A poem of great beauty not known to English speakers is now available in English translation. The poem is Az Bágh-i-Iláhí (Hailing from the Godly Garden) and the translator is Adib Masumian. It is among the most well-known works of Baha’u’llah. Adib Taherzadeh describes it as follows: “Az-Bágh-i-Iláhí is an ode revealed not long before the Declaration…
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Commentary on Tablet of the Son
For most of this year, I have been slowing writing a commentary on Baha’u’llah’s Tablet of the Son. The commentary is not a long complicated affair – it’s just short notes of interest on each paragraph. The tablet is reasonably lengthy, running to 33 paragraphs. I chose to do this commentary because I think Tablet…
Human beings as spiritual websites
Human beings can be likened to spiritual websites; that is, collections of spiritual information that is put on display for those who come looking for it. A nice idea is to think of a person as a spiritual website. In this scenario, all of creation is the spiritual internet, which is powered by the Divine…
Moving to the next world, now
Spiritual growth on earth is all about learning to turn one’s attention away from the affairs of the world and onto the divine realities of the Kingdom. The human soul works like a mirror, which always reflects what it is facing. If the soul is turned toward the earth, it will reflect earthly realities, and…
Finding Baha’u’llah’s writings on the Internet
Do you want to find some new or juicy works of Baha’u’llah to read in your mornings and evenings? Look no further than the “Translations Elsewhere” tables on my Windflower Translations website. The tables contain lists of English translations available on the Internet, with links to them and to YouTube readings of them (where available)….
The crucial mid-way point in the Seven Valleys
I think one the most crucial sentences in the Seven Valleys comes at the beginning of the Valley of Unity, where Baha’u’llah says that the Valley of Knowledge is “the last station of limitation”: “After passing through the Valley of Knowledge, which is the last station of limitation, the wayfarer cometh to the First Station…
What is eternal life?
In chapter 36 of Some Answered Questions, Abdu’l-Baha identifies the spirit of heaven as the light rays that emanate from the Sun of revelation (that is, the Manifestation of God). It is the bounty of God. If a person chooses to focus their attention up toward the Sun of revelation, the mirror of their soul…
Book of the Tigris, now on YouTube
New video up on the Windflower Readings YouTube channel: Book of the Tigris, by Baha’u’llah. Book of the Tigris (or Book of the River) is a letter Baha’u’llah wrote for a believer who asked him about the truth of reports attributing miracles to Baha’u’llah and other Babis. The letter is, for the most part, a…
Who does Baha’u’llah communicate with?
I’ve had a question in response to my blog post: God is not the essence of things. Someone asked, if God transcends all creation, then who does Baha’u’llah communicate with? That is a difficult question to answer, not least because it asks for information about something human beings will never be able to understand. However,…
The tests of gold
Baha’u’llah often refers to hell as “the fire”, which is how the world feels when it deals a serious blow. He counsels people to stay out of the world’s affairs so that they are not caught up in its deceptions and tribulations. In the following hidden word, he makes some subtle, and very important points…