Humble Head of State who embraced Baha'i Faith

The Samoan Prime Minister's office today announced the passing of the Head of State of Samoa, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, who died on 11 May at age 94. His 45 year reign had made him one of the world's longest-serving living monarchs.

As mentioned by Television New Zealand in its report on Malietoa's passing, he was well known as a follower of the Baha'i Faith.

Barney Leith's blog recalls Malietoa's visit to London in 1976, where he paid respects at the grave of the late Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, Shoghi Effendi.

As an 11 year old school pupil, I marched with my school in Samoa's annual independence day parade. Malietoa stood at attention on a reviewing stand in front of the Parliament Building, in the tropical sun, acknowledging troop after troop of marchers who passed by. I think of this when I read the media obituaries praising his record as a pivot of unity for his country, through wisdom and humility.

Recently in New Zealand

New Zealand's Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Head of State, Governor General Anand Satyanand, spoke at the celebration event -- the text of his speech is published on his web page.

A new website for the New Zealand Baha'i community has just gone on line. It presents a wide range of information on the Baha'i teachings and the activities of the Baha'i community in Aotearoa.

Reflected fern tree

Reflected fern tree
Originally uploaded by John Bryden.

Most of my spare time lately has been going on a house-painting project, hence my silence on this blog. But I did take time out for a walk in the bush. (Bush = the usual New Zealand term for woods / forest.) See Flickr for more pix.

technorati tags:nature, photography, stream, reflection, illusion, leisure

Does religion meet reality?

Roger Scruton, an English philosopher, has posted a blog article, "Better off without religion?", giving a particularly clear and lucid account of the role of religion in meeting needs that are fundamental to human nature and to civilization.

A similar theme continues to be discussed between me and Dan Rhoads, on Dan's evolution-oriented blog, "Migrations", under "Is religion adapative?". This discussion went dormant for a couple of weeks, but has revived, under prompting from thoughts expressed by Roger Scruton and people commenting on his article.

These discussions are likely to be stimulating for anyone with an interest in the relationship between science and religion, and the role that religion plays in society.

Te Henga Easter Sunday 07

Te Henga Easter Sunday 07
Originally uploaded by John Bryden.

Today, Easter Sunday, I joined a few hundred others out for a walk at Te Henga, Bethell's Beach. The afternoon sky was overcast, giving a brooding mood to the scene, but the weather was warm, for this time of year.