Bahá’í World/Volume 9/Present-Day Administration of the Bahá’í Faith
I
THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
1.
PRESENT-DAY ADMINISTRATION OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
BY HORACE HOLLEY
IT HAS been the general characteristic of religion that organization marks the interruption of the true spiritual influence and serves to prevent the original impulse from being carried into the world. The organization has invariably become a substitute for religion rather than a method or an instrument used to give the religion effect. The separation of peoples into different traditions unbridged by any peaceful or constructive intercourse has made this inevitable. Up to the present time, in fact, no Founder of a revealed religion has explicitly laid down the principles that should guide the administrative machinery of the Faith He has established.
In the Bahá’í Cause, the principles of world administration were expressed by Baha’u’llah, and these principles were developed in the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, more especially in His Will and Testament.
The purpose of this organization is to make possible a true and lasting unity among peoples of different races, classes, interests, characters, and inherited creeds. A close and sympathetic study of this aspect of the Bahá’í Cause will show that the purpose and method of Bahá’í administration is so perfectly adapted to the fundamental spirit of the Revelation that it bears to it the same relationship as body to soul. In character, the principles of Bahá’í administration represent the science of cooperation; in application, they provide for a new and higher type of morality world-wide in scope. In the clash and confusion of sectarian prejudice, the Bahá’í religion is impartial and sympathetic, offering a foundation upon which reconciliation can be firmly based. Amid the complex interrelations of governments, the religion stands absolutely neutral as to political purposes and entirely obedient to all recognized authority. It will not be overlooked by the student that Baha’u’llah is the only religious teacher making obedience to just governments and rulers a definite spiritual command.
In this brief analysis of the several features of the Bahá’í system of administration the purpose is rather to place in the hands of the believers themselves a convenient summary of the available instructions than to clarify this aspect of the teachings to the non-Bahá’í. Until one has made contact with the spirit of the Bahá’í teachings and desires to cooperate whole-heartedly with their purpose, the administrative phase of the Faith can have little real meaning or appeal.
At the time of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
the organization was fully defined but
not yet established among His followers.
The responsibility for carrying out the
instructions was placed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá upon
His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to whom was
assigned the function of "Guardian of the
Cause.” Obedience to the authority of the
Guardian was definitely enjoined upon all
Bahá’ís by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but this authority
carries with it nothing of an arbitrary or
personal character, being limited as to purpose
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The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
and method by the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Guardian unifies the efforts to bring into complete application those principles of world administration already clearly defined.
To assist the Guardian in his manifold responsibilities and duties and particularly in the promotion of the teaching work, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá provided for the appointment of a group of co-workers to be known as "The Hands of the Cause of God.” The appointment of this body is a function of the Guardian, and these from their own number are to elect nine persons who will be closely associated with the Guardian in the discharge of his duties. It is the function of the Guardian also to appoint his own successor, this appointment to be ratified by the nine Hands of the Cause.
It is the genius of the Bahá’í Faith that the principle underlying the administration of its affairs aims to improve the life and upbuild the character of the individual believer in his own local community, wherever it may be, and not to enhance the prestige of those relatively few who, by election or appointment, hold positions of higher authority. Bahá’í authority is measured by self-sacrifice and not by arbitrary power. This fundamental aim can be seen clearly on studying the significant emphasis which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá placed upon the local Bahá’í community. The local group, involving as it does men and women in all the normal activities and relations of life, is the foundation upon which tests the entire evolution of the Cause. The local Bahá’í community is given official recognition only after its number of adult declared believers has become nine or more. Up to this point, the community exists as a voluntary group of workers and students of the Cause.
In this connection, the word “community” is
not used in the sense of any locality,
exclusively Bahá’í in membership, nor of any
manner of living differing outwardly from
the general environment, such as has been
attempted by religionists and also members
of philosophic and economic movements in
the past. A Bahá’í community is a unity of
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minds and hearts, an association of people
entirely voluntary in character, established
upon a common experience of devotion to
the universal aims of Baha’u’llah and agreement
as to the methods by which these aims
can be advanced.
A Bahá’í community differs from other voluntary gatherings in that its foundation is so deeply laid and broadly extended that it can include any sincere soul. Whereas other associations are exclusive, in effect if not in intention, and from method if not from ideal, Bahá’í association is inclusive, shutting the gates of fellowship to no sincere soul. In every gathering there is latent or developed some basis of selection. In religion this basis is a creed limited by the historical nature of its origin; in politics this is party or platform; in economics this is a mutual misfortune or mutual power; in the arts and sciences this basis consists of special training or activity or interest. In all these matters, the more exclusive the basis of selection, the stronger the movement—a condition diametrically opposed to that existing in the Bahá’í Clause. Hence the Cause, for all its spirit of growth and progress, develops slowly as regards the numbers of its active adherents. For people are accustomed to exclusiveness and division in all affairs. The important sanctions have ever been warrants and justifications of division. To enter the Bahá’í religion is to leave these sanctions behind—an experience which at first invariably exposes one to new trials and sufferings, as the human ego revolts against the supreme sanction of universal love. The scientific must associate with the simple and unlearned, the rich with the poor, the white with the colored, the mystic with the literalist, the Christian with the Jew, the Muslim with the Parsee: and on terms removing the advantage of long established presumptions and privileges.
But for this difficult experience there are glorious compensations. Let us remember that art grows sterile as it turns away from the common humanity, that philosophy likewise loses its vision when developed in solitude, and that politics and religion never succeed apart from the general needs of mankind. Human nature is not yet known, for we have all lived in a state of mental, moral, emotional or social defense, and the psychology of defense is the psychology of inhibition. But the love of God removes fear; the removal of fear establishes the latent powers, and association with others in spiritual love brings these powers into vital, positive expression. A Bahá’í community is a gathering where this process can take place in this age, slowly at first, as the new impetus gathers force, more rapidly as the members become conscious of the powers unfolding the flower of unity among men.
Where the community is small and insignificant, in comparison with the population of the city or town, the first condition of growth is understanding of the Manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh, and the next condition is that of true humility. If these two conditions exist, the weakest soul becomes endowed with effective power in service to the Cause. The result of unity, in fact, is to share the powers and faculties of all with each.
The responsibility for and supervision of local Bahá’í affairs is vested in a body known as the Spiritual Assembly. This body (limited to nine members) is elected annually on April 21, the first day of Riḍván (the Festival commemorating the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh) by the adult declared believers of the community, the voting list being drawn up by the outgoing Spiritual Assembly. Concerning the character and functions of this body, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written as follows:
"It is incumbent upon everyone (every believer) not to take any step (of Bahá’í activity) without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person will act independently and, after his own judgment, will follow his own desire, and do harm to the Cause.
“The prime requisites for them that take
counsel together are purity of motive, radiance
of spirit, detachment from all else save
God, attraction to His divine fragrance, humility
and lowliness amongst His loved ones,
patience and long-suffering in difficulties and
servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should
they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes,
victory from the unseen Kingdom
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of Bahá shall be vouchsafed to them. In
this day, Assemblies of consultation are of
the greatest importance and a vital necessity.
Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory. The
members thereof must take counsel together in
such wise that no occasion for
ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be
attained when every member expresses with
absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth
forth his argument. Should anyone oppose,
he must on no account feel hurt, for not
until matters are fully discussed can the
right way be revealed. The shining spark of
truth cometh forth only after the clash of
differing opinions. If after discussion a
decision be carried unanimously, well and
good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of
opinion should arise, the majority of voices
must prevail.
"The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the Assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be non-existent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that Assembly be brought to naught.
“The second condition: They must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on high and ask aid from the realm of Glory. . . . Discussions must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor, the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Holy Word. Should they endeavor to fulfill these conditions the grace of the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them and that Assembly shall become the center of the divine blessings, and hosts of divine confirmation shall come to their aid, and they shall day by day receive a new effusion of spirit.”
The letters of Shoghi Effendi quote the fundamental instructions contained in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the character of Bahá’í administration, and give them definite application: “A careful study of Bahá’u’lláh’s and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets will reveal that other duties (besides teaching the Cause), no less vital to the interests of the Cause, devolve upon the elected representatives of the friends in every locality.
“They must endeavor to promote amity and concord amongst the friends and secure an active and whole-hearted cooperation for the service of the Cause.
“They must do their utmost to extend at all times the helping hand to the poor, the sick, the disabled, the orphan, the widow, irrespective of color, caste and creed.
"They must promote by every means in their power the material as well as spiritual enlightenment of youth, the means for the education of children; institute, whenever possible, Bahá’í educational institutions; organize and supervise their work, and provide the best means for their progress and development. . . .
“They must bend every effort to promote the interests of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (that is, House of Worship)1 and hasten the day when the work of this glorious Edifice2 will have been consummated.
“They must encourage and stimulate by every means at their command, through subscriptions, reports and articles, the development of the various Bahá’í magazines.
“They must undertake the arrangement of the regular meetings of the friends, the feasts and anniversaries, as well as the special gatherings designed to serve and promote the social, intellectual and spiritual interests of their fellowmen.
”They must supervise in these days when the Cause is still in its infancy all Bahá’í publications and translations, and provide in general for a dignified and accurate presentation of all Bahá’í literature and its distribution to the general public.
“These rank among the most outstanding obligations of the members of every Spiritual Assembly. In whatever locality the Cause has sufficiently expanded, and in order to insure efficiency and avoid confusion, each of these manifold functions will have to be referred to a special Committee, responsible to
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1Referring particularly to Spiritual Assemblies in America.
2On the shore of Lake Michigan.
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that Assembly, elected by it from among the
friends in that locality, and upon whose
work the Assembly will have to exercise
constant and general supervision.
“In every locality, be it city or hamlet, where the number of adult declared believers exceed nine, a local Spiritual Assembly must be forthwith established.
“As the progress and extension of spirtual activities is depehdent and conditioned upon material means, it is of absolute necessity that immediately after the establishment of local as well as national Spiritual Assemblies, a Bahá’í Fund be established, to be placed under the exclusive control of the Spiritual Assembly. All donations and contributions should be offered to the Treasurer of the Assembly, for the express purpose of promoting the interests of the Cause throughout that locality or country. It is the sacred obligation of every conscientious and faithful servant of Bahá’u’lláh, who desires to see His Cause advance, to contribute freely and generously for the increase of that Fund. The members of the Spiritual Assembly will at their own discretion expand it to promote the teaching campaign, to help the needy, to establish educational Bahá’í institutions, to extend in every way their sphere of service.
“Nothing whatever should be given to the public by any individual among the friends, unless fully considered and approved by the Spiritual Assembly in his locality; and, if this (as is undoubtedly the case) is a matter that pertains to the general interests of the Cause in that land, then it is incumbent upon the Spiritual Assembly to submit it to the consideration and approval of the National Body representing all the various local Assemblies. Not only with regard to publication, but all matters without any exception whatsoever, regarding the interests of the Cause in that locality, individually or collectively, should be referred exclusively to the Spiritual Assembly in that locality, which shall decide upon it, unless it be a matter of national interest, in which case it shall be referred to the National (Bahá’í) Body. With this National Body also will rest the decision whether a given question is of local or national interest. (By national affairs is not meant matters that are political in their character, for the friends of God the world over are strictly forbidden to meddle with political affairs in any way whatever, but rather things that affect the spiritual activities of the body of the friends in that land.)
“Full harmony, however, as well as cooperation among the various local Assemblies and the members themselves, and particularly between each Assembly and the National Body is of the utmost importance, for upon it depends the unity of the Cause of God, the solidarity of the friends, the full, speedy and efficient working of the spiritual activities of His loved ones.
“The various Assemblies, local and national, constitute today the bedrock upon the strength of which the Universal House (of Justice) is in future to be firmly established and raised. Not until these function vigorously and harmoniously can the hope for the termination of this period of transition be realized. . . . Bear in mind that the keynote of the Cause of God is not dictatorial authority, but humble fellowship; not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation. Nothing short of the spirit of a true Bahá’í can hope to reconcile the principles of mercy and justice, of freedom and submission, of the sanctity of the right of the individual and of self-surrender, of vigilance, discretion and prudence on the one hand, and fellowship, candor, and courage on the other.”
Experience in the life of a Bahá’í community
and participation in the details of its
several activities impresses one with the fact
that Bahá’í unity has in it new elements
which work powerfully to expand one’s area
of sympathy, deepen one’s insight, develop
one’s character and bring order and stability
into all of one’s affairs. There can be no
higher privilege than the experience of attempting
to serve faithfully upon a Spiritual
Assembly, conscious as its members are of
the unique standard upheld by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
and bringing as it does the opportunity of
dealing with a large range and diversity of
human problems from an impersonal point
of view. It is inevitable that the nine elected
members shall exemplify diverse interests
and types of character, with the result that
unity of heart and conscience with the other
eight members is a direct training to enter
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into spiritual unity with the larger body of
mankind. No such schools of discipline and
inspiration exist on earth today, for one must
bear in mind that a Bahá’í community can
never be an exclusive group nor a closed
circle of interests, but, on the contrary, its
fundamental purpose is to unify and cooperate
with every possible element in the
surrounding population.
The local Spiritual Assembly after election organizes by electing from its own number a chairman, corresponding secretary, recording secretary and treasurer. It should appoint from its own members or from the local Bahá’í community working committees responsible for the various permanent activities of the Cause.
Since a Spiritual Assembly is established upon a new and higher ideal, the character, knowledge and purity of its members is essential to success. Wherever personal ambition, narrowness or impurity enters a Spiritual Assembly, the results are invariably to check the growth of the Cause and, if these conditions are prolonged, to destroy the foundation already laid. The careful student of the teachings will accept this result as one more vindication of the all-surrounding spirit protecting this Faith. The elimination of an unworthy group from the Bahá’í Cause would be a bitter disappointment but not an evidence that the Cause had failed. On the contrary, the Cause could only be declared a failure if personal ambition, pride, narrowness and impurity should so prevail as to build a world-wide organization able to pervert the original purpose.
The local Spiritual Assemblies of a country are linked together and coordinated through another elected body of nine members, the National Spiritual Assembly. This body comes into being by means of an annual election held by elected delegates representing the Bahá’ís of the States of the United States and the Provinces of Canada. The delegates are elected by all the adult declared believers. The National Convention in which the delegates are gathered together is composed of an elective body based upon the principle of proportional representation. The total number of delegates is fixed by Shoghi Effendi for each country, and this number is fulfilled by assigning to each State and Province the number of delegates called for by its relative numerical strength. These National Conventions are preferably held during the period of Riḍván, the twelve days beginning April 21, which commemorate the Declaration made by Bahá’u’lláh in the Garden of Riḍván near Baghdád. The recognition of delegates is vested in the outgoing National Spiritual Assembly.
A National Convention is an occasion for deepening one’s understanding of Bahá’í activities and of sharing reports of national and local activities for the period of the elapsed year. It has been the custom to hold a public Bahá’í Congress in connection with the Convention. The function of a Bahá’í delegate is limited to the duration of the National Convention and participation in the election of the new National Spiritual Assembly. While gathered together, the delegates are a consultative and advisory body whose recommendations are to be carefully considered by the members of the elected National Spiritual Assembly.
Delegates unable to attend the Convention in person are permitted to vote for the new National Spiritual Assembly by mail.
The relation of the National Spiritual Assembly to the local Spiritual Assemblies and to the body of the believers in the country is thus defined in the letters of the Guardian of the Cause:
”Regarding the establishment of National Assemblies, it is of vital importance that in every country, where the conditions are favorable and the number of the friends has grown and reached a considerable size—that a National Spiritual Assembly be immediately established, representative of the friends throughout that country.
"Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate, by frequent personal consultations, the manifold activities of the friends as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land, initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country.
"It serves also another purpose, no less
essential than the first, as in the course of
time it shall evolve into the National House
of Justice (referred to in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
Will as the ‘Secondary House of Justice’)
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which according to the explicit text of the
Testament will have, in conjunction with
the other National Assemblies throughout
the Bahá’í World, to elect directly the members
of the International or Universal House
of Justice, that Supreme Council that will
guide, organize and unify the affairs of the
Movement throughout the world.
“This National Spiritual Assembly which, pending the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, will have to be re-elected once a year, obviously assumes grave responsibilities for it has to exercise full authority over all the local Assemblies in its province, and will have to direct the activities of the friends, guard vigilantly the Cause of God, and control and supervise the affairs of the Movement in general.
"Vital issues, affecting the interests of the Cause in that country, such as the matter of translation and publication, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the teaching work, and other similar matters that stand distinct from strictly local affairs, must be under the full jurisdiction of the National Assembly.
"It will have to refer each of these questions, even as the local Assemblies, to a special committee, to be elected by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly from among all the friends in that country, which will bear to it the same relations as the local committees bear to their respective local Assemblies.
"With it, too, rests the decision whether a certain point at issue is strictly local in its nature, and should be reserved for the consideration and decision of the local Assembly, or whether it should fall under its own province and be a matter which ought to receive its special attention.
