IV
THE CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH
1.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FIRST BAHÁ’Í CENTURY
BY ARCHDEACON GEORGE TOWNSHEND
ON THE 23rd of May of this auspicious year, 1944, the Bahá’í world will celebrate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. It will commemorate at once the hundredth anniversary of the inception of the Bábí Dispensation, of the inauguration of the Bahá’í Era, of the commencement of the Bahá’í Cycle, and of the birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The weight of the potentialities with which this Faith, possessing no peer or equal in the world’s spiritual history, and marking the culmination of a universal prophetic cycle, has been endowed, staggers our imagination. The brightness of the millennial glory which it must shed in the fullness of time dazzles our eyes. The magnitude of the shadow which its Author will continue to cast on successive Prophets destined to be raised up after Him eludes our calculation.
Already in the space of less than a century the operation of the mysterious processes generated by its creative spirit has provoked a tumult in human society such as no mind can fathom. Itself undergoing a period of incubation during its primitive age, it has, through the emergence of its slowly-crystallizing system, induced a fermentation in the general life of mankind designed to shake the very foundations of a disordered society, to purify its life-blood, to reorientate and reconstruct its institutions, and shape its final destiny.
To what else can the observant eye or the
unprejudiced mind, acquainted with the
signs and portents heralding the birth, and
accompanying the rise, of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh ascribe this dire, this
planetary upheaval, with its attendant
destruction, misery
and fear, if not to the emergence of His
embryonic World Order, which, as He Himself
has unequivocally proclaimed, has
"deranged the equilibrium of the world
and revolutionized mankind’s ordered life”?
To what agency, if not to the irresistible
diffusion of that world-shaking,
world-energizing, world-redeeming spirit,
which the Báb has affirmed is
"vibrating in the innermost realities of all created things”
can the origins
of this portentous crisis, incomprehensible
to man, and admittedly unprecedented in the
annals of the human race, be attributed?
In the convulsions of contemporary society,
in the frenzied, world-wide ebullitions of
men’s thoughts, in the fierce antagonisms
inflaming races, creeds and classes, in
the shipwreck of nations, in the downfall of kings,
in the dismemberment of empires, in the
extinction of dynasties, in the collapse of
ecclesiastical heirarchies, in the deterioration
of time-honored institutions, in the dissolution
of ties, secular as well as religious, that
had for so long held together the members
of the human race—all manifesting themselves
with ever-increasing gravity since the
outbreak of the first World War that immediately
preceded the opening years of the
Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh—in
these we can readily recognize the evidences
of the travail of an age that has
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sustained the impact of His Revelation, that
has ignored His summons, and is now laboring
to be delivered of its burden, as a direct
consequence of the impulse communicated
to it by the generative, the purifying, the
transmuting influence of His Spirit.
It is my purpose, on the occasion of an anniversary of such profound significance, to attempt in the succeeding pages a survey of the outstanding events of the century that has seen this Spirit burst forth upon the world, as well as the initial stages of its subsequent incarnation in a System that must evolve into an Order designed to embrace the whole of mankind, and capable of fulfilling the high destiny that awaits man on this planet. I shall endeavor to review, in their proper perspective and despite the comparatively brief space of time which separates us from them, the events which the revolution of a hundred years, unique alike in glory and tribulation, has unrolled before our eyes. I shall seek to represent and correlate, in however cursory a manner, those momentous happenings which have insensibly, relentlessly, and under the very eyes of successive generations, perverse, indifferent or hostile, transformed a heterodox and seemingly negligible offshoot of the Shaykhí school of the Ithná-‘Asharíyyih sect of Shí‘ah Islám into a world religion whose unnumbered followers are organically and indissolubly united; whose light has overspread the earth as far as Iceland in the North and Magellanes in the South; whose ramifications have spread to no less than sixty countries of the world; whose literature has been translated and disseminated in no less than forty languages; whose endowments in the five continents of the globe, whether local, national or international, already run into several million dollars; whose incorporated elective bodies have secured the official recognition of a number of governments in East and West; whose adherents are recruited from the diversified races and chief religions of mankind; whose representatives are to be found in hundreds of cities in both Persia and the United States of America; to whose verities royalty has publicly and repeatedly testified; whose independent status its enemies, from the ranks of its parent religion and in the leading center of both the Arab and Muslim worlds, have proclaimed and demonstrated; and whose claims have been virtually recognized, entitling it to rank as the fourth religion of a Land in which its world spiritual center has been established, and which is at once the heart of Christendom, the holiest shrine of the Jewish people, and, save Mecca alone, the most sacred spot in Islám.
It is not my purpose—nor does the occasion demand it,—to write a detailed history of the last hundred years of the Bahá’í Faith, nor do I intend to trace the origins of so tremendous a Movement, or to portray the conditions under which it was born, or to examine the character of the religion from which it has sprung, or to arrive at an estimate of the effects which its impact upon the fortunes of mankind has produced. I shall rather content myself with a review of the salient features of its birth and rise, as well as of the initial stages in the establishment of its administrative institutions—institutions which must be regarded as the nucleus and herald of that World Order that must incarnate the soul, execute the laws, and fulfill the purpose of the Faith of God in this day.
Nor will it be my intention to ignore, whilst surveying the panorama which the revolution of a hundred years spreads before our gaze, the swift interweaving of seeming reverses with evident victories, out of which the hand of an inscrutable Providence has chosen to form the pattern of the Faith from its earliest days, or to minimize those disasters that have so often proved themselves to be the prelude to fresh triumphs which have, in turn, stimulated its growth and consolidated its past achievements. Indeed, the history of the first hundred years of its evolution resolves itself into a series of internal and external crises, of varying severity, devastating in their immediate effects, but each mysteriously releasing a corresponding measure of divine power, lending thereby a fresh impulse to its unfoldment, this further unfoldment engendering in its turn a still graver calamity, followed by a still more liberal effusion of celestial grace enabling its upholders to accelerate still further its match and win in its service still more compelling victories.
In its broadest outline the first century of the Bahá’í Era may be said to comprise the Heroic, the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and also the initial stages of the Formative, the Transitional, the Iron Age which is to witness the crystallization and shaping of the creative energies released by His Revelation. The first eighty years of this century may roughly be said to have covered the entire period of the first age, while the last two decades may be regarded as having witnessed the beginnings of the second. The former commences with the Declaration of the Báb, includes the mission of Bahá’u’lláh, and terminates with the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The latter is ushered in by His Will and Testament, which defines its character and establishes its foundation.
The century under our review may therefore be considered as falling into four distinct periods, of unequal duration, each of specific import and of tremendous and indeed unappraisable significance. These four periods are closely interrelated, and constitute successive acts of one, indivisible, stupendous and sublime drama, whose mystery no intellect can fathom, whose climax no eye can even dimly perceive, whose conclusion no mind can adequately foreshadow. Each of these acts revolves around its own theme, boasts of its own heroes, registers its own tragedies, records its own triumphs, and contributes its own share to the execution of one common, immutable Purpose. To isolate any one of them from the others, to dissociate the later manifestations of one universal, all-embracing Revelation from the pristine purpose that animated it in its earliest days, would be tantamount to a mutilation of the structure on which it rests, and to a lamentable perversion of its truth and of its history.
The first period (1844—1853), centers
around the gentle, the youthful and irresistible
person of the Báb, matchless in
His meekness, imperturbable in His serenity,
magnetic in His utterance, unrivaled in
the dramatic episodes of His swift and tragic
ministry. It begins with the Declaration of
His Mission, culminates in His martyrdom,
and ends in a veritable orgy of religious
massacre revolting in its hideousness. It is
characterized by nine years of fierce and
relentless contest, whose theatre was the
whole of Persia, in which above ten thousand
heroes laid down their lives, in which two
sovereigns of the Qájár dynasty and their
wicked ministers participated, and which
was supported by the entire Shi‘ah
ecclesiastical hierarchy, by the military resources
of the state, and by the implacable hostility
of the masses. The second period (1853-1892)
derives its inspiration from the august
figure Bahá’u’lláh, preeminent in holiness,
awesome in the majesty of His strength and
power, unapproachable in the transcendent
brightness of His glory. It opens with the
first stirrings, in the soul of Bahá’u’lláh
while in the Síyáh-Chál of Ṭihrán, of the
Revelation anticipated by the Báb, attains
its plenitude in the proclamation of that
Revelation to the kings and ecclesiastical
leaders of the earth, and terminates in the
ascension of its Author in the vicinity of
the prison-town of ‘Akká. It extends over
thirty-nine years of continuous, of unprecedented
and overpowering Revelation, is
marked by the propagation of the Faith to
the neighboring territories of Turkey, of
Russia, of ‘Iráq, of Syria, of Egypt and of
India, and is distinguished by a corresponding
aggravation of hostility, represented by
the united attacks launched by the Sháh
of Persia and the Sulṭán of Turkey, the two
admittedly most powerful potentates of the
East, as well as by the opposition of the twin
sacerdotal orders of Shí‘ah and Sunní
Islám. The third period (1892-1921) revolves
around the vibrant personality of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, mysterious in His essence,
unique in His station, astoundingly potent
in both the charm and strength of His
character. It commences with the announcement
of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, a document
without parallel in the history of any
earlier Dispensation, attains its climax in the
emphatic assertion by the Center of that
Covenant, in the City of the Covenant, of
the unique character and far-reaching
implications of that Document, and closes with
His passing and the interment of His remains
on Mt. Carmel. It will go down in
history as a period of almost thirty years’
duration, in which tragedies and triumphs
have been so intertwined as to eclipse at
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one time the Orb of the Covenant, and at
another time to pour forth its light over
the continent of Europe, and as far as
Australasia, the Far East and the North
American continent. The fourth period
(1921-1944) is motivated by the forces
radiating from the Will and Testament of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that Charter of Bahá'u’lláh’s
New World Order, the offspring resulting
from the mystic intercourse between Him
Who is the Source of the Law of God and
the mind of the One Who is the vehicle
and interpreter of that Law. The inception
of this fourth, this last period of the first
Bahá’í century synchronizes with the birth
of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Era,
with the founding of the Administrative
Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh—a system
which is at once the harbinger, the
nucleus and pattern of His World Order.
This period, covering the first twenty-three
years of this Formative Age, has already
been distinguished by an outburst of further
hostility, of a different character,
accelerating on the one hand the diffusion of
the Faith over a still wider area in each
of the five continents of the globe, and
resulting on the other in the emancipation
and the recognition of the independent status
of several communities within its pale.
These four periods are to be regarded not only as the component, the inseparable parts of one stupendous whole, but as progressive stages in a single evolutionary process, vast, steady and irresistible. For as we survey the entire range which the operation of a century-old Faith has unfolded before us, we cannot escape the conclusion that from whatever angle we view this colossal scene, the events associated with these periods present to us unmistakable evidences of a slowly maturing process, of an orderly development, of internal consolidation, of external expansion, of a gradual emancipation from the fetters of religious orthodoxy, and of a corresponding diminution of civil disabilities and restrictions.
Viewing these periods of Bahá’í history as
the constituents of a single entity, we note
the chain of events proclaiming successfully
the rise of a Forerunner, the Mission of One
Whose advent that Forerunner had promised,
the establishment of a Covenant generated
through the direct authority of the Promised
One Himself, and lastly the birth of a System
which is the child sprung from both the
Author of the Covenant and its appointed
Center. We observe how the Báb, the Forerunner,
announced the impending inception
of a divinely-conceived Order, how Bahá’u’lláh,
the Promised One, formulated its
laws and ordinances, how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the
appointed Center, delineated its features, and
how the present generation of their followers
have commenced to erect the framework of
its institutions. We watch, through these
periods, the infant light of the Faith diffuse
itself from its cradle, eastward to India and
the Far East, westward to the neighboring
territories of ‘Iráq, of Turkey, of Russia, and
of Egypt, travel as far as the North American
continent, illuminate subsequently the
major countries of Europe, envelop with its
radiance, at a later stage, the Antipodes,
brighten the fringes of the Arctic, and finally
set aglow the Central and South American
horizons. We witness a corresponding increase
in the diversity of the elements within
its fellowship, which from being confined, in
the first period of its history, to an obscure
body of followers chiefly recruited from
the ranks of the masses in Shí‘ah Persia, has
expanded into a fraternity representative of
the leading religious systems of the world,
of almost every caste and color, from the
humblest worker and peasant to royalty
itself. We notice a similar development in
the extent of its literature—a literature
which, restricted at first to the narrow range
of hurriedly transcribed, often corrupted,
secretly circulated, manuscripts, so furtively
perused, so frequently effaced, and at times
even eaten by the terrorized members of a
proscribed sect, has, within the space of a
century, swelled into innumerable editions,
comprising tens of thousands of printed
volumes, in diverse scripts, and in no less
than forty languages, some elaborately
reproduced, others profusely illustrated, all
methodically and vigorously disseminated
through the agency of world-wide, properly
constituted and specially organized committees
and Assemblies. We perceive a no
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less apparent evolution in the scope of its
teachings, at first designedly rigid, complex
and severe, subsequently recast, expanded,
and liberalized under the succeeding Dispensation;
later expounded, reaffirmed and
amplified by an appointed Interpreter, and
lastly systematized and universally applied
to both individuals and institutions. We
can discover a no less distinct gradation in
the character of the opposition it has had to
encounter—an opposition, at first kindled
in the bosom of Shí‘ah Islám, which, at a
later stage, gathered momentum with the
banishment of Bahá’u’lláh to the domains
of the Turkish Sulṭán and the consequent
hostility of the more powerful Sunní
hierarchy and its Caliph, the head of the vast
majority of the followers of Muḥammadan—an opposition
which, now, through the rise
of a divinely appointed Order in the Christian
West, and its initial impact on civil and
ecclesiastical institutions, bids fair to include
among its supporters established governments
and systems associated with the most ancient,
the most deeply entrenched sacerdotal hierarchies
in Christendom. We can, at the
same time, recognize, through the haze of an
ever-widening hostility, the progress, painful
yet persistent, of certain communities within
its pale through the stages of obscurity, of
proscription, of emancipation, and of
recognition—stages that must needs culminate in
the course of succeeding centuries, in the
establishment of the Faith, and the founding,
in the plenitude of its power and authority,
of the world-embracing Bahá’í Commonwealth. We
can likewise discern a no less
appreciable advance in the rise of its institutions,
whether as administrative centers or
places of worship—institutions, clandestine
and subterrane in their earliest beginnings,
emerging imperceptibly into the broad daylight
of public recognition, legally protected,
enriched by pious endowments, ennobled at
first by the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of ‘Ishqábád, the first Bahá’í House
of Worship, and more recently immortalized,
through the rise in the heart of the North
American continent of the Mother Temple
of the West, the forerunner of a divine, a
slowly maturing civilization. And finally,
we can even bear witness to the marked improvement
in the conditions surrounding the
pilgrimages performed by its devoted adherents to
its consecrated shrines at its world
center—pilgrimages originally arduous, perilous,
tediously long, often made on foot, at
times ending in disappointment, and confined
to a handful of harassed Oriental followers,
gradually attracting, under steadily
improving circumstances of security and
comfort, an ever swelling number of new
converts converging from the four corners
of the globe, and culminating in the widely
publicized yet sadly frustrated visit of a
noble Queen, who, at the very threshold of
the city of her heart’s desire, was compelled,
according to her own written testimony, to
divert her steps, and forego the privilege of
so priceless a benefit.
BY SHOGHI EFFENDI
THUS drew to a close the first century of the Bahá’í era—an epoch which, in its sublimity and fecundity, is without parallel in the entire field of religious history, and indeed in the annals of mankind. A process, God-impelled, endowed with measureless potentialities, mysterious in its workings, awful in the retribution meted out to every one seeking to resist its operation, infinitely rich in its promise for the regeneration and redemption of human kind, had been set in motion in Shíráz, had gained momentum successively in Ṭihrán, Baghdád, Adrianople and ‘Akká, had projected itself across the seas, poured its generative influences into the West, and manifested the initial evidences of its marvelous, world-energizing force in the midst of the North American continent.
It had sprung from the heart of Asia, and
pressing westward had gathered speed in its
resistless course, until it had encircled the
earth with a girdle of glory. It had been
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generated by the son of a mercer in the
province of Fárs, had been reshaped by a
nobleman of Núr, had been reinforced
through the exertions of One Who had spent
the fairest years of His youth and manhood
in exile and imprisonment, and had achieved
its most conspicuous triumphs in a country
and amidst a people living half the
circumference of the globe distant from the land
of its origin. It had repulsed every onslaught
directed against it, torn down every barrier
opposing its advance, abased every proud
antagonist who had sought to sap its
strength, and had exalted to heights of
incredible courage the weakest and humblest
among those who had arisen and become
willing instruments of its revolutionizing
power. Heroic struggles and matchless victories,
interwoven with appalling tragedies
and condign punishments, have formed the
pattern of its hundred year old history.
A handful of students, belonging to the Shaykhí school, sprung from the school of the Ithná-‘Asharíyyih sect of Shí‘ah Islám, had, in consequence of the operation of this process, been expanded and transformed into a world community, closely knit, clear of vision, alive, consecrated by the sacrifice of no less than twenty thousand martyrs; supranational; non-sectarian; non-political; claiming the status, and assuming the functions, of a world religion; spread over five continents and the islands of the seas; with ramifications extending over sixty sovereign states and seventeen dependencies; equipped with a literature translated and broadcast in forty languages; exercising control over endowments representing several million dollars; recognized by a number of governments in both the East and the West; integral in aim and outlook; possessing no professional clergy; professing a single belief; following a single law; animated by a single purpose; organically united through an Administrative Order, divinely ordained and unique in its features; including within its orbit representatives of all the leading religions of the world, of various classes and races; faithful to its civil obligations; conscious of its civic responsibilities, as well as of the perils confronting the society of which it forms a part; sharing the sufferings of that society and confident of its own high destiny. The nucleus of this community had been formed by the Báb, soon after the night of the Declaration of His Mission to Mullá Ḥusayn in Shíráz. A clamor in which the Sháh, his government, his people and the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy of his country unanimously joined had greeted its birth. Captivity, swift and cruel, in the mountains of Ádhirbáyján, had been the lot of its youthful Founder, almost immediately after His return from His pilgrimage to Mecca. Amidst the solitude of Máh-Kú and Chihríq, He had instituted His Covenant, formulated His laws, and transmitted to posterity the overwhelming majority of His writings. A conference of His disciples, headed by Bahá’u’lláh, had, in the hamlet of Badasht, abrogated in dramatic circumstances the laws of the Islamic, and ushered in the new, Dispensation. In Tabríz He had, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne and the leading ecclesiastical dignitaries of Ádhirbáyján, publicly and unreservedly voiced His claim to be none other than the promised, the long-awaited Qá’im. Tempests of devastating violence in Mázindarán, Nayríz, Zanján and Ṭihrán had decimated the ranks of His followers and robbed Him of the noblest and most valuable of His supporters. He Himself had to witness the virtual annihilation of His Faith and the loss of most of the Letters of the Living, and after experiencing, in His own person, a series of bitter humiliations, He had been executed by a firing squad in the barrack-square of Tabríz. A blood bath of unusual ferocity had engulfed the greatest heroine of His Faith, had further denuded it of its adherents, had extinguished the life of His trusted amanuensis and repository of His last wishes, and swept Bahá’u’lláh into the depths of the foulest dungeon of Ṭihrán.
In the pestilential atmosphere of the
Síyáh-Chál, nine years after that historic
Declaration, the Message proclaimed by the
Báb had yielded its fruit, His promise had
been redeemed, and the most glorious, the
most momentous period of the Heroic Age
of the Bahá’í era had dawned. A momentary
eclipse of the newly risen Sun of Truth, the
world’s greatest Luminary, had ensued, as a
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result of Bahá’u’lláh’s precipitate banishment
to ‘Iráq by order of Náṣiri’d—Dín Sháh,
of His sudden withdrawal to the mountains
of Kurdistán, and of the degradation and
confusion that afflicted the remnant of the
persecuted community of His fellow-disciples
in Baghdád. A reversal in the fortunes
of a fast declining community, following
His return from His two-year retirement, had
set in, bringing in its wake the recreation
of that community, the reformation of
its morals, the enhancement of its prestige,
the enrichment of its doctrine, and culminating
in the Declaration of His Mission in
the garden of Najíbíyyih to His immediate
companions on the eve of His banishment to
Constantinople. Another crisis—the severest
a struggling Faith was destined to experience
in the course of its history—precipitated by
the rebellion of the Báb’s nominee and the
iniquities perpetrated by him and by the
evil genius that had seduced him, had, in
Adrianople, well nigh disrupted the newly
consolidated forces of the Faith and all but
destroyed in a baptism of fire the community
of the Most Great Name which Bahá’u’lláh
had called into being. Cleansed of the
pollution of this “Most Great Idol,” undeterred
by the convulsion that had seized it, an
indestructible Faith had, in the strength of the
Covenant instituted by the Báb, now surmounted
the most formidable obstacles it
was ever to meet; and in this very hour it
reached its meridian glory through the
proclamation of the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh to the
kings, the rulers and ecclesiastical leaders of
the world in both the East and the West.
Close on the heels of this unprecedented
victory had followed the climax of His
sufferings, a banishment to the penal colony of
‘Akká, decreed by Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz.
This had been hailed by vigilant enemies as
the signal for the final extermination of a
much feared and hated adversary, and it had
heaped upon that Faith in this fortress-town,
designated by Bahá’u’lláh as His
"Most Great Prison,” calamities from both
within and without, such as it had never before
experienced. The formulation of the laws and
ordinances of a new-born Dispensation and
the enunciation and reaffirmation of its
fundamental principles—the warp and woof of
a future Administrative Order—had, however,
enabled a slowly maturing Revelation,
in spite of this tide of tribulations, to
advance a stage further and yield its fairest
fruit.
The ascension of Bahá’u’lláh had plunged
into grief and bewilderment His loyal supporters,
quickened the hopes of the betrayers
of His Cause, who had rebelled against His
God-given authority, and rejoiced and
encouraged His political as well as ecclesiastical
adversaries. The Instrument He had forged,
the Covenant He had Himself instituted,
had canalized, after His passing, the forces
released by Him in the course of a forty-year
ministry, had preserved the unity of
His Faith and provided the impulse required
to propel it forward to achieve its destiny.
The proclamation of this new Covenant had
been followed by yet another crisis,
precipitated by one of His own sons on whom,
according to the provisions of that Instrument,
had been conferred a rank second to
none except the Center of that Covenant
Himself. Impelled by the forces engendered
by the revelation of that immortal and
unique Document, an unbreachable Faith
(having registered its initial victory over the
Covenant-breakers), had, under the leadership
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, irradiated the West,
illuminated the Western fringes of Europe,
hoisted its banner in the heart of the North
American continent, and set in motion the
processes that were to culminate in the
transfer of the mortal remains of its Herald
to the Holy Land and their entombment in a
mausoleum on Mt. Carmel, as well as in the
erection of its first House of Worship in
Russian Turkistán. A major crisis, following
swiftly upon the signal victories achieved
in East and West, attributable to the monstrous
intrigues of the Arch-breaker of
Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant and to the orders
issued by the tyrannical ‘Abdu’l—Hamíd, had
exposed, during more than seven years, the
Heart and Center of the Faith to imminent
peril, filled with anxiety and anguish its
followers and postponed the execution of the
enterprises conceived for its spread and
consolidation. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s historic journeys
in Europe and America, soon after the fall
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of that tyrant and the collapse of his régime,
had dealt a staggering blow to the
Covenant-breakers, had consolidated the
colossal enterprise He had undertaken in the opening
years of His ministry, had raised the prestige
of His Father’s Faith to heights it had never
before attained, had been instrumental in
proclaiming its verities far and wide, and
had paved the way for the diffusion of its
light over the Far East and as far as the
Antipodes. Another major crisis—the last
the Faith was to undergo at its world center
—provoked by the cruel Jamál Páshá and
accentuated by the anxieties of a devastating
world war, by the privations it entailed and
the rupture of communications it brought
about, had threatened with still graver peril
the Head of the Faith Himself, as well as
the holiest sanctuaries enshrining the remains
of its twin Founders. The revelation of the
Tablets of the Divine Plan, during the somber
days of that tragic conflict, had, in the
concluding years of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ministry,
invested the members of the leading Bahá’í
community in the West—the champions of
a future Administrative Order—with a
world mission which, in the concluding years
of the first Bahá’í century, was to shed
deathless glory upon the Faith and its
administrative institutions. The conclusion of
that long and distressing conflict had
frustrated the hopes of that military despot and
inflicted an ignominious defeat on him, had
removed, once and for all, the danger that
had overshadowed for sixty-five years the
Founder of the Faith and the Center of His
Covenant, fulfilled the prophecies recorded
by Him in His writings, enhanced still
further the prestige of His Faith and its
Leader, and been signalized by the spread of
His Message to the continent of Australia.
The sudden passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, marking the close of the Primitive Age of the Faith, had, as had been the case with the ascension of His Father, submerged in sorrow and consternation His faithful disciples, imparted fresh hopes to the dwindling followers of both Mírzá Yaḥyá and Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí, and stirred to feverish activity political as well as ecclesiastical adversaries, all of whom anticipated the impending dismemberment of the communities which the Center of the Covenant had so greatly inspired and ably led. The promulgation of His Will and Testament, inaugurating the Formative Age of the Bahá’í era, the Charter delineating the features of an Order which the Báb had announced, which Bahá’u’lláh had envisioned, and whose laws and principles He had enunciated, had galvanized these communities in Europe, Asia, Africa and America into concerted action, enabling them to erect and consolidate the framework of this Order, by establishing its local and national Assemblies, by framing the constitutions of these Assemblies, by securing the recognition on the part of the civil authorities in various countries of these institutions, by founding administrative headquarters, by raising the superstructure of the first House of Worship in the West, by establishing and extending the scope of the endowments of the Faith and by obtaining the full recognition by the civil authorities of the religious character of these endowments at its world center as well as in the North American continent.
A severe, a historic censure pronounced
by a Muslim ecclesiastical court in Egypt
had, whilst this mighty process—the laying
of the structural basis of the Bahá’í world
Administrative Order—was being initiated,
officially expelled all adherents of the Faith
of Muslim extraction from Islám, had condemned
them as heretics and brought the
members of a proscribed community face to
face with tests and perils of a character they
had never known before. The unjust decision of
a civil court in Baghdád, instigated
by Shí‘ah enemies, in ‘Iráq, and the decree
issued by a still more redoubtable adversary
in Russia had, moreover, robbed the Faith,
on the one hand, of one of its holiest centers
of pilgrimage, and denied it, on the other,
the use of its first House of Worship, initiated
by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and erected in the
course of His ministry. And finally, inspired by
this unexpected declaration made
by an age-long enemy—marking the first
step in the march of their Faith towards
total emancipation—and undaunted by this
double blow struck at its institutions, the
followers of Bahá’u’lláh, already united and
fully equipped through the agencies of a
[Page 139]
firmly established Administrative Order, had
arisen to crown the immortal records of the
first Bahá’í century by vindicating the
independent character of their Faith, by
enforcing the fundamental laws ordained in
their Most Holy Book, by demanding and in
some cases obtaining, the recognition by the
ruling authorities of their right to be
classified as followers of an independent religion,
by securing from the world’s highest Tribunal
its condemnation of the injustice they
had suffered at the hands of their persecutors,
by establishing their residence in no less than
thirty-four additional countries, as well as
in thirteen dependencies, by disseminating
their literature in twenty-nine additional
languages, by enrolling a Queen in the ranks
of the supporters of their Cause, and lastly
by launching an enterprise which, as that
century approached its end, enabled them to
complete the exterior ornamentation of their
second House of Worship, and to bring to a
successful conclusion the first stage of the
Plan which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had conceived for
the world-wide and systematic propagation
of their Faith.
Kings, emperors, princes, whether of the
East or of the West, had, as we look back
upon the tumultuous record of an entire
century, either ignored the summons of its
Founders, or derided their Message, or
decreed their exile and banishment, or
barbarously persecuted their followers, or
sedulously striven to discredit their teachings.
They were visited by the wrath of the
Almighty, many losing their thrones, some
witnessing the extinction of their dynasties,
a few being assassinated or covered with
shame, others finding themselves powerless to
avert the cataclysmic dissolution of their
kingdoms, still others being degraded to positions
of subservience in their own realms. The
Caliphate, its arch-enemy, had unsheathed
the sword against its Author and thrice
pronounced His banishment. It was humbled to
dust, and, in its ignominious collapse,
suffered the same fate as the Jewish hierarchy,
the chief persecutor of Jesus Christ, had
suffered at the hands of its Roman masters,
in the first century of the Christian Era,
almost two thousand years before. Members
of various sacerdotal orders, Shí‘ah, Sunní,
Zoroastrian and Christian, had fiercely
assailed the Faith, branded as heretic its
supporters, and labored unremittingly to disrupt
its fabric and subvert its foundations.
The most redoubtable and hostile amongst
these orders were either overthrown or
virtually dismembered, others rapidly declined in
prestige and influence, all were made to sustain
the impact of a secular power, aggressive and
determined to curtail their privileges
and assert its own authority. Apostates,
rebels, betrayers, heretics, had exerted their
utmost endeavors, privily or openly, to sap
the loyalty of the followers of that Faith, to
split their ranks or assault their institutions.
These enemies were, one by one, some gradually,
others with dramatic swiftness, confounded,
dispersed, swept away and forgotten. Not a few
among its leading figures, its
earliest disciples, its foremost champions, the
companions and fellow-exiles of its Founders,
trusted amanuenses and secretaries of its
Author and of the Center of His Covenant,
even some of those who were numbered
among the kindred of the Manifestation
Himself, not excluding the nominee of the
Báb and the son of Bahá’u’lláh, named by
Him in the Book of His Covenant, had
allowed themselves to pass out from under
its shadow, to bring shame upon it, through
acts of indelible infamy, and to provoke
crises of such dimensions as have never been
experienced by any previous religion. All
were precipitated, without exception, from
the enviable positions they occupied, many
of them lived to behold the frustration of
their designs, others were plunged into
degradation and misery, utterly impotent to
impair the unity, or stay the march, of the
Faith they had so shamelessly forsaken.
Ministers, ambassadors and other state dignitaries
had plotted assiduously to pervert its purpose,
had instigated the successive banishments of
its Founders, and maliciously striven to undermine
its foundations. They had, through
such plottings, unwittingly brought about
their own downfall, forfeited the confidence
of their sovereigns, drunk the cup of disgrace
to its dregs, and irrevocably sealed their own
doom. Humanity itself, perverse and utterly
heedless, had refused to lend a hearing ear
to the insistent appeals and warnings sounded
[Page 140]
by the twin Founders of the Faith, and later
voiced by the Center of the Covenant in His
public discourses in the West. It had plunged
into two desolating wars of unprecedented
magnitude, which have deranged its equilibrium,
mown down its youth, and shaken it
to its roots. The weak, the obscure, the
down-trodden had, on the other hand,
through their allegiance to so mighty a Cause
and their response to its summons, been
enabled to accomplish such feats of valor and
heroism as to equal, and in some cases to
dwarf, the exploits of those men and women
of undying fame whose names and deeds
adorn the spiritual annals of mankind.
Despite the blows leveled at its nascent
strength, whether by the wielders of temporal
and spiritual authority from without, or by
black-hearted foes from within, the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh had, far from breaking or bending,
gone from strength to strength, from
victory to victory. Indeed its history, if read
aright, may be said to resolve itself into a
series of pulsations, of alternating crises and
triumphs, leading it ever nearer to its
divinely appointed destiny. The outburst of
savage fanaticism that greeted the birth of
the Revelation proclaimed by the Báb, His
subsequent arrest and captivity, had been
followed by the formulation of the laws of
His Dispensation, by the institution of His
Covenant, by the inauguration of that
Dispensation in Badasht, and by the public
assertion of His station in Tabríz. Widespread
and still more violent uprisings in the
provinces, His own execution, the blood bath
which followed it and Bahá’u’lláh’s imprisonment
in the Síyáh-Chál had been succeeded by the
breaking of the dawn of the
Bahá’í Revelation in that dungeon. Bahá’u’lláh’s
banishment to ‘Iráq, His withdrawal
to Kurdistán and the confusion and distress
that afflicted His fellow-disciples in Baghdád had,
in turn, been followed by the resurgence of the Bábí
community, culminating in the Declaration of His Mission in the
Najíbíyyih Garden. Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l—‘Azíz’s
decree summoning Him to Constantinople
and the crisis precipitated by Mírzá Yaḥyá
had been succeeded by the proclamation of
that Mission to the crowned heads of the
world and its ecclesiastical leaders.
