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Praying for a Pale Blue Dot

Sahab Mahboubi | Oct 29, 2012

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Sahab Mahboubi | Oct 29, 2012

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

I love looking at photographs of the Earth from space. It makes all of my big, unsolvable, life-shattering problems seem so small. A remarkable picture was taken on February 14, 1990; after traveling for 12 years from Earth, the Voyager 1 turned around one last time, 4 billion miles from home, and took a picture of us. That ‘pale blue dot’ (pictured below) is us, all of us; imagine all of human history, everything that has ever happened to us, happened on that dot.

Pale Blue Dot (Upper Right Middle)

Pale Blue Dot (Upper Right Middle)

From this view, the wars, borders, and prejudices that divide us seem senseless, unnecessary and even shameful. Though little is visible from this view, one thing is clear: everything that divides us as a human family is artificial. I ask myself, what does it mean to be a ‘well-wisher of mankind’? To me, to be a ‘well-wisher of mankind’ starts with a prayer. The prayer below is special to me because it is not just for me. It is prayer for little a boy in a war that has decimated Syria, a prayer for a struggling single mom in Detroit, a prayer for a well-to-do Russian family, a prayer for a celebrity in jail. It is a prayer for the rich, homeless, black, white, child, injured, imprisoned, simply a prayer for our human family.

O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.

O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.

O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.

O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.

O God! Establish the Most Great Peace.

Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.

O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.

Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind.

Abdu’l-Baha

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Comments

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  • Tyler H
    Aug 30, 2017
    -
    By turning to prayer, I think you are missing a very important message of the Pale Blue Dot. In the words of Carl Sagan himself, about the image:
    "In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves."
    And:
    "There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another..."
    If we want provision, shelter, and life for all, as your prayer says; if we want ...peace and unity of mankind, we must go out and ensure that it happens ourselves.
    Read more...
  • behnaz
    Mar 5, 2013
    -
    Thanks Shahab joon
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