Nahid V. Meshgin: The Journey – Treading the pathway of love, faith and service

The JourneyIn The Journey, Iranian born Nahid V. Meshgin shares her uniquely inspiring personal and spiritual journey that begins in Tehran in an era of great upheaval in 1947 and is set across four continents – Asia, North America, Europe and Australia.

Nahid’s story is marked by stark contrasts, exciting opportunities and unexpected challenges as she experiences both privilege and loss, religious persecution, exile from her birthplace and major milestones experienced far away from her family.

The challenges of building a new life in distant lands and the desire to create a sense of community and belonging in her new home in Perth Western Australia are eloquently recorded in The Journey.

Shared throughout Nahid’s remarkable journey, are a number of the key spiritual principles and timeless virtues of her Baha’i Faith guiding her to tread a path of love, faith and service.

These include courage, trust, hope, honesty, justice, faithfulness, excellence, reverence, generosity, humility, orderliness, loyalty, respect, courtesy, detachment and love.

Nahid’s book is based on the journals that she has kept throughout her life, attentively recording many unique events and fascinating journeys she has enjoyed.

“I wanted to share my story in the hope that others may find some commonality in my journey, an appreciation of the beauty I have witnessed in the places I have visited and within the hearts of the people I have met,” said Nahid.

“It is also my heartfelt wish to encourage a deeper understanding of the bonds which join us all as members of humanity, for I have come to learn that we are each more similar than different, more connected than separate and we all share an underlying desire to live in peace.”

“This has been a truth which I have seen expressed and personally experienced among people from all around the world. I also hope to provide an insight into a few of the ideas, values and philosophies upon which the Bahá’í Religion is founded.”

“A faith which has not only provided me with a solid base and central guiding light in life, but also fostered within me a great wonder at the richness of existence, providing me with a greater sense of courage in the face of adversity and a willingness to look for love and gratitude in all that I’ve encountered.”

Much like the eerily beautiful shifting desert sands of Nahid’s homeland, external change has been ever present. Yet at the same time she has experienced an enduring stability which has been guided by a deep connection to family, fellowship and Faith.

“Without each one of these elements operating in my life, the other would become meaningless, so the contrasting forces of change and constancy have become my allies and companions along the path,” said Nahid.

“With the wisdom of hindsight, I have come to see that each taught me the valuable lessons I needed to learn in order to undertake the journey which lay ahead and gifted me with the tools required to navigate the way. For me, they have served as my inner compass, keeping me true to my course as life beckoned me forward.”

Nahid Vahdat Meshgin is a fifth-generation member of the Bahá’í Faith who has strived to serve Bahá’í communities and institutions around the world for over 50 years. Originally born in Persia, (modern day Iran) Nahid and her young family were forced to flee their homeland after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, due to religious persecution which saw Bahá’ís imprisoned, tortured and executed for their beliefs.

Travelling widely since this time, Nahid aspires towards the ideal of global citizenship as well as the possibility of contributing to the international Bahá’í community and the people in the countries in which she has lived, travelled or visited.

Nahid’s cherished community service activities include: supporting regular devotional gatherings in her home for over 20 years, contributing pro bono time to initiatives to foster and expand unity between peoples from different faiths and cultures through the City of Melville (Perth, Western Australia) Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee for 15 years, volunteer teaching trips abroad to support remote Bahá’í communities in Fiji, Albania, Greenland, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and Mongolia and countless other unity building initiatives.

Amongst her friends, family and peers, Nahid is recognised for her natural ability to see the beauty and similarities between all individuals, regardless of their age, ethnicity, class, creed or religion.

She aims to promote greater love, compassion and understanding between people around the globe, with a hope that this sentiment, if upheld by a large enough number of people, will ultimately lead to world peace. Nahid lives in Perth with her husband, Mehrdad, and in close proximity to her extended family.


The Journey – Treading the pathway of love, faith and service, an autobiography by Nahid V. Meshgin, is independently published and available from selected book retailers including Amazon.

Image: The Journey – Treading the pathway of love, faith and service (supplied)