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No. 518

BAHA’I YEAR 131

MAY, 1974

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Tributes to heroic sacrifice, Page 11

Faith expands in Chile, Page 6

A profile of Juliet Thompson, Page 15

[Page 0] page one

page eleven

page fifteen

CONTENTS

Around the World
Believer joins Indian Council	2
Jamaica active in using radio	3
Panama Temple gets cleaning	4
Faith expands in Chile	5, 6, 7
Geyserville holds final session	9
Tributes to heroic sacrifice, by A. Q. Faizí	11
A profile of Juliet Thompson, by O.Z. Whitehead	15

COVER PHOTO

The Hands of the Cause of God residing in North America while attending recent conference in Wilmette with National Assembly; from left to right: Mr. John Robarts, Mr. ‎Dhkru’lláh Dhikru’lláh‎ Khádem, and Mr. William Sears. story page?

PHOTO AND DRAWING CREDITS

Cover: Mark Tanny; Pages 11 and 12: The Bahá’í World, Vol. V, 1932-34; Page 14: Dr. David Ruhe; Page 15: National Bahá’í Archives, Wilmette, Illinois; Pages 16, 17, and 22: Al Burley; Page 21: Juliet Thompson, I, Mary Magdalene, Courtesy of National Bahá’í Archives, Wilmette, Illinois.

POSTAL INFORMATION

Bahá’í News is published for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community.

Bahá’í News is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee.

Material must be received by the twenty-fifth of the second month preceding date of issue. Address: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091, U.S.A.

Change of address should be reported directly to Membership and Records, National Bahá’í Center. 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. U.S.A. 60091.

Copyright © 1974, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

[Page 1]

Around the World

Australia

Sydney affirms UN declaration

A special service was held in the Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the signing on December 10, 1948, of the Declaration of Human Rights by the member states of the United Nations.

Among the guests were members of the National Spiritual Assembly, representatives of the Continental Counsellors, and officials of the United Nations. The Australian Bahá’í interest in this momentous celebration was given excellent newspaper coverage throughout the country.

In all, sixteen Bahá’í communities in Australia conducted programs on this special day. They ranged from seminars and lectures to concerts, film programs, and even an open-air prayer meeting by candlelight.

Interview show explores Faith

In Melbourne, Australia, the Bahá’í Faith was introduced to the audience of a popular television program, “No Man’s Land,” by a reporter who presented probing questions with courtesy and sympathy. To help her prepare for her interview and her introductory remarks, she was invited to spend an evening with a Melbourne Bahá’í family. The sensitive program which she produced subsequently included shots of the House of Worship in Sydney, filmed specially for this program.

Mr. Michael Bluett, a student at the Australian National University in Canberra, the nation’s capital, sits at the controls of the campus radio station, preparing for the weekly Bahá’í broadcast. For some time, the Bahá’í students at the university have produced a ten-minute fireside for Radio A.N.U.’s Sunday afternoon “Religious Hour”. They have considered it an effective way to reach a sizable group of students and teachers.

Ecuador

Indians to get own literature

The Cayapa Indians, who dwell in the Ecuadoran province of Esmeraldas, can now read Bahá’í literature in their own Cayapa language. The National Assembly of Ecuador recently announced the achievement of this significant goal, noting their particular satisfaction that the task was accomplished by a native believer who obtained the help of a sympathetic Cayapa Indian in translating a Spanish-language pamphlet. As Cayapa is not a written language, an oral translation was recorded phonetically to produce the new and welcome pamphlet.

“The first few Cayapas accepted the Faith late in the Nine Year Plan and have shown marked spiritual capacity,” a report of the National Assembly said. “We are overjoyed at having this little booklet available in Cayapa for use in the deepening and consolidation work among these delightful people.”

Hawaii

Hilo will host twenty nations

More than twenty countries—among them the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and several African nations—will be represented at the Bahá’í International Youth Conference in Hawaii, August 4-8. The Hawaiian National Assembly has encountered a sustained and world-wide interest in attending this conference and has already once extended the registration deadline.

The Hand of the Cause of God Abú’l-Qásim Faizí will represent The Universal House of Justice at this event. Other Hands of the Cause will attend, among them Mr. William Sears and Mr. Dhikru’lláh Khádem. Representatives

[Page 2] of the Continental Counsellors and the Auxiliary Boards will also be participating.

The conference will be held at the Civic Auditorium in Hilo, Hawaii. It will begin with a traditional “luau”, as part of a scheduled “Unity Feast”, on August 4. The conference will start officially on the evening of August 5, after a day-long guided tour of such island attractions as the Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes, and the snowcapped Mauna Kea, the highest peak in the Pacific.

A public meeting during the conference will feature Seals and Crofts, the popular singers from the United States. Post-conference proclamation events will be held throughout the Hawaiian islands.

A conference fee of $40 will be collected from each person attending. The fee will cover transportation from the airport to the hotels on arrival, and car fare back to the airport at the close of the conference; transportation to and from the conference site; a tour of the island of Hawaii; a Hawaiian “luau”; noon and evening meals during conference sessions; and registration. Hotel costs for each person (with a room occupancy of three to four people), will range from $30 to $60 per night.

International travelers must first land in Honolulu, then make a connecting flight to Hilo airport.

India

Message taken to Andamans

Two traveling teachers recently spent three weeks in India’s Andaman Islands, approximately 400 miles west of Burma, in the Bay of Bengal. They were successful in presenting the Teachings of the Faith to most of the leading people in Port Blair, the principal city, including the island’s Chief Commissioner, who administered the territory for the Indian government.

The visitors, Mr. and Mrs. Chaterjee, were entertained during their stay by the Bishop of the Andamans, who enquired about the Faith and extended every possible assistance and courtesy.

A Spiritual Assembly CANARY ISLANDS—The Local Spiritual Assembly of Arucas, Gran Canaria island, Canary Islands. The members of the Assembly are, standing from left to right: Mrs. Kaye Sullivan; Mr. Pat Sullivan (the Sullivans previously pioneered in Antogonish, Nova Scotia); Miss Prudence George, from England; Mrs. Heidrun Schmoller, from Germany; Mr. Batoul Taheri, from Iran; Mr. Horst Schmoller, born in Chile. Seated, from left to right: Mrs. Issa Taheri, from Iran; pioneer from Spain, name not known; Mrs. Miriam Margolies, from the United States.

“It was really a miracle of Bahá’u’lláh to find ourselves being entertained in the Bishop’s house on Christmas day, and at his invitation, discussing the Faith with his other guests,” the Chaterjees reported to the National Assembly of India.

A cooperative proprietor of a local bookshop allowed the couple to display Bahá’í books in his store. A presentation of books was made to the college library in Port Blair. Newspaper interviews were arranged, and a thorough presentation on the Faith was made to a group of wives of government officials.

The purser of the ship on which the Chaterjees traveled, a noted Bengali author, renewed an interest in the Faith which had been kindled on an earlier voyage by an Australian Bahá’í. In one of his books this writer mentioned the Bahá’í Faith and told of his first encounter with it.

“He became very friendly and invited us to his cabin for tea each day and we talked about the Faith,” the Chaterjees reported. “In addition, we spoke to many of the passengers about Bahá’u’lláh.”

Honduras

Believer joins Indian council

A National Indigenous Institute was recently formed in Honduras to consider ways of channeling assistance to the nation’s Indian population. The

[Page 3] individuals chosen to serve on the panel were prominent Hondurans, from an assortment of professional backgrounds. Only one foreigner was selected: Mrs. Wanita M. George, a pioneer to Honduras, and a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.

The appointment was in apparent recognition of her years of service to the Jicaque Indians of Montaña de la Flor, Honduras. She has visited the Jicaque Reservation regularly for thirteen years. On each monthly visit she takes a mule load of handwoven baskets back to the city to market for the tribe.

A Honduran journalist, also appointed to the indigenous institute, recently devoted much of her column in a leading national newspaper to a discussion of the Bahá’í belief in unity. “Bahá’ís value and look out for the welfare of the Indians,” she said.

Italy

Exhibit tours Italian cities

Italy’s first traveling Bahá’í exhibit is proclaiming the Faith to thousands of Italians in major centers. Known as the “Mostra di Perugia”, this lively display

A portion of the exhibit

of photographs and maps, captions and quotations, quickly communicates the history and teachings of the Faith to the curious visitor.

At an art gallery in Scandicci (see photos), a workers’ town in Tuscany, the ten-day exhibit daily attracted students, merchants, and civil servants. Every visitor read Edvard Benês’ tribute to the Faith, saw photographs of the Shrine of the Báb and Bahá’í temples, and studied the latest world statistics of the Faith. The majority stayed to discuss the objectives of the Faith with the Bahá’í youth on duty.

This mobile proclamation, designed and assembled by the Bahá’í youth of Perugia, has been shown during the past year in a dozen Italian cities, including Venice, Catania, Cagliari, Pisa, Livorno, Mantova. At Scandicci, the reaction to the exhibit was typified by a local painter:

“Most Italians don’t have the patience to listen to another man’s ideas on religion, but this show tells you a lot, quickly and painlessly.”

Jamaica

Jamaica active in using radio

A series of twenty half-hour radio programs on the Bahá’í Faith were recently produced by the National Assembly of Jamaica, and were broadcast during a five-week period beginning February 12, Monday through Thursday, at 12:30 A.M.

“The impact of the radio program was extremely encouraging,” the National Assembly reported, “especially the response received from the rural areas, where radio has a wider audience than in city centers where television is available.”

Although few direct enquiries were received, Bahá’í travelers in rural areas were frequently asked when the radio series would be resumed, the National Assembly said. “It is felt that still further progress could be made within the limits of the twenty broadcasts if the time allotted to us was earlier than midnight,” the National Assembly noted. “Had it not been for the time factor, we feel that a larger audience would have been reached. It is evident, however, that the radio program experience was a worthwhile one.”

The National Assembly observed that more might have been achieved had manpower been available in rural areas to capitalize on the interest created by the broadcasts.

Children’s classes PARAGUAY—Children’s classes in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, with pioneer and teacher Mrs. Josephine Johansen.

The Assembly has offered to supply copies of its scripts to other national communities interested in exploring the uses of radio for proclamation and deepening.

[Page 4] Belize

Radio program six years old

For almost six years, the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize produced a monthly fifteen-minute radio program to proclaim the Faith in this Central American Republic, and to deepen the knowledge of the Bahá’ís themselves. The program, featuring a panel discussion on what were considered timely and relevant issues, became a valuable tool for heightening the public interest in the Bahá’í Teachings, as well as enhancing the prestige of the Cause of God in Belize.

A report from the National Assembly of Belize received at the World Centre in March, stated: “You will be happy to hear that beginning the first Wednesday in October, the radio program ‘The Bahá’í Viewpoint’ will be heard every Wednesday at 9:30 A.M., instead of only monthly as in the past.”

Panama

Color show on Faith telecast

A one-hour color television program about the Bahá’í Faith was recently broadcast on the major network in Panama City. The content of the program was organized by Continental Counsellor Paul Pavón of Ecuador.

An international, interracial group of Bahá’ís took part in the program. The panel included Cuna Indians, Panamanians, Costa Ricans, Ecuadorans, and North Americans.

The two-year-old Panama Temple.

The television time was offered by the vice-president of Panama City’s Channel 4 during an interview with the National Assembly’s Publicity Committee. He proposed that Counsellor Pavón be interviewed along with other Bahá’ís during a popular half-hour afternoon program.

When the guests were already assembled and Mr. Eduardo Frangias, the interviewer, was ready to begin taping, word came that the program was to be expanded to one hour. An urgent consultation among the Bahá’ís produced the decision that the film on the dedication of the Panama House of Worship would be shown in the additional time granted. But it was promptly discovered that only the English version of the film was available. Mr. Pavón was forced to provide a simultaneous translation into Spanish of the film’s narration, which from Panamanian accounts was accomplished brilliantly.

During the remainder of the program, each Bahá’í guest was introduced, and a number of them answered questions posed by Mr. Frangias (who later suggested taping additional programs in the future). Some of the questions: “What do Bahá’ís believe?”, “What does the Bahá’í Faith offer the world?”, “What are North Americans doing in Panama for the Faith?” A number of songs were performed as well.

The station reportedly received calls for several days from viewers requesting additional information about the Bahá’ís.

Panama Temple gets cleaning

The dome of the two-year-old Panama Temple, discolored by a dark mold growing in the grout holding the ceramic tile chips in place, recently got its first good bath. The mold developed as a consequence of the torrential rains and accompanying humidity common to the area for months each year.

A platform on rubber tires was constructed to give the maintenance crews maneuverability atop the dome. It was anchored to the cupola support posts with plasticized cables.

From the platform, the mold was sprayed with a high-grade cleaning solution. A coat of concrete sealant was added afterwards, which is expected to keep the tile free of further growth for many years.

[Page 5]

Chile

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

Structure in the garden park of Lota Alto, one of the communities visited by Chilean teachers (a); descending from Lota Alto to Lota Bajo is rough but panoramic. Coal is mined from the ocean floor and it is not uncommon to find beaches strewn with coal stone (b); the central plaza of Valdivia (c); secretary of Chilean National Assembly drafting letter to be given to authorities in cities visited by teaching project (d); Miss Consuelo Muñoz, a member of the teaching team, answers questions for an inquirer in Valdivia plaza (e).

[Page 6]

Faith grows in Indian region

A CAMPAIGN TO EXPAND and consolidate the Bahá’í Faith among the Mapuche Indians in their mountain lands outside Temuco in south central Chile was undertaken in late January by the National Spiritual Assembly at the close of a Bahá’í Youth Congress in nearby Nueva Imperial. Teams of National Assembly members, some adults and a large number of youth, opened twelve new areas to the Faith in this rich agricultural region, enrolling 136 new believers.

Temuco itself has no Bahá’ís. It is one of the more active economic centers in southern Chile as well as the center for the South American Missionary Society and the American Baptists who conduct a number of public schools there. The Indians in outlying areas use the city as a market for their textiles and other products.

Encouraged by the results of teaching in the region, the National Assembly is considering ways of conducting intensive follow-up programs. “The chances to open more the Mapuche zone have always been there,” the National Assembly noted in a report on the campaign, “but we think that now we must take the opportunity and enable hundreds of these waiting souls to enter the Faith.”

Professor aids teaching work

WHILE SPENDING A MONTH in Chile on academic business recently, Dr. ‘Ishrat H. Naqví, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Saskatchewan in Regina, Canada, placed his free time at the disposal of the National Assembly for teaching and other Bahá’í work. Having received a good deal of advance notice, the National Assembly was able to develop an impressive itinerary for Dr. Naqví, taking full advantage of his exceptional talents.

In Santiago, Dr. Naqví gave an address on the relation between science and religion at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. He was interviewed before his talk by the Catholic University’s television news team. The film was broadcast the following evening during an 8 P.M. telecast.

Among the 70 people in the audience for his talk was the Mayor of La Cisterna, a municipality adjoining the capital Santiago. The Mayor was given a number of Bahá’í books by the National Assembly. A few nights later Dr. Naqví gave a talk in La Cisterna itself. The Mayor was again among the guests.

Teaching team tours country

IN LATE MARCH, another team of Chilean teachers traveled more than 300 miles in a two-week period, visiting six cities in the south. This time, 32 new believers were enrolled by the nine-member team, among them university students, farm laborers, housewives, and office clerks.

Fourteenth National Convention CHILE—The Fourteenth National Convention of Chile was held in Valparaiso April 26-28. Shown in the photograph are visitors and delegates from coastal Iquique in the north to the seaport of Punta Arenas in the south. The principal topic for discussion was the Five Year Plan. The National Assembly announced it had scheduled two conferences in June to launch the Plan. One was to be held in Santiago, the national capital, the second in Valdivia, a provincial capital in south central Chile.

At some locations, crowds of as many as 200 people gathered to hear of the Bahá’í Faith. The teaching trip was organized with the help of Continental Counsellor Masu‘d Khamsi, who assisted in developing guidelines for the project. It was financed with a contribution from the Hand of the Cause Rúḥíyyih Khánum.

