The first in the series Bahá'í Studies, John Walbridge's Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time is an exploration of several areas of the sacred in the Bahá'í Faith, including:

* Bahá'í law and its background; * The rites of life and death -prayer and worship, fasting, purity and funeral laws; * Bahá'í teachings on wealth, including inheritance and the Huqúqu'lláh; * Pilgrimage, Bahá'í shrines and holy places; * Mystical writings of Bahá'u'lláh; * The Bahá'í Calendar; * Bahá'í Festivals

John Walbridge was born in Illinois and grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He holds a BA in Near Eastern Languages from Yale University and a PhD. in Near Eastern Languages with a specialism in Islamic philosophy from Harvard University. For seven years he was the General Editor of the Bahá'í Encyclopaedia and for two years assistant editor of the Encyclopaedia Iranica. He is presently Associate Professor of New Eastern Languages and of Philosophy at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Dr Walbridge is the author of The Science of Mystic Lights: Qutab al-Din Shirazi and the Illuminationist Tradition in Islamic Philosophy and the translator of The Storm, The Beloved and two volumes of poems and stories by Kahlil Gibran. He is also the editor and translator (with Hossein Ziai) of Suhrawardi's Philosophy of Illumination, published by the Brigham Young University Press.

The Hidden Words is one of the most important works in Bahá'í literature and one of the most beautiful. Diana Malouf's Unveiling the Hidden Words is a study of the translation of the Arabic verses of the Hidden Words by Shoghi Effendi who was uniquely placed to render the words of Bahá'u'lláh into English of outstanding beauty and charm.

Dr Malouf examines Shoghi Effendi's translation in light of certain 'norms' - for example, to render the text elegantly, to make the translation enduring and to highlight its eloquence. In her study Dr Malouf

* reviews the life of Shoghi Effendi and his preparation for his work as translator of the Bahá'í writings; * considers the nature of the Hidden Words itself as a literary work; * describes the goals and challenges of translating any work from one language into another; and includes an appendix providing translations made by different translators of 20 Arabic Hidden Words, demonstrating Shoghi Effendi's mastery of the art.

Irfan, edited by Moojan Momen

This volume in the George Ronald Bahá'í Studies Series brings together the work of a number of outstanding international scholars of the Bábí and Bahá'í religions. A selection from papers presented at the first two Irfán Colloquia, the volume focuses on the theme of 'scripture and revelation' and considers such subjects as: * The Validity and Value of a Historical Critical Approach to the Revealed Works of Bahá'u'lláh; * Prophecy in the Johannine Farewell Discourse: The Advents of the Paraclete, Ahmad and Comforter (Mu'azzí); * Daéná-Dén-Dín: The Zoroastrian Heritage of the 'Maid of Heaven' in the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh; * The Love Relationship between God and Humanity: Reflections on Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden Words

Bahá'í perspectives on Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Everyone is aware of and concerned about conflict. Many conflicts have proved resistant to traditional methods of containment and resolution, and this has stimulated the search for more innovative, more comprehensive and more fully human approaches to dealing with conflict.

This volume of the George Ronald Bahá'í Studies Series reflects an effort by a group of scholars from around the world, united by common convictions, to contribute to this search.

From Adversarialism to Mutualism in an Age of Interdependence

How can social change come about? Is it possible to have democratic government without political parties? Can we have a productive economy without unfettered and aggressive competition? How can social and ecological ills be addressed without resorting to a 'culture of protest'?

Adversarialism has become the predominant strand in contemporary western- liberal societies. Throughout the contemporary public sphere, competitive and conflictual practices have become institutionalized norms.

In his analysis of contemporary society, Michael Karlberg puts forward the thesis that our present 'culture of contest' is both socially unjust and ecologically unsustainable and that the surrounding 'culture of protest' is an inadequate response to the social and ecological problems it generates. The development of non-adversarial structures and practices is imperative.

Dr Karlberg considers various historical and contemporary expressions of mutualism, including expressions within feminism, systems theory, ecology and environmentalism, communication theory and alternative dispute resolution, and presents a case study of the Bahá'í community and its experience as a working, non-adversarial model of social practice. The prescriptions and practices of the Bahá'í community provide a viable and workable alternative to the culture of contest.

Michael Karlberg is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Western Washington University. His research and writing focus on the relationship between communication, culture and conflict. He also teaches in the area of 'critical media literacy', helping students understand the ways that we are influenced by, and can also influence, our mass mediated cultural environment.

The papers are: * The God of Bahá'u'lláh, Moojan Momen; * Seeing Double: The Covenant and the Tablet of Ahmad, Todd Lawson; * The Sufi Stages of the Soul in Bahá'u'lláh's The Seven Valleys and Four Valleys, Julio Savi; * The Bahá'í Faith and Higher Biblical Criticism, Robert Stockman; * African Traditional Religion A Bahá'í View, Akwasi O. Osei; *

African Traditional Religion and the Bahá'í Faith, Enoch Tanyi; * Monotheistic Religion in Africa: The Example of the Swazi People, Margaret and Crispin Pemberton-Pigott; * The Bahá'í Approach to Other Religions: The Example of Buddhism, Moojan Momen; * Common Teachings in Chinese Culture and the Bahá'í Faith From Material Civilization to Spiritual Civilization, Albert K. Cheung; * The New Age Phenomenon and the Bahá'í Faith, Zaid Lundberg; * The Báb's Epistle on the Spiritual Journey towards God, Todd Lawson.

A new volume in the Baha'i Studies Series, including:

Agriculture and Religion: A Necessary Unity, Paul Hanley; Agriculture in the World’s Religions: An Overview, P.J. Stewart; This Vital and Important Matter: A Survey of the Bahá’í Writings on Agriculture, Paul Hanley; The Involvement of the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith in Agriculture, Iraj Poostchi; A Perspective on Food in the Bahá’í Faith, Paul Fieldhouse; Rethinking the Management of Small Rural Businesses, Michel P. Zahrai; Reinventing the Village, Gary Reusche; The Genetic Modification of Crops: A Bahá’í’s Perspective, Paul Olson; Igi Oko: The Tree Farms at Sapoba, Nigeria circa 1927, Richard St Barbe Baker; Strengthening Local Economies and Community Identity: FUNDAEC’s Experience, Pascal Molineaux; Balancing Science with Inspiration: A Bahá’í Scientist’s Struggle to Discover the Hidden Secrets of Restoring Corals and Fish to Degraded Coral Reefs, Austin Bowden-Kerby; Gardens for Mongolia: Growing the Capacity of Mongolia’s Families

The Mongolian Development Centre, Five Project Summaries; An Investment for Well-being: Restoring the Agricultural Environment on Bolivia’s Altiplano, A Tanzanian School Promotes Self-reliance, Rural Education in Northern Honduras, Ineke Gijsbers; Felin Gelli Rural Training Farm, Ineke Gijsbers; EcoAg Service: Farm Apprenticeships For Youth, Nancy E. McIntyre; The Garden Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb: An Interview with the Architect, Fariborz Sahba.

‘Rhett Diessner has presented us with a wonderful collection of articles that no student of psychology and spirituality can afford to miss. They range from discussing action research to seven-stage theories of spiritual development in Middle-Eastern religious literature, and a critique of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development from a Bahá’í perspective. The seminal contribution of his work is a theory of the appreciation of beauty as the foundation of moral and spiritual development. Freud used the Oedipus myth as a metaphor for the development of a psychology of love in which the limitations of jealousy and self-destruction are never fully overcome. Diessner’s stunning conclusion is to use the Bahá’í writings to explore spiritual dimensions of the myth of Psyche and Eros as a root metaphor for spiritual transformation in which the negative forces of the personality, though powerful, do not ultimately prevail, but are transcended in the final union of love and beauty.’

John Davidson PhD, School of Psychology, University of Tasmania

‘The first book of its kind, Diessner has managed to lay a dialectical Bahá’í-scientific foundation for the psychological study of the spiritual lives of people. Lucid in its prose, inching forth theory from keen insight, Bahá’í scripture and scientific literature, Professor Diessner’s debut book is a must read.’

Timothy Richel, Masters in Cognition & Education, University of Washington

‘Professor Diessner’s varied and profound contributions to a Bahá’í-inspired, spiritual psychology will prove useful to generations of researchers and theoreticians from a variety of cultural backgrounds. That a single author has written so insightfully and so well on so many themes that animate the concerns of psychologists and psychiatrists around the world is a testament to the scope and depth of Professor Diessner’s illumined mind.’

