Bahá’í World/Volume 7/Youth Activities Throughout the Bahá’í World
YOUTH ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE BAHÁ’Í WORLD
THE WORLD ACTIVITIES OF BAHÁ’Í YOUTH
APRIL, 1936 — APRIL, 1938
BY MARION HOLLEY
I. INTRODUCTION
"This New World Order, whose promise is enshrined in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh . . . involves no less than the complete unification of the entire human race.”1
IT IS difficult for any young Bahá’í to remember the events of the past two years apart from the Guardian. No other period of Bahá’í history seems so connected with him, so much in debt at each turn for his guidance and vision. Not as a result of hero-worship, but through plain honesty alone, this debt must be acknowledged and its sources traced in any survey of achievement for the years 1936-1938. For the essence of that achievement was surely the sudden understanding of our Faith as fact not hope, not ideals for Utopia but citizenship in a live community, the appearance of which marked this earth’s coming of age.
The impact of a potent pamphlet, “The Unfoldment of World Civilization,” written in March, 1936, produced this vitalizing effect. The oneness of man; the abolition of prejudices of race, class, and religion; the hope for the Most Great Peace—fragments of belief before—by the electric shock of the Guardian's words were at once crystallized into a whole man, a citizen of the world, no less. Every young Bahá’í tingled with the experience, and as his consciousness grew clear, he knew himself transferred instantaneously and irrevocably to a higher level of social and individual conduct. What a goal, what an assurance, what power became his from that moment! Thus by a few words did the Guardian consolidate a world community and every Bahá’í, young or old, assumed his place in it.
“Conscious of their high calling, confident in the society-building power which their Faith possesses, they press forward, undeterred and undismayed, in their efforts to fashion and perfect the necessary instruments wherein the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh can mature and develop.”2
But this clarification, swift and dramatic as it was, constituted only an introduction. There followed countless letters to individuals and great statements of policy to the National Assemblies, which strengthened and made more tangible the first vision. World citizenship, young Bahá’ís came to understand, required not a verbal loyalty but profound and far-reaching change of action. Distinction! Here was the keynote. In a civilization ridden by mounting passions, strife and hatred between economic classes, barbaric war among nations and political alignments, cruel neglect of human need, and a tragic inquietude of spirit—Bahá’ís were called to faithful practice of the love of God and man.
Professor Jan Huizinga of Leyden University had written in 1936: "We are living in a demented world. And we know it. Everywhere there are doubts as to the solidity of our social structure, vague fears of the imminent future, a feeling that our civilization is on the way to ruin. They are not
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1Shoghi Effendi, "The Unfoldment of World Civilization,” p. 2.
2Ibid., p. 35.
The Bahá’í Temple at Wilmette, Illinois, U. S. A., viewed from Lake Michigan.
[Page 458]
merely the shapeless anxieties which beset us
in the small hours of the night when the
flame of life burns low. They are
considered expectations founded
on observation and
judgment of an overwhelming multitude of
facts.”3
These facts Bahá’ís were not encouraged to deny. The Guardian himself faced them; he analyzed their causes and prepared the followers of Bahá’u’lláh for their culmination in “a period of intense turmoil and widespread suffering” which would “proclaim alike the death-pangs of the old order and the birth-pangs of the new.”4 But most pertinent, he drew with clarity the outlines of that modern man who, alone, should have fortitude to withstand the turmoil and construct the coming civilization. That he would be a different man from the one in the streets every young Bahá’í was compelled to admit. “I desire for you distinction,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had said many years earlier. At last such distinction had become a prime requisite, if the Faith for which so many sacrifices had already been made was to move triumphantly forward.
But what kind of distinction? Basically, of course, it rests on a quickening of the blood and bone of the individual; it consists in new energy based on spiritual confidence and ideal, in what the religious have called rebirth, a transformation which results only from the influence of the Manifestation of God. The "task of converting satanic strength into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered to accomplish,” Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed.5 A life lacking such transformation is certainly not yet of Him.
Shoghi Effendi wrote to this point in several letters, from which the following excerpts are made: “How to attain spirituality is indeed a question to which every young man and woman must sooner or later try to find a satisfactory answer. It is precisely because no such satisfactory answer has been given or found, that the modern youth finds itself bewildered, and is being consequently carried away by the materialistic forces that are so powerfully undermining the foundations of man’s moral and spiritual life. . . .”6 “. . . The dangers facing the modern youth are becoming increasingly grave, and call for immediate solution. But, as experience clearly shows, the remedy to this truly sad and perplexing situation is not to be found in traditional and ecclesiastical religion. . . . What can control youth and save it from the pitfalls of the crass materialism of the age is the power of a genuine, constructive and living Faith such as the one revealed to the world by Bahá’u’lláh. Religion, as in the past, is still the world’s sole hope, but not that form of religion which our ecclesiastical leaders strive vainly to preach. Divorced from true religion, morals lose their effectiveness and cease to guide and control man’s individual and social life. But when true religion is combined with true ethics, then moral progress becomes a possibility and not a mere ideal. The need of our modern youth is for such a type of ethics founded on pure religious faith.”7
The past two years have seen the issuance of a clear challenge to Bahá’í youth to prove the faith which is undoubtedly theirs in every moment of their lives. Shoghi Effendi has also announced that certain of Bahá’u’lláh’s laws must now be universally applied, i.e., prayer, fasting, monogamy, the consent of the parents in marriage, and abstaining from alcohol.
Perhaps to contemporary society, however, the most arresting points of distinction are the obedience to government and the solution of all group problems through consultation. A Bahá’í is one whose method must accord with his goal, and his goal is the solidarity of men. Almost every other modern technique of social change acts through pressure groups, strikes, opposition, and refusal to cooperate. This profound variance of method creates for the young Bahá’í innumerable problems of relationship—in his occupation, to his country if at war, with groups working for world peace or economic reorganization, and most acutely with his government if its policy is suppression of his beliefs or Faith.
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3 "In the Shadow of Tomorrow,” quoted in World Order, August, 1937, p. 194.
4 "Unfoldment of World Civilization," pp. 8-9.
5 "Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,” p. 200.
6 Through his secretary, December 8, 1935. Bahá’í News, No. 102, p. 3.
7 Through his secretary, April 17, 1936. Bahá’í News, No. 104, p. 1.
[Page 459]
Each year a Bahá’í
youth must increase in tact, patience,
deeper wisdom, above all in a
love of man and God which no opposition,
however persistent, can shake. While his aim
is the Most Great Peace, he is no pacifist.
"Non-cooperation is too passive a philosophy
to become an effective way for social
reconstruction.”8 Pledged to the
use of justice in every situation,
he may not resort to
forceful means for its accomplishment. "The
Bahá’ís . . . are advised to avoid, as much
as they can, getting mixed in labor strikes
and troubles, and particularly to desist from
all acts of physical violence which indeed run
counter to the very spirit of the Cause.”9
Although his world view precludes a fervid
nationalism, he is constantly in mind of
Bahá’u’lláh’s instruction: "In every country
or government where any of this community
reside, they must behave toward
that government with faithfulness,
trustfulness and truthfulness.”10
One further policy remains. For Bahá’í youth it means a careful attention to vocation, perhaps an organized research, undoubtedly in this period of world depression, arduous effort. ". . . Idle people who lack the desire to work can have no place in the new World Order. . . . Every individual, no matter how handicapped and limited he may be, is under the obligation of engaging in some work or profession, for work, specially when performed in the spirit of service, is according to Bahá’u’lláh a form of worship. It has not only a utilitarian purpose, but has a value in itself, because it draws us nearer to God, and enables us to better grasp His purpose for us in this world.”11
Such are the requirements of Bahá’í distinction! That youth who dedicates himself to the standard, whose resolution to attain it remains firm, and whose enthusiasm never diminishes, becomes then equal to his part in the great "building process . . . to which the life of the world-wide Bahá’í Community is wholly consecrated.”12
American youth have a specific role to fulfill in this process, first enunciated by the Guardian to the Annual Convention of 1936 in an historic message. “Would to God,” he cabled, “every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination this glorious century embrace light Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order.” The plan for such gigantic achievement is contained in the Teaching Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Here are found the objectives each one must strive to reach by 1944. With the establishment of this goal, Shoghi Effendi truly released a spiritual dynamic in the heart of the American continent which is stirring into fire the ardor of every young Bahá’í.
But even as the Guardian disclosed a task of heroic proportion, he rewarded our effort in advance. The period of this survey was crowned by an event so joyous, so intimately connected with Bahá’í youth that the response to it can never be couched in words. By his marriage, an "inestimable honor (was) conferred upon (the) handmaid of Bahá’u’lláh, Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Miss Mary Maxwell.”13
To young Bahá’ís, Rúḥíyyih Khánum represented the peak of distinction, of loyalty to the letter and spirit of the Faith, of devotion to its beloved Guardian. Her services as a member of the first American Youth Committee, her stirring eloquence as a teacher, the moving power with which she had spoken of the Dawn-Breakers in the sessions at Green Acre and Louhelen, her subsequent travels in Europe and especially her superb work in Germany, had aroused in her contemporaries warm admiration. When through her the American believers acquired a "tie vitally binding them” to the institution of Guardianship, symbolizing for all time the union of the East and West,—the hearts of her co-workers were touched by emotions of the deepest gratitude and love. Although the full significance of the event could never be appreciated, they knew that Rúḥíyyih Khánum had set another standard of virtue, that in her life she must now achieve an unprecedented sacrifice.
And they resolved to follow her in this path, to the limit of their abilities.
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8Shoghi Effendi to Helen Bishop, November 21, 1935.
9Shoghi Effendi to Bernard B. Gottlieb, June 30, 1937.
10“Bahá’í Scriptures,” par. 74.
11 Shoghi Effendi through his secretary, March 22, 1937. Bahá’í News, No. 108, p. 1.
12</ sup> “Unfoldment of World Civilization,” p. 35.
13 Cablegram, Bahá’í News, No. 107, p. 1.
Louhelen Bahá’í Summer School Youth Session, 1937.
II. THE AMERICAS
". . . An inescapable, well-nigh staggering responsibility rests on America, its one chief remaining citadel.”14
Since its first appointment in 1933, the Youth Committee of America has supported a responsibility, not only for the progress of the Faith in the United States and Canada, but throughout the Bahá’í world. This was a result of the Guardian’s explicit instruction, and each year has brought a more effective effort, a sounder consolidation of the "international body of active young Bahá’í men and women . . .” Partly because of the Committee and its careful planning, but more than all because of the wholehearted response of local groups, Bahá’í youth around the world have achieved a unity, vitality, and intelligence which did not exist before 1933.15
The status of youth activities in America is numerically shown in a survey made during the summer of 1937. Sixty-eight communities reported. Of these, twenty-eight had youth committees, forty-four organized youth groups, and nine others had one or a few interested youth. The total number of young people studying the Bahá’í Faith was six hundred and twenty-one, of whom three hundred and thirty-four were Bahá’ís.
The National Youth Committee itself reflected the new interest in a marked increase of function. Extended business meetings were held during 1937 at the Louhelen and Green Acre Summer Schools, which most of the members were able to attend. Six general letters were addressed to young Bahá’ís through the columns of Bahá’í News and Bahá’í Youth, and the latter publication was enlarged in size and circulation to become the chief medium for local and international work. A correspondence bureau was set up as a new Committee function, with two secretaries responsible for Asia and Europe. The World Bahá’í Youth Symposiums were scheduled annually, as a concerted proof of Bahá’í unity. Youth Sessions at the Summer Schools continued to develop in importance. A plan was adopted for intensive study days during five months of 1937-38, “to deepen and widen the range of our knowledge.” Effort was continuously exerted to obtain registration of those young people who desired to become Bahá’ís upon reaching the age of twenty-one. In addition to such, national activities, local groups reported a wealth of original and sustained programs, through which the circle of Bahá’í influence was steadily widened during these two years.
In a letter to the National Committee, under date of July 28, 1937, Shoghi Effendi again renewed his hopes for it in these words: “He would urge you not to spare any effort in the discharge of the responsibilities and obligations that have been laid on your shoulders for the initiation, organization and conduct of Bahá’í youth work. It is your duty to continually remind the Bahá’í youth of America to cling steadfastly to the ideals inculcated in the Teachings, and to give them the full scope, encouragement and guidance they require for the application of these ideals not only in their own limited circle but in the larger world outside.”
A point by point consideration of activities follows:
A. BAHÁ’Í YOUTH—This quarterly, which at the beginning was no more than a mimeographed bulletin, has become a significant “conference ground,” a source of international communication, an organ representative of the best thought and planning of Bahá’í youth. In 1936 editorial and business responsibilities were separated, and in the fall of 1937 the publication was moved to New York City, with an increase to sixteen pages and one thousand copies each quarter. Its material, from March, 1936, to October, 1937, was diversified, including editorials and general articles from twenty-one young authors, letters from the Guardian, verse, suggestions for study, international news, general letters from the Youth Committee, and announcements. The study suggestions are worth noting: a list of books for three types of students, eight outlines for Symposium discussions, a bibliography on consultation, “Some Definitions,” "Root Principles of the Bahá’í Faith,” and a “Self-Inventory
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14 “Cablegram from Shoghi Effendi to the National Assembly, August 4, 1937.