Bahá’u’lláh’s banishment to the penal colony of
‘Akká, with all its attendant troubles and
miseries, had, in its turn, led to the promulgation
of the laws and ordinances of His
Revelation and to the institution of His
Covenant, the last act of His life. The fiery
tests engendered by the rebellion of Mírzá
Muḥammad-‘Alí and his associates had been
succeeded by the introduction of the Faith
of Bahá’u’lláh in the West and the transfer
of the Báb’s remains to the Holy Land. The
renewal of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s incarceration and
the perils and anxieties consequent upon it
had resulted in the downfall of ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd,
in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s release from His
confinement, in the entombment of the Báb’s
remains on Mt. Carmel, and in the triumphal
journeys undertaken by the Center of the
Covenant Himself in Europe and America.
The outbreak of a devastating world war
and the deepening of the dangers to which
Jamál Pashá and the Covenant-breakers had
exposed Him had led to the revelation of the
Tablets of the Divine Plan, to the flight of
that overbearing Commander, to the liberation
of the Holy Land, to the enhancement
of the prestige of the Faith at its world
center, and to a marked expansion of its
activities in East and West. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
passing and the agitation which His removal
had provoked had been followed by the
promulgation of His Will and Testament,
by the inauguration of the Formative Age
of the Bahá’í era and by the laying of the
foundations of a world-embracing Administrative
Order. And finally, the seizure of
the keys of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh by the
Covenant-breakers, the forcible occupation
of His House in Baghdád by the Shí‘ah
community, the outbreak of persecution in
Russia and the expulsion of the Bahá’í community
from Islám in Egypt had been succeeded by the public
assertion of the independent religious status
of the Faith by its
followers in East and West, by the recognition
of that status at its world center, by
the pronouncement of the Council of the
League of Nations testifying to the justice
of its claims, by a remarkable expansion of
its international teaching activities and its
[Page 141]
literature, by the testimonials of royalty to
its Divine origin, and by the completion of
the exterior ornamentation of its first House
of Worship in the western world.
_________+++++++++++===============———————***************——————
The tribulations attending the progressive
unfoldment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have
indeed been such as to exceed in gravity
those from which the religions of the past
have suffered. Unlike those religions, however,
these tribulations have failed utterly
to impair its unity, or to create, even
temporarily, a breach in the ranks of its adherents.
It has not only survived these
ordeals, but has emerged, purified and inviolate,
endowed with greater capacity to
face and surmount any crisis which its resistless
march may engender in the future.
Mighty indeed have been the tasks accomplished and the victories achieved by this sorely-tried yet undefeatable Faith within the space of a century! Its unfinished tasks, its future victories, as it stands on the threshold of the second Bahá’í century, are greater still. In the brief space of the first hundred years of its existence it has succeeded in diffusing its light over five continents, in erecting its outposts in the furthermost corners of the earth, in establishing, on an impregnable basis its Covenant with all mankind, in rearing the fabric of its world-encompassing Administrative Order, in casting off many of the shackles hindering its total emancipation and world-wide recognition, in registering its initial victories over royal, political and ecclesiastical adversaries, and in launching the first of its systematic crusades for the spiritual conquest of the whole planet.
The institution, however, which is to constitute
the last stage in the erection of the
framework of its world Administrative
Order, functioning in close proximity to its
world spiritual center, is as yet unestablished.
The full emancipation of the Faith itself
from the fetters of religious orthodoxy, the
essential prerequisite of its universal recognition
and of the emergence of its World
Order, is still unachieved. The successive
campaigns, designed to extend the beneficent
influence of its System, according to
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Plan, to every country and island
where the structural basis of its Administrative
Order has not been erected, still remain
to be launched. The banner of Ya Bahá’u’l-Abhá
which, as foretold by Him, must
float from the pinnacles of the foremost seat
of learning in the Islamic world is still unhoisted.
The Most Great House, ordained as
a center of pilgrimage by Bahá’u’lláh in His
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, is as yet unliberated. The
third Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
to be raised to His
glory, the site of which has recently been
acquired, as well as the Dependencies of the
two Houses of Worship already erected in
East and West, are as yet unbuilt. The dome,
the final unit which, as anticipated by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is to crown the Sepulcher of
the Báb is as yet unreared. The codification
of the Kitáb—i—Aqdas, the Mother-Book of
the Bahá’í Revelation, and the systematic
promulgation of its laws and ordinances, are
as yet unbegun. The preliminary measures
for the institution of Bahá’í courts, invested
with the legal right to apply and execute
those laws and ordinances, still remain to be
undertaken. The restitution of the first
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of the Bahá’í world and
the recreation of the community that so devotedly
reared it, have yet to be accomplished. The sovereign
who, as foreshadowed
in Bahá’u’lláh’s Most Holy Book, must adorn
the throne of His native land, and cast the
shadow of royal protection over His long-persecuted
followers, is as yet undiscovered.
The contest that must ensue as a result of
the concerted onslaughts which, as prophesied by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, are to be delivered
by the leaders of religions as yet indifferent
to the advance of the Faith, is as yet unfought.
The Golden Age of the Faith itself
that must witness the unification of all the
peoples and nations of the world, the establishment
of the Most Great Peace, the inauguration of
the Kingdom of the Father
upon earth, the coming of age of the entire
human race and the birth of a world civilization,
inspired and directed by the creative
energies released by Bahá’u’lláh’s World
Order, shining in its meridian splendor, is
still unborn and its glories unsuspected.
Whatever may befall this infant Faith of
God in future decades or in succeeding centuries,
whatever the sorrows, dangers and
tribulations which the next stage in its
[Page 142]
world-wide development may engender,
from whatever quarter the assaults to be
launched by its present or future adversaries
may be unleashed against it, however great
the reverses and setbacks it may suffer, we,
who have been privileged to apprehend, to the
degree our finite minds can fathom, the
significance of these marvelous phenomena
associated with its rise and establishment,
THE Bahá’í WORLD
can harbor no doubt that what it has already
achieved in the first hundred years of its life
provides sufficient guarantee that it will
continue to forge ahead, capturing loftier
heights, tearing down every obstacle, opening
up new horizons and winning still
mightier victories until its glorious mission,
stretching into the dim ranges of time that
lie ahead, is totally fulfilled.
2.
A WORLD SURVEY OF THE —————————-FAITH—1844-1944
A SURVEY of the international Bahá’í community made by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian appointed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,has been summarized in a statement received by the National Spiritual Assembly which provides the essential facts of the present spread and facilities of the faith, now celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of its birth in Persia.
Bahá’ís have established residence in seventy-eight countries, fifty—six of them being sovereign states.
Bahá’í literature has been translated and published in forty-one languages.
Bahá’í literature in addition is being translated into twelve more languages.
In the world-wide community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, thirty—one different races are represented.
Five different National Bahá’í Assemblies, and sixty-one local Bahá’í Assemblies located in ten different countries, have become incorporated and legally empowered as religious societies to hold property.
The international Bahá’í endowments now held in Palestine have an estimated value of one-half million pounds sterling.
The national Bahá’í endowments held in the United States at present are considered to be worth one million, seven hundred thousand dollars.
The area of land in the Jordan Valley dedicated to the Bahá’í shrines in Palestine is over five hundred acres.
The site purchased for the future Bahá’í Temple in Persia comprises three and one-half million square meters.
The cost of the structure of the first Bahá’í Temple in the West, located on Lake Michigan near Chicago, has up to the present amounted to one million three hundred thousand dollars.
Bahá’í Assemblies are functioning in every state and province of North America.
Members of the Faith reside in thirteen hundred localities of the United States and Canada.
In five states of the United States, officers of Bahá’í Assemblies have been authorized by the civil authorities to conduct legal marriage rites according to the Bahá’í form.
Bahá’í Centers have been established in every republic of Latin America, fifteen of which now possess Spiritual Assembly.
In the Western Hemisphere the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh now stretches from Anchorage, Alaska, to Magallanes, the world’s southernmost city.
Sixty—two Bahá’í centers have been established in India, twenty-seven having a Spiritual Assembly.
Among the Bahá’í historic sites purchased in Persia are: the home of Bahá’u’lláh in Ṭihrán; the Báb’s shop in Búshihr; the burial place of Quddús; a portion of the village of Chihríq; three gardens in Badasht; the place where Táhirih was confined.
National Bahá’í administrative headquarters have been founded in Ṭihrán, Persia; Delhi, India; Cairo, Egypt; Baghdád, ‘Iráq; Wilmette, Illinois; and Sydney, Australia.
COUNTRIES OPENED TO THE FAITH OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH DURING THE FIRST BAHÁ‘Í CENTURY
Period of the Báb’s Ministry (1844—1853):
1. ‘Iráq
2. Persia
Period of Bahá’u’lláh’s Ministry
(1853-1892):
3. * Burma
4. * Caucasus
5. Egypt
6. India
7. † Lebanon
8. † Palestine
9. * Sudan
10. † Syria
11. Turkey
12. * Turkistán
Period of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ministry (1892-1921):
13. Arabia
14. Australia
15. Austria
16. Brazil
17. Canada
18. China
19. France
20. Germany
21. Great Britain
22. * Hawaiian Islands
23. Hungary
24. Italy
25. Japan
26. Netherlands
27. Russia
28. South Africa
29. Switzerland
30. † Transjordania
31. * Tunisia
32. United States of America
Period Since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension (1921~1944):
33. Abyssinia
34. Afghánistán.
35. * Alaska
36. Albania
37. Argentina
38. * Bahrayn Islands
39. * Balúchistán
40. Belgium
41. *Belgian Congo
42. Bolivian
43. Bulgaria
44. Chile
45. Colombia
46. Costa Rica
47. Cuba
48. Czechoslovakia
49. Denmark
50. Ecuador
51. El Salvador
52. Finland
53. Guatemala
54. Haiti
55. Honduras
56. * Iceland
57. Ireland
58. * Jamaica
59. * Java
60. Mexico
61. New Zealand
62. Nicaragua
63. Norway
64. Panama
65. Paraguay
66. Peru
67. * Philippine Islands
68. Poland
69. * Porto Rico
70. Rumania
71. San Domingo
72. * South Rhodesia
73. Sweden
74. * Tahiti
75. * Tasmania
76. Uruguay
77. Venezuela
78. Yugoslavia
————————
* Dependency
† Mandated Territory
COUNTRIES IN WHICH BAHÁ’ÍS HAVE ESTABLISHED THEIR RESIDENCE
1. Abyssinia
2. Afghánistán.
3. * Alaska
4. Albania
5. Arabia
6. * Argentina
7. * Australia
8. * Austria
9. * Bahrayn Islands
10. * Balúchistán
11. Belgian Congo
12. Belgium
13. Bolivian
14. *Brazil
15. *Bulgaria
16. *Burma
17. *Canada
18. *Caucasus
19. *Chile
20. China
21. *Columbia
22. *Costa Rica
23. *Cuba
24. Czechoslovakia
25. Denmark
- &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&*********++++++++++++++==============
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. “‘
15.
16. 3"
17. "‘
18. 3‘
19.
20.
21.
22. ’5
23.
24.
25.
26.
27. "‘
28. 3"
29.
30.
31.
32. "'
33. =“
34.
35. :5
36.
37. 35‘ 38.
39.
40. ="
oonm-hwpr‘
=“Abyssinia Afghénistén
- Alaska
Albania Arabia ”‘Argentina
- Australia
"‘Austria "‘Bahrayn Island ”‘Balfighistén Belgian Congo Belgium Bolivia Brazil "'Bulgaria Burma Canada Caucasus
- Chile
China "‘ Colombia Costa Rica
- Cuba
Czechoslovakia Denmark ="‘Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Finland
- France
"‘Germany Great Britain Guatemala
- ‘Haiti
Hawaii Islands Holland Honduras Hungary Iceland India
41. ”‘Iráq
42. Ireland
43. Italy
44. ”‘Jamaica
45. *Japan
46. Java
47. ”‘Lebanon
48. “Mexico
49. *New Zealand
50. Nicaragua
51. Norway
52. *Palestine
53. Panama
54. *Paraguay
5 5. "‘Persia
56. =“Peru
5 7. ”Philippine Islands
58. Poland
5 9. "“Porto Rico
60. Rumania
61. *Russia
62. San Domingo
63. "‘South Africa
64. South Rhodesia
65. Sudan
66. Sweden
67. Switzerland
68. “"Syria
69. Tahiti
70. Tasmania
71. “‘Transjordania
72. ”‘Tunisia
73. *‘Turkey
74. *Turkistán
75. “‘United States of America
76. ”‘Uruguay.
7 7 . Venezuela
78. Yugoslavia
- Local Spiritual Assembly established
INCORPORATED Bahá’í ASSEMBLIES
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States
and Canada .................
1927
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India and Burma‘ 1933
[Page 144]
144
3. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Egypt and the
Sudan ..................... 1934 4. National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand .................... 1938 5. National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá’ís of the British Isles. . . 1939
LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
United States of Ameficw Berkeley, Calif. Binghampton, N. Y. Boston, Mass. Chicago, Ill. Cincinnati, 0. Cleveland, 0. Columbus, 0. Detroit, Mich. Flint, Mich.
10. Helena, Mont.
11. Honolulu, T. H. 12. Indianapolis, Ind. 13. Jersey City, N. J. 14. Kenosha, Wis.
15. Lima, 0.
16. Los Angeles, Calif. 17. Miami, Fla.
18. Milwaukee, Wis. 19. Minneapolis, Minn. 20. New York, N. Y. 21. Oakland, Calif. 22. Pasadena, Calif. 23. Peoria, Ill.
24. Philadelphia, Pa. 25. Phoenix, Ariz.
26. Portland, Ore.
27. Racine, Wis.
28. San Francisco, Calif. 29. Seattle, Wash.
30. Springfield, Ill. 31. St. Paul, Minn. 32. Teaneck, N. J.
33. Urbana, Ill.
34. Washington, D. C. 35. Wilmétte, Ill.
36. Winnetka, Ill.
9°>I9r~¢.‘9
India 1. Ahmedabad 4. Baroda 2. Andheri 5. Bombay 3. Bangalore 6. Calcutta
THE Bahá’í
W O R L D 7. Delhi 11. Poona 8. Hyderabad Sind 12. Serampore 9. Karachi 13. Vellore 1 0. Panchgani
Burma—Daidanow-Kalazoo, Mandalay, Rangoon
Australia—Adelaide, Sydney
Canada—Montreal, Vancouver
Germany—Esslingen
New ZealamI—Auckland
Costa Rica—San José
Balu’c/x'sta’n—Quetta
LANGUAGES IN WHICH Bahá’í LITERATURE HAS BEEN TRANSLATED AND PRINTED
l. Abyssinian 22. Hungarian 2. Albanian 23. Icelandic 3. Arabic 24. Italian
4. Armenian 25. Japanese 5. Bengali 26. Kurdish 6. Bulgarian 27. Maori
7. Burmese 28. Norwegian 8. Chinese 29. Persian
9. Croatian 30. Polish
10. Czech 31. Portuguese 11. Danish 32. Rumanian 12. Dutch 33. Russian 13. English 34. Serbian 14. Esperanto 3S. Sindhi IS. Finnish 36. Spanish 16. French 37. Swedish 17. German 38. Tamil
18. Greek 39. Tatar
19. Gujrati 40. Turkish 20. Hebrew 41. Urdu
21. mild!
LANGUAGES IN WHICH BAHA'I LITERATURE Is BEING TRANSLATED
1. Kinarese 7. Punjabi 2. Latvian 8. Pushtoo 3. Lithuanian 9. Rajasthani 4. Mahratti 10. Singhalese S. Malyalam 11. Telugu 6. Oriya 12. Ukrainian
LANGUAGES IN WHICH Bahá’u’lláh’S “HIDDEN Worms” HAS BEEN TRANSLATED AND PRINTED
1. Albanian 3. Chinese 2. Bulgarian 4. Dutch
[Page 145]
THE CENTENARY OF
5 . English 1 0. Japanese 6. Esperanto 1 1. Persian 7. French 12 . Russian 8. German 1 3 . Serbian 9. Italian Braille Edition: English
In process of translation 1 . Armenian 5. Polish
2. Czech 6. Portuguese 3. Danish 7. Urdu
4 Hungarian
LANGUAGES IN WHICH Bahá’u’lláh’S “KITAB—H’QAN” HAS BEEN TRANSLATED AND PRINTED
1. Albanian 7. Persian 2. Chinese 8. Russian 3. Dutch 9. Spanish 4. English 1 0. Swedish 5. French 1 1. Urdu 6. German
Braille Edition: English
In process of translation1. Armenian 6. Gujrati
2. Burmese 7. Norwegian 3. Czech 8. Portuguese 4. Danish 9. Serbian
5. Esperanto
LANGUAGES IN WHICH ‘ABDU’L—BAHA’S “SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS” HAS BEEN TRANSLATED AND PRINTED
1. Arabic 6. German 2. Burmese 7. Persian 3 . Chinese 8 . Spanish 4. English 9. Urdu 5. French
In process of translation1. Armenian 6. Polish 2. Braille English 7. Portuguese 3 . Croatian 8 . Russian 4. Esperanto 9. Serbian 5. Italian
LANGUAGES IN WHICH DR. J. E. ESSLEMONT’s "Bahá’u’lláh AND THE NEW ERA” HAS BEEN TRANSLATED AND PRINTED
3 . Arabic 4. Armenian
1. Abyssinian 2. Albanian
A W O R L D F A I T H 145 5 . Bengali 2 2 . Icelandic 6 . Bulgarian 2 3 . Italian 7. Burmese 2 4. Japanese 8 . Chinese 2 5 . Kurdish 9. Czech 2 6. Norwegian 1 0. Danish 2 7. Persian 1 1. Dutch 2 8. Polish 12 . English 2 9. Portuguese 1 3. Esperanto 3 0. Rumanian 14. Finnish 3 1. Russian 1 5. F rench 3 2 . Serbian 16 . German 3 3. Sindhi 17. Greek 3 4. Spanish 1 8 . Gujrati 3 5 . Swedish 19. Hebrew 3 6. Turkish 2 0. Hindi 37. Urdu
21. Hungarian
Braille Translations: English, Esperanto, Japanese
In process of translation ]. Kinarese 8. Pushtoo
2. Latvian 9. Rajasthani 3 . Lithuanian 10. Singhalese
4. Mahratti 1 1. Tamil
5. Malyalam 1 2 . Telugu
6. Oriya 1 3. Ukrainian
7. Punjabi
American EditionsPrinted by Brentano Inc., New York. . 1,000
Printed by the American Bahá’í Publishing Committee:
January, 1929 ................... 5,000 March, 1930 .................... 2,000 June, 1931 ...................... 2,000 June, 1932 ...................... 5,000 May, 1937 (Revised Edition) ...... 5,000 November, 1938 (Revised Edition) . .5 ,000 August, 1940 (Revised Edition) ..... 7,500 August, 1942 (Revised Edition) ..... 5,500 TOTAL COPIES ........ 37,000
Bahá’í LITERATURE IN BRAILLE
The Hidden Words, by Bahá’u’lláh The Kitáb—i-fqén, by Bahá’u’lláh The Seven Valleys, by Bahá’u’lláh The Sfiratu’l-Haykal, by Bahá’u’lláh The IslIráqét, by Bahá’u’lláh Words of Wisdom, by Bahá’u’lláh
[Page 146]
146 THE
Some Answered Questions, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Divine Philosophy, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Some Discourses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Excerpts from the Promulgation of Universal Peace, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Book of Prayers
Bahá’í Prayers and Meditations of Baht?u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Bahá’í Peace Program
Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Messages from Shoghi Effendi
The Goal of a New World Order, by Shoghi Effendi
The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, by Shoghi Effendi
The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, by Shoghi Effendi
The Advent of Divine Justice, by Shoghi Effendi
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era (English, Esperanto and Japanese transcriptions)
Essai sur le Behaisme
Security for a Failing World
Bahá’í Teachings on Economics
A Letter to the Blind Women in Japan
Seek and It Shall Be Given You
The Bahá’í House of Worship
What Is the Bahá’í Movement?
La Bahaa Revelacio
Bahá’u’lláh—A 19th Century Prophet and His Message
The Laboratory of Life
Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh
The Manifestation
Bahá’u’lláh and His Message
Observations of a Bahá’í Traveller
The Meaning of Life
Oneness of Mankind
Path to God
Tests, Their Spiritual Value
Divine Art of Living
Why I Believe in God and Pray
Work Is Worship
Radiant Acquiescence
Homoculture
‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America
The White Silk Dress
A Bus Ride
Principles of the Bahá’í Faith
The Reality of Man
Bahá’í
WORLD
RACES REPRESENTED IN THE Bahá’í WORLD COMMUNITY
1. Abyssinian 17. Indian
2. Albanian 18. Italian
3. Arab 19. Japanese
4. Armenian 2 0. Kurdish
5. British 21. Maori
6. Bulgarian 22. Negro
7. Burmese 2 3 . Persian
8 . Chinese 24. Polish
9. Czech 2 5. Red Indian 10. Dutch 2 6. Russian 1 1. Eskimo 2 7. Scandinavian 12. Finnish 2 8 . Spanish 13. French 29. Sudanese 14. German 30. Turkish 1 S . Hungarian 3 1. Yugoslavian 1 6. Irish
MINORITY GROUPS AND RACES WITH WHICH CONTACT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED BY BAHA’I'S
Cherokee Indians in North Carolina Eskimos in Alaska
Inca Indians in Peru
Laps in Scandinavia
Maoris in New Zealand
Mayans in Yucatan
Mexican Indians in Mexico
Oneida Indians in Wisconsin Patagonian Indians in Argentina
DATA CONCERNING NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL Bahá’í ENDOWMENTS
Estimated value of Bahá’í national endowments in the United States of America ................... $1,768,539.33
Area of land purchased as the site of the first Mashriqu’l-Arflkér of Persia.. ................. 3,589,000 sq. meters
Area of land surrounding and dedicated to the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel ............... 140,600 sq. meters
Area of land dedicated to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká. . .1,000 sq. meters
Area of land dedicated to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh in the district of Gaza, Palestine ............... 10,530 sq. meters
Area of land dedicated to the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb in the Jordan Valley ........... 2,354,108 sq. meters
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THE CENTENARY OF A \VORLD FAITH
Area of land dedicated to the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb in Palestine and registered in the name of the Palestine Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America and Canada. 50,000 sq. meters
Total cost of the structure of the Mashriqu’l-Acfllkér in Wilmette, 111. (1921-1943 ) ........................ $1 ,342,81 3
AMERICAN Bahá’í PROPERTIES HELD IN TRUST
Mashriqu’l-AcL/aka'r, Wilmette, Illinois Temple Caretaker’s Cottage Land
Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, Wilmette, Illinois National Bahá’í Office
Supplementary Administrative Office Bahá’í Publishing Committee Office
Green Acre Ba/ari’z' School, Eliot, Maine
Bahá’í Hall
Dormitory and Dining Room
Studio
Three Cottages, Supplementary Dormitories
Arts and Crafts Studio
Schopflocher Cottage
Rogers Cottage
Lucas Studio
Fellowship House
Reeves Camp
Nine Gables, Schopflocher Estate; House, Studio, Farm Buildings
138 acres of land, including area on Monsalvat
Wilhelm Property, West Englewood, New jersey Wilhelm House Evergreen Cabin Cottage, Garage Land, including pine grove Where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave the unity feast in 1912
Geyserw'lle Bábd’z’ Scbool, Geyserville, Caliform'a Bosch House Bahá’í Hall Dormitory Ranch Buildings Land
147
International Babzi’z' School, Pine Valley, Colorado
Mathews House Ranch Buildings 20 acres of land Wilson Property, Malden, Massachusetts Wilson House, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá rested in 1912 Land Muskegon, Michigan Land
ESTIMATED VALUE OF AMERICAN Bahá’í PROPERTIES
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár ....... $ 1,482,012.91 Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds ....... . 21,526.42 Green Acre .............. 89,000.00 Wilhelm Property ......... 75,000.00 Geyserville School ......... 42,000.00 International School ....... 51,500.00 Wilson Property .......... 7,000.00 Muskegon Land ..... 5 00.00 TOTAL .................. $1,768,539.33
DATA REGARDING THE Bahá’í TEMPLE IN WILMETTE, ILLINOIS
Cost of Temple property ........ $51,500
Area of Temple property. . . . . .6.97 acres
Materials used in ornamentation: crystalline quartz, opaque quartz and white Portland cement
Total' cost of the structure of the Mashriqu’l-Acfl'lkér in Wilmette, In. (1921-1943) . .
......................... $1,342,813 Height from floor of basement to culmina tion of the dome ribs ......... 191 feet Depths of caissons ............. 120 feet Diameter at the foundation floor. .204 feet Height of dome ................ 49 feet Outside diameter of dome ........ 90 feet Inside diameter of dome .......... 72 feet Number of sections of ornamentation, com prising the dome and ribs ......... 387 Perforation of dome surface ........ 30% Height of mainstory pylons ...... 45 feet Seating capacity of Auditorium ..... 1,600
Number of Temple visitors from June 1932 October 1941 ............... 130,000 Letter addressed by Bahá’ís of ‘Ishqábád to the Bahá’ís of Chicago ............ 1902
[Page 148]
148
Petition addressed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the “House of Spirituality” of the Bahá’ís of Chicago, appealing for permission to construct a Bahá’í Temple in America. ..
........................ March 1903 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gives His approval through a Tablet dated ............... June 1903
Delegates of various American Bahá’í Assemblies meet in Chicago and choose a
site for the Temple ......... Nov. 1907 First two building lots purchased ......... ......................... April 1908
First Ameriean Bahá’í Convention establishes "Bahá’í Temple Unity” .........
........................ March 1909 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. lays dedication stone of the Temple ...... - ............. May 1912 Purchase of Temple property completed. .............................. 1914 Bahá’í Convention selects design of L. J. Bourgeois ................ April 1920
Contract awarded for the sinking of nine caissons (completed 1921).. .Dec. 1920 Contract awarded for the construction of the basement structure (completed 1922) ......................... Aug. 1921 Contract awarded for the erection of the super—structure (completed May 1931) . . ......................... Aug. 1930 Contract awarded for the ornamentation of the dome (completed January 1934)
............... ._........June 1932 Ornamentation of the clerestory completed .................... July 1935 Omamentation of the gallery unit completed ................... Nov. 1938 Omamentation of the mainstory begun.. ......................... April 1940 Ornamentation of the mainstory completed .................... July 1942 Steps placed in position ......... Dec. 1942
COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF FAMOUS DOMED STRUCTURES
St. Peter’s in Rome:
Total height ................ 452 feet
Inside diameter of dome ....... 137 feet St. Paul’s in London:
Total height ................ 366 feet
Inside diameter of dome ....... 112 feet St. Sophia in Constantinople:
Total height ................ 180 feet
Inside diameter of dome ...... 107 feet
THE Bahá’í WORLD
Pantheon in Rome: Inside height ............... 144 feet Inside diameter of dome ....... 142 feet
PRINCIPAL BAHA’I’ HISTORIC SITES IN PERSIA OWNED BY THE BAHA'I COMMUNITY
House of the Báb in Shíráz and several adjoining houses;
Ancestral Home of Bahá’u’lláh in Tékur, Mézindarén.
House of Bahá’u’lláh in Ṭihrán.
House owned by the Báb’s maternal uncle in fiiréz.
Shop belonging to the Báb in Bfis_l_1ihr.
A quarter of the village of Chiríq in Adilirbéyjén.
House of Hájí Mirzá Jéni in Késlxén, where the Bib stayed on His way to Tabríz. Public bath used by the Báb in Shíráz and
some adjacent houses.
Half of the house owned by thid in Nayriz.
Part of the house owned by Hujjat in Zanjén.
The three gardens rented by Bahá’u’lláh in Badasht.
Burial-pla'ce of Quddfis in Bérfurfish, Mézindarén.
House of Mahmfid Qén—i-Kalantar in Ṭihrán, where Táhirih was confined.
Public bath visited by the Báb when in Urfimiyyih, Adifirbéyjén.
House owned by Mitzi Husayn—‘Aliy—i—Nfir in Ṭihrán, where the Báb’s remains were concealed.
The Bábyiyih in Mashhad, §h_urésén.
The house owned by Mullá Husayn in Mashhad, Lhurésén.
The residence of the Sulténu’gh-fluhadé (King of Martyrs) and of the Mahbfibu’sfixéhuhadé (Beloved of Martyrs) in Igféhén.
Apartments occupied by the Báb in Urfimiyyih, A(flfitbéyjén.
Spot Where the heads of two hundred martyrs were buried in Abédih, Férs. House where the Báb’s remains were con cealed in Qum.
Site of martyrdom and burial-place of the "Seven Martyrs” of ‘Iráq, in Sultén—Abéd, ‘Iráq.
[Page 149]
THE CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH
Site of martyrdom and burial—place of the “Four Martyrs” of ‘Iráq, in Sultin—Abéd, ‘Iráq.
Caravansarai occupied by the Báb in Zanjén.
Burial—place of Aslxraf and his mother Zanjén.
House Where the Báb’s remains were con , cealed in Kirménsééh.
Room occupied by Vahid and other rooms in the Fort of Kfihéjih in Nayriz.
Land adjoining the Fort of Ehéjih, site of the martyrdom of Vahid and some of his companions.
DATES OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE DURING THE FIRST Bahá’í CENTURY
Declaration of the Mission of the B51) in
Shíráz ............... May 23, 1844 Departure of the Báb on His pilgrimage to
-Mecca .............. September 1 844 Arrival of the Báb in Méh—Kfih, Ad_hhir béyj én ............... Summer 1 847 Incarceration of the Báb in Chiríq, Ad_hir béyj én ................. April 1 84 8 Conference of Badasllt ....... June 1848 Interrogation of the Báb in Tabríz, Ad_hhir béyj én .................. July 1848 Martyrdom of the Báb in Tabríz, Ad_hhir béyjén ................ July 9, 1850 Attempt on the life of Négiri’d-Din
Shéh .............. August 15, 1852 Imprisonment of Bahá’u’lláh in the Siyéh glél of Ṭihrán ......... August 1852 Banishrnent of Bahá’u’lláh to
Baghdád ........... January 12, 1853 Withdrawal of Bahá’u’lláh to
Kurdistén .......... April 10, 1854 Return of Bahá’u’lláh from
Kurdistén ........... March 19, 1856 Declaration of the Mission of
Bahá’u’lláh ........... April 22, 1863 Arrival of Bahá’u’lláh in
Constantinople ..... August 16, 1863 Arrival of Bahá’u’lláh in
Adrianople ....... December 12, 1863 Departure of Bahá’u’lláh from
Adrianople ......... August 12, 1868 Arrival of Bahá’u’lláh in
‘Akkz'z ............. August 31, 1868 Death of the Purest Branch.June 23, 1870 Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, . .May 29, 1892
First public reference to the Faith in America ........ September 23, 1893
149
I
Establishment of the first Bahá’í center in the West ............ February 1894 Arrival of the first group of Western pil grims in ‘Akká. . . .December 10, 1898 Arrival of the Báb’s remains in the
Holy Land ......... January 31, 1899 Reincarceration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
in ‘Akká .......... August 20, 1901
Commencement of the construction of the
Mashriqu’l-Adilkér of ‘Isllqébéb. . 1902 Release of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from His
incarceration ........ September 1908 Interment of the Báb’s remains on
Mt. Carmel ......... March 21, 1909 Opening of the first American Bahá’í Con vention ............ March 21, 1909 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s departure for
Egypt .............. September 1 910 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s arrival in
London .......... September 4, 1911 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s arrival in
America ............. April 11, 1912
Laying of the corner-stone ot the Mashriqu’l-Adjkér in Wilmette, 111., by ‘Abdu’l Bahá ................. May 1, 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s return to the Holy Land ............ December 5, 1913
Unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine - Plan ................... April 1919 Commencement of the construction of the Mashriqu’l-Acfllkér in Wilmette,
Ill. ................. December 1920 Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. . . . .November 28, 1921
Verdict of the Muhammadan Court in Egypt denouncing the Faith to be an independent religion. . . [May 10, 1925
Martha Root’s first interview With Queen Marie of Rumania. . .January 30, 1926
Resolution of the Council of the League of Nations upholding the claim of the Bahá’í community to the House of Bahá’u’lláh
in Baghdád .......... March 4, 1929 Passing of the Greatest Holy
Leaf .................... July 1932 Inception of the Seven Year
Plan ........... . ........ April 1937 Completion of the Mashriqu’l-Adlakér in
Wilmette, Ill. ........ December 1942 Centenary celebration and opening of
first All—American Bahá’í Conven tion .............. May 19-25, 1944
3.
