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INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ’Í CONGRESS DAY AT THE PANAMA-PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION
The Bahá’í Movement—A universal movement having for its purpose the bestowal of economic, social and spiritual unity upon the world of humanity.
A SIGNAL event in Bahá’í annals was the convoking of the First International Bahá’í Congress in the spring of 1915 in the city of San Francisco.
Although initiated by the San Francisco Bahá’í Assembly, the Congress was under the official auspices of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
The delegates assembled from various sections of the United States, Canada, and Hawaii. The World War, unfortunately, prevented any representation from abroad, but many peace and educational organizations of other countries sent congratulatory communications indicating their participation in spirit.
By reason of the general interest in the subject of Universal Peace, the evening sessions, held in the Exposition Auditorium in San Francisco’s Civic Center, drew large audiences not only from visitors to the Exposition but also from residents of the San Francisco Bay area.
The speakers, who had been selected by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá because of their long and eminent service in the Bahá’í field, were men of note in their chosen professions and in the business life of their respective communities.
The Congress was convened on the 19th of April and adjourned on the 25th; but the culminating episode of the week was the official reception on April 24th—International Bahá’í Congress Day—tendered by the Exposition Directorate, and the presentation of a commemorative medallion, in recognition of the Bahá’í program for Universal Peace.
Festival Hall, scene of the exercises, was set like a gem amidst the lavishly planted South Gardens of the Exposition. The myriads of sweet-scented flowers in their witchery of color, the masses of exotic shrubbery, the cool fountains and pools, the avenues of palms, the trees of many lands, the velvety green hills of the Presidio, and the mountains beyond the sparkling blue waters of the bay, made a picture of incomparable beauty in the bright California sunshine on that memorable morning.
The delegates and friends were met by a deputation from the Exposition Directorate and escorted to the meeting-place.
Impressive, though brief, were the ceremonies that followed—the presentation and acceptance of a "symbol,” the bonds of mutual understanding and goodwill strengthened—and the first International Bahá’í Congress Day had passed into history.
But so inseparably linked with the Exposition had been the days of the Congress, and so compatible with Bahá’í aspirations were the motivating aims of the Exposition builders, there is due them—and here proffered—an appreciative acknowledgment of their high-minded objectives and enviable accomplishment. Perhaps no encomium more felicitous could be set forth than the oft-quoted interpretation from the pen of the distinguished architect, Louis Christian Mullgardt, F.A.I.A., member of the Architectural Commission of the Exposition:
"Millions of people from all parts of the world have made pilgrimage to this realm of phantasy, but many thousands more are
Photographed and prepared for reproduction by Gabriel Moulin, San Francisco, California.
Festival Hall
Panama-Pacific International Exposition
San Francisco, 1915
Scene of Ceremonies Honoring the
First International Bahá’í Congress
[Page 799]
on their way, determined
to bask in the radiance of Good Will toward
All Mankind, which this Mecca of Peace,
Enlightenment, Beauty, and Inspiration
for a better and greater future gives
forth. Its purposeful influence is
destined to serve perpetually a
beneficent cause in the furtherance
of unified international humanitarianism after the
ephemeral vision of this Phantom Kingdom
has vanished.”
INTERNATIONAL BAHA’I CONGRESS DAY
PANAMA-PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION
CEREMONIES
FESTIVAL HALL, EXPOSITION GROUNDS
SATURDAY MORNING, APRIL 24, 1915, AT 10 O’CLOCK
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President of the Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dr. Frederick W. D’Evelyn
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CONGRESS
Dr. Frederick W. D’Evelyn, Chairman
Mrs. Helen S. Goodall
Mrs. Ella Goodall Cooper
Mrs. Georgia Grayson Ralston
Mr. William C. Ralston, Secretary
Miss Bijou S. Straun, Assistant Secretary and Reporter
Chairman of the Day . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .Mr. Charles Mason Remey of Washington, D. C.