15 For comparison see previous surveys of youth activities in Bahá’í World, Vol. V and Vol. VI.
[Page 462]
Sheet.” Doubtless
the most important articles published
were two by Rúḥíyyih Khánum,
written by her just prior to the
Guardian’s marriage, descriptive of Haifa
and the Holy Shrine. (June and October,
1937.)
B. INTERNATIONAL BUREAU—As the business of the Youth Committee grew, it became apparent that some division of secretarial work would have to be made, and thus in 1936 an international secretary was appointed. This action received the hearty approval of Shoghi Effendi, who wrote on November 21, 1936, establishing the Bureau’s policy as follows: "He firmly believes that it is high time for young Bahá’í men and women in every land to get in close and constant touch with each other’s activities, and to develop the necessary medium whereby they can acquire a common and powerful consciousness of the responsibilities and duties that have been laid upon their shoulders as builders of the New World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. The formation of a Bureau for international Bahá’í Youth work is, therefore, a most timely suggestion, and one which the Guardian confidently believes will awaken wide response throughout the entire Bahá’í world. The Bahá’í youth is in need of a common basis for cooperation and of an organ for the direction and expansion of its activities, and for the promotion and application among its members of the highest and noblest ideals upheld by the Cause. May your meritorious endeavors in this connection yield the most satisfactory results. In your general communications to the Bahá’í youth, the Guardian wishes you to lay special emphasis on the Bahá’í teaching of the Oneness of Mankind which, as you certainly know, is the distinctive feature of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.” (Through his secretary to Ṭáhirih K. Mann).
Upon recommendation of the Committee to the National Spiritual Assembly, nine associate members were then appointed to represent the following nations: England, Germany, France, South Australia, India, Palestine, Egypt, ‘Iráq, and Írán.16 These members were helpful in distributing to young Bahá’ís in their areas the information sent out by the international secretary.
During 1936-37 four general letters were addressed to some sixty Bahá’í abroad. In addition, a large correspondence was developed with Bahá’í youth in more than a dozen countries. The work progressed so rapidly that it was necessary to designate a second international secretary for 1937-38. Thus the future of world-wide communication, upon which real solidarity must depend, was adequately ensured.
C. WORLD BAHÁ’Í YOUTH SYMPOSIUMS-The second annual celebration by Bahá’í youth, acting simultaneously throughout the world, was held on March 7, 1937, under the general theme "Religion—A Way of Civilization.” Careful preliminary work was done by the American National Committee in preparing publicity, circularizing local youth groups, and providing a series of outlines for discussion of the eight sub-topics chosen. (i.e., True Religion, America and the Most Great Peace, Science and Religion, World Economics, Paths of Unity, The Meaning of World Order, Bahá’í Youth and the World Today, Humanity’s Coming of Age.) Most of the January, 1937, issue of Bahá’í Youth was devoted to these plans, and the March issue was especially edited for public distribution. In the Eastern and Central areas of the United States, regional conferences were held in preparation, and several communities were able to arrange radio broadcasts of their symposiums.
Measured numerically, the success of these meetings eclipsed the first year’s effort for eighteen American conferences were held, plus eleven others in Germany, India, England, Hungary, ‘Iráq, and Írán. Audiences in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, Teaneck and Karachi were estimated as between one and three hundred persons. It is especially interesting that five of the conferences were held in Germany (Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Esslingen, Goppingen, and Karlsruhe), undoubtedly due to the stimulation of the National Youth Committee first appointed in the summer of 1936. This significant national effort on the part of German youth came only shortly before the official proscription of the Bahá’í Faith by that country.
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16Appointees were Dorothy Cansdale, Friedrich Macco, M. Ḥakim, Bertram Dewing, Sohrab Bahmani, Massoud Rassikh, Muṣṭafá Kamil, Jamil I. Baghdádi, and Hájí Mirza Bozork Afnan Aalaaie.
[Page 463]
The support of the Guardian
was enlisted by a cablegram sent on March
seventh, as follows: “Youth Committee reports
twenty-four symposiums March seventh in five
countries pledging continued loyalty by
public presentation Faith. Request prayers
confirmation.” To this he replied:
"Delighted. Assure Youth Committee fervent
prayers. Deepest loving appreciation.”
Later a scrapbook record of the symposiums,
including signed letters from the Bahá’í
youth at each one, was sent to Shoghi Effendi.
One young Bahá’í aptly summarized the significance of these meetings: "Our feeling of unity was strengthened through working together on this project, and we gained a much greater realization of the scope of this wonderful Faith.”
At this writing plans are in motion for the third annual series of Symposiums, scheduled for February 27, 1938. Using as a general theme "Humanity’s Coming of Age,” the National Youth Committee has suggested nine topics, embracing in scope both personal and social applications of the Bahá’í Faith. (These are: Dawn-Breakers, Changing Human Nature, Portals to Freedom, Creative Living, Why Be Religious?, World Order—Not Utopia, World Citizenship, The World —An Organism, Peace Realists.)
Every method is being utilized to reach young Bahá’ís in all parts of the world, not only through the columns of Bahá’í Youth, but by a series of four general letters to be mailed to two hundred international addresses.
D. SUMMER SCHOOLS
One of the most remarkable developments in America has been the interest of young people in the three Summer Schools, their successful promotion of Youth Sessions at Green Acre and Louhelen, the constant increase of attendance, especially of non-Bahá’ís, and the penetration to local communities of a compelling enthusiasm born through these efforts.
Shoghi Effendi has recognized these values in several letters of reply to the greetings sent by Youth Sessions. In 1937 he wrote of “the remarkable spirit of enthusiasm, of fellowship and of united and constructive service that animated the Bahá’í Youth Week at the Green Acre Summer School.”17 That same summer he stated what is doubtless the paramount object of every like Session, “that the spirit engendered by that meeting will be so deeply infused into the hearts of all the attendants as to stimulate them to rededicate themselves afresh to their sacred task of spreading the Teachings among their fellow-youth throughout the American Continent.”18
A major part of the following material is quoted from official reports of the Schools, published in Bahá’í Youth for October, 1936 and 1937.
1. GREEN ACRE YOUTH SESSION
Prior to 1936 no more than a week-end conference had been scheduled for Bahá’í youth at Green Acre. But by decision of the National Spiritual Assembly, the first week of August, 1936, was specified for the Youth Session and a Committee was appointed to arrange it. This enterprise was supported by over thirty young people and was thus repeated during the same week in 1937.
“Sixty-five young people attended Green Acre’s second annual Youth Week. This was almost double the number of last year. But, figures cannot do justice to a week spent in study of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, and in the fellowship of Bahá’ís gathered at historic Green Acre.
"The opening Sunday program consisted of a feast in the afternoon held at the new study hall by the Eliot Assembly. In the evening, Marion Holley of Pasadena, California, formerly secretary of the National Youth Committee, spoke to a large audience.
“On the week days devotions were held from 9:15 to 9:30, after which a forty-five minute forum was held. The forum topics were: Changing Human Personality, Bahá’í Marriage, Economics and the Bahá’í Teachings, Understanding Current Events, and Moral Aspects of the Bahá’í Teachings.
"Mr. Horace Holley conducted the class on Administration, which began each day at 10:30. An introductory talk on some phase of the Administrative Order was followed by open-forum discussion until noon.
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17“To the National Youth Committee, September 7, 1937.
18 To the National Youth Committee regarding Louhelen, July 28, 1937.
[Page 464]
“Several beach parties were held afternoons during
the week. Tuesday afternoon
Mr. Schopflocher read his notes from Haifa.
Wednesday afternoon was given over to a
consideration of the recent cablegrams
received from the Guardian. Mr. Quigley of
New York conducted the discussion and
then introduced Mrs. Mabel Ives, who led a
discussion on methods of pioneer teaching. . . .
“The highlight of the whole week came on Saturday evening, when about one hundred young people from Eliot and surrounding communities were guests at a supper-dance. The members of the National Youth Committee were introduced by Toastmaster Quigley. Several musical numbers and a skit followed. Marion Holley spoke on ‘The Next Great American Frontier, Prejudice’ which must be conquered by this generation. Dancing until midnight followed the supper.
“That this social event had created a great feeling of friendliness for the Bahá’ís among many young people in the vicinity of Eliot was shown by the way they kept returning to Green Acre in the weeks following.”19
2. LOUHELEN YOUTH SESSION
Louhelen has set the example from the first in its Youth Session. Beginning in 1934 with an attendance of twenty-seven youth, its enrollment advanced in 1935 to fifty-seven, in 1936 to eighty-two, and to ninety-six in 1937, past which point present facilities will not permit it to go. Each year the Summer School Program Committee has appointed a youth committee to share responsibility in planning, the members of which have usually lived in one area. (i.e., Chicago in 1936, Lima in 1937). These young members have directed not only the program of study and recreation, but have worked out a system of self-government, much needed for a conference of this size.
Excerpts from official reports follow:
“The program (June 22-26, 1936) was opened each day with a devotional meeting in which selections from the Sacred writings were read by various members of the young people. This was followed by three courses conducted, respectively, by Prof. Stanwood Cobb on ‘Security for a Failing World,’ and ‘Islám,’ Prof. Glenn Shook on ‘Comparative Religions,’ ‘Administrative Order,’ and Mrs. Dorothy Baker on ‘The Bahá’í Life.’
“A forum was conducted by the young people every afternoon. The following subjects were discussed at these meetings: the matter of registration with the Local Spiritual Assembly of all young Bahá’ís who intend to become voting members at the age of twenty-one; the position of Bahá’ís in time of war; the social life of young Bahá’ís; and methods of spreading the Faith.
“The remainder of the day was given over to recreation. The young people found opportunity to visit informally with one another and with the teachers who sympathetically joined in all the youth activities.”20
“With eighty-two young people and numerous counsellors and teachers registered, the Youth Session at Louhelen Summer School, June 27 to July 1, 1937, was eminently successful.
“The National Youth Committee met during the Session, giving inspiration and ideas to the group. Members came from as far away as California and Montreal, Canada.
“The forum style classes, which followed morning devotions and lasted until noon, were conducted in a manner that often evoked comments from the floor. Willard McKay’s lectures on the New World Order and the series of talks on the Bahá’í Life, given by Kenneth Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Emeric Sala, and Marion Holley, in several instances furnished material for use in the afternoon open forum. Twice it was necessary to hold extra discussion groups in the late afternoon. Classes always lasted far over dismissal time.
“During the second morning hour there were two classes, advanced and elementary. Miss Garreta Busey conducted the advanced class on the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, while Annamarie Kunz and Margaret Kunz jointly led the elementary group in the history and principles of the Cause. . .
“With all the fun, the atmosphere was not frivolous but gave promise of greater youth activities, as individuals left Louhelen
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19Bahá’í Youth, Vol. III, No. 3, page 14.
20Ibid., Vol. II, No. 3, p. 12.
[Page 465]
with a greater
understanding of the Teachings and
a deeper determination to serve the
Cause.”21
3. GEYSERVILLE SUMMER SCHOOL
"Geyserville Summer School has never yet sponsored a Youth Session, and it is doubtful whether it will, so successfully have the young Bahá’ís adapted their activities to the life of the regular sessions. When in the future, Geyserville and all of the Bahá’í Schools have attained their maturity as real universities of the new world, it may be that a specialization of program will result in classes for those of various ages. It is interesting, however, to dally with the thought that a Bahá’í university may be so original in design that it will function, perhaps, as an expression of Bahá’í community life, all-embracing of those groups which make up a normal community. Of these, adult Bahá’ís, young Bahá’ís and Bahá’í children are equally important.
"In the ten years since the inception of Geyserville Summer School, young Bahá’ís have assumed an ever-increasing rôle and have made a growing contribution to the program. Actually, these ten years have seen the development of one generation of youth which has taken its place in adult life. Another generation, from five to ten years younger, now officially denotes itself as the Youth Group. While immediately behind it, pressing into genuine and conscious action, comes a third generation which, although organized as the Children’s Class, is already competent to teach the Cause. It is this constant pressure of the age-groups upward which brings to the Bahá’í Faith fresh vigor and incentive, and the trend was particularly noticeable this year in Geyserville, since each group made its own outstanding contribution to the sessions.
"Each morning the regular lectures were attended by the young Bahá’ís who then met in a discussion group immediately after lunch to study and assimilate these talks. About twenty-five youth joined in this procedure, inviting to assist them various adult counsellors. In addition, each day was devoted to the consideration of certain questions most commonly asked by young people. A different member of the group led the discussion at every meeting. These typical questions have been compiled and should be found useful in Bahá’í youth groups throughout the country.
"The young Bahá’ís were especially successful this year in creating enthusiasm among local Geyserville youth, who not only joined in the recreation, including daily swimming and dancing in the new Bahá’í Hall twice a week, but came regularly to meetings, even buying their own literature. . . .
