THE DAYS PRECEDING MY HEART SURGERY

I seem to be more contemplative than usual during the days leading up to my heart surgery on 30 Dec 2007.

Here are some of the thoughts running through my mind

These may be my last days for life as I have known it, so I should try to enjoy them. I feel sure that my life will go on, either in this world or the next and this knowledge makes me feel quite happy and relaxed.

I am happy because I have Faith - and believe that there is a God and that there is only one God and therefore only one religion, "The Religion of God". What we actually see is a multitude of religions all praying (sometimes unknowingly) to the same God and each trying to achieve supremecy over the others. This situation prevents the world from achieving peace. All religions should give absolute priority to achieving unity amongst themselves so that universal peace becomes a possibility. Achieving peace is the responsibility of religions because "true peace" is a spiritual condition not a politicalone.

God is unkowble in His Essence and I understand that the only way to really know Him is through his Messengers, Prophets and Manifestations. eg Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Bab and Baha'u'llah, who have and will come in the future to revive our understanding of the knowledge of God and our spiritual awareness. They also bring new social laws and guidelines that are relevant to the time. As a Baha'i I believe that the relevant Manifestation of God for the current era is Baha'u'llah and that He will not be the last.

I am happy because I believe that humans are spiritual beings with a soul that forms an association with the body at the time of conception. The real life in this world is the life of the Soul and the body rather than the that of the physical body alone.

I am happy because, as a spiritual being, I am endowed with a capacity to live and express all of the attributes and qualities of God, such as Kindness, Joyousness, Happiness, Compassion, Patience, Trustworthiness, Love etc etc. I have been endowed with these spiritual qualities and not with original sin or guilt.

I love EVERYONE because we are all spiritual beings. I love them for what they are, not for what they do or say or because of their their colour, race or religion. Why would I not love everyone, God loves everyone, unconditionally.

If we believe, and have faith in God, then God's love can reach out to us and change our lives for the better. If you do not "believe" that God exists, He will still love you, but you may not be able to experience His Blessings and achieve a spiritual and meaningful life.