“It is the bounden duty, in the interest of the Cause we all love and serve, of the members of the incoming National Assembly, once elected by the delegates at Convention time, to seek and have the utmost regard, individually as well as collectively, for the advice, the considered opinion and the true sentiments of the assembled delegates. Banishing every vestige of secrecy, of undue reticence, of dictatorial aloofness from their midst, they should radiantly and abundantly unfold to the eyes of the delegates by whom they were elected, their plans, their hopes and their cares. They should familiarize the delegates with the various matters that will have to be considered in the current year, and calmly and conscientiously study and weigh the opinions and judgments of the delegates. The newly elected National Assembly, during the few days when the Convention is in session, and after the dispersion of the delegates, should seek ways and means to cultivate understanding, facilitate and maintain the exchange of views, deepen confidence, and vindicate by every tangible evidence their one desire to serve and advance the common weal.
“The National Spiritual Assembly, however, in view of the unavoidable limitations imposed upon the convening of frequent and long-standing sessions of the Convention, will have to retain in its hands the final decision on all matters that affect the interests of the Cause—such as the right to decide whether any local Assembly is functioning in accordance with the principles laid down for the conduct and the advancement of the Cause.
“The seating of delegates to the Convention (that is, the right to decide upon the validity of the credentials of the delegates at a given Convention), is vested in the outgoing National Assembly, and the right to decide who has the voting privilege is also ultimately placed in the hands of the National Spiritual Assembly, either when a local Spiritual Assembly is for the first time being formed in a given locality, or when differences arise between a new applicant and an already established local Assembly.
“Were the National Spiritual Assembly to
decide, after mature deliberation, to omit the
holding of the Bahá’í Convention and Congress
in a given year, then they could, only
in such a case, devise ways and means to
insure that the annual election of the National
Spiritual Assembly should be held by
mail, provided it can be conducted with sufficient
thoroughness, efficiency and dispatch.
It would also appear to me unobjectionable
to enable and even to require in the last resort
such delegates as cannot possibly undertake the
journey to the seat of the Bahá’í
Convention to send their votes, for the election
of the National Spiritual Assembly only,
by mail to the National Secretary.”
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Concerning the matter of drawing up the voting list to be used at the annual local Bahá’í elections, the responsibility for this is placed upon each local Spiritual Assembly, and as a guidance in the matter the Guardian has written the following:
“To state very briefly and as adequately as present circumstances permit, the principal factors that must be taken into consideration before deciding whether a person may be regarded a true believer or not: Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author and the True Exemplar of the Bahá’í Cause, as set forth in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament; unreserved acceptance of and submission to whatsoever has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every clause of our Beloved’s sacred Will; and close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present-day Bahá’í administration—these I conceive to be the fundamental and primary considerations that must be fairly, discreetly and thoughtfully ascertained before reaching such a vital decision.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s instructions provide for the further development of Bahá’í organization through an International Spiritual Assembly to be elected by the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies. This international body has not yet come into existence, but its special character has been clearly defined:
"And now, concerning the Assembly (Baytu’l-‘Ad’l: that is, House of Justice) which God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error, it must be elected by universal suffrage, that is, by the believers. Its members must be manifestations of the fear of God, and day-springs of knowledge and understanding, must be steadfast in God’s Faith, and the well-wishers of all mankind. By this Assembly is meant the Universal Assembly: that is, in each country a secondary Assembly must be instituted, and these secondary Assemblies must elect the members of the Universal one.
“Unto this body all things must be referred. It enacteth all ordinances and regulations that are not to be found in the explicit Holy Text. By this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved, and the Guardian of the Cause is its sacred head and the distinguished member, for life, of that body. Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him. . . . This assembly enacteth the laws and the executive enforceth them. The legislative body must reinforce the executive, the executive must aid and assist the legislative body, so that, through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all the regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself.
"Unto the Most Holy Book everyone must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal Assembly. That which this body, either unanimously or by a majority, doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whose doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love discord, hath shown forth malice and turned away from the Lord of the Covenant.”
Even at the present time, the Bahá’ís in all parts of the world maintain an intimate and cordial association by means of regular correspondence and individual visits. This contact of members of different races. nationalities and religious traditions is concrete proof that the burden of prejudice and the historical factors of division can be entirely overcome through the spirit of oneness established by Bahá’u’lláh.
The general student of religion will not
fail to note four essential characteristics of
Bahá’í administration. The first is its completely
successful reconciliation of the usually opposed
claims of democratic freedom
and unanswerable authority. The second is
the entire absence from the Bahá’í Cause of
anything approaching the institution of a
salaried professional clergy. The Bahá’í conception
of religion is one which combines
mysticism, which is a sacred personal experience,
with practical morality, which is a useful
contact between the individual and his
fellow man. In the nature of things, some
souls are more advanced than others, and the
function of spiritual teaching is given special
importance in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh
and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Bahá’í teacher,
however, has no authority over the individual
conscience. The individual conscience must
be subordinated to the decisions of a duly
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elected Spiritual Assembly, but this relationship
is entirely different in character and
results, from the relationship of an
individual with minister or priest.
The third characteristic is the absence of internal factionalism, that bane of all organized effort, and the sure sign of the presence of spiritual disease. The predominant spirit of unity which distinguishes the Bahá’í Cause in its relation to the world, making its followers strive for reconciliation rather than partisan victory, creates an internal condition, unlike that which exists in movements which accept partisan victory, in one or another form, as their very reason for being. Such movements can but disintegrate from within; the Bahá’í Order can but grow.
Significant also is the fourth characteristic, namely, that the Bahá’í Cause has within it an inherent necessity operating slowly but surely to bring its administration into the hands of those truly fitted for the nature of the work. The lesser vision gives way invariably for the larger vision, itself replaced by the still larger vision in due time. The result is an inevitable improvement in the qualities placed at the service of the Cause, until the highest attributes of humanity will be enrolled. In the Bahá’í Cause we are actually witnessing the fulfillment of the strange and cryptic saying, “The meek shall inherit the earth.”
That the administrative machinery is not an end in itself but merely the means to spread everywhere the light of faith and brotherhood, is frequently expressed by the Guardian in his general letters, and this brief survey may well close with one of those passages:
"Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by, an organized campaign of teaching—no matter how world-wide and elaborate in its character—not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and skeptical age the supreme claim of the Abhá Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh.”
A PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
Adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada
INTRODUCTION
A PERUSAL of some of the words of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the duties and functions of the Spiritual Assemblies in every land (later to be designated as the local Houses of Justice), emphatically reveals the sacredness of their nature, the wide scope of their activity, and the grave responsibility which rests upon them. —”SHOGHI EFFENDI, March 5, 1922.
"The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counselors to the number of Bahá. . . . It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. Thus hath the Lord your God commanded you. Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet. Fear God, O ye that perceive.”—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
“It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person will act independently and after his own judgment, will follow his own desire, and do harm to the Cause.
"The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrance, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and long-suffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Bahá shall be vouchsafed to them. In this day, Assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity. Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory. The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If, after discussion, a decision be carried unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of opinion should arise a majority of voices must prevail. . . .
"The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the Assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be non-existent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that Assembly be brought to naught. The second condition: They must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on High and ask aid from the Realm of Glory. They must then proceed with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation to express their views. They must in every matter search out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion, for stubbornness and persistence in one’s views will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden. The honored members must with all freedom express their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible for one to belittle the thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set forth the truth, and should differences of opinion arise a majority of voices must prevail, and all must obey and submit to the majority. It is again not permitted that any one of the honored members object to or censure, whether in or out of the meeting, any decision arrived at previously, though that decision be not right, for such criticism would prevent any decision from being enforced. In short, whatsoever thing is arranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its result is light, and should the least trace of estrangement prevail the result shall be darkness upon darkness. . . . If this be so regarded, that Assembly shall be of God, but otherwise it shall lead to coolness and alienation that proceed from the Evil One. Discussions must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor, the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Holy Word. Should they endeavor to fulfill these conditions the grace of the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them, and that Assembly shall become the center of the Divine blessings, the hosts of Divine confirmation shall come to their aid and they shall day by day receive a new effusion of Spirit.”—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.
"The importance, nay the absolute necessity, of these local Assemblies is manifest when we realize that in the days to come they will evolve into the local House of Justice, and at present provide the firm foundation on which the structure of the Master’s Will is to be reared in the future.
“In order to avoid division and disruption,
that the Cause may not fall a prey to conflicting
interpretations, and lose thereby its
purity and pristine vigor, that its affairs may
be conducted with efficiency and promptness, it is
necessary that every one (that is,
every member of the Bahá’í community)
should conscientiously take an active part
in the election of these Assemblies, abide by
their decision, enforce their decree, and cooperate
with them whole-heartedly in their
task of stimulating the growth of the Movement
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throughout all regions. The members
of these Assemblies, on their part, must disregard
utterly their own likes and dislikes,
their personal interests and inclinations, and
concentrate their minds upon those measures
that will conduce to the welfare and happiness
of the Bahá’í community and promote
the common weal.”—SHOGHI EFFENDI, March 12, 1923.
"Let us recall His explicit and often repeated assurance that every Assembly elected in that rarefied atmosphere of selflessness and detachment is, in truth, appointed of God, that its verdict is truly inspired, that one and all should submit to its decision unreservedly and with cheerfulness.” —SHOGHI EFFENDI, February 23, 1924.
I. FUNCTIONS OF THE LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
The various functions of the local Spiritual Assembly, and its nature as a constitutional body, are duly set forth in Article VII of the By-Laws of the National Spiritual Assembly, and are more definitely defined in the By-Laws of a local Spiritual Assembly approved by the National Spiritual Assembly and recommended by the Guardian. Each local Spiritual Assembly, and all members of the local Bahá’í community, shall be guided and controlled by the provisions of those By-Laws.
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II. MEETINGS OF THE LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
In addition to its observance of the general functions vested in the institution of a Spiritual Assembly, each Spiritual Assembly has need of a procedure for the conduct of its meetings. The following items represent the outline of the parliamentary rules of procedure which the National Spiritual Assembly has adopted and recommends to each and every local Spiritual Assembly throughout the United States and Canada.
Calling of Meetings
A meeting of the Spiritual Assembly is valid only when it has been duly called, that is, when each and every member has been informed of the time and place. The general practice is for the Assembly to decide upon some regular time and place for its meetings throughout the Bahá’í year, and this decision when recorded in the minutes is sufficient notice to the members. When the regular schedule cannot be followed, or the need arises for a special meeting, the secretary, on request by the chairman or any three members of the Spiritual Assembly, should send due notice to all the members.
Order of Business
Roll call by the Secretary (or Recording Secretary).
Prayer.
Reading and approval of minutes of previous meetings.
Report of Secretary (or Corresponding Secretary), including presentation of letters received by the Assembly since its last meeting, and of any and all recommendations duly adopted by the community at the last Nineteen Day Feast.
Report of Treasurer.
Report of Committees.
Unfinished business.
New business, including conferences with members of the community and with applicants for enrollment as members of the community.
Closing Prayer.
Conduct of Business
A Spiritual Assembly, in maintaining its threefold function of a body given (within the limits of its jurisdiction) an executive, a legislative and a judicial capacity, is charged with responsibility for initiating action and making decisions. Its meetings, therefore, revolve around various definite matters which require deliberation and collective decision, and it is incumbent upon the members, one and all, to address themselves to the subject under discussion and not engage in general speeches of an irrelevant character.
Every subject or problem before an Assembly is
most efficiently handled when the
following process is observed: first,
ascertainment and agreement upon the facts;
second, agreement upon the spiritual or
administrative Teachings which the question
involves; third, full and frank discussion of
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the matter, leading up to the offering of a
resolution; and fourth, voting
upon the resolution.
A resolution, or motion, is not subject to discussion or vote until duly made and seconded. It is preferable to have each resolution clear and complete in itself, but when an amendment is duly made and seconded, the chairman shall call for a vote on the amendment first and then on the original motion. An amendment must be relevant to, and not contravene, the subject matter of the motion.
The chairman, or other presiding officer, has the same power and responsibility for discussion and voting upon motions as other members of the Assembly.
Discussion of any matter before the Assembly may be terminated by a motion duly made, seconded and voted calling upon the chairman to put the matter to a vote or to proceed to the next matter on the agenda. The purpose of this procedure is to prevent any member or members from prolonging the discussion beyond the point at which full opportunity has been given all members to express their views.
When the Assembly has taken action upon any matter, the action is binding upon all members, whether present or absent from the meeting at which the action was taken. Individual views and opinions must be subordinated to the will of the Assembly when a decision has been made. A Spiritual Assembly is an administrative unit, as it is a spiritual unit, and therefore no distinction between “majority” and “minority” groups or factions can be recognized. Each member must give undivided loyalty to the institution to which he or she has been elected.
Any action taken by the Assembly can be reconsidered at a later meeting, on motion duly made, seconded and carried. This reconsideration, according to the result of the consultation, may lead to a revision or the annulment of the prior action. If a majority is unwilling to reconsider the prior action, further discussion of the matter by any member is improper.
The Assembly has a responsibility in filling a vacancy caused by the inability of any member to attend the meetings. "It is only too obvious that unless a member can attend regularly the meetings of his local Assembly, it would be impossible for him to discharge the duties incumbent upon him, and to fulfill his responsibilities as a representative of the community. Membership in a local Spiritual Assembly carries with it, indeed, the obligation and capacity to remain in close touch with local Bahá’í activities, and ability to attend regularly the sessions of the Assembly.”—SHOGHI EFFENDI, January 27, 1935.
The Spiritual Assembly, as a permanent body, is responsible for maintaining all its records, including minutes of meetings, correspondence and financial records, throughout its existence as a Bahá’í institution. Each officer, therefore, on completing his or her term of office, shall turn over to the Assembly all records pertaining to the business of the Assembly.
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III. CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMUNITY
A. The institution of the Nineteen Day Feast provides the recognized and regular occasion for general consultation on the part of the community, and for consultation between the Spiritual Assembly and the members of the community. The conduct of the period of consultation at Nineteen Day Feasts is a vital function of each Spiritual Assembly.
From Words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that, "The Nineteen Day Feast was inaugurated by the Báb and ratified by Baha’u’llah, in His Holy Book, the ‘Aqdas,’ so that people may gather together and outwardly show fellowship and love, that the Divine mysteries may be disclosed. The object is concord, that through this fellowship hearts may become perfectly united, and reciprocity and mutual helpfulness be established. Because the members of the world of humanity are unable to exist without being banded together, cooperation and helpfulness is the basis of human society. Without the realization of these two great principles no great movement is pressed forward.” London, England, December 29, 1912. (Quoted in BAHÁ’Í NEWS No. 33.)
The Nineteen Day Feast has been described
by the Guardian as the foundation
of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. It is to
be conducted according to the following
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program: the first part, entirely spiritual in
character, is devoted to readings from Bahá’í
Sacred Writings; the second part consists of
general consultation on the affairs of the
Cause. The third part is the material feast
and social meeting of all the believers, and
should maintain the spiritual nature of the
Feast.
Bahá’ís should regard this Feast as the very heart of their spiritual activity, their participation in the mystery of the Holy Utterance, their steadfast unity one with another in a universality raised high above the limitations of race, class, nationality, sect, and personality, and their privilege of contributing to the power of the Cause in the realm of collective action.
Calendar of the Nineteen Day Feast
| March 21 | July 13 | November 23 |
| April 9 | August 1 | December 12 |
| April 18 | August 20 | December 31 |
| May 17 | September 8 | January 19 |
| June 5 | September 27 | February 7 |
| June 24 | October 16 | March 2 |
| November 4 |
The Spiritual Assembly is responsible for the holding of the Nineteen Day Feast. If the Bahá’í calendar for some adequate reason cannot be observed, the Assembly may arrange to hold a Feast at the nearest possible date.
Only members of the Bahá’í community, and visiting Bahá’ís from other communities, may attend these meetings, but young people of less than twenty-one years of age, who have studied the Teachings and declared their intention of joining the community on reaching the age of twenty-one, may also attend.
Regular attendance at the Nineteen Day Feast is incumbent upon every Bahá’í, illness or absence from the city being the only justification for absence. Believers are expected to arrange their personal affairs so as to enable them to observe the Bahá’í calendar.
Order of Business for the Consultation Period
The chairman or other appointed representative of the Spiritual Assembly presides during the period of consultation.
The Spiritual Assembly reports to the community whatever communications have been received from the Guardian and the National Spiritual Assembly, and provides opportunity for general discussion.
The Assembly likewise reports its own activities and plans, including committee appointments that may have been made since the last Feast, the financial report, arrangements made for public meetings, and in general share with the community all matters that concern the Faith. These reports are to be followed by general consultation.
A matter of vital importance at this meeting is consideration of national and international Bahá’í affairs, to strengthen the capacity of the community to cooperate in promotion of the larger Bahá’í interests and to deepen the understanding of all believers concerning the relation of the local community to the Bahá’í World Community.
Individual Bahá’ís are to find in the Nineteen Day Feast the channel through which to make suggestions and recommendations to the National Spiritual Assembly. These recommendations are offered first to the local community, and when adopted by the community come before the local Assembly, which then may in its discretion forward the recommendation to the National Spiritual Assembly accompanied by its own considered view.