“The spirit of Geyserville is one not to be forgotten, and brings a constant inspiration to the daily actions of those who are privileged to participate. Surely the fine cooperation which exists between young and old should be fully credited, for thereby the School is enriched, its sessions diversified, and its community life given a reality which is wholesome and beautiful. Thus does Bahá’u’lláh create His new society!”22
Again in 1937 (July 3-18), Bahá’í youth of the western region met with the regular session, participating in the adult classes and discussions. Certain specific activities were, however, developed by a youth committee for the fourteen young Bahá’ís. These included three round-tables per week, two public meetings presenting a symposium of young speakers, and a program for the annual High Jinks.
E. STUDY DAYS-A new departure in concentrated study was suggested to local groups for their 1937-38 programs. The National Committee, believing that "to prepare ourselves thoroughly for life in the Bahá’í community and for youth work and effective teaching, we must have much more than a mere surface knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith,” developed outlines and references for five study days. Subjects included "Bahá’í —a Spiritual Being,” “Bahá’í Theory of Knowledge,” "Bahá’í—the Activist,” "Bahá’í—the Realist,” and “Bahá’í History.”23
F. OTHER OUTSTANDING WORK—So diverse have become the interests of young American believers that a detailed account is no longer possible in a survey of this nature. There are a few projects, however, to enumerate
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21Ibid., Vol. III, No. 3, pp. 13-14.
22Ibid., Vol. II, No. 3, pp. 12-13.
23Bahá’í News, No. 110, p. 6.
Members and delegates of the International Youth Group which held a season in Green Acre, Eliot, Maine, U. S. A., in order to meet with the Bahá’ís while on their tour of America during 1936.
[Page 467]
which may stimulate
further originality in teaching methods.
Foremost are several achievements by Bahá’í university students. A number of these, studying at the University of Illinois in Urbana, in 1936-37 organized their study group as an official University activity. Their picture appeared in the college year book, The Illio, together with the names of officers and faculty advisors. As a consequence, this youth group received much favorable notice, opportunities to present the Cause to students developed, and cooperation was offered to such other organizations as the Campus Peace Committee. In the following year the group took under consideration the establishment of a credit-course in the University curriculum dealing with the Bahá’í Faith. Although no immediate result could be anticipated, the Urbana Bahá’í youth have demonstrated the possibility of official university action, and are undoubtedly first in the field.
At Syracuse University, Joseph McK. Noyes, with the backing of two other Bahá’í students, wrote an open letter which was published in the college newspaper on February 23, 1937, under the title, “Bahá’í Movement.” The letter grew out of campus discussion on world peace and set forth the Bahá’í attitudes and program, inviting further investigation. This small group of students also sponsored several luncheon meetings for Bahá’í speakers of note. At Syracuse University, also, a Bahá’í is invited each year to outline the Teachings to the class in comparative religions, under Professor Piper.
Such an exposition was also made for a similar class at Scripps College, Claremont, California, in the spring of 1937.
Young Bahá’ís of Wilmette have recently begun informal meetings for students resident at International House, the University of Chicago.
Thus throughout the country Bahá’ís are beginning to introduce the Faith to university students and professors. It is a branch of public teaching which deserves increasing emphasis in the next years.
No youth have made greater strides through cooperation with other youth groups than the Montreal Bahá’ís. It is felt that their report of a conference in 1936 merits full publication. Delegates were again sent to the Montreal Youth Congress of May, 1937, with similar results.
“The problems confronting youth today, —problems of war and peace, employment and unemployment, and the proper education required to fit young people for world citizenship,—are creating a unity which promises to surmount political and religious barriers. In practically every country youth is arising in a sincere effort to uproot the throttling weeds of universal greed, hatred and fear which threaten to strangle the flow of the precious life blood of true civilization.
“One such effort crystallized in a Youth Congress which was held in Montreal in May, with delegates representing fifty thousand young people of the city from one hundred and thirty-five different groups. Two delegates and two observers were sent from the Bahá’í Youth Group.
“The Bahá’ís found the opinions expressed and the spirit of unity maintained in complete harmony with their own Teachings. It was an invaluable opportunity to contact many young people, intelligent and openminded, and to express in a broad way the universal principles of Bahá’u’lláh, interjecting into the discussions and resolutions the Bahá’í spirit and thought. Two suggestions made by Bahá’í delegates were applauded and adopted. One delegate recommended a Negro representative for the central Board of Council. Another, in speaking to a motion which condemned the policies of three aggressive nations, asked for a broader, more universal view of the question which would understand and remove causes rather than condemn their effects. It was suggested that, since the whole world-wide society of nations, composed of but one human race, is a single organism bound together by ties of trade, industry and transportation, no unit should be condemned as all are equally guilty in permitting these causes to exist. The motion was dropped. Another motion was enlarged by a Bahá’í to include an interchange of delegates among the groups represented, that all might have a greater opportunity to appreciate and learn of other points of view.
"The part played by the Bahá’ís was relatively small but as each delegate was required
Interior of the new Bahá’í Hall recently erected on the property of the Geyserville Bahá’í Summer School in California, U. S. A.
to give the name of the group he represented, it was a splendid chance for indirect teaching work. Nor will the many contacts established be lost, for the Bahá’í Youth Group of Montreal is already making plans to invite members of the Congress to speak on its platform.”24
A Christmas teaching conference has become almost an institution for the young Bahá’ís of the Eastern States. Their second two-day meeting was held on December 26-27, 1936, in New York City, with delegates from seven other cities in attendance. It was an occasion for a thorough interchange of viewpoint, and on Sunday afternoon, the regular public meeting was conducted by visiting Bahá’í youth.
G. REGISTRATION OF BAHÁ’Í YOUTH—In July, 1936, the Youth Committee reported a statement adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly, relative to registration with local Assemblies. The text of the statement follows, together with certain comments from the original article:
“ ‘Young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one, whether children of Bahá’ís or not, may record with their local Assembly their intention of becoming members of the community on reaching the voting age, and thereby receive the privilege of attending Nineteen Day Feasts and other Bahá’í meetings, but without the privilege of voting. They may read selections in the spiritual program of the Nineteen Day Feast but not serve as chairman of that program. If matters affecting Bahá’í youth are under discussion they may report their views on the subject. They may also be appointed as members of local youth committees by the Spiritual Assemblies. Children of Bahá’í parents do not receive this privilege automatically but must make the same declaration of intention as other young people. Bahá’í parents are not to coerce their children to make this declaration, but are expected to point out to their children the importance of voluntarily associating themselves with the Bahá’í Faith.’
"Although this ruling has been in effect, in briefer form, for more than a year, Bahá’í youth have neglected to obey it, nor have the local Assemblies given it that emphasis which it merits. . . .
"Bahá’u’lláh has said in the appendix to
————————
24Bahá’í Youth, Vol. II, No. 2, pp. 10-11.
[Page 469]
His Book of Laws that ‘the age of maturity
is in the fifteenth year; women and men are
alike in this respect.’ Thus at the age of
fifteen, every young believer who is pledged
in his heart to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh,
should assume those responsibilities and
duties which He has enjoined. At that age
the observance of prayer and fasting is called
for; and in its ruling on registration,
the National Assembly has made it possible for
Bahá’í youth to partake in a most important
institution of community life—the Nineteen
Day Feast. Just as no serious adult Bahá’í
can neglect this right to vote or overlook the
varied duties of citizenship
in the Administration, so no young
Bahá’í can call himself
by that name and neglect to register
formally with his Assembly.
"At this important time, when the Cause stands upon the threshold of a great new drive, of an effort in teaching unexcelled, even by our illustrious predecessors; when the gigantic challenge of establishing this Faith in every State and every Republic in America has just been thrown to us; and when as young Bahá’ís we have just received a special message from the Guardian to ‘vindicate’ through 'our words and deeds’ the power we have gained from Bahá’u’lláh,—surely there is no one of us who will delay in fulfilling the National Assembly’s request.”25
The message of Shoghi Effendi, to which the above article refers, was addressed to "The Twenty-Eighth Annual Convention, Bahá’í Youth,” on May 21st, 1936. It embodied a call which he had never more forcibly put. To close this section with his words is to epitomize the profoundest hopes of the American Bahá’í youth, and to open the prospect of that future they and their fellows aspire to win.
". . . In these days of universal affliction, of widespread disillusionment and discontent, the eyes of the entire Bahá’í world are directed towards the activities which the Bahá’í youth are initiating in various countries with the view of hastening the unfoldment of the Divine Plan. Their hopes for a better and saner world center chiefly in you who have been called upon to vindicate through both your words and deeds those verities which alone can effectively establish unity and peace in the world.
“To achieve this truly gigantic task the Bahá’í youth throughout the world must not only strive to spread the knowledge of the Teachings, but also and above all to live them as completely as circumstances permit. They should attract people to the Cause not so much through the exposition of its principles and teachings but through the power of their individual lives. The Bahá’í youth must indeed exemplify through their lives, both as individuals and as conscious and active members of the Bahá’í community, the purity, the effectiveness and sublime character of their Faith. They can teach best when they live up to the standard inculcated by Bahá’u’lláh.”26
III. EUROPE AND ASIA
"The whole of mankind is groaning, is dying to be led to unity, and to terminate its age long martyrdom.”27
Europe, for centuries the center of life to civilized nations, has in our own times become a mother of death. The energies of her concentrated peoples, so various and fecund, are directed with intense devotion to self-destruction, unnatural as it is deadly. It is as if, bent upon suicide, Europe had agreed to consummate it with bravado, with drums and goose-step, passion and parade, suave night attack and diplomatic gesture. The certainty of tragedy is guaranteed in every war office, its swift beauty in the fleets of stream-lined bombers. What madness, one wonders, has bitten her peoples, what incurable convulsion has seized and separated them? How shall the world be immunized against this virulence?
It is neither valor nor sense to ignore the real terror of the situation. The culmination of violence initiated in Ethiopia, extended to Spain, and imitated in Asia with universal effect, will not be forestalled by conclaves of decorated statesmen whose impotence or bad
————————
25 Bahá’ís Youth, Vol. II, No. 2, p. 4.
26 Ibid.
27 "Unfoldment of World Civilization," p. 41.
[Page 470]
intentions have already been proved. Nor
will mass excitements, however widely
prescribed, make a likely medicine. Must we
not frankly admit that the question is no
longer one of rescue for our decadent, too
subtle society, but rather, toward what order
shall the living work, both now and hereafter?
This is the question to which Bahá’u’lláh made a full and superb answer. As if to spread His vision throughout Europe before too late, the Guardian, during the past few years, has encouraged Bahá’ís to travel and teach there, and American believers have responded with special enthusiasm. Notable youth work has been done by such individuals as Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Jeanne Bolles, David Hofman (an Englishman whose first Bahá’í training was received in America), Helen Bishop, Mrs. W. S. Maxwell, Mrs. Ruhanguiz Bolles, Lorol Schopflocher, and Mme. Orlova. Their reports, in addition to those received by the International Bureau, have been freely utilized in this survey of progress, alphabetically arranged according to countries.
A. BULGARIA—Miss Bolles reports several young Bahá’ís in Sofia. No special meeting has as yet been established.
B. ENGLAND—London has a large and active youth group, including several Íránian students, with members who are versatile and qualified. Many of the lectures at the Bahá’í Summer Schools of 1936 and 1937 were presented by them; they include several of England’s outstanding Bahá’í speakers; while a number are supporting the Bahá’í Theatre Group. This London group sent five delegates to the International Bahá’í Student Conference in Paris, January, 1937. It has participated in the two world Bahá’í Youth Symposiums. On October 14, 1937, it sponsored a Youth Rally at Caxton Hall, Westminster, attended by almost fifty new people, which proved most vital in program and response. The four speakers, Bahá’í youth of promise, were Claudia Aldridge, Marguerite Wellby, Louis Rosenfield, and Molly Brown. A regular meeting is held throughout the winter, and in summer months the schedule gains zest with youth picnics. Plans are now in hand for intensive study week-ends, a “miniature Summer School.”
A most unique activity is the Bahá’í Theatre Group organized in London under the sponsorship of the National Spiritual Assembly, by Mme. Barry-Orlova with the aid of Mary Basil Hall. By the fall of 1937 the company had grown to fifty-three, Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í youth of diverse nationalities and beliefs.28 The company has sought original material; its repertoire in 1937 included "As You Like It,” a dramatization of Bahá’u’lláh’s “Seven Valleys,” an acting version of the "Drama of the Kingdom” by Mary Basil Hall, and “The Little Wood” by Minna Davis. Under the direction of Mme. Orlova the Group received professional training, was presented by the Men of the Trees Society, the Inter-Religious Fellowship, and the London Bahá’í Assembly, and began its second year on an independent financial basis. A comment by Mme. Orlova reveals the possible significance for other Bahá’í communities of this interesting endeavor: “The members were not all Bahá’í, but it is beautiful to see what a method of teaching this Theatre Group idea becomes, not only for the actual members, but for their family and friends. Everyone is impressed by the Bahá’í cooperation, lack of prejudice, and spirit of ‘the play’s the thing.’ . . . In the Group there was neither creed nor nation.”