The trip began in Concepción, Chile’s second major seaport; it ended in Chiloe, the lush, still-offshore Pacific island that influenced many ancient Indian legends.

[Page 7] a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

More than five hours of free radio time was given to Bahá’ís on teaching project (a.); Bahá’ís participating in teaching project (b.); direct teaching in the plazas (c.); pier leaving the mainland near Puerto Montt for the island of Chiloe (d.); Continental Counsellor Masu’d Khamsi left giving Bahá’í books to the Mayor of Concepcion second left (e.).

[Page 8] Participants in the May 26 conference at the National Bahá’í Center in Wilmette.

United States

Assembly holds historic talks

An historic conference to brief the members of major Bahá’í institutions in North America on the measures adopted to execute the Five Year Plan was held by the National Spiritual Assembly in Wilmette Sunday May 26.

Present at the conference in addition to the members of the National Assembly were the three Hands of the Cause residing in North America (Mr. Sears, Mr. Robarts, and Mr. Khadem); the four members of the Continental Counsellors for North America (Miss True, Dr. Pereira, Mrs. Sherrill, and Mr. Gardner); the members of the Auxiliary Board; and representatives of major committees of the National Assembly.

It was the first time in the development of the Faith in the United States that representatives of all these institutions came together to discuss aspects of the teaching work. Intended primarily to inform the members of the Auxiliary Board of the steps to be taken in launching the new Plan; this conference signalized, according to the National Assembly, a new phase in collaboration among the preeminent Bahá’í institutions in this country.

It was also seen as the first implementation of an October 1, 1969, recommendation of The Universal House of Justice that the Counsellors and Auxiliary Board be well informed of the plans of the National Assembly. In that message outlining the relationship between the Continental Counsellors and the National Assemblies, the Supreme Body said: “It is the Spiritual Assemblies who plan and direct the work, but these plans should be well known to the Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members because one of the ways in which they can assist the Assemblies is by urging the believers continually to support the plans of the Assemblies.”

At the close of this conference, the National Assembly said future meetings with these institutions would be scheduled to keep them informed of developments in the implementation of the Five Year Plan. The Assembly called this particular meeting “the fifth stage in the launching of the Five Year Plan in the United States.” The stages were explained in the National Assembly’s annual report:

“The release of the Naw-Rúz message from the Supreme Institution sounded the bugle call; the initial discussions involving two Hands of the Cause, all four Counsellors, and the National Spiritual Assembly constitute the rousing of the chief officers; the National Convention, the display of the colors; the post-Convention Conferences, the diffusion of field officers; the anticipated joint meeting of the Continental Counsellors, National Assembly members, Auxiliary Board members, and National Teaching Committee members in May, the issuance of operating orders; and the St. Louis Conference, the complete call to arms—the mobilization of all detachments of the Army of Light toward the conquest of their assigned objectives.”

During one session, the members of a new National Bahá’í Youth Committee are introduced.

Temple opened earlier in day

Since Ridván, the House of Worship in Wilmette has opened daily between 8-10 am to allow the friends to gather to read and to chant the Holy Word. Previously, the House of Worship opened at 10 am.

The decision to extend the hours during which the Temple is open for use was made by the National Spiritual Assembly to respond in an effective way to the Five Year Plan goal of developing the distinctive characteristics of Bahá’í society.

In amplifying its explanation of this goal of the Plan, the Supreme Body explained that one distinctive characteristic would be the gathering of the believers daily between dawn and two hours after sunrise to listen to the reading and chanting of the Holy Word.

The new hours would serve to align the activities of the House of Worship more closely with its essential purpose, the National Assembly said.

No formal devotional program is organized

[Page 9] on a regular daily basis. The friends are free to read or chant the Sacred Scriptures if they feel moved to do so.

On Holy Days however the National Assembly has instructed that a formal devotional program be conducted. In addition, on these special days the House of Worship is to be opened as close to dawn as possible.

As of May 1, the workday at the National Bahá’í Center was scheduled to begin a half-hour earlier than it had before. The staff was to report at 8:30 A.M. rather than 9:00 A.M.

Mr. Dan Yazzie

Unity affects Indian visitor

Mr. Dan Yazzie, a Navajo medicine man who hosted a large Bahá’í proclamation on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona last July, was one of the many visitors to the 65th National Bahá’í Convention in Wilmette last April 25-28. Mr. Yazzie first encountered the Faith in 1971 and has since taught many people on the reservation where he is an honored and respected tribal leader.

Mr. Franklin Kahn, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, translated Mr. Yazzie’s remarks during an interview at the National Bahá’í Center. Although he did struggle to understand the proceedings in English, Mr. Yazzie said he could grasp the spirit and motive of the consultation. He said the need for a universal auxiliary language was very clear and that Indian youth should strive to become proficient in English. Mr. Yazzie studied English years ago but has since forgotten much of it.

He was pleased to meet other Bahá’ís and said he was impressed with the unity, sincerity, and enthusiasm of the delegates. The Convention was unique in his experience of political and religious meetings because Bahá’ís were highly motivated in achieving their goals, he said. Mr. Yazzie felt this was a great accomplishment.

At the close of the interview, he expressed thanks “to the leaders who planned the meetings” and said he would take his impressions of the Convention to his people to educate and uplift them with the spirit he felt at this Convention.

School holds final session

About 80 people attended the final session of the Geyserville Bahá’í School April 5-8, conducted at a rented

The main lodge and swimming pool on the Bosch School property.

facility near Santa Cruz, California. Upon completion of its spring session, the renowned school quietly ended its activities after almost 50 years of service to Bahá’ís in the western United States.

The Geyserville school’s 80-acre campus was located near the Russian River, 90 miles north of San Francisco. It was purchased by the State of California in January 1973 to facilitate a highway expansion project. The school’s subsequent academic sessions were continued—until its closing April 8—in rented facilities in the Santa Cruz area.

Village friendship Kenya-Bahá’í teachers and friends in the village of Gatimu, Kenya.

Geyserville has been replaced by the new 67-acre John and Louise Bosch Bahá’í School located sixteen miles from Santa Cruz on the north end of

[Page 10] One of the many double cabins provided for visitors to the school.

Monterey Bay. The Bosch school will be dedicated in early July and will begin operations during the summer months. John and Louise Bosch, distinguished early believers who were present in the Holy Land when the Master died in 1921, donated the Geyserville property to the Faith in the 1920’s. The Boschs met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His journey to America in 1912 and served Him faithfully until His passing.

In its final report to the National Bahá’í Schools Committee, the Geyserville School Council said: “We pray that success upon success will follow the future education programs at the new Bosch Bahá’í School. We thank the Bosch trustees for the opportunities given us to serve in the past, the National Bahá’í Schools Committee for their guidance in our work, and the many teachers who have served so well and lovingly in past years.”

The theme for the final spring program was “The Station of Man”. The courses sought to deepen the understanding of students on their station as Bahá’ís and to prepare them to be better able to teach the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

Among the instructors at this final session were Auxiliary Board member Fred Schechter, who lectured on the session’s theme; Dr. Amin Banani, who spoke on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; Mrs. Violette Haakes and Mrs. Nura Ioas, who formed a team for a two-hour lecture on the Holy Family, emphasizing the station of its women members. Continental Counsellor for Western Asia Iraj Ayman, who arrived at the school unexpectedly, shared impressions of teaching in his part of the world and assisted Dr. Banani with his class on the Aqdas. A 27-member choral group called The Welcome Change gave a one-hour recital of their music during a balmy Sunday afternoon.

The new Bosch school near Santa Cruz encompasses large stands of redwood, fir, oak, and madrone, extensive areas of open rolling land, and a small lake. From several vantage points on the property, set at an elevation of 2000 feet, the Pacific Ocean is clearly visible five miles away.

The main building has a dining hall for about 70 people, a fully equipped commercial kitchen, an expansive lobby, a game room, a snack bar, and locker rooms for the heated, filtered 30-foot by 60-foot swimming pool on the property. There are, in addition, ten individual cabins (nine with fireplaces), three duplex cabins, and three separate homes on the new campus.

