gdp's Comments

Baha’i Rants : Time for Ruhi to Show Us the Money: Part II

Sat, 30 May 2009 22:37:16 +0000

Amado wrote: you can’t teach what you know – only what you are Yes Amado, I agree with you; I have seen everything you describe and even worse. These are mistakes from people who would have been completely inactive without the institute. We sometimes have fun laughing at postings with examples mistakes students and even teachers make in their school work; this doesn't mean we have to close down schools, but proves how badly we need them.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Sat, 30 May 2009 12:16:19 +0000

Grover wrote: …you have a compulsive need to comment on absolutely everything, probably indicating an obsessive compulsive disorder. Interesting comment, Grover. In fact you might be suggesting another way of spelling the word LOVE that can be considered as an obsessive-compulsive behaviour: http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060120_lov... http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-an... The difference between a BEHAVIOUR and a DISORDER is what determines if we need psychiatric assistance. If a behaviour is correctly harmonised with a fruitful way of life, it is an asset. If it becomes counterproductive and destructive to ourselves, our families and society, it becomes a disorder. We can say that the love of Christ was destructive to his physical self and family, but a great asset to humanity.

Baha’i Rants : Predicting the Future of Iran

Sat, 30 May 2009 06:10:50 +0000

The future of Iran has been the subject of an Internet poll that estimates 3.4% of women and 3% of men between 20 and 29 consider themselves as Baha'is: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/2437

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Thu, 28 May 2009 15:04:21 +0000

Craig wrote: there are other people and other communities of people on this planet that are FAR MORE ADVANCED SPIRITUALITY than the Baha'i Community? Farhan: This might well be so, but what we need is to confederate all these wonderful people into one common enterprise. Craig: Why can' t you see this truth? You need to get out more Farhan: I am doing just that, Craig, travelling all around the planet, oceans and country side; I am far less in contact with the Baha'i community which I see as very different from the one you describe. I also happen to evaluate what I see in the light of God's revelation and I realise that it is in the Baha'i community that I encounter the widest possible scope of acceptation.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Thu, 28 May 2009 11:49:26 +0000

Most of us have an imbalance, Grover, and this is what makes us search, advance and evolve. A permanently balanced person is static or regressing, if not dead.

Baha’i Rants : Corruption and Espionage at the Indian NSA

Thu, 28 May 2009 09:59:38 +0000

Frank, some people on this list suggested that ALL the Baha'is from Iran should flee to the USA. That would officially make some 300 000 souls, although a recent poll establishes that 3% of 20 to 30 age group in Iran call themselves Baha'is, which would make some 2.5 million Baha'is, only in that age group.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Thu, 28 May 2009 09:50:42 +0000

Once again, Baquia, the Faith is not an enterprise for scientific education which we are expected to acquire elsewhere as a necessary complement to our spiritual development, but an enterprise for developing our spiritual capacities. What I expect from the UHJ is not to to be a substitute for my intellect, but to guide my intellectual efforts into fields that are a priority for humanity at this time. Some of Hands of God were indeed illiterate but recognised the vital need for spiritual development. I suggest you look up the need for SQ development : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danah_Zohar And as I suggested before, left-brain right-brain issues: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_tay...

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Thu, 28 May 2009 09:32:10 +0000

Baquia, the discussion between us is like that of a gardener complaining that his flowers are withering, the plants drooping and the leaves turning yellow, and yet finds it irrelevant when he is told that all this is a lack of water for which he will need pipes, geologists for finding water, machines for digging the well and electricity for pumping the water. I am telling you that all the problems that assail humanity are due to a lack of spirituality, and we need much more EQ and SQ in the administrative order, and you would believe that we need more IQ and PHDs on the UHJ.

Baha’i Rants : Teaching vs. Proselytizing: UHJ Letter

Thu, 28 May 2009 09:22:40 +0000

Thanks, Nikhil, I entirely agree with your vision of teaching, which is permeated throughout the Institute Process, even though some years back, some inexperienced new-comers in the field of service did adopt attitudes of superiority that have been entirely quenched by now.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Wed, 27 May 2009 23:46:02 +0000

Baquia, knowledge is of two kinds; one is factual and rational knowledge which are highly praised in the writings as a pathway to God, and the other is emotional or affective knowledge which is the realm of culture, faith and religion. Science accepts these two capacities that are measured by the IQ and the EQ (or AQ). It’s all about the left brain and the right brain, about the tears of joy and the tears of pain I presented some time back. Danah Zohar and Ian Marshal (Bloomsbury editions) even go further and introduce the spiritual intelligence (SQ) which is our capacity to develop our own EQ. We can disharmony between the two: those lost in their dreams and superstitions, and those prisoners of their rationale and lacking empathy and emotional expertise. Back to your biology class, I would be as offended by the students comments on my expertise, than he would be if I made comments on his love affairs.To my understanding, the Baha’i institutions are not a reference for scientific knowledge and never pretend to replace them. They work in close collaboration with science and erudition, and consider these as tools for the wellbeing of humanity which need the EQ to canalise and harmonise them for the wellbeing of humanity and not for domination. Their area of competence is affective knowledge and the canalising of Divine Revelation to all humanity. My professional expertise is of the first category, and since my medical thesis in 1976, I am in a constant endeavour for harmonising the two.I am not a “Ruhi fan” and for practical reasons, which I regret, Ruhi has been only a small part of my activities, but after a few years of thought and search, I have become totally convinced that the Institute Process is a fantastic machine for developing the EQ and the SQ.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Wed, 27 May 2009 08:56:23 +0000

“Therefore, it is clear that creation is purely good. Consider that the worst of qualities and most odious of attributes, which is the foundation of all evil, is lying. No worse or more blameworthy quality than this can be imagined to exist; it is the destroyer of all human perfections and the cause of innumerable vices. There is no worse characteristic than this; it is the foundation of all evils. Notwithstanding all this, if a doctor consoles a sick man by saying, “Thank God you are better, and there is hope of your recovery,” though these words are contrary to the truth, yet they may become the consolation of the patient and the turning point of the illness. This is not blameworthy. (SAQ Chapter 57)

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Wed, 27 May 2009 08:55:10 +0000

As for the framework of my profession that is closely defined by legal and deontological rules, I clearly avoid telling an untruth to my patients although I find ways of avoiding providing a patient with information he has not asked for. I am sometimes very uncomfortably trapped by inadequate information that my colleagues or the family have provided. As to Abdul’l-Baha’s words in the context of explaining that God has not created “evil” and that “evil” is relative to our intent and purpose, I have no guidance to provide for the inderstanding of the words from SAQ chap 57

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Wed, 27 May 2009 08:54:43 +0000

Craig asked: Let's put the Ruhi Guidance as the New Worldwide Sacred Top Down Word of God into play here. What do you do in this situation: lie or tell the patient the truth? Craig, first of all Ruhi is the exact opposite of a “Top own Word”. When you establish a curriculum for imparting teaching skills to school teachers, you will require a standard simplified basis on which the students can then build up their own research and accomplishments. It is necessary that some formal framework should be provided so as the students might acquire skills for a “bottom-up” collective enterprise under the harmonizing guidance of institutions.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Wed, 27 May 2009 08:52:47 +0000

Craig asked : Please give an example of a "practical implication" of the writings as the principal basis of consultation whenever "the community" is faced with a question? Farhan: For example, an LSA will provide guidance on how to conduct door to door invitation to activities so as not to violate the rules of independent search for truth by providing actual quotes and not relying on the opinion of some outstanding Baha’i.

Baha’i Rants : Fahrenheit 145

Wed, 27 May 2009 07:12:46 +0000

Grover, there is nothing shameless in asserting that in a religion that has abolished priesthood, the Institute Process is designed for providing basic theological skills at grass roots, which in fact undermines power issues brought up by self-appointed experts in Baha'i theology who would guide and purify the Baha'i community, including the elected supreme body. This is "the great reversal" announced by all the religions of the past and by Tahirih in Badasht.

Baha’i Rants : Predicting the Future of Iran

Tue, 26 May 2009 13:47:34 +0000

Baquia, the blog is functionning quite well now with Internet Explorer; congratulations for your efforts.

Baha’i Rants : Allah or God?

Tue, 26 May 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Thanks Matt for this contribution; there is a further bias in translating the Quran. When i see the phrase "la illahi elallah" translated by "There is no God but Allah", I see a misleading bias that tends to say that the God of Islam is a different one from ours. The translation should either be “there is no God but God” or “there is no Allah but Allah”. It is like writing here “there is no God but Dieu”, implying that the French believe in a different God than the Anglo-Saxons.