C. FRANCE—A distinctive achievement of Bahá’í youth in France has been the Oriental Students’ Union which, since 1930, has sponsored yearly conferences in Paris of Bahá’í students scattered throughout Europe. This conference has long been valued by Shoghi Effendi as a significant contribution to the Faith. The last meeting in January, 1937, widened its scope to include all young Bahá’ís who might be able to attend, and as previously mentioned, the London Youth Group sent five delegates. The following account was published in Bahá’í Youth, June, 1937:
"In the city of Paris, on the second and third of January, 1937, the Union of Bahá’í Students held their seventh annual conference. Besides the many students from Paris,
————————
28 The By-Laws provided that two members must always belong to a Spiritual Assembly, local or national.
Bahá’í Summer School for the Central States, Louhelen Ranch at Davison, Michigan, U. S. A.
The Green Acre Inn, open to all those attending the Summer School as well as to the public.
The Bahá’í Hall in Green Acre, a recent addition to the properties of the oldest Bahá’í Summer School in America, open annually at Eliot, Maine, U. S. A.
[Page 472]
the provinces, and foreign countries, special
visitors were present from England, Germany,
and the United States.
“The importance attached by the Guardian to this annual activity of European Bahá’í youth is shown in a paragraph from a letter from him to the conference, written by his secretary: ‘It is needless to say how much the Guardian values and appreciates profoundly these efforts which your Committee put forth so ardently to advance the friendship, the mutual understanding and cooperation between the members of the body of Bahá’í students scattered widely across Europe. The fact that such a conference has taken place regularly has for him a significance of the greatest importance, in these days when the young people of the world are turning away so rapidly from the religious institutions and churches in the midst of which they were born. In an age when the forces of irreligion and materialism are invading all ranks of society and seriously ravaging the hearts and minds of men, it is truly splendid to see young Bahá’ís assemble, men and women, for the purpose of discussing and studying the fundamental teachings, spiritual and moral, which Bahá’u’lláh has brought to the world and to examine the ways and means required for spreading and disseminating them.’
“M. Ḥakím, who presided at the conference, presented a report of youth activities in America.
"Mlle. Irady spoke on the subject,‘The Place of Women in the Bahá’í Faith.’ Other speakers were Mme. Orlova and Mrs. Schopflocher from America, Mlle. Migette from Lyons who came with a group of Bahá’ís and friends.
"On the second day a group of London Bahá’ís were welcomed. Miss Claudia Aldridge read a paper entitled ‘Relations Among Members of a Bahá’í Community.’ Other speakers at this session were Mr. Bakchayech, Dr. Mühlschlegel, Mlle. Zamenhof, and Mr. Zabih.”
The visit of Mrs. W. S. Maxwell to Lyons resulted in the establishment of a new youth group in June, 1936, whose first members were Mlle. Lucienne Migette, Mlle. André Flour, Mr. and Mrs. Moddaber, and Mr. Yazdi. It is interesting that Mlle. Migette is "Chef de la Surveillance des Eaux de Lyon” and holds the highest degree in chemistry. As mentioned above, this group sent delegates to the seventh conference of the Union of Bahá’í Students in Paris.
The International Bureau is also in communication with M. Soghomons of Marseilles, who states that although no group has been founded, there are several interested students who wish to be informed of Bahá’í youth activities.
D. GERMANY—Young Bahá’ís of Germany would doubtless be the first to attribute much of the stimulation which their work has received to the extended travels of Rúḥíyyih Khánum in their country. Partly as a result of her suggestion, made during the "Sommerwoche” in 1936, they successfully petitioned the National Spiritual Assembly to appoint a Youth Committee, the first of its kind in Germany. Original members were Friedrich Strauss, secretary, and Friedrich Macco of Heidelberg; Annemarie Brauns, Karlsruhe; Ruth Schmalfuss, Leipzig; and Wilhelm Gollmer, Stuttgart. On September 10, 1936, the Committee was first addressed by the Guardian, as follows:
"To the Bahá’í Youth Committee of Germany and Austria,
"Beloved friends and co-workers:
"Your very warm message of August 22 addressed to the Guardian has been duly received, and its contents have deeply moved and cheered his heart.
"He is indeed rejoiced by the news of the
formation of a Bahá’í Youth Committee in
Germany and Austria, as he feels convinced
that the time has come when young Bahá’í
men and women in these two countries
should come together and organize
their activities upon a firm
foundation. Your Committee
therefore fulfills a deep-felt and most
urgent need, and will, it is hoped,
increasingly develop into a powerful and effective
medium for the coordination of Bahá’í youth
activities throughout Austria and Germany.
The responsibility that has been laid upon
your shoulders is certainly heavy
and delicate, particularly in
these days when the attention
of the youth all over the world is
being wholly and forcibly diverted in directions
[Page 473]
that are fundamentally irreconcilable
with the very spirit and mission of the
Cause. Your chief task is, therefore,
to exercise a wise and continued control over
young believers in order to prevent them
from being dragged away by the
strong materialistic current of the age.
“It should be your committee’s constant endeavor to stress to all young believers the supreme necessity of their adhering faithfully and intelligently to the principles and laws of the Cause, to consider the Faith as their highest allegiance, and consequently to concentrate heart and soul on finding the ways and means that would enable it to rapidly spread and effectively establish itself in the consciousness of mankind.
“With the best wishes and fervent prayers of the Guardian for the success and extension of your labors, and with his cordial greetings,
- “Yours in His Service,
- "H. Rabbani.”
"Dear friends:
"The work you have initiated deserves the highest praise and will no doubt attract the richest blessings. The steady expansion of your activities is vital to the spread of the Cause in Germany and Austria at the present stage of its development. Persevere and never lose heart. The hosts of the Abhá Kingdom will guide and help you. My prayers are with you always. “Your true and grateful brother,
During the life of the Committee, somewhat less than a year due to official proscription of the Faith, close contact was maintained between it and the American Committee and mutual assistance was given. All German Bahá’í communities were circularized, asked to establish regular youth meetings, and a census was begun. Five local groups arranged conferences for the World Youth Symposium of March 7, 1937. (See report above.) The Committee held its second meeting during the celebration of National Day by the Bahá’ís of Germany and Austria, April 24-25, 1937, at which time a special program was planned for Bahá’í youth attending the Summer School session in August. This session was later canceled.
The last official communication from these courageous young Bahá’ís was received after this meeting apropos of the Summer School, when Friedrich Macco wrote: "I hope that we may then greet friends from America again. Perhaps it will be possible for one of the youth to come. Such visits are of extra importance because they make a real understanding possible.”
Though short-lived, the National Youth Committee of Germany and Austria awakened a vital and widespread interest in the Bahá’í Faith among young believers, consolidated its program with admirable rapidity, and set a standard in persistent and devoted effort for future generations to fulfill.
E. HUNGARY—In Budapest the Cause has rapidly advanced, through pioneer work of several American believers, notably Miss Jeanne and Mrs. J. Ruhanguiz Bolles and Mrs. Lorol Schopflocher, and with the enthusiastic cooperation of the local group which was formed. Miss Bolles has reported a special response from young people of talent and initiative. Although no youth group had then been formed, Budapest joined in the celebration of International Youth Day on March 6, 1937. The following facts were obtained from Miss Bolles:
“The Symposium took place in a private reception room of the Gellert Hotel and was attended by twenty-four young people, all Hungarians with the exception of one Hungarian-American, daughter of a minister. Among those present was the brother of a journalist who recently wrote in his book, ‘On the Eve of Palestine,’ that the problems of the Holy Land can only be solved by a Messiah. Also present was the daughter of the artist, Robert Nadler, who painted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s picture during His sojourn there in 1913. There were a number of students, too, as well as two doctors, one of languages and one of chemistry.
“The Symposium was conducted by Jeanne Bolles, acting as chairman, who also gave an introductory talk on the general title and theme of the day, ‘Religion, A Way of Civilization.’ Mrs. Schopflocher spoke on ‘Science and Religion.’ Mrs. J. Ruhanguiz Bolles, last speaker, addressed the audience in
————————
29Bahá’í Youth, Vol. II, No. 4, p. 12.
[Page 474]
German on what the thinkers of the world
are saying in relation to religion and the
coming of a new Manifestation. At the
close of the meeting, a young Hungarian,
Mrs. Komlos, spontaneously arose to say a
few words in appreciation of the Faith and
of those Bahá’ís who had come to Hungary
to teach.
"A tea followed the meeting. Many questions were asked in English, German and French. A number of young people who had not previously come to the meetings asked if they might now attend them. The spirit was one of dignity and harmonious animation throughout. The meeting lasted from five to nine P.M.
"Miss Bolles left a small library of German and English books with the group. The ‘Hidden Words’ are now being translated by a believer into Hungarian.”
F. NORWAY—Word has been received from Miss Johanna Schubarth that a small study circle of four young people was begun in the winter of 1936.
Thus in half a dozen nations of Europe the Bahá’í Faith is firmly rooted in that generation whose task will be to build, after disastrous conflict, a society actually consonant with twentieth-century accomplishments and needs. “As we view the world around us,” Shoghi Effendi wrote in 1936, “we are compelled to observe the manifold evidences of that universal fermentation which, in every continent of the globe and in every department of human life, be it religious, social, economic or political, is purging and reshaping humanity in anticipation of the Day when the wholeness of the human race will have been recognized and its unity established.”30 Young Bahá’ís are able to contribute constructively to this process because they are conscious of it, have clarified their goals, and derive a constant vigor from their Faith. The value to Europe of her Bahá’í youth can be fairly weighed only in the scale of this contribution toward an ordered world.
Now the peoples of Asia are subject to many of the same stresses as have been noted in Europe, their awakening sense of nationalism creates foreboding, their social institutions are even less suited to modern requirements. It is thus significant that among them the principles enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh are also penetrating, and in several chief countries young Bahá’ís are able to report a notable progress in the past two years.
A. EGYPT-Mrs. Lorol Schopflocher visited Ismailia in May, 1936, and met with several young Bahá’ís who started a study group. Mrs. Schopflocher also toured other Egyptian communities at the Guardian’s request, emphasizing youth work wherever she spoke.
In 1937 an inquiry was received by the International Bureau from the Local Assembly in PORT SAID, for methods to begin youth activity. Mr. Jean Chawafaty, local secretary, planned to organize such work.
B. INDIA—Three Bahá’í communities of India and Burma have already established youth groups—Bombay, Karachi, and Poona,—and the extension of this work is now a national objective. "Acting on a resolution passed by the National Spiritual Assembly at their annual meeting, some of the local Spiritual Assemblies have already reported re-organization of local Youth Committees while news from other centers is awaited. It is hoped that the Bahá’í Youth of India and Burma will soon organize themselves into a strong National Youth Committee and begin serving the Divine Faith with energy and enthusiasm. . . .” 31
Young believers in Bombay sponsor a study class with special emphasis upon training for Bahá’í teaching. They have also acted as hosts to the students of the Islamia College, Andheri.
The Karachi Youth Group has celebrated each International Symposium, often welcomes world Bahá’í travelers and cooperated especially on the occasion of Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher’s visit, and has proved itself a valuable asset to the local Assembly. There are sixteen active members in this group.
C. ÍRÁN—Young Bahá’ís of Írán have long been responsible for a number of well-defined activities. The nature of their work is shown by the following report prepared for the Íránian national secretary, which was reprinted in Bahá’í News:
“The duties of this group can be summarized as follows:
———————-
30“Unfoldment of World Civilization,” p. 10.
31Bahá’í News, March, 1937. p. 3.
Members of the Young Women’s Bahá’í Group of Ṭihrán, Írán.
Members of the Young Men’s Bahá’í Group of Ṭihrán, Írán.
[Page 476]
1. To encourage the Bahá’í youth and to
bring about the means for their association
with each other on a spiritual basis;
2. To exhort Bahá’í youth in living the life and carrying out the ordinances and principles of the Cause by purifying their souls and rejecting old habits and manners which may be against the Bahá’í principles;
3. To bring about, to the best possible extent, the means for physical training of the youth;
4. To give to the Bahá’í youth mental and intellectual training and to foster their education as much as possible;
5. To extend help and assistance to needy Bahá’í youth and to give needful guidance to students;
6. To enter into correspondence with Bahá’í groups throughout the world;
7. To make efforts towards the promotion of activities for teaching the Cause, and
8. To put the Bahá’í youth in touch with their social duties and to increase their knowledge of Bahá’í principles.
"The Bahá’í Youth Committee in Ṭihrán has lately arranged, among other duties, to give from time to time representations depicting the lives of early believers of the Cause in Írán. Such representations have been arranged so far to commemorate the life of Qurratu’l-‘Ayn (the famous Bahá’í poetess and martyr), Jinab-i-Varqá (the martyr), Jinab-i-Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín, Ḥájí Amín and Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-‘Alí, the famous Bahá’í teacher.
“The Youth Committee proposes to give similar plays for the Western believers. On May 15th, a representation was given . . . in commemoration of the life of our departed friend of the West, the late Monsieur H. Dreyfus. A detailed account of the life of this famous pioneer of the Cause in the West was given to the audience which numbered over a hundred people.
“The chief idea of giving such representations is to put friends here in touch with the wonderful and most valuable services rendered by such noble souls to the Cause and to encourage the present generation to follow the example of courage, faithfulness and the spirit of sacrifice left by our early believers.”32
The International Bureau has maintained contact with youth groups in Shíráz and Tabríz, both of which are constantly active in spreading the Faith.