Negotiations for the purchase of the Bosch school began in January 1973. They were completed eleven months later.

Switzerland

Party held for Hand of Cause

A FAREWELL PARTY for the Hand of the Cause of God, Dr. Adelbert Mühlschlegel, was recently given by the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland and the country’s 25 Local Spiritual Assemblies. After a long residence in Switzerland, Mr. Mühlschlegel moved to Germany in December, where he took up residence near the House of Worship in Frankfurt.

Mr. Mühlschlegel was given a suitcase-full of presents by his hosts (one present from each Spiritual Assembly) to demonstrate the affection of the entire Swiss community. Most of the gifts were humorous items. The Spiritual Assembly of Binningen, for example, gave him “a bottle of Binningen air” to take back to Germany. Several poems were written and recited, including one by Dr. Mühlschlegel himself. (See poem below).

To The Friends in Switzerland

The heavens are radiant and the mountains beckon;

The seas are luminous and the meadows are in flower.

O would that I could forever drink of this beauty!

But never does life hold out to us the glitter of promise

for all the wishes that glow in our hearts.

Soon you, dear land, will have disappeared from my sight—

you healer of the sick, the depressed.

As once our Guardian here too will they be healed.

Like his, our hearts will be forever bound to you;

our souls breathe lovingly, cheered by true friendship,

those noblest sentiments that life can give us

in happiness and sorrow.

A beacon in this dark mill of fate,

which sheds a glorious light on our terrestrial tumult and into the unknown to all eternity.

O Thou Heaven-ordained power of Unity,

which lovingly embraces all opposition in Thy purity, bless this land

and teach its souls Thy tenderness, which ever understands, ever forgives and is merciful!

We roam afar yet here remain at home.

Though we long tarry at firesides abroad,

in hearts and spirit we remain one; that this perplexed, hate-ridden,

tangled world may become a paradise—

and we serve, serve...

[Page 11]

Tributes to Heroic Sacrifice

A colleague recalls the achievements of
The Hands of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker
and Keith Ransom-Kehler

By A.Q. Faizí

Impressions of Mrs. Ransom-Kehler

“... whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers ...”

Bahá’u’lláh
(Gleanings, p. 320)

What an ecstasy and holy rapture to be in the presence of the beloved Guardian. To every pilgrim, it was a state of spiritual enchantment that could only be obtained in his presence. Wonder, awe, and reverence were awakened in his visitors by his dignified and exalted personality. Days passed like swiftly gliding rivers but the sweet memories of those hours of pilgrimage remained vivid and unstained by the erosions of time, returning to mind again and again with undying gratitude and affection.

It was during my last pilgrimage on the first day of my arrival in Haifa while walking on the slopes of Mount Carmel that the Guardian expressed sorrow because of the passing of a “valiant martyr and a virtuous peer,” Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler.

Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler

With intense longing, she had gone to visit the homeland of Bahá’u’lláh and with unabated determination had done her utmost to open a way for the entrance from the West of Bahá’í literature into Persia and for mitigation of the oppressions suffered by her fellow believers. She suffered grave disappointments and defeats; finally, in Isfahan, physically exhausted, she succumbed to smallpox and died a few hours after its onset.

The Guardian spoke on that walk of how great a teacher, how eloquent a writer she had been. [He then very lovingly made mention of Marzieh Khánum and said that she wrote like Mrs. Ransom-Kehler, instructing me to send a warm letter to her on his behalf. He expressed sorrow because none of the promises given by the Persian authorities to Mrs. Ransom-Kehler were ever fulfilled. In his boundless blessings, he termed her the first American martyr in Iran and an ember from the fire of the love of God. We walked on.

Then, as if the veils of time and space had been parted so that he might behold horizons far away, the Guardian, after a long moment of silence, said the funeral of Mrs. Ransom-Kehler had been a very important event in Isfahan. The Bahá’í friends had followed her coffin with the deepest respect. The inhabitants of the city had stood on both sides of the main streets down which the cortège had traveled. Taken by surprise, they related to each other that a great American teacher had passed away in their city. The Guardian’s description was moving and wonderful, one to bring tears of pride and sorrow.

Before my pilgrimage ended, the Guardian sent me a large envelope. It contained a large leaf onto which flowers of varying sizes and colors were pressed in a very beautiful design. He instructed me to take this gift of love to Isfahan and there to lay it upon the grave of Keith Ransom-Kehler, martyr.

What a painful moment when one finally had to leave the presence of

[Page 12] Shoghi Effendi. With tears in my eyes and the darkness of all the disappointments of the world in my heart, I bade him goodbye and departed for Damascus from Haifa to proceed through Iraq into Persia. It was a long journey; and in those days the great hazard lay in the crossing of the trackless desert between Damascus and Baghdad. A single car dared not traverse the wastes lest it break down or be irretrievably lost. Therefore, in Damascus I waited until such time as at least six cars would form a caravan driving together for safety.

When finally the little caravan assembled, we set out through that lifeless, empty, boundless space which was the picture of my own heart, devoid of hope and happiness. How could

Bahá’ís of Isfáhán gathered about the casket of Keith Ransom-Kehler.

it be otherwise when it had been so swiftly taken away from the mountain of God, the abode of the sign of God on earth? And now crossing the bleak wastes at night the moon, the stars, the whole firmament looked upon me from above as if conscious of the emblem of love which I was honored to bear to its recipient. No marks, no traces of paved roads, no river or little hills showed where we were, yet the cars sped onward. I wondered how the drivers would ever reach their destinations safe and sound. “How do you find your direction?” I asked our driver; “There is no sign here.” Said the driver, pointing first to the desert sands then smiling to the sky “In the desert that star is our guide.” It was the polar star toward which he gestured, and I was strengthened, consoled, made meditative looking at that star like a diamond nail fixed forever, holding together the firmament. What happens I pondered when we Bahá’ís fix our gaze upon him whose light followed the Master? Never, never will we be lost in the trackless wastes of our lives if we live by the Guardian’s direction.

Three days before the Bahá’ís of Persia were to hold their annual meetings to commemorate the martyrdom of the Báb, I reached Isfahan. The friends informed of my coming looked eagerly forward to the arrival of the Guardian’s great gift. The Local Spiritual Assembly of Isfahan invited all the friends to congregate in the Bahá’í cemetery on the day of the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb to pay tribute to the American woman who had died in their city on October 23, 1933.

On that wonderful, tragic, memorable day of the Báb, groups of the friends proceeded from their villages and from the city of Isfahan itself to the Bahá’í graveyard outside the city limits. Meanwhile, the news sped round the Muslim community that the Bahá’ís were making a visit to the grave of the foreign woman who spent “all her yesterdays” in the promotion of the Cause of peace and love, the Bahá’í Faith. The people understood only that she, the stranger, was to receive a great posthumous honor, a prize never sought but won through her great spirit and sacrifice. With confused feelings, they watched the Bahá’ís exulting in this important event. Gathering on the roofs of their houses and on the minarets of their mosques, they felt the irrepressibility of the Faith and the failure of their fight against its aims. They could not quite believe this wonderful spectacle of the Bahá’ís daring to gather in solemn march, in spite of all that had happened to them, in honor of a noble woman from America. For it had not been too many years since their fathers had witnessed the martyrdom of the two brothers, Hasan and Ḥusayn, gloriously entitled “The King of Martyrs” and “The Beloved of Martyrs.” To them that bloody event signalized the end of the dangerous Faith with which the two brothers were affiliated and for which they offered their lives. The Isfahanis, as so many others in Persia, wondered at the speed with which the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh had spread, so amazingly, from the East to the West; a process exemplified by this American woman buried in the environs of their city. The hearths of men’s hearts would ever burn for this union which already Bahá’u’lláh had visibly created.

Assembling then in silence about the grave in the cemetery, the Bahá’ís raised their unspoken praise of her whom they had come to honor, perhaps in poetic words such as these:

“For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths...

For you, they call the swaying mass their eager faces turning ...”

