‘‘There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá)
I have still fond memories of my early years as a Bahá’í, when we would pop around to each other’s houses for a chat and a cup of tea (or in my case coffee), and invariably prior to parting, the prayer books would be fetched from the shelf or out of the bag and we would share prayers with each other. Prayer was to us as natural and spontaneous as breathing and no gathering was ever too small or informal. And yet for many years, I would have not considered such a simple act of sharing a prayer with a fellow Bahá’í or a friend as a ‘devotional meeting’, or as a portal that would advance the process of entry by troops. To me the term ‘devotional meetings’ that were ‘open to all’ within the context of the Five Year Plan, referred mainly to larger more formally planned gatherings of infinite hue and variety, held in a public place or in the home.
However my perspective broadened on pilgrimage in 2002. As the first year of the Five-Year Plan drew to a close, members of the House of Justice and the International Teaching Centre shared with us examples from around the world of progress in the three core activities. One of the examples given of devotional meetings was of how Bahá’ís in Russia would visit and share a prayer with a friend or friends to mark for example a child’s birthday or other circumstances.
Our Ruhi Book 1 practice helps us gain the skill and the confidence in visiting new Bahá’ís and studying a prayer with them: sharing a prayer with our family and friends seems to me to be a natural progression.
Looking through the February 2005 issue of Reflections on Growth I came across a report from the USA of a Believer who, on completion of Book 1, invited neighbours to a devotional gathering in her home. Reflecting on the experience she noted that most of the people she invited asked if they could bring something. She suggested they bring a prayer or writing. She concluded that allowing people to contribute in some way, if they ask, even at an initial gathering, may be more important than she first thought. She also noted that the people invited perceived even the idea of getting people together on a spiritual basis as something very innovative and positive.
And finally on meeting and getting to know people in your neighbourhood, it is worth noting that this Believer found that having a dog that had to be walked twice a day, provided her with “tremendous opportunities to see my neighbours and their children, stop and chat each day just a bit … I hardly knew anyone until after I got this dog.” So now you know what to do!
(Written by Dorothy Riordan at the request of the Bahá'í Council for Northern Ireland)
BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE