Photo by windiepink

It is easy to feel that the world is going through very troubled times.  Never mind that statistically speaking, the present time is the most peaceful and prosperous humanity has ever known.  We instinctively know that things should be better.

Natural and industrial disasters, war, corruption, and poverty – the increasing urgency of the serious state of the environment.

These are just some of the illnesses our civilization is suffering from today.

Yet, the world’s nations and religions seem hopelessly divided among themselves – impotent to give us any solid guidance or hope for the future.

Fortunately there is a growing worldwide community of individuals who believe that God has provided us with new spiritual guidance that can help us to solve the world’s problems and ensure the future of peace and prosperity we are longing and striving for.

Today the 6 million followers of Bahá’u’llah, the founding prophet of the Bahá’í faith are celebrating the turning point between winter and spring – a symbolic recognition of the turning point we are hoping to achieve in the world’s spiritual seasons.

Naw Ruz is a celebration of hope…

Hope that the wealth and resources of the planet will one day be more evenly distributed.

Hope that women will soon take their rightful and equal place in guiding the affairs of the world.

Hope that military conflicts will be replaced with consultation and consensus, with unity and justice.

Hope that our cultural differences will be seen as one of humanities greatest values, rather than its greatest point of conflict.

Hope that children everywhere will enjoy the kind of universal education that will give them the knowledge and spiritual foundation for sustaining the kind of civilization that Bahá’u’llah has promised is humanities true destiny.

But for each of these hopes there continues to be fear.  Fear that we cannot act fast enough.

Fear that we are too few in number or too weak in resolve to bring about the fundamental changes that will turn the tide before the damage being done in the world becomes irreparable.

And so, as individuals, and as a community, we make time in our lives for prayer, for fasting, for personal spiritual transformation through the study of the Bahá’í writings

And we work to spread the Bahá’í vision for the renewal in society to our neighbors, friends, colleagues in the hope that our resolve will become stronger and our numbers greater and that in each coming new year, more and more we can celebrate not just our hopes, but the process of our hopes becoming reality.

For in the words of Bahá’u'lláh:

“This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace,abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behooveth them to cleave to whatsover will, in this Day, be conductive to the exaltation of their stations, and the promotion of their best interests.”

Bahá’u'lláh

Again, welcome everyone on behalf of the Budapest Baha’i community to this very special event. Most of you already know that today we are celebrating Naw Ruz – the beginning of the 163rd year in the Baha’i calendar. Of course Naw Ruz is not only special to Baha’i’s. Most cultures around the world have celebrations at this time of year to greet the celestial beginning of Spring. Baha’is also find a great deal of significance in the symbol of the renewal seen in nature – the new beginning we all feel as the weather warms and nature comes back to life.

But I think what is even more significant for us is that this is the day when the sun crosses the equator and shines equally over the entire planet – north and south. This is an important symbol for Baha’is, because it represents the equality of all of humanity before God. It is a reminder that despite our differences in culture, language, and race, we are all equal. No one of us is any better than the other, no matter where we live, what we believe, or how we were raised.

For me this is very important, because I grew up in a place where race and religion are often the basis for division, hate, and prejudice. I had always wondered since growing up, what it would take to stop the injustice that we commit to each other when we look at another person and say – or maybe just think that we are in some way better than them because of some superficial aspect to them like their skin, or maybe not so superficial aspect like their culture or religion.

A number of years ago, quite by chance, I came across a list of principles and a selection of writings that really inspired me to believe that there is a hope that one day this great family of Humanity could peacefully coexist and prosper on this tiny planet and overcome all the great challenges that we are faced with today. Challenges that no one government, political movement, philosophy, or traditional religion is equipped to handle now. Challenges like global warming, third world poverty, homelessness in developed nations, terrorism, AIDS and other epidemics, or even cartoons in newspapers.

Obviously, the principles I found were those of the Baha’i faith. The writings were from Baha’u’llah – the founder and Prophet of the Baha’i faith. They are writings and principles that, to me were clearly divinely inspired and which not only offer a personal path to spirituality but also lay out the structure of a future for humanity whereby we will bring about such a great change in civilization that it will simply be known as the Most Great Peace – as Baha’u’llah has promised. It will not be a perfect world – not a utopia – but it will be a world where the problems that we cannot even begin to hope to solve today are finally conquerable with the tools and methods of a civilization which, by the help of God, has entered adulthood.

So tonight, we are here to celebrate the hope that we have for that future. To celebrate the New Day which is upon us, and to celebrate the fact that like the sun’s equal radiance on the earth today, we are all equal partners in achieving that future. After dinner, we hope to uplift your spirits with music, and touch your minds with some of the Baha’i principles. But please, take the opportunity during dinner to talk about the issues we are facing and the hopes we have – whether you are Baha’i or not – take advantage of this evening to connect with others here tonight and explore each other’s hopes and dreams.

(Photo by Steve Wall)

It is very nice to be here this evening to celebrate this holiday with you, which is, of course, best celebrated with fellow Americans.  But, which we are happy to share with anyone who is willing to honor its special meaning for us.

Thanksgiving is different from most holidays.  It’s not about a military victory or defeat.  It’s not really anything political…at least not unless you are a politician…but then everything is political for a politician.  It’s not exclusive to any particular church or religion, either.  It’s a tradition…a good tradition.  It’s a tradition some Europeans started a couple centuries ago to show they were thankful that they were alive – alive in a difficult place to live.

Today, we don’t think much about how thankful we are to be alive.  Instead we think about how much nicer it would be to have more of all that stuff we are going to be giving to each other in a few week at Christmas.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with enjoying material wealth.  I like material wealth.  But I am saying that we should be thankful for it; not take it for granted.  We should remember those who are just thankful to be alive, in a difficult place.  That’s what I think this holiday is all about.

So, lets be thankful that Kata and Mike have gone to all this trouble to have us all in their home.  And lets be thankful that we are alive – and that this is not such a difficult place to live.

(Photo by kimberlyfaye)