by Rainn Wilson
Unfortunately, as all the great religious teachers tell us, it’s through tests and difficulties that our souls grow the most. The Buddha tells us, “Life is suffering.” He and Baha’u’llah both teach that it is our ego and our attachment to the material world that bring us the most distress. As our trials in this world release us from these attachments, ever reminding us that love, connection, service, and unity are what truly matter, we grow closer to God and more spiritually mature.
BAHA’I HISTORY
Baha’u’llah (Mirza Hussein-’Ali), who was born in 1817 in what is today Iran, was tortured terribly and banished from country to country. He was a follower of a man called “The Bab” or “The Gate” (Siyyid ‘Ali-Mohammad). The Bab, Baha’is believe, is also a divine teacher, one who was sent, like John the Baptist for Christ, to prepare the way for Baha’u’llah. To claim to be a prophet from God, or to follow someone who made that claim, was considered blasphemy by the Islamic clergy, punishable by death. Tens of thousands of followers of the Bab and early Baha’is were killed and tortured in the first decades of the Faith, their property confiscated, their holy sites desecrated. (In fact, still to this day, Baha’is are the largest religious minority in Iran and are brutally persecuted in all sorts of overt and covert ways.)
Baha’u’llah received his revelation from God while incarcerated in a legendary dungeon in Tehran, a former underground water cistern used to hold prisoners on death row called the Black Pit. There he was visited by an angelic presence. He says:
I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven . . .
It was in 1863, in Baghdad, after his property was confiscated and he was booted from Tehran and Persia, that Baha’u’llah proclaimed his “Mission.” He had been on a walkabout of sorts, spending two years living as a mystic and a hermit in the mountains of Kurdistan, and a while after he returned he stood before a small group of followers and proclaimed what had been revealed to him, that he was the Manifestation of God for this modern age. He was then banished to Constantinople and then to Adrianople by the Ottoman government, and he and his family finally ended up in the prison city of Acre (Akko) in Palestine (near Haifa, Israel, today). It was in and around that miserable prison that Baha’u’llah spent the rest of his days. It is there where he is buried, where the Baha’is have their Holy Land. On and around Mount Carmel lie several Baha’i holy shrines as well as the Baha’i international administrative offices.
Baha’u’llah wrote tablets to all the kings and rulers of the earth, announcing himself as the Promised One of the Ages, the mouthpiece of God for this day. Every one of those kings and emperors ignored the letters (except for Queen Victoria) and every single one who did, as predicted by Baha’u’llah, was overthrown or fell from power shortly thereafter.
‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ
After Baha’u’llah passed away, his son Abbás Effendí, who called himself ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (the Servant of Glory), was appointed to take the reins of the budding faith by his father. He is considered the perfect exemplar of the teachings of his father; he wrote countless letters and tablets and in 1912, having been released from imprisonment, he traveled all around America, proclaiming universal love and brotherhood and the beauty of the faith of his father.
One of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s most compelling teachings has to do with the spiritual destiny of the United States. He has said:
The American continent gives signs and evidences of very great advancement; its future is even more promising, for its influence and illumination are far-reaching, and it will lead all nations spiritually. The flag of freedom and banner of liberty have been unfurled here, but the prosperity and advancement of a city, the happiness and greatness of a country depend upon its hearing and obeying the call of God.
WHAT DO BAHA’IS DO?
At this time, the Baha’i Faith is the second-most widespread of the world’s religions and there are many areas of the planet where the Faith is especially flourishing and spreading, transforming lives and communities—places as far-flung as India, Mongolia, the Pacific Islands, Congo, Colombia, and Cambodia. There are also many areas in the United States where the Baha’i Faith is quite strong and growing in a lively fashion.
So, what do Baha’is do, exactly? (Other than play nerdy office workers and alcoholic detectives on network television, of course.) They pray and meditate every day. They meet every nineteen days for what is called a Baha’i Feast, where there is music, prayer, and food, and where the administrative affairs of the community are discussed. Baha’is fast by not eating or drinking for nineteen days in the spring from sunrise to sunset in a similar fashion to Ramadan.
But most important, Baha’is believe that we have a twofold moral purpose. We need to work on making ourselves better human beings, one day at a time, working on our character defects and our spiritual qualities. The other moral purpose we must undertake is to make the world a better, more just and unified place.