Provision is to be made for reports from committees, with discussion of each report. Finally, the meeting is to be open for suggestions and recommendations from individual believers on any matter affecting the Cause.
The local Bahá’í community may adopt by majority vote any resolution which it wishes collectively to record as its advice and recommendation to the Spiritual Assembly.
Upon each member of the community lies the obligation to make his or her utmost contribution to the consultation, the idea] being a gathering of Bahá’ís inspired with one spirit and concentrating upon the one aim to further the interests of the Faith.
The Secretary of the Assembly records
each resolution adopted by the community,
as well as the various suggestions advanced
during the meeting, in order to report these
[Page 236]
to the Spiritual Assembly for its consideration.
Whatever action the Assembly takes
is to be reported at a later Nineteen Day
Feast.
Matters of a personal nature should be brought before the Spiritual Assembly and not to the community at the Nineteen Day Feast. Concerning the attitude with which believers should come to these Feasts, the Master has said, "You must free yourselves from everything that is in your hearts, before you enter.” (Bahá’í News Letter of the N. S. A. of Germany and Austria, December, 1934.)
B. The Annual Meeting on April 21, called for the election of the Spiritual Assembly, provides the occasion for the presentation of annual reports by the Assembly and by all its Committees.
The chairman of the outgoing Assembly presides at this meeting.
The order of business includes: Reading of the call of the meeting, reading of appropriate Bahá’í passages bearing upon the subject of the election, appointment of tellers, distribution of ballots, prayers for the spiritual guidance of the voters, the election, presentation of annual reports, tellers’ report of the election, approval of the tellers’ report.
C. In addition to these occasions for general consultation, the Spiritual Assembly is to give consultation to individual believers whenever requested.
During such consultation with individual believers, the Assembly should observe the following principles: the impartiality of each of its members with respect to all matters under discussion; the freedom of the individual Bahá’í to express his views, feelings and recommendations on any matter affecting the interests of the Cause, the confidential character of this consultation, and the principle that the Spiritual Assembly does not adopt any resolution or make any final decision, until the party or parties have withdrawn from the meeting.
Appeals from decisions of a local Spiritual Assembly are provided for in the By-Laws and the procedure fully described in a statement published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS, February, 1933.
When confronted with evidences of unhappiness, whether directed against the Assembly or against members of the community, the Spiritual Assembly should realize that its relationship to the believers is not merely that of a formal constitutional body but also that of a spiritual institution called upon to manifest the attributes of courtesy, patience and loving insight. Many conditions are not to be remedied by the exercise of power and authority but rather by a sympathetic understanding of the sources of the difficulty in the hearts of the friends. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained, some of the people are children and must be trained, some are ignorant and must be educated, some are sick and must be healed. Where, however, the problem is not of this order but represents flagrant disobedience and disloyalty to the Cause itself, in that case the Assembly should consult with the National Spiritual Assembly concerning the necessity for disciplinary action.
Members of the Bahá’í community, for their part, should do their utmost by prayer and meditation to remain always in a positive and joyous spiritual condition, bearing in mind the Tablets which call upon Bahá’ís to serve the world of humanity and not waste their precious energies in negative complaints.
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IV. BAHÁ’Í ANNIVERSARIES, FESTIVALS AND DAYS OF FASTING
The Spiritual Assembly, among its various duties and responsibilities, will provide for the general observance by the local community of the following Holy Days:
Feast of Riḍván (Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh) April 21-May 2, 1863.
Declaration of the Báb, May 23, 1844.
Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, May 29, 1892.
Martyrdom of the Báb, July 9, 1850.
Birth of the Báb, October 20, 1819.
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, November 12, 1817.
Day of the Covenant, November 26.
Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, November 28, 1921.
Period of the Fast, nineteen days beginning March 2.
Feast of Naw-Rúz (Bahá’í New Year), March 21.
THE ANNUAL BAHÁ’Í CONVENTION
A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly
(Approved by the Guardian)
DESPITE the repeated explanations given by the Guardian on this subject, there seems to exist each year, prior to and also during the Convention period, some misunderstanding as to the nature of the Annual Meeting.
In order to establish a definite standard of Convention procedure, the following statement has been approved and adopted, and in accordance with the vote taken by the National Assembly, a copy of the statement is placed in the hands of the presiding officer of the Convention to control the Convention procedure, after being read to the delegates by the officer of the National Spiritual Assembly by whom the Convention is convened.1
“The delegates present at this Annual Bahá’í Convention are called upon to render a unique, a vital service to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Their collective functions and responsibilities are not a matter of arbitrary opinion, but have been clearly described by the Guardian of the Cause. If civil governments have found it necessary to adopt the doctrine that ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse,’ how much more essential it is for Bahá’ís, individually and collectively, to base their responsible actions upon thorough comprehension of the fundamental principles which underlie that Administrative Order which in its maturity is destined to become the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
“Considerable confusion would have been avoided at Conventions held during the past three years had the delegates, and all members of the National Spiritual Assembly itself, given sufficient consideration to the fact that BAHÁ’Í NEWS of February, 1930, contained an explanation of the Annual Convention which had been prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly, submitted to Shoghi Effendi, and definitely approved by him. It is because this statement of four
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1This reference to “being read to the delegates" was in connection with the 1934 Convention only. The statement is here published for the general information of the believers.
years ago has gone unnoticed that successive Conventions, acting upon some matters as a law unto themselves, have inadvertently contravened the Guardian’s clear instructions.
“The National Spiritual Assembly now calls attention to two specific portions of the 1930 statement approved by the Guardian which have been neglected in subsequent Conventions: first, the ruling that non-delegates do not possess the right to participate in Convention proceedings; and, second, that the time of the election of members of the National Spiritual Assembly shall be fixed in the Agenda at such a time as to allow the outgoing Assembly full time to report to the delegates, and to allow the incoming Assembly to have full consultation with the assembled delegates. It is surely evident that a procedure or principle of action once authorized by the Guardian is not subject to alteration by any Bahá’í body or individual believer to whom the procedure directly applies.
“In order to remove other sources of misunderstanding, the National Spiritual Assembly now feels it advisable to point out that the Guardian’s letters on the subject of the Convention, received and published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS this year,2 do not, as some believers seem to feel, organically change the character and function of the Annual Meeting, but reaffirm and strengthen instructions and explanations previously given. In the light of all the Guardian’s references to this subject, compiled and published by the National Spiritual Assembly in BAHÁ’Í NEWS of November, 1933 and February, 1934, the following brief summary has been prepared and is now issued with the sole purpose of contributing to the spiritual unity of the chosen delegates here present:—
“1. The Annual Bahá’í Convention has two unique functions to fulfill, discussion of current Bahá’í matters and the election
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2February, 1934.
of the National Spiritual Assembly. The discussion should be free and untrammeled, the election carried on in that spirit of prayer and meditation in which alone every delegate can render obedience to the Guardian’s expressed wish. After the Convention is convened by the Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, and after the roll call is read by the Secretary of the Assembly, the Convention proceeds to the election of its chairman and secretary by secret ballot and without advance nomination, according to the standard set for all Bahá’í elections.
"2. Non-delegates may not participate in Convention discussion. All members of the National Spiritual Assembly may participate in the discussion, but only those members who have been elected delegates may vote on any matter brought up for vote during the proceedings.
“3. The outgoing National Spiritual Assembly is responsible for rendering reports of its own activities and of those carried on by its committees during the past year. The annual election is to be held at a point midway during the Convention sessions, so that the incoming Assembly may consult with the delegates.
“4. The Convention is free to discuss any Bahá’í matter, in addition to those treated in the annual reports. The Convention is responsible for making its own rules of procedure controlling discussion; for example, concerning any limitations the delegates may find it necessary to impose upon the time allotted to or claimed by any one delegate. The National Assembly will maintain the rights of the delegates to confer freely and fully, free from any restricted pressure, in the exercise of their function.
“5. The Convention as an organic body is limited to the actual Convention period. It has no function to discharge after the close of the sessions except that of electing a member or members to fill any vacancy that might arise in the membership of the National Spiritual Assembly during the year.
“6. The Convention while in session has no independent legislative, executive or judicial function. Aside from its action in electing the National Spiritual Assembly, its discussions do not represent actions but recommendations which shall, according to the Guardian’s instructions, be given conscientious consideration by the National Assembly.
"7. The National Spiritual Assembly is the supreme Bahá’í administrative body within the American Bahá’í community, and its jurisdiction continues without interruption during the Convention period as during the remainder of the year, and independently of the individuals composing its membership. Any matter requiring action of legislative, executive or judicial nature, whether arising during the Convention period or at any other time, is to be referred to the National Spiritual Assembly. The National Assembly is responsible for upholding the administrative principles applying to the holding of the Annual Convention as it is for upholding all other administrative principles. If, therefore, a Convention departs from the principles laid down for Conventions by the Guardian, and exceeds the limitations of function conferred upon it, in that case, and in that case alone, the National Spiritual Assembly can and must intervene. It is the National Spiritual Assembly, and not the Convention, which is authorized to decide when and why such intervention is required.
“8. The National Spiritual Assembly feels that it owes a real duty to the delegates, and to the entire body of believers, in presenting any and all facts that may be required in order to clarify matters discussed at the Convention. There can be no true Bahá’í consultation at this important meeting if any incomplete or erroneous view should prevail.
"9. The National Assembly in adopting and issuing this statement does so in the sincere effort to assure the constitutional freedom of the Convention to fulfill its high mission. The path of true freedom lies in knowing and obeying the general principles given to all Bahá’ís for the proper conduct of their collective affairs. While the entire world plunges forward to destruction, it is the responsibility of the National Spiritual Assembly to uphold that Order on which peace and security solely depends.”
THE NON-POLITICAL CHARACTER OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
A Statement Prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly in Response to the Request for Clarification of the Subject Voiced by the 1933 Annual Convention
IT is the view of the National Spiritual Assembly that the Guardian’s references to the non-political character of the Bahá’í Faith, when studied as a whole, are so clear that they can be fully grasped by all believers and rightly applied by all Local Spiritual Assemblies to any problems they may encounter. Should special circumstances arise, however, the National Assembly will make every effort to assist any Local Assembly to arrive at fuller understanding of this important subject.
The first reference to consider is taken from the letter written by Shoghi Effendi on March 21, 1932, published under the title of “The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.”
“I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government.
“Let them refrain from associating themselves, whether by word or by deed, with the political pursuits of their respective nations, with the policies of their governments and the schemes and programs of parties and factions. In such controversies they should assign no blame, take no side, further no design, and identify themselves with no system prejudicial to the best interests of that worldwide Fellowship which it is their aim to guard and foster. Let them beware lest they allow themselves to become the tools of unscrupulous politicians, or to be entrapped by the treacherous devices of the plotters and the perfidious among their countrymen. Let them so shape their lives and regulate their conduct that no charge of secrecy, of fraud, of bribery or of intimidation may, however ill-founded, be brought against them. . . . It is their duty to strive to distinguish, as clearly as they possibly can, and if needed with the aid of their elected representatives, such posts and functions as are either diplomatic or political, from those that are purely administrative in character, and which under no circumstances are affected by the changes and chances that political activities and party government, in every land, must necessarily involve. Let them affirm their unyielding determination to stand, firmly and unreservedly, for the way of Bahá’u’lláh, to avoid the entanglements and bickerings inseparable from the pursuits of the politician, and to become worthy agencies of that Divine Polity which incarnates God’s immutable Purpose for all men. . . .
"Let them proclaim that in whatever country they reside, and however advanced their institutions, or profound their desire to enforce the laws and apply the principles enunciated by Baha’u’llah, they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements and legal enactments of their respective governments. Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country’s constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.”
This instruction raised the question whether believers should vote in any public election. A Tablet revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Mr. Thornton Chase was sent to the Guardian, and the following reply was received, dated January 26, 1933:
“The Guardian fully recognizes the authenticity
[Page 240]
and controlling influence of this
instruction from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá upon the
question. He, however, feels under the responsibility
of stating that the attitude taken
by the Master (that is, that American citizens
are in duty bound to vote in public
elections) implies certain reservations. He,
therefore, lays it upon the individual conscience
to see that in following the Master’s
instructions no Bahá’í vote for an officer nor
Bahá’í participation in the affairs of the
Republic shall involve acceptance by that
individual of a program or policy that contravenes
any vital principle, spiritual or
social, of the Faith.” The Guardian added
to this letter the following postscript: "I
feel it incumbent upon me to clarify the
above statement, written in my behalf, by
stating that no vote cast, or office undertaken,
by a Bahá’í should necessarily constitute
acceptance, by the voter or office holder,
of the entire program of any political party.
No Bahá’í can be regarded as either a Republican
or Democrat, as such. He is, above
all else, the supporter of the principles
enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, with which, I am
firmly convinced, the program of no political
party is completely harmonious.”
In a letter dated March 16, 1933, the Guardian sent these further details:
“As regards the non-political character of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi feels that there is no contradiction whatsoever between the Tablet (to Thornton Chase, referred to above) and the reservations to which he has referred. The Master surely never desired the friends to use their influence towards the realization and promotion of policies contrary to any of the principles of the Faith. The friends may vote, if they can do it, without identifying themselves with one party or another. To enter the arena of party politics is surely detrimental to the best interests of the Faith and will harm the Cause. It remains for the individuals to so use their right to vote as to keep aloof from party politics, and always bear in mind that they are voting on the merits of the individual, rather than because he belongs to one party or another. The matter must be made perfectly clear to the individuals, who will be left free to exercise their discretion and judgment. But if a certain person does enter into party politics and labors for the ascendancy of one party over another, and continues to do it against the expressed appeals, and warnings of the Assembly, then the Assembly has the right to refuse him the tight to vote in Bahá’í elections.”
CONCERNING MEMBERSHIP IN NON-BAHÁ’Í RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
THE instruction written by Shoghi Effendi concerning membership in non-Bahá’í religious organizations, published in the July, 1935, number of BAHÁ’Í NEWS, has brought forth some interesting and important communications from local Spiritual Assemblies and also from individual believers, to all of which the National Spiritual Assembly has given careful and sympathetic attention.
The National Assembly itself, on receiving that instruction, made it the subject of extensive consultation, feeling exceedingly responsible for its own understanding of the Guardian’s words and anxious to contribute to the understanding of the friends.
In October, 1935, the Assembly sent in reply to some of these communications a general letter embodying its thoughts on the subject, and a copy of that letter was forwarded to Shoghi Effendi for his approval and comment. His references to its contents, made in letters addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly on November 29 and December 11, 1935, are appended to this statement.
Now that Shoghi Effendi’s approval has been received, the National Assembly feels it desirable to publish, for the information of all the American believers, the substance of the October letter.
While so fundamental an instruction is bound to raise different questions corresponding to the different conditions existing throughout the Bahá’í community, the most
A Gathering of the Bahá’ís of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
important consideration is our collective need to grasp the essential principle underlying the new instruction, and our capacity to perceive that the position which the Guardian wishes us to take in regard to church membership is a necessary and inevitable result of the steady development of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
This essential principle is made clear when we turn to Shoghi Effendi’s further reference to the subject as published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS for October, 1935—words written by the Guardian’s own hand.
In the light of these words, it seems fully evident that the way to approach this instruction is in realizing the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh as an ever-growing organism destined to become something new and greater than any of the revealed religions of the past. Whereas former Faiths inspired hearts and illumined souls, they eventuated in formal religions with an ecclesiastical organization, creeds, rituals and churches, while the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, likewise renewing man’s spiritual life, will gradually produce the institutions of an ordered society, fulfilling not merely the function of the churches of the past but also the function of the civil state. By this manifestation of the Divine Will in a higher degree than in former ages, humanity will emerge from that immature civilization in which church and state are separate and competitive institutions, and partake of a true civilization in which spiritual and social principles are at last reconciled as two aspects of one and the same Truth.
No Bahá’í can read the successive World Order letters sent us by Shoghi Effendi without perceiving that the Guardian, for many years, has been preparing us to understand and appreciate this fundamental purpose and mission of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. Even when the Master ascended, we were for the most part still considering the Bahá’í Faith as though it were only the “return of Christ” and failing to perceive the entirely new and larger elements latent in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Thus, in the very first of the World Order letters, written February 27th, 1929, Shoghi Effendi said: “Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its affairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery that will insure, amid
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Havana, Cuba, 1943.
the storm and stress of a struggling civilization, the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the protection of its interests?”
Although for five years the Guardian had been setting forth the principles of Bahá’í Administration in frequent letters, in 1927 he apparently felt it necessary to overcome some doubts here and there as to the validity of the institutions the Master bequeathed to the Bahá’ís in His Will and Testament. The series of World Order letters, however, goes far beyond the point of defending and explaining their validity as an essential element in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh—the Guardian vastly extended the horizon of our understanding by making it clear that the Administrative Order, in its full development, is to be the social structure of the future civilization.
