June 30, 2006
my global family
last week i went to feast in delhi. it was wonderful. truly, bahais everywhere are the same. as campy as it sounds, we really are one large, very diverse family.
being there, feeling the resonance as everyone sang prayers together in hindi, hearing a bengali song about Baha'u'llah, complete with tabla accompaniment, listening to the delhi community consult about all the same exciting developments and activities that we consult about in the states, and eating dinner outside at 10pm in the sweltering heat with all the other bahais... i finally felt like i was really in india.
i wasn't just seeing tourist sites, or hanging out with other foreigners, like i do at work all day (although there were a few foreigners there, and it was lovely to meet them too, as we all suddenly felt at home). i was actually meeting the people here, and being embraced by them. it was really nice.
oh, and i went to the temple again last night. i toured their beautiful information center, chatted with many of the youth tour guides there, which was great, and i got to go in pray (very long and very hard) after it was closed to the public -- sitting inside all by myself and feeling the peace and grandeur of the temple humming around me was amazing. and when i was finished, i walked outside and saw it lit... wow. that's all i can say. wow.
Oh wow, I'm envious. How awesome that you were able to spend time by yourself in the temple! And you're right, Baha'is all over the world are just like one big family :) Thanks for sharing this, Nas! (ps--I'm praying for you!)
Posted by: lacey at June 30, 2006 02:10 PMoh how wonderful. Seeing that picture made me happy...I just drove by the House of Worship here last night and it was lit up and the first thing I thought was, "Home."
:-)
Posted by: Sholeh at June 30, 2006 02:14 PMHurray for the global family! And hooray for finally feeling at home in India. :)
Posted by: george at July 1, 2006 01:03 AMI am just so glad you are (as the Indian's say)not in hospital!Live it up!
hey naseem, after our conversation at dinner i decided to go hunting for this...best of luck with your wedding, hope everything's worked out now in terms of a place to hold it. it's been lovely getting to know you, and the talk we had about ba'haism made me very interested to learn more, so just so you know, you may have started something here :) best wishes and keep in touch :)
maya -- welcome. and feel free to drop by anytime. i'm glad we got to know each other too.
Posted by: nas at July 13, 2006 06:49 PMOh man!! You're so lucky! Very cool.
Posted by: Andrew at July 14, 2006 11:33 AM