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS IN THE HOLY LAND
BY RÚḤÍYYIH KHÁNUM
THE Centenary came upon us very much like the sunrise which, long before our parent orb soars above the horizon, casts its premonitory rays over the earth and awakes and excites the face of creation. First it was the entering of the one hundred and first year of our history, on March 21st, 1944, that made our pulses beat quicker, for the glorious time was near. Then it was just ahead of us. Hearts began to sing with expectation; our paces accelerated; daily tasks began to glow in the light of expectation—the very hours seemed to be running on swifter feet to meet the Day of Days, May 22nd. We were enveloped in a veritable storm of rushing and as the eve before that sacred eve that saw the inception of the Bahá’í Era fell, preparations were moving to a climax; already the pilgrims had arrived; already the rooms and halls were spotless and waiting to welcome the throng of believers who would pour in on the morrow; already the Shrines were adorned with candlesticks and vases to receive the lights and the flowers destined for the great feast on the following night.
There was little sleep for any one—for what need had we of sleep at such a time as this? We were riding the wave of joy that the celebrations cast before them. Everything must be perfect. Messages must be delivered to this and that person, last minute instructions carried out, the final polishing applied to everything in sight, the hundreds and hundreds of roses, freshly cut, placed in water that they might be in their prime next day.
Over a hundred and fifty Bahá’ís gathered during the morning and afternoon of the 22nd. A great tent, a gift of the Indian believers during ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s lifetime, had been pitched near the Oriental Pilgrim House on Mt. Carmel as a meeting place for the women and children. The opening ceremony of the centenary commemoration was to take place at exactly two hours and eleven minutes after sunset, in the Shrine of the beloved Martyr Prophet of Shíráz, at the very moment when one hundred years earlier He had said to the youthful Mullá Ḥusayn "Behold, all these signs are manifest in me!” and had then proceeded, with dignity and majesty, to lift the veil on a new era in human history.
The Guardian had already proceeded after
dusk to the Holy Tombs to himself arrange
the disposition of the flowers and lights.
With his own hands he had copiously
sprinkled the thresholds and floors with the
fragrant and intense perfume made of the
essence of damask roses. The believers were
then summoned, the women entering the
eastern, the men the western, side of the
Báb’s Shrine. As the men filed past the
Guardian he anointed the hand of each with
that same sweet scented oil. What a vision
greeted our eyes as we entered the door!
The whitewashed walls, the simple arches
curving above the two thresholds of the
inner shrine of the Báb, (which face each
other and permit a full view of the floor
beneath which His body rests), were flooded
with brilliant light. The center chandelier,
crystal, gold and blue, hung glistening with
candles; on either side of it electrically
lighted chandeliers blazed; beneath the apex
of each arch over the two thresholds globes
of pale roseate glass glowed; at the head
and at the foot of His resting place great
candelabra raised their nine burning fingers
in long rows; at the corners of the beautiful
paisley shawl stretched in the middle of the
rich rugs that cover the floor of this inner
shrine stood five—armed candlesticks, making
pyramids of flames; along the sides other
candles flickered until glass, silver, polished
[Page 151]
brass and light seemed to sparkle from
threshold to threshold. Over the wide space
thus formed hundreds and hundreds of
crimson and apricot-hued roses lay, a veritable
carpet of flowers. To the left and
right of this band of light and flowers stood
two immense, ornate vases from which
sprang, fountain-like, huge clusters of deep
red leaves and blossoms. The two thresholds
were thickly spread with white jasmine on
one side and white roses on the other, amidst
which were interspersed vases of flowers
in vivid tones of red and blue. In the upper
corners of the western room stood great
bunches of Easter lilies, casting their
delicate and poignant fragrance into the already
rose-laden air.
It seemed to me at least, (as I gazed into that shimmering crucible of light and color) , that mighty, invisible bells were ringing somewhere, in some world we could not see, and that their voices were crying:
”Ring out the old, ring in the new . . .
Ring out the false, ring in the true . . .
Ring out the want, the care, the sin . . .
Ring in the love of truth and right . . .
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.”
Ring out the old, ring in the new! in peal on peal of joyous thunder.
One hundred years of glory—but of bloodshed, of persecution, of abasement—had passed. A new hundred years was rising up before us, not more blessed—for that could never be—but bringing the seeds of the first to fruition; bringing nearer to the world the day when the Kingdom of God shall come on earth as it is in heaven.
As I listened to the voice of the Guardian chanting I thought of the One that lay beneath that flower-strewn brilliant floor; of His youthfulness, His gentleness, His bitter trials and disappointments; of how they put Him before a firing squad and riddled His breast with bullets. I thought of the day the Master, then an old man, with His silvery hair flying about His beautiful face, had laid the little casket containing the Báb’s earthly remains away for all time in a great marble sarcophagus in the vault beneath that floor, and how He had then bowed His head on its lip and wept and sobbed from an over filled heart until all those who stood in reverence at that solemn moment, wept with Him.
How small, how unworthy we seemed to be in that room on such an occasion! Great things come like a thief in the night and find us unprepared and then other men, at other times, look back and say “What a blessing for those who were there; what an hour to have been alive!"
We then left the Shrine of the Báb and entered the adjacent Tomb of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, He who had built that Shrine and who had said that every stone of it had been raised and placed in position through infinite pains on His part and the shedding of many tears. A century had now passed since His birth on the self same night the Báb declared His mission, and the loving hands of the Guardian had decked His tomb, too, with candles and flowers, only here the roses were a carpet of deep violet—pink, spreading the whole length of His resting place.
On very rare occasions in life is it given to people to climb out of themselves, to surmount for even a few seconds the bonds of time, of self, and the limitations they impose. But for a few brief hours we seemed to have cast the world behind us and become free of the trammels of the flesh. So great was the joy, so simple and compelling the beauty of those moments when we attained the apex of our expectations, when we could, if only for one instant, in one great inner flash, see the panorama of spiritual events in their proper perspective, that it lifted us up into the realm of eternal reality, the World of God, where there is neither past nor present nor future, but only the truth of His creation and the brightness of His worlds of everlasting life. We stood before the mean of His Bounty—yet how little seemed the measures we possessed with which to take away our portion!
Slowly the world and its burden of living
came back to us and tightened its coils about
us once again. We had pilgrimaged out
beyond our limitations; for a few hours,
(or for a few moments, each according to
his own capacity), we had been free; now,
happy, excited, grateful, we returned to
earth again. Long after midnight the meetings
lasted, the men in the presence of the
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Guardian, the women foregathered in the
pavilion pitched for them. The friends
feasted with elated hearts. Poems and prayers
were chanted and readings from the
Centenary Review written by Shoghi Effendi
himself for this great anniversary.
As we listened, the trials and sufferings of the Founders of our Faith seemed very near and real on this day when their followers the world over were tasting some of the first fruits of triumph. As scenes of sorrow, of bitter deprivation and persecution rose before us, so too, intermingled with them like light with shadow, was the ever—present picture in the mind’s eye of what the believers elsewhere were doing on this glorious occasion! The friends gathered in the white Mother Temple of the West, radiant, joyous faces, representative of all North America, every State and every Province, and those of the Latin American Republics too, gazing for the first time on western soil, in the New World, on the portrait of the holy Báb; the lofty-domed auditorium of the Temple hugging them in a peace and security unknown to the outer world. The Indian believers, excited, enthused, reaping the reward of a truly stupendous effort which swept the Cause forward within the space of a few years into many virgin States, and multiplied centers and assemblies in an almost miraculous manner. The British friends, convening their convention and courageously and determinedly launching upon a week-long public Centenary Exhibition in the heart of bombed and endangered London. The Egyptian Bahá’ís, foregathered in their newly completed National Administrative Headquarters, proudly stepping forth in their true colors in a mighty stronghold of Islám. The ‘Iráq believers, firm, devoted, persevering, holding their celebrations likewise in their own Headquarters in that city blessed beyond measure of Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation of His glory in one of its gardens. And last, but not by any means least, our thoughts hovered about that little House in Shíráz where He, the Báb, declared Himself, now the Mecca of the eager Persian representatives of His Faith who pilgrimaged there to do Him honor, to glorify His humility, to beweep His sufferings, to laud His precious life, to recall His sorrows and death, and to place on the floor of the room in which He first asserted His world—shaking claims, a silken carpet in the name of “Shoghi, the Servant of His Threshold”, as well as to convene, during nine days, their annual convention in the precincts of that scared House.
Though the center of the Faith was deprived, because of war, of welcoming on a befitting scale representatives from distant parts of the Bahá’í world, yet did it receive a full portion of blessing and give out, once again, to the body of the Cause that never-failing animus which, ever since Bahá’u’lláh’s arrival in ‘Akká in 1868, has radiated from this unique spot. As the heart pumps blood with force and strength to the furthermost capillaries of the system, so the Guardian distributed to all the members of the Bahá’í world news, glad tidings, hopes and instructions for the future. It was so thrilling to hear, (it was almost vocal, the sense of nearness was so acute), the news that poured in from the delegates in all the Bahá’í conventions, East and West; reports of successes, numbers, new undertakings, good wishes, requests for prayers, expressions of devotion and gratitude. . . . Time and space faded away and we all seemed to be in the same place inwardly, as indeed, we are, if we but saw with the eye of the spirit.
May the 23rd, our festivities continued
on Mt. Carmel; in the morning the women,
in the afternoon, the men, visited the
International Archives. With what memories we
gazed upon the portraits of the Báb and
Bahá’u’lláh. Their writings, their robes, their
relics appeared in a new light. How swiftly
the hundred years seemed to have passed as
I held the precious dress of the Báb in my
hands, of green taffeta—(green beloved by
Him no doubt as the emblem of His sacred
lineage, His kinship to Muḥammad). His
hair was there too, a few short, fine, brown
strands; parings from His nails, kept for
over ninety years by devout followers of
His; a little box containing fragments of
wood from the original casket enclosing His
remains and which had been preserved since
the day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entombed them for
the last time. It seemed as if only a few days
ago He must have been alive and walking
[Page 153]
the streets of Shíráz—not possibly a whole
century ago! As we all gathered close to
view these historic mementos of the martyr
Prophet of our Faith, we could feel the
times changing. Some there were amongst
us who had known Bahá’u’lláh Himself,
daughters of one of his half-brothers; one,
the oldest of these, had herself from her
childhood waited upon the mother of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and been with her when she died and
had likewise been present in the Mansion, at
Bahjí, during Bahá’u’lláh’s last illness and
when He ascended. Already those days of
nearness were receding; when these old
women passed away who would stand
amongst us and with weeping eyes say “yes,
I remember seeing that in His hand . . .”?
Most of the adults present had known ‘Abdu’l-Bahá personally for long years. But soon that generation too will be rolled away into the past and no living memory amongst us recall Him. We all felt our privilege very keenly as we gazed on these things in the archives, which are at present lodged in the rooms adjoining the Báb’s and the Master’s tombs. From the days when Bahá’u’lláh resided in Bahjí, and these old women had entered His presence and seen these very tájs, we now looked upon with such reverence, on His own blessed head, there was already a gap. We younger ones looked upon them with envious eyes. You saw the face of the Prophet! You waited on, listened to the voice of, and received gifts from, the King of Kings! And it was only day before yesterday! Already the day before that is gone. No one is left who can touch the relics of the Báb with tremulous lips and flowing eyes and say "I saw Him!”
And yesterday is gone too. Though so many knew the beloved Master, though so many present had received their names and the names of their chidren from Him and had still in their homes many a gift of His, or a tablet, or something used by Him—yet for us who are younger is that a closed door too, now. That was yesterday, gone for ever. The Perfect Exemplar is laid away to rest. 100 years ago He was born. These are His things, these the shoes, the fez, the robes, the watch He wore—but He is gone. And even as we perceived these things we perceived our own privileges too. Our day too has its special sweetness, for we are still near. Near in point of time to these three glorious figures, and very near and folded still in the intimate phase of the Cause. We enter within the Shrines; we stand close, close to the sacred resting places; we are near the Guardian; he comes to us, speaks to the friends, chants in the Holy Tombs, walks the garden paths; the pilgrims cluster behind him, ask their questions, are often alone with him day after day and have his discourse and his presence all to themselves.
And yet, in thirty-five years, what immense changes have swept over Mt. Carmel since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the Báb’s body to rest in 1909. The Master Himself is now laid away beneath the floor of the adjoining shrine—but this we know is not His permanent resting place. Two Oriental Pilgrim Houses are built in the vicinity of the Tomb, one during His days, one added by the Guardian. But these, we may well suppose, will some day give way to the requirements of a far greater inflow of pilgrims. The terraces the Master envisaged, and Himself cemented, now stretch from the Shrines to almost join the main road of the German Colony—but they are but a skeleton, constructed by Shoghi Effendi in anticipation of the mighty scheme of approach to the Báb’s Sepulchre which must some day be undertaken.* On the other side of the main highway, running now to the crest of Mt. Carmel and passing behind the Shrines, are the newly laid out gardens which surround the beautiful monuments marking the graves of the Master’s Family, all built since His sister passed away in 1932, and where His mother, His brother and His wife now also rest.
Change is swiftly sweeping over this old mountain of the prophets. Since the day When Bahá’u’lláh pointed with His own hand to the spot, and instructed His beloved Son to bring the Báb’s body and bury it there, events have leaped forward. We can only suppose they will go on doing so at an ever increasing tempo.
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*From the crown of the mountain to the German colony at its foot the lands of the Shrine now stretch, approximately 140,000 square meters, all permanently dedicated to the Báb’s Resting Place and exempted from taxation by Government and Municipality alike.
So as we intimately visited the archives, held our meetings informally together, and saw what the requirements of almost two hundred people were, our minds naturally turned to the future and we envisioned the days, perhaps nearer than we realize, when thousands will be pilgrims, and the days beyond those days, hanging as yet on the dim fringes of time, when millions will be pilgrims. And our celebrations seemed infinitely near and precious, and we knew the time was not far off when others would be envying us our days as we envied those who said “I remember when Bahá’u’lláh wore that in the Mansion” or “I remember when the Master returned with those from America.”
On the afternoon of the 23rd the Guardian recapitulated (in the men’s meeting) the thrilling and moving history of the remains of the Báb from that black night when, following upon His martyrdom, they were thrown out on the edge of the moat of Tabríz for animals to devour and were later rescued and concealed for sixty lunar years, through the direct and unsparing vigilance of both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, till they were finally entombed by the Master himself. For those six decades they were a heavy, one might almost say a heart-breaking, load on their minds. Moved from place to place; always in the gravest danger should their whereabout become known to the enemies of the Faith; at one time their repository broken open by thieves; at another their exact place of concealment lost to the knowledge of all save Bahá’u’lláh, and a very few of His relatives, who were in exile with Him, they made the journey, secret, circuitous, over half a century in duration, from Tabríz to Haifa in security. Now, on the Centenary of the Báb’s Declaration, the Guardian announced for the first time that a design had been made at his instruction and accepted by him for the completed structure of the Shrine, comprising a columned arcade enclosing the original building on four sides and surmounted by a lofty dome, resting on an intermediary eight-sided story. This concept was pursuant with the wishes of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who had desired that the building should be surmounted by a dome. But not one stone of the stones blessed by his tears and labours should ever be removed. His structure was the core, sacred and precious beyond the embellishments of art, and it was now to be enclosed in a shell of beauty befitting the station and glory of the beloved Martyr-Herald of our Faith, and yet revealing the original building on all sides.
This announcement, accompanied by an exhibition of the model, was made together with the glad tidings that the next and third Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Bahá’í world would be constructed, circumstances permitting, in Ṭihrán on the large area of land already purchased for that purpose by the Persian friends, and that these two mighty tasks were amongst the first undertakings which must be launched upon in the course of the second Bahá’í century.
After another visit—at the hour of twilight—to the twin tombs of the Báb and the Master, the Bahá’ís, men and women, gathered in the hall of the Oriental Pilgrim House to hear the record of a prayer chanted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and to view the motion picture taken of Him in 1912 during His visit to America. The majestic figure, with unutterably sweet and beautiful face and the sad and loving eyes, moved the hearts of us all. This was followed by colored lantern slides showing views of the Bahá’í Temple in Wilmette, the friends gathered on its steps at convention time, the National Bahá’í Headquarters, various conferences and summer school groups, and other Bahá’í properties. Gasps of delight and enthusiasm could be heard as the believers gazed on the great white House of Worship resting on green swards, flanked by the blue waters of Lake Michigan, and surrounded by lofty trees.
On May the 24th, all the pilgrims and believers proceeded to Bahjí, near ‘Akká, where, in the afternoon, the final meeting of our centennial celebrations was held in the shadow of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tomb. The Bahá’ís, gathered about the Guardian on the lawn, listened to his discourse on the progress made by the Faith and to the narrative of those trials and episodes that distinguished the lifetime of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, many of which were vivid in the memories of those present. As the sun westered into the sea, we entered the Holy Tomb.
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Green and white wove a pattern of peace
and calm into the gathering dusk of the
interior. The bushes and vines and tall, slender
trees stood still and ethereal in the little
center garden. Only the small inner room
of the Shrine, beneath the floor of which
Bahá’u’lláh’s remains rest, was brilliantly
lighted with flickering candles, old-fashioned
frosted globe chimney lamps and electricity,
the nature of the outer room, with its large
skylights, precluding any illumination there
owing to the black-out regulations.
It was His Faith’s anniversary we were celebrating. We came to Him with hearts full of gratitude and realization. The Báb had said: “For all that hath been exalted in the Bayán is but as a ring upon My hand, and I Myself am, verily, but a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest . . . He turneth it as He pleaseth, for whatsoever He pleaseth, and through whatsoever He pleaseth.” And yet the one hundred years gone by were from the declaration of His Herald’s mission. This was not really Bahá’u’lláh’s anniversary; that would come in 1963. 1963—What would His Faith have given to the world by then? We stood under the shadow of war, in a darkness brought by war.
All the evil, all the ruin and sorrow and suffering He had cautioned us against for forty years, the godlessness, perversity and blindness He had seen waxing within men’s hearts, had come to fruition. The centenary of our Cause had fallen in the midst of a world convulsion that carried on its flood waters ever greater treasures of our youth, our wealth, our optimism, our hopes away into oblivion. In the nineteen years ahead, before we again gathered for a hundredth anniversary in His Holy Tomb, what of good and ill would befall humanity? How much would the Bahá’ís accomplish during these two priceless decades that lay before them? We had done much—and yet so little! Well over half a century ago Bahá’u’lláh had written: “And if the friends had been doing that which they were commanded, now most of those on earth would be adorned with the robe of faith.”
Somewhere in the past there had been grievous failures on our part. Would we now take wing? Would we at last become completely, utterly Bahá’ís, men of the New Creation, breathing the ratified air of those mountain tops Bahá’u’lláh discovered to our eyes and whose paths He had laid down for our feet? Everything we had: There before us, strong, assured, tried in the fires of suffering and tempered to a fine point, stood our leader, our Guardian. Both we and the Cause were safe in such hands as his. A doer to his finger tips; a man of vision, iron determination, indomitable courage; a man who never hesitated before any danger or compromised with any circumstance, however overpowering and compelling it might seem to be. In a world of half-tones, of muddied values, his standard was fleckless, his eye sharp and true, his voice unfaltering. Our treasury was full: A wealth of literature was ours, neither open to question as to authenticity nor open to misinterpretation. Our foundation was laid by the blood of martyrs, by the spread of the Faith for a hundred years until almost every land on the planet had received some tiding of its message. Our Administration, thanks to the tireless and persistent insistence of Shoghi Effendi, had at last emerged from its embryonic state and was rapidly growing into the suitable medium it was designed to be for the expression of Bahá’í community life and the furtherance of the welfare of mankind. Youth marched under our banner. The insignificant, the obscure, the unqualified had discovered, particularly during the last seven years of teaching enterprise in the New World, that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was a golden talisman that opened doors no humble man ever dreamed he would pass through. We had begun to taste the sweetness of the power God confers on those who go forth to serve Him and had seen indeed that “should a man, all alone, arise in the name of Bahá and put on the armor of His love, him will the Almighty cause to be victorious, though the forces of earth and heaven be arrayed against him.” We had come to know that there are spiritual as well as physical laws in this world and that our Faith can launch the frailest bark into the wildest torrent and yet steer it safely to victory.
The measure of success or the measure of failure which the next nineteen years must
Miss Jeanne Bolles was hostess at a luncheon held July 15, 1944, at the Hotel Stevens, Chicago, in honor of Latin-American representatives to the All-American Bahá’í Centenary Convention attending the July Sessions.
hold for the Cause directly, and for humanity indirectly, depends on our wills. What do we Bahá’ís intend to do? How firmly are we going to grasp the sword of action? How daring are our hearts? Victory, like Spring, must come, but will it be our victory or that of others, who will look back with scorn and pity on us and say that such an opportunity as lay between the years 1944 and 1963 the Bahá’ís of those days let slip between their fingers!
PRESS NOTICES
The Palestine Post
Monday, May 22, 1944.
Iyar 29, 5704. Rabia Awal 29, 1363
Bahá’í Centenary Exhibition
London, Sunday (R).—-Sir Ronald Storrs presided in the Alliance Hall, Westminster, yesterday at the opening of the centenary exhibition of the Bahá’í religion, which has two million followers, half of whom are in Persia and eight thousand in the United States.
Sir Ronald referred to the Bahá’í doctrine of universal brotherhood and peace and noted that its teaching was that divine revelation is progressive with the development of the human race.
The celebrations will continue until next Saturday.
Haifa, Sunday.—The 100th anniversary of the day when the Báb declared his mission in Shíáz (Persia) will be commemorated here by members of the Bahá’í faith from all over the Middle East at a three-day celebration beginning tomorrow night and ending at the shrine and mansion at Bahjí (near Acre) on Wednesday.
The first gathering will take place at the
tomb of the Báb on the slopes of Mount
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Carmel at 2 hours and 11 minutes after
sunset tomorrow, the exact hour when the Báb
declared his mission 100 years ago. After
readings and chantings, the gathering will
return to the nearby Oriental Pilgrims House
where Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the
Bahá’í faith, will deliver an address. On
Tuesday, there will be a ceremonial unveiling
of a model of the complete shrine of the
tomb.
In Persia, the occasion will be commemorated during a nine-day celebration:
The Palestine Post
Tuesday, May 23, 1944.
Iyar 30, 5701. Rabia Awal 30, 1363
Candle-Light on Mount Carmel
Bahá’í Centenary Celebration
Haifa, Monday.—Some 200 Bahaists from Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Syria, the Lebanon and Egypt gathered here today for the beginning of the three-day Bahá’í centenary celebrations which will start shortly before 10 o’clock tonight.
This evening electric lights and hundreds of candles illuminated the shrine off Mountain Road on the slopes of Mount Carmel until blackout time. Inside the shrines, huge floral decorations of roses and lilies covered the Persian carpets over the tombs of the Báb and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, where the gathering will take place tonight.
Led by Shoghi Effendi (the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá), who is the “Guardian of the Cause,” the Bahaists will assemble at the tomb of the Báb at the exact hour tonight when the Báb declared his mission 100 years ago. There will be readings and chantings of Bahá’í prayers and teachings followed by the reading of a centenary review at the Oriental Pilgrims House where Shoghi Effendi will also address the gathering.
Tonight’s celebrations are expected to continue until 2 or 3 o’clock tomorrow morning and will be continued in the afternoon with a solemn unveiling of the model showing the entire shrine which will be completed as soon as conditions will permit the carrying out of the elaborate construction.
Tomorrow night, a film of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Who was the son of the revelator Bahá’u’lláh) taken in America, will be shown at the Pilgrims House and there will also be slides showing the completed Bahá’í House of Worship at Wilmette, Illinois.
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Growth of the American Bahá’í Community to 1944
BY MARION HOLLEY
MAY 23rd, 1944, marks the completion of a century so illimitable in its promise for the future of humanity, that neither we who have glimpsed its brilliance, nor the world which sustains the impact of its force, can truly claim to have grasped more than a fragment of its import. However earnestly we ponder the Bahá’í Faith,—“that priceless gem of Divine Revelation enshrining the Spirit of God and incarnating His Purpose for mankind in this age,”* we can only partially conceive the majestic process inaugurated by Bahá’u’lláh or our part in its unfoldment at this pivotal hour. For ours is a climax never to be repeated: the struggle of birth to project on this planet the very body of humanity, the organic and universal Form in which for untold centuries the spirit of man has sought to clothe itself. Whether we be conscious of it or not, ours is the delicate and challenging task to participate in ”the unification of the whole world, the final object and the crowning glory of human evolution.”
Nothing that we see, as we look back upon fifty years of Bahá’í history on this continent, is unrelated to this tremendous mission. No preparation which our nation has undergone for leadership; no experience, suffering, doubt, or achievement through which the American people have passed; no smallest project or inconspicuous aspiration of the American Bahá’í Community; no heroic endeavor, no mighty and “shining deeds” but have borne their own direct relation to the unfolding process of World Order and World Civilization. ”The Great Republic of the West . . . has been singled
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*All quotations not otherwise identified are from the writings of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. Italicized quotations are from the Divine Plan Tablets by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
out . . . and been invested . . . with a unique, inescapable, a weighty and most sacred responsibility.”
Tonight we are met to appraise America’s heritage as the citadel of universal peace. Already, through previous speakers, we have seen the planting in North America of the potent seed of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation. We have watched its rootage in faithful hearts, and seen them bestirred to remarkable activity. We have witnessed with awe and humility the results of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s journey and ceaseless exertions. And now we come to the climax of the Master’s labors, His "clarion call” sounded in “those destiny-shaping Tablets” of the Divine Plan “wherein, in bold relief, stands outlined the world mission entrusted to the American Bahá’í Community.”
Although we have just completed in the Seven Year Plan the preliminary stage of this vast assignment, learning through the strenuous period of its development some hint of what it means to labor for the triumph of God’s Cause, yet the full significance of these words from the Guardian can only be guessed: “The promulgation of the Divine Plan,” he wrote in 1936, ". . . is the key which Providence has placed in the hands of the American believers whereby to unlock the doors leading them to fulfill their unimaginably glorious Destiny.”
We are too close to this unseen but all-compelling process. For seven years we have moved to its rhythm, manifested its influence, hungered for its goals, and demonstrated all unwittingly its latent power. The victories we have won, the territories of our conquest, the key cities which brighten the horizon of the Western Hemisphere, the swelling ranks of "the heavenly armies” of
Bahá’í House of Worship used as theme for stage decoration at performance of Chicago Ladies Grand Piano Symphony Orchestra Wednesday evening, May 24, 1944, at Orchestra Hall, Chicago. The chorus "The Voices of All Nations,” sing the new musical composition, "The Making of the Temple.” Antoinette Rich conducting.
Bahá’u’lláh—all these proclaim the confirming and irresistible energy of a Plan which enshrines, in every phrase and conception, the Divine Will for the uniting of nations in this Promised Day.
"O ye heavenly heralds!” these world-creating messages began. "Behold the portals which Bahá’u’lláh hath opened before you! Consider how exalted and lofty is the station you are destined to attain. . . . The full measure of your success is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended. . . . I fervently hope that in the near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements.”
From the first moment of their appearance, the Tablets of the Divine Plan carried a life-imparting force. Conceived by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the dark course of the first World War, from March 26th to April 11th, 1916, and from February 2nd to April 22nd, 1917, they were designed in two matchless cycles, each consisting of seven Tablets, addressed to the five regions of the Northeastern, Southern, Central, and Western States, and Canadian Provinces; and to the “Assemblies and Meetings,” the "believers and . . . maidservants . . . in the U. S. and Canada.”
"Travel ye to the East and to the West of the world and summon the people to the Kingdom of God . . . Thus through this superhuman service the rays of peace and conciliation may illumine and enlighten all the regions and the world of humanity may find peace and composure.” This was the essence of the Master’s call, as He arrayed for our support the methods of victory, enumerated every far—flung goal, quickened our spirits with heavenly ambition, and revealed for our daily sustenance nine prayers of unexcelled beauty and might.
The first regenerating impulse of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
work in far-off Palestine seems to
have been reflected in the Eighth Bahá’í
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Convention of 1916, although no outward sign
reached this country for several months.
Every session, so runs the record, carried a
vision of “the new kingdom which is to
appear upon the earth,” while “the gales of
the Holy Spirit . . . swept the room at times
like the rushing of a mighty wind.” The
effect of the earliest Tablets published in
September, 1916, was instantaneous. Within
three months reports were coming from
“soldiers at the front,” while the Ninth
Convention envisioned the initial framework
of teaching on a national scale.
Not until 1919, however, did the American Bahá’ís witness the complete and glorious panorama of the Divine Plan, released to the sessions of a Convention which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself described as “the Convention of the Covenant.” It was the signal for one of the brightest chapters of teaching history. In a few years the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh "encircled the globe, . . . encompassing thereby the whole earth with a girdle of shining glory.” “Forsaking home, kindred, friends and position,” the Guardian has written, "a handful of men and women, fired with a zeal and confidence which no human agency can kindle, arose to carry out the mandate which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had issued: Martha Root, "star—servant,” the “first” and “finest fruit” of the Formative Age; Hyde Dunn, "Australia’s spiritual conqueror”; and all those other "stout-hearted disciples” who hastened in the closing years of the Master’s life to implant the Faith in such distant regions as Alaska, the West Indies, South America, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania.
But brilliant as were their exploits, and however great our pride in such instant response by the American Bahá’ís, it is a fundamental fact that the Divine Plan was to undergo “a period of incubation of well-nigh twenty years . . . while the machinery of a divinely-appointed Administrative Order was being laboriously devised and its processes set in motion.” For long, under the guidance of Shoghi Effendi, our efforts were committed to other tasks—the erection of administrative institutions and the completion of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. Their bearing upon the Tablets of the Divine Plan we scarcely grasped, or that of America’s world mission would be vast and demanding beyond the vision or capacity of individuals to discharge. Yet how otherwise, save by an all-encompassing effort of collective will, save by “utter” and "continuous consecration” and the harnessing of “all available resources,” should we hope to accomplish the rebirth and reorganization of mankind?
The intimations of a new era in the progress of the Faith began to sound through the Guardian’s messages from 1932, when the deeds of the Dawn-Breakers first opened to our view in the stirring pages of Nabil. This book, the “essential adjunct to (a) reconstructed teaching program,” stirred latent longings soon to find release through Shoghi Effendi’s pleas “to the American believers, the spiritual descendants of the heroes of God’s Cause. . . .” “The new hour has struck,” he cabled in 1935, “calling for nation-wide, systematic, sustained efforts in teaching field.”
Painstakingly he prepared us. Yet who could guess, at the Convention of 1936, the whole thrilling and terrible pathway which beckoned the Faith and the world, in the closing years of the first Bahá’í century? "Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities (of) present hour unimaginably precious. Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination this glorious century embrace (the) light (of the) Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order.”
From such a summons there was no return! In that hour the American Community embarked upon the fulfillment of the Divine Plan, embodying their pledge in an initial phase, the Seven Year Plan, adopted in 1937. It was the signal for intercontinental expansion, and for an unprecedented growth in North America destined to eclipse the achievements of forty previous years of Bahá’í history.
A Faith which, for so long a period, had
been administratively confined within the
boundaries of twenty-six States and Provinces
(including Hawaii and the District of
Columbia), now dared the conquest in seven
years of the remaining thirty-four areas of
the United States, Canada, and Alaska. With
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ever-mounting strength it engulfed the land,
claiming by 1939 the ten virgin areas which
had lacked even a single Bahá’í; going on to
initiate far-flung projects and campaigns;
perfecting its instruments in local, regional,
and national teaching committees; organizing
methods of stimulus and support; and
calling into the ranks of its "trailbreakers”
a swiftly growing host of pioneers and
settlers—"veteran believers” and “neophytes,”
“stalwart warriors” of "every class, race, age
and outlook”—who contributed the decisive
share to this vast enterprise.