Everywhere you go, you will find Baha’is involved in their communities, volunteering and promoting education. They hold devotional gatherings for people of all faiths as well as neighborhood children’s classes that stress positive virtues and character traits. There are study circles that are held in homes, where many aspects of the Faith are explored, and what are called Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Programs, where teens of all faiths mentor and train preteens in an effort to promote service to the community.
There are many ways to positively affect the world: political advocacy, nonprofits, environmental movements, faith-based initiatives, therapeutic and new age classes, economic plans, etc. . . . But Baha’is believe that lasting, significant change can only be brought about through the fundamental spiritual transformation of humanity. Until all seven billion of us individually, collectively, and politically truly know in our hearts that it is through loving harmony and the pursuit of true collaboration that we can heal the problems of the world, nothing will be attained. The issues facing our race are vast and the needs of the hour are imperative. Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah’s profound message of peace and unity is crucial in facilitating this transformation.
I hope that summed things up well enough. There are hundreds of other ways to find out more detailed information. I’ll leave that for you to find. www.bahai.org is a good enough place to start, as is www.bahaiteachings.org.
I will end with one of my favorite quotes by Baha’u’llah. Here he describes something incredible to strive for, as difficult as it may seem.
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. . . . Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be . . . a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.
A “fruit upon the tree of humility”? Obviously, I’ve got some work to do.
ABOUT THE FONT
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This book was printed in Augstaben, a font created by Augustus Rookenstabën, a printer and punch cutter from Trier, Germany, who attempted unsuccessfully to create a typesetting machine that would be suitable for use by the undead. In 1714 his body was repeatedly run through his printing press by an angry mob until, it was rumored, his blood trickled out in tiny, perfect Augstaben. Rookenstabën died penniless, driven to madness by the greater success of his estranged wife, Helen Vetica.
My dad holding Baby Fathead in 1966
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Shay holding Baby Fathead in 1966
Mom-less kid (circa 1967/68)
Stepmom Kristin and me in Mexico. Right before Nicaragua.
Flying a kite on the streets of Bluefields, Nicaragua
My dad and me on a Nicaraguan beach
Bowl-cut Seahawks fan (circa 1978)
My dad and Oscar with his $1,000 check for the publication of Tentacles of Dawn. I’m wearing a terry cloth shirt.
A prescient yearbook entry by one Brian Highberger. Dear Brian, my name has two n’s; and guess what, my show WAS CANCELED!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! (I cut out the ski club. Idiots.)
So excited about my shiny new bassoon!
Me playing Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion at New Trier High School, 1983. That night I improvised putting candy in my pocket. (With Peter Leondedis, Jim True-Frost, and Terri Kapsalis)
Trying to be “New Wave.” Notice the Jam poster, the cassette deck, and the sci-fi books.
My very first actor’s head shot, in 1985
Holiday and me when we first got together in 1990. The hair! (This photo was later altered to show young Dwight and Jim at Dunder Mifflin.)
With Jeffrey Guyton in the Acting Company’s 1990–91 production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona
IRENE HAUPT
Man with a van (circa 1994)
True love with crooked paintings
Backstage for the show Venus. Getting ready to put a penis on my face.
Long Day’s Journey into Night (with the late, great Tana Hicken) at Arena Stage
JOAN MARCUS
Our incredible volcano wedding
London Assurance, Roundabout Theatre (with Kathryn Meisle)
CAROL ROSEGG
The New Bozena: Ramon (David Costabile), Revhanavaan Sahaanahanadaan (Kevin Isola), and Spiv Westenberg (Michael Dahlen)
On the set of Almost Famous
One of these things is not like the others (Sahara)
Me and baby Walter
Coming back from the hospital, miracle baby intact!
Halloweird
Behind the scenes at The Rocker: Fish and son
Weird-ass crime fighters (Super)
The baby whisperer
My hot wife
Emmy reject
Three dirty girls
Behind the scenes at the Sesame Avenue Daycare Center for Infants and Toddlers with Mose Schrute (Michael Schur)
Camaro love
Final night of shooting our show
Bobbleheaded. (At The Office parade and concert in Scranton where 10,000 people came to bid us farewell. One of the funnest days of my life.)
Holiday and me teaching theater games for Lidè in Haiti
NADIA TODRES
Our extended family, including Riba, the miniature horse, and Derek, the zonkey
© JENNIFER RAU PHOTOGRAPHY
* Wikipediots are message board dwellers who, while living in their parents’ basement or working in IT departments, read the Wikipedia entry on, say, “chaos theory” and then hold forth as if they’re an expert to all their friends.
