Like a light in the dark, force of love transcends hate

By Vida Ellins
FROM HEART TO HEART for The Register-Guard
August 18, 2007

“…love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is darkness,
no matter where it may make its nest.”

I must have been about seven when I began to recognize that some things in the adult world were downright confusing!

I remember the night I woke up frightened by the sound of a woman crying outside my room. Quietly, I crawled out of bed and opened the door halfway. I saw a distraught woman wrapped in a black chador holding a small baby in her arms, a little boy tightly hanging onto her knees. My father was consoling them. Everyone was talking in a whisper. The woman’s house had been set afire, and they were driven out of their village in the middle of the night. They had nowhere to go. All the while I kept staring at the little boy and thinking how scared we both were!

The following day I had a million questions. Who were they? Why was their home burned? What will happen to the boy? Finally, my mother calmly responded with a few simple words: “They are Baha’is and are considered infidels who deserve to be punished.” I was now both curious and sad! Such incidents were common, but not through the eyes of a child!

Baha’i children at a very tender age learn that the Creator of the universe is the Source of all existence, as the sun is to our planet, and that all religions come from that same Source. My innocence made it hard to understand the animosity that was so different from what I learned in my Baha’i classes: We are all flowers of one garden and should love our neighbors, even if they had a different religion, or looked different from us.

Decades later and halfway around the world, I still hear about the sad plight of my Baha’i sisters and brothers in my homeland of Iran. But the confusion and fear of my childhood have turned into peaceful certitude and positive action, as I strive to implement the principles of my Faith.

“When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love.”

My optimism in the potential goodness of people is reinforced by recognizing the oneness of our human family. Realizing that ignorance, fear, prejudice, and lack of spirituality contribute to wars and hatreds in our world, I feel passionate to pursue my ideology. Now my “whys” have turned into “how?” How can I become a candle and shed light where there is darkness? How can I be of service to others? The Baha’is, for example, have begun providing neighborhood devotional gatherings, and spiritual education classes for adults and children.

Far from trivializing the sufferings in the world, I believe the darkness of night is always followed by the brightness of dawn, and that “world peace is not only possible but inevitable. It is the next stage in the evolution of this planet.” But it will take purposeful, unified action and viewing the whole human race as one family.

Vida Ellins was one of the founders of the monthly Interfaith Prayer and Reflection service. She currently serves on the local administrative body of the Baha’is of Eugene.