Representing the Exposition Directorate
The Chairman: Members and Friends of the First International Bahá’í Congress:
We have assembled this morning by invitation of the President and Directors of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, who have honored us by designating this as “International Bahá’í Congress Day” in their official program. The Honorable John A. Britton and the Honorable A. W. Scott, Jr., representing the Exposition Directorate, are here to welcome us.
I have the honor to present the Honorable John A. Britton.
PRESENTATION ADDRESS
HON. JOHN A. BRITTON
One of the particularly pleasant things we Directors have to do is to recognize true worth wherever we find it to exist.
It may be accepted as a truism that those who are building foundations for the betterment of the human race, and dealing with the social and economic problems that confront the world, are doing quite as much for the perpetuation of the betterment of mankind as do those who construct their monuments of steel, of granite, or of marble.
We of the Exposition "family” have been
hard at work for the past three or four
years erecting on these beautiful grounds
monuments that represent the handiwork of
man in the arts, the crafts and the sciences.
These we have builded not so much for their
artistic and architectural beauty as for their
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lasting effects upon the
human race; primarily, however, to
direct the attention of
those who will gather here, from the four
corners of the earth, to the educational
advantages, for the masses, to be derived from
an exposition like this; and, more especially
still, for the benefits to be gained from the
coming together of groups such as yours,
whose whole-souled purpose, as I read it, is
the unification and solidarity of the peoples
of the world; and, further, to produce an
effect far-reaching, not for today, but for
all time to come.
Here on the peaceful western shores of the United States looking out into what might be termed the vast eternity across the Pacific to the Orient, we are mindful, and very mindful, of the horrible devastation that this day is witnessing in the Old World, where civilizations of many centuries’ duration are being wiped away, where men are clutching at one another’s throats and destroying the last vestiges of that love of humanity which should concern us all.
And to you who represent that great propaganda of peace—that peace which the Master of the world, whoever He may be to each of us, has enjoined upon us as a necessary part of true education, true refinement, and true growth within this universe —to you who have that solemn duty in hand, and who so seriously and full-mindedly and intelligently are seeking to impress it upon your fellow-men—to you, we of the Exposition “family” extend a welcome into our "family,” inasmuch as we are trying in our modest way, on this western rim, to be the proponents of every endeavor that contributes toward the elevating and betterment of mankind.
We have lived and worked in vain, ladies and gentlemen, if the marvels you will see in this Exposition—our palaces, our gardens, our illustrative sculptures, our exhibits—are to count for naught but the mere passing of a dream; and if they shall not accomplish the helpfulness to mankind that we expect, then we shall have labored absolutely in vain.
But I have that faith in the intelligence of the human race, and in the ultimate goodness to be achieved by earnest and diligent work, that what we have been doing, and what you are striving to do, that the seed sown, and the foundation laid, such as you have laid, will some day—it may not be for years—evolve that supertype of men and women who will have but one ideal in life: that the race which is come shall be a better one than ours because of your efforts to make it so.
Therefore, in that recognition which we desire to give for your universal efforts, I have the proud privilege and honor, on behalf of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Company, of presenting to you a symbol1 of that appreciation. And let me say to you, in all honesty and candor of mind, that of the many times I, in my official capacity, have given recognition to those who have participated in our affairs, none has ever afforded me the extreme pleasure that is mine today in conferring it upon you who represent so much to humanity.
The Chairman: I feel, friends, that everyone here has been profoundly moved by the wholehearted manner in which we have been welcomed and honored by Mr. Britton on behalf of the Exposition Company.
The response will be made by the President of the Congress.
I present Dr. Frederick W. D’Evelyn.
ADDRESS OF ACCEPTANCE
{{center|DR. FREDERICK W. D’EVELYN
Were I to yield to the instinctive promptings of the moment I would dismiss this meeting that we might disperse in silence, cherishing the words Director Britton has uttered. That which comes from the heart goes to the heart, and I know I voice but feebly the thoughts of all present when I say that a sympathetic chord has been touched in the heart of each one of us. Your words, Director Britton, shall re-echo over a greater arena than you can imagine.
On behalf of the Bahá’ís here assembled, and of the Bahá’ís throughout the world, on
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1 The Exposition commemorative medallion.
