Andre verdensreligioner

A clear translation and helpful explanations illuminate this ancient classic of self-cultivation for a modern audience.

'This is a Day for very great things.' - 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Howard Colby IvesHoward Colby Ives's book Portals to Freedom has been loved for over eight decades by its many readers who have been touched by its pen portraits of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. But not many know the story of his wife Mabel Rice-Wray Ives, whose dedication to the Bahá'í Faith made her a powerhouse in her own right, developing a method of public speaking that proved highly successful. Together, they formed a powerful team, giving up house and home for 20 years to travel across the United States and Canada in their desire to be of service to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. They taught the Bahá'í Faith in at least 74 communities in 26 states and three Canadian provinces, frequently sent to different areas by the National Teaching Committee, and although they missed each other terribly they never refused these requests. Most of this book is based on the over 900 letters sent by Howard and Mabel Ives or those received by them, including 17 Tablets from 'Abdu'l-Bahá and 28 letters from Shoghi Effendi, many published here for the first time. Their letters to one another are full of the details of their hopes and their struggles, the places they went and the people they met. When they were apart for any length of time - which was often - they would write almost daily to each other. What unfolds, apart from the details of their activities, is the deeply loving relationship between them, the encouragement and advice they offered one another, and their homey conversations about their living situations, money (always in short supply), and expressions of hope for the next time they would be together. Woven brightly throughout this personal correspondence between husband and wife is the humility of their service, their utter devotion to the Cause they strove to serve with every breath, and their commitment to continually growing spiritually along with daily examples of their constant sacrifices. They did, indeed, accomplish 'very great things'.

The Treasured Guide to Spiritual Growth and EnlightenmentThe Secret of the Golden Flower is an ancient Chinese text, passed on for centuries, in which Taoist mystics reveal the path to true enlightenment. The first written version was believed to have originated with Lü Dongbin, a legendary scholar, poet, and spiritual master. This remarkable and important work, first published in the United States in 1931, is Cary F. Baynes's elegant English translation of sinologist Richard Wilhelm's 1929 German translation of the original Taoist texts. This edition includes insightful philosophical commentary by psychologist Carl Jung which helps explain the metaphysical aspects of the text, providing valuable insights for westerners.In the text, symbols for light represented awareness, which is normally directed outward toward externals. The method of redirecting one's consciousness inward towards the self through a straightforward form of silent meditation and breathing was known as "turning the light around." Through this process of channeling energy beyond the limits of the discriminating intellect, one's psyche-indeed, one's fundamental being-can gradually open and blossom into an awakening of the mind and spirit. The result can be metaphorically pictured as a bright "golden flower" mandala, representing the rewarding end goal of a personal alchemy of inner transformation. The simple method described has been called "Zen with details." Like a practical workbook for achieving enlightenment, this clearly written meditation manual explores foundational techniques to experience elevated states of consciousness. It is nothing less than a spiritual seeker's road map to discovering the secret to peace of mind. This book is also available from Churchill & Dunn in hardcover (ISBN 1648374077).

Offers an innovative analysis of gates-as architectural components, visual images, and mental constructs-in early Chinese thought and material culture.

Guru Nanak Dev founded the Sikh Faith and was succeeded by Nine Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Kartik Pooranmashi, the full-moon day in the Indian month of Katak [Kartik in Hindi], October-November every year.Guru Nanak travelled far and wide spreading the message of an uncompromising Monotheism grounded in One [Peerless] God who dwells in the hearts of all creatures and has Truth as His Primal Attribute. He established a unique holistic faith of spiritual, social, and political realities based on equality, love, justice, peace, and virtue. His Revelation [I have named Creative Mysticism in my second PhD] is preserved in 974 shabads [hymns] in the sacred scripture of the Sikh Faith, Sri Guru Granth Sahib [SGGS]. The Sikh Bible contains, among many things, his major prayers such as Japuji, Asa di Var, and Siddha-Gosht. An inviolable tenet of the Sikh Faith is that the soul of Guru Nanak's sacrosanctity, divinity, and religious authority was infused into each of his nine successors when they were admitted to his Spiritual Ministry.The genesis, growth, worth, and perennial relevance of the Sikh Faith began with the birth of the founder Guru Nanak Dev in 1469 CE to the death of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708 CE. This period coincided with the establishment and consolidation of the Mughal Empire in India. The Mughal rulers followed the policy of oppression and persecution that the Sikh Gurus fiercely opposed and even sacrificed their lives to uphold the fundamental human rights grounded in the recognition of the intrinsic goodness and dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family such as equality before law, freedom of speech and expression, freedom to practise religion, and freedom to seek justice through peaceful and legal means.

¿This edited book explores stories of linguistic and spiritual identity in the urban and rural Australian landscape. It is an innovative mix of thirty six personal narratives and eleven research studies, which together offer accounts of the intersection of languages, religion and spirituality in people¿s lives. Teachers of Indigenous languages speak of the critical connection between language revitalization, the spirituality of Country, and well-being. Both new and long-established diaspora individuals speak of the often complex but vital joint role of language and faith in belonging and heritage. The new dimension which the book brings to multilingualism is relevant to all complex global societies. Language and Spirit is ideal for both the general reader interested in community languages and interfaith issues, and academics in global intercultural studies and Applied Linguistics study wishing to gain a nuanced insight into the Language and Spirit intersection.

