Tag: holy days

Prayers are vital to the spiritual life of a Baha’i

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Thames Valley Baha’i Shawn Khorassani
“Prayer is a vital part of Baha’i spiritual life” says Thames Valley Baha’i Shawn Khorassani.

Bahais across West Berkshire will be getting together on Monday 9 July to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of the Bab, the herald of the Bahai Faith. 

This major holy day marks the events surrounding the death of the Bab in 1850. The Bab (a title meaning ‘the Gate’) had many followers but his beliefs did not meet with approval from the leaders of the state religion in Persia, and they decided he should be taken from prison and put to death.

Shawn Khorassani, a Thames Valley Bahai, said: “9 July – the Martyrdom of the Bab – is an important holy day for Bahais, and a day when Bahais across the Thames Valley get together to pray.

“Prayer is a vital part of Bahai spiritual life. Bahais believe that prayer is more than making requests to God; it’s more like a conversation with God in contrast to meditation, which is like a conversation with one’s inner spirit.

 “It is therefore not the language which is important, but rather the attitude of mind in which prayer is made.”

In the Garden of Ridvan . . .

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Saturday (April 21) marks the start of the 12-day Festival of Ridvan for Bahá’is across the world. It’s a time of commemmoration for the time Bahá’u’lláh spent in the Garden of Ridvan before being exiled from Baghdad to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).

Bahá’u’lláh spent 40 years of his life in exile (he was originally sent from his native Tehran in Persia – present-day Iran – in 1853).

The Festival of Ridvan marks the anniversary of Baha’u’llah’s declaration in 1863 that He was a new messenger of God. He called Ridvan the “King of Festivals” and the “Festival of God,” among other names.

Bahá’is throughout the Thames Valley are gathering on April 21 for prayers and meditations at the start of the Festival of Ridvan. April 21 is one of the nine holy days of the year when work is suspended.