Bronze Medallion
Presented to the First International Bahá’í Congress
[Page 802]
behalf of that humanity
which is looking
upward, I accept this “symbol” with deep
appreciation and sincere gratitude.
I regret my inability to amplify the text Director Britton has so aptly outlined for us. But the more frequently we visit this Exposition, the more persistently and irresistibly will the truth be borne home that its dominant appeal is for a recognition of the intercommunion and the interdependence of the peoples of the world.
Today these facts are crystallized with an urgency and a significance before which speech itself is dumb, and silence is the only tribute it appears meet to offer. This simple ceremony, so interpreted, carries with it a relationship to the oncoming future that we, bound by the fretted limitations of the present, seem reluctant even to concede.
Within a few days our western eyes will be privileged to gaze upon that hallowed relic, the Liberty Bell, whose sounding notes awoke the dawn of the natal day of this nation.
Time has enshrined those memories as a sacred heritage. No one people, however, expresses the fulness of humanity.
Symbolic of a broader measure is this humble “bronze,” the token of the birthmark divinity has predestined to herald, not merely the birth and the growth of a nation, but that universal manhood which a unified humanity alone can consummate.
Thus dedicated, this token shall start upon its mission.
It will travel to the land of the cradle song where shepherds watched their flocks by night. Carmel will learn of it. Nazareth will hear of it. And, as the courier speeds onward, the rippling waves of the “Tideless Sea” shall sound in his ears, and his feet shall be moistened with the dews of Lebanon.
It will halt—aye, halt in the Most Great Prison,1 and there in its triumph the forty years of servitude will become as a dream in the night.
It will voyage to India, where the mysterious Parsi, the haughty Brahman, the devout Buddhist, will become one as they harken to its tidings.
To China, to Japan, to Africa, to the Isles of the sea, to far-away ‘Ishqábád, it will be even as a star to the caravan.
To the broken brotherhood of Europe, to the Slav and the Teuton, the Muslim and the Allies, it will bespeak a better and a brighter day, a kindlier and a nobler kinship.
And, Sir, when at last its mission shall have been completed, it will return—to rest beneath that dome where humanity, unified, shall make mention of God: the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.2
The Liberty Bell in its mission sounded the liberty of a nation. This token in its larger mission heralds the freedom of a world. That may seem an assertion too broad, a pronouncement too great; but it could not be otherwise, for its bears the Bahá’í message of unity—not that human beings are equal, but that the crown of humanity is vouchsafed to all alike. In that birthmark there is nothing inferior, nothing superior. It is the reality of man, the reality that is the throne of the divine Manifestation.
To every man it is granted to look within himself and to see that reality powerful, mighty, supreme.
The Bahá’í teaching is that such is man’s right of self-appraisement; moreover, to allow that right to his fellow-man is to admit the possession of a common reality which connotes the divinity of unity and the unity of divinity.
Seek not, accept not, any compromise for this attitude, and there is established at once and forever that relationship which shall annul geographical boundaries, technical barriers, racial prejudices, tribal theologies, and the many expedients that have been and are deterrents of human solidarity.
This is the Bahá’í message in the concrete. In the oneness of unity, in the divinity of reality, it shall make for the healing of the nations.
I know you rejoice with us, Director Britton, that on this occasion we are able to send forth, from the “City of the Golden Gate,” this token, the symbol of that unity which shall be effective when the reality of man shall have been acknowledged as the throne of the divine Manifestation. This is the sole
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1 ‘Akká, Palestine.
2 The Bahá’í Universal House of Worship being erected in Wilmette, Illinois, U. S. A.
[Page 803]
resource of the world;
the honor and continuity thereof depend upon it.
Director Britton, it is impossible to convey to you how keenly we value your favorable comparison of our "title deeds” in the recognition you have conferred upon us. In our parallel endeavors toward the enduring betterment of the human race I pray we may not fall short of your high estimate.
The Chairman: Friends, as we have now become members of the Exposition “family,” I trust that while fully sensible of the honor we shall not be forgetful of the responsibilities.