Thus, in that same letter quoted above, he wrote: “Not only will the present-day Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in future, but will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power. And as the Bahá’í Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of East and West, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plenitude of its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá’í Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties, and responsibilities incumbent upon the world’s future super-state.”
This passage stands as the keystone in the noble structure which Shoghi Effendi has raised in his function as interpreter of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The Master developed the Cause to the point where this social Teaching, always existent in the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, could be explained to the believers and given its due significance as the fulfillment of Bahá’í evolution. As the Guardian expressed it: “That Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary mission of the Bahá’í Faith.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 3-4.)
For us these words mean that a Bahá’í is
not merely a member of a revealed Religion,
he is also a citizen in a World Order even
though that Order today is still in its infancy
and still obscured by the shadows
thrown by the institutions, habits and attitudes
derived from the past. But since the
aim and end has been made known, our
devotion and loyalty must surely express
itself, not in clinging to views and thoughts
emanating from the past, but in pressing
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forward in response to the needs of the new
creation.
That true devotion, which consists in conscious knowledge of the “primary mission,” and unified action to assist in bringing about its complete triumph, recognizes that a Bahá’í today must have singleness of mind as of aim, without the division arising when we stand with one foot in the Cause and one foot in the world, attempting to reconcile diverse elements which the Manifestation of God Himself has declared to be irreconcilable.
The principle underlying the Guardian’s instruction about membership in non-Bahá’í religious bodies has already been emphasized by Shoghi Effendi in another connection—the instruction about the non-political character of the Faith which he incorporated in his letter entitled "The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.” For example: “I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government.”
Again, when the question was raised as to membership in certain non-Bahá’í organizations not directly religious or political in character, the Guardian replied: “Regarding association with the World Fellowship of Faiths and kindred Societies, Shoghi Effendi wishes to reaffirm and elucidate the general principle that Bahá’í elected representatives as well as individuals should refrain from any act or word that would imply a departure from the principles, whether spiritual, social or administrative, established by Bahá’u’lláh. Formal affiliation with and acceptance of membership in organizations whose programs or policies are not wholly reconcilable with the Techings is of course out of the question.” (BAHÁ’Í NEWS, August, 1933.)
Thus, not once but repeatedly the Guardian has upheld the vital principle underlying every type of relationship between Bahá’ís and other organizations, namely, that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is an ever-growing organism, and as we begin to realize its universality our responsibility is definitely established to cherish and defend that universality from all compromise, all admixture with worldly elements, whether emanating from our own habits rooted in the past or from the deliberate attacks imposed by enemies from without.
It will be noted that in the instruction published in July, 1935, BAHÁ’Í NEWS, the Guardian made it clear that the principle involved is not new and unexpected, but rather an application of an established principle to a new condition. “Concerning membership in non-Bahá’í religious associations, the Guardian wishes to re-emphasize the general principle already laid down in his communications to your Assembly and also to the individual believers that no Bahá’í who wishes to be a whole-hearted and sincere upholder of the distinguishing principles of the Cause can accept full membership in any non-Bahá’í ecclesiastical organization. . . . For it is only too obvious that in most of its fundamental assumptions the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is completely at variance with outworn creeds, ceremonies and institutions. . . . During the days of the Master the Cause was still in a stage that made such an open and sharp dissociation between it and other religious organizations, and particularly the Muslim Faith, not only inadvisable but practically impossible to establish. But since His passing events throughout the Bahá’í world, and particularly in Egypt where the Muslim religious courts have formally testified to the independent character of the Faith, have developed to a point that has made such an assertion of the independence of the Cause not only highly desirable but absolutely essential.”
To turn now to the Guardian’s words
published in October BAHÁ’Í NEWS: “The
separation that has set in between the
institutions of the Bahá’í Faith and the Islámic
ecclesiastical organizations that oppose it
. . . imposes upon every loyal upholder of
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the Cause the obligation of refraining from
any word or action that might prejudice
the position which our enemies have . . . of
their own accord proclaimed and established.
This historic development, the beginnings
of which could neither be recognized nor
even anticipated in the years immediately
preceding ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, may be
said to have signalized the Formative Period
of our Faith and to have paved the way
for the consolidation of its administrative
order. . . . Though our Cause unreservedly
recognizes the Divine origin of all the religions
that preceded it and upholds the
spiritual truths which lie at their very
core and are common to them all, its institutions,
whether administrative, religious
or humanitarian, must, if their distinctive
character is to be maintained and recognized,
be increasingly divorced from the
outworn creeds, the meaningless ceremonials
and man-made institutions with which these
religions are at present identified. Our adversaries
in the East have initiated the struggle.
Our future opponents in the West will,
in their turn, arise and carry it a stage
further. Ours is the duty, in anticipation
of this inevitable contest, to uphold
unequivocally and with undivided loyalty the
integrity of our Faith and demonstrate the
distinguishing features of its divinely
appointed institutions.”
Nothing could be clearer or more emphatic. These words, asserting again the essential universality of the Cause, likewise repeat and renew the warning that the organized religions, even in America, will become bitterly hostile to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, denounce and oppose it, and seek its destruction in vain effort to maintain their own "outworn creeds” and material power. Informed of this inevitable development, can a Bahá’í any longer desire to retain a connection which, however liberal and pleasing it now seems, is a connection with a potential foe of the Cause of God? The Guardian’s instruction signifies that the time has come when all American believers must become fully conscious of the implications of such connections, and carry out their loyalty to its logical conclusion.
Shoghi Effendi’s latest words are not merely an approval of the foregoing statement, but a most helpful elucidation of some of the problems which arise when the friends turn to their local Assemblies for specific advice under various special circumstances.
“The explanatory statement in connection with membership in non-Bahá’í religious organizations is admirably conceived, convincing and in full conformity with the principles underlying and implied in the unfolding world order of Bahá’u’lláh." (November 29, 1933.)
"The Guardian has carefully read the copy of the statement you had recently prepared concerning non-membership in non-Bahá’í religious organizations, and is pleased to realize that your comments and explanations are in full conformity with his views on the subject. He hopes that your letter will serve to clarify this issue in the minds of all the believers, and to further convince them of its vital character and importance in the present stage of the evolution of the Cause.
In this case,1 as also in that of suffering believers, the Assemblies, whether local or national, should act tactfully, patiently and in a friendly and kindly spirit. Knowing how painful and dangerous it is for such believers to repudiate their former allegiances and friendships, they should try to gradually persuade them of the wisdom and necessity of such an action, and instead of thrusting upon them a new principle, to make them accept it inwardly, and out of pure conviction and desire. Too severe and immediate action in such cases is not only fruitless but actually harmful. It alienates people instead of winning them to the Cause.
“The other point concerns the advisability of contributing to a church. In this case also the friends must realize that contributions to a church, especially when not regular, do not necessarily entail affiliation. The believers can make such offerings, occasionally, and provided they are certain that while doing so they are not connected as members of any church. There should be no
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1A special case involving an aged believer, afflicted with illness, for whom severance of church relations might have been too great a shock.
confusion between the terms affiliation and association. While affiliation with ecclesiastical organizations is not permissible, association with them should not only be tolerated but even encouraged. There is no better way to demonstrate the universality of the Cause than this. Bahá’u’lláh, indeed, urges His followers to consort with all religions and nations with utmost friendliness and love. This constitutes the very spirit of His message to mankind.” (December 11, 1935.)
The National Spiritual Assembly trusts that the subject will receive the attention of local Assemblies and communities, and that in the light of the foregoing explanations the friends will find unity and agreement in applying the instruction to whatever situations may arise. In teaching new believers let us lay a proper foundation so that their obedience will be voluntary and assured from the beginning of their enrollment as Bahá’ís. In our attitude toward the older believers who are affected by the instruction let us act with the patience and kindliness the Guardian has urged.
BAHÁ’ÍS AND WAR
A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly1
ONE of the chief responsibilities of Bahá’ís in this transitional era is to grasp the principle upon which rests their loyalty to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in relation to their duty toward their civil government. This problem arises in its most difficult form in connection with our individual and collective attitude toward war.
Nothing could be more powerful than the Bahá’í teachings on the subject of peace. Not only does Bahá’u’lláh confirm the teachings of all former Manifestations which uphold amity and fellowship between individual human beings, and the supremacy of love as the end and aim of mutual intercourse and association, but He likewise extends the divine law of peace to governments and rulers, declaring to them that they are called upon to establish peace and justice upon earth, and uproot forever the dire calamity of international war.
Despite His Revelation, a most agonizing and excruciating conflict raged in Europe for four years, and since that war many other wars and revolutions have dyed the earth, while at present the heaven of human hope is black with the approach of a final world-shaking catastrophe.
What wonder that faithful Bahá’ís, abhorring and detesting war as insane repudiation of divine law, as destroyer of life and ruin of civilization, should now, in these fateful days, ponder how they may save their loved ones from the calamity of the battle field, and how they may contribute their utmost to any and every effort aimed at the attainment of universal peace?
Conscious of these heart-stirrings, and mindful of its responsibility toward all American believers, and particularly that radiant youth which would first of all be sacrificed in the event of a declaration of war by the government, the National Spiritual Assembly wishes to express its view upon the matter, in the hope that the result of its study of the Teachings and of the Guardian’s explanations will assist in bringing a unity of opinion and a clarification of thought among the friends.
Concerning the duty of Bahá’ís to their government, we have these words, written by Shoghi Effendi on January 1, 1929 (see "Bahá’í Administration,” page 152): "To all these (that is, restrictive measures of the Soviet regime) the followers of the Faith of Baha’u’llah have with feelings of burning agony and heroic fortitude unanimously and unreservedly submitted, ever mindful of the guiding principle of Bahá’í conduct that in connection with their administrative activities, no matter how grievously interference with them might affect the course of the extension of the Movement, and the suspension of which does not constitute in itself a departure from the principle of loyalty to
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1Guardian has carefully read the N. S. A.’s statement on the Bahá’í attitude toward war, and approves of its circulation among the believers." —Shoghi Effendi, through his secretary, Haifa, January 10. 1936.
their Faith, the considered judgment and authoritative decrees issued by their responsible rulers must, if they be faithful to Bahá’u’lláh’s and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s express injunctions, be thoroughly respected and loyally obeyed. In matters, however, that vitally affect the integrity and honor of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and are tantamount to a recantation of their faith and repudiation of their innermost belief, they are convinced, and are unhesitatingly prepared to vindicate by their life-blood the sincerity of their conviction, that no power on earth, neither the arts of the most insidious adversary nor the bloody weapons of the most tyrannical oppressor, can ever succeed in extorting from them a word or deed that might tend to stifle the voice of their conscience or tarnish the purity of their faith."
In view of the fact that early Christians were persecuted because they refused to render military service, the question might be raised whether the above statement means that the Guardian includes refusal to bear arms as one of those matters which ”vitally affect the integrity and honor of the Faith. . . and are tantamount to a recantation of their faith and repudiation of their innermost belief”—a question the more important in that the early Christians preferred persecution to military service.
The answer to this question is that the Guardian instructs us that the obligation to render military duty placed by governments upon their citizens is a form of loyalty to one’s government which the Bahá’í must accept, but that the believers can, through their National Assembly, seek exemption from active army duty provided their government recognizes the right of members of religious bodies making peace a matter of conscience to serve in some non-combatant service rather than as part of the armed force.
The National Spiritual Assembly has investigated carefully this aspect of the situation, and has found that, whereas the government of the United States did, in the last war, provide exemption from military duty on religious grounds, nevertheless this exemption was part of the Statutes bearing directly upon that war, and with the cessation of hostilities the exemption lapsed. In other words, there is today* no basis on which any Bahá’í may be exempted from military duty in a possible future conflict. The National Assembly, consequently, cannot at present make any petition for exemption of Bahá’ís from war service, for such petitions must be filed with reference to some specific Act or Statute under which exemption can be granted. The Assembly understands that, in the event of war, there will be some kind of provision for exemption enacted, but as far as Bahá’ís are concerned, no steps can be taken until this government declares itself in a state of war.
This explanation, it is hoped, will satisfy those who for some years have been urging that protection be secured for American Bahá’í youth.
On the other hand it must be pointed out that it is no part of our teaching program to attract young people to the Cause merely in order to take advantage of any exemption that may later on be officially obtained for duly enrolled Bahá’ís. The only justifiable reason for joining this Faith is because one realizes that it is a divine Cause and is ready and willing to accept whatever may befall a believer on the path of devotion. The persecutions which have been inflicted upon Bahá’ís so frequently make it clear that the path of devotion is one of sacrifice and not of ease or special privilege.
Another question encountered here and there among believers is what can Bahá’ís do to work for peace? Outside the Cause we see many organizations with peace programs, and believers occasionally feel that it is their duty to join such movements and thereby work for a vital Bahá’í principle.
It is the view of the National Spiritual Assembly that activity in and for the Cause itself is the supreme service to world peace. The Bahá’í community of the world is the true example of peace. The Bahá’í principles are the only ones upon which peace can be established. Therefore, by striving to enlarge the number of declared believers, and broadcasting the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, we are doing the utmost to rid humanity of the scourge of war. Of what use to spend time and money upon incomplete human programs when we have the universal program of the Manifestation of God? The firm
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*1936.
union of the Bahá’ís in active devotion to the advancement of their own Faith—this is our service to peace, as it is our service to all other human needs—economic justice, race amity, religious unity, etc. Let non-believers agitate for disarmament and circulate petitions for this and that pacifist aim—a Bahá’í truly alive in this Faith will surely prefer to base his activities upon the foundation laid by Bahá’u’lláh, walk the path which the Master trod all His days, and heed the appeals which the Guardian has given us to initiate a new era in the public teaching of the Message.
THE WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ‘ABDU’L—BAHÁ
INTERPRETATION OF THE WILL AND TESTAMENT
WELL is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá’u’lláh and rendereth thanks unto his Lord! For He assuredly will be made manifest. God hath indeed ordained it in the Bayán.—THE BÁB. (The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, pages 54-55.)
The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. (The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, page 54.)
It is incumbent upon the Aghṣán, the Afnán and My kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: “When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed. Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.” The object of this sacred verse is none except the Most Mighty Branch (‘Abdu’l-Bahá). Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. (The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, page 42.)
There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. (The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, page 43.)
In accordance with the explicit text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh hath made the Center of the Covenant the Interpreter of His Word—a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ. (The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, page 44.)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who incarnates an institution for which we can find no parallel whatsoever in any of the world’s recognized religious systems, may be said to have closed the Age to which He Himself belonged and opened the one in which we are now laboring. His Will and Testament should thus be regarded as the perpetual, the indissoluble link which the mind of Him Who is the Mystery of God has conceived in order to insure the continuity of the three ages that constitute the component parts of the Bahá’í Dispensation. . . .
The creative energies released by the Law
of Bahá’u’lláh, permeating and evolving
within the mind of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have, by
their very impact and close interaction,
given birth to an Instrument which may be
viewed as the Charter of the New World
Order which is at once the glory and the
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promise of this most great Dispensation. The
Will may thus be acclaimed as the inevitable
offspring resulting from that mystic intercourse
between Him Who communicated the
generating influence of His divine Purpose
and the One Who was its vehicle and chosen
recipient. Being the Child of the Covenant
—the Heir of both the Originator and the
Interpreter of the Law of God—the Will and
Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá can no more be
divorced from Him Who supplied the original
and motivating impulse than from the
One Who ultimately conceived it. Bahá’u’lláh’s
inscrutable purpose, we must ever
bear in mind, has been so thoroughly infused
into the conduct of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and their
motives have been so closely wedded together,
that the mere attempt to dissociate the
teachings of the former from any system
which the ideal Exemplar of those same
teachings has established would amount to
a repudiation of one of the most sacred and
basic truths of the Faith.
The Administrative Order, which ever since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension has evolved and is taking shape under our very eyes in no fewer than forty countries of the world, may be considered as the framework of the Will itself, the inviolable stronghold wherein this new-born child is being nurtured and developed. This Administrative Order, as it expands and consolidates itself, will no doubt manifest the potentialities and reveal the full implications of this momentous Document—this most remarkable expression of the Will of One of the most remarkable Figures of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. It will, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time the whole of mankind.—SHOGHI EFFENDI. (The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, pages 51-52.)
A COMMENTARY ON THE WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ
BY DAVID HOFMAN
CIVILIZATION is the social expression of the human spirit. In every age this spirit first becomes articulate in a Gospel or "Book,” and every age requires its own voice to cry its latent ideals in the wilderness of confusion—that period of transition from one social era to another.
The Bahá’í Faith has been called the spirit of this age, and Bahá’u’lláh, its Author, is acclaimed by His followers as the Messenger of God for to-day. His revelation deals directly with the problems of the age, spiritually and practically.
The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His son, constitutes the “indissoluble link” between the Revelation itself and the world order which that Revelation is destined to promote.
“The creative energies released by the Law of Bahá’u’lláh, permeating and evolving within the mind of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have, by their very impact and close interaction, given birth to an Instrument which may be viewed as the Charter of the New World Order which is at once the glory and the promise of this most great Dispensation.” (Shoghi Effendi in "The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah.”)
No human being would claim to-day, to understand fully the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. To us, “the generation of the half-light,” is given only a dim perception of its major features—the main institutions, the most brilliant light and the darkest shade, a clouded vision of the whole and only an intimation of the subtle and hidden relationships between the component bodies.
But because of this we are also given the
opportunity to probe that mystery, to seek,
in the ever increasing light of this wondrous
dawn, to discover more and more of
the picture, to attain, by experience of the
society which Bahá’u’lláh’s almighty Spirit
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has already raised, and by striving to pierce
the mystery of His Revelation, a clearer
vision of that Divine Order of which the
Will and Testament is the Charter.
In order to obtain this fuller understanding, it is necessary to approach the Will as one would approach a great work of art; free of all objective conceptions, shapes, colors, institutions, methods, free particularly of any expectation and of the "tales of the past.” It is essential to approach the Will, not looking for confirmation of anything of one’s own, but waiting only to see what the Author has to say.
With this attitude ever in mind, we may consider the social and political theory of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, which is to operate through the provisions and institutions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It is summed up in the word Theocracy, or, as an earlier dispensation had it, “God Himself shall rule His people.” Such a system can neither be entirely democratic, nor aristocratic, nor autocratic. It must, and does, rest on different sanctions and operate through different channels, without, however, discarding what has been found good in human experience.
No modern people will ever think of God as an incarnate Being, administering world affairs from some earthly capital. The conception of Theocracy therefore, in its true sense of rule by the Will of God, is not new to human imagination and hope, but it is definitely new (and as yet remains unknown) to conscious experience. The greatest efforts of peoples, whether exemplified in the once mighty system of Christendom, based on the undoubted primacy of Peter and reinforced by whatever the Roman genius had to offer, or in the slow and empirical growth of the British Constitution, or in the painstaking efforts of the framers of the American Constitution, cannot be said to bear that stamp of perfection which must characterize Theocracy. Nor indeed can it be expected that they should, since such a system is only practicable to a generally mature society. And humanity even now stands only at the gate of that condition, unable to put away its youth and advance joyfully to its destiny.
The attributes of God exist in perfection only in His Manifestation. ”Whoso hath seen me hath seen the Father”; "when I contemplate, O my God, the relationship that bindeth me to Thee, I am moved to proclaim to all created things ‘verily I am God!’; and when I consider my own self, lo, I find it coarser than clay!” Therefore, as long as the Manifestation dwells with men, the Will of God may be known without fear of pollution from the channel through which it is revealed. Only seldom, however, is the Manifestation called upon to administer the social order which His Revelation creates.* The problem, therefore, is to protect the word and to find adequate and safe channels for the continuous flow of Divine guidance, after the ascension of the Prophet. This is an essential condition of Theocracy, the sine qua non without which any order, no matter how good, lacks the ultimate sanction of the authentic interpretation of the “Book.” Little wonder that Muḥammad should characterise His Book and His Family (among whom was ‘Alí, the appointed successor) as the greatest gifts which He left to His followers. It is upon the Book, the written Word, and its interpretation as authorised by its Author, that a theocratic state must rest.
The unique and peerless feature of the Bahá’í Revelation is that for the first time in history, full and undeniable provision has been made for the protection of the Word and for the continuity of Divine guidance, without in the least constricting that creative force latent in every human soul, and which, when evoked by the Word of God, is the motivating power of civilization. Far from hampering the operation of this mighty force, the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh provides for its fullest expression, and by eliminating “economic” fear, offers it greater scope and a longer period of effective strength. In addition it provides adequate channels for its direction and the overshadowing guidance of the Covenant, so that the excesses and wastefulness and confusion common to the early days of a new vitality, are avoided. Reference is made to such times as the Renaissance, or, on a lesser scale, the settlemenn of the West in America.
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*Notably in the case of Muḥammad.
First Bahá’í Study Group of Caracas, Venezuela, 1944.
The institutions provided by the Bahá’í Revelation to guard the Book from interpolation and to keep open the channel of Guidance, are the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice, the “twin pillars” of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. The Guardian as interpreter of what is in the Book, and the Universal House of Justice as legislator on matters not provided for in the Book, are "both under the care and protection of the 'Abhá Beauty,’ under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One.” The close spiritual relationship between these two institutions is commented on later, although it is clearly apparent that this is one of the features of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order at present shrouded in mystery, a mystery which experience and the passage of time will do more to clarify than present meditation.
The Guardianship is another mystery whose full significance will only be discovered by later generations. To us it means, from our own experience, unity, preservation, and an ultimate authority, but to future generations it may mean both more and less. Less because the Universal House of Justice will be fully established and active, and able to exercise those functions which now devolve upon the Guardian; more, by virtue of the reinforcement of the institution through the full development of all the other component parts of the Bahá’í World Order, and because of the extension of its activity from the inspirer, champion and beloved guide of a small and struggling world community, to the full exercise of its duties and prerogatives as one of the twin pillars sustaining the single social order of the planet.
But we may say something of the significance of this mighty institution in the light of historical experience. In any highly developed, and therefore complex, modern state, guarantee has had to be created or developed for the protection of the constitution. In England the constitution (elusive and indefinable) is guaranteed by the monarchy. The king is the guarantor of the rights and freedom of the individual and the upholder of constitutional authority. In America the Supreme Court fulfils this function.*
It is apparent that the most politically mature peoples have realized and tried to meet, the need for safeguarding the basis of their society. Warned by historical experience, where every covenant has eventually been broken, every order eventually corrupted, man still seeks the assured foundation and the house builded upon a rock.
This basic need is filled in the Order of Bahá’u’lláh through the unique institution of the Guardianship. Not only is the Guardian the channel of Divine guidance, but he is the protector, the "Guardian of the Cause of God.” The Book, the "Mother Book” from which this mighty order springs,
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*This is the only similarity of the institutions.
Some of the First Bahá’ís of La Paz, Bolivia.
claims him as its guardian and interpreter, and no other may serve. The Guardian is under the protection of the Manifestation of God, and therefore through him "the mighty stronghold shall remain impregnable and safe.”
Beyond this the author does not wish to go at present, other commentary on the Guardianship being too nebulous for assured expression.
Here then, based on the inviolable sanction of the Word of God, Divine guidance is given to man in respect of interpretation of what has already been revealed, and in respect of whatever additions to the Book are necessary for the transaction of affairs. It is from these complementary functions of the two main institutions that the flexibility of the Administrative Order is derived. For the interpretation of the Guardian may vary in application (never in principle) while the House of Justice is specifically empowered to repeal and modify its own laws, which form no part of the Book.
The various agencies for bringing this guidance to bear on the energy generated by the action of the creative Word on the souls of men, are dealt with in the text. It is desired to stress here that the guidance and the energy meet in the same institutions and operate through the same channels. This is the spiritual process implied when it is said that Bahá’í institutions are not solely political, social, judicial or religious. They are all these things at the same time, organic, complex, highly developed, mature institutions, and therefore exceedingly difficult to establish and their mysterious operation exceedingly difficult to understand, as the present world community of Bahá’í’s knows to its pain and its joy.
Energy is generated from the mass, guidance is diffused from the top; the two, mingling in the arteries of this organic order and spreading throughout its nervous system, constitute its life force.
It should be borne in mind that the Will and Testament is an integral part of Scripture and can no more be divorced from the rest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s utterances than can any part of the creative Word from the whole Revelation. It should be remembered too that the Master’s other statements on the functions of Houses of Justice, on consultation, on the general conduct of affairs, on the rights and obligations of individuals, are of equal importance to the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. But the Will and Testament is the clear and authentic charter of this Order; it establishes its institutions and defines its relationships.
Through this document the rights of all are protected, authority is upheld and power delegated. It is no less than the charter of world civilization, the Bill of Rights of all mankind.
In the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, power and initiative are vested in the people. The power is expressed through the control of all local affairs by the local House of Justice —a body elected from the residents in each locality, which must present its records periodically (every 19 days) and seek the advice, opinions and comment of the community which it serves. Initiative is evoked by the direct injunction of Bahá’u’lláh on each individual to engage in "some one occupation, such as arts, crafts, trades, professions and the like.” "We have made this, your occupation, identical with the worship of God, the True One.”
It is also a basic teaching of Bahá’u’lláh that whatever is given by God—His Revelation, Guidance, Knowledge—is in direct proportion to the receptive capacity of mankind. Therefore to some extent—certainly within the space of one dispensation—man is the arbiter of his own destiny. For the gifts and bounties available are conferred according to his efforts. ”Whoso maketh efforts for us, him will we cause the faithful spirit. . . .” So that the only limit set to the outward expression of the sovereignty of the Manifestation, is the state of development of man’s power to respond to the Word of God. This power is his highest faculty, and in this dispensation it reaches maturity. This motivating power of society, arising from the people, remains vested in the people by the institutions and ordinances of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Manifestation of God is the Source
of all. Through Him power and initiative
are evoked in the mass of mankind. Through
His Covenant, specifically centred in
‘Abdu’l-Bahá interpretation and protection
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is given. Through the Will and Testament
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the Covenant is preserved
and extended for the whole length of the
dispensation. Authority and Divine guidance
are vested in the House of Justice, and
guarantee and Divine guidance are vested
in the Guardian. A close relationship is
revealed between the component and integral
parts of the World Commonwealth.
This then is Theocracy. Power and initiative evoked by the Word of God; authority conferred by the Word of God; guarantee and guidance given and maintained by the Word of God. Everything rests on the creative Word and God Himself rules His people.
Such a comprehensive and unquestionably authorised system is new to human experience. Neither the Christian Faith, nor Islám, can claim the written, undisputable authority of the Manifestation of God for any system within their folds. Consequently their socially creative power is paralyzed by the spirit of modern criticism, and they are unable to make any significant contribution to the reorganization of world society. Sincere and altruistic as is the desire of many within these Faiths, and of many in the other great religious systems of the planet, those very systems arrest the vision of their members at their own borders, so that there is small hope of their aspirations being realized, save through the Most Great Covenant whose promise is enshrined within their Holy Books.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament is divided into three parts, each apparently written at different times, the last two some time later than the first part. It is a matter of inference that parts two and three were added by the Master after two particularly flagrant violations by the traitorous members of His own Family. Part 1 has the following note at the end: "This written paper hath for a long time been preserved underground, damp having affected it. When brought forth to the light, it was observed that certain parts of it were injured by the damp, and the Holy Land being sorely agitated it was left untouched.”
Parts 2 and 3 each recount fresh violations of the Covenant and dwell upon the importance of preserving the Faith. The Guardian and the Universal House of Justice are mentioned in each part.
Some conception of the trials which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá faced may be gathered by a single perusal of the Will; from such sentences as this: "O dearly beloved friends! I am now in very great danger and the hope of even an hour’s life is lost to me.” Under such conditions the Master’s only thought was for the friends and the preservation of the Faith. He prays for both, sends His love and confers His blessing, and ends with mention of the Guardian.
We now come to the text.
The opening paragraph serves as introduction to the high theme which is to follow, and reveals its main outline. That outline is the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.
"All praise to Him . . .,” this refers to Bahá’u’lláh, ”. . . Who by the shield of His Covenant hath guarded the Temple of His Cause from the darts of doubtfulness . . . .” The Covenant, which shields the Faith from schism and protects it from the violators, is inseparable from the name of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whose Will and Testament is as essential a part of it as is the Will and Testament of Bahá’u’lláh.
The main theme of the Covenant is protection of the Word and the continuity of Divine guidance. In the Testament of Bahá’u’lláh this theme has a single expression, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Greatest Branch, the Centre of the Covenant. In the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá it has two expressions, the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice.
This second paragraph bears much meditation.
In itself it is a complete statement,
perfectly constructed and fitting into the
whole Will and Testament as an integral
unit. It begins with the Guardian and ends
with the Guardian, but not before every
member of the great world order, destined
to rise on this Charter, has been included.
"Salutation and praise, blessing and glory rest upon that primal branch of the Divine and Sacred Lote Tree, grown out, blest, tender, verdant, and flourishing from the Twin Holy Trees. . . .”
The "primal branch” is Shoghi Effendi; the Divine and
Sacred Lote-Tree is the Manifestation of
God (specifically Bahá’u’lláh in this instance)
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and the Twin Holy Trees are Bahá’u’lláh and
the Báb, Shoghi Effendi being
descended from both houses, that of the
Báb through his father, that of Bahá’u’lláh
through his mother.
This is the first mention of the Guardian and follows immediately upon the praise to Bahá’u’lláh and His Covenant. Note the tender and loving language which the Master uses, and then consider the next part of this long sentence: “The most wondrous, unique and priceless pearl that doth gleam from out the twin surging seas. . . .” This is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s testimony to the first Guardian. The Twin surging Seas again designate Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. We may note here that throughout Bahá’í Scripture, the Divine Lote Tree, the Ocean, the Nightingale, are symbols of the Manifestation of God, and that whenever the twin symbols are used, reference is made to the two Manifestations of this Dispensation, Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb.
The statement now continues with mention of others in the Faith upon whom "salutation and praise” is invoked. ". . . the offshoots of the Tree of Holiness,” that is Bahá’u’lláh’s children; ". . . the twigs of the Celestial Tree,” descendants and members of His Family and of that of the Báb; ". . . they that in the day of the Great dividing have stood firm in the Covenant.” This refers to the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh when many sought leadership and violated the explicit written Covenant. The great dividing was between those who were steadfast and the violator, and bears no reference whatever to a schism. As time has shown, the Covenant flourished and the violators came to nothing. Next are the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God, those who have spread the Message and "stood for righteousness in this world, and kindled the Fire of the love of God in the very hearts and souls of His servants.” Finally "them that have believed, rested assured, stood steadfast in His Covenant and followed the Light that after my passing shineth from the Dayspring of Divine guidance—for behold! he is the blest and sacred bough that hath branched out from the Twin Holy Trees. Here is a definite assurance that after the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Divine guidance will be given through the Guardian, a written statement made even more explicitly later, unique in the religious history of the world.
The paragraph closes: "Well is it with him that seeketh the shelter of his shade that shadoweth all mankind.” How great is this passage, how perfect in composition, how beautiful in design. Opening with the theme of the Guardianship, continuing throughout the whole body of believers, it returns easily and smoothly to its theme, carries it to a great crescendo, stops, and then concludes with that thunderous chord, "Well is it with him that seeketh the shelter of his shade that shadoweth all mankind.”
Some comment is necessary on the term "all mankind.” Not only the believers, but every human being is under the shadow of the Guardian. This is not difficult to realise when we understand that the Manifestation of God is the Tree upon which all human beings are the leaves. We all belong to that Tree, consciously, unconsciously, or even unwillingly. The Manifestation is the Lord of the Age and "all else are servants unto Him and do His bidding.” Direct from the Manifestation by His explicit will, through the centre of the Covenant, the light of Divine guidance continues to shine through the Guardian, and will do so until God is again manifested "in the noble form of the human temple.”
All development is of the spirit. The milestones of progress . . . what we call events . . . are reached first in the spiritual world and later objectified in human affairs. Thus the sovereignty of Christ was a spiritual fact at the time of His Manifestation, but there was a lag of some hundreds of years before human consciousness caught up with it. It is so to-day with the sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh, and therefore with the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá continues by urging the
friends to protect the Faith of God, a duty
which can be accomplished, as He states
later, by
"obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God.”
He recounts the
martyrdoms of the early believers and some
of the afflictions heaped upon Bahá’u’lláh
and the Báb. "Ten thousand souls . . .”;
a constant perusal of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s writings
leads one to feel that the term is not
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intended exactly, but means a great number.
The Will continues with an account of the base treason of Yaḥyá, Bahá’u’lláh’s half-brother, a tale known only too well by those who have wept for the afflictions of the Blessed Beauty. The dark story is not complete however; by no means. Muḥammad ‘Alí, the "centre of sedition,” the "prime mover of mischief”; Badi’u’lláh, too weak for constancy in faith or treason; Shuá’u’lláh, "in concert with others,” plot and scheme and work mischief with all their might, motivated by black hatred deep in their miserable natures which impels them to oppose the Light of God and to attempt to destroy the Centre of the Covenant. The story of their countless machinations is surely without equal. Little wonder the Master sought refuge with the Almighty Father Whose Light found so perfect an expression in Him. ". . . Graciously assist me, through my love for Thee, that I may drink deep of the chalice that brimmeth over with faithfulness to Thee and is filled with Thy bountiful Grace. . . . Lord! Shield Thou from these Covenant breakers the mighty stronghold of Thy Faith and protect Thy secret sanctuary from the onslaught of the ungodly. Thou in truth art the Mighty, the Powerful, the Gracious, the Strong.”
He next proclaims that Muḥammad ‘Alí is "cut off from the Holy Tree”; expelled from the community of the believers, for whom He reveals a prayer. "O God, my God! Shield Thy trusted servants from the evils of self and passion, protect them with the watchful eye of Thy loving kindness from all rancor, hate and envy, shelter them in the impregnable stronghold of Thy Cause and, safe from the darts of doubtfulness, make them manifestations of Thy glorious signs, illumine their faces with the effulgent rays shed from the Dayspring of Thy Divine Unity, gladden their hearts with the verses revealed from Thy Holy Kingdom, strengthen their loins by Thine all swaying power that cometh from Thy realm of glory. Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Protector, the Almighty, the Gracious.”
Now, having established the Guardianship, and exposed the violators (whose crimes He concealed when they affected only Himself), He exhorts the friends in the strongest language to engage in teaching the Cause far and wide, "that throughout the East and the West a vast concourse may gather under the shadow of the Word of God, that the sweet savers of holiness may be diffused, that faces may shine radiantly, hearts be filled with the Divine spirit and souls be made heavenly.” "It behoveth them not to rest for a moment, neither to seek repose. They must disperse themselves in every land, pass by every clime and travel throughout all regions.” And in the midst of such activity He wishes the friends "to achieve renown in the world wherever they go.” On another occasion He said, "I desire for you distinction.”
"The disciples of Christ forgot themselves and all earthly things, forsook all their cares and belongings, purged themselves of self and passion and with absolute detachment scattered far and wide and engaged in calling the peoples of the world to the Divine guidance, till at last they made the world another world, illumined the surface of the earth and even to their last hour proved self-sacrificing in the pathway of that Beloved One of God. Finally in various lands they suffered glorious martyrdom. Let them that are men of action follow in their footsteps.”
The remainder of Part 1 delineates the main features of the Administrative Order. The Guardian is named and appointed. All the “branches,” “twigs,” "hands,” and believers must "turn unto Shoghi Effendi . . . as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the guardian of the Cause of God.” "He is the expounder of the Words of God and after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.” Thus the authority of the interpreter, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is conferred upon the Guardian. (The succession is amplified later.)
Immediately following this the Guardian is declared to be "under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty (Bahá’u’lláh) under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One” (the Báb). The command of obedience to the Guardian and to the Universal House of Justice, which is under the same protection and guidance, is as strong and emphatic as anything
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bogota, Colombia, 1944, with Mrs. Dorothy Baker, representing the Inter-America Committee.
found in the Master’s Writings, and the passages require constant reading to allow their forcefulness to sink in.
The succession is established, calling into the picture another institution, that of the Hands of the Cause of God. The Guardian must, in his own lifetime, nominate his successor (previously designated as his first born son). The Hands of the Cause of God are to elect nine from their own number, and this body of nine, by secret vote, must approve of the Guardian’s nomination, unanimity or majority vote prevailing. Should they not uphold the nomination, the Guardian must appoint "another branch to succeed him.” This means a descendant of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Hands of the Cause are all appointed by the Guardian, men and women of exalted spiritual character. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes them thus: Their duties are "to diffuse the Divine fragrances, to edify the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men, and to be, at all times and under all conditions, sanctified and detached from earthly things. They must manifest the fear of God by their conduct, their manners their deeds and their words.”
The whole body of the Hands of the Cause is under "the direction of the Guardian of the Cause of God,” but the small body of nine which they elect from among themselves "shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God.” Thus the Guardianship has an attendant body of helpers, elected from the spiritual aristocracy of mankind, and the Guardian also has at his direction spiritually exalted characters throughout the planet, wherever he may be guided to appoint them.
There is nothing in the Will and Testament from which to infer that the Hands of the Cause have any political, social, or economic privilege. They are spiritual advisers and teachers and must obey the Houses of Justice like any other believer. It may be meant that they are to be supported from Huqúq as this money is to be expended "for the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Word, for benevolent pursuits and for the common weal,” which are the duties of the Hands of the Cause. The Guardian’s interpretation will decide that, but in any case the non-ecclesiastical character of the Faith is not changed, since the direction of affairs, administration of the House of Worship, meetings and celebration of festivals and anniversaries, remain the inviolable right
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 1942.
of the Houses of Justice in each locality.
The purpose for which all these forces are to be mobilised is "that the existent world may become even as the Abhá Paradise, that the surface of the earth may become heavenly, that contention and conflict amidst peoples, kindreds, nations and governments may disappear, that all the dwellers on earth may become one people and one race, that the world may become even as one home. Should differences arise they shall be amicably and conclusively settled by the Supreme Tribunal, that shall include members from all the governments and peoples of the world.”
Here is the first, and only mention of this important institution in the Will and Testament. A World Court of arbitration, Supreme Tribunal, drawing its members from all nations will, as the Guardian has already written "adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constituting this universal system.”
Throughout the Will and Testament, as
indeed throughout all ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s writings,
there breathes that ideal of boundless
love, of reconciliation, amity and universality,
of which He was the perfect Exemplar.
This is nowhere more apparent than in this
mighty Charter, where the intrigues and
hatred of the Covenant breakers have to
be exposed, and the organism kept healthy
by their expulsion. However strong and
vehement the Master’s denunciation of the
violators of the Covenant, there is only
prayer and forgiveness for the oppressors
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The breakers of the Covenant
are consigned to the wrath of God, but
for these same people, the contemptible
enemies of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, there is only this:
"O my Lord! Have mercy upon them, shield them from all afflictions in these troubled times and grant that all trials and hardship may be the lot of this Thy servant that hath fallen into this darksome pit. . . . O God! my God! lowly, suppliant and fallen upon my face, I beseech Thee with all the ardor of my invocation to pardon whosoever hath hurt me, forgive him that hath
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conspired against me and offended me, and wash away the misdeeds of them that have wrought injustice upon me. . . .”
His prayers for the believers and the Cause are fervent and simple. For protection from self and passion, for safety from the violators. He now exhorts them: "O ye beloved of the Lord! In this sacred Dispensation, conflict and contention are in no wise permitted. Every aggressor deprives himself of God’s grace. It is incumbent upon everyone to show the utmost love, rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and sincere kindliness unto all the peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense must be the spirit of love and loving-kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. For universality is of God and all limitations earthly. Thus man must strive that his reality may manifest virtues and perfections, the light whereof may shine upon everyone. The light of the sun shineth upon all the world and the merciful showers of Divine Providence fall upon all peoples. The vivifying breeze reviveth every living creature and all beings endued with life obtain their share and portion at His heavenly board. In like manner, the affections and loving kindness of the servants of the One True God must be bountifully and universally extended to all mankind. Regarding this, restrictions and limitations are in no wise permitted.”
"Wherefore, O my loving friends, consort with all the peoples, kindreds and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, goodwill and friendliness; that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Bahá, that ignorance, enmity, hate and rancor may vanish from the world and the darkness of estrangement amidst the peoples and kindreds of the world may give way to the Light of Unity. Should other peoples and nations be unfaithful to you show your fidelity to them, should they be unjust towards you show justice towards them, should they keep aloof from you attract them to yourself, should they show their enmity be friendly towards them, should they poison your lives sweeten their souls, should they inflict a wound upon you, be a salve to their sores. Such are the attributes of the sincere. Such are the attributes of the truthful.”
This quotation will serve to remind us that the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh is no mere system to be laid over a dead society. Its motivating force, its life, its breath, is the love and service of God; the Administrative Order is the Divinely appointed scheme by which the mature expression of such spiritual force may find its fullest expression.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá deals next with the House of Justice, explaining that He means the Universal House of Justice "which God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error.” This refers to its establishment by Bahá’u’lláh Himself and to its being under the same protection and guidance as overshadow the Guardian. "It must be elected by universal suffrage”; a direction later specified to mean that the members of the National Houses of Justice must constitute the electorate of the supreme Universal House. The Master states the qualities which the voters must consider when electing this world government. "Its members must be the manifestations of the fear of God and daysprings of knowledge and understanding, must be steadfast in God’s faith and the well-wishers of all mankind.”
The close and indissoluble relationship
between the two “Pillars” of Bahá’u’lláh’s
World Order, the twin institutions of the
Guardianship and the Universal House of
Justice, is now more clearly revealed than
formerly, when they were linked together
"under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One.”
The Guardian, whose duty of interpretation has
already been laid down, is appointed permanent
head of the Universal House of Justice.
He must attend its deliberations or send
someone to represent him. He has
"at his own discretion, the right to expel”
any member who commits a sin
"injurious to the common weal.”
The obvious comment is
that the guidance which is given to the
institution does not descend to individuals by
right of membership. Only the Guardian has
this individual protection. The House of
Justice, however, has its own defined functions,
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upon which the Guardian may not encroach. "It enacteth all ordinances and regulations that are not to he found in the explicit Holy Text. By this body all the difficult problems are to he resolved. . . . This House of Justice enacteth the laws and the government enforceth them.” The House of Justice deliberates on all matters not in the Book, and legislates, majority vote prevailing. The Guardian has one vote and no power of veto. Should he believe an adopted measure to be contrary to the spirit of the Faith, he will most certainly ask for a reconsideration, and it is impossible to imagine the House of Justice not seeking the true spiritual foundation of the matter in consultation with the Guardian.
It is noteworthy too that just as both institutions receive the same Divine care and protection, so the Guardian, by virtue of his membership, partakes of the authority vested in the House of Justice, although he has no individual legislative power.
These twin pillars of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, acting in close harmony, yet within clearly defined spheres, ensure the continuity of Divine guidance not only with respect to interpretation of the revealed Word, but also with respect to the practical application of the spiritual principles of the Faith to world affairs, as well as to legislative on those matters which Bahá’u’lláh has ”deliberately left” out of "the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.” Authority therefore is vested in the House of Justice, according to the Will of Bahá’u’lláh and the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Guarantee, or guardianship, comes from the Guardian by virtue of his interpretation of the Word of God, the bedrock on which the whole structure is raised. We have already shown that power and initiative reside in the mass of believers —in the people—who constitute the seedbed of human development.
This paragraph about the House of Justice concludes with a statement which penetrates deep into the muddle and confusion of modern administration, and yet beats that stamp of deep wisdom, simplicity. "The legislative body must reinforce the executive, the executive must aid and assist the legislative body, so that through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all the regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself.”*
The executive body is composed in part of the National and Local Houses of Justice, but there will undoubtedly be a permanent executive service, such as some countries already have, and such as the League of Nations has already foreshadowed in its committees on nutrition, drug and white slave traffic, wage standards, education, and in the secretariat of its own council.
The mandate of the Universal House of Justice is clear and definite. It must deliberate upon "all problems that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book. Whatsoever they decide has the same effect as the text itself.” But in spite of such compelling authority bestowed upon it, its enactments are not in the same station as the Word of God, a distinction which the Master clearly upholds and of which he shows the implication. The decisions and laws formulated by the House of Justice may be abrogated by the House of Justice, whereas the text of the Book remains supreme and inviolate throughout the Dispensation.
The membership of the House of Justice will change, but the institution is created by Bahá’u’lláh. The Guardian, by virtue of his permanent membership, gives to it that continuity of vision and disinterestedness which is so strong a feature of monarchy.
The National House of Justice, or "secondary” House as it is termed in the Will, is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own contribution to the institutions of the world order. The Universal and Local Houses were designed by Bahá’u’lláh, but it is the Master Who institutes the intermediary or secondary body. ". . . in all countries, a secondary House of Justice must be instituted, and these secondary Houses of Justice must elect the members of the Universal one.”
“Huqúq,” or the fixed money offering ordained by Bahá’u’lláh is to be offered "through the Guardian of the Cause of
————————
*For ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s further discussion of the relationship between these two functions see His essay on politics, published in English as "The Mysterious Forces of Civilization.”
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God, that it may be expended for the diffusion of the Fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Word for benevolent pursuits and for the common weal.”
The amount is not mentioned here (actually it
is one nineteenth of income after expenses
have been deducted) but the Master tells
the friends that God is independent of all
created things, and that this offering is a
favor from Him which
"causeth the people to become firm and steadfast and draweth Divine increase upon them.”
The machinations of Muḥammad ‘Alí and his fellow conspirators were a constant source of danger to the Master, and at one time He was constrained to write the following: "This wronged one hath in no wise borne, nor doth he bear a grudge against anyone; towards none doth he entertain any ill-feeling and uttereth no word save for the good of the world. My supreme obligation, however, of necessity, prompteth me to guard and preserve the Cause of God. Thus with the greatest regret I counsel you saying: Guard ye the Cause of God, protect His Law and have the utmost fear of discord. This is the foundation of the belief of the people of Bahá (may my life be offered up for them). 'His Holiness, the Exalted One (the Báb) is the Manifestation of the unity and Oneness of God and the forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abhá Beauty (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and the Dayspring of His Most Divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding.’ ”
The final sentence is a direct repudiation of the charge which the violators made, that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, by claiming to be in the same station as the Manifestation, proved Himself an imposter according to the terms of Bahá’u’lláh’s Will, which stated clearly that after Him no Manifestation should appear for a full thousand years. (It is interesting to note their time honored method of using certain sentences for perverted ends whilst utterly ignoring the main substance.) It was a few of the Master’s own followers, who in their immaturity and overwhelming love, unwittingly lent assistance to this charge, by insisting on the same station for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Whom they had seen and to Whom they had delivered their hearts, as for Christ and Bahá’u’lláh Who were remote, and could not even in imagination surpass their perfect Master. It is an understandable view. The child models its unknown Father in heaven upon its known father, and many have mistaken the perfect expression for the reality. It is understandable even in view of the Master’s repeated statements to the contrary, although here understanding falls short of charity, for there is surely something of egotism in maintaining one’s own opinion at the cost of regarding the statements of the Centre of the Covenant as veils to shield the Truth from unworthy ones. Be that as it may, it lent some countenance to the violators, who were not slow to wrest whatever support they could from the fact of a few devoted believers regarding ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as Christ. Thus the Cause of God suffers as much, or more, “from the unwisdom of its friends” as the Guardian puts it, than from the hatred of its enemies.
The Will concludes with a re-statement of its major theme—the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi. "O ye the faithful loved ones of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It is incumbent upon you to take the greatest care of Shoghi Effendi, the twig that hath branched from, and the fruit given forth by the two hallowed and Divine Lote Trees, that no dust of despondency may stain his radiant nature, that day by day he may wax greater in happiness, in joy and spirituality, and may grow to become even as a fruitful tree.”
"For he is, after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the guardian Of the Cause of God; the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause and the beloved of the Lord must obey him and turn unto him. He that obeyeth him not, hath not obeyed God; he that turneth away from him, hath turned away from God and he that denieth him hath denied the True One. Beware lest anyone falsely interpret these words, and like unto them that have broken the Covenant after the Day of Ascension (of Bahá’u’lláh) advance a pretext, raise the standard of revolt, wax stubborn and open wide the door of false interpretation. To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular convictions. All
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must seek guidance and turn unto the Centre of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.”
"The glory of Glories rest upon you.”
The sentence "to none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular convictions” cannot be lifted from its context and applied to anything else but the succession. Indeed such a statement in any other setting would be a direct contradiction of the Bahá’í principle of consultation and a complete denial of the God given right of free speech. It refers only to the appointment of the first Guardian, about which no one must quibble. By now, of course, all likelihood of such a thing is past, but the pitiful experiences of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá proved only too clearly how the darkness in human nature is ever on the watch to take advantage of a sudden hiatus, caused by the removal from mortal sight of such a Figure as the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh. He wished to prevent a repetition of those dreadful days. History proves that He did so, and the Covenant which revolved around Him, was not broken. Violated by many, as traitors are counted, by few as the faithful are numbered, the mighty stronghold remained "impregnable and safe,” unbroken and unimpaired in its efficacy as a shelter for all mankind. Rather did it gain in strength through the casting off of inorganic elements, but at the cost of such tribulation to the Founders of the Faith as only the Holy Ones can bear.
We may wonder what happens to "Judas” in each dispensation. What of the mob that cries "crucify Him”; that assembles on the roof tops of Tabríz to watch His execution; that howls for blood and is hardly calmed by His bastinado; the mob that picks up stones to hurl at Majesty in chains. These qualities are manifested during each revelation, and must be, in order that the victory over death may be won again by that transcendent ”pure and stainless soul,” the Manifestation of God. The vessels of darkness doubtless are broken; so that the Light may enter. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
For those who sin against the Holy Ghost, that is recognise the Truth and receive its light, and then set themselves against it with the power which it has given them, we are told in the Gospel there is no forgiveness. To the Bahá’í, eternity means the duration of a dispensation, at the end of which time there is a "new heaven and a new earth” and "all things are made new.” Maybe this tortured being, conscious of God but excluded from "heaven” is given another chance at the day of judgment, when the Lord of the Age purifies all things.
. . . .
The more frequently one reads the Will and Testament the more is one intrigued and delighted by its artistic and aesthetic qualities. Its construction, form, design and unity all proclaim it the work of a creative, superbly balanced mind—as between the subjective values and objective forms. Written under stress and difficulty it never loses that mysterious quality which can elevate a painting or musical work to the realm of art.
Briefly the main design is the kingdom of God on earth; the theme, stated immediately after the introduction is Divine protection and guidance, a theme which has two phases, the Guardianship, and the Universal House of Justice, a theme which is repeated in each part of the work, which is perceptible in the many variations (principles of action and subsidiary institutions) and is itself expanded and developed in the main body of the work. It provides the closing sentence of the document. Dramatic value and contrast are provided by the opposition of the violators, a shade so black and strong as to "threaten to subvert the Divine edifice itself.” Over all is the glory of Bahá’u’lláh, and throughout, in the repetition of the major and minor themes, in the trials and persecutions of the Great Ones, in the all-conquering love showered on friend and foe alike, breathes that spirit of harmony and high drama, the Day and Night of the cosmos, which, by the creation of form in wood or stone, paint or music, language or social order, we humans strive perpetually to enshrine.
THE PROMISED DAY IS COME
BY SHOGHI EFFENDI
TO the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the West.
Friends and fellow-heirs of the Kingdom of Bahá’u’lláh:
A tempest, unprecedented in its violence, unpredictable in its course, catastrophic in its immediate effects, unimaginably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is at present sweeping the face of the earth. Its driving power is remorselessly gaining in range and momentum. Its cleansing force, however much undetected, is increasing with every passing day. Humanity, gripped in the clutches of its devastating power, is smitten by the evidences of its resistless fury. It can neither perceive its origin, nor probe its significance, nor discern its outcome. Bewildered, agonized and helpless, it watches this great and mighty wind of God invading the remotest and fairest regions of the earth, rocking its foundations, deranging its equilibrium, sundering its nations, disrupting the homes of its peoples, wasting its cities, driving into exile its kings, pulling down its bulwarks, uprooting its institutions, dimming its light, and harrowing up the souls of its inhabitants.
”The time for the destruction of the world and its people,” Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic pen has proclaimed, "hath arrived.” "The hour is approaching,” He specifically affirms, “when the most great convulsion will have appeared.” ”The promised day is come, the day when tormenting trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath your feet, saying: 'Taste ye what your hands have wrought!”’ "Soon shall the blasts of His chastisement heat upon you, and the dust of hell enshroud you.” And again: "And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake.” ”The day is approaching when its (civilization) flame will devour the cities, when the Tongue of Grandeur will proclaim: 'The Kingdom is God’s, the Almighty, the All-Praised!’ ” "The day will soon come,” He, referring to the foolish ones of the earth, has written, "whereon they will cry out for help and receive no answer.” "The day is approaching,” He moreover has prophesied, "when the wrathful anger of the Almighty will have taken hold of them. He, verily, is the Omnipotent, the All-Subduing, the Most Powerful. He shall cleanse the earth from the defilement of their corruption, and shall give it for an heritage unto such of His servants as are nigh unto Him.”
"As to those who deny Him Who is the Sublime Gate of God,” the Báb, for His part, has affirmed in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, "for them We have prepared, as justly decreed by God, a sore torment. And He, God, is the Mighty, the Wise.” And further, "O peoples of the earth! I swear by your Lord! Ye shall act as former generations have acted. Warn ye, then, yourselves of the terrible, the most grievous vengeance of God. For God is, verily, potent over all things.” And again: "By My glory! I will make the infidels to taste, with the hands of My power, retributions unknown of any one except Me, and will waft over the faithful those musk-scented breaths which I have nursed in the midmost heart of My throne.”
Dear friends! The powerful operations of this titanic upheaval are comprehensible to none except such as have recognized the claims of both Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. Their followers know full well whence it comes, and what it will ultimately lead to. Though ignorant of how far it will reach, they clearly recognize its genesis, are aware of its direction, acknowledge its necessity, observe confidently its mysterious processes, ardently pray for the mitigation of its severity, intelligently labor to assuage its fury, and anticipate, with undimmed vision, the consummation of the fears and the hopes it must necessarily engender.
This Judgment of God
This judgment of God, as viewed by those
who have recognized Bahá’u’lláh as His
Mouthpiece and His greatest Messenger on
earth, is both a retributory
calamity and an
act of holy and supreme discipline. It is at
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once a visitation from God and a cleansing process for all mankind. Its fires punish the perversity of the human race, and weld its component parts into one organic, indivisible, world-embracing community. Mankind, in these fateful years, which at once signalize the passing of the first century of the Bahá’í Era and proclaim the opening of a new one, is, as ordained by Him Who is both the Judge and the Redeemer of the human race, being simultaneously called upon to give account of its past actions, and is being purged and prepared for its future mission. It can neither escape the responsibilities of the past, nor shirk those of the future. God, the Vigilant, the Just, the Loving, the All-Wise Ordainer, can, in this supreme Dispensation, neither allow the sins of an unregenerate humanity, whether of omission or of commission, to go unpunished, nor will He be willing to abandon His children to their fate, and refuse them that culminating and blissful stage in their long, their slow and painful evolution throughout the ages, which is at once their inalienable right and their true destiny.
"Bestir yourselves, O people,” is, on the one hand, the ominous warning sounded by Bahá’u’lláh Himself, "in anticipation of the days of Divine Justice, for the promised hour is now come.” "Abandon that which ye possess, and seize that which God, Who layeth low the necks of men, hath brought. Know ye of a certainty that if ye turn not back from that which ye have committed, chastisement will overtake you on every side, and ye shall behold things more grievous
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than that which ye beheld aforetime.” And again: "We have fixed a time for you, O people! If ye fail, at the appointed hour, to turn towards God, He, verily, will lay violent hold on you, and will cause grievous afflictions to assail you from every direction. How severe indeed is the chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise you!” And again: "God assuredly dominateth the lives of them that wronged Us, and is well aware of their doings. He will most certainly lay hold on them for their sins. He, verily, is the fiercest of Avengers.“ And finally, "O ye peoples of the world! Know verily that an unforeseen calamity is following you and that grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not the deeds ye have committed have been blotted from My sight. By My Beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with open characters upon tablets of chrysolite.”
"The whole earth,”
Bahá’u’lláh, on the other hand,
forecasting the bright future in
store for a world now wrapt in darkness,
emphatically asserts,
"is now in a state of pregnancy. The day is approaching when it will have yielded its noblest fruits, when from it will have sprung forth the loftiest trees, the most enchanting blossoms, the most heavenly blessings.” ”The time is approaching when every created thing will have cast its burden. Glorified be God Who hath vouchsafed this grace that encompasseth all things, whether seen or unseen!” "These great oppressions,”
He, moreover, foreshadowing humanity’s
golden age, has written,
"are preparing it for the advent of the Most Great Justice.”
This Most Great Justice is indeed the
Justice upon which the
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structure of the Most Great Peace can alone,
and must eventually, rest, while the Most
Great Peace will, in turn usher in that Most
Great, that World Civilization which shall
remain for ever associated with Him Who
beareth the Most Great Name.
Beloved friends! Well nigh a hundred years have elapsed since the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh dawned upon the world—a Revelation, the nature of which, as affirmed by Himself, ”none among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever completely apprehended.” For a whole century God has respited mankind, that it might acknowledge the Founder of such a Revelation, espouse His Cause, proclaim His greatness, and establish His Order. In a hundred volumes, the repositories of priceless precepts, mighty laws, unique principles, impassioned exhortations, reiterated warnings, amazing prophecies, sublime invocations, and weighty commentaries, the Bearer of such a Message has proclaimed, as no Prophet before Him has done, the Mission with which God had entrusted Him. To emperors, kings, princes and potentates, to rulers, governments, clergy and peoples, whether of the East or of the West, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Zoroastrian, He addressed, for well-nigh fifty years, and in the most tragic circumstances, these priceless pearls of knowledge and wisdom that lay hid within the ocean of His matchless utterance. Forsaking fame and fortune, accepting imprisonment and exile, careless of ostracism and obloquy, submitting to physical indignities and cruel deprivations, He, the Vice-gerent of God on earth, suffered Himself to be banished from place to place and from country to country, till at length He, in the Most Great Prison, offered up His martyred son as a ransom for the redemption and unification of all mankind. "We verily,” He Himself has testified, ”have not fallen short of Our duty to exhort men, and to deliver that whereunto I was bidden by God, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Had they hearkened unto Me, they would have beheld the earth another earth.” And again: "Is there any excuse left for any one in this Revelation? No, by God, the Lord of the Mighty Throne! My signs have encompassed the earth, and my power enveloped all mankind, and yet the people are wrapped in a strange sleep!”
What Response to His Call?
How—we may well ask ourselves—has the world, the object of such Divine solicitude, repaid Him Who sacrificed His all for its sake? What manner of welcome did it accord Him, and what response did His call evoke? A clamor, unparalleled in the history of Shí‘ih Islám, greeted, in the land of its birth, the infant light of the Faith, in the midst of a people notorious for its crass ignorance, its fierce fanaticism, its barbaric cruelty, its ingrained prejudices, and the unlimited sway held over the masses by a firmly entrenched ecclesiastical hierarchy. A persecution, kindling a courage which, as attested by no less eminent an authority than the late Lord Curzon of Kedleston, has been unsurpassed by that which the fires of Smithfield evoked, mowed down, with tragic swiftness, no less than twenty thousand of its heroic adherents, who refused to barter their newly-born faith for the fleeting honors and security of a mortal life.
To the bodily agonies inflicted upon these sufferers, the charges, so unmerited, of Nihilism, occultism, anarchism, eclecticism, immorality, sectarianism, heresy, political partisanship—each conclusively disproved by the tenets of the Faith itself and by the conduct of its followers—were added, swelling thereby the number of those who, unwittingly or maliciously, were injuring its cause.
Unmitigated indifference on the part of
men of eminence and rank; unrelenting
hatred shown by the ecclesiastical dignitaries
of the Faith from which it had sprung; the
scornful derision of the people among whom
it was born; the utter contempt which most
of those kings and rulers who had been
addressed by its Author manifested towards it;
the condemnations pronounced, the threats
hurled, and the banishments decreed by those
under whose sway it arose and first spread;
the distortion to which its principles and
laws were subjected by the envious and the
malicious, in lands and among peoples far
beyond the country of its origin—all these
are but the evidences of the treatment meted
out by a generation sunk in self-content,
careless of its God, and oblivious of the
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omens, prophecies, warnings and admonitions
revealed by His Messengers.
The blows so heavily dealt the followers of so precious, so glorious, so potent a Faith failed, however, to assuage the animosity that inflamed its persecutors. Nor did the deliberate and mischievous misrepresentations of its fundamental teachings, its aims and purposes, its hopes and aspirations, its institutions and activities, suffice to stay the hand of the oppressor and the calumniator, who sought by every means in their power to abolish its name and extirpate its system. The hand which had struck down so vast a number of its blameless and humble lovers and servants was now raised to deal its Founders the heaviest and cruelest blows.
The Báb—"the Point” as affirmed by Bahá’u’lláh, "round Whom the realities of the Prophets and Messengers revolve”—was the One first swept into the maelstrom which engulfed His supporters. Sudden arrest and confinement in the very first year of His short and spectacular career; public affront deliberately inflicted in the presence of the ecclesiastical dignitaries of Shíráz; strict and prolonged incarceration in the bleak fastnesses of the mountains of Adhirbáyján; a contemptuous disregard and a cowardly jealousy evinced respectively by the Chief Magistrate of the realm and the foremost minister of his government; the carefully staged and farcical interrogatory sustained in the presence of the heir to the Throne and the distinguished divines of Tabríz; the shameful infliction of the bastinado in the prayer-house, and at the hands of the Shaykhu’l-Islám of that city; and finally suspension in the barrack-square of Tabríz and the discharge of a volley of above seven hundred bullets at His youthful breast under the eyes of a callous multitude of about ten thousand people, culminating in the ignominious exposure of His mangled remains on the edge of the moat without the city gate—these were the progressive stages in the tumulthous and tragic ministry of One Whose age inaugurated the consummation of all ages, and Whose Revelation fulfilled the promise of all Revelations.
"I swear by God!” the Báb Himself in His Tablet to Muḥammad Sháh has written, "Shouldst thou know the things which in the space of these four years have befallen Me at the hands of thy people and thine army, thou wouldst hold thy breath from fear of God. . . . Alas, alas, for the things which have touched Me! I swear by the Most Great Lord! Wert thou to be told in what place I dwell, the first person to have mercy on Me would be thyself. In the heart of a mountain is a fortress (Mákú) . . . the inmates of which are confined to two guards and four dogs. Picture, then, My plight. . . . In this mountain I have remained alone, and have come to such a pass that none of those gone before Me have suffered what I have suffered, nor any transgressor endured what I have endured!”
"How veiled are ye, O My creatures,” He, speaking with the voice of God, has revealed in the Bayán, ". . . who, without any right, have consigned Him unto a mountain (Mákú), not one of whose inhabitants is worthy of mention. . . . With Him, which is with Me, there is no one except him who is one of the Letters of the Living of My Book. In His presence, which is My Presence, there is not at night even a lighted lamp! And yet, in places (of worship) which in varying degrees reach out unto Him, unnumbered lamps are shining! All that is on earth hath been created for Him, and all partake with delight of His benefits, and yet they are so veiled from Him as to refuse Him even a lamp!”
What of Bahá’u’lláh, the germ of Whose Revelation, as attested by the Báb, is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces of the Bábí Dispensation? Was He not—He for Whom the Báb had suffered and died in such tragic and miraculous circumstances—made, for nearly half a century and under the domination of the two most powerful potentates of the East, the object of a systematic and concerted conspiracy which, in its effects and duration, is scarcely paralleled in the annals of previous religions?
"The cruelties inflicted by My oppressors,”
He Himself in His anguish has cried out,
"have bowed Me down, and turned My hair white. Shouldst thou present thyself before My throne, thou wouldst fail to recognize the Ancient Beauty, for the freshness of His countenance is altered and its brightness hath faded, by reason of the oppression of the
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infidels. I swear by God! His heart, His soul, and His vitals are melted!” "Wert thou to hear with Mine ear,”
He also declares,
"thou wouldst hear how 'Alí (The Báb)
bewaileth Me in the presence of the Glorious Companion, and how Muḥammad weepeth over Me in the all-highest Horizon, and how the Spirit (Jesus) beateth Himself upon the head in the heaven of My decree, by reason of what hath befallen this Wronged One at the hands of every impious sinner.” "Before Me,”
He elsewhere has written,
"riseth up the Serpent of wrath with jaws stretched to engulf Me, and behind Me stalketh the lion of anger intent on tearing Me in pieces, and above Me, O My Well-Beloved, are the clouds of Thy decree, raining upon Me the showers of tribulations, whilst beneath Me are fixed the spears of misfortune, ready to wound My limbs and My body.” "Couldst thou be told,”
He further affirms,
”what hath befallen the Ancient Beauty, thou wouldst flee into the wilderness, and weep with a great weeping. In thy grief, thou wouldst smite thyself on the head, and cry out as one stung by the sting of the adder. . . . By the righteousness of God! Every morning I arose from My bed I discovered the hosts of countless afflictions massed behind My door, and every night when I lay down, lo! My heart was torn with agony at what it had suffered from the fiendish cruelty of its foes. With every piece of bread the Ancient Beauty breaketh is coupled the assault of a fresh affliction, and with every drop He drinketh is mixed the bitterness of the most woeful of trials. He is preceded in every step He taketh by an army of unforeseen calamities, while in His rear follow legions of agonizing sorrows.”
Was it not He Who, at the early age of twenty-seven, spontaneously arose to champion, in the capacity of a mere follower, the nascent Cause of the Báb? Was He not the One Who by assuming the actual leadership of a proscribed and harassed sect exposed Himself, and His kindred, and His possessions, and His rank, and His reputation to the grave perils, the bloody assaults, the general spoliation and furious defamations of both government and people? Was it not He—the Bearer of a Revelation, Whose Day "every Prophet hath announced,” for which "the soul of every Divine Messenger hath thirsted,” and in which "God hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers and Prophets” —was not the Bearer of such a Revelation, at the instigation of Shí’ih ecclesiastics and by order of the Sháh himself forced, for no less than four months, to breathe, in utter darkness, whilst in the company of the vilest criminals and freighted down with galling chains, the pestilential air of the vermin-infested subterranean dungeon of Ṭihrán—a place which, as He Himself subsequently declared, was mysteriously conveyed into the very scene of the annunciation made to Him by God of His Prophethood?
”We were consigned,” He wrote in His "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf,” "for four months to a place foul beyond comparison. As to the dungeon in which this Wronged One and others similarly wronged were confined, a dark and narrow pit were preferable. . . . The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and Our fellow-prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and fifty souls: thieves, assassins, and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!” ” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,” writes Dr. J. E. Esslemont, ”tells how one day He was allowed to enter the prison-yard to see His beloved Father when He came out for His daily exercise. Bahá’u’lláh was terribly altered, so ill He could hardly walk. His hair and beard unkempt, His neck galled and swollen from the pressure of a heavy steel collar, His body bent by the weight of His chains.” "For three days and three nights,” Nabíl has recorded in his chronicle, “no manner of food or drink was given to Baha’u’llah. Rest and sleep were both impossible to Him. The place was infested with vermin, and the stench of that gloomy abode was enough to crush the very spirits of those who were condemned to suffer its horrors.” "Such was the intensity of His suffering that the marks of that cruelty remained imprinted upon His body all the days of His life.”
