tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70160232026-04-08T18:43:25.588-04:00I am an essayist specializing in the Bahá'í Principles. Essays come out every day or so. Contact me at: badijet@gmail.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1934125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-77633439860909325652025-05-06T10:00:00.009-04:002025-05-10T14:26:25.384-04:00

The Very Incongruous Parable of the Shrewd StewardJohn Taylor, May 10, 2025"I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." (Luke 15:9, NIV) The book about near death experiences (NDE's) that I am reading uses this anti-commercialist lesson within a parable to back up the scriptural validity of these eyewitness

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Two newly translated passages by the Master on the equality of women and men. The first discussion has implications not just for that principle but for equal rights (which Abdu'l-Baha names as a Baha'i principle as well). Principle does not win out by compulsion, he asserts, but by the "acquisition of virtues" gained by education. In the second, the Master demonstrates how to deal with what

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p02 Where did the idea of unity in diversity come from?Feb 14, 2024Where did the idea of unity in diversity come from?I’m trying out the new Gemini AI today. I was wondering about the idea of unity in diversity came from. Is it unique to the Baha’i teachings? Surely not. Philosophically, any group has to have some stance on what they agree upon, its unity, and what can be allowed to branch out,

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Questions about Baha'i Symbols on Reddit Illustration, my non-artistic depiction of the Haykal pentagram. Maybe some artist can supply me with a better one.jet nov 2023 response to this question in reddit:I am a post-graduate student who is studying about Baha'i. There are so many questions arise in my mind when studying about the symbols of Baha'i Faith, which from what I know of, including

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-4457468890551160712023-11-08T13:55:00.005-05:002023-11-08T13:55:44.366-05:00

 The new online version of the search engine Ocean, specifically version 2.0, gives an unprecedented glimpse into secondary Baha'i literature, that is, books about the Faith. Since we have been studying the "Great Being" statements in the Tablet to Maqsud, I include the following example, from Nader Saiedi, "The Birth of the Human Being: Beyond Religious Traditionalism and Materialist

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-50542588078833540612023-11-02T13:35:00.000-04:002023-11-02T13:35:55.436-04:00

 jet essay on talismans 2002jet November 2023; I stumbled upon this old essay I wrote 21 years ago on Talismans. Here also are some more recent notes on Talismans. Of Temples and Talismans28 December, 2002"... I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple." (Isa 6:1)someone asked,>>>> what does Haykal mean? Does it mean Temple, or

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Dunnville, Haldimand, ON, Canada42.9035374 -79.617004414.593303563821152 -114.7732544 71.213771236178843 -44.4607544tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-68345769231196327532022-12-23T20:59:00.002-05:002022-12-24T09:58:11.268-05:00

John Taylor, 23 December, 2022Moses and the Green Knight, Julio Savi's explanation of Baha'u'llah's InterpretationJohn Taylor, 23 December, 2022We discussed the Green Knight, or Khidr, mentioned in the Qur'an in our study class on Baha'u'llah's Tablet of Haykal. Here are some passages from Julio Savi's book on the Seven Valleys of Baha'u'llah, "Towards the Summit of Reality; An Introduction to

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`Abdu'l-Baha's Encomium on HappinessSaturday, November 19, 2022thap Gems on the Scintillating Crown of Human Happiness`Abdu'l-Baha's Encomium on HappinessStar of the West, Vol. 13, p. 150-153"Happiness is the scintillating crown of humanity the shining gems of which are the teachings of the past prophets and the principles of his holiness Baha'u'llah."Although it is not scripture, this quote is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-11050652543313214572021-10-18T15:02:00.000-04:002021-10-18T15:02:19.973-04:00

Talk given by Abdu'l-Baha to Theosophists at Marseille, from: Abdu'l-Baha in France, 1911-1913, by Jan Jasion, pp. 247-254p. 2476 December, 1911: Wednesday'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk at the theosophist meeting. It is possible that this took place at 25, boulevard Baille in Marseille. A short note appeared in Le Lotus bleu: revue théosophique française. It stated that He spoke at the central

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There are more talks from the Master given in Paris than we find in Paris Talks. Here is one collected in Jan Jasion's book, "Abdu'l-Baha in France." This talk by Abdu'l-Baha is about prayer, education, the need for knowledge-based leadership, the harmony of science and religion, and the need for religious leaders to keep from interfering in political affairs. First, though, a couple of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-63276923840476378532020-12-19T09:02:00.006-05:002020-12-22T04:06:31.806-05:00

A Selection from Taherzadeh's Study on the Writings of Baha'u'llah about the Lawh-i-Dunya and the Martyrdom of Muhammad Rida and the Praiseworthy Forgiveness that FollowedThis I am including as part of our study of chapters 76 and 77 of Some Answered Questionsfrom: Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 4, pp. 342-345Haji Muhammad-Riday-i-IsfahaniThere is a passage in this Tablet which

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-73806973097019281352020-12-12T08:27:00.001-05:002020-12-12T09:19:18.107-05:00

Bacon, Comenius, Tolstoy, Truth and my Absorption SystemBy John Taylor; 2020 December 12Long ago I began what I call my "system" of quotations revolving around on the Baha'i principles by collecting together my notes from the writings of Frances Bacon. Bacon inspired my whole career, and his idea for "nursery gardens of the mind" is the basis of all the directions in which the internet, education