The acceptance of the commemorative medallion by our President brought to a close the formal part of these ceremonies. I should like, however, to call upon Mrs. Mary Hanford Ford to address us informally. As a Bahá’í, Mrs. Ford has for many years tirelessly served our Cause. She is a well-known art critic and lecturer, and is visiting the Exposition in a professional capacity.
I take special pleasure in presenting Mrs. Ford of New York City.
THE SPIRIT OF THE EXPOSITION
MRS. MARY HANFORD FORD
I cannot tell you how it thrills me to stand before you in this wonderful moment and try to accentuate a little the suggestion made in the inspiring words already spoken, as to why we should be gathered in this beautiful place, which today is the most beautiful in America, and I am not sure but that it is the most beautiful in the world!
I came to this Exposition from long wanderings on the other side of the water, where I had studied the masterpieces of art and sculpture, and had stood under the arches of famous cathedrals, and had asked myself: Is there anything left to be done in the realm of architecture? Then I remembered that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in speaking of the divine civilization that is to be, had said there would be a new art and a new architecture —a fusion of all the beauty of the past, but new.
Now, what do I find here? A new architecture—a blending of ancient styles, but new; for the Byzantine and the Romanesque, the Gothic and the Moorish, have clasped hands with the classic Greek and Roman, and have been transmuted into forms of such beauty as to convey to every observer an inkling of the glories of the architecture of the future.
Let me ask you: Is not the very creation of this magnificent Exposition—by a city that only nine years ago had been razed to the ground by earthquake and fire—the most convincing evidence of the mighty spiritual force that is today undeniably penetrating and transforming all the physical forces of life? I know of no greater miracle than that a city which had been destroyed should within nine years create the most enchanting spectacle of the entire world!
For a moment let us reflect upon our vaunted modern progress and what it means.
The rapid and momentous changes of the last sixty or seventy years perhaps find their beginning in the Cause we represent. We of the West pride ourselves on our advanced theories, on our democracy, on our governmental reforms, on our insistence upon equal rights for men and women. We believe that these are western ideas and we say to the East: Why do you not learn from us? Why are you sleeping in your dreams of the past? Why do you not awaken and emulate our energy?
Yet as long ago as 1844, when there was
no discussion of brotherhood, nor
any movement for equal suffrage,
a young Persian,
known as the Báb, began to preach in the
city of Shíráz—think of it!—to
Muḥammadans who in their fanatical
prejudice believed that there was
only one true religion,
and that Muḥammad was the only true
Prophet of God. The Báb announced to
them the dawn of a New Day, and exhorted
them to prepare for the advent of a divine
Messenger who would be the founder of a
new civilization. He taught them that
Religion is one, that the different religions
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have sprung from the
same Source; that
mankind is one; that men and women should
be regarded as equal; that the women of
Persia, who for centuries had been enslaved,
should come out of their seclusion, take off
their veils, and demand and be entitled to
the same prerogatives possessed by the men.
Is it any wonder that they could not comprehend Him? Is it any wonder that He was persecuted? When we study His dramatic and astonishing career, and consider His youth, we marvel how He dared do it.
The Báb was but twenty-five years of age when He began His ministry. In those days there was no wireless, no telegraphic system, no railway. Nevertheless, during the six years preceding His martyrdom, His words had spread throughout the length and breadth of Persia, and the soil of that country was drenched with the blood of thousands of His adherents who had suffered death rather than deny their faith.
Whenever I speak of progress and the equality of men and women I am impelled to relate the story of the first martyr in the path of equal suffrage, who was the most notable feminine disciple of the Báb-the immortal poetess Qurratu’l-‘Ayn. Lovely beyond compare, one of the most gifted and brilliant women of Persia, she removed her veil and publicly went about expounding the doctrines of the Báb. It is easy to understand how this heresy alarmed the Mullás, and they remonstrated and pleaded with her; but failing in their attempt to dissuade her from pursuing such an unorthodox course they then threatened her with death. Scornfully she defied them. Finally they determined to do away with her, and secretly one night she was taken to a garden in the suburbs of the city and strangled. Her body was hastily thrown into a dry well and covered with stones to conceal the crime. Today that spot is sacred to the memory of Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, not only on account of the beauty of her face, her rare intellectual attainments, the fervor of her eloquence, and the nobility of her character, but perchance because of the peculiar signification of her name—Consolation of the Eyes—and pilgrims walk many miles to her burial-place, believing that their ailments, especially if their eyes be afflicted or blinded, will be healed as they pray near the dust of her grave.
