Tag Archives: Huquq’u’llah

With Each Breath…..

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 13, 2024, Manila- The little man and his Transformer figures “adopted’ me, while his father and Kathy figured out how to get connected to the Internet, for a memorial presentation. It took a few weeks, but A feels secure with me, and with the rest of the group, even to the point of keeping quiet during prayers and much of the discussion. He’s five, so there are limits, and that’s okay.

Today being Sunday, we gathered at the Center for devotions, so the Memorial for a long-time member of the Makati Baha’i Community, who passed away whilst serving in another country, was a most proper and worthy focus. Several of the friends knew the man, who was of Persian descent and a tireless contributor to community life, both spiritually and financially.

I can see, with each breath I take here, why he felt so connected, so in love with the community. The Filipino spirit, in and of itself, is loving and affirming. Combined with the Baha’i ethic of concern for the well-being of every individual, it has the raw materials of a stellar national community. Walking to a pharmacy, to purchase a needed re-stock of a supplement, yesterday afternoon, I was greeted as “Joe”, “Dad” and “George Washington”. Security guards are everywhere, but there is no surliness or menace about them, just keeping those who might want to cause trouble on notice.

After we paid our respects, a fine feast was enjoyed by all. My contribution was again filleted chicken thigh, this time with Bradford Curry, instead of dinakdakan. The curry proved more popular than the Ilocano pork offal-based sauce. I find them both delectable, but the locals like curry better. Then again, chicken thighs and breasts are a natural host for delicious sauces of all kinds. Everyone contributed something-A even put his sugar snacks on the table.

We all had enough energy, after the full repast, to cover two more sections of a Baha’i study on Huquq’u’llah and for the group to plan its activities for November, which include three straight days of events: A spiritual Feast, followed by celebrations of the births of al-Bab and Baha’u’llah (These are November 1 (the Feast) and 2-3 (the Holy Days). They will do just fine in the planning and carrying-out of the celebrations. I shared some links to programs they might include-which made everyone happy.

While I can’t stay beyond the 27th, a return next May, for a longer stay at least, is looking more likely.

Navigating

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 6,2024, Manila- The day started and ended with rain. Thus, the nice picnic devotional we had planned for late morning became an indoor affair. I brought chicken fillets, topped with dinakdakan sauce. Kathy and her male cousin contributed a rather good pizza. Others brought a regional variation on pancit- a generic Tagalog name for noodles. There was also a seaweed dish, brought by one of the young men. I have been a fan of seaweed since the days we lived in Jeju, Korea. It is a powerhouse of nutrients. I will describe dinakdakan, which I find tasty, upon request. (No, it is not made from insects).

The afternoon was spent in study of aspects of Huquq’u’llah, which I have discussed in earlier posts (see especially Sept. 16, 2024). It was not dry and intense-no Filipino would sit through such boredom for long, but it was done with attention and focus. Kathy knows what she’s doing, especially when it comes to academic presentation of financial matters. I was honoured to sit at her right-hand side and contribute a fair amount to the discussion. Much of it was in Tagalog, but I had everyone’s attention when offering thoughts in English.

Towards the end of the meeting, K’s cousin pressed me to extend my stay- “permanently”. She and I exchanged knowing glances, smiled and I said I would need to go back to the U.S., for six months. There are several things needing attention at Home Base, in Carson City and back East-not excluding the possibility of time in the Southeast, given this year’s sudden explosion of hurricane energy-shades of 2005. Brief visits to San Diego and Jalisco are likely in February, and I will want to get to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, in April.

So, we have pretty much agreed on a May return. How “permanent” will be influenced by things like the birth of one or more grandchildren-still to be determined, BTW. Today, though, I learned that any mixed signals I may have sensed, over the past day or so, were mainly in my mind. This beautiful, compassionate, intelligent woman, whose friendship I am so privileged to secure, is for real.

Metro Manila, Day 5: A Day of Study, Then A Deluge

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 15, 2024, Manila- There was an insistent parade of kids, in and out of the small conference room, as our study group continued on its course-looking into the Baha’i concept of Huquq’u’llah, or Right of God. This fund, which I have described before, is a voluntary obligation. Simply put, if a Baha’i accumulates a certain amount of money, above and beyond what is needed for expenses, it behooves the person to check into the current price of gold, and if s(he) has accumulated wealth equal to, or above, the value of 2.2246 ounces (69 grams), then 19 % of that amount may be paid to Huquq’u’llah. That satisfies the obligation, until another amount that meets that criterion is accumulated. One’s primary residence, primary vehicle and necessary household effects are exempt from this obligation. The bottom line is that such giving is between the individual and the Divine. Even those managing the fund have no business overseeing the frequency of giving.

My friend, Kathy, led the group study and discussion, setting a tone of gentleness and grace towards the children, who mostly just wanted to be sure their parents had not forgotten them, in the course of the meeting. The kids were in the capable hands of a separate instructor, but there is just nobody who can replace Mom and Dad. So, the in and out parade went on, as did our study, the two weaving around one another. It all served to increase my feelings of love and respect for her, and for Filipino culture.

We all dispersed, around 3 p.m., with the group members all going on with their family activities, and me going on, to do my laundry and post the photos from yesterday’s outing. The evening was quiet, at Ola! Hostel and the nearby Sasa Cafe, until it wasn’t. Around 10 p.m., the skies opened up, and the loud thunder that had been rumbling for over an hour, was accompanied by mildly flooded streets. This is nothing new to Manilenos, of course, and being up three floors from the ground level, I found nothing alarming, either. It just added an exclamation point to a mildly declarative day.