The violent conflicts of recent decades in Southwest Asia, North Africa and adjacent regions are often read in terms of the conventional parameters of an international order of sovereign nation states. However, in recent years, non-governmental armed forces have emerged to play an increasingly significant role in the political, social and military fields of the region. These forces are usually analyzed as isolated actors, operating in their respective local or regional spheres, without attention to wider structural commonalities. The aim of this volume is to examine these groups not only as military actors, but also as forces of social significance, indicative of substantial historical shifts relating to notions of sovereignty, beyond the usual prioritization of the state. Comparing the nature, operation and discourses of such forces allows for new understandings of their social impact, beyond common reductionist approaches of securitized worldviews and essentializing lines of inquiry centered on religion.

1. A General Introduction to the Qayyum al-Asma'Muhammad Afnan (translated by Omid Ghaemmaghami) 2. The Commentary on the Sura of JosephNosratollah Mohammadhosseini3. Khutbat al¿iftikharIntroduced and translated by Khazeh Fananapazir4. Colours in the Writings of the BabVahid Rafati (translated by Omid Ghaemmaghami)5. A Grammar of the Divine: Solecisms in the Arabic Writings of the Bab and His Thoughts on Arabic GrammarWilliam F. McCants6. Secrets Concealed by Secrets: Taqiyya as Arcanization in the Autobibliographies of the BabJ. Vahid Brown7. The Surat adh-Dhikr of the Qayyum al-Asma' (chapter 108): A Provisional Translation and CommentaryMoojan Momen8. The Surat al-'Abd of the Qayyum al-Asma' (Chapter 109): A Provisional Translation and CommentaryTodd Lawson9. The Khutba al-Jidda (The Literary Sermon at Jeddah) of the BabStephen Lambden10.Muhammad Shah Qajar in Four Early Writings of the BabSholeh A. Quinn11.A Youth of Medium Height: The Bab's Encounter with the Hidden Imam in Tafsir Surat al-KawtharOmid Ghaemmaghami12.Phenomenology of Occultation and Prayer in the Bab's Sahifiy-i Ja'fariyyihNader Saiedi13.The Bab's Panj Sha'n (Five Modes)John Walbridge14.Undermining the Foundations of Orthodoxy: Some Notes on the Bab's Sharia (Sacred Law)Armin Eschraghi15.Concealment and Burial of the BabTranslated and annotated by Peter Terry16. Collusion and Re-creation: Dogen and the Bab as Interpreters of ScriptureGary Fuhrman

Discover the path to your authentic self and embrace your true identity with these insightful teachings from celebrated author and spiritual luminary Alan Watts. In this collection, Watts displays the intelligence, playfulness of thought, and simplicity of language that has made him so perennially popular as an interpreter of Eastern thought for Westerners. He draws on a variety of religious traditions and covers topics such as the challenge of seeing one’s life “just as it is,” the Taoist approach to harmonious living, the limits of language in the face of ineffable spiritual truth, and the psychological symbolism of Christian thought. Throughout, he shows how our true self is never to be found anywhere other than this very life and this very moment.

This Handbook explores the ways in which religion among the African people has been applied in situations of conflict and violence to contribute to sustainable peace and development. It analyzes how peacebuilding inspired and enabled by religion serves as the foundation for sustainable development in Africa, while also acknowledging that religion can also be a tool of destruction, and can be used to fuel violence and underdevelopment. Contributors to this volume offer theoretical discussions from existing literature, as well as experiences of practitioners, to deepen the readers¿ understanding on the role of religion and religious institutions in peacebuilding and development in Africa. The Handbook provides reflections on possible future developments as well, thereby aligning with the goals of SDG 16.

The Routledge Handbook of Islam in Asia offers both new and established scholarship on Muslim societies and religious practices across Asia, from a variety of interdisciplinary angles, with chapters covering South, Central, East and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa-Asia connections.

An experiential journey into shamanism as a spiritual path and the teachings of plants, animals, and Nature

