2012
Major Tudor Pole’s Mission
Wellesley Tudor Pole sought the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Alexandria during His first sojourn in Egypt in 1910 — at that time he wanted to find out more about the Faith and the mysterious personage of the Master. In The Silent […]
2012
Paris Talks Revisited: The Search after Truth
On 10 November, 1911 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke about the first principle of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings: the Search after Truth. He explained the principle primarily in the context of religions claiming to be the exclusive keepers of truth and emphasized that we must […]
Glad Tidings! Glad Tidings!
The issue of Star of the West dated December 31st, 1911 is brimming with excitement — each serif and punctuation mark is eager and thrilled. The issue contains a logistical announcement from the Executive Board of the Bahá’í Temple Unity “so […]
2011
Paris Talks Revisited: The Holy Spirit
A prayer that is dear to me is the one in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks about the transformation of souls, using the metaphors of moths becoming royal falcons, and brooks becoming seas. Such powerful imagery! What is it that transforms souls […]
2011
The Master’s Health
I have been thinking recently about the Master’s health as rest and recuperation were primary reasons for His return to Egypt. Mr. Balyuzi, in his biography of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, writes: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wintered in Egypt. The lavish expenditure of His energies, during the three […]
2011
Biography: Louis Gregory
Keep your face turned towards the Kingdom and fear nothing! [1] These were the parting words that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shared with Louis Gregory as his pilgrimage to ‘Akká in early 1911 drew to an end and he prepared to leave the […]
2011
Paris Talks Revisited: The Relation Between Man and God
What is the relation between man and God? I find this to be a ‘big’ question because, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains, God is the Infinite, the Unknowable: Things which are understood by men cannot be outside their capacity for understanding, so […]
Paris Talks Revisited: Beauty and Harmony in Diversity
I wonder how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s talk on the 28th of October 1911 stood in contrast with the widespread and generally accepted nationalistic and racist ideas of the time. While we have made progress since then in letting go such ideas, the ways […]
Podcast 9: No True Happiness and Progress Without Spirituality
On November 21, 1911 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave a talk on true happiness and progress saying, I want to make you understand that material progress and spiritual progress are two very different things, and that only if material progress goes hand in […]
Paris Talks Revisited: The Two Natures in Man
As humans, we are, or should be, well-accustomed to the two sides of a coin. Objective and subjective; literal and figurative; justice and mercy – these are a few examples of dual processes that surround our lives. This is not […]