A global religion with over five million followers that is rich in history, writings, ideas, and mystical, mysterious beauty simply cannot be encapsulated by a couple pages of dry, disjointed facts collectively written by unwashed Wiki-nerds.
* A note on nerd culture: These days, the pandering and commodification of all things nerd is ridiculous and insulting. Although it must be glorious to be able to be bookish nowadays and not have to deal with getting crotch-punched and derided on a daily basis, the commercial acceptability of geek lifestyle is simply a grotesque capitalistic manipulation. Nerds buy things: movie tickets, video games, apps, and electronics. They tell others to buy things as they are tastemakers and bloggers and fiercely loyal and snobby little capitalists. Corporations figured that out around 2005 or so and started to try to cash in. Especially Hollyweird.
Another aspect of nerddom that drives me bonkers? The incessant and obsessive attention given to entertainment by this subculture. Video game releases, movie openings, comics, superheroes, collectibles, role-playing games, cosplay, TV shows, movie star castings, Star Wars and Trek, and celebrity train wrecks. One of the signs of the decline of an empire is the culture’s insatiable need for entertainment. Think about those Romans, bored out of their skulls, eating bread and watching circus 24/7 as the barbarians surrounded their gates and their culture disintegrated. If one–one hundredth of the energy that our country spent on “entertainment” were focused on service to the planet and/or humanity, we could make an incredible difference in the world and be remembered as the greatest, most altruistic culture that Earth has ever produced.
Note: Do not, however, abandon entertainment to such an extent that it would put me out of a job or jeopardize my employment in any way, shape, or form. I got mouths to feed, babe.
* The Columbia Record and Tape Club was the most brilliant scam perpetrated on young Americans since the Vietnam War. For one dollar you’d get like twelve cassettes sent to you just for joining. Then you’d have to buy a handful of tapes at the “regular” amount (which was like $16.99 or some similarly astronomical price) over the course of the year. You’d get mailed a brochure of new releases, and if you didn’t mail the postcard back saying, “No, thanks, I don’t want anything this month,” they’d automatically send you their selection of the month and BILL YOU FOR IT. It was a duplicitous scheme, preying on knuckleheaded teens who didn’t have the wherewithal to return a postcard every month and who would end up with a Peter Frampton cassette they never wanted and a bill for $16.99. It did, however, launch many a young person’s Van Halen cassette tape collection!
* Mr. Routenberg passed away in 2006. When I heard, I was very sad indeed. He directed me in Story Theatre and Pygmalion and brought out the best in everyone he worked with. He was so kind and loving to the students he directed, and I wouldn’t be an actor if he hadn’t been in my life. I miss you, Mr. Routenberg, and promise to pick up my cues.
* The program was mostly a graduate program, but they would take some undergrads like me, who would obtain their BFA instead of an MFA.
* Let’s pause here and discuss morality a little bit.
WARNING: MAJOR DIGRESSION AHEAD. FEEL FREE TO SKIP.
Here’s the deal with morality: It has a really bad name these days. Young people LOATHE the word and don’t want to hear about it or be subject to it and, frankly, OLD people aren’t exactly jumping to hear about it, either. However, we ALL operate under a moral code. It may shift occasionally, but we all have a sense of right and wrong, and our behavior matches that belief for the most part. (Even Hitler was a vegetarian because he thought it distressing and cruel to kill animals and wanted bodily purity. He even called meat broth “corpse tea.” That’s morality, folks.)
Some of us get that moral code from a religious faith, others from our parents or family, but most of us from the consensus of the culture at large. For instance, in the 1950s, sex before marriage and pot smoking were considered extremely immoral. People who participated in those activities were the worst scum of the earth (or, even worse, actors). Nowadays marijuana use is not only accepted, it’s considered “cool,” and premarital sex is the norm, most children having lost their virginity by seventeen.
These days, the idea that you would not do something because a wise, divinely inspired person recommended you not do it in some holy book is considered an absurd notion. It’s thought to be old-fashioned, obsolete, and inherently didactic and judgmental to have religious teachings guide one’s actions.
So how do we determine what is right? From our faith? From what our culture currently believes is just and right? What are the impl
ications and reverberations of our actions? Where do morals come from? Materialists would say that morals are somehow (inexplicably) programmed into our biology and human/animal social impulses. Religious folks would say that it was God, speaking through the religious movements of the past, who taught us as a species “right from wrong” over the centuries.