D. ‘IRAQ—The following facts were obtained from correspondence between the youth of Baghdád and the International Bureau:
On December 9, 1936, word was received from Baghdád that a Youth Committee had been established, the purpose of which was to:
1. Plan for a class of study of the Cause, its principles, history and administrative order.
2. Arrange the program of public meetings which are held in the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
3. Arrange Nineteen Day Feasts.
4. Correspond with the various Bahá’í groups and individuals in ‘Iráq and also keep in touch with youth throughout the world.
Mr. Kamil ‘Abbás became secretary. The group began the study of “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,” and translated into Arabic articles from the Bahá’í World, Volume V., especially the letters of the Guardian concerning Bahá’í youth activities (dated January, 1933), which became “the program of every member of the Committee.” A general letter from the International Bureau was translated and sent throughout ‘Iráq. The International Youth Symposium was celebrated for the second time on March 4 and 7, with a teaching conference for believers and a public meeting attended by about fifty youth.
So far this group consists wholly of men.
E. SYRIA-The Bahá’í students at the American University of Beirut numbered fourteen during 1936-37. Their secretary, Mr. A. Balyuzi, has written that they meet every other week for study and to receive news of Bahá’í activities around the world. They frequently entertain visitors from East and West, who pass through Beirut en route to Haifa.
Such are the evidences, then, that the Bahá’í Faith is winning the universal support of young people. Since 1933 the development of their work has been truly remarkable;
————————
32Ibid., February, 1937, p. 9-10.
[Page 477]
yet they stand only at the threshold
of opportunity. In the light of
their expanding services, the
following instruction
of Shoghi Effendi is pertinent,
for in it is established that
balance which must always
characterize the Bahá’í community.
“The chief purpose underlying all such activities undertaken by our Bahá’í youth throughout the world is to stimulate enthusiasm, promote instruction and foster the development of the spirit of solidarity and cooperation among young Bahá’í men and women, in order to enable them at a later age to collaborate intelligently and harmoniously with their fellow-believers of whatever class, age or origin. Such activities should be undertaken within the framework of the Administrative Order. They should neither be overemphasized nor curtailed. The formation of youth committees is a means to achieve the end stated above, and is not an end in itself.”33
————————
33Through his secretary to Marion Holley, November 8, 1937.
————————
EXCERPTS FROM BAHA’I YOUTH
March, 1936 to October, 1937
| I. Message from Haifa—in two parts. | Rúḥíyyih Khánum | |
| II. Editorials: | ||
| The Most Joyful Tidings | Marion Holley | |
| Heritage | Kenneth Christian | |
| Widening Our Horizons | Heshmat Ala’i | |
| III. Articles: | ||
| Nobility | Kenneth Christian | |
| Independent Investigation | David Hofman | |
| Concerning Divine Education | Lewis Zerby | |
| A Bahá’í Prays | Zeah Holden | |
| IV. Special Features: | ||
| Outlines of Study for the Second Series of International Youth Symposium | ||
| Why I Am a Bahá’í | ||
| An Open Letter | Joseph McK. Noyes | |
————————
MESSAGE FROM HAIFA
DEAR fellow-youth:
Here in this mansion made sacred to us all by the blessed Presence of Bahá’u’lláh, my thoughts turn to you and my heart brims over and I feel I must write to you all.
Everywhere is the presence of the Guardian.
His care, his foresight, the mighty
works he has accomplished in these last—what
must have been to him—terribly trying years.
The Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh he
bought, he rebuilt, thus fulfilling a cherished
desire of the Master; its peace and beauty
are indescribable, upon the walls smile the
faces of those who stood out in the front
ranks: Bahíyyih Khánum gazes wistfully at
us, that signal figure of the Heroic age of
our Faith; Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl, an example of
the greatness of human wisdom and knowledge
being transformed into the humble servant
of Bahá; Lua, the early flame of the
West, her pure eyes raised as if to
the Master’s face; Dr. Esslemont,
modesty and spiritual altitude
shining in his quiet visage; Keith,
smiling her warm and radiant smile, our
first American martyr. Within the central
hall, with its cool white walls, blue stenciled,
its marble pillars rising to symmetrical arches,
stands an illumined model of our Temple
surrounded by the framed facsimiles of
Queen Marie’s statements, her picture, and
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the certificates of incorporation of different
Spiritual Assemblies. Costly rugs hang on
the walls and examples of the penmanship
of the famous calligraphist, Mishkím-Qalam,
in many forms; birds with rose-bedecked
plumage that spell Bahá, the Greatest Name
and other decorative writings. There are
many photographs of the different Bahá’í
groups, of Bahá’í pioneers, of the National
Assemblies. Everywhere are displayed
treasures of our Faith; illuminated
tablets in the script of the Blessed Perfection,
indescribably fine and perfect, and of the Master;
most precious of all is a part of the “Hidden
Words” as revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in His
own hand.
Here one remembers at once the words in Nabíl; “Methinks I was in a place of which it could be truly said: ‘Therein no toil shall reach us, and no weariness shall touch us’”; "No vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor any falsehood, but only the cry, ‘Peace! Peace!’”; “Their cry therein shall be, ‘Glory be to Thee, O God!’ and their salutation therein, ‘Peace!’ and the close of their cry, ‘Praise be to God, Lord of all creatures!’” Here in the Mansion one feels this.
But in the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh it seems as if all the world were there, in That Presence. One felt the all-ness of the earth, no distance, no separation except that of relation, all beneath His watchful gaze. It is not something one says, “now I must begin to feel it because this is the Holy Tomb,” no, it meets you as you approach Bahjí even as a light meets you when you enter the circle of its radiance. It is as tangible as silence, or heat . . . this peace.
As Bahá’u’lláh must have been in His room . . . so one feels Him upon entering it. Phrases come back, cherished and dear to the mind of a Bahá’í: “A mild, dignified voice bade me be seated; ‘Praise to be God that thou hast attained!’ . . . I bowed myself before one who is the object of a love and devotion that Kings might envy and Emperors sigh for in vain. . . .” “What is His occupation?”; “He cheers the disconsolate and feeds the hungry”; “What of His rank and position?”; “He has none, apart from befriending the poor and the strangers . . . ” and, when, en route to the Síyáh-Chál in Ṭihrán: “An old and decrepit woman was seen to emerge from the midst of the crowd, with a stone in her hand, eager to cast it in the face of Bahá’u’lláh; ‘I adjure you,’ she pleaded, ‘give me a chance to fling my stone in his face!’ ‘Suffer not this woman to be disappointed, deny her not what she regards as a meritorious act in the sight of God,’” were His words. And “That which ensued is well-known, and if sometime you should happen to visit the prison of His Majesty, ask the director and chief of this place to show you two chains, one of which is known as Quara-Guhar and the other as Salasil. I swear by the stars of justice, that during four months, I was weighted and tormented by one or the other of these chains.”
All this comes back as we stand in the utter simplicity of His room; beside the bed one lamp of white china, with a plain glass chimney, something pristine in its unornamented form; a deep blue painted ceiling; white cotton curtains in the windows; a low Divan on the floor and before this, a pair of bed room slippers. Here the “Glory of God” passed away from the earthly eyes of men.
But into everything, the garden, the decoration of the Mansion, the Tombs of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, glimmering amidst the lights of Haifa across the bay, the archives, has pervaded like the refrain of a mighty song, the presence of the Guardian. All bespeaks his loving care, his ceaseless toil, and that authority with which he was invested by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. No one could describe the beauty of Shoghi Effendi; his utter unselfishness, unself-consciousness; his ineffable sweetness; his indefatigable capacities for work and creation. We have achieved much in the Cause these last years since the ascension of the Master, but whose suggestions, guidance, example and patience, has inspired us? And here, where five thousand books adorn the shelves of an international Bahá’í library, prominent among them: Nabíl; The Íqán; the Gleanings; the Administration; the Bahá’í World; the World Order letters. How poor indeed would become the shelves of our inner experience and knowledge if we should remove these gifts of his from our Bahá’í life.
Do we remember enough that last injunction of our Master: “that no dust of despondency may stain his radiant nature”?
“Rockwood,” a Bahá’í home in Booleroo Cenre, South Australia.
Two Bahá’í youth, the daughters of Mr. David Brooks of “Rockwood,” Booleroo Centre.
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We all love and adore
him who is not only
our "first Guardian,” but our precious trust
to serve and work with in this turning point
of history. But are we always sufficiently
aware of our privilege? Of our
responsibility? He reaches out
to us, seeking tools
with which to construct the edifice whose
plan Bahá’u’lláh conceived and the Master
formulated. The tools must be strong, keen,
apt to the task required of each one. These
qualifications we can attain through adhering
to the spirit, the Laws and the Ordinances of
our Faith, combined with, “instant, exact
and complete obedience.” That Disciple of
the blessed Báb who quaffed the fount of
martyrdom with his Lord, whose remains
were inextricably mingled with the mangled
body of his Beloved; was not his
faith epitomised when he, asked
to recant, declared:
"Never! . . . in Him I have found
my paradise and in the observance of
His law I recognize the ark of salvation.”
He won his immortal reward when, the
Báb having said that did one of them
really love Him, they
would with their own hand take His life;
all hesitated, anguished at such a thought,
but that youth, however, was willing to obey
his Lord even to this and in these words the
Báb rewarded the station of obedience for
all time. “This same youth who has risen to
comply with my wish, will, together with
me, suffer martyrdom. Him will I choose
to share with me its crown.”
Here in Haifa beats the heart of the Cause; it is the administrative and spiritual center of our world; in these environs rest the remains of "Him Whom God will make manifest”; of the blessed Báb; of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Servant of the servants of God; of Bahíyyih Khánum. Here lives and toils, more than twelve hours each day, Shoghi Effendi. The great dynamic powers of our Faith are released from here, but they must have arteries, veins, capillaries, that the body of the Cause may be nourished and strong to serve despairing mankind.
A new Bahá’í year is approaching. Let us all, Bahá’í youth and those who are friends of our Faith and Aims, arise with a refreshened courage, a dauntless hope for our victories, an ever deeper devotion, that we may attain to these words of Bahá’u’lláh:
"The whole duty of man in this Day is to attain that share of the flood of grace which God poureth forth for him. Let none, therefore, consider the largeness or smallness of the receptacle. The portion of some might lie in the palm of a man’s hand, the portion of others might fill a cup, and of others even a gallon measure”; "The seal of the choice Wine of His Revelation hath, in this Day and in His Name, the Self-Sufficing, been broken. Its grace is being poured out upon all men. Fill thy cup, and drink in His Name, the Most Holy, the All-Praised.”
MESSAGE FROM HAIFA—A SEQUEL
IF one could have walked into a museum of the authentic relics of the days and life of Christ, what would it have meant to the Christian believers? If they had seen His sandals, dusty from the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, or the mantle that hung from His shoulders—or the cloth that protected His head from the sun; what atmosphere of assurance, of wonder, even of adoration would have stirred the inheritors of His Faith. If their eyes could have rested on even one fragmentary line penned by His hand. . . .
To most of the people of the world the meaning of such things is beyond their imagining; but to Bahá’ís, believers in the newest Revelation of God’s Will as yet revealed to unfolding mankind upon this planet, this inestimable privilege has been vouchsafed. An iron door swings open upon Mount Carmel and we enter the International Archives of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. A modest series of rooms adjoining the resting place of the Báb, greet us. Framed tablets seem at first glance to be this room's distinguishing adornment; they stand about and are displayed in cases, we are told these are originals in the writing of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Here is a brief message of Bahá’u’lláh addressing His son: ‘'O thou who art the apple of mine eye!”; here are the tablets of both her father and brother to
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Bahíyyih Khánum. We glance closer and
slowly, unbelievably, the reality
of what they are penetrates. This is the
exquisite penmanship, in the shikastih
script, of the Báb, the
fine flow of perfectly formed letters are upon
a marvellously illuminated background;
flames, golden clouds surround them till the
design of their script takes form in a feather,
gourd or sun set in brilliant flowers with
borders in symmetrical designs,
resting backgrounds of burning
blue, green or red. All
the famed beauty of the Íránian illuminated
manuscript frames, one after another, those
simple black-ink words. Then, as we gaze,
charmed by the beauty, marvelling at the
penmanship, we begin to realize that the
hand of a Revelator of God’s Will and Laws
to mankind, penned those words. That the
weight of their import revolutionized the
thought of a nation; caused, through
the opposition to the onward march of this new
step in human progress the weakening of
Islamic institutions; inspired 20,000 men,
women and children to drink the cup of
martyrdom; established the bedrock on
which a world religion could be built.
We pass on to gaze upon the miniature of the Báb: nobility, refinement of being to its utmost perfection, resides in the lines of that quiet figure. His mien is so impressive; all the story of His life comes back to us as described in the narrative of Nabil, "The Dawn-Breakers”; the sweetness of His voice chanting prayers, the gentleness of his ways, the fire of his love for God, for "Him Whom God will make manifest,” for his fellow-men. The dignity of His bearing which overawed all His enemies—the inexpressible fortitude and readiness with which He bore banishment, imprisonment and final martyrdom. Like spring-tide seems to be everything associated with Him; His youthfulness, the exquisiteness of His speech and writing, the flame-like quality He inspired into His Faith and followers.
