What's everyone reading right now?

All research or scholarship questions
BritishBahai
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What's everyone reading right now?

Postby BritishBahai » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:19 pm

Just wondering...what book is everyone reading right now?
Ive just started The Priceless Pearl and LOVE Ruhiyyih Khanom's style of writing. I havent even finished the first chapter and im already glued :D

page 10:
Dr Baghdadi recounts how, on one of these visits when Shoghi Effendi, a child of five or six years of age, accompanied his parents, the Greatest Holy Leaf and other members of the family there, he spent most of his time in Dr Baghdadi's room, looking at the pictures in his medical books and asking questions. It seems Shoghi Effendi wanted to see something actually dissected; he was not satisfied with just pictures. This zeal for knowledge (and no doubt those large eyes, so insistent and intelligent) quite won over the young medical student who had a victim provided - a large wildcat - and proceeded to cut it up in front of Shoghi Effendi, one of his aunts and the servant who had shot it. They watched in absorbed silence. When it was over, and Dr Baghdadi was asking himself how such a small child could have understood what it was all about, he was astonished to hear Shoghi Effendi recapitulating word for word the salient points of what he had described during his dissection.

pg 7
Shoghi Effendi was a small, sensitive, intensely active and mischievous child. He was not very strong in his early years and his mother often had cause to worry over his health. However, he grew up to have an iron constitution, which, coupled with the phenomenal force of his nature and will-power, enabled him in later years to overcome every obstacle in his path. The first photographs we have of him show a peaky little face, immense eyes and a firm, beautifully shaped chin which in his childhood gave a slightly elongated and heart-shaped appearance to his face. Already in these earliest pictures one sees a sadness, a wistfulness, a haunting predilection for suffering that is like a shadow on the wall - the shadow of a child magnified to the stature of a man. Fine-boned, even as a mature man, shorter than his grandfather had been, Shoghi Effendi was more akin physically to his great-grandfather, Bahá'u'lláh. He [Shoghi Effendi] told me [Ruhiyyih Khanom] himself that 'Abdu'l-Bahá's sister, the Greatest Holy Leaf, would sometimes take his hand in hers and say "These are like the hands of my father". They were what I call intellectual hands, more square than tapering, strong, nervous, the veins standing out, very expressive in their gestures, very assured in their motions. Amelia Collins, who lived in Haifa many years, always said that to her all the suffering of the Guardian's life was reflected in those hands. His eyes were of that deceptive hazel colour that sometimes led people who did not have the opportunity to look into them as often as I did to think they were brown or blue. The truth is they were a clear hazel which sometimes changed to a warm and luminous grey. I have never seen such an expressive face and eyes as those of the Guardian; every shade of feeling and thought was mirrored in his visage as light and shadow are reflected on water. When he was happy and enthusiastic over something he had a peculiar habit of opening his eyes wide enough to let the upper rim of the iris show and this always made me think of two beautiful suns rising above the horizon, so brilliant and sparkling was their expression. Indignation, anger and sorrow could be equally clearly reflected in them, and alas, he had cause to show these too in his life, so beset with problems and sorrows. His feet were as beautiful as his hands, small like them, high arched, and giving that same impression of strength.

It may sound disrespectful to say the Guardian was a mischievous child, but he himself told me he was the acknowledged ringleader of all the other children. Bubbling with high spirits, enthusiasm and daring, full of laughter and wit, the small boy lead the way in many pranks; whenever something was afoot, behind it would be found Shoghi Effendi!
This boundless energy was often a source of anxiety as he would rush madly up and down the long flight of high steps to the upper story of the house, to the consternation of the pilgrims below, waiting to meet the Master. His exuberance was irrepressible and was in the child the same force that was to make the man such an untiring and unflinching commander-in-chief of the forces of Bahá'u'lláh, leading them to victory after victory, indeed, to the spiritual conquest of the entire globe. We have a very reliable witness to this characteristic of the Guardian, 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself, Who wrote on a used envelope a short sentence to please His little grandson: "Shoghi Effendi is a wise man - but he runs about very much!"

These random little facts bring this book to life
"I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love"

AdibM
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby AdibM » Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:06 pm

Ah, that book's on my enormous and unrealistic list of ones to read, can't wait till I get to it. :D

I'm currently reading Making the Crooked Straight by Udo Schaefer et al., wherein he refutes a lot of baseless claims made by a Swiss ex-Baha'i who declared himself an embittered enemy of the Faith. It's a wonderful yet lengthy read (800+ pages!); I'm about a third done with it and it covers a wide range of topics, some controversial and some obvious. Dr. Schaefer is truly an insightful scholar.
"To be a Bahá'í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood." -- `Abdu'l-Bahá

FJR
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby FJR » Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:32 am

Thank you for posting that first excerpt. EXTREMELY insightful.

With school in full swing, it's all I can do to read Gleanings every night and every morning. The last book I read was Release the Sun, and I would like to read more William Sears.

I've also heard good things about the recent "Gate of the Heart" by Nader Saiedi
"Love me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest me not, my love can in no wise reach thee. Know this O servant." -The Baha'i Faith

BritishBahai
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby BritishBahai » Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:55 am

Yeah, the Gleanings is useful becuase you can read one paragraph at a time, so its good for people who still want to read even though theyre busy. I found it to be quite useful and ended up writing all over mine:
Image
Unfortunatley, I ended up losing my copy ](*,) I think I left it behind on the train. Quite annoying, because I made a lot of annotations!
"I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love"

MontanaDon
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby MontanaDon » Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:15 pm

For the time being, I'm working on biographies and auto-biographies. The current one being "The Great Adventure" by Florence Mayberry.

Don C
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Understood properly, all man's problems are essentially spiritual in nature.

onepence~2
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby onepence~2 » Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:23 pm

BritishBahai wrote:Just wondering...what book is everyone reading right now?
Ive just started The Priceless Pearl and LOVE Ruhiyyih Khanom's style of writing. I havent even finished the first chapter and im already glued :D



:smile:

yes ... The Priceless Pearl ... great description ... little facts bring this book to life ...

been listening to books more than reading ...
although we do read Gleanings ...

we also have been blessed to be listening to various speakers ...
http://www.bahaistudy.org/audio.html

it just so happens about a year ago ...
downloaded almost the entire site
and then burned the contents into cd format ...
but never really gave them a listen ...

so ... now ...3 times a week ... on our hour commute ...
we pop in various cds ... and wow ...

William Sears ... Leroy Ioas ... Firus Kazemzadeh
Ruhiyyih Khanum ... Dan Jordan ... Curtis Kelsey

just amazing stories of Faith knowledge and certitude

Capernicus
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby Capernicus » Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:24 am

I'm reading 1001 Arabian nights and The Eternal Quest for God by Julio Savi (and loving it). I really want to get his other book on the 4 and 7 valleys.

Capernicus
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby Capernicus » Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:29 am

I swear i already posted this but anyways - I am reading 1001 Arabian nights and the Eternal Quest for God by Julio Savi (love his stuff) and i really want to get his other book about 7 and 4 valleys :-P

BritishBahai
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby BritishBahai » Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:55 pm

lol... i was referring to Bahai books, but its good that you mentioned those because i will check them out aswell :smile:
"I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love"

dragonaxe
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby dragonaxe » Mon Mar 02, 2009 4:31 am

Century Of Light.

oh, and Lark Rise to Candleford :lol:

Truth
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby Truth » Mon Mar 02, 2009 5:51 am

An intro to shi'i islam by Moojan Momen, which will be followed by Islam and the Baha'i faith i think it's called by the same author.

Can someone please recommend me some good books on the faith and Christianity apart from thief in the night?
No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain!

BritishBahai
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Location: UK

Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby BritishBahai » Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:18 am

Michael Sours is supposed to be a good author. I was flicking through a few of his books but havent bought them (yet!) because ive spent wayyy too much money on books recently and there are still un-read ones in my room.

Also, I know AdibM will recommend "He cometh in the clouds"
"I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love"

coatofmanycolours
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby coatofmanycolours » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:20 am

I just bought 'The Glory of the Father', subtitled 'The Case for Christ and Baha'u'llah'.
It is written by Hushidar Hugh Motlagh, Ed.D.
Published by Global Perspective, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan

www.globalperspective.org

So far, I have read the first chapter and looked at the illustrations. I like it and would
share it with friends once I got to know them a bit. It is elegantly rational and makes
wonderful reference to the words of Christ and Baha'u'llah -the creative Word.

-Peter

AdibM
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby AdibM » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:26 pm

BritishBahai wrote:Michael Sours is supposed to be a good author. I was flicking through a few of his books but havent bought them (yet!) because ive spent wayyy too much money on books recently and there are still un-read ones in my room.

Also, I know AdibM will recommend "He cometh in the clouds"


Actually I've never read He cometh in the clouds! :lol: I have read I Shall Come Again by Hushidar Motlagh, however - it's about Christian (and a little Muslim) prophecy which we perceive to be related to the Baha'i Faith. He's also written other books on Christianity like the ones Peter mentioned, as well as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

We also own some of Michael Sours' books and they're also supposed to be great on this subject. All in all I'd recommend things by Motlagh and Sours, and also He cometh in the clouds because I've heard such great stuff about it. 8-)
"To be a Bahá'í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood." -- `Abdu'l-Bahá

BruceDLimber
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby BruceDLimber » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:13 am

Greetings, all! :-)

I recently read a bit of P. G. Wodehouse. More recently I've been reading several John Grisham novels, and A. B. Hartley's original Danger UXB book (about how the British dealt with German delayed-action bombs during WW II). And right now I'm enjoying a couple of Scott Adams' anthologies of "Dilbert" cartoons! :-)

(I've also been listening to several recorded books at work, currently Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.)

And on a slightly more serious note, I've just begun preliminary formatting and proofing on the 400-page Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith for the Online Baha'i Library project (I was previously working on The Priceless Pearl and The Covenant of Baha'u'llah.)

Best regards! :-)

Bruce

RuhiWarrior19
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Re: What's everyone reading right now?

Postby RuhiWarrior19 » Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:24 pm

I am reading Hand of the Cause William Sears's "Release the Sun" and Marzieh Gail's "Dawn Over Mount Hira". Both are amazing, in very different ways.

I want to study Baha'u'llah's "Gems of Divine Mysteries" and read Nader Saeidi's "Logos and Civilization" as well as his "Gate of the the Heart". I am also reading the Memoirs of Mirza Habibu'l-llah, an early believer and contemporary of Baha'u'llah's.
Truly, the Morn of Guidance commands the breeze to begin
All the world has been illuminated; every horizon, every people
No more sits the shaykh in the seat of hypocrisy
No more becomes the mosque a shop dispensing holiness
- Tahirih


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