Nawruz, 177 BE

NOWRUZ NOROOZ Nurooz NOROUZ NAWRUZ

‫زورون‬

“…because these days are the days of Naw-Ruz, you have come to my mind and I am sending you this greeting for this glorious feast. All the days are blessed, but this feast is the national fete of Persia. The Persians have been holding it for several thousand years past. In reality every day which man passes in the mention of God, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and calling the people to the Kingdom of God, that day is his feast.”

Abdu’l-Baha

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“Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb. The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past; the bleakness of the winter time is over.

The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and quiver.�

Abdu’l-Baha

2

"May the God of hope and love fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" [Romans, 15:13]

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“Arise” by Tahirih

O slumbering one, the beloved has arrived, arise!

Brush off the dust of sleep and self, arise!

Behold the good will has arrived, Come not before him with tears, arise!

The mender of concerns has come to you, O heavy-hearted one, arise!

O one afflicted by separation, Behold the good tidings of the beloved’s union, arise!

O you withered by autumn, Now spring has come, arise!

Behold the New Year brings a fresh life, O withered corps of yesteryear, up from your tomb, arise!

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“I am well aware, O my Lord, that I have been so carried away by the clear tokens of Thy loving-kindness, and so completely inebriated with the wine of Thine utterance, that whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known unto me, and it remindeth me of Thy signs, and of Thy tokens, and of Thy testimonies. By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur.

And at whatever time I contemplate

the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence.

I swear by Thy might, O Thou in Whose grasp are the reins of all mankind, and the destinies of the nations! I am so inflamed by my love for Thee, and so inebriated with the wine of Thy oneness, that I can hear from the whisper of the winds the sound of Thy glorification and praise, and can recognize in the murmur of the waters the voice that proclaimeth Thy virtues and Thine attributes, and can apprehend from the rustling of the leaves the mysteries that have been irrevocably ordained by Thee in Thy realm.”

Baha’u’llah 5

“look at love� by Rumi look at love how it tangles with the one fallen in love look at spirit how it fuses with earth giving it new life why are you so busy with this or that or good or bad pay attention to how things blend why talk about all the known and the unknown see how the unknown merges into the known why think seperately of this life and the next when one is born from the last look at your heart and tongue one feels but deaf and dumb the other speaks in words and signs

look at water and fire earth and wind enemies and friends all at once the wolf and the lamb the lion and the deer far away yet together look at the unity of this spring and winter manifested in the equinox you too must mingle my friends since the earth and the sky are mingled just for you and me be like sugarcane sweet yet silent don’t get mixed up with bitter words my beloved grows right out of my own heart how much more union can there be 6

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalms, 23:1-6

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"is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!" '

The bab

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“This sacred day, when the sun illumines equally the whole earth, is called the equinox, and the equinox is the symbol of the Manifestation of God. The Sun of Truth rises on the horizon of Divine Mercy and sends forth its rays. This day is consecrated to commemorate it. It is the beginning of Spring.

When the sun appears at the equinox, it causes a movement in all living things.

The mineral world is set in motion, plants begin to shoot, the desert is changed into a prairie, trees bud and every living thing responds, including the bodies of animals and men.

The rising of the sun at the equinox is the symbol of life, and likewise it is the symbol of the Divine Manifestations of God, for the

rising of the Sun of Truth in the Heaven of Divine Bounty established the signal of Life for the world. The human reality begins to live, our thoughts are transformed and our intelligence is quickened. The Sun of Truth bestows Eternal Life, just as the solar sun is the cause of terrestrial life.�

Abdu’l-Baha

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“Monet’s Waterlilies” by Robert Hayden

Today as the news from Selma and Saigon poisons the air like fallout, I come again to see the serene, great picture that I love.

Here space and time exist in light the eye like the eye of faith believes.

The seen, the known dissolve in iridescence, become illusive flesh of light that was not, was, forever is.

O light beheld as through refracting tears.

Here is the aura of that world each of us has lost.

Here is the shadow of its joy.

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"He who sows the ground with care and diligence acquires a greater stock of religious merit than he could gain by the repetition of ten thousand prayers" Zoroaster

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“Daylight� by Nneanata Echetebu

The daylight encased in Times hands is where I lay my dreams to grow.

The new springs that come will water my nest of hopes seeded to rise tomorrow.

The midst of the night gifts peace as my vitality is made anew I wake with a freedom where my tranquility streams as I reap my morning dew A fellowship will call for us to hold hands When the hummingbirds tunes will make us dance A new day a new year more instance of

chance Time for us great; to God’s eye a glance Swaying together, our heads nestled in God’s chest This daylight encased in Times hands, we lay our prayers to rest Flavor our lives with springs fruitful zest To embrace the sweet life of which we are blessed The seasons will leap so much as they will last And still we will be still with each new year that will pass

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happy NOWRUZ happy NOROOZ happy Nurooz happy NOROUZ happy NAWRUZ ‫ زورون‬happy Keep in touch.

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