Passing to the adjacent picture we come
to gaze upon “Him Whom God will make
manifest.” Our heart has been constricting
as slowly we began to be grasped by
the magnitude of the relics we
are being permitted
to see. Now it seems to throb heavily, we
feel it beating; we try to feel what we are
feeling as we gaze at the photograph of
Bahá’u’lláh and remember the description of
Professor E. G. Browne: "The face of him on
whom I gazed I can never forget, though I
cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes
seemed to read one’s very soul; power and
authority sat on that ample brow; while the
deep lines on the forehead and face implied
an age which the jet-black hair and beard
flowing down in indistinguishable luxuriance
to the waist seemed to belie. No need to ask
in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself
before One who is the object of a devotion
and love which kings might envy
and emperors sigh for in vain!” What confusion
this picture arouses; we remember Who He
is to us—we remember His words—words
such as have never before been written by
any hand—we remember His Revelation’s
purpose; the unity of the races of men upon
this planet as their home in which they shall
live under the benediction of The Most Great
Peace. All this from within, and now we
must reconcile this inner, more abstract
world of experience, with the depicted figure
upon which our eyes rest. The two forces
clash at first. The human individuality of
a Prophet reproduced in a photo is something
the spirit of man has never before had to
cope with. Here our fond fancies,
our personal rovings into the
realm of imagination,
cease and we gaze at that figure, loved,
adored, followed by men as a "Prophet,”
down through the centuries, as He was. It is
a shock. The personification
of divine attributes has always
been a mystery to Man, but
to those who came after the ascension of the
Prophet, they could try to adjust or shelve
the connection between Godly perfection in
a human form, to suit very much their own
desires; just imagine it and be
perfectly content with their
self-made solution. But here
is a picture: here are the eyes
that gazed into
the souls of men, into the secret heart of the
problems afflicting them; here the fingers
that took pen in hand and revealed
the decrees of a Beneficent God
to His seeking and
suffering children; here the Figure that paced
as He spoke when words rolled from His
tongue giving laws for a New World Order
of the Human race, for the
healing of its ailing body and soul.
Our imagination stops.
We are curtailed by coming face to face with
what has been denied everyone except the
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immediate generation that surrounded a
Prophet, of seeing the Form in which the
Light became embodied.
Still suffused with shock we cannot yet disentangle and understand, we pass on somewhat dazed. But if the Photograph of Bahá’u’lláh moves and baffles the soul, confounds the reason, when we see some of His tablets we become inwardly impotent. All the torrent of torrential rain, all the weight of light that streams and beats from the sun's rays, seem expressed in that head-long script; as if no force could withstand it, no sheet bear it. Its motion is not stilled by being confined to paper—it moves on and on, the power of those words. All the majesty, the fierce abandon of nature, the magnitude of the cosmos, seems to be symbolized by it, or be but symbols of it. And we still cannot adjust this shock within. "I am a man, and before me is the picture of a seated man, but he has given life to a dead world and light to the darkness of our chaos and despair, how can this be?” We are stupefied.
Passing into the next room we come to the effects of Bahá’u’lláh. We see His fezzes, brocaded; ivory, green, deep red. We see His bedding, quite simple even as that simple room in which He passed away in Bahjí across the Bay. We see even His slippers; these are all little bridges towards the picture of that seated figure; He used them—They are stuff of stuff. We see His comb and remember those words of His, “the comb, too, I have given thee that thou mayest tend My raven locks, and not to wound My throat.” It lies there, a link again between the outer and inner, the Unknown and Unknowable God Who reveals Himself to us through His Manifestation. We see the pen case of Bahá’u’lláh, and can well understand after gazing at the torrential flow of this tablet, "At this point the pen broke and the ink gave forth nothing but blackness . . .” We even see that mirror in its case in which He must have gazed upon His own reflected visage. . . . "Naught is seen . . . in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in Myself but His Self. . . .”
We then turn to the things associated with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Here a sudden cozy feeling of relief comes to our heart; the Master was always with us, showering left and right his love and kindness, his quick sympathy, his laughter and smiles. Here was a being more tangible, here the perfect man, here the Interpreter and Expounder of that unapproachable power which streamed from Bahá’u’lláh. The West has even found its way to him; a pair of much used field glasses are among his things, a pair of European summer shoes, even a vocabulary of English-Persian words, with correct English accent annotated by his hand. The warmth of his perfection wraps us "round and consoles that which has been moved and startled in us by that one glimpse into the face of Him Whom God will make manifest.” We pass on and come to see at last a pair of spectacles worn by that wife of Bahá’u’lláh who was the Master’s mother; sometimes Bahá’u’lláh used them too. This seems the last straw to that sense of mystery and awe that has been accumulating as our load of feeling as we passed from one historic document to another. Suddenly life seems much greater than it was before. Its beauty, its privilege enhanced far beyond what mortals dare to dream; all this "wonder” that underlies our universe and lives; all this greatness and glory; all this abandon and beauty of God—so close He lets it come to us that into the form of man, chosen as God’s burning glass, the crucible of His Revelation, He permits and chooses His attributes to abode. "I was a man as other men asleep upon my couch when the breezes of the All Praised were wafted over me,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh.
Oh, how dear life is to us! How priceless that into a human form—one of us men—the station; irrevocable, fixed, seated upon the infinite throne of Prophethood, should come for a space to dwell and guide us on our way. The inner and outer are reconciled; our hearts are subdued, still stunned, as we leave the archives by another door than that by which we entered. But a nearness, a sweet sense of mystery that neither saddens nor appalls, goes with us. We feel prouder to be men, better to be men, for God allowed our humble estate to feel the weight of His Perfection.
Can any Faith offer this to the experience of men except that of Bahá’u’lláh?
Haifa, Feb. 1st, 1937.
EDITORIALS
THE MOST JOYFUL TIDINGS
THIS is the year 1936, but for the Bahá’ís of the world March twenty-first will mark the beginning of the ninety-third year since the proclamation of their Faith. For them, Naw-Rúz, this New Year Day, will be fraught with especial significance, carrying as it will an acute sense of the contrast between the age-old cultures in which they move and act, and this infant ideal, unnoticed as yet, which throughout centuries to come will be shaping the destinies of men to a new pattern.
Not in recent years will this contrast have been so striking. The message enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh can make no compromise with the unruly and disordered world of today. These bitter rivalries with which nations have separated themselves, their egocentric spirit of nationalism, the arbitrary treatment of minorities within great governments, indifference to human misery, the neglect of elementary needs for food and shelter and a function in society without which individual life cannot subsist, the callous dismissal of fundamental and solid virtues, and this sickly state of faith in the priceless heritage of being human, these together indicate a condition of universal thought and action which is unbecoming, tragic and without result.
Living in this world, the Bahá’ís are not of it. Their faith in God and man is a challenge to it, and their constancy to the social goals laid down by Bahá’u’lláh as a framework for His all-embracing World Order, is an indubitable testimony to the fact that, however dreary human society may have become, there is a promise of progress for it in the future.
Young Bahá’ís, who for the first time this Naw-Rúz are meeting in an international celebration of their unity, are pledging to that future their best strength and their profoundest idealism, confident of the outcome because they are confident of the truth of Bahá’u’lláh’s declaration.
"Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this worldwide regeneration. This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by the pen of this wronged One to mankind.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, page 92.)
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HERITAGE
THE World Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, still less than a century old, contains already an unbelievably priceless heritage for the stricken world of today and the centuries to come.
Here is a world-wide human unity, based not on the ties of blood, nationality, or economic interest—but on that mysterious reality called "the love of God.” And this bond of unity has extended over three generations. Could there be a healthier demonstration of the power of true religious faith in the face of a world torn by dissensions, hatreds, and mounting fear?
History books, recounting the episodes of the past, have related the fervor with which large groups of people have died for a dynamic spiritual belief. However, since centuries have elapsed and brought a lessening of faith and a waning of religion, moderns have tended to scorn the power of religion to awaken men and women to heroism so complete that even death is faced unflinchingly.
But European travelers and historians have brought to the attention of the western world the great dynamic in the Bahá’í Faith, a dynamic which led over ten thousand Íránian Bahá’ís to death by martyrdom. So again the world sees the heroism of a living Faith! And let us not forget also the unseen heroism of Bahá’ís the world over who battle
Bahá’í Youth Group of the University of Illinois. From the University Annual, the ILLIO, 1937. This is the first Bahá’í Youth Group in America to be organized as an official University activity.
superstition, ignorance, and hatred as they labor unceasingly for the establishment of the Oneness of Mankind.
But this unity and this heroism are results of a great outpouring of truth, a Revelation from God unparalleled in all history by the magnitude and potency of its Teachings. Bahá’u’lláh has brought the key to religious unity, to an understanding of progressive revelation. Bahá’u’lláh has supplied the means for social unity and the solution to the perplexing problems of human strife. Bahá’u’lláh has revealed the divinely appointed institutions of a World Order which will mark humanity’s coming of age.
And more than that, the world has seen the principles of love actually lived by the triumvirate of Bahá’í leaders—the Báb, who heralded the coming of the Day of God; Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith who gave the blue-prints and principles of World Order; and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Divine Exemplar who carried His Father’s message to the world of the west. These three promulgated their heavenly mission in the face of all kinds of human opposition and hatred.
So we receive a heritage of unity, of heroism, of an outpouring of truth, and of the divine art of living.
Can modern youth add to this heritage? Yes. By dedication to its promulgation. By the living of its spiritual principles. By passing on to others the dynamic of the love of God (that mysterious reality permeating all the Bahá’í Teachings) so that security, peace, and happiness may be brought to people bewildered by this changing world.
WIDENING OUR HORIZONS
INDEED it is impossible for the spiritual quality to gain life except through the acts which are its meaning and expression. The ignoring of this relationship between the physical and the spiritual has, in the past, tended frequently to sap the strength from religion.”—The Conflict of Values, by J. R. Bellerby.
Faith is the recognition of values given to mankind from Above. It is a conscious knowledge. This is a new orientation given to the term "faith” by Bahá’u’lláh.
World Citizenship implies knowledge as well as feeling of the whole body of mankind. It is neither an intellectual fixation nor an emotional conviction. It is both and neither. Love implies action, and sympathy with action. As a result of reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, water is created. So is Faith a result of the synthesis of feeling and intellect.
There is a small per cent of the population in this country who can afford to enjoy the so-called luxury of life, through traveling abroad, coming in contact with great minds, artists, scientists and other gifted groups, but the rest of the people are, in a sense, underprivileged. Culture, as distinct from civilization, may not be directly tied up with wealth; nevertheless, it is through the opportunities which our environment provides for us and the degree of our effort to absorb knowledge and wisdom, we are called cultured and refined.
From the Bahá’í standpoint, culture is a necessity and must supplement our modern civilization if we want a balanced society. To become a cultured person, one needs to have a wide range of information, not in one or two particular walks of life, but, rather, general information about the nature of the relationships among the different manifestations of life. A cultured man need not be a musician, painter, architect, or a sculptor, but, rather, it is the development of the sense of appreciation, and discrimination between the ugly and the beautiful. Culture is not purely acquired, as a vocation; it is the refinement of our senses of values in the realms of nature and human relationship.
The foundation of a world civilization and culture is summed up in these words: “Ye are the fruits of one tree—leaves of one branch.” It is the organic unity which gives the tree its life. A tree ceases to exist the moment its component parts deprive themselves of the light and the heat of the sun, and fail to cooperate for the common goal which is the life and the growth of the organism as a whole. This organic unity is as genuine in human society as it is in the case of a tree.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was in Paris, in 1911, looking at the headlines of the papers, he saw, “A TRAIN HAS DROPPED INTO THE RIVER SEINE, AND A DOZEN PARISIANS ARE DROWNED.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. said, "Every day thousands are killed as a result of the Italian invasion into Tripoli, and there is very little mention of it.” . . . This spirit of provincialism science has conquered in view of the fact we can know, through radio, news from the farthest corner of the earth as if it is our next-door neighbor, yet we do not show any interest in foreign affairs. A general look at the American papers, with the exception of a few New York papers, shows this fact. Are people really disinterested in the affairs of their fellow men? Do they think that two bodies of water on both sides of this continent will keep them immune from contamination from the rest of the world?
We Bahá’ís declare ourselves primarily as citizens of the world, and next come our national, racial, or class allegiances. As a matter of fact, our loyalty to the world citizenship is absorbing so much of our energy that it has overshadowed any secondary loyalties. Furthermore, we claim that this loyalty to mankind is genuine and rational. Otherwise, we are apt to be equally fanatic, no matter how broad is the scope of our loyalty, as others are to their respective nations, races, and classes.
In order that a loyalty be genuine, knowledge is the first condition, and so action follows. A loyalty, or faith, without knowledge is blind. It might be active, but not necessarily constructive. Knowledge without faith is a time-table without a destination, and so the motivating power is lost.
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We Bahá’ís have the faith and loyalty to
our world citizenship, and, as an outsider
may well witness, that faith is translated into
action. What we need is more knowledge,
—the thing of which the outside world has,
in a sense, an excess, or, at least, it has lost
the faith and consequently has given way to
inactivity and fatalism. We must acquire
more knowledge and inspire those that have
knowledge to step out into the arena of
action.