Michael Penn, Professor of Psychology, Franklin & Marshall College

‘This enlightened volume offers a glimpse into the kind of psychology that will come to be the mature fruit of the emerging integration of scientific and spiritual understanding in the 21st century – a psychology that speaks holistically and with philosophical and conceptual rigour, depth and consistency about the harmonizing of behaviour, character, inner experience, and the complex needs of a global society. In an age of scientism, Diessner’s work has a rare Renaissance quality to it. It builds expertly and seamlessly on state-of-the-art psychological research, infusing it with a profoundly innovative approach to the study of moral and esthetic development, the role of will from an eastern and western perspective, the interdependent lifelong development of knowledge, love, and will, and the beauty and complexity of the human psyche. His work is enriched by a luminous quality of wisdom, as well as fully-developed cross-cultural and aesthetic sensibilities. It represents integrative research of a new order, of tremendous practical significance in education – an invaluable resource for educators, students of psychology, and social scientists.’

Elena Mustakova-Possardt, author of Critical Consciousness: Study of Morality in Global Historical Context

Contents

The Image of the Manifestation as the Ontological Basis for a Bahá’í Psychology: Oneness as Absolute Oneness and Oneness as Unity-in-Diversity

Action Research

Developmental Psychology Made New: Glimmerings from Spiritual Psychology

Western and Middle Eastern Developmental Stage Theories

Selflessness: Congruencies between the Cognitive-Developmental Research Programme and the Bahá’í Writings

Differentiating Spiritual Principles from Kohlbergian Moral Principles: A Bahá’í Interpretation

Beauty and Moral Education (with a Chinese Flavour)

The Psychology of Beauty as a Foundation for Moral Education

Differentiating Physical, Social and Spiritual Aspects of Emotions

The Psychology of Materialism and Moral Development: Overcoming the Root Cause of Racism and Nationalism

The Myth of Psyche and Eros: An Interpretation Based on Correlates in the Bahá’í Writings

Volume 1- Doctrinal Fundamentals

This major study is an attempt to analyse the underlying structures and detect the interior architecture of the Baha'i moral system and is a step towards developing a Bahá'i moral theology. This volume, the first of two, provides a historical overview of the Baha'i Faith, a systematic survey of its doctrines, and an overview of the origin and the derivation of moral values. It considers the metaphysical nature of human beings and human responsibilities, looks at reason and conscience, and explores liberty and its limits.

The second volume (forthcoming) deals with concrete values - the virtues, divine commandments and principles of social ethics from a Baha'i perspective.

Nineteen writers, including four Hands of the Cause of God and others who met Shoghi Effendi, combined to produce this beautiful exposition of the life and work of the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. Published by the Association of Bahai Studies. Canada. ISBN:0-920904-24-6. Softcover ; 234 pages. sixe: 15 x 23 cms. weight: 400gms.

A practical examination of the idea that all people are planners and can benefit from the example of Shoghi Effendi’s worldwide plans. With a foreword by Anna C. Vakil and a map hand-drawn by Shoghi Effendi

by Nader Saiedi .

Nader Saiedi’s meticulous and insightful analysis identifies the key themes, terms, and concepts that characterize each stage of the Báb’s writings, unlocking the code of the Báb’s mystical lexicon. Gate of the Heart is a subtle and profound textual study and an essential resource for anyone wishing to understand the theological foundations of the Bahá’í religion as well as the Báb’s significance in religious history.

by Julio Savi

During his sojourn in Sulaymaniyah in the 1850s Bahá’u’lláh came into contact with eminent Sufi leaders. In the Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, epistles revealed for two of them, He sets forth the foundations of a renewed spiritual path. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá described the Seven Valleys as ‘a guide for human conduct’.

This major new study focuses on the historical, doctrinal and literary background of the Seven Valley and the Four Valleys, and on Bahá’u’lláh’s revision of Sufi concepts in the light of the teachings of His new Revelation.

Part 1 explains aspects of Sufi doctrine important for an understanding of Bahá’u’lláh’s two epistles.

Part 2 looks at literary works by Sufi saints, philosophers and poets quoted by Bahá’u’lláh, provides background to the stories and legends mentioned, and comments on aspects of Bahá’u’lláh’s allegorical language.

Part 3 offers a concise analysis of philosophical and theological themes touched on, comparing Sufi doctrine with the explanations given by Bahá’u’lláh both in the epistles and in later writings.

Part 4 addresses the mystical paths described in the two epistles, with the intention of encouraging personal insights. ‘The Bahá’í Faith is essentially mystic in character,’ writes Shoghi Effendi. ‘Its chief goal is the development of the individual and society, through the acquisition of spiritual virtues and powers.’

Comprehensive lists of quotations in the Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys from the Qur’án and the Traditions are given in the Appendices.