It was a sunny Okinawan afternoon when Mother heard Shahla and her best friend Chihiro come in from school. Shahla was speaking Japanese excitedly to her friend as they went into the tatami room. Mother went in to greet them and brought some cookies she had just baked for their afterschool snack.
“Mom! look at the great library book I found!” exclaimed Shahla excitedly.
Just then Asma and Riaz both walked in and plopped down on the tatami. As each grabbed a cookie, Riaz asked with his mouth full, “What book?”
“It’s called ‘Hana saki Yama’, ‘The Mountain of Flowers’ by Ryusuke Saito!”
“Oh, I know that book,” said Mona coming in to join them. “Our teacher read it to us last year!”
Little Anisa, realizing that her siblings were finally home, rushed into the room, giving Shahla a big hug! “Shally! I missed you guys,” she said. Being too young to go to school yet, she was alone with Mother all day and often got lonely.
Mother looked at the book, “It’s in Japanese. Can you tell me what it’s about?” she asked.
Shahla started to explain. “A little girl from a village walked into the mountains and was surprised to see so many beautiful flowers all over. She wandered around so much that she got lost. Then the Yamanba, the old mountain witch, found her and told her the secret to all the beautiful flowers.”
“What was the secret, Shally?” asked Anisa as she looked at all the beautiful illustrations in the book. Even Asma and Riaz gathered close to look at the book.
“The Yamanba said that every time someone in the village did something kind or unselfish, a beautiful flower would pop up. And if a great sacrifice was made, then a whole mountain would break out in bloom.”
“Wow!” said all the children. “Yeah, after hearing that story, I sometimes look at a flower and wonder if someone has done something kind,” said Mona.
“Well,” said Mother. “Beauty is an attribute of God, so every beautiful thing in nature is a reflection of God.” Mother thought for a moment and added, “When I was a young girl living in the U.S., I heard many Native American prayers about Beauty. The Navaho and Lakota and many more tribes pray about the Beauty of Nature. One of them goes like this… ‘With beauty before me, may I walk. With beauty behind me, may I walk. With beauty below me, may I walk. With beauty above me, may I walk.’”
Asma thought a moment and said, “I think because Beauty is a reflection of God, they are appreciating the Beauty of God’s creation and thanking Him.”
“Very wise Asma. And in the prayers, they ask ‘The Great Spirit’ to help them act with Beauty,” replied Mother.
Chihiro suddenly spoke up. “Our Okinawan culture has prayers and stories about Beauty too!” Everyone looked at her in surprise. She was so quiet; they had forgotten she was there. “There is a famous song by Kina Shokichi, named ‘Hana’, (Flowers), that my Mom always sings.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYmhmOs5uPk
“Yeah, we know him. He came to our Baháí camp and sang that song for us!” said Riaz.
Shahla added, “Yes, it’s really pretty! It’s about how people’s souls are like flowers, right?”
“I think that the idea of beauty is probably in all cultures,” said Mona “To appreciate the beauty of nature and try to copy it…isn’t that what art is? And Bahá’u’lláh said art was like worship!”
“Oh,” said Shahla. “I forget what country the story comes from, but remember the story of the girl who always spoke so kindly…and the old magic woman made beautiful things come out of her mouth, like flowers and jewels?”
“And her sister,” added Riaz, “who always said mean things had spiders and cock roaches come out of her mouth!”
“I have seen a few cock roaches coming out of your mouth, Riaz!” said Mona. And everyone laughed, even Riaz.
“So when we act with Beauty and speak with Beauty, we create Beauty all around us,” commented Mother.
“It makes other people want to act and speak beautifully, too!” added Asma.
“Bahá’u’lláh was called the Blessed Beauty and the Ancient Beauty; He was the Perfect Reflection of the Beauty of God—right, Mom!” said Mona.
“Very good, Mona! Absolutely,” agreed Mother. “The reason Bahá’u’lláh is called the Ancient Beauty is because like Buddha, Moses, Christ, Muhammad and all the Manifestations of God from ancient times, Bahá’u’lláh perfectly reflected all the virtues of God. That is how all the virtues shine upon the world so that we humans can reflect them too. There are many prayers by Bahá’u’lláh and The Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about Beauty. Hmm… who can find one to show us?” asked Mother.
All the children scattered to look in their prayer books and Holy Books, except Riaz; he just sat there with a smile on his face.
Within a few minutes Mona had helped Anisa find a short one, and Shahla and Asma had each found one.
Shahla encouraged Chihiro to go first and she quoted a famous Okinawan saying, “‘Hanaemi’: it means a smile that is as beautiful as blooming flowers!”
Then Shahla and Asma each read their quote. “‘Strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers.’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”
“‘O Friends! Abandon not the everlasting beauty for a beauty that must die and set not your affections on this mortal world of dust.’ Bahá’u’lláh.”
Mona helped Anisa with her short prayer, “‘O my Lord make thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink.’ Bahá’u’lláh.”
Finally, Mona read hers. “‘Observe my commandments for the love of my Beauty.’ Bahá’u’lláh.” After they had all finished, they looked at Riaz.
“You didn’t find a quote on Beauty, Riaz?” asked Asma.
