A Joyful Practice

Even More Light [especially for siblings] (the “missing” compilation post w/excerpts for Wednesday) October 22, 2025

Happy Diwali and Kali Puja! Happy Festival of the Twin Birthdays! Blessings, light, love, and peace to everyone, everywhere!

May you be healthy, wealthy, and wise!

This “missing” compilation post for Wednesday, October 22^nd, features some new and previously posted content, plus related excerpts. Please note that linked excerpts direct you to posts that will include content related to a specific year and, therefore, may include references to different holidays/events. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra      (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).

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“Yama said: ‘The goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at and which men desire when they lead the life of continence, I will tell you briefly: it is Om.’”

— quoted from Katha Upanishad (Part I – Chapter II, Verse 15) translated by Swami Nikhilananda

Since Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is a lunar calendar-based holiday, it falls at different times on the Gregorian calendar. In 2025, the fifth day of Diwali — which continues the focus on relationships, this time between siblings — overlaps the Festival of the Twin Birthdays (on the Baháʼí Faith calendar); the anniversary of the birth of Franz Listz (b. 1811)¹; and a successful lightbulb moment (for Thomas Edison, in 1879).

Click on the excerpt title below for more about how the fifth day of Diwali shines light on siblings.

Oh, Brother! (or, Light On Siblings) *UPDATED*

“Brighten our hearts, O my Lord, with the splendor of Thy knowledge, and illumine our sight with the light of such eyes as are fixed upon the horizon of Thy grace and the Dayspring of Thy glory.”

— quoted from “– XXXI –” in Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh (Translated by Shoghi Effendi from the original Persian and Arabic) 

As I mentioned earlier in the year, the Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic faith that believes in the oneness of God and religion, as well as the oneness and nobility of humanity. The community believes that, historically, there has been a “progressive revelation of religious truth” which has been shared with the world through the voices of the prophets or Divine Messengers, known as “Manifestations of God” (which include “Braham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and, in more recent times, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh”). People within the faith are taught to honor the value of different religious and philosophical traditions as well as the value of education, especially in science (which is viewed by some faiths as being contrary to religion).

The Bahá’í calendar begins around the Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and has 19 months with 19 days — each named for one of the 19 names/manifestations/attributes of God. For example, “Knowledge” is the English translation for ‘Ilm, the current month of this solar calendar.² The fact that light can represent knowledge is one of the reasons I find this year’s overlap with Diwali particularly auspicious.

This last two days of Diwali (2025) overlap two of the nine Bahá’í Holy Days: the birthdays of the twin founders of the faith. Known as the Festival of the Twin Birthdays (or the Twin Holy Birthdays), the birthdays of the the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh started at sunset on Tuesday night and continue through sunset on Thursday night. The birthdays are celebrated as one continuous 48-hour “day” — even though the two prophets were born two years apart.

Born in Shiraz, Iran, on October 20, 1819,³ the Báb founded the Babi faith (or Bábism), which evolved into the Bahá’í  Faith. While there are still people who follow the original messianic tradition, most people within the Babi community converted to the Bahá’í  Faith. The Báb is sometimes compared to John the Baptist, in that he is seen as the herald or messenger born to announce the importance of Bahá’u’lláh.

Recognized as the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh was actually born two years earlier than his religious predecessor, in Tehran, Iran, on November 12, 1817.⁴ He outlined the laws, practices, and holy days of the Bahá’í Faith in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (the “Most Holy Book”) and later explained that the Twin Holy Birthdays were seen as one (by God) and that “… two great festivals have been joined into one, auguring a brilliant future.” These are work-free feast days full of joy and considered a celebration of the twin founders as well as of the unity of community.

“O peoples of the earth! Verily the resplendent Light of God hath appeared in your midst, invested with this unerring Book, that ye may be guided aright to the ways of peace and, by the leave of God, step out of the darkness into the light and onto this far-extended Path of Truth.”

— quoted from the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ (cf. Qur’án 5:15–18), as printed in Selections From the Writings of the Báb by the Báb (Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and translated by Habib Taherzadeh with the assistance of a Committee at the Bahá’í World Centre)

Click on the excerpt below for more about Thomas Edison’s 1879 “lightbulb moment”.

FTWMI: Getting the Light On

“However, the fact is that during the night season everyone perceiveth the light which he himself, according to his own capacity, giveth out, oblivious that at the break of day this light shall fade away and be reduced to utter nothingness before the dazzling splendor of the sun.

The light of the people of the world is their knowledge and utterance….”

— quoted from the Persian Bayán (VIII, 1.), as printed in Selections From the Writings of the Báb by the Báb (Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and translated by Habib Taherzadeh with the assistance of a Committee at the Bahá’í World Centre)

Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Diwali (Day 5) for 10222025”]

NOTES:

¹My only commentary about Franz Listz was that his music and biography brought a little light to Anne Frank (and her family) during the darkness that was the Holocaust.

²Since it is a moveable feast, the Festival of the Twin Birthdays can fall a month earlier or later, during Mashíyyat (“Will”) or Qudrat (“Power”). Bahá’u’lláh originally indicated that if the festival coincided with a fast, the feast would take precedent.

³The birthdays of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh occur on the first and second days of Muharram, the first month on the Islamic calendar.

⁴Prior to 2015, Baháʼí living in the Middle East celebrated the Twin Holy Birthdays according to the Islamic calendar (as noted above), while members of the community in other parts of the world used the Gregorian calendar dates.

Yoga Sūtra 1.36: viśokā vā jyotişmatī

— “Or [fixing the mind] on the inner state free of sorrow and infused with light, anchors the mind in stability and tranquility.”

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk,you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

### Put Your Lights On ###