The Baha'i Fast

Got up at 5am, or sometimes exactly 5:15am every morning.

Prepare nothing else except for two cups of tea and oatmeals, few slices of wholemeal bread

either with scramble egg or canned tuna; or maybe naan bread or hi-fibre crackers.

Not forgetting plenty of water.

And of course, prayers.

All to start the day of fasting since March the 2nd and today, it's already the 9th day!

Delighted to have Roy by my side this time to go through these 19 days, oh how blessed we are....

 

 

Fasting is the cause of awakening man. 

The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. 

This is produced by the fact that man's thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow...

Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. 

The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore, material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting. 

That is: `O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions... Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention.'

 

^{~ Taken from the Baha'i Writings ~}

 

 

Happy Fasting to the Baha'i friends!



Sanjay & Kavitha ~ Hindu Wedding

"A couple should study each other's character and

 spend time getting to know each other before they decide to marry,

and when they do marry it should be with the intention of establishing an eternal bond"

The Universal House of Justice. Baha'i Marriage and Family Life. November 2, 1982, p. 20.

With the long four years as a couple,

both of them knows well that they are meant for each other and finally decided to get married

on this particular big day, the 12th of January 2013.

Since Kavitha is a Hindu, a nice Hindu wedding ceremony

was performed in the morning

and here are the few photos that I would like to share,

thanks to Felix who captured one part of their interfaith wedding moments.

One arrived in the black Camry, another arrived in the blue Impreza. 
Both shall not meet until the ceremony begins.

Entrance to the hall of the elegant looking Sri Maha Mariaman Temple at Kelana Jaya

I was there!  What an experience :)

Happy moments with family and relatives

Near the Ocean

splissshhh!  splaaassshh!

What a nice view of the rock and waves at Likas Bay 

that can slowly smooth out the rough edges of our sorrow and ordeals!

When the wave hits the rock.....ouch!!!

Spot the Tun Mustapha Tower!

Such a windy late afternoon that will cast away all imperfections....

 "Grieve not at the divine trials. 

Be not troubled because of hardships and ordeals; 

turn unto God, bowing in humbleness and praying to Him, while bearing every ordeal, contented under all conditions and thankful in every difficulty. 

Verily thy Lord loveth His maidservants who are patient, believing and firm. 

 He draws them nigh unto Him through these ordeals and trials" 

~ Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha  Abbas, Vol. 1, p. 51 ~

"Be patient in the time of affliction and trial, endure every difficulty and hardship with a dilated heart, attracted spirit and eloquent tongue in remembrance of the Merciful. Verily this is the life of satisfaction, the spiritual existence, heavenly repose, divine benediction and the celestial table! Soon thy Lord will extenuate thy straightened circumstances even in this world."  ~Abdu'l-Baha

The Back-up Plan

Watching the blue sky from the window of a 

Level 2 apartment room is definitely nothing better than 

watching one on TV.  

Neither can I fast-forward it nor can I zoom it.

But it's still a wonderful sight, particularly from this window of 

Level 2 apartment room 

^_____^

It's been months and months, from the day I finally decided to be in this

beautiful capital city of Sabah to be with Roy.

Like everybody else, to be able to settle here and slowly build a family of our own,

 I wish my life will go exactly to what has already planned in the first place ~ well, who doesn't!

applying for the job that I'm supposed to be qualified for since graduated from uni  
(Let's see, how long have that been..........2 years ago?), 

hoping that I'll be able to better support my family and help other people maybe....

and, like any other married woman, to have a..........baby.....??!?!

Oh, Kamal is such a cutie!  He was here in our house for devotional gathering!

 But I guess, God has different plan for me, Us, We....maybe?.....I don't know....

and I always have this Whether I am Ready for all These kinda-feeling....

Like what Roy says, everything has its own reason, 

oh thank God, he's always there to support me whenever I'm down...down and depress!

 

Happy to see such happiness in these kids' eyes.....as there is nothing to worry about!

So, I started to see things differently now and I should be grateful for
each and everything that is going on...in and around me.

The lonely neighbour's chicken we called Ani who always runs towards us to ask for food!