Not for them the empty gestures of which so often we read in our newspapers when men of politics, of military affairs, or of mundane importance place wreaths on the grave of some “unknown soldier,” summoning up all manner of ceremonies for such an occasion: guards of honor, soldiers, and bands for music, all in rows to excite the hearts of people by their guns, drums, and bugles. What are all these for but to honor soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for man’s brutality when he is farthest from God; honor offered too late to young men

[Page 13] Who went under fire, enduring all manner of atrocities to win “a handful of dust,” yet without a godly objective to sanctify their sacrifices. By contrast, our martyr Keith Ransom-Kehler had a heart lit with the celestial fire. She offered her life, not for savagery but for the promulgation of peace and the establishment of the kingdom of love on this earth; well-known here in this mortal world, she was far better known in the realms of the martyrs. And the simple Bahá’í men and women who assembled about her grave were people who many times had been sorely tried in the fires of oppression, never faltering nor fleeing. Never had wealth or luxuries been distinguishing features of that beloved steadfast group; instead, they were imbued with the noble ideals of their great Faith, suffering the oppressive and vindictive actions of a malevolent Persia in silence and resignation, whether young or aged, new in the Cause or old in its beliefs.

These true people stood in two rows about the grave, watching with eager eyes the precious gift as it was carried to its final place of honor. In the solemn stillness the drops of tears which were fast rolling down their pale faces were the best songs from their hearts, the fittest words to express their appreciation for those days and months of heroine Keith’s ardent labor, those long nights devoid of ease that she had spent in the service of the Faith in their country.

Then the day was done, and the darkness fell from the wings of night. There flashed into my heart a feeling of joy mingled with a sense of the beloved Guardian’s presence, such that my soul could scarcely resist. Would that my pen could express the thoughts and feelings awakened in the friends at that high moment of a great day of honor to an inimitable Bahá’í soul. Full of the meaning of that hour, the friends silently left the cemetery to return to their abodes, numbed by the ecstasy awakened in their hearts, full of the tenacity of their devotion reawakened.

As they departed from the graveyard, leaving the flowers in tribute on the resting-place of their much-loved American sister, was it possible that the ever-smiling Keith Ransom-Kehler might take the flowers to her breast in the ethereal realms, for the approbation of her fellow martyrs?

Mrs. Dorothy Baker

Dorothy Baker: “Martyr Pilgrim”

The beloved Guardian initiated the first International Conferences in 1953. The Bahá’í communities throughout the world were moved and thrilled, and those who could travel made their way to one or more of these Conferences.

The one held in India was the most picturesque. A great variety of colorful dresses added beauty and atmosphere to the assemblage of friends who were seated under a large tent, in semicircular files. East and West met each other in perfect unity and mutual understanding. People of different colors with varying racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds came together and for the first time tasted the beauty and felt deeply the joy of knowing one another. And for the first time they truly comprehended that they were members of one body, still unfortunately separated by the cruel forces of prejudice, hatred, and ignorance. Now under the canopy of love and unity, they shed tears of joy and often their feelings were uncontrollable.

All the speakers responded to this feeling of unprecedented joy. Their voices sometimes broke with emotion. Deeply touched by the rapture of those moments, I wrote down the beautiful words of the speakers; but when Dorothy Baker started to speak, my pen would not move. I could take no notes.

She stood elegantly upon the stage, and when she spoke, she seemed to abandon her physical temple. A certain mysterious power caused eloquent words to flow from her lips with the clarity and unerring direction of a mountain stream as it moves swiftly over small pebbles. Her soft penetrating voice had the ring of indescribable music. Her face received fresh lights of joy from the worlds beyond.

She continuously spoke about the beloved Guardian, but never during her visit to India did she speak about her pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I remained with her during her entire stay in New Delhi, even to the last moment when she was settled in her train compartment. Accompanied by her adopted son, Shahriyar, she continued her journey, making trips to other states of India. She bade me farewell as I stood on the pavement beside her train; the last thing I could see was her hand waving goodbye.

After finishing her mission in India she proceeded to Pakistan, where, in Karachi, she had meetings with representatives of religious and civil institutions of the country.

I followed her by prayers and received news of her tremendous victories on all fronts. Yet something in her life has remained a mystery to me. What passed in her dear heart during those last days, and what urged her to talk to the friends in Karachi of her sweetest reminiscences? Why did she share, on that particular visit, the memory of her four-day pilgrimage, about which she made no mention in India? Was it the ecstasy of her soul that prompted her to speak? Was she feeling within the very essence of her heart that her meeting in Karachi would be her last chance to be with the people of this world? Could her soul no longer endure separation from her Lord? She sang her last song, then began her flight to Europe.

“Welcome, a thousand welcomes my martyr pilgrim,” were the first words of the Guardian when she entered his room. She sat enraptured with the joy of beholding the countenance of the Sign of God on this planet. Overcome with the emotion of the moment, she tried desperately to speak, but she

[Page 14] Could only ask, “Why martyr, beloved Guardian?” The sweet consoling words of the Guardian brought a blissful peace to her soul: “Because you asked three times to come on pilgrimage, and three times I sent you to different fields of teaching and you accepted the mission with radiant acquiescence.”

In her address to the friends in Karachi, she emphasized the fact that human souls were like pieces of sponge. The presence of the Guardian was like an immense ocean. When the tiny pieces of sponge were placed in the ocean, they absorbed water according to their capacity and no more.

Almost twenty hours after her memorable meeting in Pakistan, the Bahá’í world was shocked to hear that our precious Dorothy Baker had drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, between the coasts of Italy and France.

According to ancient mythology, the beautiful Europa was taken up into the air on the back of the Golden Fleece. There, amongst the immensely glorious clouds, shining from the rays of the sun, she watched the wonderful works of God and, in her ecstasy and joy, she could no more hold fast, and fell into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Her disappearance moved the hearts of the people of the ancient world so greatly that they called one whole continent after her: Europe.

Our wonderful Dorothy Baker also was flying over the Mediterranean on her return from the four glorious banquets that were spread so generously by the beloved Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith in the four corners of the globe. She had witnessed how lovingly the Bahá’ís invited the scattered members of the human race to unite and participate in the joyful ceremonies of the Kingdom of God, and, with a heart brimful with profound sadness, she lamented the stubbornness with which mankind deprived itself of all these manifestations of love and spiritual regeneration.

As a brilliant member of the Hands of the Cause of God, she did all in her power to awaken this heedless and corrupt generation and guide them to the path of God. Her sorrow was indeed great to perceive how, in their pride and ignorance, they disregarded the Divine Teachings and spent their God-given talents and energies in acts of brutal destruction and savagery. She was deeply aware of the impending disaster which, because of man’s heedlessness, was bound to overtake the world.

We cannot know for certain what was in the mind and the heart of this beloved servant as she winged her way towards what she no doubt believed would be further fields of service. But we see dear Dorothy in our mind’s eye, fresh from the fields of victory which she had so deservedly won, radiant with that inner spirit we had so recently witnessed on her tour of India. Perhaps just before the plane dropped so abruptly from the sky, she read once again that beautiful and soul-stirring supplication: “Lord, give me to drink from the chalice of selflessness, with its robe clothe me and in its ocean immerse me.” Thousands might chant this prayer each day, but only for her was the plea for eternal freedom and everlasting joy answered so dramatically. For although her body entered the majestic blue “sepulcher” of the Mediterranean, her soul continued its upward flight through unlimited worlds of God, to shine forever from the horizon of service and self-sacrifice. Hereafter, all the dwellers of the seven seas and seven oceans shall receive and accept the message of the Day of God and “all the seas shall have pearls.”

To understand the sweet reference of the beloved Guardian, we must recall the following: “When the beloved Master reached the most desperate moments of His eventful life, one of the enemies went to His house and very cruelly announced to Him, ‘The decree is issued. You will be either exiled to the deserts of Africa, or hanged in Jerusalem or be drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.’ The Master listened in perfect silence and proved so calm and resolute that His enemy who announced all such revengeful events became angry. The Master amazingly said, ‘... Mediterranean Sea! What an immense sepulcher!’” This is the reason why the beloved Guardian said that now this immense sepulcher belongs to Dorothy Baker and all seas shall have pearls.

[Page 15] Juliet Thompson (left) with May Maxwell.

