Thought for the Week: Ridvan

We celebrated the first day of Ridvan on the 20th April - for Baha’is, the most holy time of our calendar, when - in 1863 in Baghdad in the garden of Ridvan - Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, declared His Mission, at the heart of which is the Oneness of Humanity.

50 years later, His son, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, was able to journey to the West (including 3 visits to Woking, where I live) and brought this message of love, respect, the importance of the oneness of the Human Race and the need for all to unite for the common good.

It has made me reflect that, over this last year, how much more dear to me people have become in this Covid-filled world and how fortunate...no, not fortunate...blessed I am, to have family and friends from so many parts of the world - they enrich my life.

160 years ago, having such friendships could only have been experienced by very few people and only dreamed of by others; today, technology has made communication so much easier, has helped educate us about a wider world and allowed us (pandemics notwithstanding) to travel and develop a greater understanding of that Oneness which Baha’u’llah made His central principle.

As the Covid regulations relax and - we hope - the situation normalises, my aim is to give back to others to try enrich their lives as much as they have mine.

Happy Ridvan, everyone!

Simon Trick, member of the Baha'i faith

Date: Monday 3rd May 2021