Baha’i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson – Episode 67: Penn Badgley

Hello and welcome to the Baha’i Blogcast with me your host, Rainn Wilson.

In this series of podcasts I interview members of the Baha’i Faith and friends from all over the world about their hearts, and minds, and souls, their spiritual journeys, what they’re interested in, and what makes them tick.

In this episode, I’m joined by my dear Baha’i friend and award-winning actor, Penn Badgley, known for many roles, including the TV series ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘You’. Penn tells me about his upbringing, his spiritual journey, and becoming a Baha’i. We talk about being a celebrity and issues around the ego and injustices that exist in society. He tells me about his appreciation of rap music and indigenous culture, and how the Baha’i Faith has inspired his work. We discuss social media, participation in the discourses of society, the power and importance of encouragement, and he leaves us with a story about Abdu’l-Baha. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

To find out more about some of the things we covered in this episode, check out the following links:

* The Universal House of Justice

* Shoghi Effendi

* Abdu’l-Baha

* The Bab

* Baha’u’llah

* QUOTE: “As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Baha’i community at the present stage of its evolution. The ceaseless exertions which this issue of paramount importance calls for, the sacrifices it must impose, the care and vigilance it demands, the moral courage and fortitude it requires, the tact and sympathy it necessitates, invest this problem with an urgency and importance that cannot be overestimated.” -Shoghi Effendi

* QUOTE: “Into such a period we are now steadily and irresistibly moving. Amidst the shadows which are increasingly gathering about us we can faintly discern the glimmerings of Baha’u’llah’s unearthly sovereignty appearing fitfully on the horizon of history. To us, the “generation of the half-light,” living at a time which may be designated as the period of the incubation of the World Commonwealth envisaged by Baha’u’llah, has been assigned a task whose high privilege we can never sufficiently appreciate, and the arduousness of which we can as yet but dimly recognize.” -Baha’u’llah

* QUOTE: “…an enlightened man of wisdom should primarily speak with words as mild as milk…” -Baha’u’llah

* QUOTE: “Know ye the value of this time. Strive ye with all your hearts, raise up your voices and shout, until this dark world be filled with light, and this narrow place of shadows be widened out, and this dust heap of a fleeting moment be changed into a mirror for the eternal gardens of heaven, and this globe of earth receive its portion of celestial grace.” -Abdu’l-Baha

* BOOK: The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy by Rainn Wilson

* An Introduction to The Seven Valleys

* BOOK: The Seven Valleys by Baha’u’llah

* The Promise of World Peace – Message from the Universal House of Justice, October, 1985.

* Article about ‘The Promise of World Peace’: The Promise of World Peace & Me

* Baha’i Pioneering

* Study Circles and the Training Institute

* Ruhi courses

* What is the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program? (JYSEP)

* Penn’s Podcast series: PODCRUSHED

* What is Baha’i Pilgrimage?

* QUOTE: “The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.” -Baha’u’llah

* Prayer and the Baha’i Faith

* The Importance of Service in the Baha’i Faith

* Meditation and the Bahaʼi Faith

* Learn more about Abdu’l-Baha and the commemoration of the Centenary of His passing here: The Mystery of God

You can find all of our episodes here on the Baha’i Blogcast page, and be sure to ‘subscribe’ to the Baha’i Blogcast for more upcoming episodes on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Soundcloud.

Thanks for listening!

-Rainn Wilson

Posted by

Naysan Naraqi

Naysan is passionate about using the arts and media to explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Back in 2011, Naysan started up the Baha’i Blog project, channeling his experiences in both media and technology companies to help create a hub for Baha’i-inspired content online.