Here are a few concrete suggestions how to acquire more knowledge and information about our fellow-man throughout the world.
1. Reading of some leading papers—generally New York papers—their sections on foreign affairs carefully.
2. Subscribing, or borrowing from lending libraries, one or two leading magazines—preferably from foreign countries, and one or two of this country, such as "Events.”
3. Study some standard text on post—war history.
Only the deepening of personal knowledge in such manner can result in the attainment of real knowledge of modern world conditions to supplement loyalty and action as world citizens. Hishmat Alá’i.
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NOBILITY
KENNETH CHRISTIAN
A "NEW HOUR” has struck in the history of the Bahá’í Faith!
Such was the message sent us a year ago by the Guardian. And now to the 1936 Convention has come an epochal message containing the terse phrases: “Humanity entering (the) outer fringes (of the) most dangerous stages (of) its existence.”
The insight, the timeliness, the dramatic potentialities behind this message place a great responsibility upon us. To shoulder the Divine Plan and to carry out faithfully our part in the erection of the World Order necessitates, in my opinion, a careful examination of our individual attitudes.
We cannot teach and serve the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh sincerely and adequately until as individuals we are clearly impelled by the spiritual standards of conduct which become allegiance to the Bahá’í Faith. Continued adherence by Bahá’í youth to the spiritual code of conduct for the new age will spread an influence incalculable in its benefits. Putting such a code into practice is definitely part of our task.
Recent communications from the Guardian have revealed the fact that he wishes Bahá’í youth to be clearly distinguished from the blasé modems. In three things should we be agreed regarding our conduct. First, alcoholic drinks are to be scrupulously avoided. Second, "undue familiarity” should not mark any of our social relations. Third, the flippancy of modern thought and speech should be looked at in its true light as worthless, half-hearted effort to conceal social uneasiness.
The day of lip service is gone. Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed a revelation of deed service. In this period of Formation the youth of the Bahá’í world community must break from the worthless standards of the times and unfold the standards of God. After all are not alcoholic drinking, undue familiarity, and modern flippancy characteristics of people frantically searching for a security they do not feel? Have we not knowledge of the eternal Security? Are not these three modern tendencies typical evidences of the bankruptcy of the age? And is it not our opportunity to build up a new age in which man and woman, the world over, may live in peace and creative harmony removed far from the cheap idealism of the present?
We can at once begin the establishment of these new standards if as individuals and as groups we adopt the spiritual attitude of nobility which will differentiate us from others. Bahá’u’lláh has written in Hidden Words: "Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.”
In one of his talks in the United States ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “It is possible so to adjust oneself to the practice of nobility that
The Bahá’í Youth Group of Poona, India, at the Naw-Rúz feast, March 21, 1938, year 95 of the Bahá’í era.
its atmosphere surrounds and colors every act. When actions are habitually and consistently adjusted to noble standards, with no thought of the words that might herald them, then nobility becomes the accent of life. At such a degree of evolution one scarcely needs try any longer to be good—all acts are become the distinctive expression of nobility.”
As the Cause of God forges ahead in this New Hour, a time fraught with tremendous responsibilities and opportunities, let us examine our conduct critically. Are we living forerunners of a new age? Or are we stereotyped puppets in the blasé modern manner? The Guardian is challenging us to pioneer in the realm of human conduct. Let us make nobility the accent of our lives!
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INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
DAVID HOFMAN
ONE of the most significant trends of modern times is the frank examination of traditional standards and values. Orthodoxy in religion, morals, social attitude, economy and art has crumpled under the pragmatic test of daily life and has suffered the scorn of new generations seeking a wider expression than is possible within the limited area of existing convention.
It would be a mistake to attribute this movement solely to such superficial causes as changing fashion or "the scientific age.” The criticism of long-accepted values goes far deeper, down to the very foundation of social life. It is not the result of youth making fun of its elders, nor of "neoisms” despising previous ideas. There is throughout the world a definite desire for some standard, some criterion of conduct and thought which can restore perspective to the bewilderment of modern life.
The incapacity of ancient creeds and moral
codes to meet the conditions of twentieth-century
life has been amply demonstrated, with their
consequent abandonment in fact, if not in
theory. And here lies our danger. For
while refusing to accept existing
attitudes as a criterion of rightness,
we nevertheless maintain our own
personal prejudices and use them
as our standard of measurement.
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The resultant chaos is possibly just
as bad as the crucifixion entailed
in maintaining outmoded codes
in an age advanced
beyond their use. Institutionalism has at
least a semblance of unity. Free thought
which does not transcend personal prejudices,
can have none.
We have begun well. The enlightenment is really under way; but if we would escape the charge of decadence we must pursue our investigation further and build our life on a new foundation capable of supporting a new society. If, in our investigation, we seek only a confirmation of our cherished ideas, we cannot make progress. If, on the other hand, now that we have thrown off the shackles of shibboleth and fear, we proceed to search diligently, untrammeled by rationalism, seeking only Truth, such a unity of thought will unite the human race as has never before been witnessed. For the knowledge at the disposal of humanity today is already sufficient for the establishment of a universal principle. It is only the left-over prejudices and provincialisms of the previous age which prevent its acceptance.
That principle has already been set forth by Bahá’u’lláh, and has taken firm root in modern ideology. It remains for us to put it into practice and build our World Order on its unshakable foundation.
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CONCERNING DIVINE EDUCATION
LEWIS ZERBY
(Sophomore at University of Illinois)
THE purpose of the one true God, exalted be his Glory, in revealing Himself to men is to lay bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine in their true and immortal selves.”
"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.”
("Gleanings from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh.”)
It is impossible to separate spiritual education, or true education, from the divine wisdom and power which is revealed to humanity by the Exalted Manifestations of God’s infinite Grace. The educational institutions of today are failing to recognize this essential truth and so they are not realizing their true purpose. Educators are striving “to lay bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine” of their students’ "inmost selves” by means of human power and wisdom; and although they are necessarily failing, they do not know the cause of their failure.
One reason education is failing today is that the teachers are not giving the students an opportunity to develop all of their inner capacities. Educators do not know the capacity of man. Only the Manifestation understands man’s great power for good and only the Manifestation commands man to completely fulfill this capacity to do good by living according to God’s commands. The Prophet of God teaches men truth by commanding them to act as He acts, and the life which results from this action is the goal of spiritual education.
The divinely educated man is not merely a person who is intellectually complete. Although he pursues factual knowledge, he is primarily a servant of God who has developed a beautiful and radiant character by obeying the Divine Commands. This character can be developed only by a wholehearted endeavor to live as the Manifestation of God lived. The perfect life and the God-like character which result from it are the ultimate aim of all true education.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Bahá’u’lláh both point
out very clearly that education is in essence
self-expression. This is the meaning of the
phrase "to lay bare those gems” that lie
hidden in man’s inmost self. The Prophet of
God never educates a person merely
by teaching him intellectual facts
and scientific data.
He stimulates man to live a creative life by
causing him to worship those ideals
the worship of which brings about
the expression of
divine characteristics. The life
of an educated person is
characterized by the virtues
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of integrity, courage, sovereignty, strength,
and power, as well as the virtues
of love, patience, humility,
and mercy. These are the
gems that lie hidden in man’s inmost self,
and these are the gems that only
divine wisdom and power can lay
bare. The purpose of spiritual
education is to cause man to
express these gems in his
entire life, a life which
is truly “characterized by the attributes of
divinity.”
————————
A BAHÁ’Í PRAYS
ZEAH HOLDEN
I OBSERVE that this soul of mine seeks a spiritual complement in its evolution. There is something about life which business, social, and cultural enjoyment cannot include. That something is nearness to God.
“They that valiantly labor in quest of God, will, when once they have renounced all else but Him, be so attached and wedded unto that City (of Certitude), that a moment’s separation from it would to them be unthinkable. . . That City is none other the Word of God.” . . .
If with the impenetrable armor of attachment to the world I insulate myself from God, I cannot hope to attain, but if, through the power of His Word, I subdue the worldly or exterior part of my mind, I engender the inward life of that which I fain would be, my soul is released, and I am spiritually free.
To approach God I must know Him. And as I learn to know Him in Bahá’u’lláh and behold His perfect reflection of all the attributes I love so well, my heart, in its potential likeness, stirs with an irrepressible longing to glow more luminously with the beauty of His image.
May I not hope to meet Him in mutual recognition? Since "God is always aware of His creature,” the moment I apply that truth and apprehend its significance, that moment, be it in the stillness of the night or in the pandemonium of the day, I become aware of Him! To actually realize (make real) that God is in my presence is to be in His presence! In this state of exaltation and sublimity I am with God!
Without words, in the language of the spirit, I commune with the Almighty, the Powerful, the Knower of all things. With my heart I entreat and supplicate, and I listen. . . .
Pray without ceasing? It is the frequently necessary reawakening of my consciousness of God by which I remain in perpetual prayer.
The Word of God can direct me how to pray and what to pray for, but I must do the praying myself.
“The highest and most elevating state is the state of prayer.” "The greatest attainment is conversation with God.”
————————
OUTLINES OF STUDY
For the Second Series of International Youth Symposiums, March 7, 1937
TRUE RELIGION
ZEAH HOLDEN
AIM:
To show that the Religion of is one Religion based upon progressive revelation through His Divine Manifestations, and that the foundation of religion has been restored by Bahá’u’lláh.
REFERENCES:
1. Promulgation of Universal Peace, Vol. I pp. 138-141, 155-157, 148.
2. Promulgation of Universal Peace, Vol. II, pp. 373-374, 339, 359, 387, 358.
3. Foundations of World Unity, pp. 79-82, 18-19, 66-68.
4. Gleanings, p. 81.
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Consider briefly the world’s need of the renewal of Religion. Show that God is the one infallible remedy for present conditions. Give evidence that now as never before the world is ripe for Unity and a Universal teaching.
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QUESTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT:
1. Why do we need a re-formation of religion in this century?
2. What is the cause of irreligion?
3. What is the origin of false religious beliefs and prejudices?
4. How can the Manifestations of God destroy them?
5. How do we determine the validity of a Prophet?
6. How has Bahá’u’lláh restored the foundation of Religion?
7. Discuss the essential and the non-essential ordinances of God.
8. Discuss the Reality of religion versus dogmatic beliefs.
9. How does religion indicate the oneness of humanity and the oneness of God?
AMERICA AND THE MOST GREAT PEACE
GRACE SHEPARD
AIM:
To find means to pursue our ultimate goal, namely, a permanently established Peace. To find out ways of taking part in the role which, according to Shoghi Effendi’s letter, America and the Most Great Peace, America is to play in the establishment of that Most Great Peace.
REFERENCES:
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont, page 282, par. 5 through page 283, par. 3, pages 185, 186.
America and the Most Great Peace, Shoghi Effendi, pp. 3, 11, 18, 26.
Outline of History, H. G. Wells, pp. 1090-2.
Isaiah, chapter 32, 17.
II. Timothy, chapter 2, 22.
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Outline a number of problems which young Americans will meet in working for the establishment of international peace. Show the solution of these problems found in the Bahá’í Teachings.
QUESTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT:
1. What is the attitude of non-Bahá’í American youth in general on World Peace?
2. What do the Bahá’í Teachings say about America’s future?
3. How is America to assume the lead in international peace arbitration?
4. How is America peculiarly fitted to establish a permanent world peace?
5. How do the Bahá’í Teachings fill the universal need for a Peace Plan fundamentally sound and acceptable to the varied national cultures?
SCIENCE AND RELIGION
CLARENCE W. LAROCQUE
AIM:
To prove that true Science and true Religion are one in Reality, and that therefore they cannot conflict.
REFERENCES:
1. Man the Unknown, by Alexis Carrel, pp. 133-150, 274-322.
2. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá' on Divine Philosophy, pp. 91-140.
3. Promulgation of Universal Peace, Vol. II, pp. 352-355, 368-369, 388, 438-440.
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Outline briefly the progress that has been made in the attempt to reconcile scientific fact and religious belief: (a) old attitude of Religion toward Science; (b) old attitude of Science toward Religion; (c) present attitudes of both schools; and, (d) reasons for necessary and assured reconciliation in future.
POINTS TO STRESS AND DEVELOP:
1. Religious teachings of the past were obscured by dogma and ritual, their essential reality hidden, and were therefore outdated when the Age of Science dawned. (Quote: P.U.P. Vol. II, pp. 438-440.)
2. Conflict really began with question of evolution of man. Stress evolutionary theory as elucidated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. (Quote: P.U.P. Vol. II, pp. 352-355).
3. Necessity for investigation of reality. Science is discoverer of realities. Religion to be acceptable, must conform to science and reason. (Quote: P.U.P. Vol. II, p. 388; Divine Philosophy, p. 102).
4. The union of Science and Religion will take us far toward the goal of a Divine civilization. (Quote: Man the Unknown,
Youth Conference at London, England, March 22, 1936.
Speakers at the Bahá’í Youth Symposium and Bahá’í friends, March 22, 1936, at Los Angeles, California, U. S. A.
[Page 492]
p. 279; P.U.P. Vol. II, pp. 368-369).
WORLD ECONOMICS
WILFRID BARTON
AIM:
(1) To outline the main features of economic disorder in the world today and,
(2) To explain the manner in which the Bahá’í Teachings solve these problems.
REFERENCES:
For (1):
The Goal of a New World Order, Shoghi Effendi. The Unfoldment of World Civilization, Shoghi Effendi. Security for a Failing World, Stanwood Cobb.
For (2):
Pamphlet—Bahá’í Teachings on Economics—(compilation of Economics Committee of N.S.A.)
Bahá’í Magazine, Vol. 13.
Bahá’í Scriptures.
Some Answered Questions, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, Esslemont.
Further References:
Economic Organization in the New World Order, Haney (Bahá’í Magazine, Vol. 24, pp. 298-302).
The Supreme Affliction, Lunt. (loc.cit. Vol. 23, pp. 97-132.)
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
To state the problem in all its various aspects; and then to consider each aspect in the light of the Bahá’í teachings.
POINTS TO STRESS AND DEVELOP:
(1) Main features of economic disorder —extremes of poverty and wealth—starvation amidst plenty; universal unemployment; economic class struggle—disharmony between capital and labor—strikes; insecurity for the aged, the disabled, the orphans; instability of international trade and finance.
REFERENCES:
Goal of a New World Order—pp. 10-16.
Unfoldment of World Civilization—pp. 28-31.
Security for a Failing World—Chap. 14, The New Economic State.
(2) Main features of Bahá’í Economic Order:
- a. Spiritual nature of economic problem. Bahá’í Scriptures—par. 831.
- b. Institution of Storehouse or House of Finance—cornerstone of the economic life of each community. Pamphlet on Economics—pp. 9 and 10; or, Bahá’í Magazine, Vol. 13, pp. 227, 231. Bahá’í Scriptures—par. 831.
- c. Graduated Income Taxes limiting excessive fortunes.
Some Answered Questions, p. 314.
Bahá’í Scriptures, par. 666, 667.
Pamphlet on Economics, pp. 5 and 6.
- d. Profit Sharing in Industry.
Bahá’í Scriptures, par. 669, 670.
Some Answered Questions, pp. 315, 316.
Pamphlet on Economics, p. 5.
- e. Voluntary Giving.
Bahá’í Scriptures, par. 754.
Pamphlet on Economics, pp. 7, 8.
- f. Work incumbent on All.
Bahá’í Scriptures, par. 259-261.
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, pp. 168, 169.
- g. Inheritance of Wealth.
Pamphlet on Economics, pp. 6, 7.
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 172.
- h. A World Super-State.
Goal of a New World Order, pp. 16-28.
Bahá’í Scriptures, par. 669, 761, 762.
FINAL COMMENTS:
The introduction and conclusion are important. The opening paragraph should immediately strike and focus the attention. The concluding paragraph should knit all preceding parts together and give a feeling of completion and finality.
PATHS OF UNITY
FARRUCK IOAS
AIM:
To consider that religion is the only force that can bring about a permanent result in unifying the world and to show how the Bahá’í Faith is the only religion that is prepared to accomplish World Unity.
[Page 493]
REFERENCES:
1. The Goal of a New World Order, by Shoghi Effendi.
2. Foundations of World Unity, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
3. World Order, Feb., 1936, "Oneness of Mankind,” by Hussein Rabbani.
4. World Order, August, 1936, “Divine Plan,” by G. A. Shook.
5. World Order, June, 1935, “Unity of the World,” by Guglielmo Ferrero.
6. A Christian Sociology for Today, Chapter "A World Order,” by M. B. Reckitt.
7. The Grand Strategy of Evolution, Chapter "The New Leviathan,” by W. Patten.
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Briefly consider the need of world unity from the standpoint of the material factors that science has provided to bring the world together geographically. Show the weaknesses of existing efforts of collective security such as sciences, politics, economics, and art. Present the spiritual basis prescribed in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh for establishing world unity.
POINTS TO STRESS AND DEVELOP:
1. The unity of mankind must first be established in the hearts of people before it can take definite form. Religion is the only force that can create in the individual a true consciousness of the oneness of mankind.
2. The conception of world unity implies the cooperation of diverse social groups and not the uniformity sought by advocates of the Utopian vision.
3. The need of an order through which unified humanity might function.
THE MEANING OF WORLD ORDER
FRED ASCAH
AIM:
To stress the requirements and necessity for a World Government. To find in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh the only practical plan which fulfills all requirements.
REFERENCES:
1. John Strachey, The Coming Struggle for Power. "Nationalism,” chap. 4; "Communism,” chap. 19.
2. Fred Henderson, The Case for Socialism.
3. Beverly Nichols, Cry Havoc.
4. H. G. Wells, Outline of History, chap. 37, section 5; chap. 39, sections 9-13.
5. J. E. Esslemont, The New Era, chap. 9.
6. G. O. Latimer, World Order Magazine, May, 1936. “A World Community.”
7. Shoghi Effendi, The Unfoldment of World Civilization, “The Future World Commonwealth.”
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Demonstrate how our disunited governments and narrow nationalisms led us into the World War, with subsequent economic upheavals. Stress the present world-wide decay of democracy, morals and religion. Outline some of the various peace, governmental, and economic plans designed to alleviate man’s distress—none with a universal appeal except the Bahá’í divine plan. Impress an ordered world as given in references 5 and 7. Show in our apparently slow, but steady growth, a sign of great strength.
BAHÁ’Í YOUTH AND THE WORLD TODAY
EDITH DOROTHEA MORRELL
AIM:
To distinguish the Bahá’í Faith from other Youth Movements, and to realize that it is the Bahá’í Cause that is the fulfillment of the religious, economic and social needs of young people today.
REFERENCES:
1. In Defense Of Modern Youth, by Ellis Chadbourne, Part II, IV, VI.
2. Wake Up And Live, by Dorothea Brande, chapter I.
3. The Shape Of Things To Come, by H. G. Wells, Book V, p. 381-431.
4. The Churchman, November 15, 1936, “Lost: Grandfather’s Faith.”
5. Security For A Failing World, by Stanwood Cobb, chap. IV, XV, XVII.
6. World Order, September, 1936, The Unfoldment of World Civilization.
7. Bahá’í Youth, July 1936–"Nobility.”
[Page 494]
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Consider the concept of life as expressed by the youth today and show how the Bahá’í Youth maintains a state of balance in a frenzied world.
QUESTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT:
1. What does Bahá’u’lláh stress as the fundamental basis for order and balance?
2. Funk & Wagnall state that the balance of power can be attained not by a single nation nor a few nations but by a community of nations. Show how the Bahá’í teachings correspond to this.
3. What do you think of the plans set forth by H. G. Wells as the only possible world-wide reconstruction?
4. What, as a Bahá’í youth, would be the basis of your security in religion, economics and society.
5. Show how the lack of poise or balance in the individual comes from having no objective in life.
6. Give some concrete examples of the breaking down of Christian institutions.
7. Consider the artist and the fundamental steps he takes to create strength or power in his art and compare them to the Bahá’í concept of life.
- 1. the will to create.
- 2. a sense of values.
- 3. application.
- 4. harmony or balance.
- 5. strength or power.
P. S. All outside reading obtainable in the public libraries.
HUMANITY’S COMING OF AGE
MARGUERITE REIMER
AIM:
To consider the material and spiritual progress of humanity and to show its collective attainment.
REFERENCES:
H. Overstreet—We Move in New Directions. Foreword and chaps. 1-9-11-13.
H. A. Gibbons—Nationalism and Internationalism, chap. 6.
A. W. Martin—Seven Great Bibles, Introduction, pp. xviii.
Shoghi Effendi—Unfoldment of World Civilization.
- The Future World Commonwealth, p. 15-16.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá—Bahá’í Scriptures, pars. 639-917-920.
- Bahá’í Peace Program, p. 5.
- Some Answered Questions, p. 193-4.
Bahá’u’lláh—Gleanings, p. 76-77.
Thornton Chase—The Bahá’í Revelation, p. 43-47.
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE:
Change is a law of life—Everything goes in cycles.
The source of all knowledge is the Word of the Manifestation and by this Word Mankind progresses materially and spiritually. Until this time our unfoldment has been within a limited range but now we have the advantage of our attainments collectively. We have reached maturity and when we apply the principles for this day to our problems the results will be harmony.
QUESTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT:
1. Show how evolution is the underlying principle of the new age both materially and spiritually.
2. What references to this age do we find in the books of former Prophets?
3. What evidences are there that this age is the consummation of all former ages?
4. How does the new age, although in the springtime of its development, represent the maturity of civilization?
5. Why cannot man progress materially without first having spiritual attainment?
6. What is the difference between religion and theology?
7. What has prevented religious unity?
8. What is the Center of humanity’s collective maturity today?
AN OPEN LETTER
BY JOSEPH McK. NOYES, A.S. ’38
The following letter appeared in the Syracuse Daily Orange, daily paper of Syracuse University, on Tuesday, February 23, 1937, under the title “Bahá’í Movement”:
To the Editor:
Since I have been in college I have noted with interest the thought and activity toward peace in this and many other universities. Altho many plans and ideas have been offered, one great world-wide movement has been practically unknown here.
This plan, the Bahá’í movement, has been known to me for about six years. During this time I have learned to believe in its possibilities and to credit its claims; but only within the last week have I realized the true purpose and practicability of it.
The theme of this movement was most simply expressed by its founder more than seventy years ago, "Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country; rather, let him glory in this that he loves his kind.” Your first impression of this movement may be that its aims and teachings are too idealistic to ever be realized. I had that feeling until very recently.
Whereas most of the peace plans that we know can fail because of the shortcomings of "human nature,” the dynamic power of this movement is great enough to change human nature for the better. This same power has done so in the past, and “history repeats itself.” This cause is world-wide. Already its followers are numbered not in thousands, but in millions.
It is more than just a movement or "another religion.” It is a divine plan that is the climax of all previous religious teachings. A stable and practical World Unity is its ultimate goal. To achieve this, some of its outstanding features and principles are: Social and economic security; elimination of prejudices of all kinds; adoption of a universal language; the independent investigation of truth; agreement between Science and Religion; universal education; equality between men and women; and a strong international House of Justice. Upon this firm foundation, lasting world peace and unity can become a reality.
But this letter is not written to show the merits of this movement. I am trying to express the sincerity with which I believe in this movement as the solution to our peace and social problems, in the hope that you will investigate it. There are many books on this subject in our own and the city library. Others can be borrowed from interested persons and believers on this campus.
Many of you heard and met Mr. Mountfort Mills at the International Relations club luncheon on Feb. 11. He has been a believer in this Cause for many years and came to Syracuse in its interests. There are two other students on this campus who believe in this movement as I do, and who have authorized me to mention them in this communication —namely, Ned Blackmer, F.A. ’38; and Virginia Setz, L.A. '37. It is a cause worthy of your investigation, and of your support if you can feel its significance. We solicit your interest—or at least your curiosity.
I know it to be worthy of my support; I pray that my support may be worthy of it.
————————
WHY I AM A BAHÁ’Í
When I was a little girl I went with my family to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa, Palestine. He was so kind to me. Even then I felt that here was someone who was so strong that nothing could sway him. Later I read Bahá’u’lláh’s writings and in them I felt that same assurance and strength.
The logic of the spiritual teachings of Bahá’u’lláh appealed to me because for the first time I found spiritual teachings that were facts rather than suppositions of so-called “mysteries.” . . . The World Order program, which entails every aspect of the Bahá’í Faith, is undeniably for this age.
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The Bahá’í Faith first attracted me because of its
universality, its applicability to
present-day problems, and because, like the
darkie in the song, "I want some oh my
Hebbun right here on earth.” Now,
without the faith and knowledge Bahá’u’lláh
gives me, life would be but an aimless
wandering.
* * *
In a world of chaos and prejudice the need of Faith is a great one. When one finds the haven of a Faith and impelling love, also science in accord with religion, racial understanding, and an answer to life’s tedious problems—this is the Bahá’í Faith. I am a Bahá’í because I know that Bahá’u’lláh is the prophet of this day and that His guidance leads to a useful and happy life.
* * *
Feeling the need of a universal religion capable of meeting modern problems, I completely accept the Bahá’í Teachings, the Bahá’í administration of justice, its scientific outlook, tolerance and altruism. I believe the Bahá’í Faith is the foundation of the world order toward which we all look in the future.
The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh leads the trend of modern thought yet conforms with the highest ideals of tradition. It solves all problems, individual or universal, and through it one can attain the real understanding of true unity and fellowship. That is why I am a Bahá’í.
* * *
Why am I a Bahá’í? Because the Bahá’í Faith appeals to reason as well as spirit; because it unites harmoniously the material and spiritual life of the group as well as the individual; because it is the only means of bringing humanity from chaos into order; and because it has given to me spiritual poise and certainty in a world shaken to its spiritual foundations.
* * *
The shining of the Sun of Truth, or the Word of God, revealed by Bahá’u’lláh will bring forth Bahá’ís just as inevitably as the shining of the material sun of the present springtime will bring plants and blossoms in its own season. I am, then, irresistibly a Bahá’í because Bahá’u’lláh is the Cause of resuscitation for today.
