"Tahirih"
"Tahirih"
By
Bahereh
“A lovely tune
played the
musician of love.
The
tunes played, came from Heaven above.”
-
Hafez, the mystic Persian poet
_____________________________________
Tahirih
Khodadoust Foroughi
1936-2007
My
dearest sister, Tahirh Joon’s Memorial Service
in her honor and in celebration of her life
Sunday
Jan. 14th, 2007
at the home of Bahereh, Walter, and Sienna
Mae at:
Pen
A dear sister has passed on, my dearest older
sister,
Dr.Tahirih Khodadoost Foroughi passed
on bravely and by Gods will on January 1st,
2007, in
http://www.legacy.com/AZCentral/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStoryPrint&PersonID=85862934
She was like a flower
whose love just like a rose has perfumed my life from
childhood all the
way to adulthood. She will always be remembered by me
as the dearest sister anyone can wish
for, and she will be missed by everyone
whose life was touched by her love, and by any one who had the
privilege of
knowing her.
- Welcome Remarks/ Bahereh
talked about Tahirih joon who was like a ROSE,
Braided bread was baked in
memory of her braiding Bahereh’s hair during her childhood.
And we passed on
rosewater around the room in remembrance of her scent.
- Poetry of Hafez in English
#6, 12, 13, 16 from our Hafez CD
- Persian Prayer/
chanted by
Nassim Monica
- From the Hidden Words of
Baha’u’llah in English
from Persian section #1, 38,
and from Arabic section #32/ Roseann
- From the Hidden Words of
Baha’ullah in Persian
page 1, and page 35./
Bahereh
- Thoughts on
Afterlife/
read by Nassim Monica
- Poetry of Rumi in English,
#1, 2, 3, 10, & 14 from our Gift of Love CD
- Sienna Mae reading
the
poetry of Rumi in English from Unfolding
CD # 2, 3, and 9
- Sienna Mae reading
the
poetry of Khayyam in English from Niyaz
CD # 2
- Eulogy from Tahirih joon’s
memorial service in AZ/ Walter
- A tribute to
Tahirih from an email from her
brother, Iraj, to Tahirih’s children./ Max
- Tahirih’s poems from
Vision of Life/ “Vision of Life”/ Sienna Mae, and ”The Tea Party”/
Bettina
- Thanks For being a "sister"/
Lucy
- A visit with Tahirh via
video
Refreshments
- From The Hidden
Words
0f
Baha'u'llah
In the Name of the Lord of
Utterance, the Mighty.
1. O YE PEOPLE THAT HAVE
MINDS TO KNOW AND EARS TO HEAR!
The first call of the
Beloved is this: O mystic nightingale! Abide not
but in the rose-garden of the spirit. O
messenger of the Solomon
of love! Seek thou no shelter except in the
immortal phoenix! dwell
not save on the mount of faithfulness. Therein
is thy habitation, if on the wings of thy
soul thou soarest to the
realm of the infinite and seekest to attain thy
goal.
38. O SON OF SPIRIT!
Burst thy cage asunder,
and even as the phoenix of love soar into the
firmament of holiness. Renounce thyself
and, filled with the
spirit of mercy, abide, in the realm of celestial
sanctity.
32. O SON OF THE SUPREME!
I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee
its splendour. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom?
&&&&&
"O
thou spiritual friend! This world is a prison for heavenly souls,
and this
earthly world is but a cage, and not a nest, unto the divine birds.
A prisoner
who is awake and conscious will certainly seek for freedom,
and a mindful bird
will certainly wish for deliverance from the cage.
When the heart becometh free
from attachment unto this world,
it will crave for the world of the Kingdom and
seek for eternal life."
'Abdu'-Baha,
Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas
(New York: Bahai Publishing Committee, 1909 edition) P. 109. Available
from http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TAB/tab-129.html.
The Tea Party
To my mother
I am sitting
in my living room
sipping tea.
a most
delicious tea
a most
pleasing tea
a most
refreshing tea
a tea with the
sweet scent of roses
a tea with the
romantic aroma of honeysuckles
a tea with the
refreshing smell of orange
a tea with the
wonderful fragrance of jasmines
I am drinking
tea
a tea touched
by the gentle presence of cardamom
a tea fostered
with the excitement of cinnamon
a tea educated
with the excellence of saffron
a tea remarked
with a tender touch of mint
I am having
tea, sip-by-sip
a tea
sweetened with the sugar of love
a tea seasoned
with the spice of kindness
a tea
strengthened with the honey of affinity
a tea
rainbowed with the saffron of friendship
a tea nurtured
with the advice of affection
a tea
disciplined with
just an air of the bitterness of
concern
I am enjoying
my tea.
a tea blended
in the blender of unity
a tea matured
in the container of modesty
a tea packed
in the hands of motherhood
a tea
submitted through the mail of submission
a tea brewed
in the teapot of tranquility
on the gentle fire of harmony
a tea poured
into the cup of memories
the WONDERFUL
SWEET memories of my BELOVED MOTHER.
She sent me
this tea from
in a small
container
fifteen years
ago.
This tea is an
example of my mother.
Every time I
drink this tea.
I learn a new
lesson of life.
Just like my
beloved mother.
It teaches me
a new lesson, each time.
Every single
time I was with her
she taught me
a lesson of life
by her
example, not by words.
I have made
many cups of this tea
but, just like
my mother
and her
unforgettable example of excellence
in deeds and words.
and, just like
her unforgettable kindness and gentleness.
her tea has
continued to exist and to be with me.
I have had
numerous Tea Parties with her tea.
both alone or
with family and friends.
In these tea
parties I have felt my mother
and she has
touched me.
I have
extended my mother’s tea
by adding new
tea to the jar
and, by
blending and mixing the new tea
very well
with the
original tea.
and I intend
to continue this process
forever.
as long as I
live.
Thus, she will
be with me
any time I
give a TEA PARTY.
You are
certainly welcome to join me.
- Tahirih
Khodadoost-Foroughi
&&&&&
Tahirih K.
Foroughi,
Ph.D.
(1936 - 2007)
"I accept death, if it is God's will. We Baha'is believe that
without
God's will not a single leaf can depart the tree." As she wrote in
one
of her poems 24 years ago, Tahirih Khodadoust Foroughi passed
away
bravely and by God's will on January 1st, 2007. Married for 50 years to
Ata
Foroughi, Tahirih was born on June 17, 1936, in
Tahirih was a studious child and teenager and filled her time with
school,
music classes, Baha'i activities and helping her parents with the
upbringing of
five younger siblings. Upon graduation from high school, she initially
decided
to study architecture, an idea which did not work out. She then decided
to
study nursing in
Having been brought up by a banker father and exposed to numbers,
Tahirih began
studying business at a collage in
By the time of the 1979 Revolution of Iran, when work environment
especially
for a female and Baha'i professor had become virtually impossible,
Tahirih
sought a teaching position in
Aside from her loving husband Ata, who took excellent care of her
especially
towards the end of her life, and her three children, Tahirih is
survived by
three grandchildren: Emery (Jalal), Colby (Nabil), and Ashley (Anissa);
son-in-law Richard Jeffers of Phoenix; daughter-in-law Raissa
Muhutdinova of
Tajikistan; in addition to five siblings: Iraj in Georgia, Bahereh in
Pennsylvania, Heshmat in Australia, and Manouchehr and Nadereh in Iran.
Tahirih's cousin, Bijan Mozaffari, and his wife Mahvash from
Tahirih will always be remembered as a unique individual with a great
passion
not only for academics, caring for her students and love for her near
ones, but
also a kind character who embraced the society at-large with a belief
in world
peace and oneness of humanity. On the eve of her passing, Tahirih went
like a
gentle bird whose gradually weakened body could no longer support her
incredibly strong heart. She now flies above earthly clouds, souring to
new
spiritual heights. As she had written in one of her poems: "My
Faith is
my Freedom. I am free like a bird."
The funeral of Tahirih Khodadoust Foroughi will take place on Saturday,
January 6th, 11 a.m. at the
&&&&&
An email sent by Iraj, Tahirih's brother, on Jan. 9th, 2007:renowned world citizen.
Subject: Thanks For being a "sister"
A young wife sat on a
sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced
tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about
marriage,
about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood,
the mother
clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear,
sober
glance upon her daughter.
"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to
the bottom of her glass.
"They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you
love
your husband,no matter how much you love the children you may have, you
are
still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and
then; do
things with them. "Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your
girlfriends,your daughters, and all your other women relatives too.
"You'll need other women. Women always do."
What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. I'm a married
woman,
for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and family will be all
I need
to make my life worthwhile!'
But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and
made more
women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,
she
gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was
talking
about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a
woman,Sisters are the mainstays of her life.
After almost 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've
learned:
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are
between you.
A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you
have to
walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the
women in
your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for
you,
pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms
at the
valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside
you...Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends,daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters,
sisters-in-law, Mothers,Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and
extended
family, all bless our life! The world wouldn't be the same without
women, and
neither would I.
When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the
incredible
joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need
each
other. Every day, we still need each other. Pass this on to all the
women who
help make your life meaningful.
We appreciate you giving us the opportunity to share our dear Tahirih's great life and her beautiful soul with you.
Bahereh
It’s
a NEW BEGINNING!
We
will begin by reading the poem, follow by mixing the Tea, one
ingredient at a time, & will end by serving the freshly mixed tea
with
Persian Love pastries made by me, Bahereh the clear shiny! Please join
us and
take a batch of this mystic tea back home with you.
A
small batch of original version of this tea will be added to
the 1st lg. batch that we’ll be making on March 4st,
2007.
We
will call this tea,
“The Mystic Tea, Pure Light, Pure Delight!”
Tahirih Khodadoust Foroughi
1936-2007
It’s
a NEW BEGINNING!
“The
Mystic Tea, Pure Light, Pure Delight!”
In
remembrance of my dear mother, Forough the Light who passed
on in her asleep on Nov. 25th, 1989, and my dear sister,
Tahirih the
Pure who passed away on Jan. 1st, 2007, a Mystic Tea is
made. “The
Mystic Tea, Pure Light, Pure Delight” is made by following the recipe
taken
from my dear sister’s poem called: “The
Tea Party” @ http://www.heartizen.com/TAHIRIH.html
A
small batch of original version of this tea has been
added to the 1st lg. batch that
was made on March 4st, 2007.
This
tea is the best when is served by reading the poem while
sipping the tea, and serving tea along with Persian Love pastries made
by me,
Bahereh the clear shiny!
For more inf.
Please contact:
Bahereh Khodadoost
CLAY ART by Bahereh | CLAY ART by Walter Heath | Home Page | About the Artists | Writings
(610)863-3362
Mailing Address: 423 Mountain Ave. Pen Argyl, Pa. 18072
please send e-mail to: bahereh@HEARTizen.com