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-76395799731773295872020-11-25T11:42:00.005-05:002020-11-25T13:38:12.449-05:00

When you get to my age, the size of "kitab-i-hearsay" swells out of all proportion. Recently I reached into this book and found myself saying, "Abdu'l-Baha said that Sufism almost destroyed Islam, but Jalalu-Din Rumi, a minor prophet, saved it from totally losing its moorings." Somebody challenged me on that, asking where I got that bit of hearsay, so I had to go back into the actual Writings and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-26433216628557118172020-05-24T10:38:00.000-04:002020-05-24T10:38:02.079-04:00

Review of Deep Thinking, by Garry Kasparov I was a casual club chess player in the 1970's and 1980's. It mattered to me that computers were challenging humans, and I wanted to beat The Machine. I remember when Mohawk College had an open house with access to a mini-computer that played chess, I very much wanted to beat it. I had to line up, but it did win. Once it had bested me, I considered

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"Man becomes like a stone unless he continually supplicates to God. The heart of man is like a mirror which is covered with dust and to cleanse it one must continually pray to God that it may become clean. The act of supplication is the polish which erases all worldly desires. The delight of supplicating and entreating before God cuts one's heart from the world. When the taste of man is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-78803853711055720872020-04-22T08:34:00.000-04:002020-04-22T08:34:44.554-04:00

 "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." (suffer sin?) (Lev 19:17, KJV) The King James Bible is full of errors and passages like the above, that are simply incomprehensible. This morning I tried to find out what "suffer sin" could possibly mean. This took me down the rabbit hole that is BibleHub. Here is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-58052380675955585362020-04-08T13:59:00.003-04:002020-04-08T13:59:57.921-04:00

The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh: A World Religion by Shoghi EffendiRead by John Taylor The Faith established by Bahá'u'lláh was born in Persia about the middle of the nineteenth century and has, as a result of the successive banishments of its Founder,  culminating in His exile to the Turkish penal colony of 'Akká, and His subsequent death and burial in its vicinity, fixed

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-5934965128083776702020-04-05T04:41:00.000-04:002020-04-22T08:56:59.418-04:00

John Amos Comenius based his entire philosophy, which he called "Pansophy,"and indeed his entire proposed world government, on the three necessary stages of intentional action, that is, knowledge, volition and action. Comenius, and indeed all subsequent science, rest upon this foundation, first laid out by Frances Bacon. It was Bacon's conviction that mere search for truth is not enough.

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Thoughts on Naw Ruz Eve; 20 March, 2004 I started this fast easy, even for a time laughing contemptuously at healthy people who complain how tough it is, "Just try it with the sword of a migraine hanging by a thin thread over your head, me hearties," Thought I, "Arrr!" I only missed the first day to a migraine. I was not much bothered since. Not by that, not that, only by a fast that weighs

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Oligarchy's Squeeze Play by John Taylor, 2020 Mar 08 In 2011 economist Paul Krugman pointed out that calling the wealthy the "one percent" is quite inaccurate. They should be called the one in a thousand. Where does the money of this tiny elite come from? What do the powerful oligarchs do for a living? In view of how events over the past nine years have played out, Krugman's list is

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Beyond the Veils by John Taylor, 20 February, 2020   For the past week I've been slowly reading through the the Maximes of La Rochefoucauld, which cut through the pretence that we think is our virtue like a cold shower on a cold winter's morning. Here is an example,"We sometimes think we hate flattery, but what we hate is merely the way it is done." (Francois de La

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p08, Internacia Lingvo Parolado de Abdu’l-Baha al Edinburgh Esperanto Socio, Skotlando, Jan 17, 1913 Eldonite en magazino Star of the West, Vol. 11, No. 17, Jan 19, 1921, “La personon de Abdu’l-Baha kaj lian laboron, ni tre alte estimas: mi vidas en li unu el la plej grandaj bonfarantoj de la homaro.” – L. L. Zamenhof Ĉiu movado en la mondo de la homaro kiu portas kun si unuecon kaj

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-74136794356438137622019-10-22T09:56:00.000-04:002019-10-25T19:04:59.696-04:00

Why did Ali Muhammad of Shiraz take on the title, "The Bab"? I will attempt an answer and I would ask that you punch any holes in it that you can find. The short answer is that in Shiih Islam the term "Bab" or gate was used to refer to the hidden Imam, who had eschatological significance. But surely there is a reason for that, why call the promised one the Gate? Here is my suggestion.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-21730137741433176692019-09-07T23:32:00.002-04:002019-09-07T23:32:47.528-04:00

William Ostler, A Life in Medicine Sir William Ostler was, some say, the greatest doctor ever. He was one of the three or four founders of modern medicine. I read his biography because he used to live near us, in Dundas, ON. Here are some of the best parts. Reference: William Ostler, A Life in Medicine, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1999 https://badiblog.blogspot.com/search?q=ostler&

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016023.post-65314911567795888202019-09-03T15:32:00.001-04:002019-09-03T16:01:01.754-04:00

24 August, 2019Mankind's Universal PrayersThis is the final chapter, chapter 12, of John Amos Comenius's Universal Awakening, or Panegersia. I have removed the chapter numbering system used in the translation by Dobbie and I have introduced some paragraph breaks. Reference: John Amos Comenius, Panegersia, p. 74-75, 12:1-36My blog post for today is the entire final chapter, chapter 12, of John

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