There are those people who have everything and anything but still strive and work hard.
 There are those people who don't have to do much but still gets what they want.
There are those people who have nothing much but still able to strive for life without much complain.

Life is all about colours!

I see all these in each and every individual around me......including Roy, of course!
I'm so glad Roy is always there to teach me to ponder things much more clearly,
stop worrying about unnecessary things
and be happy!
Because everything is in God's hands!

O MY FRIENDS!
Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn,
when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered
in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life,
which is planted in the all-glorious paradise?
Awe-struck ye listened as I gave utterance to these
three most holy words:
O friends!
Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you,
and approach Me not with lifeless hearts,
defiled with worldly desires and cravings. 
Would ye but sanctify your souls,
ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings,
and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you.

~ Taken from the Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah ~

 ".......Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have desired for you and approach
Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings......
Oh such beautiful simple but enormous meaning behind these words,
explained that when we pray to God,
we should not ask anything such as money, car or other worldly desires,
rather we ask for God's wills....
".......Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings,
and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you..."

God's beautiful creation!

 I'm so grateful I have to go all these that makes people like me becoming more open and more mature!
And it's good to have such great changes in life!
So, let's not wait for something to happen.....it's time to sacrifice and work out that back-up plan.

Maybe, that's what God has ordain for me, Us and We!

After all, Psy spent 12 years to become what he is today!
So, never too late for everything!

Marsella turning One!

We were invited to celebrate little Marsella's

birthday bash at her home at Kampung Mangin last night.

So gave her a huge teddy bear as a gift and at the same time,

wishing and hoping that she'll continue to grow 

through the showers of the Lord of surpassing bounty.

"O Thou kind Lord!  These lovely children are the handiwork of the fingers of Thy might and the wondrous signs of Thy greatness.  O God!  Protect these children, graciously assist them to be educated and enable them to render service to the world of humanity.  O God!  These children are pearls, cause them to be nurtured within the shell of Thy loving-kindess.  Thou are the Bountiful, the All-Loving."  ~'Abdu'l-Baha

All the lovely children that will make excellent plants.

The lovely birthday cake

Chanting of prayer

After singing the birthday song, it's cake-cutting time!!!

"O God, guide me, protect me, make of me a shining lamp and a brilliant star.  Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful." ~ 'Abdu'l-Baha

All queing up for food........first come first serve!  Muahaha!

Lovely food prepared by little Marcella's mother

Simple celebration but full of happiness for the adults, youths and children. 

Sorrow Not

As I was saying on my facebook status few days ago, I was really missing mum 

especially when she had to be alone and isolated in the hospital for her radioiodine therapy.

Praying that it would be her final treatment because it was already the fifth time she had to consume the radioactive liquid! 

Enough is enough!  I hope no more, please......

Thank goodness, and thanks to all the healing prayers and support from family and friends, near and afar, 

she was discharged on the third day but had to go for a scan two days later 

and after a long wait at the nuclear department 

(which was really frustrating, as usual)

she was considered free of any so-called abnormal thyroid tissues.....

AT LAST!!!!

A picture of mum taken a year ago, after her double operations but still going strong!

But then come the no so good news......

something was detected somewhere somehow in one of her leg during the scanning. 

Very little! But not sure how little!  

The next thing I knew, I was already weaken and numb inside explaining to myself the reason for all these.

I was so upset like everybody else who also in the same situation, 

confronting trial after trial, test after test.

Sigh~

Even hubby knew something was amiss when he noticed how dull-looking

I was after coming home from work and guess it, I couldn't hide anything from him.

So while attending Ruhi Book One later in the evening with friends from Kampung Mangin, 

tutored by beloved hubby, there was indeed a refreshment for me

of the last section of the course about 

Life and Death

Baha'u'llah says:

“O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things
contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of
blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and
spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this
world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain
a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no
doubt, attain.”

 

 Roy looked at me, smiling.....making sure that I really understand 

these beautiful words of Baha'u'llah and

I realized I need to let go all the tension and sadness of the 

things that are not the way we want to be as everything 

is ordained by God.  

Most important thing to embrace is certainly the happy life hereafter. 

So for the moment, we'll continue to support and make mum happy to boost her immune system, beat anything abnormal with proper food and enjoy her life.