But I must not dwell upon the tragic tale of this heroic woman.
Nor shall I recount the details of the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh as the Promised One of the Báb, since the main incidents of His life are doubtless familiar to you. His was a message of peace and brotherhood:
Ye are all leaves of one tree and drops
- of one sea.
This handful of dust, the world, is one
- home: let it be in unity.
Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892 after forty years of exile, imprisonment and bitter persecution, but notwithstanding prison walls His declaration had been made to the world. You will recall it was from the prison fortress of ‘Akká that He had sent the now famous Epistles to the Kings to the crowned heads and rulers of the earth, admonishing them to be concerned with the welfare of their subjects, to free from their fetters the slaves and the oppressed, to adopt justice for their standard, and to establish the Most Great Peace.
Have you ever pondered over the many surprising political upheavals that occurred in the nineteenth century? Do you think it was an accident that in 1861 the Czar emancipated the serfs? That from 1861 to 1865 the United States was in the throes of the Civil War, which resulted in slavery being abolished and forever prohibited within our boundaries? Do you think it was an accident that in 1848 began that long and tremendous struggle terminating in the freedom and unity of Italy? Remember, too, that Persia—tyrannized and tormented Persia—secured a constitution in 1907; that Turkey in 1908 won a constitutional government; and China, that stronghold of the oldest regime, is now a republic!
What lies behind these happenings?
Friends, there is always a reason for such stupendous events. Do we not find it in the successive counsels of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? Their utterances, subjectively, have quickened the heart of humanity.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, while visiting in America a few years ago, commented on the fact
Frederick W. D’Evelyn, M.B.C.M. (Edin.)
Member of the Ways and Means Committee of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
President of the First International Bahá’í Congress
that between 1860 and 1865 we had instituted a splendid reform when we knocked the shackles from chattel slavery. But in this day there is need for another vital reform: we must destroy industrial slavery. Does not that thought naturally ally us with this unique Exposition which so palpably portrays the progress of the age?
You have seen at the Scott Street entrance the huge Fountain of Energy symbolizing the victory of man’s directed strength over the difficulties of nature. Opposite, and dominating the Esplanade, rises the slender shaft designed by the architect Symmes Richardson—the Column of Progress1—surmounted by the figure of the Adventurous Bowman shooting across the Pacific to the shores of the Orient. What is it the archer typifies? Is it not the incredible wireless that is permeating the universe, not alone by the outer medium of the ether, but by the mysterious inner mechanism of mind to mind, and heart to heart, and unquestionably uniting mankind despite the war? Before you leave these grounds I wish you would walk through the Peristyle Promenade of the Palace of Fine Arts. The master-architect of that ensemble, Bernard R. Maybeck, undoubtedly was inspired, for the edifice he created, while classic Roman-Greek in simplicity, is at the same time altogether original in conception—a peerless temple of unrivaled loveliness. In its stately Colonnade hovers the breath of the cloisters of old—the exquisite cloisters of Italy, the heavenly inclosure of Monreale in Sicily. You will sense the quiet converse of Plato’s Academy, the wisdom of Confucius, the purity of Zoroaster. You will call to mind the Moorish and Christian civilizations of the eleventh and twelfth centuries that produced
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1Sculptors: Hermon A. MacNeil and Isidor Konti.
[Page 806]
such noble mosques
and cathedrals. Ah, you
will hear, also, the wise and lovable
St. Francis of Assisi bidding his
listeners be happy rejoicing in the Lord.
You will pause under the majestic Dome of the Rotunda for that whispering of the Muse which presages the world of tomorrow, and you will envisage our continent transformed into a garden like unto the haunting charm of this "Dream City.”
As you wend your way, meditatively, round the crescent of the Colonnade, you will fancy you hear voices—voices of the New Day—gently but insistently summoning you to that universal love which is eternal. Your hearts will be strangely stirred and will overflow with that love which must create beauty because it is so joyous, so glad to give, so sensitive it cannot tolerate injustice, or misery that can be relieved; and you will yearn to see your fellow-beings released from the bonds of poverty and from the menace of war.
Friends, in view of the discouraging international outlook, you may think such idealism is not translatable into actuality. But let us not despair. Do we not know that portentous changes are destined for this era of awakening? May we not, then, look confidently to the Day when the promises of the Prophets shall be fulfilled and the children of men dwell together in brotherhood and peace?
In that Day, when love which is born of the Infinite shall hold sway, the inhumanities of man shall be swept away, and Justice shall reign supreme upon this earth!
The Chairman: We are grateful to Mrs. Ford for her inspirational and instructive discourse.
Another friend, a member of the national Bahá’í Executive Board, who has come from Boston to attend this Congress, will favor us with a few words.
It is a distinct privilege to present our esteemed and genial co-worker, Mr. William H. Randall.
THE “CITY OF PEACE”—A SYMBOL OF UNITY
MR. WILLIAM H. RANDALL
This gracious reception has deeply touched us and I am extremely glad for the opportunity to express to Mr. Britton and Mr. Scott how greatly we appreciate their having taken us right into the heart of this matchless Exposition, and I assure them we bring to that heart the love of humanity and the highest vision with which God has endowed us.
Even before we had arrived in San Francisco we knew we were to enter the melting-pot of the East and the West whence all emerge as brothers, for as we boarded the ferry at the Oakland pier and gazed across the bay we beheld the greeting: CALIFORNIA WELCOMES THE WORLD1—a paean of brotherhood!
As I strolled in the Exposition gardens an hour ago it seemed to me that Aladdin must have stood out there with his lamp and just wished that there should immediately appear the most marvelous city the world has ever seen, the acme of structural symmetry and scientific perfection.
This “Jewel City” is a universal city, as every nation has contributed to its development. In addition, it reflects the sacrifice and the love of San Francisco and California for humanity, because in a time of war you have steadfastly toiled to build this amazing “City of Peace” that it might herald to the wide world the peace in the hearts of the American people, and exemplify the blessings of peace. Furthermore, this magical “City of Light” has been reared upon the shores of the greatest ocean—the ocean named for peace! Assuredly the Golden Gate is the hope of humanity.
The contribution that the nations have to offer one another is not their commercialism. It is the wealth of their spiritual culture. Prejudice—religious, social and racial—has apparently choked the arteries of the body of humanity, impeding the stream of that
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1The greeting, in enormous electrically lighted letters, placed by the Exposition Company high on the Union Ferry Station, facing the incoming boats.
[Page 807]
love and
wisdom which flow from the Great
Power of all.
The Bahá’ís are seeking to break down these barriers—every barrier of prejudice, every race hatred, every religious misunderstanding—that through the organism of humanity may course the love and the bounty that the Creator has in store for us. If we but lift our eyes and our hearts we shall receive the gift.
Over sixty years ago Bahá’u’lláh, arising in Persia in a time of moral decadence and corruption, restored to man that gift whereby he may become acquainted with the knowledge of God. As a matter of fact, he has never been deprived of that gift, it being the bestowal of every Prophet. It is the very continuity of prophetic vision; but man has not received it, persisting in his isolation from God, although God has not been isolated from man.
I do not intend to make a speech, but briefly I should like to emphasize the necessity for unity. A simple illustration will suffice.
Every kingdom of existence is governed by the law of unity, and thrives and grows and reveals its hidden secrets in conformity with this law.
There are no eight-hour labor days for the sun. The sun has no night—it keeps right on shining! It shines because it loves to shine, and there is neither effort nor complaint. Has anyone ever heard of a sunbeam making a complaint? As every atom of the sun is in affinity with every other atom, there is absolute unity, and the whole sheds a radiance that is a perfect conflagration!