An exploration of Indigenous cosmology and history in North America

An exploration of the development of the Bahá'í community of the British IslesThe British Bahá'í community has been in existence since 1899 and its elected national leadership council, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom, was first elected in 1923. Although a number of monographs, articles and biographies have appeared over the years, no overall survey of the community's history has yet been published. The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles, 1844-1963 is an attempt to fill some of the gap.The book begins with the earliest news about the new religion which reached the British government through diplomatic and consular channels and the British public through newspaper articles as early as 1845. During the late 19th century, there was a rising tide of awareness of the Bábí and Bahá'í religions in Britain.Although one or two Bahá'ís were in Britain from 1885 onwards, a British Bahá'í community did not form until two residents of London joined in 1888-9 the first party of western Bahá'ís to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of Bahá'u'lláh, in the Holy Land. 'Abdu'l-Bahá made two visits to Britain and received widespread newspaper coverage. Prompted by British Bahá'ís, the British government made efforts to save 'Abdu'l-Bahá during World War I and recognized the value of his work in the Holy Land, knighting him after the war.'Abdu'l-Bahá chose Britain for the further education of his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, who was his successor. Britain was among the first three countries to form in 1923 a National Spiritual Assembly. In 1957 Shoghi Effendi passed away in London and is buried there. The British Bahá'í community was chosen to host the first Bahá'í World Congress, held in London in 1963, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the announcement by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, of His mission. During this Congress, some of the earliest meetings of the Universal House of Justice took place in London, which are the only occasions on which the Universal House of Justice has met outside the Holy Land.In the years between the early accounts of the Bahá'í religion and the events of 1963 there developed a small but vibrant community across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. This book tells the fascinating, and little known, story of the lives of many of these early followers, how they came to hear of the religion, their efforts to spread it to others, the struggles they faced, the goals they strove to achieve, their efforts in Africa and around the world to share their religion with others, their steadfastness and their victories. Their successes were greatly praised by Shoghi Effendi. The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles, 1844-1963 was conceived by the late Adam Thorne, who spent over two decades collecting material on the history of the Bahá'í community of the British Isles. Moojan Momen is the author of numerous books and articles about the Bahá'í Faith and related subjects, most recently two volumes on the history of the Bahá'í communities of Iran.Janet Fleming Rose is the author of A Seed in Your Heart: The Life of Louise Mathew Gregory.Earl Redman is the author of a number of books on the Bahá'í Faith, most recently Agnes Baldwin Alexander: Hand of the Cause of God, with co-author Duane Troxel.

Early Zoroastrianism was transmitted orally, as is now generally accepted by scholars. There is no consensus, however, regarding the implications of that insight. The few scholars who have referred to the question so far generally based their approach on the assumption that academic theories on orality are valid for all forms of oral transmission, which is demonstrably untrue. Moreover, whilst progress has been made on individual aspects of Avestan texts, the early history of Zoroastrianism as such has received scant attention in recent decades.Philip G. Kreyenbroek has combined an almost life-long study of Zoroastrianism with empirical research on the oral traditions of two modern Iranian religious groups. In this book he applies his first-hand knowledge of the workings of oral transmission and his familiarity with early Zoroastrian priestly practices to extant Avestan texts in order to uncover their history in the light of their earlier oral transmission. Taking into account a number of recent discoveries by other scholars, the work arrives at new conclusions about the genesis and early development of the Zoroastrian tradition.

"The Blue Cliff Record, a twelfth-century collection of Ch'an (Zen) koans, is a treasure of world religious literature. Like any such text, it operates at several levels: it is a remarkable example of classical Chinese literature and poetry; it is a philosophical text of profound power; and it is an active practice guide in use by Ch'an and Zen Buddhists all over the world. In this innovative rendering, renowned translator David Hinton pares the Chinese original down to its earliest and most essential version-the sangha-cases (koans) and brief poetic responses (or gathas, meaning a Buddhist "sutra-poem") compiled by the great master Snow-Chute Mountain (Hsèueh Tou, 980-1052). In doing so, he brings the reader closer to the Taoist cosmological framework that lays at the foundation of the entire Ch'an tradition-revealing a whole new understanding of this seminal text. In these one hundred classic koans, beginners will discover a strange, funny, and provocative world of quixotic exchanges and penetrating insights, and longtime koan practitioners will find themselves challenged anew by Hinton's masterful translations"--

This book portrays a comprehensive account of the religion of the Báb. It provides a systematic overview of the Báb's teachings as well as His laws and ordinances. An easy-to-read book bringing together many aspects of the religion of the Báb that are not easily found elsewhere. It also shows the extent to which the Báb's laws have been carried forward into the Bahá'í Revelation.

In a world that often denies the reality of death, The Tao of Death unveils a universal truth - in understanding and embracing our mortality, we unlock a fuller, richer experience of life. Inspired by the ancient, mystical verses of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, which translator Stephen Mitchell describes as "one of the wonders of the world," this adaptation is a transformative journey into the heart of existence. Driven by a profound personal connection with the ebb and flow of life, hospice physician Karen Wyatt reveals the joy and wisdom that emerges from confronting our greatest fear. In Bhutan, once named the happiest place on Earth, thinking about death is a daily practice. Can contemplating the impermanence of life be the key to true happiness? Dive deep into this unique exploration of life, death, and the intertwining of their paths.Just as the ancient Tao Te Ching speaks of harmony and balance, this book calls readers to find harmony between life and death, to live with purpose, love, and a deep sense of gratitude. Whether you're seeking solace, understanding, or a renewed zest for life, The Tao of Death serves as a luminary guide. "Life is precious because it is brief and fleeting. Embrace death, and you uncover the secrets to a life of meaning and depth."This is more than just a book; it's an awakening. Dive in, and let the wisdom of ages illuminate your journey.