Anger

We gets angry very fast and to overcome anger is difficult to do.

Often when we’ve been hurt by someone, our first response is to get angry.  Deep inside we want to punish someone as much as we feel we’ve been hurt but then Bahá’u'lláh teaches:

"Anger doth burn the liver: avoid [it] as you would a lion." ~  Bahá’u'lláh, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 460

Myvi got dented!  What's worst still, an initial polite phone call to the person who was going to pay for the repair turned sour......he was rude and  stubborn as we were trying to get this settled.  First time being so angry and scolded the old man and ending up feeling so bad. I realized we were trying to defend each other and he was trying to help his son after all, right?  Haizzz.........so said a prayer and hoping that everything would be settled with peace lah.....

I guess, anger doesn't really help.  

But I usually end up being silent and being ignorance........feels so terrible being hurt but it's still better than hurting other people's feeling, right?!!  :)

Day SIXTEEN

The breaking of fast just now was not only about having almost all of those fantastic

home-cooked food but also about 

true LOVE and FAITH

 

".....marriage must be a union of the body and of the spirit as well, for here 

both husband and wife are aglow with the same wine,

both are enamoured by te same matchless Face,

both live and move through the same spirit,

both are illumined by the same glory.

This connection between them is a spiritual one, hence it is a bond that will abide forever.

Likewise do they enjoy strong and lasting ties in the physical word as well,

for if the marriage is based both on the spirit and the body,

that union is a true one, hence it will endure.

If, however, the bond is physical and nothing more,

it is sure to be only temporary, and must inexorably end in separation....."

~ Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Aunty Vera with her chanting in mandarin..........

So appetizing....

Let's go italiano............!

The many pots of different variety of food

bean curd

Everyone waited for an amazing love story about how George met Kula and becomes husband and wife

Day FOURTEEN

Another five more days we will see another new day, new year and new vision.

And you  must be wondering what this is....hehehe....

...something brand new and feels comfortable in it....

"......the foundation of the Kingdom of God is based upon harmony and love,

relationship and union, 

not upon differences, especially between husband and wife."

~ Extracts from the Baha'i Teachings Discouraging Divorce, p. 2

Day THIRTEEN

Made and ate wholemeal bun "KOSONG" with a spread of butter and honey before SUNRISE

"Note ye how easily, where unity existeth in a given family,

the affairs of that family are conducted;

what progress the members of that family make, how they proper in the world.

Their concerns are in order, they enjoy comfort and tranquility,

they are secure, their position is assured,

they come to be envied by all.

Such a family but addeth to its stature and its lastin ghonour,

as day succeedeth day"

~ Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p. 279 ~

Day ELEVEN

Another breaking of fast potluck dinner was held this evening at 

Dr John & Aunty Grete's house.

The varieties of F-O-O-D!

The lady behind the delicious pizza..........

George's brownies.....

"This is in truth a Baha'i house.  Every time such a house or meeting place is 

founded it becomes one of the greatest aids to the general development of the 

town and country to which it belongs.  

It encourages the growth of learning and science and is known for its intense spirituality

and for the love it spreads among the peoples."

~ Paris Talks, pp. 72-3

Day TEN

My usual breakfast, as early as 5 a.m, with toasted wholemeal 

(or rather, this morning, it was raisin & walnut) bread with butter & honey, 

together with a glass of milk.  

Sounds boring, huh? But I have to.  

That's the simplest breakfast to prepare, not too heavy and not too light.  

Then, my usual job since the beginning of the fasting month, 

is to call hubby to wake him up for at least, few glasses of water to drink and also, prayer, 

before he, once again,  goes back to his bed.

So, for now.....to prepare for the breaking of fast on the 10th day,

I've got 5 ingredient FIX!

 and I've made yogurt salad...........:))))))

"The friends of God must so live and conduct themselves, 

and evince such excellence of character and conduct, as to make others astonished.

The love between husband and wife should not be purely physical,

nay rather it must be spiritual and heavenly.

These two souls should be considered as one soul.  

How difficult it would be to divide a single soul!

Nay, great would be the difficulty!...."

~ Extracts from the Baha'i Teachings Discouraging Divorce, p. 2