The Journey West Podcast – Episode 9: No True Happiness and Progress Without Spirituality

The Journey West podcast celebrates the centenary of Abdu’l-Baha’s travels to Egypt, Europe and North America in 1911-1913. Each episode features a reading of one of Abdu’l-Baha’s talks, as well as dramatized stories and historical accounts. Each episode concludes with a discussion of the talk that was featured. 

In this episode, we hear about a talk given by Abdu’l-Baha on November 21, 1911 about true happiness and progress. He says, “I want to make you understand that material progress and spiritual progress are two very different things, and that only if material progress goes hand in hand with spirituality can any real progress come about, and the Most Great Peace reign in the world. If men followed the Holy Counsels and the Teachings of the Prophets, if Divine Light shone in all hearts and men were really religious, we should soon see peace on earth and the Kingdom of God among men.” You can find out more about the context of that talk, as well as who helped put this podcast episode together, on The Journey West website here.

All episodes of the Journey West can be listened to or downloaded here: soundcloud.com/bahai-blog/sets/the-journey-west-podcast

Be sure to check out the homepage for these podcasts. You’ll find a treasury of articles about Abdu’l-Baha, the historical context surrounding His travels, and tributes to early believers: www.thejourneywest.org

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.