No one who participated in the Seven Year Plan can ever forget its momentum, the peaks of confirmation, of exhilarating triumph; the taut and perplexing crises; the obstacles hurled up by depression and war; the perilous threat of loss which was met and surmounted in the sixth year; until finally, on March 28, 1944, the cycle was crowned in glorious victory! Strenuous and rich was this experience, whose every year returns to memory endowed with a bright particular tale.
What, then, was accomplished? Statistically it is a compelling record: the conquest of thirty—four virgin States and Provinces* through the formation of thirty—eight Local Spiritual Assemblies; the increase of functioning Assemblies in North America from seventy to one hundred and thirty-six; eight times as many groups as in 1937, and three and a half times the number of isolated Bahá’ís; with participation in the campaign by 293 pioneers and 336 members of Regional Committees.
Yet, if we estimate the Seven Year Plan alone in quantitative terms, we shall forego its profoundest goals, revealed from month to month in the surging outpour of the Guardian’s words. To Shoghi Effendi ours was no ordinary teaching program. “God’s own Plan has been set in motion,” he affirmed. “It is gathering momentum with every passing day.” “. . . Whatever may befall them in the future . . . they should, at no time . . . forget that the synchronization of such world-shaking crises with the progressive unfoldment and fruition of their divinely—appointed task is itself the work of Providence, the design of an inscrutable
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*To which Colorado was later added.
Wisdom, and the purpose of an all—compelling Will . . . Reflections such as these should steel the resolve of the entire Bahá’í community, . . . and arouse them to rededicate themselves to every single provision of that Divine Charter whose outline has been delineated for them by the pen of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”
Tonight, we acclaim with grateful hearts the consummation of this "crowning crusade,” the “greatest collective enterprise ever launched in the course of the history of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.” We have reached the first milepost in the unfoldment of America’s spiritual destiny. Around us, in this great Convention Hall, is proof of our effort. The fruits garnered in every virgin State and Province are here represented. The sessions of this All-America Convention rest, for the first momentous time, on the "structural basis” of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order. "The record” is “complete, the roll call filled, and the mighty task victoriously concluded.” It is in hours like these that the potency of the Bahá’í Faith is unveiled to our eyes. What words can ever express our privilege, to be its supporters in the day of upbuilding?
Only seven swiftly-passing years are measure of America’s devotion to the enthralling vision of the Divine Plan. In that brief space the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh has been forever anchored to our native soil. Yet, in the estimate of the Guardian, “the immensity of the task still to be performed staggers our fancy and inflames our imagination.” For the course of the second century is destined to carry the American believers “beyond the Western Hemisphere to the uttermost ends of the earth.”
With the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who has blessed our continent with ”spiritual primacy” and linked its fortunes to the unfolding power of His Covenant, I close: "The hope which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cherishes for you is that the same success which has attended your efforts in America may crown your endeavors in other parts of the world, that through you the fame of the Cause of God may he diffused throughout the East and the West and the advent of the Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts be proclaimed in all the five continents of the globe. . . . Please God, ye may achieve it.”
BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY
1844-1944
ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
MAY 19TH TO MAY 24TH, 1944
BAHÁ’Í HOUSE OF WORSHIP
Wilmette, Illinois
May 25, 1944
HOTEL STEVENS, CHICAGO
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BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Friday, May 19, 1944
8.00 P. M.
Recorded Musical Program from 7.30 P. M.
Symphony in D Minor ............................................ Cesar Franck
Chorus: “ACHIEVED Is THE GLORIOUS WORK.” From the ”CREATION” ............Haydn
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF WORSHIP
Chairman
ALLEN B. MCDANIEL
Words of Welcome
HARRY C. KINNE, President Wilmette Village Board
”THE Most Important Matter Is to Found a Temple”
MRS. CORINNE TRUE
The Architect’s Design
EARL REED, Guest Speaker
Spiritual Significance of the Temple
CARL SCHEFFLER
WORDS OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
CARVED ABOVE THE TEMPLE DOORS
“The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.”
“The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me.”
“My love is My stronghold; he that enterest therein is safe and secure.”
"Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.”
“Thy heart is My Home; sanctify it for My descent.”
"I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?”
"Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee.”
“O rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust.”
“The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory.”
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BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Saturday, May 20, 1944
8.00 P. M.
Recorded Musical Program from 7.30 P. M.
Selections from Symphony No. 5 in C Minor ........................ Beethoven
"THE HOLY CITY” .......................................................Adams
SUNG BY RICHARD CROOKS
THE COMMUNITY OF THE GREATEST NAME
Meeting for members of the Bahá’í Faith
Chairman
ROY C. WILHELM
READINGS
Will and Testament of Bahá’u’lláh
Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Writings of the Guardian
By MRS. ELLA G. COOPER, MRS. EMOGENE HOAGG, ALFRED OSBORNE, SIEGFRIED SCHOPFLOCHER, ELI POWLAS, ALI—KULI KHAN, N. D., ESTABAN C. LEYTON
EXHIBITS
Photographs of the Will and Testament of Bahá’u’lláh and Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; Tablets and Relics from National Bahá’í Archives
Description by EDWIN W. MATTOON
Voice Record of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Moving Picture Film of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Film of Holy Places in Palestine
Description by ALBERT R. WINDUST
PRESENTATION
Of Tribute and Centenary Souvenir to Members of the Faith Prior to 1912
By EDNA TRUE
{{center|O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behooves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory. The very members of your body must bear witness to the loftiness of your purpose, the integrity of your life, the reality of your faith, and the exalted character of your devotion. For verily I say, this is the Day spoken of by God in His Book.
BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Sunday, May 21, 1944
3.30 P. M.
Recorded Musical Program from 2.45 P. M.
Aria: "FERVENT IS MY LONGING” ........................................... Bach
ARIOSO .................................................................. Bach
“JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING” ........................................... Bach
”KOMM’, SÜSSER TOD” ..................................................... Bach
THE BAHÁ’Í WORLD FAITH
Chairman
PHILIP G. SPRAGUE
Oneness of Humanity
WILLIAM KENNETH CHRISTIAN
Oneness of Religion
MRS. CHARLES REED BISHOP
Address yourselves to the promotion and tranquility of the children of men. Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he Who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.
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BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Monday, May 22, 1944
8.00 P. M.
Recorded Musical Program from 7.30 P. M.
Symphony No. 4 in A Major (Italian) .............................. Mendelssohn
Selections from Symphony No. 6 in B Minor ....................... Tchaikowskey
Chorus: “THE HEAVENS ARE TELLING.” From the "CREATION” ................. Haydn
Selections from "PARSIFAL” ............................................ Wagner
THE LORD’S PRAYER .................................................... Malotte
SUNG BY JOHN CHARLES THOMAS
THE CENTENARY OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
Chairman
GEORGE O. LATIMER
Getting Ready for World Peace
DR. HARRY ALLEN OVERSTREET
Guest Speaker
Religion Returns to Mankind
{{center|MRS. FRANK BAKER
The World in Transformation
HORACE HOLLEY
This is May 23, the anniversary of the Message and Declaration of His Holiness the Báb. It is a blessed day and the dawn of manifestation, for the appearance of the Báb was the early
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light of the true morn whereas the manifestation of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh, was the
shining forth of the sun. Therefore it is a blessed day, the inception of the heavenly bounty, the beginning of the divine illumination.
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9.40 P. M.
DEDICATION OF THE BAHÁ’Í HOUSE OF WORSHIP
Meeting for members of the Bahá’í Faith
All praise, O my God, be to Thee—Bahá’u’lláh
Reading, ANTHONY Y. SETO
O concourse of creation! O people! Construct edifices . . . in every city . . . in the Name of the Lord of Religion—Bahá’u’lláh'
The century is great and the age belongeth to His Majesty, the Merciful, the Clement—‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Readings, MRS. FRED MORTON
O friends of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His co—sharers and partners —‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Reading, HARLAN OBER
It is the power of God, the divine favor of Bahá’u’lláh which has drawn you together.—‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Reading, PAUL E. HANEY
Many a chilled heart, O my God, hath been set ablaze—Bahá’u’lláh
Reading, CHARLOTTE LINFOOT
Now the day has arrived in which the edifice of God, the divine sanctuary, the spiritual temple, shall be erected in America! I entreat God to assist the confirmed believers in accomplishing this great service and with entire zeal to rear this mighty structure which shall be renowned throughout the world. The support of God will be with those believers in that district that they may be successful in their undertaking, for the Cause is great and great; because this is the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in that country and from it the praise of God shall ascend to the Kingdom of Mystery and the tumult of His exaltation and greetings from the whole world shall be heard!
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10.00 P. M.
COMMEMORATION OF THE DECLARATION OF THE BÁB
Meeting for members of the Bahá’í Faith
In Shíráz, Persia, Two Hours, Eleven Minutes After Sunset,
May 22, 1844
Say: God sufficeth all things above all things—The Báb
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork —Psalm of David
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven—Jesus
Readings, OLIVIA KELSEY
Our Father which art in heaven—Jesus
Musical Recording
God is the Light of the heavens and of the earth—Muḥammad
Reading, LOUIS G. GREGORY
Monday, May 22, 1944 (Continued)
This night, this very hour will, in the days to come—The Báb
O thou who art the first to believe in Me!—The Báb
I am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared—The Báb
I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things
- —The Báb
Readings, ALBERT R. WINDUST
This is . . . the anniversary of the Message and Declaration of His Holiness the Báb
- —‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Reading, HONOR KEMPTON
Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast revealed Thy favors and Thy bounties
- —Bahá’u’lláh
Reading, MARY A. MCCLENNEN
This night, this very hour, will in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals. Render thanks to God for having graciously assisted you to attain your heart’s desire, and for having quaffed from the sealed Wine of His utterance.
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BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Tuesday, May 23, 1944
8.00 P. M.
Recorded Musical Program from 7 .30 P. M.
Selections from Symphony No. 9 in D Minor .......................... Beethoven
St. John’s Passion: "IT IS FULFILLED” ................................... Bach
SUNG BY MARION ANDERSON
NORTH AMERICA, CITADEL OF UNIVERSAL PEACE
Chairman
LEROY IOAS
The Bahá’í Faith in America to 1912
ALBERT R. WINDUST
Growth of the American Bahá’í Community to 1944
MARION HOLLEY
‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America
MRS. HAROLD GAIL
America and the Most Great Peace
ROWLAND ESTALL
All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. The Almighty beareth Me witness: To act like the beasts of the field is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kindreds of the earth. Say: O friends! Drink your fill from this crystal stream that floweth through the heavenly grace of Him who is the Lord of Names. Let others partake of its waters in My name, that the leaders of men in every land may fully recognize the purpose for which the Eternal Truth hath been revealed, and the reason for which they themselves have been created.
BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Wednesday, May 24, 1944
8.00 P. M.
Recorded Musical Program from 7.30 P. M.
SOUTH AMERICAN FESTIVAL MUSIC
COMPOSITIONS OF HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS
THE MEETING OF THE AMERICAS
Chairman
.
MRS. STUART W. FRENCH
Bahá’u’lláh‘s Gift to South America
SR. OCTAVIO ILLESCAS
The Spirit of Inter-American Fellowship
MRS. EDWARD ROSCOE MATHEWS
Historical Backgrounds of American Unity
PHILIP LEONARD GREEN
Guest Speaker
The Bahá’í Faith in South America
MRS. STUART W. FRENCH
There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. . . . Arise and, armed With the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you.
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BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
Thursday, May 25, 1944
Ballroom, Hotel Stevens, Chicago
6.30 P. M.
BANQUET
IN CELEBRATION OF THE COMING OF THE CAUSE OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH TO THE WESTERN WORLD—CHICAGO, 1894
Chairman
ALBERT R. WINDUST
Religious Foundations of World Unity
DR. RAYMOND FRANK PIPER
Guest Speaker
Social Basis of World Unity
ELSIE AUSTIN
The vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society; what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can ever cleanse and revive it? . . . The Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a change.
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The speakers table at the Centennial Banquet, held in the Hotel Stevens, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1944.
BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY PROGRAM
The believers of God throughout all the Republics of America, through the Divine power, must become the cause of the promotion of the heavenly teachings and the establishment of the oneness of humanity.
- —‘Abdu’l-Bahá
PARTICIPATING BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITIES
ARGENTINA
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL COSTA RICA HONDURAS PERU
CUBA JAMAICA SAN DOMINGO ECUADOR MEXICO UNITED STATES
CANADA EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA URUGUAY CHILE GUATEMALA PANAMA VENEZUELA COLOMBIA HAITI PARAGUAY
The All-America Bahá’í Centenary Program Is Conducted by the Centenary Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada
536 SHERIDAN ROAD, WILMETTE, ILLINOIS
U. S. A.
Session of the Thirty-sixth Annual Bahá’í Convention, May 19 to 25, 1944
Excerpts from Words of Welcome by
MR. HARRY C. KINNE, Chairman,
Wilmette Village Board
Mr. Chairman, members and friends:—It is indeed a pleasure and an honor for me to address you on the opening of the meeting of your anniversary celebration, and to welcome the many guests as well as my friends and neighbors this evening . . . Please feel welcome . . . When people ask me where is Wilmette? I tell them: “if you want to locate Wilmette, just locate the Bahá’í Temple. There is where Wilmette is!”
We, in Wilmette, regard the Bahá’í Temple as a great monument and a great influence for good in our immediate community as well as in our State. It would, indeed, be an unpleasant task to serve as President of a Village where there are no churches . . . One cannot serve the public without recognizing and being grateful for the influence of these fine institutions; neither can one who so serves forget the aid and assistance rendered by the many good citizens of this community who are Bahá’ís.
This institution has cooperated with us in every possible way, and I am glad to appear before you to thank you all for that cooperation. On behalf of our Board, I am glad to greet you and to wish you the continued success and influence which you so richly deserve.
SPECIAL SESSION HELD FOR LATIN—AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVES
FROM JULY 9 TO 15, 1944
THE Latin American delegates who could not get their transportation matters arranged in time to get here for the Centenary Convention were extended an invitation by the National Spiritual Assembly to attend a special centenary session held for them from July 9th to the 16th, 1944. It was an echo of the convention which vibrated that same intense spirit of unity, love and brotherhood expressed amongst all the friends, and that same profound reverence and awe felt upon seeing the majesty and beauty of the Temple and the portrait of the Báb. Through the careful and excellent planning of the Centenary Committee and the kindness and hospitality of the friends in the Temple area, this special session was a great success.
The honored guests were:
Sr. Salvador Tormo, Argentina
Srta. Clara Luz Montalvo, El Salvador
Sr. Eduardo Gonzales Lopez, Ecuador
Sr. Esteban Canales Leyton, Chile
Sra. Isabel Tirado de Barreda, Peru
Dr. Manuel D. Bergès Ch., Dominican Republic
Sra. Angela Ochoa Velasquez, Honduras
Sr. Roque Centurion Miranda, Paraguay
Sr. Raymond I. Betts, Peru
Dr. Fernando Nova, Brazil
The Sunday July 9th session was opened with musical selections at 12:45 p.m. in Foundation Hall in the Temple, after which there were the readings of prayers and writings in commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb. Then followed the showing of the portrait of the Báb, this also in Foundation Hall. After the friends were seated, the recording of the readings of the Centenary Commemoration meeting was played.
At 3:30 p.m. the public meeting was held in Foundation Hall. The speaker was Mrs. Dorothy Baker, on the subject “A Message for the Americas.” Mr. Philip Sprague acted as chairman.
Immediately after the public meeting, the delegates met with the National Spiritual Assembly at the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
At 6 p.m. there was a buffet supper and
reception in the Temple, with invitation to
the Bahá’í friends in the Temple area. At
7:45 an evening program was held in
Foundation Hall. Mr. Allen B. McDaniel acted
as chairman. The Latin American representatives
were extended a formal greeting and
presented with the Centenary souvenir
pictures of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and of the Temple. The
speakers were Mrs. Corinne True, subject:
“History of the Temple;” Mr. Carl Scheffler,
subject: “History of the North American
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Community”; Mrs. Margery McCormick,
subject: “The Second Bahá’í Century.”
Following this was the playing of the record of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s voice, the showing of the
film of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America in 1912,
and the colored films of the Holy Shrines and
the gardens of Mt. Carmel. Explanatory
comments about the Holy Shrines and the
gardens were made by Miss Jeanne Bolles
while the film was being shown. All addresses
of the evening were translated into Spanish.
After the evening meeting, the Latin American
representatives and pioneers were again
permitted to see the portrait of the Báb and
a display of the sacred documents in the
archives room.
Monday, July 10, 1944—Pictures of the delegates were taken with the National Spiritual Assembly. In the afternoon, a meeting of the delegates with Miss Edna True, Miss Gwenn Sholtis and Mrs. Gayle Woolson was held to review the votes made by the National Spiritual Assembly in regard to the Latin American teaching work, based on the consultation had by the Latin American delegates and the National Spiritual Assembly at convention. This meeting was held in preparation for the meeting to be held with the National Spiritual Assembly the following day so as to avoid repetition and to give these delegates an idea of what was already taken up with the National Spiritual Assembly by the delegates who attended the convention.
At 6 p.m., the delegates were guests of the Wilmette Community at a picnic supper held on the beach. After the supper the friends gathered together on the Lake Michigan beach sands and the Latin American friends gave informal talks about their countries and their joy and gratitude felt upon being here.
Tuesday, July 11 — Consultation and luncheon with the National Spiritual Assembly at the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
Dinner guests of the Chicago Spiritual Assembly, then attended evening meeting at the Chicago Center with the Community. The delegates were each invited to speak.
Wednesday, July 12—Consultation was continued with the National Spiritual Assembly in the afternoon.
In the evening, the Nineteen Day Feast was attended with the Wilmette Community in the Temple. Some Persian friends who had recently arrived in the United States also attended. These friends had celebrated the Centenary Commemoration in India, and Dr. F. Asgharzadeh who had brought with him nine Centenary badges used at the Convention at India, gave one to each of the nine Latin American representatives present. He also told of his recent visit with the Guardian.
Thursday, July 13—Trip to Milwaukee as guests of the Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay and Shorewood Communities. The friends were met by Mrs. Devah Ingold, Mr. Clarence Niss and son, Hamilton, at the station and taken on a sight-seeing tour on their way to the lake home of Mr. and Mrs. Niss where the friends spent a large part of the day. Later in the afternoon, all went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Hautz, after which the supper given at the Milwaukee Center, in collaboration of the four neighbor communities, was attended. After the supper, the Nineteen Day Feast program was held, then the Latin American friends were asked to speak. About one hundred persons were present.
Friday, July 14—This day was spent in taking care of transportation matters and getting passports ready for the return trip of the delegates. In spite of the many transportation obstacles, the efficient handling of these problems by Edna True resulted in excellent arrangements to get the delegates comfortably off on their way to their respective countries without any delay, even to the expressed amazement of the Pan American Airways Office. The kind and helpful assistance of Mr. Mattoon was indispensable.
In the evening the delegates were dinner guests of the Evanston Community and then an informal meeting was held at the home of Miss Virginia Russell. Mr. Carl Scheffler was requested to speak to the friends about the early days of the establishment of the Cause in North America.
Saturday, July 15 — Latin American
friends and pioneers with the Persian friends
were luncheon guests of Miss Jeanne Bolles.
In the afternoon, the Pan American Union
meeting was attended. The important contact
made at this meeting was their Washington
representative who asked for a report
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of the Bahá’í activities in Latin America and
of the Centenary Convention. His comment
was that he did not know that the Bahá’í
Faith was carrying on its activities on such a
large scale.
At 6 p.m. the friends were dinner guests of Mrs. Enos Barton.
Sunday, July 16—Latin American, North American and Persian friends were luncheon guests of Dr. Edris Rice-Wray.
The Public meeting at the Temple was attended in the afternoon. After the meeting the friends were shown the Sacred Relics in the archives room.
Dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs. Hassan who gave a Persian dinner for Latin American, North American and Persian Bahá’ís. Afterwards, the moving pictures taken at the Convention were shown. This beautiful oriental dinner and the seeing of the Centenary Convention films, and the union of the three Americas and Persia represented by the attending friends was a befitting close of this historic occasion.
The Latin American delegates were deeply touched and expressed their profound gratitude and appreciation for the kindness, hospitality and generosity demonstrated by the North American friends. They felt that this experience has brought about a greater spirit of unity cementing the three Americas and that their carrying back this new fire and wider vision will exert great influence in their countries.
Mrs. Gayle Woolson served as interpreter and hostess representing the National Spiritual Assembly for this session.
THE BAHÁ’Í TEMPLE FLOODLIGHTED FOR CENTENARY GATHERINGS
THE carved white surface of the nine-sided Bahá’í House of Worship, inscribed with symbols representing every ancient faith, brilliantly floodlighted nightly for the Centenary celebration to begin May 19, emblazons in a struggling world Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings for the unity of races, classes, nations and creeds as members gather from all parts of North and South America to honor their martyred spiritual hero, the Báb, who prepared the way in Persia one hundred years ago for the spread of a world faith.
Rising above the shore of Lake Michigan at Wilmette, north of Chicago, the first Bahá’í shrine in the western world offers its own intrinsic beauty as evidence of the power which has in one century created a following in more than sixty countries, translated its sacred writings into forty-one languages, and proved that Christian, Jew, Muḥammadan and non-sectarian scientist can be associated in an organic community where traditional barriers separating the peoples have been swept away.
Public meetings devoted to the principles of world unity will be held in the Temple on May 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24, the Centenary concluding with a banquet Thursday evening, May 25, in the Hotel Stevens, Chicago.
BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY BANQUET
BY GERTRUDE HENNING
THE final meeting and fitting climax to the week’s celebration of the Bahá’í Centenary was the banquet held Thursday evening, May twenty-fifth, in the Grand Ballroom of the Stevens Hotel, Chicago. This banquet commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in the Western World. The gathering was the largest number of Bahá’ís ever to be so assembled in one room in this part of the world.
The seven days preceding had been busy
with meetings of the convention during the
day and public gatherings in the evening.
Because of the great number of Bahá’ís who
came to Wilmette for the Centenary—more
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than sixteen hundred, including delegates
and visitors—there was not space enough in
the Foundation Hall of the House of Worship
for all to gather in one group to hear
and see the programs. The large overflow
had been comfortably accommodated on the
auditorium floor where a public—address
system carried the voices of the speakers and
the music to the hundreds gathered under
the stately dome.
But the Grand Ballroom of the Stevens Hotel was large enough to hold all the Bahá’í Centenary participants at one time. It was a festive and joyous occasion. The immenseness of the gold and crystal room, and the many tables of guests all happily conversing with one another were thrilling to see. One could feel the buoyant spirit borne of joy and hope which pervaded the entire atmosphere; and truly the varied races and nationalities were joined unitedly with one purpose in mind and with fealty to one great and divine Cause. The love and understanding engendered by a world-embracing Faith was perfectly exemplified; and those present thrillingly felt the oneness of mankind actually put into practice. It is what can be done when people join their hearts in justice and love under the firm guidance of the principles of Bahá’u’lláh.
During the serving of dinner the soft music of a string ensemble came from the balcony of this beautifully ornamented room. After dinner the program began with a welcoming address by Albert R. Windust of Chicago, the chairman, who brought out the importance of this celebration commemorating the fifty years since the Bahá’í Faith as first brought to the attention of the peoples of the Western Hemisphere at the Parliament of Religions of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Dr. R. F. Piper of Syracuse, N. Y., the guest-speaker, was the first to address the audience.
Following Dr. Piper, Miss Elsie Austin, a Bahá’í of Washington, D. C., gave an address, “The Social Basis of World Unity,” in which she explained the need for the application of the Bahá’í tenets as a necessity for the regeneration of human hearts and characters as the first step to a needed social change.
At nine—thirty a radio broadcast began with a vocal selection by Walter Olitzki of the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York City. First to talk was Alfred Osborne, Inspector of Schools for the Canal Zone, Panama. Mr. Osborne spoke for the number of delegates who came from Latin and South America and from the West Indies. He stressed unity in diversity as being evidenced by the Bahá’ís attending the centenary in contrast to the barriers of racial and religious prejudice that are still exercised so generally in the world today. Immediately following, Dr. Fernando Nova of Bahia, Brazil, spoke. It was necessary to break his address, because of the termination of radio time, by a concluding solo, ”The Lord’s Prayer,” by Mr. Olitzki. After this Dr. Nova resumed his address for the banquet audience. More short talks followed; one by a nineteen-year old Persian youth, a fourth generation Bahá’í; another by Miss Hilda Yen of Chungking, China, who had just recently declared her acceptance of the World Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
To have attended this thrilling Centenary Banquet was a privilege as well as a glorious experience. It was an inspiration to the Bahá’ís to continue relentlessly their labors of spreading and strengthening the Bahá’í Faith in the Western world.
THE BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY BANQUET
RADIO PROGRAM*
ANNOUNCEMENT BY
MRS. SHIRLEY WARDE
WE ARE speaking to you from the ballroom of the Stevens Hotel. As a special broadcast, we are bringing you a portion of the program of the Bahá’í banquet which is being held here tonight. This banquet closes the week—long convention of the Bahá’ís of the Western Hemisphere, and the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith. The convention and the anniversary meetings have been held in the Bahá’í Temple at Wilmette, the newly completed house of worship, which has been acclaimed the world’s most beautiful structure and a masterpiece of architecture. Gathered here in the banquet hall are delegates from thirty-one countries, forty—four states of our nation, and five provinces of Canada, from eleven republics of Central and South America, and even from the far—flung outposts of Alaska and Hawaii.
The guests assembled have just heard an address by Dr. Raymond Frank Piper, Professor of Philosophy, the University of Syracuse. The chairman, Mr. Albert R. Windust, is one of the first Bahá’ís of Chicago and one of the group oho originally conceived the idea of building a great universal house of worship here in the heart of the American continent. Now he is about to introduce the next guest on tonight’s program, so we turn our microphone over to Mr. Albert Windust.
INTRODUCTION BY
ALBERT R. WINDUST
We are very happy to be able to share with our friends of the radio audience a portion of this last evening of the momentous celebration that has brought us all together from many parts of the world. During the week of our Centenary celebration, we have heard many languages spoken beneath the all-sheltering dome of the
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*Broadcast over station WCFL, Chicago, from Bahá’í Centenary Banquet, Hotel Stevens, May 23, 1944.
Bahá’í Temple, but there are two languages we all understand—the language of the spirit and that of music. We greet you in both and here, to make our greeting in music heard, is Walter Olitzki, baritone of the Metropolitan Opera Company and one of our Bahá’í guests at this Centenary. Mr. Olitzki sings for you, as his first number, the beautiful Aria by Handel, "Where Ere You Walk,”—and it is a tribute in song to the revitalizing influence of the prophet when he walks the earth. . . .
Thank you, Walter Olitzki, for that beautiful interpretation. Our next guest is a man who stands midway between north and south, our delegate from Panama, that vital link between North and South America. We thought it fitting that he should speak on this occasion for both the Americas, since, through his republic, flows the great spiritual stream of Bahá’í spirit and brotherhood, from our shores to those of our Latin—American co—workers for the unity of all men. Mr. Alfred Osborne was educated at our own University of Chicago and is today supervisor of schools in the Canal Zone. I am very happy to present to you, Mr. Alfred E. Osborne.
INTERVIEW OF
ALFRED E. OSBORNE
I am one of a number of delegates from Latin-Amcrica and the West Indies. Many of us are in the United States for the first time. Two of us have come from as far south as Brazil and Chile. In spite of extreme difficulties due to the present war conditions, we all managed somehow to get transportation, for doors miraculously opened to permit us to be present at the All—America Bahá’í Centenary.
I am sure that the other delegates from
Central and South America feel the way I
do. I wish it had been possible for all the
believers in our countries and all the believers
in the United States, in fact, all those people
who have never even heard of the Bahá’í
Faith to have been present during this
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International group of Bahá’ís attending the Centenary Celebrations in Wilmette, May, 1944.
Centenary Celebration and to have seen for themselves that a pattern of life based on unity and fellowship has actually been set up and is being practiced today by hundreds and thousands of believers throughout the world, representing various backgrounds in race, religion, nationality and culture.
We all have desired a new world in which love and justice, peace and harmony, shall prevail. There is not a single person who has not prayed and longed for the Kingdom of heaven on earth. Still we do know that the old barriers of prejudice, of race, class and creed, separate the members of the human family. The sad fact is this: that although our material civilization has brought us closer together, has reduced or removed the physical barriers of distance and place, yet the peoples of the earth have not yet learned to cooperate with one another and live in peace and harmony. To witness, therefore, some of the events of the Centenary observance which indicate that human nature can certainly change, that new social values can be deliberately created; that in fact, the new world is already in existence in the world-wide Bahá’í family, should be tidings of great joy and hope to a world weighed down with grave social problems and faced with serious post—war adjustments. In the Bahá’í Teachings we read this state ment: “Today the world of humanity is walking in darkness because it is out of touch with the world of God.” For the past week I have been living in the world of God.
In the Bahá’í Temple I saw the people of various racial, religious and cultural backgrounds assembled to worship God and to celebrate the one hundredth Anniversary of God’s new Revelation to mankind. But more than that, I saw these people actively demonstrate the cardinal principle of the Bahá’í Faith “that religion is man’s attitude toward God reflected in his attitude towards his fellowman.” For here, under the dome of the Bahá’í Temple, all are equal not only in the eyes of God but also in the eyes of one another. In the Bahá’í House of Worship there is no difference of race, no difference of color, no difference of creed, no difference of class.
There in Foundation Hall during the Convention
sessions the highest type of democracy was
in evidence. Every delegate, regardless of his
education, social status, color
or nationality, had the right and the privilege
of contributing to the deliberations of
the Convention. And each contribution was
given consideration regardless of its source.
Here was an assembly composed of delegates
not motivated by sectional interests, not
seeking the favors of their constituents, not
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previously instructed as to their voting, their
attitudes or their decisions; not concerned
with their own locality; but delegates working
for the welfare of the whole world community;
interested as much in the problems
of Brazil as those of the United States, of
Jamaica as those of Canada; willing to alter
pre—conceived ideas in the light of consultation
and majority thinking; and voting only
for those un-nominated individuals whom
they felt possessed those intellectual, moral
and spiritual qualities requisite for service
on the Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly.
I was thrilled to see the spirit of true fellowship lived and practiced during every moment of the Centenary. Even around the dining tables under the huge tent was “man’s attitude toward God reflected in his attitude toward his fellow man.” Here were various groups speaking various languages but even between those with whom there was no communication through the spoken word, there was complete understanding through the language of the heart. One of the Latin-American delegates expressed this truth nicely when he facetiously reminded us of Bernard Shaw’s expression “that the United States and England were separated by the same language,” but the North and South American countries represented at the Bahá’í Centenary were united in spite of different languages.
In different localities of the world where religious and racial prejudices have been such strong barriers that it has been absolutely impossible for people to meet together in the spirit of understanding and fellowship, today under the banner of the Bahá’í Faith the Muḥammadan and Jew; the Buddhist and the Christian; the Occidental and the Oriental; the Black and the White, the rich and the poor all find their differences dissolved in the penetrating light of Bahá’u’lláh’s message for this age. This Teaching creates the consciousness of the oneness of the world and proves that we are all members of the same human family, despite superficial differences in color and physiognomy. In the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Son of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, “The lovers of mankind, these are the superior man, of whatever nation, creed, or color they may be. . . . God is no respecter of persons on account of either color or race. . . . Inasmuch as all were created in the image of God, we must bring ourselves to realize that all embody divine possibilities.”
This Teaching creates the consciousness of the essential unity of all revealed religion and shows that the Prophets are one in spirit, one in purpose and one in the source of their power. According to this marvelous teaching each Prophet fulfills the promise given by his predecessor, enlarges the scope of truth and gives assurance that another Prophet will come at the end of the era.
One picture that stands out vividly in my mind is the enthusiastic photographing on the Temple grounds of the believers, representing various racial backgrounds. In these photographs were the believers from Írán, France, Central and South America, China, Canada, Cuba, Hawaii, Alaska, Jamaica, Mexico and the United States. Surely this was eloquent evidence of the unity in diversity which is one of the cardinal principles of the Bahá’í Faith.
These thousands of believers in the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, gathered together from all parts of the world, were able to conquer physical distance through the marvelous means of transportation available today. They came to the Centenary not as strangers from distant lands but as members of one loving, all-embracing Bahá’í family. And that is what it means to be a Bahá’í. To be a Bahá’í is to find in every distant land a home, in every stranger a friend, in every fellow human being, a true brother. For the Bahá’í is already a citizen of the world. He believes and practices the admonition of Bahá’u’lláh, who has written:
“The world is but one country and mankind its citizens.”
"Ye are all leaves of one tree and the fruits of one branch.”
"Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind.”
Mr. Windust speaks:
I think we have all felt this week as Mr.
Osborne has stated, that we have experienced
a preview, as it were, of the new world that
we shall all live in some day, and which is
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today already a very tangible world populated
by the Bahá’ís around the globe.
I’d like to introduce to you now some other citizens of this new Bahá’í world, citizens from its far-flung ramparts, and representing its varied races.
First, from the nerve—center of our own North America, I’d like to introduce Miss Elsie Austin, an attractive young attorney from Washington, D. C. Miss Austin was the first Negro woman to be appointed assistant attorney general of Ohio. She is now in Washington with the federal government and is connected with many national educational groups. Miss Austin. . . .
INTERVIEW OF
MISS ELSIE AUSTIN
The Bahá’í Centenary has had a profound effect upon all of us. It is something to see people who represent every traditional separation come together and practice a belief.
It convinces one that the Bahá’í faith is that force which is powerful enough to make men turn from old resentments and entrenched aversions to establish together needed social patterns for new spiritual and material achievements.
Mr. Windust speaks:
Now we swing down into South America, to hear from Senor Eduardo Gonzales López, our delegate from Guayaquil, Ecuador. Sefior López is a graduate of Ecuador College. He has been broadcasting for the past nine months on the Quito radio. He is attending the Bahá’í Centenary and came to this country for that purpose just a few days ago. He will speak in Spanish and it will be translated. Señor López. . . .
INTERVIEW OF
EDUARDO GONZALES LÓPEZ
I should like to tell you, friend of the Americas, that which we witnessed in Wilmette, Illinois, in the United States, during the past week, was not just a spectacle of a large group of people coming together from all over the western hemisphere—not simply a convention—not just the celebration of the Bahá’í centenary—it was much more. What we witnessed during that centenary celebration was the fruit, the first harvest, of the seed sown by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in North America. This seed was cultivated by the North American Bahá’ís, and then borne by the spiritual wind to the South American continent. This seed was sown on good soil and is now bearing fruit. It can be clearly seen that because of the meeting at this centenary celebration of the two Americas in real brotherhood and fellowship, that the seed was not sown in vain.
The North American Bahá’ís are fortunate indeed in being the means by which this work has been accomplished—and the means by which the southern hemisphere will become illuminated. To the North American Bahá’ís, therefore, is the glory of the first harvest, but in the future it will be for all the Americas, both North and South, and all will be joined in the fulfillment of that prophetic utterance of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, that "the standard of peace and brotherhood will be raised in the Americas.”
Mr. Windust speaks:
Again from South America, and deep in that continent, we bring you our delegate from Bahia, Brazil, who is Dr. Fernando Nova. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Nova is the city physician of Bahia. He has just arrived in this country to attend the Bahá’í convention and Will remain here for three months for medical research. Dr. Nova. . . .
INTERVIEW OF
DR. FERNANDO NOVA
I think this Bahá’í Convention has been a powerful spectacle. I wish many people could have had the opportunity to see what it has been my privilege to see. They would surely be attracted to these teachings. I have seen a demonstration of faith which has been an inspiration, and which will be an inspiration to the people of Brazil when they hear about it. It will bring more clearly an understanding of brotherhood and peace to the people of Brazil. I have just arrived from Bahia, Brazil, and yet because of the friendliness and fellowship of the people at the convention, I feel a nearness, a closeness
Group of Bahá’ís in the armed forces attending the American Centenary Celebrations, May, 1944, held at the Bahá’í Temple, Wilmette, Illinois.
to the North Americans. I intend to remain among you for about three months and I hope to become better acquainted with you.
Ordinarily it takes several weeks to get into this country because of all the necessary government regulations, but by the grace of God the way was opened up to me and I came in three days and was able to witness this great demonstration of brotherhood on the shores of Lake Michigan in North America. Greetings to all the North Americans from a South American brother.
Mr. Windust speaks:
Here with us, too, is a young man Who is not a delegate but a guest at our celebration. From faraway Ṭihrán, in Írán, nine of these Persian youths, all Bahá’ís, recently came to America to study in our colleges. Eight of them have been with us this past week, and I want you to meet now, Firúz Kazem-Zadé. Although only nineteen, Firúz is a fourth—generation Bahá’í and comes from the land where the Bahá’í revelation was first proclaimed. I want you to meet Firúz Kazem-Zadé. . . ."*
INTERVIEW OF
FIRÚZ KAZEM-ZADÉ
I have visited many countries of Europe and Asia, and in all those countries I have been among the Bahá’ís, and I saw a very definite difference between those Bahá’í communities and the people who surrounded them. The main difference was this—that the Bahá’í community was entirely free of the prejudices that existed all around it. They brought together all nations, races, and classes of people. They established a pattern of the New World Order, the only pattern which can work, and which I saw in action in this most glorious convention. I saw all these delegates gathered from so many places, working in perfect unity as the parts of one organism; the administrative organism which is destined to change the face of the Americas and in the years to come, of the world.
————————
*Radio broadcast ended with Dr. Nova's interview because of termination of the half-hour radio time.
Mr. Windust speaks:
From another faraway land, we have had as our guest, Miss Hilda Yen, of Chungking, China. Miss Yen represented China at the League of Nations in 1935 and 1937. She is an aviatrix, and, after her experience in the battle of Hongkong and her escape to Free China, she flew to this country to lecture on how to win universal peace. She is a brand new Bahá’í and I am sure we would all like to hear her impressions of this Centenary celebration. Miss Yen. . . .
INTERVIEW OF
MISS HILDA YEN
Five years ago I was in the United States travelling and lecturing on China, on world federal government and on world peace. I was at that time flying the plane “The Spirit of New China,” and on one of my trips I crashed. Upon recovering from this accident I had a realization that the first life I had lived (before the accident) had been for China. But what I think of now as my second life I dedicated to the service of God and of all mankind. Since then I have been in China again and was in the battle of Hong Kong. I escaped from there to ”Free China,” and flew over to this country last year.
Since coming to your country again I have found a faith, a religion in action, that will bring into reality the oneness of mankind and all the good things men are entitled to. I have found, at last, a group of sincere people who actually practice what they preach and do not just pay lip service to the brotherhood of man. I find that I agree with all of their teachings and have just recently embraced this faith.
AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í CHRONOLOGY
1883, December 10—A letter on “The Bábís and Their Prophet” published in the New York Sun.
1893, September 23—Reference to Bahá’u’lláh in Address by Dr. Jessup in the Parliament of Religions, Columbian Exposition, Chicago.
1894, Formation of First Bahá’í Group in America, Chicago.
1894, Green Acre founded by Sarah J. Farmer, Eliot, Maine, as a universal platform for the discussion of religions.
1898, Mrs. Phoebe Hearst’s party of pilgrims visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká.
1903, A petition was addressed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá signed by all American Bahá’ís requesting authority to construct a House of Worship.
1903, June 7—‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet was revealed to the American Bahá’ís, through the Chicago Assembly, stating that the time had come to construct a Bahá’í Temple in America.
1904, A compilation of Bahá’í Writings in English was prepared and published by the Board of Counsel of New York.
1907, November 26—The first Bahá’í Convention convened in Chicago.
1908, April 9—Chicago Assembly purchased the first lots of the plot of land chosen for the House of Worship at Wilmette, Illinois.
1908-1909—The Bahá’í Publishing Society was founded in Chicago.
1909, Bahá’í Temple Unity, corporate body representing the American Bahá’ís in the construction of the Temple, was incorporated in Illinois.
1910, March 21—The first number of Bahá’í News was published in Chicago. This bulletin later became Star of the West, then The Bahá’í Magazine, and is now World Order.
1912, April 11 — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived at New York.
1912, May 1 — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dedicated the Temple grounds.
1912, December 5—‘Abdu’l-Bahá departed from America.
1921, May 19, 20, 21—Race Amity Conferences were inaugurated by Mrs. Agnes Parsons in Washington, D. C., under the direction of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
"The Centenary of the Bahá’í Faith.” View of Bahá’ís gathered in the Temple Auditorium 8:00 P.M. Monday, May 22, 1944, after the seats in the Temple Foundation Hall were completely filled. A public address system reproduced the program for this overflow audience.
1921, November 28—Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
1928, November 13 —The Indenture of Trust executed by Bahá’í Temple
1924,December—The first number of Unity transferring the Temple property
Bahá’í News Letter, later Bahá’í to trustees for the benefit of the
News, the organ of the National National Spiritual Assembly was re Spiritual Assembly, was published in corded in COOk County, Illinois.
New York. 1930, January l—The Indenture of Trust
1925, October l—A National Bahá’í Office executed by Green Acre Fellowship
was established by the National Spirit- transferring the Green Acre property
ual Assembly at Green Acre, Eliot, to trustees for the benefit of the NaMaine. tional Spiritual Assembly was recorded
1926, The Bahá’í Year Book, Volume One, in York County, Mame.
was published. Later volumes were 1930,May 9—The National Spiritual Asentitled The 34191101, WOTId- sembly of the Bahá’ís of the United
1927, April 4—The National Spiritual As- States and Canada: Palestine Branch,
sembly adopted its Declaration of was established as a religious society
Trust. in Palestine.
1927, The first session of a Bahá’í School was 1931, May 1 — The superstructure of the conducted on the Bosch property, Bahá’í House of Worship was comGey’serville, California. pleted.
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THE CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH
1931, The first session of a Bahá’í School was conducted on the Eggleston property, Davison, Michigan.
1935, March 9—An Indenture of Trust was executed by Roy C. Wilhelm transferring property in West Englewood, New Jersey, to trustees for the benefit of the National Spiritual Assembly for the construction of a Memorial commemorating the American visit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
1935, September 27 — The Indenture of Trust executed by Shoghi Effendi transferring the house at Maiden, Massachusetts, bequeathed to him by Maria P. Wilson, to trustees for the benefit of the National Spiritual Assembly, was recorded in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
1935, November 25—The Indenture of Trust executed by John and Louise Bosch transferring the property used by the Geyserville Bahá’í School to trustees for the benefit of the National Assembly was recorded in Sonoma County, California.
1936,July 1—Appointment of first Inter-America Committee by the National Spiritual Assembly and the beginning of organized and coordinated effort to establish the Faith in the Republics of Central and South America.
1939, October 1—National Bahá’í Office established at 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois.
1939, October 30—The Indenture of Trust executed by Mrs. Loulie A. Mathews transferring the property used by the International Bahá’í School at Pine Valley near Colorado Springs, was recorded in El Paso County, Colorado.
1943,January 8—The exterior ornamentation and circular steps of the House of Worship were completed.
1944, March 28—Completion of Teaching plan to establish an Assembly in every State and Province of North America.
5.
PERSIA CELEBRATES THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS
IT WAS a May evening in Shíráz. Through the dusk, by two’s and three’s, at intervals, men were coming; unobtrusively, they went through the door of a house and joined the throng of persons inside. They were silent, too moved for speech; they had come here from all over Persia, in secret, at the risk, perhaps, of their lives (in a short time, some of their fellows were to be killed by mobs in Persian streets). They had come here to share in the joy of this night.
One hundred years ago, less half an hour, in an upper room of the House next door, the youthful Báb had declared His mission. Then, only two persons on the planet knew of His Faith. Tonight its Centenary was being celebrated around the globe.
Voices that had been raised in prayer were stilled. And now the men, who included 90 Convention delegates and the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, poured rose water on their hands. Silently, they took off their shoes and stepped into the court-yard of the sacred House next door. They circumambulated the House; through the shadows, they heard the chanting of the Visitation Tablet, that begins, "The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august Self . . . rest upon Thee. . . .” They performed the pilgrimage rites set forth in the Tablet of Pilgrimage (Lawḥ—i-Ḥajj). Then they climbed the stairway to the Threshold of the Room where, one hundred years ago tonight, the Báb’s disclosure had been received by His first disciple; where a message destined for the whole human race had blazed out before one man, leaving him dazzled and as if he had lost his mind. Here in the Declaration Chamber, Jináb—i—Varqá had spread out a precious carpet, the Guardian’s gift.
At the exact moment when the hundred
The room in Shíráz in which the Báb declared His Mission in 1844, on May 22; on the evening of this same day, one hundred years later, the Delegates to the Annual Bahá’í Convention, with Other Believers, visited this Sacred and Historic Spot.
years were completed—that is, at two hours and eleven minutes after sunset—the members of the National Spiritual Assembly on behalf of the Guardian, and all the delegates, one after the other, knelt down and kissed the Threshold. Then a portion of the Guardian’s new letter, beginning, “Greeting and glory rest upon His Herald, the Peerless One,” and ”O Holy night, upon thee of all praises be the best and most glorious!” was chanted, and afterward, very humbly and prayerfully, and bowing low, the men took leave of the sacred House, returned next door, and till dawn they listened to the chanting of prayers, the recitation of Bahá’í odes, and readings from Bahá’í history and from the new Centenary letter of the Guardian. Then as it grew light they went away, by two’s and three’s, to their appointed homes.
The Bahá’í Centenary celebrations of
Persia were set in motion by a detailed letter
[Page 183]
from the Guardian, dated Qudrat 18, year
100, to the National Spiritual Assembly.
The NSA, however, did not at the time risk
the distribution of this letter. Everywhere,
the annual election of Convention delegates
was held as usual, and the list of delegates
reported to the National Spiritual Assembly.
Only then did each delegate receive confidential
instructions from the National body,
telling him to proceed to Shíráz on the
appointed date, and to keep his destination a
secret even from his immediate family. For
it was thoroughly understood that any
rumor of the projected celebrations at
Shíráz might prevent their being held at all.
This excerpt from the Guardian’s instructions was included with the communication to the delegates: That the lunar date of the Declaration was no longer to be observed, but the solar; that is, the evening of May 22 (which in the year 60 fell on the evening preceding the 5th of Jamádíyu’l-Avval and up to now had been so observed in the East; the lunar year, as is known, contains only 354 days, and in the course of a few years differs considerably from the solar). That the festivals should continue for one full week, and coincide with the National Convention. That the delegates were to meet in the holy city of Shíráz, to be vigilant and cautious, and to gather in all humility at the sacred Threshold, observing the pilgrimage procedure and commemorating the exact moment of the Declaration. The Guardian likewise directed that they should read the first súrih of the Qayyúm-l-Asmá’, revealed by the Báb in the presence of Mullá Ḥusayn on that long ago night. That every member of the National Assembly should be present on his behalf, as this would rejoice his heart. That although the convening of such a gathering at the sacred House seemed most difficult at the time, nevertheless it was an essential obligation. That no newspaper notices or telegraphic communications referring to the event should be permitted. That if the Convention could not meet in Shíráz a neighboring spot should be designated but that the presence of the delegates at the sacred House on the Declaration evening was an absolute necessity. That all participants should behave in such a way as not to excite the suspicions of the authorities or the violence of the masses—for otherwise the enemies of the Faith would initiate plots and disturbances and frustrate this purpose.
The Guardian’s directions stressed the heavy responsibility of the National Spiritual Assembly and the exalted character of the Festival, and warned the friends repeatedly of the danger, and of the need for courage and caution.
And so Persia celebrated the birth of the new Faith. The week-long festival was proclaimed all over the country, to Central Assemblies, Local Assemblies, groups, and isolated believers. Not a man, woman or child was left out. Everywhere the new date, the evening of May 22, went into effect, for this is “the inception of the Badí calendar, and the opening of the first century of the Bahá’í era, and the commencement of the manifestation of the Promised One of all sacred Scripture, and the Birth of the Center of the Covenant of the Abhá Beauty, His Holiness ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.” The Bahá’í date of the Centenary celebration was: the day of ‘Idál, the day of Kalimát, of the month of ‘Aẓamat, of the year Váv, of the 6th Váhid, of the first Kull-i-Shay’.
Paradoxically, while the Bahá’ís of Persia lack printed books—the publication of Bahá’í books being forbidden by the Persian Government—and the Bahá’ís of the West are rich in these, nevertheless the Persian Bahá’ís are, for language reasons, momentarily the sole possessors of wonderful texts such as the Odes of Bahá’u’lláh, and writings of the Guardian such as the Centenary account made especially for them, and other treasured material which, when time permits, will be available around the world. Again, while the Bahá’ís of other countries read the Teachings in one language, the Persian Bahá’ís must read in two—Persian and Arabic. Where abstruse texts such as the writings of the Báb are concerned average communities must enlist the aid of Persian Bahá’í scholars, of which fortunately there are many. We find, for example, that in the town of Khurram-Shahr the noted teacher Ṭarázu‘lláh Samandarí postponed his departure to assist the friends there in rehearsing the difficult texts.
"To plunge in the sea of Divine utterance and make the soul ascend to the worlds of the spirit,” the NSA had written the Bahá’ís of Persia, was the purpose of their Centenary Festival. The reality, not the outer form, of their gatherings, was what counted. When, for example, it proved unwise to convene one large gathering in some locality, several meetings were held there simultaneously. Everything was conducted quietly and with dignity; no telegrams or greeting-cards were exchanged; during the Centenary period, work was as usual abstained from on two days, that of the Declaration of the Bab, and the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, on which latter day the festivals were discontinued and befitting commemorations held.
Only competent and carefully-rehearsed readers and singers were used on the programs; in laying down this requirement as to perfection of delivery, the NSA had explained, "for this increases joy and spirituality, whereas the lack of it causes in the hearer weariness and dejection.” The NSA likewise directed that two days in the series were to be given over to and managed by the Bahá’í Youth.
A mimeographed program of impressive size (36 pages) was sent out by the National Spiritual Assembly all over Persia. This contained some of the actual texts to be used during the celebrations. They included: nine prayers of the Báb; excerpts from the Báb’s Tablet to Muḥammad Sháh, revealed at Mákú; the first chapter of the Báb’s Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph (Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’); excerpts from the Persian Bayán; two Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh on the Declaration of the Báb; the Tablet Ay ṭúṭíyán-i-Hind—i-ján; the Tablet "O nightingales of God”; Odes of Bahá’u’lláh; The Master’s Tablet directing that only the Declaration of the Báb, not His own Birth, be celebrated; excerpts from the Guardian’s Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh and from The Unfoldment of World Civilization, both translated into Persian (respectively on the station of the Báb, and the unity of the human race); Nabíl’s account of the Declaration; the song Abhá’íyán bishárat. In addition to these texts the programs featured others, including the prayers of the Guardian, the Tablet of Carmel, poems by Bahá’í poets, and appropriate speeches.
For a close—up of many hundreds of gatherings held that week in Persia, here are a few typical details from reports sent in to the NSA by Central Assemblies all over the country:
In Shíráz, two women and ten men planned the Festival. Fearing that the Bahá’ís might be attacked should they meet in one place—that their concerts, chants and general air of rejoicing would cause an outcry—they arranged for the friends to meet simultaneously in large private homes throughout the city. In crowded sections, so as not to arouse attention, group singing and concerts were replaced by violin and vocal solos. Children, youth and adults participated in the programs, and in spite of the great Bahá’í crowds, there was no trouble from the public. The pilgrimage to the sacred House, described above, was followed by the annual Convention, which met from ‘Aẓamat 6 to 15 and elected these men to the National Spiritual Assembly: ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan; Valíyu’lláh Varqá; Shu‘á‘lláh ‘Alá’í; Núr—i-Dín Fatḥ—i-A‘ẓam; Aḥáímad Yazdéni; Dhikru’lláh Khádim; Jalél KháKhédi‘; ‘Ins'lyatu’lláh Ahmadpfir; Siyyid Muhsin Asasi.
The Afnán, Mirzá Habibu’lláh Afnán, and his wife were especially active in contributing to the success of the celebrations. Hosts in the selected homes defrayed all expenses involved. A final reception, attended only by the Local Spiritual Assembly, its committee members and their wives, and the Convention delegates, and given by Fadlu’llah Ḥakím-Jan, numbered more than 300 guests.
In Rasht the children, pupils of the famous character—building classes, played a prominent role. A little girl of five, Rawshan Réfat, pupil of the first class in character-building, recited a poem; a seven year old boy, Muhammad—Rida Ehévari, addressed the large gathering on The Behavior of the Bahá’í Child; a boy of eight, Rfihu’llah Nabili, spoke on The Abandonment of Prejudice and Fanaticism; a boy of nine, Shams-i—Din Fada’i, spoke on the Declaration of the Báb; another child described the death of Hájí Sulaymén Khán, another
Views of the Bahá’í Delegates to the Centenary Convention, taken in the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Shíráz, May, 1944.
spoke on Abstaining from Back—Biting and Slander. The tiny members of the first and second Character-Building classes, wearing a special uniform, sang a chant of the Guardian’s.
The youth of Rasht were hosts on two nights, arranging every detail of the program themselves. Some took part in the program, some greeted the guests, others were ushers, others served the refreshments. They had set up the speakers’ table between two large drawing-rooms, and had been lavish with flowers, costly furnishings, artistic light-effects. They chanted prayers and Tablets, served fruits, sweets, salted nuts, tea; had a girls’ choir, a violin recital, and the radio. They sang Bahá’í songs to specially written music (not the popular tunes sometimes adopted). The girls were active contributors; a girl speaker, Mu‘aziz Samadzini, spoke on the deeds of Bahá’í youth, in particular Mullá Husayn, from the dawn of Bahá’í history. At an adult meeting, a woman speaker, Tfibé Ehénum Samada’mi, was much applauded for her address on noted Bahá’í women.
Women were also prominent in ‘Iráq. (The point is stressed because, up to nine years prior to the Centenary, the women of Persia still wore the veil.) Here Ehénum Nim—Téj and Lhénum Qa’im-Maqami entertained at their homes, and Ehénum Ihtisliém-Zédih at the local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. On the night of Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension the friends met at the hdme of Rfihangiz Khánum Muhájirin, remaining in prayer until 4:30 in the morning. Here as elsewhere, the friends rejoiced that there was no trouble from the public.
In Burfijird, however, an Assembly member met with difficulties which seemed to presage trouble for the Faith; for caution’s sake, the celebrations were temporarily discontinued on the second night, but were resumed as the rumors against Bahá’í activities subsided.
Durfid included in its celebrations a daylong picnic, and the recitation of the poems of Táhirih, Varqa, and Centenary verses by Aqéy-i—Nik-Jfi. Lhurram-Shahr could meet only at night, because of the intense heat. In Lhahmirzéd and Damghén, the public was reported surprised and impressed by the
THE BAHA’I
r
WORLD
Festival; in contrast to the past, when they rose up and protested against every meeting of Bahá’ís, they now began to investigate the Faith. In Abédén, where the friends are chiefly day laborers and small wage-earners, they gathered nightly in two meeting places, and eighteen of the believers financed the celebrations. Non—Bahá’ís were invited to be present, and the public began to appreciate the greatness of the Faith and the unity of the believers. Sangsar presented a breakfast and luncheon on the Declaration Day to a large number of the friends, and children from the Character-Building classes put on an educational play. Community leaders, municipal and government authorities, leading merchants, were much impressed by these activities; a special day was arranged for them, on which they heard talks on the Centenary, attended a play given by the children and expressed their appreciation.
In a Persian garden hung with electric lights, its avenues carpeted with precious rugs, the Bahá’ís Of Hamadz’m celebrated as guests of Bahá’-i—Din ‘Ali—Zadih. The speakers’ platform was decorated with sacred portraits; over the gathering was hung the Greatest Name, and directly below it a large, eiectrically-lit sign in which was cut this verse: "Awake for Hégiidar hath now revealed His Cause; Jerusalem and Mecca are bowing toward Shíráz.” The guests, some of whom were Muslims, were welcomed with rose-water and other perfumes. With many watching from neighboring roof—tops, the Festival opened at the exact moment when the hundred years reached its end, when the large audience rose and listened with deep emotion as the recorded voice of the Master filled the garden.
On succeeding days other believers opened their homes to the crowds of celebrants. The sixth of these festivals, on ‘Azamat 11, was held at the home of Mfisa Ishayyém, where courtyard and balcony were decorated with Portraits and lights, with rugs and silken drapes; among the guests on this occasion were three high—ranking American officers, who had expressed interest in the Festival; they were accompanied by two interpreters, one of whom was a Bahá’í. The
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THE CENTENARY OF
A WORLD FAITH
The ninety-one Persian Bahá’í Delegates who were present at the Centennial of the Faith, celebrated in Shíráz, in conjunction with the Annual Convention, May, 1944.
program was translated -for them, and they were given two copies in English of a Tablet (the Léhéy). Another of the meetings, at the home of Habibu’lláh Ittihadiyyih, was attended by Jewish, Christian and Muslim guests, and on this occasion, too, neighbors watched from the roof-tops. The ninth meeting, put on by the youth, was especially effective because it was held at the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, where for some time owing to local disturbances the friends had not been able to meet. The believers were so pleased with the decorations used by the youth that five persons purchased some of these, such as the branched lighting-fixtures and the portrait frames of inlaid work, for the permanent use of the building. The Bahá’í library of Sadr-i—Sudfir was officially opened and dedicated on this occasion. The week—long Festival made a great impair: on the public all over Persia, inspired the friends and brought them close to their fellows in seventy-seven other countries of the globe. Cables and other communications added to their joy; these came from the
Guardian of the Faith, and from ‘Iráq, the United States and Canada, India, Egypt and the Sudan, Australia and New Zealand, Bahrayn, a group of Persian students in the United States; later on a letter from Firfiz Kazim-Zédih, Bahá’í Persian student at Stanford University, describing the Centenary Celebrations which he attended at Wilmette, also arrived and was officially circulated. Prior to the Festival, the Bahá’ís of India obtained permission from their Government for fifty Persian Bahá’ís to be present at their Centenary; the fifty were selected, and prepared to leave, but unfortunately their visas arrived too late for them to make the journey.
In brilliant drawing—rooms and auditoriums, in cool gardens, with lights and flowers, tapestries and hand—woven rugs, with songs, chants, addresses, recitations from Bahá’í history, with fragrant tea in wasp-waisted glasses, candies, saffron-colored rice dishesthe great holiday crowds of Bahá’ís throughout Persia celebrated the first hundred years of their Faith.
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It was a memorable spring. It meant that their religion, once driven out of Persia and almost obliterated, had won the victory. The Bahá’ís could see now that they had no way to go but forward; they could see the whole planet opening to their message. And so, welcoming one another, they poured out rose—water in the Persian way; a few months later, some were as generously to pour out their blood.
BAHÁ‘Í CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS IN THE BRITISH ISLES
THE Guardian of the Faith sent a cable to the British Convention of 1943, urging deliberation upon "prompt effectual measures . . . befitting celebration May 1944 Centenary Faith. Advise prepare outstanding events forty-five year history Faith British Isles.”
The second task was the more straightforward. A committee comprising Mr. Balyuzi, Mary Basil Hall, Miss Pinchon and Mrs. Slade, worked throughout the year and produced a small book entitled “The Centenary of a World Faith.” The war time publishing difficulties were all surmounted, and the task done.
Planning and carrying out a befitting celebration of the Centenary was a much more complicated matter, involving constant consultation, trial and adjustment to what was possible in war time. The result was a magnificent success, and the Guardian himself said it was the outstanding event of the Faith in these islands since the Master’s presence here in 1912-13. The major occasions were in the capital, but celebrations were held by local Bahá’í communities as well. In addition to corresponding members from Bournemouth, Bradford, Manchester and Torquay, the committee responsible for the celebrations was composed of Mr. St. Barbe Baker, David Hofman, Mrs. Hyett, Miss Isenthal, Mrs. Stevens. The brunt of the work inevitably fell on the London members, and all the friends there worked hard and enthusiastically.
For some months prior to the Centenary date, a publicity agent, engaged by the N.S.A., had been at work, and occasional references to the Faith were seen in newspapers and magazines. As the spring of 1944 unfolded, posters, strictly conforming in size and number to war time regulations, appeared in and about London. The centenary was listed as one of the coming public functions.
It was important to have some person of eminence to open the celebrations, and we were very happy indeed when Sir Ronald Storrs consented to do so. His qualifications for such a duty are outstanding (he mentions them in his introductory remarks), and the Guardian requested that his appreciation of Sir Ronald’s "noble, courageous act,” should be conveyed to him.
The main feature of the week’s celebrations was an exhibition, open every day, and the scene of some interesting evening functions. In addition a public meeting was held at Denison House, and the regular occasions of the annual Convention took place at the Bahá’í Centre.
The exhibition was housed in Alliance
Hall, at the very heart of Westminster. Five
minutes walking would have brought one
to the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, or
in another direction, Buckingham Palace.
The Hall was long and well proportioned;
panelled in oak and well fit. A raised dais at
one end formed a platform for speakers.
Behind it was a large map of the world.
From many points coloured streamers
radiated to side panels, on which were pinned
the telegrams and messages from Bahá’í
centres around the globe. There was a large
display of Bahá’í literature, one interesting
exhibit being copies of Dr. Esslemont’s book
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"Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era” in thirty-three
languages. Sayings of Bahá’u’lláh on
human unity and world peace, were presented
side by side with the most up to date
statements by the world’s leaders.
The lower end of the hall was occupied by exhibits personal to the Founders of the Faith. A robe worn by Bahá’u’lláh; a robe of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s; a ring presented by Him to Lord Lamington and by Lady Lamington to the Bahá’í community.
There were large photographs of the Master; an original and beautiful specimen of the work of the famed calligraphist Mishkin; photographs of the Temple; of Dr. Esslemont; of occasions during the Master’s visits to England.
Many people visited the exhibition, and a great deal of literature was taken away. The main items were packed and sent to other centres for use in local exhibitions.
The programme follows:
PROGRAMME OF FUNCTIONS
SATURDAY, MAY 20TH
- 2:30 p.m. Opening of Exhibition at Alliance Hall, Palmer Street, S.W. 1, by Sir
Ronald Storrs, K.C.M.G., LL.D., L.C.C.
Exhibition open till 9:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 21TH Exhibition open 11:00—9:00 pm.
MONDAY, MAY 22ND Exhibition open 11:00—9:00 p.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 23RD ”CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH”—Public Meeting at Denison House, Vauxhall Bridge Road, SW. 1', at 6:30 pm. Doors open 6:00 p.m. In the Chair: Mary Basil Hall. Speakers: W. Tudor Pole, Shaw Desmond, Hannen Swaffer, Dr. Harold Moody and Bahá’í speakers.
Exhibition open 11:00—6:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24TH Exhibition open 11:00—9:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Lecture. "PALESTINE” by Richard St. Barbe Baker, illustrated with lantern slides.
THURSDAY, MAY 25TH Exhibition open 11:00—9:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Lecture. "BEAUTY AND TRUTH” by Bernard Leach.
FRIDAY, MAY 26TH Exhibition open 11:00—9:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. "THE SONG OF HEAVEN” —Readings from Bahá’í Scriptures, with music. Programme arranged by David Hofman.
SATURDAY, MAY 27TH Exhibition open 11:00—2:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. ”THE DAWN OF THE NEW AGE”—A dramatisation of Bahá’í History.
OPENING OF BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY EXHIBITION
BY SIR RONALD STORRS, K. C.M.G, LL.D., L.C.C.
