Something I have been thinking about a lot recently is the way that our lives and our day-to-day life has become a slave to forces that creep up on us so guilefully that the 'frenetic devotion to pleasure and diversion' has become part and parcel to existence as a whole. I'm a slave, you're a slave, we've all become slaves...

 One of the signs of a decadent society, a sign which is very evident in the world today, is an almost frenetic devotion to pleasure and diversion, an insatiable thirst for amusement, a fanatical devotion to games and sport, a reluctance to treat any matter seriously, and a scornful, derisory attitude towards virtue and solid worth. Abandonment of "a frivolous conduct" does not imply that a Bahá'í must be sour-faced or perpetually solemn. Humour, happiness, joy are characteristics of a true Bahá'í life. Frivolity palls and eventually leads to boredom and emptiness, but true happiness and joy and humour that are parts of a balanced life that includes serious thought, compassion and humble servitude to God are characteristics that enrich life and add to its radiance."

 -  Universal House of Justice, From a letter dated 8 May 1979 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer

Be not dismayed...

"Be not dismayed if your endeavours are dismissed as utopian by the voices that would oppose any suggestion of fundamental change. Trust in the capacity of this generation to disentangle itself from the embroilments of a divided society. To discharge your responsibilities, you will have to show forth courage, the courage of those who cling to standards of rectitude, whose lives are characterised by purity of thought and action, and whose purpose is directed by love and indomitable faith. As you dedicate yourselves to healing the wounds with which your peoples have been afflicted, you will become invincible champions of justice... "

- Excerpt from a Letter to the youth of Paraguay from the Universal House of Justice , 6 January 1998

The Faith of God has lost a distinguished servant.

The sudden passing of our beloved Dr Peter Khan on 15 July 2011 has brought to an end a "remarkable life, one of earnest striving, of unbending resolve, of unflinching dedication to principle, and of constancy of effort". The following video was prepared by a friend for a memorial service held in Dr Khan's honour.

"By any measure, his was a remarkable life, one of earnest striving, of unbending resolve, of unflinching dedication to principle, and of constancy of effort."

I can earnestly say that Peter was one of the most amazing individuals that I have ever had the bounty of meeting. I especially remember that during my year of service at the Baha'i World Centre during 2007 and 2008, he was serving as a member of the Supreme Body of the Baha'i Faith, The Universal House of Justice. He was a member during the years 1987 to 2010. For more information, see the following article: Dr. Peter J. Khan: A "remarkable life"

I will end this post with a Baha'i Prayer for the Departed:

Omy God!  O my God!  Verily, thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon Thee, hath turned his face to Thee, hath offered his supplications to Thee, and hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness.  He hath abandoned this mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the favor of meeting Thee.
O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Powerful, the Forgiver and the Bestower.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá