MullaHusayn. Even though there was only one
witness present, we have a detailed account of
the whole Episode: what the Bab said and did;
Mulla Husayn’s own thoughts and feelings. But
ofBahá’u’lláh’sRevelation,weonlyhavea couple
of sketchyparagraphs!”
Ihavea theory thatanyonewho likesStarTrek
can’t be all-bad. Greg and his clan reinforce
this hypothesis – though for mine, he pays a
little toocloseanattention toSevenofNine.
During his move to Albany, Greg and I
discovered a shared passion for a broad
spectrum of music – most especially the
Beatles and Simon&Garfunkel. Greg himself
happens to not only be my favourite Bahá’í
composer, but also the composer of some of
my favourite songsacrossallmusic.
I loveGreg.
In putting Holy Writings to music, Greg’s
compositions and arrangements subordinate
themusictotheWords.Hismusicalpurpose is
alwaystohighlighttheWritingsinpurestform.
Althoughnot afit comparison,Greg’smusic is
as a beautiful, ornate yet unobtrusive picture-
frame that upholds andhighlights theMaster
Canvas. (Greg once joked about his Bahá’í
songs’ authorship with delicious irreverence:
“
MusicbyParker; Lyrics byBahá’u’lláh
”).
Parker melodies and harmonies are the stuff
of legend. Even Paul McCartney and Stevie
Wonder enviously lamented:
“Gregory and
Malini, sing together in perfect harmony; side by
side on the piano keyboard, oh Lord why don’t
we?”
(…or similar)
Greg’s song ‘Bahiyyih Khanum’ is one of the
loveliest I’ve ever heard – an inspired gem.
GregtookoneoftheGuardian’smostpersonal,
tender and revealing written works (a deeply
loving tribute tohisMost BelovedGreatAunt
during his hour of separation) and somehow
managed topresent this astoundingwork ina
befittingmusical tapestry.Gregevenmanaged
towork in a popular Iranian Bahá’í chant for
that addedmeasure of poignancy. Matchless!
I’ve little doubt that Greg’s music will last a
DispensationorTwo.
Just recently, Greg delighted in reflecting on
the following passage by Bahá’u’lláh:
“True
reliance is for the servant topursuehis profession
and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the
Lord, to seek naught butHis grace, inasmuch as
inHisHands is thedestinyof allHis servants.”
Greg marvelled that contrary to the popular
notionof reliance as passivelywaiting in trust
for God to provide, Bahá’u’lláh expresses it
here as actively taking steps, confident of
His grace and confirmations. This reminded
me somuch of Greg’s own actions inAlbany.
Having pioneered here with limited work
opportunities locally, he made the audacious
decision to retrain in a completely new field.
He aced his University studies and qualified
as a professional teacher. There’s some true
reliance foryou, right there!
Greg ismyBrother.
One ofmy favouritememories of Greg’s time
inAlbanyprobablywon’tmeanmuch tomost
others: It was an overcast and chilly early
eveningatEmuPoint,circalate2002.Daughter
of the Great Southern – Helma - challenged
all comers to a 50-yard beach dash. No one
was game to takeup the challenge - nodoubt
fearing humiliation, if not outright bodily
harm (not a sprightly bunch we Albanyans).
No one that is except for a certainG.J. Parker
(‘J’ stands for Joon). Let the record show that
despite giving away some 30-odd years and
considerable poundage, young Gregory left
theHedayatgirl inhisdust.
RaminMajidi