THE following are extracts from the speech made by Sir Ronald Storrs, who opened the Bahá’í Centenary Exhibition at the Alliance Hall, Palmer Street, Westminster, London, S.W.1, on Saturday afternoon, May 20:
“It is a high honour for an Anglican Englishman to have been chosen to open the Centenary of a World Faith,” said Sir Ronald, and claimed three qualifications: “I am K.C.M.G., LL.D., L.C.C. an M.A. of the same university, Cambridge, and a scholar of the same college, Pembroke, as Edward Browne, who was not only the finest Persian scholar of the age but the best-loved foreigner in Írán and throughout the Bahá’í world; secondly, because I had the honour of Abbas Effendi’s friendship from 1909 until his death; thirdly, I am the latest from that Front—of Haifa, ‘Akká, Baghdád, Ṭihrán, Isphahan and Shíráz.” Sir Ronald
Sir Ronald Storrs opening the Bahá’í Centenary Exhibition in London, Alliance Hall, Westminster, May 20th, 1944.
then went on to tell dramatically and poignantly the story of the Báb, the centenary of whose declaration was being celebrated. "Why is 1944 the Centenary of this Faith? Because 100 years ago, all but two days, a young merchant of Shíráz, Sayyíd ‘Alí-Muḥammad, not yet 25 years old, declared to one follower that he was the bearer of a new message to mankind. He described himself as the Báb, meaning gate, or door, of this dispensation. His followers soon multiplied, but he spent most of his life in captivity, until in 1850 he was condemned, like Christ, Socrates and other religious innovators, to death. His execution was marked by a startling portent, which is thus recorded in a contemporary Persian ‘Traveller’s Narrative’:
"An iron nail was hammered into the middle of the staircase of the very cell wherein they were imprisoned, and two ropes were hung down. By one rope the Báb was suspended and by the other rope Aká Muḥammad-‘Alí, both being firmly bound in such wise that the head of that young man was on the Báb’s breast. The surrounding house-tops billowed with teeming crowds. A regiment of soldiers ranged itself in three files. The first file fired; then the second file, and then the third file discharged volleys. From the fire of these volleys a mighty smoke was produced. When the smoke cleared away they saw that young man standing and the Báb seated by the side of his amanuensis, Aká Sayyíd Ḥusayn, in the very cell from the staircase of which they had suspended them. The bullets had merely cut the ropes. To neither one of them had the slightest injury resulted.
“Aká Ján Beg, of Khamsa, colonel of the
bodyguard advanced; and they again bound
the Báb together with that young man to
the same nail. The Báb uttered certain words
which those few who knew Persian under
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Centenary Exhibition held in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, 1944, showing exterior view of shop window on one of the main streets.
Exhibition in Alliance Hall, London, May 20-27, 1944, arranged by the Bahá’ís of the British Isles as part of their Centenary Celebrations.
stood, while the rest heard but the sound of his voice. The colonel of the regiment appeared in person. Suddenly he gave orders to fire. At this volley the bullets produced such an effect that the breasts of the victims were riddled, and their limbs, but not their faces, which were but little marred.”
Speaking of his personal experiences and contact with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Sir Ronald said:
“My first connection with the Bahá’í Faith dates from the beginning of this century, when it was my fortune and honour to become the Arabic pupil of Edward Browne.
“My first glimpse of Ábbás Effendi was in the summer of 1909, when I drove round the Bay of Acre in an Arab cab, visited him in the barracks and marvelled at his serenity and cheerfulness after 42 years of exile and imprisonment. I kept touch with him through my confidential agent, Husain Bey Ruhi, son of a Tabríz martyr, and the ‘Persian Mystic’ of my book 'Orientations’.
"After the Young Turk Revolution, Ábbás Effendi was released. He visited Egypt in 1913, when I had the honour of looking after him, and of presenting him to Lord Kitchener, who was deeply impressed by his personality—as who could fail to be? Then war cut him off from us and it might have gone hard with him in Haifa but for the indirect interposition of His Majesty’s Government.
“When, in his famous victory drive to the North, Allenby captured Haifa, he detached me from Jerusalem to organise the British Administration there. On the evening of my arrival I visited my revered friend. I found him sitting in spotless white. He placed at my disposal the training and talents of his community, and I appointed one or two to positions of trust, which they still continue to deserve. Later, he visited me in Jerusalem, and was held in great esteem and respect by the High Commissioner, Lord Samuel. In Egypt he presented me with a
Interior view of Bahá’í Centenary Exhibition held in Bradford, England, 1944.
Dr. Esslemont’s photograph appears in the upper foreground.
Bahá’í Centenary Exhibition, Alliance Hall, London, England, May 20th to 27th, 1944.
(Note large photograph of Dr. Esslemont, the Scottish Bahá’í, whose book ”Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era” has been translated into more than forty languages.)
beautiful specimen of writing by the celebrated Bahá’í calligraphist, Mishn—Qalam, and with his own Persian pen box; in Palestine with an exquisite little Bokkara rug from the tomb of the Báb: all three, alas, destroyed by fire in Cyprus. When, on November 29, 1921, he was buried, 10,000 men, women and children, of many varying races and creeds, walked in the funeral procession up Mount Carmel, to lay his body in the exquisite cypress-avenued shrine.
"Telegrams reached Haifa from all over the world. Mr. Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, desired the High Commissioner for Palestine to convey to the Bahá’í Community on behalf of His Majesty’s Government their sympathy and condolence on the death of Sir ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Ábbás, K.B.E., and Field Marshal Lord Allenby telegraphed likewise from Egypt.
“With Ábbás Effendi the Apostolic and Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Faith is considered to be ended.
“I have not lost contact with the Bahá’í world, and I hope I never shall. Recently I had the honour of receiving at the British Legation in Ṭihrán, a deputation of the Bahá’í Community, headed by Samimi, the respected Chief Munshi of the Legation, and Varga, President of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Persia. Later I was received by the Council at a tea, so sumptuous that the remembrance adds a sting to my British Ration Card. My diary of April 5, 1943, at Shíráz, tells me:
“ ‘After luncheon, off to visit the House of the Báb, leaving the car for the narrow winding streets, and shown over by Fazlullah Benana and the curator. A small but perfect courtyard, with a little blue tiled, eight feet square tank, six large red goldfish, a tiny orange tree and runner carpets round the sides, and a narrow deep well. Above, His bed and His sitting rooms (for which our hosts took off their shoes), and on the second floor the room in which in 1844 He declared His mission, to a solitary disciple.’
“What can I say more? Half a century ago
Some of the Friends who attended the British Annual Bahá’í Convention held in London, May, 1944.
the great Dr. Jowett, of Balliol, wrote: ‘This is the greatest light the world has seen since Christ, but it is too great and too close for the world to appreciate its full import.’ Already over many parts of the globe there are Bahá’ís actively, honourably, peaceably employed.
“May this auspicious Centenary prove propitious also for the early restoration of world peace.”
PUBLIC MEETING AT DENISON HOUSE,
VAUXHALL BRIDGE ROAD, LONDON,
ON MAY 23,1944
ON Tuesday, May 23 (May 23, 1844, being the actual day on which the Báb declared His mission) a public meeting was held at Denison House, Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, S.W.1. Mrs. Basil Hall, daughter of Lady Blomfield, with whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed when he visited London in 1912, was the chairman at this historic meeting, which she opened with these words:
“In the name of the Bahá’ís I bid you a
very sincere welcome. We meet at a time
when the revival of religion is needed. Nearly
all the physical means for uniting mankind
already existing: transport, radio, international
organisation, the project of the
universal auxiliary language and the fact
that nations are interdependent is accepted,
only one thing is lacking: the will of the
nations to unite, and that can only come by
the power of the holy spirit, and it is by a
new outpouring of this mighty power that
we give you glad tidings today. Bahá’u’lláh
proclaimed that religion is one and not many
and that the truth of religion is progressively
revealed to mankind through the ages by the
manifestations of God—the purpose being
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to combine men together in spirit and in
social unity, and this can only come about
by universal love and understanding of the
search after truth through constructive
discussion which will abolish all prejudice and
superstition, because truth is one and no part
of truth can counteract another, although
there are as many aspects of truth as there
are minds to perceive them.
“We believe that rivalry among religions is the negation of religion itself and wholly alien to the divine purpose and hostile to the design of God. These false rivalries have arisen mainly through ignorance, but partly through lust for power and claims to the monopoly of grace and through intolerance with regard to super-imposed doctrines. The inward truth of religion is one but the various forms of worship express the differing natures of men. Variety is in harmony with nature. In a beautiful garden you do not see only roses or lilies, you see many kinds of flowers and trees and that is what makes the garden beautiful. It is only the weeds of prejudice and superstition that must be rooted out. They cause contempt and hatred, and the only good and wholesome kind of rivalry there could be is a contest to remove these barriers and a race towards wider unities. There are many signs of this today and we rejoice in these signs. The Bahá’í faith is not merely one of many sects and many churches, it is the unifying force. Unity and not uniformity is our motto. Our faith is eminently reasonable and practical. There is nothing vague in the programme. To become a Bahá’í you don’t only not have to renounce your former faith, you must not renounce it. Your own religion becomes more real and profound when you realise its majestic continuity with all other faiths. The search after truth is one of our main principles. No one is asked to believe anything blindly. By your presence here today you have proved yourselves seekers after the truth. It is difficult to grasp its magnitude at first, but we hope what you hear today will interest you profoundly. Now I am going to call on other speakers who will give you the tradition of this wonderful religion.”
The other speakers at this meeting, which aimed at presenting an outline of the Bahá’í Faith and the views of one or two eminent personalities who have contacted it on what the Bahá’í teachings have to offer the world, were:
W. Tudor Pole, Shaw Desmond, Hannen Swaffer, Sir William Hornell, the Rev. Walter Winn, and Dr. Harold Moody.
The Bahá’í speakers were:
Hasan Balyuzi, David Hofman, Norman Smith, an American Bahá’í over here with the United States Army and who was in London during the Centenary celebrations, and Miss Vivian Isenthal, who read some messages sent to the meeting.
Hasan Balyuzi gave the following account of the life and mission of the Báb, which is reprinted in full since this day commemorated the declaration of the Báb:
“This week all over the world the Bahá’ís are celebrating the Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb. Who was the Báb and what were His claims? Very briefly, the Báb was a young merchant who declared to a seeker after truth, on the eve of May 23, 1844, that He was the promised one awaited by the world of Islám and that He had come to herald the advent of a still mightier revelation. He had only six years of ministry, of which four years were spent in prison, and in July, 1850, he was shot. That is the life of the Báb in very bare outline.
“Let us now see something more of Him in the different periods of His life. First of all, when He was a child, we have the testimony of His old tutor to the extraordinary powers that this child of seven possessed. This is not a matter of rumour or legend, there is the testimony of the man who was His tutor and who in later years followed and defended His cause. He was very bright, intelligent, kind and considerate, and one day this tutor despaired of having anything to impart to this very intelligent child and took Him to His uncle, who was His guardian, and told him that ‘with all my learning I have nothing to impart to this child.’
“Next we see Him on the evening of May
23, 1844. A young man of 24, in search of
the promised Deliverer, arrived at the gates
of Shíráz, the famous city in South Persia,
and was met by the Báb, who invited him to
His house. This invitation was given with
such grace and courtesy that he could not
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but accept it and there in His own house the
Báb declared to this seeker that He was the
one whom he was seeking. He produced
proofs, and in the words of the speaker who
said: ‘I sat spellbound by His utterance,
forgetful of time. I was blinded by the dazzling
splendour of this revelation . . . excitement,
joy, awe and wonder stirred the depths of
my soul . . . the universe seemed but as a
handful of dust in my grasp.’
“At last the Báb arose, and in a voice that thrilled His amazed guest, declared: ‘This night, this very hour, will in the days to come be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals. Do thou render thanks to God for having graciously assisted thee to attain thine heart’s desire, and for having quaffed from the sealed wine of His utterance. Well is it with them that attain thereunto.’
"Seventeen others came of their own accord, met the Báb, accepted Him, and to them He gave the name of the Letters of the Living. They were the first ministers of His faith and He sent them out to teach and to spread the glad tidings. Here are a few extracts from the farewell address He gave them:
" ‘My beloved friends, you are the bearers of the name of God in this day . . . You are witnesses of the Dawn of the promised Day of God . . . Purge your hearts of worldly desires and let angelic virtues be your adorning. The days when idle worship was deemed sufficient are ended. The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity can ascend unto the throne of the Most High . . . Beseech the Lord, your God, that no earthly entanglements, no wordly affections . . . may tarnish the purity or embitter the sweetness of the grace that flows through you. I am preparing you for the advent of a mighty Day . . . Scatter throughout the length and breadth of this land, and with steadfast feet and sanctified hearts prepare the way for His coming.’
"They went out and practically all of them gave up their lives in the path of the new cause.
“Next we see Him under arrest, confined to the house of His uncle, and then we see Him in prison in the mountains of North West Persia, under the charge of a very rough warden, noted for his brutality; but such was His charm that this same warden opened the prison doors to all visitors. And so they took Him to the castle of Chiríq, and there again the warden of that castle, notorious for his rough methods, yielded to the charm of his prisoner.
“Finally, they decided to put an end to His life. Persecution was raging all over the land; 10,000 suffered martyrdom. They brought Him to Tabríz, and with a faithful follower He was shot by 750 rifles, but when the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the Báb. He was sitting in a chamber close by, finishing a conversation that had been rudely interrupted earlier in the day. He was led out again. The first regiment refused to fire again. A second regiment was called, and this time the Báb was killed. Although the Báb was killed, although nearly all of His Letters of the Living had suffered martyrdom and 10,000 had died for this cause, and although it seemed that its enemies had succeeded in extinguishing the Light of the Báb, nevertheless the cause lived. Now we will hear the rest of what happened.”
Mr. David Hofman then gave an able
presentation of the life and teachings of
Bahá’u’lláh. “The reason why the cause of
the Báb flourished,” he said, "was that it
came from God and could not be extinguished.”
Speaking of the application of the
teachings of Bahá’u’lláh to the needs of this
day, he said: “The very first thing which
Bahá’u’lláh says to mankind today is this:
law and order must first be established, then
civilization can follow. Bahá’u’lláh’s plan for
world reconstruction starts with the human
being. A firm foundation can only come
through faith, through religion. Wherever
the power of religion has failed in the past,
society has decayed. Therefore Bahá’u’lláh
shows mankind how to restore himself to a
knowledge of why he is here, and where he is
going.” Mr. Hofman concluded his talk with
these words: “It is on the foundation of
oneness that the Bahá’í faith raises a
structure of unity; a World parliament, to be
elected by the nations of the world; a
supreme tribunal; an international auxiliary
language; a world economic system, functioning
for the benefit of the whole human
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race: these are the outward signs of world
order, the delineation of that Kingdom of
God promised to mankind from the beginning of
its history: ‘The earth is but one
country and mankind its citizens!’ It is on
that spiritual truth that the Bahá’í faith
offers to mankind today a plan for world
reconstruction.”
The Rev. Walter Winn spoke next and said that he was surprised to have been invited to take part in the meeting as he was a non-conformist, with more than a tendency to spiritualism and that he had grave doubts about himself and therefore about the universe at large, “but on the other hand,” he said, "I claim to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ and I am here because I believe that my Master would tell me to come, and to say to you that the principles contained in your great and wonderful literature are the principles of Christianity. As I read the account of that most remarkable founder of yours, I said, my mind for sixty years has been traveling in this direction. I have read your books and there isn’t a bit of difference between your conclusions and the actual teaching of Jesus Christ, and consequently we can all be one. There need be no division. There is nothing cranky about those books . . . There is nothing cranky in the brain of that great man who founded this wonderful movement. Get on with it. Don’t rely upon big temples and big buildings. Circulate your ideas. They will saturate and some morning they will become dynamite, and the sooner the better.
"I was preaching in a Yorkshire town one morning and again in the evening. After the morning service I took a walk and I heard some people singing "All hail the power.” I said that’s me, so in I went. I sang with sincerity. I enjoyed the service, but after it there was a communion service, so I kept my seat. One of the deacons asked me to leave, because he had no evidence that I was one of the elect. I got up and walked out. And I will take good care not to walk back. It is that division that is the curse of the world today. You will not get rid of war, or the terrible inequalities of, life until the divisions among religions are cured.”
Mr. Winn recounted some amusing anecdotes and brought laughter into a meeting which by its very nature was solemn. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá loved laughter and happiness, and this certainly seemed to draw the audience and the speakers closer together.
Mr. Tudor Pole’s moving and intimate memoirs of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá followed, and are given here as fully as possible. He said: “I don’t propose to tell you the story of the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, you can find his history set forth in the excellent books available at the Bahá’í Centres. But as very few present have had the great privilege of meeting and talking with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá you may be interested in one or two reminiscences with regard to this wonderful teacher who did not wish to accept the title of ‘master’ or ‘prophet’ but who simply desired to be known as a servant of the Father. I remember in the spring of 1919, when the Great War that was to end all wars was over, visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at his home near Haifa, on the slopes of Mount Carmel, when I tried to congratulate him, in the belief that a final Armageddon had been fought and won, he told me that the war just ended had sown the seeds for a far greater struggle than anything that had yet happened in human history and that I should live to witness this catastrophic event. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá added that so far as the material issues were concerned, aerial warfare would prove the decisive factor. You may imagine my consternation. I reminded ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of what he had said in Paris in March, 1913, which I will read to you: ‘Do you know in what Day you are living? Do you realize in what Dispensation you are alive? Have you not heard in the Holy Scriptures that at the consummation of the ages there shall appear a Day which is the Sun of all the past Days? This is the Day in which the Lord of Hosts has come down from heaven on the clouds of glory! This is the Day in which the inhabitants of all the world shall enter under the shelter of the Word of God.
"'This is the Day whose real sovereign
is His Highness the Almighty. This is the
Day when the East and the West shall embrace
each other like unto two lovers. This
is the Day in which war and contention shall
be forgotten. This is the Day in which
nations and governments will enter into an
eternal bond of amity and conciliation. This
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Century is the fulfilment of the Promised
Century.’
“I asked how he could reconcile this statement with the reference to the coming of a still greater Armageddon than the Great War of 1914 to 1918. This was his reply: ‘No word spoken by my father or by myself has been spoken in vain.’ It is clear, therefore, that this great seer foresaw not only the tribulations through which we are now passing, but also the coming of the Most Great Peace before the present century ends. Out of the darkness of our grave afflictions will be born the light of the new Day. This Day is even now approaching.
“Let me tell you the story that is well known but is worth repeating in regard to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s presence at the time of the British attack upon Haifa in the summer of 1918. Some of us in Allenby’s army were much alarmed by the information brought out of Haifa by our Intelligence agents, to the effect that the enemy intended to crucify ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his family before evacuating the city. It transpired that the Bahá’ís in Haifa gathered round their great leader and many of them encamped in the gardens round his house. One of those present told me later that during this period of extreme tension ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used these words: ‘All is well, the power of the spirit is with us. Not a single shell from the British guns will fall within the city, which will be taken undamaged within 48 hours and its people freed.’ As a matter of fact, owing to the incorrect sighting of the guns, the British shells were falling harmlessly into the bay, and the prophecy just referred to was fulfilled.
"I remember an occasion when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took me to see the ‘Akká prison house where he and his father and the family had been confined for nearly 40 years, and how he spoke about the Lord’s Prayer in these words: ‘Remember there is prophecy as well as petition in the great prayer which His Holiness the Christ gave to the world. The prophecies in the Lord’s Prayer will be fulfilled, and perhaps more quickly than is realised; His kingdom shall come, His will shall be done on earth; daily bread shall be given to all; sins shall be forgiven and as each one turns to seek the kingdom that is within, so shall all good things be added to him.’ ‘Lay the foundation of your affection,’ said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 'in the very centre of your spiritual being, at the very heart of your consciousness, and let it not be shaken by adverse winds.’
" ‘Do not expect to find peace without until you have attained that inward peace which is built on the rock of Faith, and so cannot be shaken by outer tribulations.’
“ ‘The Bahá’í teaching does not ask a man to desert the Faith of his forefathers but to live it, in unity and fellowship with all men irrespective of their colour, caste or creed, for we are all leaves of one tree.’
" ‘Ere long,’ says Bahá’u’lláh, ‘God will sail His Ark upon thee.’
“Have we each begun to prepare a harbour within, in order to receive the Ark of the Covenant of Peace, so that the New Day may be manifested through us?”
Shaw Desmond expressed his pleasure at being on a platform that was “essentially international” and made a witty and eloquent speech, of which there is, unfortunately, no available record.
Hannen Swaffer also made a characteristic speech, in which he recalled receiving a visit from Mrs. Hanford Ford, in whom he met "a very gracious and charming lady who was obviously breathing the spirit of what I heard for the first time when I heard of the Bahá’í Faith. I have since read and found out a lot about your community and I know it to be one of those great movements which are destined to build the magnificent future out of the unhappy past.
"It is time,” he said, “that there was brought into being a great world movement to merge differences in religion and to share the building up of the future.”
Mr. Swaffer recounted picturesquely the story of the gods who, as a jest, broke up the diamond of truth and scattered it over the earth and then, watching the earth’s inhabitants from their celestial heights, laughed to see how they eagerly ran to gather up the fragments, each one thinking that his fragment was the whole truth.
Sir William Hornell spoke very briefly and
with a touching humility, warmth and sincerity.
He recalled Martha Root’s visit to
him while he was in Hong Kong and said,
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"In the students’ union of the University I
arranged for a meeting, to which there came
Chinese students and some members of the
University staff. Martha Root gave her message.
She is dead; the University is a looted
shell, but the memory of that evening abides.
I have many friends among the Bahá’ís and
what has impressed me most is their kindness
to one another and also to those outside their
pale, and it is that spirit which I think is
going to contribute a great deal to the success
of the movement. I venture in all
humility to warn the Bahá’ís not to be
carried away by the slogans and clichés of
the market place. I have read in one of your
books that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá concluded his message
to the congress of races in London with
these words:
“Let brotherhood be felt and seen among you and carry ye its quickening power throughout the world.”
“To this I would say ‘Amen’.”
Dr. Harold Moody brought greetings from the League of Coloured Peoples and his own personal greetings. He spoke only a few words, but made a deep impression on the audience by the calm dignity of his personality and the beautiful quality of his voice. He said, “I feel you are engaged upon a great movement. You have triumphed over many difficulties and I am convinced you are determined to go on to still greater triumphs and I want to say God bless and prosper you. Out of this revelation something is going to come for the benefit of humanity. It rests upon every one of us to play our part effectively. You want not only to have a great faith but to practice that faith day by day in your lives . . . In the world that is dawning no one is too young and no one too old to heal the breaches which divide mankind.”
Norman Smith spoke with moving simplicity of Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to nothing but the hearts of mankind. "Addressing the Kings and rulers of the earth, Bahá’u’lláh told them He had not come to wrest their kingdoms from them. ‘My mission is to capture and keep the hearts of men’.” He spoke of the Bahá’ís meeting in the Bahá’í Temple on the shores of Lake Michigan on this day, and concluded by saying: “It is the Bahá’í message to make everyone happy and enjoy the fruits of the spiritual conquest of the hearts and minds of all mankind, so that all men might live as brothers and the kingdom of God shall be established on earth.”
Miss Isenthal closed the meeting with reading a message from Sir John Martin Harvey (who had originally accepted to be present at the meeting), sent very shortly before his death.
MESSAGES
From J. D. BERESFORD (author)
Although I am not a member of your Assembly, I am glad to have this opportunity of saying how profoundly I am in agreement with your fundamental aim of the unification of mankind, and with your general beliefs as to the means by which alone that unity can be obtained. I would subscribe more particularly to those statements made by Bahá’u’lláh in “Hidden Words,” in which he stresses the need for simplicity in our faith.
For I believe that in their preoccupation with ritual and dogma, the churches’ neglect to teach such first principles is responsible for much of present-day materialism and its disastrous results in the present world war.
I send you, therefore, my most sincere good wishes for the enlargement of your Assembly and the spread of your faith, and assure you that many of us have similar aims, and are ready to add our endeavours to yours, whether by practice, speaking or writing.
From DAME SYBIL THORNDIKE
May I send greetings to the Bahá’ís at their Centenary. I have read your booklet with much interest and the faith expressed in it is so close to the faith I hold and most Christians hold, that I feel sure the good you are doing is great. I wish I could be at the meeting but evenings are my working hours when in the theatre which is almost always.
Good wishes for good co-operation.
From REGINALD SORENSON, M.P.
I trust the centenary of your Bahá’í community
will be celebrated in May with a renewed faith
in the spiritual unity of all
mankind and the "glory that shall be revealed
in us.” I am sure it has given inspiration
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to many in the past 100 years and that
it continues to do so now when once again
we blast and mutilate and destroy, for it
reaches beneath the evil that men do—to the
imperishable common things of our deeper
life wherein there is the reconciliation of
divinity and the source of ultimate harmony.
These days of tragedy are also times of endurance, fortitude and courage. They are times of great opportunity to bear witness still to those principles upon which true peace alone can find foundation.
I trust, therefore, there will be the notes of hope and confidence during your celebration and that in the next century your Movement will continue to serve the truest needs of our common humanity and bring nearer that World Commonwealth which is the destiny of the race.
From the late SIR JOHN MARTIN HARVEY, D.Litt.
You honour me with a request that I should add my small brick to the exalted edifice of the Bahá’í teaching. Its happy creed so passionately urged and so convincingly stated is an inspiration to all who work and who, in the words of Kipling, have realised the significance of "No one shall work for money and no one shall work for fame, but all for the joy of the working.”
I would like to add my conviction to your teaching that "absolute equality is a chimera” which, socially, is entirely impracticable. It has become a slogan to many workers, reliance upon which will only lead to a cruel disillusionment. The only “equality” is that which any man may attain by being prominent in his work. It has been truly said that “every man can do some one thing better than any other man.” So let our ambition be, no matter how humble our work may appear, to be of the aristocracy of work. And if to "work is to pray” may not this noble ambition to be among the elect of the workers of the world, bring us by steps to the dream of your great Teacher of a Great Universal Peace, against which if any government among you take up arms to destroy that peace, "the whole human race,” he tells, "shall resolve with every power at its disposal to destroy.”
From SIR ERNEST BENNETT, M.P.
The Bahá’í Faith claims to offer a fresh presentation of Christ’s teaching—sincere and unequivocal. Its three million adherents may, with God’s help, form a great spiritual nucleus for the furtherance of a Faith which will definitely refuse to acquiesce in war, just as our Christian forefathers refused to acquiesce in slavery, and at length triumphed over a great evil.
From DR. HEWLETT JOHNSON,
Dean of Canterbury
I read with interest the social programme of your movement demonstrating the best education for everyone, equal status for men and women and the like and also your encouragement of scientific research and emphasis on the need for a World Commonwealth, together with the oneness of mankind. I am in complete agreement with those aims and wish you well in the pursuit of them.
From HANNEN SWAFFER
Bahá’ís have to offer to Mankind something without which there can be no New World, no social order based on equality, no idealism in which all can share. It is a religion which opposes that sectarianism which narrows faith into prejudice and keeps knowledge within the limits of what does not deny Orthodoxy.
Creeds are the enemy of all who can see beyond them. Rituals are as repetitionary as a praying-wheel. Both cause divisions where there should be brotherhood.
In the New World of our dreams there can be no differences of caste or creed or colour. Because it not only proclaims that self—evident truth but shows how one can live up to it, the Bahá’í faith shines like a torch amid darkness, and is a signpost pointing out, in a wilderness of delusion and deceit, a path that, however rocky, leads to a land of bounty that all may share, a land of hope in which all will one day find happiness.
BAHÁ’Í CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS IN INDIA
THIS night,” the Báb had declared, when He revealed His Mission, "this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals.” In accordance with this promise, in spite of the conflagration that was raging in the world, various countries had made preparations to befittingly celebrate this Festival. India was one of these. Burma, unfortunately, was still cut off from us.
Due instructions were received from the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith a year in advance, regarding the nature and scope of the proposed celebrations. His secretary wrote on June 22, 1943 to the National Spiritual Assembly of India: "—The Guardian feels that the N.S.A. must from now on coordinate its plans and set in motion its preparations for the centenary celebrations. The believers must hold gatherings for the Bahá’ís at exactly 2 hours and 11 minutes after sunset on May 22nd 1944 as this is the exact time when the Báb declared His mission to Mullá Ḥusayn. They should also arrange to hold public gatherings on May 23rd and enlist the support of prominent friends of the Faith as speakers, together With Bahá’í speakers, on that occasion. They should, as far as possible, hold festive gatherings at this time, give banquets—at which friends of the Cause and believers are present, obtain as much space in the press of India as possible, and in general devise ways and means of making this a glorious and memorable celebration. He would also like to have the N.S.A. publish in conjunction with the centenary, a pamphlet giving a brief outline of the Faith’s origin and teachings and major events in India since its establishment there, and a detailed outline of the accomplishments of the Indian Bahá’í community, its early history, its development, etc.”
The National Spiritual Assembly followed the lines indicated by the Guardian. Two committees were appointed: one in charge of the celebrations, the other to compile the history of the Bahá’í Cause in India during the first century. They commenced their task in right earnest.
Delhi was first fixed as the site of the national celebrations. A bulletin was issued in August 1943. It touched briefly on the origin of the Faith, gave a summary of its aims and teachings from the Guardian’s writings, referred to the forthcoming celebrations projected at the capital during May 1944, and requested those who were in sympathy with its objects and intended to participate in the forthcoming proceedings, to give prior notice to the committee in charge of the arrangements.
The second bulletin was issued in March 1944. Delhi had been considered unsuitable due to its excessive heat during May and Bombay fixed as the venue of the national celebrations. This bulletin referred to the sacrifice in human life on which the foundation of the Cause had been laid, gave a summary of the Teachings from the Guardian’s pen, and concluded with an invitation to the well-wishers of humanity to join the forthcoming celebrations in Bombay from the 24th to the 26th of May. A supplement contained tributes to the Faith from eminent non—Bahá’ís.
Five thousand invitations were printed and sent out on the eve of the celebrations. One thousand posters were displayed all over Bombay. Streamers were suspended over busy street intersections. Five thousand handbills were distributed. A colored slide was displayed in each of these nine leading cinemas for the week ending with the conclusion of the celebrations: Metro, Eros, Empire, Majestic, Roxy, Palace, Broadway, Strand, and Andheri.
Fifteen thousand copies of “The World Religion" by Shoghi Effendi and five thousand copies of “Religion of the Future” by K. T. Shad were printed and distributed free.
Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters, Karachi, India, illuminated for the Centenary, May 24-26, 1944.
Five hundred copies of a pamphlet in memory of the services in India of Miss Martha Root, international Bahá’í teacher, were published and distributed free.
One thousand copies of the first section, covering a period of 50 years, of the history of the first Bahá’í century in India were printed and distributed free at the celebrations and later in response to the inquiries arising from the Press articles.
So wide was the publicity that the India News Parade, a News Film Department of the Government of India, considered the function important enough to be filmed. A copy of the film was sent to the Guardian. It shows Mr. Nagindas Master, the Mayor of Bombay, ascending the platform and inaugurating the local lectures at Bombay at the Sundarabai Hall on the 23rd May; Mr. Taunton inaugurating the national celebrations at the Sir Cowasji Jehangir Hall on the 24th, several of the speakers at the public addresses on the three days and inmates of the Institution for the Blind being fed by the Bahá’ís.
COMMEMORATION OF THE DECLARATION OF THE BÁB
The blest evening, the eve prior to the
23rd of May 1944, arrived. The members
of the National Spiritual Assembly, the delegates
to the Convention, and a large number
of friends had gathered in Bombay to celebrate
the Centenary of the Faith whose impact upon
society had shaken it to its very
foundations. The Bombay Bahá’í hall where
the friends met was tastefully decorated and
brilliantly lighted. Those that had assembled
bowed their heads in gratitude at the
bounty of having been guided to the path
of Truth. They greeted and congratulated
each other and in a spirit of reverent humility
and pious devotion ushered in that momentous,
that fateful hour when, 2 hours
and 11 minutes after sunset, a hundred years
ago, the gates of Heaven had once again
[Page 204]
opened and mankind been assured that
though he had forgotten his God, God had
not forsaken him. The packed hall was
hushed. An atmosphere of consecration and
a thankfulness too deep for words prevailed.
In a spirit of prayer the following program
was carried out:
1. A prayer by the Báb
2. Súrih-i—Mulk
3. Excerpt from the Persian Bayán
4. A Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh on the Declaration of the Báb
S. A talk on the significance of this Day, by N. Akhtar-Khawari
6. Closing Prayer.
The meeting lasted unto well past the middle of the night and even at that late hour the friends were loth to leave it.
PROGRAMME FOR 24TH MAY, 1944
C. J. HALL, 6 PM. TO 8 PM.
WELCOME ADDRESS
BY THE CHAIRMAN
(MRS. SHIRIN FOZDAR),
Reception Committee.
