Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.

A beautiful Bahai Quote!
That refreshes and gladdens the spirit.

"Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgement and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meeknes to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of right eousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility, We pray God to protect thee from the heat of jealousy and the cold of hatred. He verily is nigh, ready to answer."
Bahá'u'lláh
(www.bahai.org)

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God- your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson

Human Rights Day in Germany puts spotlight on Iran.

Human Rights Day in Germany puts spotlight on Iran

LANGENHAIN, Germany, 9 December (BWNS) – Youth from a drama troupe joined with local dignitaries this week to address themes of exclusion and prejudice as they commemorated Human Rights Day with the Baha'i community of Germany.

The program took place at the National Baha'i Center on the grounds of the European Baha'i House of Worship, with more than 200 people in attendance.

The performance by the People's Theater, a youth project in the city of Offenbach, took a look at relationships between native Germans and immigrants, while other parts of the program focused on the situation of the Baha'is in Iran, especially a group of some 50 young people in Shiraz who are being punished for organizing activities for underprivileged children. Three of the Shiraz group are serving four-year prison sentences. http://www.peoplestheater.de/

"I find it deeply shocking that the Baha'i youth in Shiraz engage in social activities in the same way as we do in Offenbach, but with one difference – whereas here in Germany our efforts are rewarded with prizes, the Baha'i youth in Shiraz must pay for their services to Iranian society with prison sentences and other coercive measures," said Peggy Habermann, coordinator of the People's Theater.



Kamal Sido, head of the Near East division of the Society for Threatened Peoples, attended the gathering and offered words of support for those persecuted in Iran.

The chairwoman of the Green Party in the German Federal State of Hesse, Kordula Schulze-Asche, expressed indignation over the human rights violations perpetrated in Iran, as did Gisela Stang, mayor of Hofheim, which encompasses Langenhain.

Messages were read from two members of the German Federal Parliament, Erika Steinbach of the Christian Democratic Union and Omid Nouripour of the Green Party.

Ingo Hofmann, representing the Baha'i community of Germany, presented an overview of the current situation of the Baha'is in Iran. In Shiraz, he said, Haleh Rouhi, Raha Sabet, and Sasan Taqva, had organized, with permission from authorities, an educational program for underprivileged children. They were later accused of having propagated the Baha'i Faith, even though a report commissioned by the government concluded that their activities were strictly humanitarian. The three were sentenced to prison terms.

Before performing "Souls of Shiraz," a piece composed for the occasion, musician Anke Keitel spoke of the invisible ties she feels with those imprisoned in Iran.

"Haleh, Raha, and Sasan believe just like me in the universality of human rights. They strive to foster the well-being of humanity, just as I do. And they are just as young as I am," she said.

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world and marks the anniversary of the adoption – on 10 December 1948 – by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.



To read the article with photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/740

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow them. Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.

Anke Keitel, before performing her song “Souls of Shiraz,” composed especially for the Human Rights program, musician Anke Keitel explains the ties she feels with the young people of Iran.

http://www.myspace.com/ankekeitel

Over 200 people attended the Human Rights Day program at the Baha'i National Center in Germany on 6 December 2009. The building is near the European Baha’i House of Worship.



“The Baha'i House of Worship is itself an architectural monument to human rights, since different religions come into contact here,” she said.