A profile of Juliet Thompson

—her times with the Master in New York

by O.Z. Whitehead

[Page 16] While I was visiting my mother and brother in New York in December, 1950, I went to a fireside at Juliet Thompson’s home at 48 West 10th Street. She had shared that apartment for many years with her friend Marguerite Smyth, and their devoted servant, Helen James.

Ali-Kuli Khan, his daughter Hamidan, and Marjorie Morten, arrived before Juliet did. I liked their faces, and I wanted to know them. After a while, Juliet walked quietly into the room, as if she did not expect anyone to notice her. She had wonderful warm eyes and a delightful smile. She sat down on a comfortable chair near the fireplace, and in a hoarse, attractive voice, she asked two or three people in turn to “speak to us a little.”

She drew them out easily. Ali-Kuli Khan gave a brilliant, fascinating analysis of a talk by the Master. Marjorie Morten told a touching, humorous, dramatic story of her first experience with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Someone asked Juliet to describe His visit to the Museum of Natural History. Without hesitation she began her story. “One Saturday afternoon in July, during 1912 when the Master was in New York, Mother and I decided to visit Him,” she said. “As we approached the house where He was staying, we saw Him coming down the steps with some of the Persian friends. He greeted us

Juliet Thompson’s home at 48 West 10th Street in New York, where the Master sat for the portrait she painted of Him.

warmly and said to Mother and me, ‘Come with us to the Museum of Natural History.’ Neither Mother nor I could understand why the Master had decided to visit this museum on such a hot July afternoon, nor would we have thought of asking Him. We just happily followed Him and the Persian friends across the streets to Central Park and into the park itself. With weary steps, the Master walked ahead of the rest of us. Perspiration streamed down His back.

“When we came near to the museum I saw the many steps that led up to the entrance. I could not bear to see the Master climb them. I looked for another way of getting into the museum and I found a little door to the right... of the steps. Between us and the door was a grass plot with a sign in the middle that said ‘Keep Off.’ In spite of this, I started to walk across the plot. Before I had reached the door, it opened. An old guard appeared from inside. He had grey hair and rather Semitic features. I stood where I was, but he walked up to me, and said, not unkindly, ‘Don’t you see the sign?’ I said, ‘Yes, but couldn’t you make an exception just for this afternoon? We have with us a most distinguished guest who has come to this city with a message of world peace.’

“The old guard looked at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with much interest and said, ‘He reminds me of the prophets of Israel, of Isaiah and Daniel.’ I said to him, ‘His name is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Servant of God. We sometimes call Him the Master.’ The guard continued to look at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. ‘I feel sure that it would be all right for him to come through this door,’ he said. The Master came towards us. My mother and the Persian friends followed Him. The guard led us through the door up into the main hall of the museum.

“The Master looked up at the huge whale suspended from the ceiling. He said with much amusement, ‘Fifty Jonahs could have gotten into that whale.’ The Master stayed only for a short time in the museum. He walked before us down the steps through the side door and on to the grass. He sat down with His back against a tree. The old guard came up to me and said, ‘Do you think that your friend would mind if I went over and spoke to him?’ ‘I am sure that He would be very glad if you

[Page 17]

From childhood, she demonstrated a talent for painting ... she had achieved a fine reputation for her work.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited on July 9, 1912.

did,’ I said. The old guard walked over and stood beside ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Master said to him, ‘Is it all right for me to sit here?’ ‘I am sure that it is,’ said the guard. “Don’t you want to sit down here with me?’ said the Master. ‘Oh no! That would never do,’ said the guard. ‘But after you have rested for a while, would you like to come into the museum again and see some of the other exhibitions?’

“The Master said, ‘No, I have seen enough for today. Often I get tired of this world and yearn to explore the other worlds of God. May I ask you this? If you could choose either to be in this world or in the next, which one would you take?’

“After a moment of thought, the old guard answered, ‘I think that I would stay in this world because I am sure of it.’

“ ‘Would you?’ said the Master. ‘I’d take the next world. When one goes there, it will be like going to the second floor of a house. One will still know of this world and be in the next.’

“The old guard said, ‘I had never thought of that before.’ The Master warmly said goodbye to the old guard, but to my surprise, the Master did not ask him to a fireside where he might meet the friends. Two or three days later, I went to see the old guard. He wasn’t there anymore. A young guard had taken his place and had never heard of the old guard before.”

I was moved by this story; I asked Juliet to tell us another. She smiled and began again.

“Some of the Bahá’ís, including myself, decided to give the Master a birthday party. A few of them baked a cake. We took several taxis to the Bronx. The Master rode in the first one. As soon as His taxi arrived, the Master got out of it and walked into the park ahead of the rest of us.

“A group of young boys gathered around Him and started to laugh. Two or three of them threw stones at Him. With natural concern, many of the friends hurried towards the Master. He told us to stay away. The young boys came closer. They jeered at Him and pulled at His clothes, but the Master did not become cross. He smiled at them radiantly. The boys continued to behave rudely. The Master turned towards the friends. ‘Bring me the cake,’ he said. No one mentioned to Him that we had brought a cake. Some of us complained, ‘But ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the cake is for your birthday.’ ‘Bring me the cake,’ He said again. A friend uncovered a large sponge cake with white icing and gave it to the Master. As soon as the boys saw the cake, they began to calm down. They looked at the cake hungrily. The Master took it into His hands and looked at it with pleasure. Now the boys stood quietly around Him. ‘Bring me a knife,’ said the Master. A friend brought Him a knife. He counted the number of boys standing around Him and cut the cake into as many pieces. Each boy eagerly took his piece and ate it with relish. When they had finished, they ran happily away.”

The following Friday, I went to Juliet’s house. She was under a doctor’s care and could not come downstairs. The few of us who were there sat in the front room. Marguerite, whom I had heard the others call “Daisy,” was very concerned about her friend. “Juliet overdoes,” she said. “I have written to the Guardian about this. He wrote back that I should counsel her.”

Juliet was born in Washington, D.C., in 1873. From childhood, she demonstrated a talent for painting. Her parents sent her to the Corcoran Art School. When she was almost twelve, her father died. He left his family little money, though; fortunately, Juliet was already able to sell her pastel portraits. By the time that she was sixteen, although she had not yet completed her training, she had achieved a fine reputation for her work.

One afternoon when I was alone with her, I asked Juliet how she had heard about the Bahá’í Faith. “When I was a young girl living in New York, I became seriously sick with diphtheria,” she said. “One evening while I was lying in bed, I heard the doctor say to Mother from the next room, ‘Juliet is dying.’

[Page 18]

Deep study with Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl and May Bolles helped to confirm Juliet in the Faith.

When I went to sleep that night I did not expect to wake up again. I had a dream and in it I saw a most wonderful-looking man. He said to me with complete assurance, ‘You will get well.’ By the next morning my fever had disappeared. In two or three days I was completely recovered. I did not know who this man was nor did I know how to find out. Several years after this experience I went to study art at the Sorbonne in Paris. While I was there I saw a photograph that I knew was of Him. Someone said, ‘He is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Servant of God.’ I became a believer in 1901.”

In 1901, Alice Barney, the mother of Laura Clifford Barney, invited Juliet to come to Paris with her mother and brother to study art there. In the French capital, Juliet became close to May Bolles, Lua Getsinger, Thomas Breakwell, Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, and the great Persian teacher, Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl, whom the Master had sent to France. Deep study with Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl and May Bolles helped to confirm Juliet in the Faith.

When she finished her studies at the Sorbonne, Juliet, with her mother and brother, returned to New York. Service to the Cause of God became the major aim of her life. Possessed of rare spiritual magnetism, she taught the Cause with much love to all those who seemed to be seekers after truth. Many have already observed that the regular meetings at her studio brought great happiness to countless people who attended them.

From the time she recognized the station of Bahá’u’lláh, Juliet had longed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to meet the Master. In 1909 her opportunity came to make the pilgrimage with two close friends, Edward and Carrie Kinney.

From July, 1909, when Juliet first met the Master in ‘Akká, through December 5, 1912, the day of His departure from New York City and the last time she was to see Him, she kept a vivid and thrilling diary of her personal encounters with Him and the things she saw Him do.