INAUGURAL ADDRESS:
- ‘I. H. TAUNTON, I.C.S.
LECTURES
- K. T. SHAH: Economic Foundations of
Peace. 5. H. KORESHI: Need of a Universal Religion.
Vote of Thanks to the Inaugurator.
PROGRAMME FOR 23TH MAY, 1944 C. J. HALL, 6 PM. TO 8 PM. PRESIDENT: "‘Dr. B. S. MOONJE—Principal of Dharma.
LECTURES PROF. T. REUBEN: Religion of the Future.
ABBAS ALI BUTT: History 8:: Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. DR. K. K. BHARGAVA:
Religion.”
"Science and
PROGRAMME FOR 26TH MAY, 1944 c. J. HALL, 6 RM. TO 8 PM. PRESIDENT: "‘MR. G. L. MEHTA
THE BAHA'I WORLD
LECTURES
“'MR. MANU SUBEDAR: World Society.”
PROF. PRITAM SINGH: “Economics of Bahá’í Faith.”
“'DIVAN BAHADUR RAMASWAMI SASTRI: "India and the Bahá’í Faith.”
"Prelude to
PROGRAMME FOR 26TH MAY, 1944 MARWARI VIDYALAYA HALL AT 6 RM. TO 8 RM.
PRESIDENT: MR. ABBAS ALI BUTT
LECTURES
MR. MAFUZ—UL—HUQ ILMI MR. 8. N. CHATURVEDI MR. JIVRAM JOSHI
MR. H. M. MANJI
(”‘Those marked with an asterisk are non-Bahá’ís)
At 6.00 P.M., on the 24th May, Mr. I. H. Taunton, I.C.S., Adviser to the Government of Bombay, Department of Education, the inaugurator of the meeting, Mrs. S. Fozdar, the President of the Reception Committee, and the speakers mounted the platform. This was one of the scenes of our celebrations that was "shot” by the Government Film Department that of itself had volunteered to film our proceedings.
Mrs. S. Fozdar in welcoming the audience on the inauguration day, dwelt on the importance of the occasion, the early persecutions of the followers of the Faith and its spread throughout the world. She told how, in the past, religion had renewed itself whenever the world had become corrupt, and how history had repeated itself in this age. She touched upon the Principles of the Cause and wound up with a passionate appeal to the hearers to respond to Bahá’u’lláh’s Message. Two thousand printed copies of this address were distributed. A microphone had been provided to carry the voice of the speakers to the farthest corners of the large hall. Representatives of the leading papers were present.
Mr. Taunton, in inaugurating the lectures, said that he had been interested in the Bahá’í teachings by his mother thirty years ago when she had placed a Bahá’í book in
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205
Delegates and Friends attending the Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of India and Burma held at Bombay, May 28, 1944, following the Centenary Celebrations.
his hand and asked him to study it. After getting acquainted with the Bahá’í tenets he had felt confident that nations could come to a peaceful settlement by the plan of Bahá’u’lláh. Who could deny, he said, the need for Universal Brotherhood, Universal Peace, Universal Education, The Oneness of Mankind, A Universal Language or an International Tribunal? In order to understand the importance of this Message man must free his mind from prejudices.
He was followed by Mr. K. T. Shah, the well—known economist who, in spite of indifferent health had been kind enough to attend, and who, speaking on “The Economic Foundations of Peace,” said “Nations must be federated under a world federal system ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its vast resources.” “Such a plan,” said Prof. Shah, "had been visualised by Bahá’u’lláh, the centenary of Whose faith they were celebrating.”
Mr. Koreshi, who followed, spoke on the "Need of a Universal Religion.”
After a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Taunton, and he and the speakers were garlanded, the meeting terminated. Light refreshments were served to the audience and pamphlets distributed among them.
The need for a common religion which would be free from all the defects and blemishes of the existing religions, and which should appeal to the intellects and. hearts of all was emphasised by Dr. B. S. Moonje, presiding over the second day session of the Bahá’í Centenary celebrations held at the Sir Cowasji Jehangir Hall, Bombay, on Thursday, the 25th May, 1944. The proper description of what was now termed religion, he added, was "dharma.”
Amplifying the meaning of the word
“dharma,” Dr. Moonje said it was that which
brought about fixation and maintenance of
the universe and which led to visible pros
[Page 206]
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Guests attending the Bahá’í Centenary Celebrations, Karachi, India, May 23rd, 1944.
[Page 207]
THE CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH
perity and ultimate absolution into the original spirit of all creations on earth.
Dr. Moonje further stated that he had heard of the Bahá’í Faith many years ago when he was attending an All Faiths’ Conference. He had great admiration for the Bahá’í teachings, and had felt very happy to be given the opportunity to participate in the celebrations. He asserted that in a country like India torn by dissension and prejudices the Bahá’í Message of unity and non-violence was very essential, and he assured the audience that India needed the Bahá’í teachings so badly that he on his part was quite prepared to protect it even with the sword if necessary.
Prof. T. Reuben, speaking on “Religion of the Future,” said that the world was now passing through cruel and inhuman times, the tragedy moving on with dreary futilities. It was not a question of East or West, he said. Historical religions had not been able to achieve unity among mankind, and if humanity intended to get rid of this wicked and brutal age, what was necessary, he added, was a faith based on the firm bedrock of universal unity. Religion should be spiritual and not ritual.
The Bahá’í Faith, said Mr. Abbas Ali Butt, recognised the unity of God and His power, while condemning all superstitions. He traced the growth and spread of the Faith in the Far East and West.
Dr. K. K. Bhargava, speaking on “Science and Religion,” said that science had ignored things like human emotions and spirit.
Mr. G. L. Mehta, President, Indian Merchants’ Chamber, presided over the lectures delivered on the 26th May at the Sir C. J. Hall.
Mr. Manu Subedar, B.A., B.Sc., M.L.A. (Central), leading economist and Bat-atLaw, spoke on “Prelude to World Society.”
Prof. Pritam Singh was the next speaker. His subject was "Economics of the Bahá’í Faith.”
Diwan Bahadut Ramaswami Sastri, ExSessions Judge, Madras, followed him. His subject which he explained in detail was "India and the Bahá’í Cause.~”
On the 26th of May, in another section of the city addresses in the vernacular were being given for the benefit of those who did
207
not know English. In the Marwari Vidalaya Hall, four Bahá’ís spoke in Urdu, Hindi and Gujarati. Dr. Moonje who had consented to preside was unable to come; so Mr. A. Butt took the chair.
Pamphlets in the vernaculars were distributed among the audience after the lectures.
In the evening of the 24th of May, Mrs. S. Fozdar spoke through the Bombay radio. The appreciation of the Bahá’í community of India is gratefully tendered to the Director of Broadcasting who despite the short notice and the current war restrictions on radio talks allowed our message to be broadcast.
On the night of the 29th and 30th of May, dinners were given to a few from among the well-known citizens of Bombay as rationing regulations restricted the number of guests at any party to fifty.
On the first night Mrs. S. Fozdar spoke to the guests; Mr. Abdullah Fáḍil on the second. Mr. Shuaib Koreshi, Minister of Bhopal State, who was present on the first night, thanked the Bahá’ís and expressed his appreciation for their ceaseless labors in strengthening the foundations of world unity.
On the night of the 29th and the afternoon of the 3 0th the friends, too, were entertained at a repast. The Guardian had cabled £3 00 as his “contribution Centenary Celebrations and banquet for delegates friends gathered commemorate historic occasion” and the friends from different places seated at the same table rendered thanks to Bahá’u’lláh for having granted them the dual bounty of material and spiritual food.
The inmates of two Homes for the Blind were fed on the 25th and 26th of May.
The Bombay ChronicIe—Bombay Wednesday, May 24, 1944
Bahá’í Faith Gives Peace and Ordered Govt.
Mayor Presides Over Centenary Celebrations Meeting
Bombay, Tuesday, "Mahatma Gandhi told me many years ago that the Bahá’í Faith was a solace to mankind and that he had
[Page 208]
208
- I n
many friends among Baha is said the Mayor of Bombay, Mr. Nagindas Master, presiding over a spiritual meeting held in connection with the Bahá’í Centenary celebrations at the Bal Sunderbai Hall this evening. He stated that the little he knew of the Bahá’í Faith had interested him a great deal. It stood for spirituality and selflessness and its tenets, if they were more widely accepted, would usher a new order of things into the world and give to it the peace and ordered Government that was so dire a need today. The Mayor concluded with a prayer that peace may come to the world and guide mankind to the happiness and tranquility that it so greatly lacked today.
Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, the Chairman of the Reception Committee, gave history of the religions of the world, making the plea that religious belief was responsible for the greatness of nations and peoples, who deteriorated in proportion to their loss of faith.
,
BAHA’I
THE BAHA'I WORLD
This period of religious and material decline had invariably been the birth of some great Prophet who had striven to lead the nations once again to the path of religious righteousness. A hundred years ago the great Bahá’u’lláh was born and his mission was to bring faith to an irreligious world—a world Which today found itself in the midst of an international conflict, the like of which it had never known before. The Prophet of the Bahá’ís had predicted the wave of calamity that the world had today seen fulfilled. He had predicted a World Federation of Powers that would lead modern 'civiliZation from chaos to order. Every unit of the Federation would disarm completely. There would be one international monetary system, one language and one police force. Raw material would be held in trust for the smaller nations by the Federation. Women would have equal rights with men. This would lead to universal brotherhood in Which everyone would live happily forever after.
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
IN EGYPT
AS a unique occasion the Centennial Anniversary was celebrated leaving the loveliest memories in the hearts of the participants in Egypt. For future generations the magnitude of that occasion will be found in illustrious records, flooded with spiritual delight and hope, which the growing community of the Bahá’í Faith can cherish during dreary days of world-Wide disaster. The golden fruit of the Báb’s historic Declaration grew and ripened through the heroic sacrifice of twenty thousand believers. The glad tidings which, coincident with the Declaration of the Báb, announced the birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of the Mighty Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, heralded the new stage of divine civilization towards which the world of humanity is advancing speedily. The mighty link which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shaped in His Will and Testament has joined together the first, yet most remarkable age of this
Creative Revelation, with the destined future stages of its evolution which, in due time, under the guidance of the Guardian of the Cause, will lead to the consummation of the New World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. the Glory of the age.
Thus the tragic times in the course of which the Centenary was celebrated Can never dim its light. On the contrary future generations will testify to the mighty Power of the Faith which held aloft the torch of its plaims during the most stormy age in the history of the world.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CENTENARY
In 1943, nearly a year before the Centenary, the National Spiritual Assembly devoted serious consultation to the question
of celebrations. For many reasons the prospects offered little hope of success. The
Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds was still in course of com
[Page 209]
THE CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH
209
Delegates attending the let Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of Egypt and Sfidan, held in Cairo, May 20—21, 1944.
pletion and no one could guess when it would be ready. On the other hand, to hold the celebrations in a suitable hotel was a matter beyond our financial resources.
Such was the position that kept us fluctuating between hope and despair.
COMPLETION OF HAziRATU’L—QUDS
By the end of 1943, our hopes for the completion of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds were renewed by the gracious contributions which continued to flow from the beloved Guardian. Although materials were difficult to procure, the work was carried on without cessation until the third story was completed. The carpentering was entrusted to three committees, in Cairo, Beni-Suef, and Port Sa‘id. Electrical installments were contributed by the friends of Beni-Suef, and the plaster by Port Sa‘id.
Concerning the dome, there seemed no prospect whatever of being able to construct it in time. Funds were lacking, materials were unprocurable; and, moreover, the cele brations were swiftly approaching and only twenty days remained. But the irresistible power of Bahá’u’lláh made all things possible beyond our fondest expectations. The following cable dated April 21 was received from the beloved Guardian:
“Wiring through Anglo—Palestine Bank five hundred pounds for (the) dome (of) Hazira. Proceed immediately with construction.”
Upon the receipt of that cable materials were miraculously procured, work was carried on even by night by special permission —and the dome was completely finished just two hours before the programs were scheduled to commence!
ANNOUNCEMENT OF CENTENARY
Following is the first message of the National Spiritual Assembly regarding this matter circulated among the Bahá’ís in Egypt:
"Beloved ones of the Blessed Beauty!
“The hour at which the first century of
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THE Bahá’í WORLD
The men’s meeting, in the central hall of the new Egyptian National Bahá’í Headquarters,
during the Centenary Celebrations held in Cairo, May, 1944.
Bahá’í women attending the Hundredth Anniversary of the Faith, held in Cairo.
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this greatest Revelation will close, will soon strike announcing the termination of an unparalleled age of heroism. The spirits of those who gave up their lives for the sake of this day are now moving around us to console their eyes with the panorama of the heavenly blossoms which were profusely watered by their pure blood, and to behold how the Cause of God is deepening its roots and stretching out its branches to overshadow the peoples of the world.
"Stupendous is the Day, and great is the sign of God in this Majestic Dispensation! How mysterious that the radiance of the first and formative stage of our Faith has shed its beams upon the world—wide progress of its second stage! How miraculous the Way its penetrating light is spreading and ushering in the Golden Age decreed by Bahá’u’lláh, whose advent was heralded by all the Prophets of God!
”0 Faithful! Now that you stand between two historic ages—witnesses of the first and trustees of the second, the spiritual tree of the first and the divine fruit of the second, you should thank your Lord that you have been blessed with such a bounteous gift, which is the glory of the ages.
“The glad tidings of the Day to you is that you should cast aside the old and prepare yourselves for the new age which is swiftly approaching! The glad tidings, O steadfast in the covenant, is that you should turn away at once from that which was once the cause of grief to the hearts. The glad tidings to you, 0 Symbol of love and unity, is that each one of you should hasten to embrace his brother with sheer love and eagerness! Shut your eyes against shortcomings, and cling unto love and unity! Let our sign on this blessed occasion he the praise of one another!
"The occasion is incomparably unique and precious. It imposes upon us the obligation of advancing towards it with united efforts and perfect oneness so that the light of the wonderful Order of our Faith may shine upon the world, so that the people may witness in the unity of this growing community the example of love, unity, and cooperation.
“The forces of discord are tearing humanity, and the elements of corruption are upsetting the structure of life. The torch of
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hope seems as if quenched in the hearts and the candle of spiritual delight extinguished. Therefore, 0 Light-holders, let the flame of hope reblaze in the world, and blow through the trumpets of life the psalms of faithfulness, and the melodies of the Kingdom of the Father whereby hopes may be restored to wandering humanity!
“Exalted be our Lord that He made you His Trustees and the Heirs of His Grace.
“Dear friends:
"As we are drawing closer to that momentous day the National Spiritual Assembly desires to announce that preparations for the celebrations are being adequately planned.
"A head committee of Mohamed Sa‘id, Chairman, Hussein Ruhi, Abul Fetouh Battah, and Mohamed Mustafa, members, has been appointed. It is charged with the formation of such sub—committees as Various activities may require. It is also empowered to contact the Local Assemblies and groups on matters relative to the celebrations. The National Spiritual Assembly fervently prays for your success under the guidance of our beloved Guardian, may our souls be a ransom for him.”
CELEBRATIONS RECEIVE PERMISSION OF AUTHORITIES
In accordance with the law, the National Spiritual Assembly approached the authorities concerned through the following letter dated May 13:
"The Ma’mour of Waili Police District
uSir:
"The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Egypt have the honor to inform you that on the occasion of the Centenary of the Bahá’í Faith, the Bahá’ís will hold their celebrations in their headquarters, No. 6 Fouad Shafik Street.
“The program is arranged for the 22nd and 23rd of May inclusive, and will be attended by Bahá’ís only the expected number of whom will be approximately four hundred.
"In view of the fact that the program includes refreshments and meals, tents will be pitched alongside the building for that purpose.
(Signed) Mohamed Sa‘id Adham, Chairman”
The following was received through the local authorities:
“H. E. the Assistant Police Commandant; Division A.
"With reference to your excellency’s letter dated 15th Inst. concerning the permission applied for by the Bahá’ís to hold their religious celebrations on Monday and Tuesday, 22nd and 23rd Inst. in their headquarters, No. 6 Fouad Shafik Street, on the occasion of the Bahá’í Centenary and the inauguration of their headquarters, I have no objection to these celebrations being held provided that they are devoted to the purposes detailed in the application.
”Arrangements should, therefore, be made so as to observe those celebrations and to maintain order and public security.
"An officer should attend them and send a daily report to reach this office on the morning of the following day.
For/ Cairo Police Commandant
(Seal)
ARRANGEMENTS I nsia'c Haziralu’l-Qud:
A large number of participants was expected and many non-Bahá’ís expressed their desire to attend. According to lists, no less than five hundred seats were to be provided inside the building, and almost the same number outside in the tents for refreshments and meals.
Due to this large attendance and the impossibility of using only one story, the basement, known as the first story, was provided for children, the main hall for gentlemen, and the third story for the ladies. Loudspeakers were installed in such a way as to enable the three stories to hear the lectures delivered from any of the stories.
Outside Hazimtu’l—Qua’s
Big tents were pitched where refreshments and banquets were served during the days of the celebrations.
Beloved Guardian Contributes
On March 21, 1944, the following cablegram was received from our beloved Guardian:
“Cabling three hundred pounds (being)
THE Bahá’í
WORLD
my contribution for centenary celebration and banquets (on) my behalf for delegates (and) friends gathered (in) Hazira (to) commemorate (that) historic occasion.”
By that valuable contribution of the beloved Guardian the National Spiritual Assembly was able to celebrate the Centenary in the most attractive and delightful manner.
Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, rich and poor enjoyed alike the generosity of our beloved Guardian, and all those who were privileged to attend will never forget the magnitude of the celebrations, and the wonderful spirit Which prevailed among them.
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS BEGIN
Lists received from various Assemblies and centers showed an approximate number of 500, besides fifty non-Bahá’ís who attended the celebrations. The question of accommodating a big number of participants was very difficult to solve. Only a few hotels in far localities were available; but it was not practicable to provide accommodations therein unless arrangements should be made for comfortable transportation, and that was another difficulty. We owe thanks to the Bahá’ís of Cairo for their hospitality. They offered their houses for proportionate numbers to stay. So all the guests were distributed among the different houses of the friends where they enjoyed comfort.
At 17.30 hours the celebrations started. In the basement, first story, the children up to the age of twelve had their seats. In the second story, the main hall was completely filled by about two hundred gentlemen. The third story was occupied by the ladies of about the same number. Outside the building various committees were fulfilling their work.
Order was wonderfully observed. The spirit of peace prevailed; fragrances of spiritual love and brotherhood were diffused; such were the characteristics of that historic occasion.
Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike were conscious that something new, something that is matchless in this mortal world, something that may be well termed as life—givmg, was about to be announced for the first time! Even the children whose cheerful and merry
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Bahá’í Centenary Celebrations in Cairo, Egypt, May, 1944. A spacious tent was pitched next to the National Bahá’í Headquarters for the entertainment of the Bahá’ís and their guests; hundreds of people banqueted daily here during the period of festivities.
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souls do not know restrictions, were keenly sensible of a more spacious sphere of spiritual delight which the loud-speakers would soon transmit to them! In fact, not a single Bahá’í individual could foresee the Majestic power of the Word as he witnessed it in the course of the celebrations. No single non-Bahá’í individual could have ever dreamed of a celebration, whatever its occasion, religious or national, so wonderful, so attractive, so spiritual and peaceful as this was. Turning to the neighbours near and far, one could see them crowded on balconies, in windows, and in the roads to behold the splendour of the Faith.
Hundreds were gathered outside, eager to listen and to know as much as possible of these celebrations. All the Wireless sets of the neighbouring houses were turned down, and the Centenary loud-spcakers refreshed their spirits with new delight, with cheerful hopes such as they never enjoyed in their daily programs. Many poor people gathered around the building, and in daily increasing numbers they enjoyed meals.
The attendants comprised different nationalities and faiths. Moslems, Christians, and Jews gathered together in one hall, united under the same tent of the oneness of mankind. By such wonderful evidences the religions of the past seemed to meet after a long separation rejoicing in the Declaration of Him Whom God made the hope of the world and the saviour of humanity.
To the observers, the matter looked still more astonishing. Usually celebrations of any character were dimmed either by opposing parties, shameful acts or disturbances that made the police authorities have to arrange beforehand for forces adequate to keep order and maintain public security. But here were celebrations commemorating the Declaration of the Word of God, illustrating the fact of the wide progress of the Faith, a Faith which is still condemned ignorantly by the misled masses, a Faith which is forging ahead in this biggest and foremost center of the Islamic world despite the innumerable obstacles that lie in its way, 3 Faith which, in spite of successive attacks of persecution on its followers, and the
THE Bahá’í WORLD
various historic verdicts, fatwas and sentences assured by Moslem courts by which they sought to impede the advance of the movement and to exterminate it, steadily marches on, and yet not a single policeman attended!
Furthermore the spiritual fundamentals of our Faith and its administrative system functioned hand in hand, and brought the purpose and aim of this Divine Grace to a wide display. Principles of brotherhood, unity, peace, love, and oneness of religion were demonstrated as established facts. The absolute equality of man and woman, a question of the east, discredited and derided by most of the religious leaders, provisionally tolerated by more advanced classes, and maintained by the feminist movement supported by a minority of women advocators, Was developed and realized by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Youth of both sexes participated throughout in the services and took actual part in the Centenary activities, proving the progressive spirit of Bahá’u’lláh Which emancipates them from the defects and corruption of life and makes them not only lively elements in their milieu but also the lightbearers of world-wide reformation.
By these, and many other features, characterizing the Centenary celebrations in general, a turning point was reached in the range of the expansion of the Cause in Egypt and in the intensity of the efforts its adherents are making.
As to the integrity of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and the undisturbed nature of the celebrations, the following copy of the report of the local police authorities is sufficient testimony:
”On the 22nd/5/1944 religious celebrations were held at the headquarters of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís, 6 Fouad Shafik Street, on the occasion of the Bahá’í Centenary and the inauguration of the headquarters. Celebrations started at 10.00 hours to 13.30 hours and from 17.30 to 21.00 hours. They were attended by about 340 persons, men, ladies, and children. Addresses on religious matters were given by
Abul Fetouh Battah, Eli, Gamal Rushdy,
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The Bahá’ís attending the Annual Convention and Centenary Celebration of the Faith, in Cairo, Egypt, May, 1944. The photograph shows the new Egyptian Bahá’í Headquarters in the background.
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Efi‘., Marta, Efi, Barzi, Hussein, Eff., Rubi, and Mohamed, Eff., Ismail.
"On 23/ 5/ 1944, at 17.00 hours the celebrations resumed and were attended by about 350 persons. Addresses of religious interest were given by Mohamed, Eff, Sa‘id Adham, Abul Fetouh, Eff., Battah, Abdel Fattah, EFL, Sabri and Youssef, Eff., Mustapha. They were terminated at 21.00 hours.
"No addresses of any political character were given, and nothing disturbing public security happened.
" (signed) Ma’amour of Waili "Police District”
CENTENARY RECORD
The centennial celebrations took the form of a symposium in which the addresses and lectures dealt with religious and social matters.
Other than to indicate them is beyond the scope of this article; but they will be shown in full in the Arabic edition of the Centenary record.
The wonderful spirit in which the celebrations were conducted and the far-reaching results which the Centenary had and continues to have are established by the following cablegram dated, July 16, 1944, from the beloved Guardian:
"Heart rejoiced (by) the magnificent spirit reflected (in the) recently received Annual and Convention reports.
“Centenary celebrations (were) splendidly conducted; National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters established; official burial grounds granted by Authorities; (and) machinery (of the) Administrative order efficiently functioning. Efforts (of the) beloved Egyptian believers must henceforth be focused (on the) promotion (of) teaching activities. Opening year (of the) second century must witness formation (of) new assemblies (by) raising existing number to nine as well as multiplication (of) groups.
"Appeal (to) all friends (to) unitedly arise, disperse (and) settle (in) new areas (and) persevere (in) sacrifice (for) cause teaching. Wiring one thousand pounds (as a) teaching fund for (the) promotion (of this) highly meritorious purpose. Ardently praying (for) unprecedented victories.”
THE Bahá’í
WORLD
CENTENARY PROGRAMS MONDAY, MAY 22
First Program 17:30—19:30
(1) Prayer—from Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh. read by Hussein Armin.
(2) Message of greeting—with an outline of the purpose of the celebrations, read by Mohamed Sa‘id, Chairman.
(3) Message of devotion to the Guardian of the Cause; facts communicated by the Guardian'to be shared by the friends in the celebrations; cablegrams exchanged with other countries and with Local centers on that happy occasion, read by‘ Mohamed Mugtafé, Secretary.
(4) The address of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in San Francisco, read by Iskander Hanna.
(5) A poem of greeting by ‘Abdu’l-Fattah Sabry.
(6) The condition of the world before the Dawn of Guidance—excerpts from Dawn-Breakers, read by Youssef Mugtafé.
(7) Prayer—by Mahmoud Awad.
(8) Refreshments.
Second Program from 20:30—23:30 hours
(1) Survey of the first century supplied by the Guardian.
First part by Mohamed Sa‘id. Second part by Mrs. Ferdous Hassan. Third part by Abul Fettouh Battah. Fourth part by Abdel Fatah Sabri.
(2) At 21:45 hours—Meditation.
(3) At 21:57 hours—The commemoration of the Declaration of the Báb—Tablet of the Visitation, read by Abdul Wahab Isphahani.
(4) Tablet of Qayyfimu’l-Asmá’, read by Sheikh Hassouna.
(5) Record of the voice of our Beloved Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
TUESDAY, MAY 23 Third Program 10:00—13:00 hours
(1) Prayer—by Sheikh Moawad.
(2) A brief account of the life of Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, by Miss Tahera Golostaneh.
(3) Hymn—by female youth of Cairo and Alexandria.
(4) A message from Miss Fatmah Misbah of Majdel, Palestine, read by Miss Qudsiya Ibrahim.
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(5) The position of the women in the Bahá’í Movement, by Mrs. Sabry Elias.
Ten minutes recreation.
(6) A word of greeting, by Feridoun Zeinul Abedeen.
(7) Poem—by Abdel Hamid Zaki of Mehalla El Kebira.
(8) A word of greeting, by Mohamed Aly Hassanein of Sohag.
(9) Poem—by Mohamed Aly Ismail of
Sohag.
The harmony between religion and
science—by Mohamed Sadik Ismail of
Port Said.
A word of greeting by Khalafallah
Mohamed of Abu~SuItan, read by
Abul Fetouh Battah.
A word of greeting, by Mattah Barzi,
Secretary of the Spiritual Assembly
of Ismailia.
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13) (14)
Hymn sung by all.
Prayer, by Miss Tahira Zeinul Abedeen.
9 .
13 1& IT IS ’I 11%
THE National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq, in formulating the program of the celebration for this historic Centennial Anniversary, the termination of the First Century of the Bahá’í Era, attentively studied the instructions sent by our beloved Guardian to the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America and Canada, Persia and ‘Iráq. Taking into consideration the significance and importance of this sacred occasion, and bearing in mind the urgent wish of our beloved Guardian to utilize to the fullest extent this opportunity to unfold the magnificence of the Bahá’í Faith and demonstrate the vitality, significance and importance of the Mission of the Báb, proclaimed on that sacred night in fliréz, and to exert its utmost power to draw the attention of the largest possible number of people to the
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TUESDAY, MAY 23
Fourth Program 17:30—23:00 hours
(1) Prayer, by Feridoun Zeinul Abedeen.
(2) Poem on the history of the Cause, by Hussein Ruhi.
(3) A word of greeting, by Abbas Mohamed Mussa of Port Said.
(4) A message from the youth of Alexandria read by Fouad Rushdi.
(.5) Hymn.
(6) A word by Aziza Khanoum Yazdi of Alexandria.
(7) Why do Bahá’ís feel tranquility?, by Mikhail Neyrouz of Alexandria.
(8) Bahá’í Administration, by Gamal Rushdi of Alexandria.
(9) A word by Fouad Golostaneh.
(10) A word by Fawzi Golostaneh.
(11) Prayers, by Hussein El Magayri of Alexandria.
(12) 23 :00 hours—dinner.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 Fifth Program from 10:00 hours Various photographs taken.
CENTENARY‘CELEBRATIONS WRAQ
New World Order associated with the name of Bahá’u’lláh, taking these facts into consideraticn, the program was arranged in March about tWO months prior to the time of the celebration. Copies of the program were duly sent to all Bahá’í centers in order to inform and prepare the Believers for a better presentation of the fundamental principles of the Faith on that sacred occasion.
The National Spiritual Assembly was to a great extent assisted by two committees duly formed for the purpose of conducting the program of the Centennial Anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in the most attractive manner. The members of these committees, under the supervision of the National Assembly, made the meetings of the Anniversary an enviable pattern for a public meeting.
The Bahá’í women celebrated the Anni
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versary separately. They followed their own program which the National Spiritual Assembly arranged and which was executed by a committee of five members appointed by the Assembly for this purpose.
The first night of the Celebration, for the Bahá’ís only, was held in commemoration of the Declaration of the Báb and the birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on Monday, May 22, 1944, two hours and eleven minutes after sunset. The Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds appeared on that historic night in the most charming and attractive form. Its walls were decorated with the most precious Persian rugs and the twelve basic distinctive principles of the Bahá’í Faith were written in very large characters on large, White linen sheeting hung on the front walls of the guest house confronting the visitors and callers. The foundation hall was Well furnished With sofas and chairs and the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds itself was profusely flooded with light.
At the precise and momentous moment of the Declaration of the Báb, all the believers were seated solemnly, with hearts throbbing in gratitude and ardent praise and glorification of God for the immeasurable bounties vouchsafed them in attaining this glorious day, and in being in this place on this most sacred night to commemorate the significant, glorious Centennial Anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom of the Father.
All the Bahá’ís of Baghdad and delegates of the Fourteenth Annual Convention, as well as representatives of the Bahá’í centers in ‘Iráq such as Mosul, Sulayméniyyih, Karkfik, Khanaqin, Ba’aqubih, Huvaydar, ‘Avéshiq, Idliybih, Lharaban, Khirnabat, Abu-Saydih, ‘Aziziyyih, ‘Amarih, Mutavva’ah and Basrih, were invited by the National Spiritual Assembly and had the honor of participating in the celebration of this magnificent Bahá’í Centenary Feast.
BAHA’I’ CENTENARY PROGRAM MONDAY, MAY 22, 1944 ' (Arabic time regardedz)
Opening Prayer—30 minutes after sunsetby Mr. Abdur-Razzak ‘Abbas.
Verses from the Qur’án—SS minutes after sunset—Reading by Ibrahim Hamdani.
THE BAHA'I WORLD
Verses from New and Old Testament—SO minutes after sunset—Reading by Kamil ‘Abbés.
Reading of the following wireless message from the Guardian sent in reply to the congratulatory telegram addressed to him by the National Spiritual Assembly on the sacred occasion of the Centenary Celebration. 1 hour 20 minutes after sunset:
"It is with a heart overflowing with the love of the friends of God and the maid servants of the Merciful in the City of God and other Bahá’í centers in that blessed country that I greet them from this sacred illuminated spot on this auspicious day, appreciate their sincerity and fidelity, take pride in their endeavours and activities, share with them in their pleasures and exhilaration, supplicate unto God the Almighty to keep them in the stronghold of His protection and watchfulness and to confirm them in the diffusion of His fragrances and make their feet firm in His path, and enable them to elevate and glorify His Faith and render them victorious over their enemies and to realize their wishes in the service of His most glorious and wonderful, most holy, and most inaccessible Faith.”
Haifa, May 18, 1944 (Signed) Shoghi Rabbani
The historical chapter of the Declaration of the Báb from Nabil’s Narrative. 1 hour 40 minutes after sunset. Reading by Mr. M. Wakil:
At 2 hours and 10 minutes after sunset, all believers attending rose to their feet very solemnly and reverently to welcome, at the exact time, the blessed Declaration of the Bab. Thus they celebrated the commemoration of that divine Declaration, the Dawn of the Day of God, the establishment of the Kingdom of the Father on earth, and with wholehearted sincerity and touching humility, and with a sense of profound rapture, they heard the grave pronouncement addreSSed by the Báb to the first Letter of the Living, the first to believe in Him and accept His divine mission: "This night, this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals. Render thanks to God for having graciously assisted you to attain your
The Bahá’ís of Baghdád and representatives of other Bahá’í centers of ‘Iráq celebrating the Centenary Commemoration of the Declaration of the Báb, May 22, 1944, held in conjunction with the Annual Convention.
