dr. Hema Pokharna, the keynote speaker, started her academic career as a biochemist and now teaches spirituality and medicine at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Chicago</st1:placename></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p>

Before taking the podium, the Indian-born scientist detailed her belief that the power to cure resides within us.Ӕ While medicines are needed, the key to healing is meditation and harmony. For more information on her views, see journeysoflife.org.<o:p></o:p>

Speaking of non-violent action, the Indian-born Pokharna told the gathering that sitting still has been advocated since ancient times.Ӕ<o:p></o:p>

Buddha sat still under a tree, Jesus sat still in a garden, Muhammad sat still in a cave,Ӕ she said. And Gandhi and King and thousands of others have brought sitting still to perfection.Ӕ<o:p></o:p>

Quoting from the teachings her faith, Pokharna concluded, Live such a life, be such a person, that if every person were you, the world would be a paradise.Ӕ<o:p></o:p>

Charles Zusman www.jstandard.com 08 May 2009<o:p></o:p>

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Though we all, among ourselves, in our devotional allegiance have our own individual loyalties, to all of us 'Abdu'l-Bah brings, and has brought, a message of Unity, of sympathy and of Peace. He bids us all be real and true in what we profess to believe; and to treasure above everything the Spirit behind the form. With him we bow before the Hidden Name, before that which is of every life the Inner Life! He bids us worship in fearless loyalty to our own faith, but with ever stronger yearning after Union, Brotherhood, and Love; so turning ourselves in Spirit, and with our whole heart, that we may enter more into the mind of God, which is above class, above race, and beyond time.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 34)<o:p></o:p>

Tags: Abdul-Baha, Unity, Peace, Spirit, Name, Life, Faith, Union, Love, Heart, Mind, Time

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