During her visit in ‘Akká Juliet wrote:

“Our Lord called Carrie, Alice, and me separately to His room and gave us the priceless privilege of seeing Him dictate Tablets. I sat on the divan, my eyes upon His white-robed figure—I could scarcely raise them to His Face—as He paced up and down that small room with His strong tread. Never had the room seemed so small—never had He appeared so mighty. A lion in a cage? Ah no! That room contain Him? Why!—as I felt that great dominant Force, that Energy of God, I knew that the earth itself could not contain Him. Not yet the universe. No! While the body, charged with a Power I have seen in no human being, restless with the Force that so animated it, strode up and down, up and down in that tiny room, pausing sometimes before the window below which the sea beat against the double seawall, I knew that the Spirit was free as the Essence Itself, brooding over regions far distant, looking deep into hearts as the uttermost ends of the earth, consoling their secret sorrows, answering the whispers of far-off minds. Often in that walk back and forth He would give me a long, grave glance. Once He smiled at me.¹

During a visit with Him a little over two years later on August 27, 1911, at the Hôtel de la Paix, at Lake Geneva, she wrote:

I said to myself as I looked on that celestial radiance, “If He never gave me so much as a word, if He never glanced my way, just to see that sweetness shining before me, I would follow Him on my knees, crawling behind Him in the dust forever!”²

The Church of the Ascension, so called because of the beautiful and celebrated painting of the Ascension of Jesus Christ which hangs above the altar, is located at Fifth Avenue and 10th Street, just half a block from the house where Juliet and her mother lived. Before she became a Bahá’í, and for many years afterwards, Juliet frequently attended this church. Once Juliet said to me, “I was very much in love with the Rector, Dr. Percy Grant, and I wanted to marry him. The Master said that I could on condition that Dr. Grant become a Bahá’í.”

On Thursday, April 11, 1912, the Master arrived in New York. Upon Juliet’s urging, Dr. Grant asked Him to address his congregation on the following Sunday morning. According to notes in The Promulgation of Universal Peace, He started His talk by saying, “In his scriptural lesson this morning the reverend Doctor read a verse from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, ‘For now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face.’ ”³ With clarity and force the Master explained what Bahá’u’lláh had come to do and His relationship to Jesus Christ.

Juliet later recounted to me, “At the end of the Master’s talk Percy asked the choir to sing, ‘Jesus Christ is risen today.’ I hurried into the vestry and waited impatiently for Percy to appear. The suspense became unbearable. ‘Juliet,’ he said when he entered, ‘I did it all for you.’ My heart sank; I was almost sure that I could never marry him. He did not come into the Faith. The Master said not to see him again. Although it was hard I obeyed the Master.”

The Bowery Mission in New York was a place of refuge for derelicts who often slept on park benches or doorsteps. Juliet’s mother had forbidden her to give the Message there. In February 1912, she deceived her mother for the first time in her life, and, accompanied by her close friend Sylvia Gannett, she went to the Mission and gave a talk.

After she had finished speaking Dr. Hallimond said, “We have heard from Miss Juliet Thompson that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will be here in April. How many of you would like to invite Him to speak at the Mission?”⁴ The three hundred people in the room arose to their feet, to signal their desire for the visit.

Upon His acceptance of this invitation the Master gave Juliet a thousand franc note to change into American quarters and asked her to meet Him on the following evening at the Mission with these quarters in a bag. She and Edward Getsinger, both carrying a

[Page 19] huge bag of quarters, arrived there promptly and sat down with the other believers on the platform behind ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Although Juliet felt unworthy to introduce the Master, she obeyed Dr. Hallimond and did so.

In a most moving and compassionate address, the Master assured these broken men that the mercies and bounties of God were always with them.

At the end of the service, He walked down the aisle to the door of the Mission. Juliet has written, “Then down the aisle streamed a sodden and grimy procession—three hundred men in single file... Broken forms. Blurred faces... Into each palm, as the Master clasped it, He pressed His little gift of silver—just a symbol and the price of a bed. Not a man was shelterless that night. And many, many, I could see, found a shelter in His Heart....”⁵

When Juliet was ten years old, she began to dream and pray that someday she would be able to paint Christ and make Him look not just sweet and ineffectual like some artists had done, but like ‘The King of Men.’ When she met the Master, she gave up all hope of doing this. She felt that it would be an impossible task.

In Washington one early evening in April, the Master invited Juliet to paint His portrait. He promised to give her three half-hour sittings. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá posed the first time on June 1, at His apartment in New York City. Juliet has described this occasion: “The Master was seated in a dark corner, His black ‘abá melting into the background—and again I saw Him as the Face of God—and quailed. How could I paint the Face of God? ‘I want you,’ He said, ‘to paint My Servitude to God.’

“ ‘Oh! my Lord,’ I cried, ‘only the Holy Spirit could paint your Servitude to God. No human hand could do it. Pray for me, or I am lost. I implore You, inspire me.’

“ ‘I will pray,’ He answered, ‘and as you are doing this only for the sake of God, you will be inspired.’ And then something happened. All fear fell away from me, and it was as though Someone Else saw through my eyes, worked through my hand. All the points, all the planes in that matchless Face were so clear to me that my hand couldn’t put them down quickly enough—couldn’t keep pace with the clarity of my vision. I painted in ecstasy—free as I had never been before.”⁶

Although the Master gave Juliet twice as many sittings as He had promised her, she actually finished His portrait in three.

Juliet was often with the Master. On November 15, 1912, less than a month before His departure from the country, He gave a most powerful and comprehensive talk in her house. He spoke upon “the distinctive characteristics of the Manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh and proved that from every standpoint His Cause is distinguished from all others.”⁷

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s departure from New York was very painful for Juliet. Her unhappiness intensified when He could not assure her that she would again attain His physical presence. On June 29, 1916, the Master wrote:

“Thy letter was received. It contained the most great glad tidings—that is, praise be to God, in New York the divine believers are united and agreed. For my heart there is no greater happiness than the unity and concord of the friends. The progress of the world of humanity and the illumination of the hearts and lives of the people are realized through unity and agreement and the promotion of the Word of God. Difference destroys the foundation of the divine edifice, causing coldness amongst the souls and the lethargy of all the active members. I hope that, day by day, this bounty may become more revealed in New York. Truly, I say, if the believers of God become united together with heart and soul, in a short while they will shine forth like unto the sun; they will obtain a joy and happiness the splendor of which will be cast upon all the regions of America.⁸

Juliet said to me, “I was anxious to teach the Faith in prisons. The Master did not encourage me to do this. He said that I should work hard in my profession and give my free time to the Cause.”

A Tablet from the Master, which Shoghi Effendi translated on April 4, 1919, included the following counsel: “O thou Juliet! Endeavor in thy profession that thou mayest secure comfort for thy respected mother.”⁹

The Master advised Juliet to marry a certain believer. But she did not feel that they would be happy together, and after much prayer and consideration, she pleaded with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá not to insist that she marry this man. Some time later, He wrote to her saying she need not do so.

Like all deeply spiritual people, Juliet found even the thought of war abhorrent. As the First World War dragged on in Europe and she realized that the United States was gradually being drawn into the conflict, she spoke out against it. Only the absence of the Master’s permission kept her from appealing to President Wilson directly.

In a Tablet revealed after the war (in December, 1918), the Master advised her: “Do ye not refer regarding any matter in these days to the President of the Republic.”¹⁰

Although Juliet felt unworthy to introduce the Master, she obeyed Dr. Hallimond and did so.

Although Juliet often wrote to the Master and received from Him Tablets that clearly showed His deep love for her and His appreciation of her services, she was not able to visit Him again. In 1926, she made the pilgrimage and shared with her young companion, Mary Maxwell, the privilege of meeting the Guardian.

Juliet spoke to me with much sadness about the Covenant breakers in New York City. Aḥmad Sohráb, for many years closely associated with the Master, as His secretary and the recipient of countless blessings from Him, tragically refused to accept the authority vested in the Guardian by the Master’s Will and Testament. He succeeded in distorting the mind of Julie Chanler, a rich and socially prominent member of the New York community. With her assistance, he established a group he called “The New History Society.” This deplorable act caused great sorrow to the Guardian and to the Bahá’í world.