The sun pours out this energy, imparting life to every world dependent upon it. And that is precisely what God is doing for us even though we be unaware of His magnanimity.
If we could only understand unity, we should be aflame with love, and there would be no sickness, no poverty, no conflict, as we should be harnessed solely to the divine energy and our activities would be tantamount to our joys.
Nature knows unity. The stones know it. Are we not better than the stones? Yet we have separated ourselves from the very principle and power that would enable us to attain that unity which would assure us the joys of life.
God did not make this earth and a few stars and then cease from His labors. He has made worlds within worlds, mysteries within mysteries, and the key that will unlock these worlds and these mysteries, and disclose to us the knowledge of earth and of heaven, is the key of unity.
Unity—the very core of the Bahá’í Revelation! From that core, even as rays from the sun, the light of this New Day radiates to the entire race—the light of the basic principles upon which unity depends: the solidarity or oneness of mankind, and the fundamental oneness of Religion.
God in His singleness did not create a universe that could be other than one. If we rise to this vision, if we cease being centered in self and turn our eyes to that sublime center which is God, we shall realize that we were intended to be a brotherhood, not antagonistic races, colors, or nations. Is it more commendable to love the nation we call our nation, or to love humanity from which all nations emanate and in which all nations merge?
As I have stated, the gift of the knowledge of God has been the beneficence of every Prophet, but man has wittingly ignored it, feeling he could do better “going it alone,” that his individual interest outweighed that for which God had pre-determined him. But when we awaken to the cosmic vision and acquire a race-deep consciousness, we discover that submission to the law of God entails benefits transcending any conception of which the human mind is capable.
Three years ago when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited California He spoke of San Francisco as being a city of singular freedom. How fitting, then, that it should be the setting for the First International Bahá’í Congress.
Freedom — the initial step toward the emancipation of self and the race; freedom from every prejudice, every limitation! Only thus may we amalgamate and become a coherent whole.
Bahá’u’lláh has given us the knowledge
of God, the knowledge of unity, and the
ability to express this unity in action.
Consequently, in every country,
the Bahá’ís in
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little groups
are striving for the welfare
and unity of their fellow men,
and by such means the Bahá’í
Movement is fast encircling the globe.
The secret of this success is the love of service, for when we begin to serve we begin to contact the Divine power that is patiently waiting to mold us into the image and likeness of God in which we were created.
In closing, may I say that the Bahá’í Movement is not a new religion. It is the spirit of all religions, "a new statement and a new demonstration of the power of God which is working for the education and the uplift of humanity.”
The Chairman: The concluding remarks on this never-to-be-forgotten occasion will be intrusted to our President, Dr. D’Evelyn.
CONCLUSION
BY DR. FREDERICK W. D’EVELYN
On behalf of the First International Bahá’í Congress and of the San Francisco Bahá’í Assembly, I desire to thank the honorable John A. Britton and the Honorable A. W. Scott, Jr., for their part in these ceremonies, as representatives of the Exposition Company, also for the cordial and unfailing coöperation accorded us by their offices during the period of preparation.
In truth, this is a day never to be forgotten.
It is no small boon that while Europe is at war the Bahá’ís are permitted to foregather in this "City of Peace” in the name of human brotherhood.
Our meeting has been but for a fleeting hour, yet its fragrance will forever linger as a precious memory. Its inner significances, as the years roll on, will constantly unfold, and the unity we exult in today shall be the heritage of countless generations to come.
Ere long the beauty of the wondrous palaces that now surround us will vanish; their being will become placeless, their story a recessional.
The seasons will repeat themselves. The tides of the ocean will ebb and flow through the portals of the Golden Gate. The days will dawn and the nights descend, and the peoples will depart and go their way.
But in this favored land there shall abide the spirit of unity, for we have the assurance that the seeds sown in this new springtide shall in the fulness of time bring forth their blessed fruit.
ALLÁH-U-ABHÁ!