HlIth G'IHO/A V :10 AHVNHLNEID EIHL
612
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heart’s desire and for having quaffed from the sealed wine of His utterance.”
At two hours eleven minutes, the exact moment of the Declaration, an excerpt was read from Qayyfimu’l—Asmá’, which the Báb revealed at that sacred hour.
At two hours and twenty-five minutes the photograph of the celebrating friends was taken; at 2:39 the following message from the beloved Guardian was read to the assembled friends:
“Cabling three hundred pounds my contribution Centenary Celebration and banquet my behalf for delegates friends gathered Hazira commemorate Historic Occasion.” Signed: Shoghi Rabbani.
At 2240 all the friends were served the banquet and enjoyed the delicious dinner which had been prepared on behalf of our beloved Guardian.
At 3:40 the believers celebrated the commemoration of the birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Tablets revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in His honour were read.
At 4:30 the believers rose to their feet while listening to the recorded voice of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
At 4:40 the closing prayer was chanted.
Bahá’í CENTENARY PROGRAM FOR THE BAHA’I’ WOMEN
Monday, May 22, 1944
A word should be said in this connection that the National Spiritual Assembly, in direct obedience to our beloved Guardian’s instructions, is continuing to arrange for the Bahá’í women their own meetings, gatherings, and festivals. And the Bahá’í women in ‘Iráq are forming their own groups and committees and arranging their own activities. Thus special Bahá’í Centennial celebrations for the Bahá’í ladies were arranged and the program already formulated by the National Spiritual Assembly for them was successfully executed and carried out by them on the roof of the guest house.
BAHA'I CENTENARY PROGRAM Tuesday, May 23, 1944
This night’s celebration was attended by the Bahá’ís as well as their friends and the
THE Bahá’í WORLD
admirers of the Faith who were specially invited to share with the Bahá’ís in their Centennial Anniversary of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. A vast number of people, representing every religion, creed and class, were invited. Among them were people of high rank, dignitaries of the state, business men, officials, journalists, men of letters and high repute, altogether about four hundred in number. The program was as follows:
Opening prayer: Chanted by Abdul Razzak Abbas
A word of welcome: By Mr. M. Wakil
The Birth of a New World Order: By Mr. Kamil Abbas
The Future Life of Mankind: By Mr. Aziz Sabour
Bahá’í CENTENARY PROGRAM Wednesday, May 24, 1944
This night’s celebration was attended by the Bahá’ís and another multitude of friends and admirers of the Faith who did not attend the previous night. These, too, were of every walk of life and of different religions and classes. The program was as follows:
Opening Prayer: By Mr. Abdul Razzak Abbas
A word of welcome: By Mr. Kamil Abbas
The Bahá’í Faith Establishes the Oneness of Mankind: By Mr. M. Wakil
Bahá’í CENTENARY PROGRAM Thursday, May 25, 1944
This night’s celebration was arranged and devoted to the Bahá’í women and their non-Bahá’í friends and admirers of the Faith. Among them were a number of distinguished ladies and a group prominent in educational circles in ‘Iráq. This celebration was conducted according to the following program:
A word of welcome: By Miss Bahíyyih Faraj
The Way to Peace: By Miss Anisih Abdul Razzak
Musical Program by Bahá’í Young Women
New Spiritual Resurrection: By Miss Naiibih Soffer
Selections from the sacred Writing of Bahá’u’lláh: By Miss Claudet Nawee
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Bahá’í women of Baghdád,
‘Ir
I
aq
celebrating the Centenary Commemoration
of the Declaration of the B5113, May 22, 1944.
HlIVd CI'IHO/A V :10 AHVNELLNHC) EIHL
IZZ
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Bahá’í CENTENARY PROGRAM Friday, May 26, 1944
This night’s celebration was dedicated to the Bahá’ís only. A celebration in which Bahá’í sacred Writings were read and many talks about the magnitude and significance of this anniversary were delivered. A part of the Centennial Letter written by our beloved Guardian to the Bahá’ís of the East was read. The spirit of Bahá’u’lláh was truly felt by everyone.
BAHA'I CENTENARY PROGRAM Saturday, May 27, 1944
This night’s celebration marked the culmination of all the previous celebrations commemorating the Centennial Anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom of the Father on Earth.
An opening word on the significance and the far reaching influence of these blessed historic rights: By Mr. Kamil Abbas
THE BAHA’T WORLD
Divine Remedy for the Ills of Mankind: By Dr. Jamil Ihsan
Selected verses from the Sacred Writings: By Jalil Omar
Congratulatory telegrams on behalf of the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq were submitted to our Beloved Guardian on this sacred occasion and to all the Bahá’í National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world; also the local Spiritual Assemblies in the neighboring countries as well as the local Assemblies and groups of ‘Iráq. The replies were a source of great joy and happiness to the friends. The National Spiritual Assembly also sent congratulatory cards to most of the Bahá’í centers of the world and from many of them beautiful replies were received and have strengthened the ties of love and bonds of unity between the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq and their brothers and sisters in the Faith in other countries.
10.
Bahá’í
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
IN AUSTRALIA
THE greatest achievement in Australia and New Zealand since the forming of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1934, was the acquisition in 1944 of a building in Sydney, New South Wales, for our Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. In 1943 a cable saying he was donating £1,000 sterling towards the project, gave us our first intimation of the Guardian’s momentous decision that we were to have a National Administrative Headquarters. How surprised and stirred we were. We had been considering how to fittingly celebrate the Centenary of our Faith; now a magnificent Centenary gift was being made to us by our beloved Guardian. In the midst of our rejoicing another cable came announcing a further contribution of £2,000 sterling from the Guardian and also that our beloved sister communities of East and West would associate themselves with us in the great enterprise. In rapid succession came cables and generous contributions from
the National Assemblies of the United States and Canada. Persia, ‘Iráq, India and Burma and a Persian believer Sohrab Bahmadi. The magnificent contribution of £2,500,—£3,125 Australian currency, from the National Spiritual Assembly of Persia completely overwhelmed us. That such a large contribution should come to us from our beloved fellow believers in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land and that they should be associated with us, help us and take part in this, our greatest undertaking, is a profoundly affecting experience for us. Our hearts overflowed with love and gratitude to them and to our dear Bahá’í brothers and sisters of other lands Who, although busy with their own great enterprises and problems, yet find time and money to help us. We acknowledge with profoundest gratitude the following contributions:
‘Iráq £572.10.0; India 8?. Burma £174.80; United States and Canada £15 2.9.0; Sohrab Bahmadi 13125.0.0 and Persia £3,125.!J.0;
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WORLD FAITH 223
Speakers’ table at the Bahá’í Centenary Banquet held in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 23, 1944.
Australian currency. The Australian and New Zealand believers were able to contribute only comparatively small sums, it can therefore be truly said that the Guardian and the Bahá’ís of the world have given us our National Headquarters, they have 'also given us the inestimable joy of realizing as never before, the reality of our spiritual union with them. With the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds has come to Australia and New Zealand a deeper consciousness of the meaning of Bahá’í unity, that the followers of Bahá’u’lláh are as many souls in one body and the process of establishing the Faith :1 world wide co-operative spiritual movement. The search for a suitable property was commenced with great enthusiasm by Mrs. Routh and Mrs. Moflitt of Sydney and later they were assisted by Mrs. Jackman who went from Adelaide to Sydney for that purpose. In reply to the secretary’s questions the Guardian cabled that he wished the
property to be within the city of Sydney. Mrs. Axford came from Auckland and the four members of the National Spiritual Assembly at that time engaged in the search decided to summon Miss Brooks and Mr. Fitzner to Sydney to inspect a property in College Street which is centrally situated. This building would have been purchased but for the fact that we could not obtain vacant possession of it. Cabled consultations with the Guardian resulted in his instruction to purchase the property No. 2, Lang ROad, Centennial Park, first inspected; this we feel is an ideal choice. Great responsibility then devolved upon the members of the National Spiritual Assembly living in Sydney—resolutions were passed empowering them to act for the National Assembly.
HAszATU’L-QUDS
The building purchased for the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds is a sixteen roomed, two story residence
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facing the entrance gates to Centennial Park, a public reserve of 600 acres. The entrance is good and the arrangement of the rooms excellent for our purpose. Double doors open from the large reception room into a small library and from the library into a large lecture room. When all the doors of these three adjoining rooms are open the effect is of dignified spaciousness. Much time and energy were devoted by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly and friends in Sydney to preparing the premises for occupation. Mrs. E. M. Axford personally directed and supervised alterations, furnishings and the interior decorating which was necessary. Despite wartime restrictions and shortages which hampered the work on every hand the Secretariat was established in the building by the end of 1944. After much sorting and packing, the Secretary and Treasurer, for ten years, Miss Hilda Brooks and Mrs. Silver Jackrnan respectively, of Adelaide, South Australia, finally despatched all the files, books and other belongings of the National Spiritual Assembly to the new Headquarters in Sydney. Miss Brooks, who had also been Keeper of the Archives, reverently carried the Precious Relic, lock of Bahá’u’lláh’s hair, the pen cases and pens which had belonged to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a framed specimen of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s handwriting and various gifts from the Guardian, to Sydney in her personal luggage. These former officers of the National Spiritual Assembly had conducted all the Clerical work in their own homes—it was therefore a great joy to them to know that in future national officers would enjoy the convenience and dignity of perfectly appointed and equipped offices, thus enabling the clerical work to be accomplished With greater ease and efficiency. In the rows of files and the office equipment at headquarters they see the fulfillment of their dreams. The new secretary, Mrs. Dive, now resides in the building. The treasurer, Mr. N. Walker lives in Sydney.
The Sydney friends feel that working at headquarters is a labour of love and they have gladly given assistance in whatever way they could. Social functions are held at the headquarters and both local and national teaching work carried out there. Many in THE BAHA’I
,
WORLD
quirers have called to ask about the Bahá’í Faith. The name “Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds” has brought forth many queries as to its meaning thus providing the believers with opportunities to explain and expound the Teachings.
CENTENARY CONVENTION
The Centenary Convention held 19th to 24th May 1944 in our newly acquired Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, 2 Lang Road, Centennial Park, Sydney, New South Wales, was a time of great rejoicing and thanksgiving for the Australian and New Zealand Bahá’í community. Despite wartime travel restrictions all the delegates reached Sydney and were present.
The official opening of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, the afternoon of the let May was a momentous and joyous occasion. The faces of the believers were wreathed in smiles as with warm handclasps they affectionately greeted one another. Press representatives intending to stay only a few moments, remained to the end of the proceedings, listening to the addresses with great interest and appreciation. One reporter remarked, "When the Bahá’í Faith is known, it will undoubtedly receive very wide acceptance.” In addition to all the delegates, those present included believers from Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Yerrinbool, Caringbah and Wollongong.
How happy we were—this was the proudest moment in the history of our community. How splendid in our grateful eyes was our Administrative Headquarters; our hearts overflowed with love and gratitude to our Guardian and the believers of other lands who had made the acquisition of the property possible. Owing to the unremitting efforts of the Resident in Charge, Mrs. E. M. Axford and the Sydney members of the National Spiritual Assembly and friends, and despite the many set-backs and difficulties due to wartime restrictions, the reception room, library and lecture room, were redecorated and ready for the opening day and presented a dignified and charming appearance.
The gathering filled the lecture room to overflowing, visitors as well as believers being among the audience. After the Convention
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Bahá’í Centenary Banquet, attended by nearly three hundred people, held in the Lewis Eady Hall, Auckland, New Zealand, under the auspices of the Local Spiritualfissembly of that city, May 23, 1944.
Chairman Mrs. C. Routh, had welcomed those present, prayers, the Victory Tablet and cables, telegrams and messages from National Assemblies, Local Assemblies and individuals, were read. Called upon to address the gathering, the Chairman of the N.S.A., Mr. H. Fitzner said, "We are indeed humbly grateful for all this loving kindness and assistance which has enabled us to open these Headquarters to-day and we supplicate Bahá’u’lláh that we may be worthy of this great privilege and blessing. When we consider, dear friends, that ten years ago we had no National Assembly and that the local assemblies were functioning almost as separate bodies, we can understand more fully the great progress that has been made in Administration.
“Notwithstanding many dificulties and obstacles, the National Assembly, as soon as it was formed in 1934, proceeded to func tion. To many of us administration was a little difficult and we could not at first grasp it; but the National members persevered and to—day we are indeed grateful to them. They faced the most difficult periods educating and guiding the Australian and New Zealand Bahá’í community to understand and establish the Administration. It is a triumph and a victory for the members of the National Spiritual Assembly both past and present, that their untiring selfless efforts have been crowned with the glorious success and reward of these Administrative Headquarters.”
Mrs. Axford then spoke, tracing the growth of the Faith in Australia and New Zealand, the coming of Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn from America, the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
Mrs. Dunn spoke of her meeting With
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The dedication of the Bahá’í National Headquarters of Australia and New Zealand marked the opening of the Centenary Convention in Sydney, New South Wales, May 20, 1944.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and her coming to Australia. In the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds she saw the tangible evidence of the labours of the believers and knew that they would carry still further the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. It was her great privilege to dedicate the house, 2, Lang Road, Centennial Park, Sydney, to the service of Bahá’u’lláh.
After musical items had been rendered and refreshments served the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly showed the press representatives over the building. A reporter remarked that he had heard so many wonderful things during the afternoon, he had become deeply conscious of his own ignorance.
The addresses given by the delegates during the Convention sessions were instructive and helped to deepen the spirit of dedication to service of all the believers. We enter the second Bahá’í century full of confidence. The Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, we know, will become a great centre from which the influence of the Bahá’í Faith will be radiated over all Australia and New Zealand.
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
On Tuesday 23rd July 1944, the Convention delegates and friends were the guests of the Guardian at a buffet dinner at the Pickwick Club, Sydney. How thrilling to be the guests of the beloved Guardian; if only he could have been present in person as we know he was in spirit. It is the great ambition of all the believers to meet the Guardian personally and tell him face to face how we love him and appreciate all his gifts and goodness to us, and the protection of his guiding hand.
The Pickwick Club banqueting hall provided a really beautiful setting for the happy occasion of this celebration. Guests included citizens of Sydney. After dinner the gathering was photographed and several eloquent addresses given. Mrs. E. M. Axford, acting as Chairman, explained that this function
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was one of many commemorating the declaration of the Bill) made on 23rd May 1844. From this date the Bahá’í Era commences. Mr. H. Blundell spoke on “The Báb,” Mr. N. Walker on "Bahá’u’lláhf’ Mrs. O. Routh on “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá” and Mrs. Dive on “The
THE Bahá’í WORLD
Bahá’í Faith To-day.” The addresses were interspersed with beautifully rendered vocal and pianoforte items. It was a delightful occasion for all, and the believers will look back on it as one of the happiest events of the Centenary Convention.
11.
LATIN-AMERICA CELEBRATES
,
THE BAHA’I
CENTENARY
BY MARION H. LONGYEAR
THE participation of all Latin—American republics in the world-wide celebrationsof the first Centennial of the Bahá’í Era was of unique significance, and marked the first fruits of a spiritual harvest whose ultimate proportions are too vast for present estimate. This fruition, indeed, was further enhanced in its direct connection with yet another Centenary celebration of a Bahá’í Holy Day, and one likewise in tribute to the Herald of the Faith. For it was in 1919, the year of the one hundredth anniversary of the birthday of the Báb, that the initial impetus for the Spiritual Mission of America was unfolded to the awestruck believers attending the Eleventh Bahá’í Congress for the United States and Canada. To the assembled delegates and friends at the historic meeting came the call to the American believers raised by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of God’s Covenant With humanity, in the series of Tablets delineating the Divine Plan for the orderly achievement of peace, of progress and of unity for all the inhabitants of the earth. It was Martha Root, arising in instant response, and setting forth on the first of her four world journeys, who bore the Charter of the New Age to the Southern Hemisphere of the West.
As the world—wide Bahá’í community prepared to celebrate the Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb’s divine Mission, only a short quarter of a century had elapsed since that early August day of 1919 when Martha Root first stepped upon the soil of South America and gave thanks to Bahá’u’lláh that‘His Faith had come to bless this vast and fertile land. The city of Para,
in Brazil, situated at the mouth of the Amazon River, was the first point of Martha Root’s arrival on the great continent. Over the brief period of two and a half decades other Bahá’í visitors had pushed forward the frontiers of the new civilization, travelling teachers had brought their messages of inspiration, and had been followed, in turn, by an intrepid band of resident pioneers. Bahá’í Centers, bravely established, were to be found in every republic of Central and South America and of the Caribbean Isles; the spiritual vanguard of the Kingdom of God on earth had uplifted the banner of His Faith in each nation of that land. The closing weeks of the first Bahá’í Century found all these Latin—American centers, however large or small, however newly established, busily engaged in a Variety of plans for the Centenary celebrations. The Guardian had formulated the suggestions for a befitting celebration for the American believers, to be held at the great "Mother Temple of the West” in Wilmette, the beautiful suburb of Chicago, in conjunction with the Annual National Bahá’í Convention. For Latin—American Bahá’ís, one of these suggestions in particular held exhilarating interest. From among the believers of each Latin—American republic, the Guardian had written, one member was to be elected to serve as the representative of that country, to participate in the first All-America Bahá’í Convention. Every possible effort, the Guardian emphasized, was to be made to overcome the obstacles of travel limitations, in order that as many as possible of these chosen delegates could be present and
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THE CENTENARY OF A WORLD FAITH
share in the consultation periods of the Convention’s sessions, as well as the programs and festivities of the Centenary celebrations.
On the one hand then, the Latin-American communities were absorbed in preparations for the Convention journey of their representatives, and on the other, to whatever degree was feasible, plans were under way for local celebrations of tribute to the event. Elsewhere has been recorded the inspiring contributions made by the delegates of these communities of the southern areas of the Americas, who, in due time returned to their homes to regale their co-workers with the news of their stirring experiences, and to engage with renewed vigor in intensified teaching activities. What is to be told here are brief highlights of the celebrations of those who. stayed at home, celebrations infinitely precious and far—reaching, no matter how simple they might seem in outward character. They too,‘ these first believers of Latin-America, were heralds of
the Faith of God.
MEXICO
First to be mentioned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as He listed the countries, one by one, was Mexico, and of its citizens He wrote that, uIf one breath of life be blown over them great results will issue therefrom.” It was Mexico which first responded to the Divine Voice and in the heart of her capital city was established the first Latin—American Bahá’í community.
In Mexico City the Spiritual Assembly sponsored a public meeting which was well attended, and refreshments were served after the program, to add to the festive occasion. On a later date, a banquet was held at the Molino Restaurant, which was enjoyed by all the Bahá’ís and their guests. Miss Juliet Thompson, member of the New York community, and a visitor in Mexico City at the Centenary time described these gatherings of commemoration. "On the night of May 22, the high room in the Bahá’í Center of Mexico City, where the meetings were held, was festooned from ceiling to floor with garlands of flowers made with such love and joy by the community members. There was beautiful music that evening, played by a young Bahá’í pianist, Senorita
229
Pilar Gutierrez, and Senor José Vergara read with great reverence the story of that sublime night which we had gathered to commemorate.
“ ‘I seemed to have been transported into the days of Hérfinu’l-Rashid,’ wrote a reporter on Mexico’s leading newspaper after attending our Centenary there. ‘How can such a belief take root in skeptical Mexico? But that it has taken root is beyond doubt.’ He devoted a three—column article, exceptionally accurate in its details, to the Principles of the Faith.
"The Assembly of Mexico City,” Miss Thompson continued, "also gave a banquet, attended by many guests who are not Bahá’ís, and on this occasion two distinguished women educators spoke most sympathetically of the Faith, which had been proclaimed in the address of Senor Antonio Gonzalez Mora.”
CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
From the cluster of Central American republics, and their neighboring companions in the Isles of the Caribbean Sea, have come accounts, for the most part undetailed, of the programs dedicated to the Centenary anniversary, as it was observed in the local gatherings. The fervor of their devotion found creative outlet in the arts, through the ardor of poetic praise of the New Day, in paintings inspired with the longing to glorify the Faith, in music evoking a new spirit of consecration to the Cause of God. Local publications of the Bahá’í communities were focussed upon tributes to the Centenary and upon the opportunity for attracting new friends to know of the Divine Remedy Which had been offered to an anguished humanity. Other forms of publicity, through the local press and over the radio, contributed a new impetus for the growth in the second century. In each country, friendly gatherings of a significance far beyond the simplicity of the commemorative meetings inaugurated a new stage of consolidation and expansion.
The Bahá’ís of Haiti supported a series
of functions covering the same period of
days as prevailed at the Centenary Convention in the United States. Mr. Gerald Mc
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Bean supplied the following account of the program carried out under the supervision of the Spiritual Assembly of Port au Prince.
“On May 19 at sunset, our first meeting was opened with the Bahá’í ‘Prayer For All Nations,’ followed by the singing of the Haitian National Anthem, and that of the United States. Dr. Faure Cox, delegate for Haiti, gave a lecture entitled, ‘A True Bahá’í.’
"On May 20 the second meeting was opened by the secretary, and one of our friends, Miss R. Hippolyte, gave prayers. Mr. Gerald McBean followed with a lecture on the ‘Life of the Báb.’ At the end of the lecture we read passages from ‘L’Ere Nouvelle’ on ‘True Civilization,’ and the meeting closed with a prayer.
uon May 21 to 25, the meetings were opened as usual with prayers and readings selected from our Bahá’í books. On each occasion refreshments were served, and on the last day the Secretary addressed the gathering on the duties of each Bahá’í in his community.”
In Cuba, the Spiritual Assembly of Havana secured excellent publicity and sponsored a most successful meeting in their Bahá’í Center on the evening of May 22. Perfecto Perez and Dr. E. Matamoros presented addresses preliminary to the lecture of Dr. Walter Blomquist, their guest speaker, whose subject was "La Gesta de Los Martires.” Dr. Blomquist and his wife have since embraced the Faith and are energetically supporting the development of the Cause in Cuba.
Gwenne Sholtis, pioneer teacher to Trujillo, Santo Domingo, provided a colorful description of the joyous celebration in that city. Friends sympathetic to the Faith greeted the event in a spirit of rejoicing. “It was a fiesta of fiestas,” wrote Gwenne, "for we were enjoying a three—fold celebration, the Centenary of the Báb’s Declaration, the birthday of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the dedication of the Bahá’í House of Worship. What a joyous occasion to share with friends, not only to enrich our own lives in giving, but perhaps striking that vibrant cord which can awaken in each of us that intense desire and longing to serve to the best of our abil ity the blessed Faith of God.
THE Bahá’í
WORLD
"The guests were from many countries. There were three Hindus, two Puerto Ricans, one Hungarian, six Dominicans, a young lady from Spain and four ‘Norte Americanos.’ The eldest guest was a venerable Dominican, aged seventy-three, and the youngest was a lovely little blonde miss of three and a half years, from Miami, Florida.
"The fiesta opened with the Spanish translation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ‘Prayer For All Nations,’ followed by the reading of the Words of the Báb to the eighteen Letters of the Living. An inspiring and stimulating discussion took place about that event. As a conclusion to our commemorative service one of the Hindus chanted, in the Indian language, a beautiful prayer revealed by Lord Krishna.
“Very gay and festive were our refreshments and the Kuldi, a ten year old Hindu boy, danced several oriental dances, a Dominican girl of twelve sang folk songs, and tiny Jessie Lee, our Miami guest, also made her contribution to the festive merrymaking. Our program closed with the reading of the cablegram from the National Spiritual Assembly. We had given our guests food for their souls, food for thought, as well as material food. We were, in reality, united with every Bahá’í in the world. In reluctant parting, Kuldi, the little Hindu boy, asked: 'Can I come to more Bahá’í fiestas? I never see anything more pretty.’ ”
THE SOUTHERN CONTINENT OF AMERICA
The republics of the vast areas of South America also held within their borders a vibrant nucleus of the new civilization. In each of these Bahá’í communities the momentous Centenary event was likewise celebrated in varying degrees of formality or simplicity, and all represented the approach to new achievements in the spiritual destiny of these countries.
BRAZIL
It seemed a particularly propitious event
that the delegate elected by the Bahá’ís of
Brazil should be a resident, and indeed more
than that, a native son of the city of
Bahia. Twice mentioned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, Bahia,
second largest seaport of majestic Brazil,
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was thus bequeathed an imperishable spiritual
legacy. Dr. Fernando Nova, distinguished
physician of this city proved a most able
representative for his Bahá’í co-workers
whose needs in the furthering of the teaching
work he made known, and whose greetings
and suggestions he offered. At home, the
Bahá’í in Recife and Rio de Janeiro, as well
as in Bahia, with grateful hearts joined in
spiritual unity with their fellow members
in the great House of Worship on Lake
Michigan and in the other centers of the
far-flung world community of Bahá’u’lláh.
Argentina, blessed with the memorial shrine of May Maxwell erected in the beautiful Quilmes cemetery, paid its tribute to the Bahá’í Centenary in a program arranged by the Spiritual Assembly of Buenos Aires at the culmination of several days of well-presented newspaper publicity about the historic occasion of the Centenary anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith and of the House of Worship in the heart of North America.
Miss Etta Mae Lawrence presided as the Chairman, welcoming the guests and explaining the significance of the event in her introduction to the evening program which was carried out as follows: Mr. Antonek Kevorkian made the opening address on “The Báb—The Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh”; a reading of the Words of the Báb announcing His Mission, was followed by three addresses, "Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet of God for this Day,” by Mr. Salvador Tormo, “Abdu’l-Bahá, The Servant of God,” by Mr. Athos Costas, “Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause of God Today, and the Admihistrative Order,” by Mr. Emilio Barros.
In vivid contrast to this function of the established community of Buenos Aires was the prayerful vigil of Marcia Steward, pioneer teacher to Chile, in the remote outpost of Punta Arenas, southernmost city of the earth, overlooking part of the Straits of Magellan. Sharing with Alaska the Guardian’s intense longing to see the Faith firmly established in these extremities of the entire American Continent, Punta Arenas was being illumined with the light of the Divine Teachings through Marcia Steward’s efforts. It was truly an achievement to celebrate with gratitude and with prayer, that in ten decades, despite every persecution and effort to impede, the Cause had moved on and on until it included even this distant spot.
BOLIVIA
Sweeping northward from the fringes of the Antarctic Circle to the mountain peaks of Bolivia, the unity of hearts was linked again in the Centenary tribute of the believers of Santiago, Chile, the first Bahá’í Center of that country. With their delegate in Chicago, and their pioneer teacher many hundreds of miles south, engaged in the noble task of hoisting the standard of the Faith in a new and vital section of their country, the celebrants of the Centenary in Santiago partook more of a solemn dedication to their mission of extending the frontiers still further, than of a spirit of festivity for past victories.
In anticipation of the Centennial event, and many months before that sacred day, the Bahá’ís of La Paz, Bolivia, centered their attention upon a tribute that would be both of immediate interest and of permanent contribution to the teaching work. Flora Hottes, resident pioneer, wrote of their painstaking preparation of a commemorative booklet of prayers translated into Spanish by Senora Mollie Landivar, carefully selected to bring comfort to young and old, to people of culture and education, and to those whose education had been limited; in short, to offer the healing gift of the Divine Word to all. All obstacles were overcome and the beautiful little booklet was published and generously distributed in their Centenary activities. At the time of the Anniversary itself, an address on the radio was given by talented Marina Lijeron, a short article was published in the local newspaper, and the friends gathered to participate in a program of commemoration. On this occasion prayers and appropriate readings from the Bahá’í Writings paid loving honor to the Declaration of the Mission of the Báb, and to the birthday of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on that same Holy Day. The program also provided an address entitled, “The Great Announcement,” by Senora Yvonne de Cuellar, and all who attended shared in the deep reverence and joy of the meeting.
PARAGUAY
Asunción, capital city of Paraguay, was largely oblivious to the celebration of the occasion, but within its heart a consecrated little gathering of Bahá’ís struggled through storm and wind to commemorate the sacred hour. Meeting in the home of Senora Electra de Prono, these members of the newly established Spiritual Assembly of Asuncion, the first Bahá’í Assembly to be founded in that country, were united in a "very high note of love and amity,” as they listened to translations given by Senora Josefina Pla de Campos, of prayers and excerpts from the “Dawn-Breakers.”
PERÚ
The program of distinction, grateful testimony of the Bahá’í Community of Lima, Perú, that the Faith had been established in their land, is given below. The last four months of the first century had witnessed the spectacular development from the welcome to the first believer, in February 1944, to the founding of their Local Assembly on April 21, and further expansion of membership before the Centenary date. The many months of Eve Nicklin’s gallant and patient efforts as resident pioneer since 1941 had suddenly blossomed, during a visit of Virginia Orbison, travelling teacher, into this spirited body of believers under whose auspices the commemoration was carried out.
The selfless devotion implicit in all pioneer victories shines forth in the closing phrases of Eve Nicklin’s message to the Convention: “May the love and unity that is felt here in our little community. . . . reach across time and space and unite with that love and unity that must truly be manifest where you are—there in our beloved House of Worship.” The spirit of essential steadfastness is reflected in the final sentence of Senora Isabel Tirado de Barreda, first believer to be enrolled in Perú, and the chosen representative to the Convention, in her greeting to that assemblage: “Thus, as a drop of water gradually wears away the stone, so must the Bahá’í Faith engrave the heart of Humanity so that it may be enabled to attain to God’s Grace, of which it is so much in need.”
Bahá’í CENTENARY PROGRAM
LIMA, PERÚ
MAY 22, 1944 AT 7:00 P.M.
1—Ray Betts, Chairman—Welcome and Introduction of Speakers.
2—Eve Nicklin—Purpose of the celebration, and the Bahá’í Temple (Address given in English).
3—Dr. Luis Fernandez—Spanish translation of Miss Nicklin’s address.
4—Alfredo Barreda—Reading of cables of greeting from the Bahá’ís of La Paz, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada.
5—Professor Reginald C. Reindorp—Significance of the Centenary to the World.
6—Ray Betts—Story of the Declaration of the Báb.
7—Ricardo Calderon—Birthday of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
8—Alejandro Franco—Significance of the Faith to Perú, and to Youth.
9—Sra. Isabel de Barreda—As delegate from Perú, read the Greeting of the Bahá’ís of Lima, Perú, to the All-America Convention.
1O—Miss Virginia Orbison—Summary and Conclusion.
11—Prayer for All Nations—Luz Saenz de Saenz.
Unprecedented was the mighty, spiritual chorus of the entire Bahá’í world, raising in unison as one voice, a paean of praise and thanksgiving on this Centenary of the glorious Declaration of the Báb; unrecorded, except in the treasuries of God, and in the hearts of those who were privileged to experience them in the countries of the East and of the West, must remain the many tributes, great and small, of beauty, and of exaltation. Unparalleled the heroism of martyrs and of pioneers that in the span of but one century had served to carry around the world the Message ordained by God, the sacred Lamp of knowledge and of truth that “the Finger of God hath lit.”
Virginia Orbison, travelling teacher, whose
distinguished services contributed to the
firm establishment of the Faith of
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Bahá’u’llá in several Latin—American countries
concluded her Centenary greeting With these
thoughts: "Now are seen the shining threads
of the spiritual web woven by Martha Root,
later enlarged by Mr. and Mrs. Mathews,
Mr. and Mrs. French, and by Frances Stewart
and many other travellers and resident
pioneers in this agonizing though luminous
field; a web gathering strength, and binding
gradually and forever, the hearts of the
believers in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh; a mystic
chain of Bahá’í love enormously enlacing
more and more hearts—charming them into
forming the complete integration of all these
races, nations, classes and creeds of this
awakening continent. Now is this ‘one soul’
insinuating itself into 'many bodies,’ from
Magallanes up the mighty Cordillera, spreading
itself over the land and the hearts,
mounting northward through the Central
and uppermost stern of this backbone of the
Americas into Alaska.
“Exactly one hundred years ago, in Persia, the glorious youthful Báb offered His Silver Cup to the first believer. Now, in every land, the souls are drinking of the Divine Elixir which is changing the heart of the world.”