Juliet said to me, “Julie Chanler was

[Page 20] a very close friend of mine. Aḥmad took her away from her husband and gained a hypnotic influence over her. He turned her against the Guardian and took her out of the Faith. The Guardian forbade all the believers except myself to see Julie and Aḥmad. The Guardian asked me to try and help them understand their terrible mistake. I went to see Julie and Aḥmad often for some time and tried to reason with them, but with no good effect. I could do nothing. The Guardian wrote me to stop seeing them. I called on them once more to say goodbye. As I was leaving their house, I could hardly look at Aḥmad Sohráb.”

Once, during a pilgrimage, Juliet saw a small dome-shaped house and was thrilled to learn from someone that Mary of Magdala was said to have lived where this house stood. The Master told Juliet the true story of this Mary. In the late nineteen-thirties, Juliet wrote a most moving book about her entitled I, Mary Magdalen.

Juliet has vividly described the great suffering of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, Mary’s appeal to Claudia, the wife of Pilate, to save Jesus from crucifixion, the walk with Him to Golgatha, the crucifixion itself, the meeting of Mary with her Lord in His heavenly body near the threshold of His tomb, her meeting with John directly afterwards, to whom the Lord had also just spoken, and their efforts, at first unsuccessful, to convince the other disciples that Jesus would be with them forever.

Not yet widely known, this inspiring book is bound to attract more and more readers as time passes. Written with a fine understanding of the eternal relationship between Mary Magdalene and her Lord, its beautiful description of her transformation from the gentle, appealing mistress of Novatus, to the saintly disciple of Jesus Christ will certainly encourage countless people to investigate the Word of God for this day.

In 1939, Juliet wrote a stimulating essay, “The Valley of Love,” about the second valley of seven that the soul must traverse on its journey from self to God, as revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in The Seven Valleys. In her penetrating analysis of the seeker’s state in that valley, Juliet wrote: “He has found the Messenger, has seen for the first time, powerfully reflected, the unclouded

The Bowery Mission in New York as it appeared in 1912 when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed the gathering there.

Beauty of God. And he has become like a newborn babe in a strange and glorious world.¹¹

In addition to the precious portrait that Juliet gave of the Master in her diaries, she wrote a remarkable essay entitled “‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Center of the Covenant,” in which she composed a touching account of His life, and a clear and forceful explanation of His Station. She wrote, “When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ascended in 1921 to His ‘original abode’, plunging the Bahá’í world into such grief as is only felt once in an age when disciples mourn their Lord, His last Will and Testament came as a complete surprise, an inestimable bounty to His confused and desolate believers. For in it He appointed His own grandson, the beloved Shoghi Effendi, as the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith and His successor and sole Interpreter of the sacred Books, so we found our Faith still safeguarded from schisms and divisions—still led through a Focal Point of ‘unerring guidance.’ ”¹²

During part of the Second World War, Juliet and Daisy Smyth pioneered in Mexico. After the war was over, they spent some time teaching in New Orleans, Louisiana.

On my return to New York City from Los Angeles in June 1953, a few weeks after the start of the Guardian’s Ten Year Crusade, I went to see them. They lived in an apartment next to the graveyard of St. Mark’s in the Bowery. This long and narrow apartment was situated on the first floor and had high ceilings and big windows. The two women were comfortably seated in Juliet’s bedroom, and they greeted me warmly. Juliet said, “We wrote to Shoghi Effendi and asked him if we should pioneer. He answered that we should as soon as I am well enough to go.” In the meantime, they planned to give firesides in their new apartment. To their great disappointment, Juliet’s doctor advised them to wait until her health had improved before undertaking to entertain guests.

With rare compassion, Juliet tried to help everyone she met, irrespective of their present character or past life. She gave much attention to the maladjusted and to moral failures. She did not judge people. When she heard that two persons who had apparently betrayed their country were about to be executed, she said, “I feel sorry for them. I am praying for them.” She said to a sincere believer who had a serious psychological problem which he was trying to overcome, “When I reach the kingdom, I will speak to the Master about you.” In obedience to the Master’s words, she had grown to love all people. In spite of this, she did not naively think that the believers always behaved well, and she also realized that they sometimes hurt each other.

One afternoon when I was sitting with Juliet, a young pianist, an agnostic, joined us and attacked the Faith violently. I became angry and could not understand why Juliet put up with him. She just smiled and looked at her friend with fondness unmixed with irritation. “Doesn’t he disturb you?” I asked after he left. “He didn’t affect me in the least,” she answered.

Juliet believed emphatically that in the future all mankind would enter the

[Page 21] Bahá’í community. She realized, however, that life had veiled most people and that much time would pass before they could tear away these veils.

When I left for my pilgrimage in January 1955, these two ladies still hoped to be able to pioneer. On my last night in Haifa, I said to the Guardian, “Shoghi Effendi, Juliet Thompson and Daisy Smyth are most anxious to leave the City of the Covenant according to your instructions, but Juliet’s frail health keeps her in bed most of the time.” With perfect understanding, he replied, “Tell them to get the best medical aid possible for Juliet and not to worry. Say that I thank her for her past services.” Soon after my return to New York, I went to see them and told Juliet of the Guardian’s statement.

On the night of December 2, 1956, during a meeting of the Spiritual Assembly of New York, a telephone call came from Daisy informing us that Juliet was dead. The Assembly said a prayer for her. The funeral was held the following Saturday. Some 150 Bahá’ís and a few non-Bahá’ís attended the service.

Borrah Kavelin, then chairman of the National Assembly of the United States, read the Guardian’s moving message, suffused with grief, and with joy for her achievements:

Deplore loss much-loved, greatly admired Juliet Thompson, outstanding, exemplary handmaid of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Over half-century record of manifold, meritorious services, embracing the concluding years of Heroic and opening decades of Formative Ages of Bahá’í Dispensation, won her enviable position in glorious company of triumphant disciples of the Beloved Master in the Abhá Kingdom. Advise hold memorial gathering in Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to pay befitting tribute to the imperishable memory of one so wholly consecrated to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and fired with such consuming devotion to the Centre of His Covenant.¹³

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Notes

1. Juliet Thompson, “A Glimpse of the Master,” World Order, Fall 1971, pp. 52-53.
2. Ibid., pp. 54-55.
3. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Discourses by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá During His Visit to the United States in 1912, Vol. I (Chicago: Bahá’í Temple Unity, 1921-22), p. 9.
4. “A Glimpse of the Master,” p. 57.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid., pp. 61-62.
7. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation, Vol. II, p. 428.
8. Star of the West, Vol. X, No. 4, May 17, 1919, p. 80.
9. Star of the West, Vol. X, No. 6, June 24, 1919, p. 109.
10. Star of the West, Vol. X, No. 11, September 27, 1919, p. 222.
11. World Order, Vol. V, No. 4, July 1939, p. 113.
12. “‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Center of the Covenant,” Bahá’í Publishing Committee, p. 23.
13. Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith (Messages to America, 1947-1957), (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1965), p. 170.

An illustration by Juliet Thompson of a scene in her book I, Mary Magdalen concerning the life of Mary Magdalen, the follower of Christ.

[Page 22]

In our world, you can easily see
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If you have imagined that World Order magazine is only for Bahá’ís in the United States, you have been mistaken. Our field of coverage is as broad as our name implies. Our writers are from every corner of the globe. Our purpose is to explore the relationships between contemporary life and contemporary religious teachings, to give our readers a truer sense of the options and alternatives open to a society in the thrall of great historical forces, as it searches for lasting solutions. In short, we try to give you a glimpse of the forest of human endeavor, rather than of the single trees of its isolated developments.

In recent issues, we have published articles on such varied subjects as the generation gap, collective security in a nuclear age, the rights of women, ocean resources and their proper use, the dilemma of intellectuals in this troubled age, Pablo Casals at 91, Paul Tillich and his outlook, the Muslim clergy, the world’s search for peace—all, clearly, articles of international scope and interest. We think you may be interested in World Order.

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