Ayyam-i-Ha (The Intercalary Days)

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha to all the Baha'i Friends

Ayyam-i-Ha ( Intercalary Days) occur between the eighteenth and nineteenth months of the calendar i.e. February 26 to March 1 inclusive. The intercalary days are five in leap year and four in ordinary years. 

O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end. Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all mankind. The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous.

Baha'u'llah,  Kitab-i-Aqdas

Our Responsibilities in these days

·         To provide hospitality to relatives and brothers and sisters in Faith.

·         To help the poor and needy

·         To glorify Lord

·         To sing praise and magnify the Name of the Lord

·         These days are preparation for the days of fast

We pray for the long life of our beloved Guardian Joel Bray Marangella.

The month of Mulk (Dominion)

The month of Mulk (Dominion) is the nineteen day period beginning February 7.

“Strive then, O My brother, to apprehend this matter, that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart and that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion, to fathom the mysteries of His kingdom, to perceive the signs of His transcendent Essence in this mortal world, and to attain a station wherein one seeth no distinction amongst His creatures and findeth no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth.” 

--Bahá'u'lláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries 

“…that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart…” Now, isn’t that interesting? Bahá'u'lláh is asking that we strive to lift the veils from the face of our hearts. I expect that very few of us consider that our hearts have a face. But in spiritual terms, apparently they do. We must remember that all of Bahá'u'lláh’s admonishments and instructions deal with the spirit within. We should also consider that upon leaving this world, as is our destiny, the world beyond is based upon a spiritual existence, a dimension that none of us has the capacity to comprehend or understand while we dwell in our temporal body. There can be no doubt about the existence of another world beyond this one since all the Messengers of the past have told us so, although in the limited terms that humans were able to comprehend at the time. And now, with the Message of Bahá'u'lláh, humans have received a full measure of His knowledge. We may partake of that knowledge by aligning ourselves within an aura of spirituality, a spirituality of God’s definition, not our own.   

So, we must strive to lift the veils from the face of our hearts in order that we may begin an alignment that allows us to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion. According to His message, we may then proceed with the (no doubt lifetime) adventure of grasping His attributes and finally to find no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth. Doesn’t the reality of that assignment make your head spin? The words in that sentence from His “Gems of Divine Mystery” could form the basis for a discovery of the Truths that Bahá'u'lláh wants us to understand in order that we may more fully appreciate and enjoy the fruits to be found within His Dominion. If that seems too much for one to accomplish, we need to remind ourselves that His pathway is available to all, whether they come to His Message as an infant, or have already lived several decades.

I expect that the veils of our heart-face are developed from the prejudices we allow into our lives over a period of time. Even if we were fortunate enough to be raised in a Bahá'í family relationship we have prejudices to overcome since we are all fallible creatures. If it were not so there would have been no reason for any of God‘s Messengers to appear. As humans we know that the heart is used as a metaphor when feelings of love, compassion or good deeds is considered, even though it is physically the organ that continuously propels the lifeblood through our bodies. This is a concept that each of us is aware of, whether we consider God in our lives or not. All of us, whether a hardened criminal or the most praiseworthy, follows her heart in most matters, whether they be emotional or materialistic. How often do you reference your heart on a daily basis?

We should also consider the mission of our striving, to “…apprehend this matter…that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion…” Bahá'u'lláh may be telling us that the matter at hand is elusive. It must be apprehended. Hmm. Like a thief in the night? Many of us may have already have found that spiritual growth is indeed elusive, something to be apprehended. We all want a spiritual connection with God, that feeling of being personally connected with His will by the thread from His Kingdom to our very souls. Although He does not use the word perfection in this example, He is providing a process that may lead to our realizing the utmost of our spiritual capacity.

And from that may we assume that our striving will provide the beginnings of building a stronger foundation toward understanding His Dominion? The American Heritage dictionary defines dominion as a territory or sphere of influence or control; a realm. Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed that every fixed star has its planets and every planet its creatures. That gives a hint, within human understanding, of the size of His dominion. But I submit that that is probably just the beginning, for when we enter the next world and begin to use the criteria of a more advanced spirituality than we can ever imagine in this life, the mind boggles at what we may encounter there. 

So while we pass through the days of this nineteen day period it is an opportunity for us to turn our hearts toward thoughts of the realm of His Dominion. There is probably a special potency during this month that will allow us to gain a greater insight of His vastness, if we but strive to remove the veils from the face of our hearts, and venture unafraid along newly-brightened spiritual avenues. We may pray with loving thoughts for His assistance during this time, and await with keen anticipation for the love He will extend to us all.

Hand of the Cause of God David Maxwell  

They sent their Big Guns!

Hand of the Cause Marilyn Meyer talks about the time when the Quincy, Illinois Baha'i community accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, and how the sans-Guardian organization sent all their big guns to Quincy to try to dissuade them, but they had to give up because they could not refute the arguments in favor of the Guardianship.