‘The Five People You Meet In Heaven’ by Mitch Albiom

I don’t think i’ve ever read a book so quickly in my life! this book is amazingly strange, yet beautiful.

Briefly it tells the story of Eddie an 82 year old maintenance worker at an amusement park, who one days has a nasty accident trying to save a small girl on a ride and dies in the process not knowing whether he’s saved her or not, all he knows is that he wakes up in heaven, HOWEVER, heaven is not what he imagines and Eddie meets five people who have influenced his life somehow or another, who teach him a few crucial lessons about life. Everything is connected is the main point that Mitch Albiom tries to get across, and he does so in the most beautiful of ways! I’m reading this book with the mindset of the Baha’i idea of life after death, thinking about my own state after i pass, trying to get my head around this wonderful concept. This book is almost meditative in a sense and i recommend anyone to read it!

Zikrullah Khadem: The Itinerant Hand Of The Cause

Light and glory, greeting and praise be upon the Hands of His Cause, through whom the light of fortitude hath shone forth and the truth hath been established that the authority to choose rests with God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Unconstrained, through whom the ocean of bounty hath surged and the fragrance of the gracious favours of God, the Lord of mankind, hath been diffused. We beseech Him — exalted is He — to shield them through the power of His hosts, to protect them through the potency of His dominion and to aid them through His indomitable strength which prevaileth over all created things. Sovereignty is God’s, the Creator of the heavens and the Lord of the Kingdom of Names.

Baha’u’llah

I just finished reading this magnificent book about the Hand of the Cause, Zikrullah Khadem, written by his wife Javidukht Khadem, who just recently passed away. Each page of this book seriously shook me to the depths of my soul, as it tells the story of a man that embodied the Writings. One story hopefully will stay with me always. When Zikrullah Khadem married his wife, he told her (paraphrasing) ‘I don’t care if you can’t cook or clean, all i want you to do is two things…one, love the Guardian and two love God’ and this is Iran during the 1950’s, i’m sure a time of traditional values. I have to share with you more. During the fast (which is happening at the moment) his children would wake up to sound of his chanting the prayers and his reverence towards the Central Figures and the Writings stayed with him to the end, even when he asked to be propped up during his last days in the hospital when prayers were being read!! His love for the Guardian is what he was known for and when Shoghi Effendi passed away, he faced the most difficult part of his life, until he has a beautiful dream in which Shoghi Effendi asks him to take of his mourning jacket (as was the custom with the early believers). I can’t possibly do this book any justice as it tells the story of a spiritual giant, i recommend it to all of you.

One

salaam/shalom/hello/greetings/alla’u’abha

why on earth a title like ‘Rose Garden Forces?’

well…this was the first name of the first track ever recorded by my group ‘Free Spirits’ (www.myspace.com/freespiritsuk) and rose garden forces  in my eyes means so many things, so many things positive that is. forces that  are rose gardenish perhaps? forces that are DIVINE!? (aha that makes a bit more sense!)

I’m a Baha’i. The Baha’i Faith is a world religion that believes its founder Baha’u’llah to be Promised One of All Ages!! and puts the unity of mankind as its goal. The Baha’is are currently fasting for 19 days, and it doesnt mean that we starve ourselves for 19 days, but rather we get up before sunrise and eat after sunset. it is essentially a time for prayer and meditation and a really rewarding experience.

my name is Rayyan, i love many things: culture, jazz, world music, (REAL) hip hop, poetry, photography (i used to update this http://www.fotolog.com/rayyan) but writing about myself is not fun so ill stop there.

thankyou for reading!