Rose of Ridwan

1st May 2012



I was invited to be the Chief Guest at the Ridwan celebration of the Locakl Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i s of Chennai. Ridwan is the Birthday of the founder of the Baha'i Faith  known as the Ba'b.


Bahai'sm is a new religion founded in Iran that promotes Unity of Religions and Manifestations.
The Baha'is are a peaceful community that does good to society and promotes tolerance.

The Lotus Temple in New Delhi

Baha'u'llah (1817-1892) is the Prophet of the Baha'i Faith. He is regarded by Baha'is as the most recent Divine Teacher in the line of the Messengers of God that have enlightened the peoples of the earth with their divine teachings. These include Divine Teachers such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. The central theme of Baha'u'llah's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification into one global society. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth, as perceived by Baha'u'llah, is to accept their oneness and, to assist the processes of unification of the entire human race and to thereby carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. For more information on Baha'is in India visit www.bahai.in 

The LSA of the Chennai Baha'is gives the Rose of Ridwan Awards to people who have served the community. This time the Awards were given away at Satyalok, Porur, Chennai. I was the Chief Guest. The Awards were presented to the following:

• Mr. V Arun for his efforts in saving Oliver Ridley Turtles on the East Coast Road stretch of beach. (An unassuming youngster who was silent yet smiling throughout the function.)
• Ms. Aparna Nagesh for her contribution to dancing and culture. (An elusive lady who, like Cinderalla, had to rush immediately after receiving her award.
• Mr. P R Krishnamachari for his contributions through the Single Teachers School. (A great Philanthophist. We discovered many links through Freemasonry and Lionism)
• Mrs. Jalandhara a famous telugu writer for her contribution to literature. (Her daughter Dr. Madhavi and her troupe performed an exquisite dance drama on the Science and Religion.)
• Mr. Ramasubramaniyam a social activist and founder of Samanvaya who is engaged in promoting eco-friendly technology. (He is famous for his info-talks on food safety and danger of fast food culture.) To know more visit www.samanvaya.com
• Mr. Saify Saria for his service to society through his zero violation of Mind concept. To know more visit zvmworld.com
• The Rolling Shield went to  Ekam Foundation represented by the humble and ever-smiling Dr. Sailakshmi. To know more  visit www.ekamoneness.org

I delivered a talk on Bahai'sm and my experiences right from 1987 when I had heard Mr. L Rasheed. One thing that impressed me about this religion is its extreme tolerance and willingnesss to accept the Truth in all Religions while rejecting falsehood and superstition wherever it is. 

The Dance Drama that followed showed how ScIeNce can become SIN and REliGiOn can become EGO!

The ambience in Satyalok gardens was so nice and the gentle evening breeze made the open air arrangement cool and comfortable. Our lungs could enjoy the expanding influence of the fresh air and pure oxygen of the open spaces.