Riaz smiled and said proudly, “The third Bahá’í Month is JAMÁL, BEAUTY!”
Everyone looked at Riaz in surprise and then they all started laughing. “Leave it to Riaz to find the answer with the least amount of work!” said Mona. And they all laughed harder.
Mona suggested that they read together the story that Shahla and Chihiro had brought home. They all sat around the table and listened to the story.
That night when Father got home, they all were so excited to tell him what they had realized about Beauty. Father smiled and said, “I know a song about Beauty and Flowers! It’s called ‘Sekai ni hitotsu no hana’. The composer is Makihara. It’s about how we are all the flowers of the world. That each one of us is like a flower seed, each completely individual, with different talents, and each beautiful and necessary.”
“Sing it Daddy, sing it!” shouted Anisa. And all the rest of the children yelled, “Yeah!” Father, smiling, sang the song for them. When he was finished, everyone clapped and ran to hug him. ( Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana Bilingual version by Hiromi De Young, Nelson Babin Coy, Rebecca Butler Watanabe ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ7_Qgg7MVc
Little Anisa jumped up and said, “I know a flower song! ‘We are flowers of one garden, and the leaves of one tree…” Then all the family joined in singing that children’s song with Anisa. “Come and join us in our quest for unity, it’s the way of truth for you and me!” They sang, smiling and laughing, as they went into the dining room for dinner.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Quiz”][vc_column_text]
- Who did Shahla bring home with her after school?
__________________________________________________________________________ - What surprise did they have to show everyone?
___________________________________________________________________________ - In Shahla and Chihiro’s story, when did the flowers on the mountain bloom?___________________________________________________________________________
- What did Mother say the Native American Tribes often pray about?___________________________________________________________________________
- What is the Beauty of Nature a reflection of?
___________________________________________________________________________ - Why is Bahá’u’lláh called the Blessed Beauty and the Ancient Beauty?___________________________________________________________________________
- Name some of the other Manifestations who were also reflections of God’s Beauty. ____________________________________________________________________________
- What happens when we act and speak with Beauty?
_______________________________________________________________________ - Can you sing the children’s song that Anisa sang at the end? ___________________________________________________________________________
- Can you find a quotation about Beauty?
____________________________________________________________________________
How did you do?
Answers are on the Parent’s Page!
Stained Glass Flowers
Materials:
*Picture of some flowers
*Plastic film from plastic folder (cut into a small rectangle)
*Permanent Markers, black and other colors
*Glitter glue, different colors
*A rectangle of colored construction paper or crinkled aluminum foil
*Tape
Method:
*Tape plastic film onto flower picture, (on top only)
*Outline the flowers with the black marker
*Turn picture to the back side and color flowers (if you color on the same side as the outline, it might smear)
*Turn picture over to the front side and add the glitter glue (If it is the same side as the colored markers, it may smear…) Just glitter lightly, or it will take too long to dry! Less is better than more!
*Add outside boundary.
*Tape onto colored construction paper, or crinkled aluminum foil,
or tape just like that on window as a stained glass!
Parents Page
“From the exalted source, and out of the essence of His favor and bounty He hath entrusted every created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures may be deprived of its share in expressing, each according to its capacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is the mirror of His beauty in the world of creation.”
(Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 261.)
“Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise. Were anyone to affirm that it is the Will of God as manifested in the world of being, no one should question this assertion. It is endowed with a power whose reality men of learning fail to grasp. Indeed a man of insight can perceive naught therein save the effulgent splendour of Our Name, the Creator. Say: This is an existence which knoweth no decay, and Nature itself is lost in bewilderment before its revelations, its compelling evidences and its effulgent glory which have encompassed the universe.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 142)
“O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action, and remembrance of Thee my companion, and the power of Thy sovereignty my succorer, and Thy habitation my home, and my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Prayers)
“This is a brilliant century. Eyes are now open to the beauty of the oneness of humanity, of love and of brotherhood. The darkness of suppression will disappear, and the light of unity will shine. We cannot bring love and unity to pass merely by talking of it. Knowledge is not enough. Wealth, science, education are good, we know: but we must also work and study to bring to maturity the fruit of knowledge.”
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 54)
“…strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers.”
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 81)
“It is natural for the heart and spirit to take pleasure and enjoyment in all things that show forth symmetry, harmony, and perfection. For instance: a beautiful house, a well designed garden, a symmetrical line, a graceful motion, a well written book, pleasing garments. All things that have in themselves grace or beauty are pleasing to the heart and spirit. What is music? It is a combination of harmonious sounds. What is poetry? It is a symmetrical collection of words. Therefore, they are pleasing through harmony and rhythm. Poetry is much more effective and complete than prose. It stirs more deeply, for it is of a finer composition.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, A Brief Account of My Visit to Accá, pp. 11-14
Quiz Answers
1) Her best friend, Chihiro. 2) A library book called The Flower Mountain. 3) When someone did something kind. 4) The Beauty of Nature. 5) The attributes of God. 6) From ancient times the Manifestations of God have perfectly reflected all the Attributes of God. 7) Moses, Krishna, Christ, Buddha, Muhammed. 8) We create Beauty around us, others want to speak and act with Beauty too.