CLEANLINESS: Lack of safe water and adequate sanitation is the world's single largest cause of illness

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The following two articles highlight the central importance of clean water and sanitation for particularly health and social economy (eye-opening excerpts from them are included farther down):

- Water as a Right and Key to Social Stability
- 2.6 Billion Wait in Line for Toilets

Under the definition for the word 'sanitation' in the dictionary we find "...the preservation of health; the use of sanitary measures; hygiene."

With regard to health and purity, the Bahá'í writings state:

"God loveth those who are pure. Naught in the...sight of God is more loved than purity and immaculate cleanliness...." (1)

As seen here, cleanliness has become a matter of religious duty to the believer. And
what motivation could be greater than this! As a matter of fact, it has been the case in all the religions of God. 'Abdu'l-Bahá says:

"Observe how pleasing is cleanliness in the sight of God, and how specifically it is emphasized in the Holy Books of the Prophets; for the Scriptures forbid the eating or the use of any unclean thing." (2)

“External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, has great influence upon spirituality. … The fact of having a pure and spotless body exercises an influence upon the spirit of man.” (3)

Sanitation may be an issue to us on an individual level, but we should never lose sight of it as a social concern as well, which must be included as an inseparable aspect of religious and practical training, starting from earliest childhood. The benefits accruing from such simple measures can be easily imagined, not but least after reading the following from these articles:

DEVELOPMENT: 2.6 Billion Wait in Line for Toilets

"every dollar invested in people gaining access to water and sanitation returns six dollars in health, livelihood and educational benefits."

"Lack of safe water and adequate sanitation is the world's single largest cause of illness," it says, and "can spread such diseases as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, trachoma and tapeworms -- many of which can be fatal to people in the developing world."
...
"Urban centres in developing countries have grown rapidly without adequate infrastructure planning, resulting in million of immigrants who have little access to safe sanitation or water supplies. This puts the entire population at risk, causing serious environmental damage."

Around the world, he said, "about two out of every five of our fellow human beings lack access to sanitation services... This is simply unacceptable."

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38915

DEVELOPMENT: Water as a Right and Key to Social Stability

The United Nations says more than one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water worldwide, while more than two billion have no access to proper sanitation facilities.
...
Addressing the 17th annual World Water Week in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, Tibaijuka told a meeting of more than 2,000 water professionals, technicians, scientists and policy makers, that water is going to be the dominant world issue far into the current century.

"The supply of water may threaten the social stability of the world," she warned.
...
A study by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) released here says a minimum investment of 8.0 billion dollars annually would assure that every country in that region could halve the proportion of people without access to water supply and improved sanitation.

Arjun Thapan, the author of the study, says that once that target is reached, the 8.0 billion dollar annual investment will yield a 54 billion dollar annual return.

"It is the height of economic irrationality to not invest in these vital services," he said.

The report, titled "Asia Water Watch 2015", stresses that the impact of this resource is so diffuse that every dollar invested in people gaining access to water and sanitation returns six dollars in health, livelihood and educational benefits.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38898

Another article from 2003 on this issue may be found here.


Notes:

(1) The Báb, Selections... (SWB) p. 80
(2) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 147
(3) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 104

DETERMINATION gives results - and not to forget gentleness

Determined conservation efforts by scientists and governments were cited by researchers as the cause of various positive trends in the environment, such as reduced damage to Peruvian rain forests, a resurgence of rare birds in Europe and a return of the black-footed ferret in Wyoming, in this article headlined in UN Wire.

Even so, this is obviously not nearly enough to offset the overwhelming destruction of our living environment that is taking place all over the world. Examples abound, like the endagered status of these "monster" fishes (close the advertisement, then click through the photo gallery to view some amazing species), or of vanishing coral reefs and rainforests.

Such determination to protect the environment and work for the social good should ultimately become universal, and a way of life for all of us. 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains the role of education in achieving it:

"...the people are as the human body, and determination and the will to struggle are as the soul, and a soulless body does not move. ...the spread of education will release this dynamic power." (1)

And with regard to the role of the environment and creation Bahá'u'lláh states:

"[I] have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things." (2)

We should thus do our best to not disrupt the least of these atoms and creatures that God has graciously bestowed upon us for our education. 'Abdu'l-Bahá says:

"Unless ye must,
Bruise not the serpent in the dust,
How much less wound a man.
And if ye can,
No ant should ye alarm,
Much less a brother harm." (3)

So as we muster our determination to protect the environment (or work for another worthy cause) this passage advises us to proceed as well with the virtue of gentleness when dealing with it.

You may explore the beautiful human virtues deeper here.


Notes:

(1) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 112

(2) The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, #32 (Persian section)

(3) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #206, p. 256

An exemplary servant of the Cause, by her many VIRTUES

(Adapted from an article in The American Bahá'í, 3 August 2007)

Javidukht Khadem embodied the Bahá'í spirit of teaching, encouragement and wisdom throughout her long life. She passed away July 1, 2007, in Highland Park, Illinois, at 94 years of age.

She [supported] the work of the Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem during their 53-year marriage...Married in 1933, the couple oversaw a household that was always a "nucleus of peace, love, and harmony," their daughter Jena Khadem Khodadad wrote... "There was never any question about which was more important, the Bahá'í Faith or her family. The dilemma did not exist, as the two were integral."

Foundation for service

A 1953 visit to the United States...provided Javidukht with her first major experience teaching the Faith in North America... "I learned," Javidukht wrote, "that the key to accomplishing any goal is taking the first step and relying on God's assistance."

Hospitality was priority

The first order of business, wrote their daughter May Khadem Czerniejewski, was finding a home with enough space for hospitable gatherings of 50 or more people. Quite often that was the scale of the firesides Javidukht hosted regularly over the four decades to follow...until she was nearly 90 years old. Dozens of guests were welcomed into an immaculately decorated home with sumptuous food, a well-chosen speaker and often music. "Hundreds of believers over those decades were welcomed to the Cause through her energetic, devoted perseverance," says a statement from her family.

The following is the message from The Universal House of Justice on the occasion of Javidukht Khadem's passing (in abbreviated telegram-form):
_____________________________________________________________________________
Transmitted by email
TO: The National Spiritual Assembly of DATE: 2 July 2007
the Bahá’ís of the United States
_____________________________________________________________________________

MESSAGE:
We deeply sympathize in the great loss to your community of dearly loved Javidukht Khadem. This stalwart, ever-buoyant handmaiden of Bahá’u’lláh, so gifted with a winning personality and a generosity of spirit, drew on an irrepressible energy that sustained her manifold efforts in service to the Cause of God—as mother of five children, as Auxiliary Board member for thirty-six years, as author of a biography of her esteemed husband—but especially that charged her indomitable passion for teaching, which extended through some four decades of regular firesides in her home. Kindly convey our heartfelt condolences to the members of her dear family, and be assured of our ardent prayers in the Holy Shrines that her soul may attain to ineffable joy in the Abhá Kingdom.

The Universal House of Justice

The logic and beauty of the oneness of mankind

Dear all,

As a Bahá'í I hold the belief that all people will ultimately be united in "one universal Cause, one common Faith," as Bahá'u'lláh (d. 1892) has stated. But what does this statement really mean? And how might it be achieved?

Bahais from various parts of the world.

The Bahá'í Faith teaches that the one and indivisible God makes His purpose known through Manifestations of God who appear at intervals in history. These Manifestations, which include Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Christ, Muhammad and (in our age) the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, reveal those social and spiritual laws which are necessary for our individual and community development at the time of Their appearance. The teachings of each new Manifestation build on what the previous Ones had taught, and each adds something new to learn. And what might be our "lesson" for this day and age we live in? 'Abdu'l-Bahá (d. 1921) explains it simply thus:

"The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and of the fundamental oneness of religion. War shall cease between nations, and by the will of God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen as a new world, and all men will live as brothers." (1)

The Bahá'í nine-pointed star, with the Greatest Name - ("O Thou Glory of the Most Glorious") inscribed.

What a wonderful vision it is we have been given by our Creator! It is of humanity as a garden and the various races and peoples as flowers which adorn and decorate it. Though differing in kind, color, form and shape, yet this diversity increases its charm and adds to its beauty. The oneness of mankind is no longer an empty ideal: The Bahá'í writings and the example of 'Abdu'l-Bahá tell us how to accomplish it. Using His Holiness Christ as a point of reference, He explains:

"...Jesus Christ appeared on the horizon of this world like a Sun of Truth; even so when the people—after forgetting the teachings of Christ and His example of love to all humanity—had again grown tired of material things, a heavenly Star shone once more in Persia, a new illumination appeared and now a great light is spreading throughout all lands.

“Men keep their possessions for their own enjoyment and do not share sufficiently with others the bounty received from God. Spring is thus changed into the winter of selfishness and egotism. Jesus Christ said ‘Ye must be born again’ so that divine Life may spring anew within you. Be kind to all around and serve one another; love to be just and true in all your dealings; pray always and so live your life that sorrow cannot touch you. Look upon the people of your own race and those of other races as members of one organism; sons of the same Father; let it be known by your behavior that you are indeed the people of God. Then wars and disputes shall cease and over the world will spread the Most Great Peace.” (2)

Bahá'ís in all countries are learning through study circles how we can walk together on a path of service to humanity. We also arrange simple devotional meetings in our homes, where the Word of God (like the Bahá'í writings, the Bible and the Koran) provides inspiration, rejuvenates souls, gladdens hearts, and renews o sense of purpose. We also hold children's classes for the moral education of our children.

Regarding our purpose here on earth, Bahá'u'lláh says:

"All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization." (3)

Terraces leading to the Shrine of the Báb.

In the same way, He declares that our individual development can only take place through serving our fellow men, by the forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness we show them, by sharing the happy news of God's latest Manifestation, and by doing a good job in our work and studies. Bahá'u'lláh has stated in this regard:

"O people of God! Do not busy yourselves in your own concerns; let your thoughts be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify the hearts and souls of men. This can best be achieved through pure and holy deeds, through a virtuous life and a goodly behaviour." (4)

A Bahá'í father and his young son who were arrested and executed for their belief, 19th century Iran.

"That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race." (5)

I hope you may join me and several million other people in service to this greatest Cause, the establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind. And if not, the experience of the worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.

"This is the Day that shall not be followed by night..." - Bahá'u'lláh (6)

Notes:

(1) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, pp.19-20
(2) ibid. pp. 82-83
(3) Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 215
(4) Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 86
(5) ibid., p. 167
(6) Bahá'u'lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 34