Nicknamed the “Lotus Temple”, the building certainly bears a resemblance to a Lotus flower, and is often mistaken for the Sydney Opera House.  I had seen many pictures of it before, but there was something about these projections that jut out relatively low on the building that I wanted to see.  From the edge of the reflecting pools at the very base of the temple I was able to capture this shot.  It was important to me because I was seeing this well-known symbol of the Faith from a different perspective which is somewhat of a metaphor for the way in which I strive to see life from a different angle.  Traveling across the globe to India was as far from “home” as I had ever been, but it was still comforting to know that even as I experienced a new culture, I was in the midst of something familiar.

I have seen these things and I wince.  I believe strongly that we are to be stewards of this Earth.  Everything on this planet has been supplied for our use and to satisfy our needs and desires.  But, we must do so responsibly.  The Native American proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children,” has much wisdom and is something we should always consider.  Although not specifically a Baha’i concept, the duty to prepare a world for our children that is better than the one we were born into is innate to every culture.

Unfortunately, I often see the problems that lead to such recklessness with our planet’s ecology as being driven by self-interest and greed.  If we could all learn to treat the entire planet as our home we would be better off.  As it is, the peoples of many nations are quite territorial and short-sighted—thinking only of themselves and not considering the destruction their pollution may be causing in other places.  If we continue on this route where we cannot see the forest for the trees, there may be not trees to see.

The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the unity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-in-hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, an ordered and progressive society. It inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsory education, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommends the adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace.

~ Shoghi Effendi, The Bahá’í Faith – The World Religion: A Summary of Its Aims, Teachings and History

I really appreciate this single paragraph that summarizes the beliefs of the Baha’is.  I ran across it in a collection of excerpts of the writings titled “Teachings for the New World Order.”  That term has been used several times during the 20th century and beginning of the 21st.  It was normally following wars, i.e. WWI, WWII and the Cold War, and used to describe the hopes of what would come—more specifically that after all of the death and destruction preceding those times, that people would change, that the world would have to change.

While it seems in those cases the world, though it may never be the same, did revert back to its previous pettiness—prejudice and poverty still persist.  However, as Baha’is we pray for the day when people will put these feelings aside and learn how we can live together and allow religion to be the cohesive force that binds us, not the wedge that divides us.

O Lord! Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the Dispeller of every affliction. Thou art He Who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the Redeemer of every soul. O Lord! Grant deliverance through Thy mercy, and reckon me among such servants of Thine as have gained salvation.

~ The Báb, Baha’i Prayer

I first ran across this prayer a few years ago when I first declared as a Baha’i.  However, it was not until a few years later that a friend gave me the Elika Mahony CD, Fire & Gold, in which she sings these words so beautifully that it really had an impact on me.

Of course this is praise for the way in which God’s love and presence can mitigate the difficulties and trials in our lives, but there is more.  It has become a symbol to me of the diversity of the Baha’i Faith and its ability to cross international borders.  Although people in different parts of the world face different afflictions, they can all find redemption and salvation in the same God and this is one of the unifying principles of the Faith.

Mahony’s parents are from Iran, though she was born in the United States, raised in Kenya and now lives in China.  I was in India, on my way to Bangladesh and then Honduras, visiting a friend I knew from NYC who was born in Panama and had also lived in Argentina, who introduced me to her new friend who was India, but had lived in China.  All of us had led different lives, in different places, and yet we all knew this same prayer.

To add to the international flavor, a second woman enters into the song for the following words from Baha’u’llah:

¡OH HIJO DE LA LUZ!
Olvídate de todo menos de mí y entra en comunión con mi espíritu. Esto pertenece a la esencia de mi mandamiento, por tanto vuélvete a él.

~ Baha’u'llah, Palabras Ocultas del Árabe no. 16

in English:

O SON OF LIGHT!
Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #16