Overview of the Writings of the Báb | Steven Phelps
Вставка
- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- In this online presentation we will take a lightning tour of the Writings of the Bab. We will briefly survey the state of knowledge of the manuscript sources, summarize the existing available translations, and introduce some of the secondary literature. We will look at the fascinating interplay between form and content in His Writings, address some recurring themes, and examine one possible periodization of His short ministry. The goal will be to provide serious students with an orientating framework and to point the way to resources that invite deeper independent study.
Steven Phelps received dual bachelors degrees in physics and philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University, specializing in cosmology. He served at the Bahá’í World Center in Haifa, Israel for 13 years in its Research Department, where he coordinated the indexing and collation of the Bahá’í Sacred Writings and their translation from Persian and Arabic into English. During that period he concurrently held a research position in the Physics Department at the Technion University in Haifa and published original research on the masses of nearby galaxies. He currently resides in the Portland area with his wife and three daughters.
Links to documents are on this web page: wilmetteinstitu...
Very informative and systematic . Great job.
Terrifically illuminating comments and discussion. This was a wonderful presentation. Thank you so much!
Interesting talk. I especially liked the part at the end about goodness, truth, and beauty being different facets of the same concept. I’ll be thinking more about that in the coming days.
57:00 "Be not content with anything when once thou becomest aware that it hath a still higher degree". This is the "fullness of time".
@9:19 wow that's something I didn't consider - that 90% of the Bab's works are in Arabic, not Persian. Very interesting.
True, considering I doubt He was taught Arabic since he never went to school.
thanks a lot
Mmmmm sin traducción no se entiende,publica en español.Saludos
Lo siento. Algunas de las frases también eran difíciles de entender en inglés. 🥴
Many religious scholars have described the Baha'i faith as being essentially an off-shoot of Shia Islam. Baha'is bridle at this suggestion and insist it is a universal religion that fulfills the promises of all the major religions. Yet, as far as I know, neither the Bab or Baha'u'llah ever mention, or indeed seem to be aware of, any teachings or prophets outside of the Semitic religious lineage. I wonder why that is.
Thanks for asking, CAT. Here is our response. "The basic problem was lack of vocabulary; the word for "Buddha" in Persian meant "idol," there was probably no word for Krishna that any Persian would recognize, and there would have been no terms for "Hinduism" or "Buddhism" probably until late in the 19th century. Those English words were invented in the early 19th century at the time Hindus and Buddhists had no words to stand for their religions. Indeed, it took some time for western scholars to realize that the "Buddha" of India and Sri Lanka and the "Fo" of China and Japan were the same person (that's how "Buddha" came to be pronounced in Chinese). The one time someone wrote Baha'u'llah about the "Hindu" and "Mahabadian" prophets (Tabernacle of Unity, page 19 - reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TU/tu-4.html) the man asked a complicated question Baha'u'llah chose not to answer, partly because there was no such thing as Mahabadian prophets. This was an obscure idea of 18th and 19th century Zoroastrians in India of uncertain origin, now rejected and ignored by them. This shows the problem: there was almost nothing certain for the Bab and Baha'u'llah to comment on, little common vocabulary to utilize, no questions for them to answer. Western Baha'is were able to ask `Abdu'l-Baha about Krishna and Buddha, about Hinduism and Buddhism, in the early twentieth century because western scholars had done research, published books, developed common vocabulary, and come to consensus about what had happened in India in the past." -Wilmette Institute
@@WilmetteInstitute Jesuit missionaries to Asia such as Francis Xavier and Ippolito Desideri sent back detailed accounts of Buddhist doctrines and practices in the early 16th century. The Buddha may have been known by different titles, but his actual name Siddhartha Gautama was known and could have been referenced by the founders of the Faith. By the 18th century, with the availability in the west of Buddhist texts in both Sanskrit and Pali, Buddhist studies were quite advanced. Sir Edwin Arnold's book about the Buddha "The Light Of Asia" was published in 1879 and was well-known and very popular, and the Theosophical Society was promoting the religion and both leaders Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott had converted.
Now it seems that if Baha'u'llah is to be understood to be the Maitreya Buddha, he would have been both able and willing to expound occasionally on that connection, whether anyone asked questions about it or not. Even when we get to Abdu'l-Baha, he seems to refer to the Buddha as a "wise man" only, and it's actually not until Shoghi Effendi that the Buddha is included in the list of Manifestations. I honestly find the notion that this is all due to a "lack of vocabulary" puzzling. But I do appreciate you taking the time to reply to my question. Be well.
Not a Bahai, but it could just be that it doesn't really matter. The message of Bahaullah is what was important (one religion and one humanity), not finding and naming every Manifestation (especially if the Manifestations have been around for as long as humans have, about 2 million years). Also, Bahaullah himself recognizes Zoroaster as (or implies that he is) a Manifestation. Zoroastrianism was not a Semitic religion. Just my two cents
@@gorgzilla1712 Hmm, I thought I heard that Zoroaster had some connection with Abraham as a descendant or relative. Maybe I misunderstood.
@@c.a.t.732 Frankly, I don't think He needed to talk about that since there were few if any Buddhists among the people that questioned Him. He is the Fifth Buddha, the Buddha of Universal Fellowship, whose name (Husayn) means Kindness. Aside from all that, I thought it was interesting that the first American president of African descent had the same name as Bahá'u'lláh (Husayn), which, again, means Kindness. We had a president whose middle name was (and still is) Kindness. 😊
Qu'ran that I finally settled with, is Muhammad Asad's, Message of The Qu'ran Chapter 13 made me see Muhammad as a Messenger.
Reading in Arabic makes Quran much more intimate
He was not a prophet of God at all
Who was not a Prophet?
If you're talking about Bahá'u'lláh, please share your reasons why you reject Him. For someone who was "not a prophet of God at all," He sure made a lot of prophecies that came true! But hey, up to you. We all have to decide for ourselves what to believe.
@@wendyscott8425 because hadith and quran says so
@@freedomforthebrave Sorry, but that's not evidence. Considering that all the people who accepted the Bahá'í Faith in its earliest days were Muslims, they apparently disagreed with you. I have had friends over the years who accepted the Faith who had been Muslims, devoted ones, both Sunni and Shi'ih. One friend of mine was horrified hearing about the claims of Bahá'u'lláh and took two years studying and comparing His claims with the teachings of Islam, and he became a devoted Bahá'í. But believe what you like. We all have to make up our own minds about these things.
@@wendyscott8425 prove me wrong that prophet Muhammad pbah was not the last of prophets and messengers I'll wait