And what of the other tribulations which,
before and immediately after this dreadful
episode, touched Him? What of His confinement
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in the home of one of the Kad-Khudás of Ṭihrán? What of the savage violence with which He was stoned by the angry people in the neighborhood of the Village of Níyálá? What of His incarceration by the emissaries of the army of the Sháh in Mázindarán, and His receiving the bastinado by order, and in the presence, of the assembled siyyids and mujtahids into whose hands He had been delivered by the civil authorities of Ámul? What of the howls of derision and abuse with which a crowd of ruffians subsequently pursued Him? What of the monstrous accusation brought against Him by the Imperial household, the Court and the people, when the attempt was made on the life of Náṣiri’d—Dín Sháh? What of the infamous outrages, the abuse and ridicule heaped on Him when He was arrested by responsible officers of the government, and conducted from Níyávarán "on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare feet,” and exposed to the fierce rays of the mid-summer sun, to the síyáh-chál of Ṭihrán? What of the avidity with which corrupt officials sacked His house and carried away all His possessions and disposed of His fortune? What of the cruel edict that tore Him from the small band of the Báb’s bewildered, hounded, and shepherdless followers, separated Him from His kinsmen and friends, and banished Him, in the depth of winter, despoiled and defamed, to ‘Iráq?
Severe as were these tribulations which succeeded one another with bewildering rapidity as a result of the premeditated attacks and the systematic machinations of the court, the clergy, the government and the people, they were but the prelude to a harrowing and extensive captivity which that edict had formally initiated. Extending over a period of more than forty years, and carrying Him successfully to ‘Iráq, Sulaymáníyyih, Constantinople, Adrianople and finally to the penal colony of ‘Akká, this long banishment was at last ended by His death, at the age of over three score years and ten, terminating a captivity which, in its range, its duration and the diversity and severity of its afflictions, is unexampled in the history of previous Dispensations.
No need to expatiate on the particular episodes which cast a lurid light on the moving annals of those years. No need to dwell on the character and actions of the peoples, rulers and divines who have participated in, and contributed to heighten the poignancy of the scenes of this, the greatest drama in the world’s spiritual history.
Features of This Moving Drama
To enumerate a few of the outstanding features of this moving drama will suffice to evoke in the reader of these pages, already familiar with the history of the Faith, the memory of those vicissitudes which it has experienced, and which the world has until now viewed with such frigid indifference. The forced and sudden retirement of Bahá’u’lláh to the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih, and the distressing consequences that flowed from His two years’ complete withdrawal; the incessant intrigues indulged in by the exponents of Shí‘ih Islám in Najaf and Karbilá, working in close and constant association with their confederates in Persia; the intensification of the repressive measures decreed by Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz which brought to a head the defection of certain prominent members of the exiled community; the enforcement of yet another banishment by order of that same Sulṭán, this time to that far off and most desolate of cities, causing such despair as to lead two of the exiles to attempt suicide; the unrelaxing surveillance to which they were subjected upon their arrival in ‘Akká, by hostile officials, and the insufferable imprisonment for two years in the barracks of that town; the interrogatory to which the Turkish páshá subsequently subjected his Prisoner at the headquarters of the government; His confinement for no less than eight years in a humble dwelling surrounded by the befouled air of that city, His sole recreation being confined to pacing the narrow space of His room—these, as well as other tribulations, proclaim, on the one hand, the nature of the ordeal and the indignities He suffered, and point, on the other, the finger of accusations at those mighty ones of the earth who had either so sorely maltreated Him, or deliberately withheld from Him their succor.
No wonder that from the Pen of Him Who bore this anguish with such sublime patience these words should have been revealed:
Kaiser Francis Joseph of Austria
"He Who is the Lord of the seen and unseen is now manifest unto all men. His blessed Self hath been afflicted with such harm that if all the seas, visible and invisible, were turned into ink, and all that dwell in the kingdom into pens, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth into scribes, they would, of a certainty, be powerless to record it.” And again: ”I have been most of the days of My life even as a slave sitting under a sword, hanging on a thread, knowing not whether it would fall soon or late upon Him.” "All this generation” He affirms, "could offer Us were wounds from its darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the cup of its venom. On Our neck We still bear the scar of chains, and upon Our body are imprinted the evidences of an unyielding cruelty.” "Twenty years have passed, O kings!” He, addressing the kings of Christendom, at the height of His mission, has written, "during which We have, each day, tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation. None of them that were before Us hath endured the things We have endured. Would that ye could perceive it! They that rose up against Us have put Us to death, have shed Our blood, have plundered Our property, and violated Our honor. Though aware of most of Our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the aggressor. For is it not your clear duty to restrain the tyranny of the oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that your high sense of justice may be fully demonstrated to all mankind?”
Who is the ruler, may it not be confidently asked, whether of the East or of the West,
Queen Victoria
who, at any time since the dawn of so
transcendent a Revelation, has been prompted
to raise his voice either in its praise or against
those who persecuted it? Which people has,
in the course of so long a captivity, felt urged
to arise and stem the tide of such tribulations?
Who is the sovereign, excepting a
single woman, shining in solitary glory, who
has, in however small a measure, felt impelled
to respond to the poignant call of
Bahá’u’lláh? Who amongst the great ones
of the earth was inclined to extend this
infant Faith of God the benefit of his
recognition or support? Which one of the
multitudes of creeds, sects, races, parties and classes
and of the highly diversified schools of
human thought, considered it necessary to
direct its gaze towards the rising light of
the Faith, to contemplate its unfolding system,
to ponder its hidden processes, to appraise
its weighty message, to acknowledge
its regenerative power, to embrace its
salutary truth, or to proclaim its eternal verities?
Who among the worldly-wise and the so-called
men of insight and wisdom can justly
claim, after the lapse of nearly a century,
to have disinterestedly approved its theme, to
have considered impartially its claims, to
have taken sufficient pains to delve into its
literature, to have assiduously striven to
separate facts from fiction, or to have
accorded its cause the treatment it merits?
Where are the preeminent exponents, whether
of the arts or sciences, with the exception
of a few isolated cases, who have lifted a
finger, or whispered a word of commendation,
in either the defense or the praise of a
Faith that has conferred upon the world so
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priceless a benefit, that has suffered so long
and so grievously, and which enshrines
within its shell so enthralling a promise for
a world so woefully battered, so manifestly
bankrupt?
To the mounting tide of trials which laid low the Báb, to the long-drawn-out calamities which rained on Bahá’u’lláh, to the warnings sounded by both the Herald and the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation, must be added the sufferings which, for no less than seventy years, were endured by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as well as His pleas, and entreaties, uttered in the evening of His life, in connection with the dangers that increasingly threatened the whole of mankind. Born in the very year that witnessed the inception of the Bábí Revelation; baptized with the initial fires of persecution that raged around that nascent Cause; an eye-witness, when a boy of eight, of the violent upheavals that rocked the Faith which His Father had espoused; sharing with Him, the ignominy, the perils, and rigors consequent upon the successive banishments from His native-land to countries far beyond its confines; arrested and forced to support, in a dark cell, the indignity of imprisonment soon after His arrival in ‘Akká; the object of repeated investigations and the target of continual assaults and insults under the despotic rule of Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd, and later under the ruthless military dictatorship of the suspicious and merciless Jamál Pashá—He, too, the Center and Pivot of Bahá’u’lláh’s peerless Covenant and the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, was made to taste, at the hands of potentates, ecclesiastics, governments and peoples, the cup of woe which the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, as well as so many of their followers, had drained.
With the warnings which both His pen and voice have given in countless Tablets and discourses, during an almost lifelong incarceration and in the course of His extended travels in both the European and American continents, they who labor for the spread of His Father’s Faith in the western world are sufficiently acquainted. How often and how passionately did He appeal to those in authority and to the public at large to examine dispassionately the precepts enunciated by His Father? With what precision and emphasis He unfolded the system of the faith He was expounding, elucidated its fundamental verities, stressed its distinguishing features, and proclaimed the redemptive character of its principles? How insistently did He foreshadow the impending chaos, the approaching upheavals, the universal conflagration which, in the concluding years of His life, had only begun to reveal the measure of its force and the significance of its impact on human society?
A co-sharer in the woeful trials and momentary frustrations afflicting the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh; reaping a harvest in His lifetime wholly incommensurate to the sublime, the incessant and strenuous efforts He had exerted; experiencing the initial perturbations of the world-shaking catastrophe in store for an unbelieving humanity; bent with age, and with eyes dimmed by the gathering storm which the reception accorded by a faithless generation to His Father’s Cause was raising, and with a heart bleeding over the immediate destiny of God’s wayward children—He, at last, sank beneath a weight of troubles for which they who had imposed them upon Him, and upon those gone before Him, were soon to be summoned to a dire reckoning.
"Hasten, O my God!” He cried, at a time when adversity had sore beset Him, ”the days of my ascension unto Thee, and of my coming before Thee, and of my entry into Thy presence, that I may be delivered from the darkness of the cruelty inflicted by them upon me, and may enter the luminous atmosphere of Thy nearness, O my Lord, the All-Glorious, and may rest under the shadows of Thy most great mercy.” ”Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá (O Thou the Glory of Glories)!” He wrote in a Tablet revealed during the last week of His life, "I have renounced the world and the people thereof, and am heart-broken and sorely-afflicted because of the unfaithful. In the cage of this world I flutter even as a frightened bird, and yearn every day to take my flight unto Thy Kingdom. Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá! Make me to drink of the cup of sacrifice, and set me free. Relieve me from these woes and trials, from these afflictions and troubles.”
Dear friends! Alas, a thousand times alas,
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that a Revelation so incomparably great, so
infinitely precious, so mightily potent, so
manifestly innocent, should have received,
at the hands of a generation so blind and so
perverse, so infamous a treatment!
"O My servants!”
Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies,
"The one true God is My witness! This most great, this fathomless and surging ocean is near, astonishingly near, unto you. Behold it is closer to you than your life-vein! Swift as the twinkling of an eye ye can, if ye but wish it, reach and partake of this imperishable favor, this God-given grace, this incorruptible gift, this most potent and unspeakably glorious bounty.”
After a revolution of well nigh one hundred years what is it that the eye encounters as one surveys the international scene and looks back upon the early beginnings of Bahá’í history? A world convulsed by the agonies of contending systems, races and nations, entangled in the mesh of its accumulated falsities, receding farther and farther from Him Who is the sole Author of its destinies, and sinking deeper and deeper into a suicidal carnage which its neglect and persecution of Him Who is its Redeemer have precipitated. A Faith, still proscribed, yet bursting through its chrysalis, emerging from the obscurity of a century-old repression, face to face with the awful evidence of God’s wrathful anger, and destined to arise above the ruins of a smitten civilization. A world spiritually destitute, morally bankrupt, politically disrupted, socially convulsed, economically paralyzed, writhing, bleeding and breaking up beneath the avenging rod of God. A Faith Whose call remained unanswered, Whose claims were rejected, Whose warnings were brushed aside, Whose followers were mowed down, Whose aims and purposes were maligned, Whose summons to the rulers of the earth were ignored, Whose Herald drained the cup of martyrdom, over the head of Whose Author swept a sea of unheard-of tribulations, and Whose Exemplar sank beneath the weight of life-long sorrows and dire misfortunes. A world that has lost its bearings, in which the bright flame of religion is fast dying out, in which the forces of a blatant nationalism and racialism have usurped the rights and prerogatives of God Himself, in which a flagrant secularism—the direct offspring of irreligion—has raised its triumphant head and is protruding its ugly features, in which the “majesty of kingship” has been disgraced, and they who wore its emblems have, for the most part, been hurled from their thrones, in which the once all-powerful ecclesiastical hierarchies of Islám, and to a lesser extent those of Christianity, have been discredited, and in which the virus of prejudice and corruption is eating into the vitals of an already gravely disordered society. A Faith Whose institutions—the pattern and crowning glory of the age which is to come—have been ignored and in some instances trampled upon and uprooted, Whose unfolding system has been derided and partly suppressed and crippled, Whose rising Order—the sole refuge of a civilization in the embrace of doom—has been spurned and challenged, Whose Mother-Temple has been seized and misappropriated, and Whose "House”—the ”cynosure of an adoring world”—has, through a gross miscarriage of justice, as witnessed by the world’s highest tribunal, been delivered into the hands of, and violated by, its implacable enemies.
We are indeed living in an age which, if
we would correctly appraise it, should be
regarded as one which is witnessing a dual
phenomenon. The first signalizes the death-pangs
of an order, effete and godless, that
has stubbornly refused, despite the signs
and portents of a century-old Revelation,
to attune its processes to the precepts and
ideals which that Heaven-sent Faith proffered it.
The second proclaims the birth-pangs of an Order,
divine and redemptive,
that will inevitably supplant the former,
and within Whose administrative structure
an embryonic civilization, incomparable and
world-embracing, is imperceptibly maturing.
The one is being rolled up, and is crashing
in oppression, bloodshed, and ruin. The other
opens up vistas of a justice, a unity, a peace,
a culture, such as no age has ever seen. The
former has spent its force, demonstrated its
falsity and barrenness, lost irretrievably its
opportunity, and is hurrying to its doom.
The latter, virile and unconquerable, is
plucking asunder its chains, and is vindicating
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its title to be the one refuge within
which a sore-tired humanity, purged from
its dross, can attain its destiny.
"Soon,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself has prophesied, "will the present day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.” And again: "By Myself! The day is approaching when We will have rolled up the world and all that is therein, and spread out a new Order in its stead.” "The day is approaching when God will have raised up a people who will call to remembrance Our days, who will tell the tale of Our trials, who will demand the restitution of Our rights, from them who, without a tittle of evidence, have treated Us with manifest injustice.”
Dear friends! For the trials which have afflicted the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh a responsibility appalling and inescapable rests upon those into whose hands the reins of civil and ecclesiastical authority were delivered. The kings of the earth and the world’s religious leaders alike must primarily bear the brunt of such an awful responsibility. "Every one well knoweth,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies, "that all the kings have turned aside from Him, and all the religions have opposed Him.” "From time immemorial” He declares, "they who have been outwardly invested with authority have debarred men from setting their faces towards God. They have disliked that men should gather together around the Most Great Ocean, inasmuch as they have regarded, and still regard, such a gathering as the cause of, and the motive for, the disruption of their sovereignty.” "The kings” He moreover has written, "have recognized that it was not in their interest to acknowledge Me, as have likewise the ministers and the divines, notwithstanding that My purpose hath been most explicitly revealed in the Divine Books and Tablets, and the True One hath loudly proclaimed that this Most Great Revelation hath appeared for the betterment of the world and the exaltation of the nations.” "Gracious God!” writes the Báb in the Dalá’il-i-Sab‘ih (Seven Proofs) with reference to the "seven powerful sovereigns ruling the world” in His day, "None of them hath been informed of His (the Báb) Manifestation, and if informed, none hath believed in Him. Who knoweth they may leave this world below full of desire, and without having realized that the thing for which they were waiting had come to pass. This is what happened to the monarchs that held fast unto the Gospel. They awaited the coming of the Prophet of God (Muḥammad), and when He did appear, they failed to recognize Him. Behold how great are the sums which these sovereigns expend without even the slightest thought of appointing an official charged with the task of acquainting them in their own realms with the Manifestation of God! They would thereby have fulfilled the purpose for which they have been created. All their desires have been and are still fixed upon leaving behind them traces of their names.” The Báb, moreover, in that same treatise, censuring the failure of the Christian divines to acknowledge the truth of Muḥammad’s mission, makes this illuminating statement: ”The blame falleth upon their doctors, for if these had believed, they would have been followed by the mass of their countrymen. Behold, then, that which hath come to pass! The learned men of Christendom are held to he learned by virtue of their safeguarding the teaching of Christ, and yet consider how they themselves have been the cause of men’s failure to accept the Faith and attain unto salvation!”
It should not be forgotten that it was the
kings of the earth and the world’s religious
leaders who, above all other categories of
men, were made the direct recipients of the
Message proclaimed by both the Báb and
Bahá’u’lláh. It was they who were deliberately
addressed in numerous and historic Tablets,
who were summoned to respond to the Call
of God, and to whom were
directed, in clear and forcible language, the
appeals, the admonitions and warnings of
His persecuted Messengers. It was they who,
when the Faith was born, and later when
its mission was proclaimed, were still, for
the most part, wielding unquestioned and
absolute civil and ecclesiastical authority
over their subjects and followers. It was
they who, whether glorying in the pomp
and pageantry of a kingship as yet scarcely
restricted by constitutional limitations, or
entrenched within the strongholds of a
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seemingly inviolable ecclesiastical power, assumed ultimate responsibility for any wrongs inflicted by those whose immediate destinies they controlled. It would be no exaggeration to say that in most of the countries of the European and Asiatic continents absolutism, on the one hand, and complete subservience to ecclesiastical hierarchies, on the other, were still the outstanding features of the political and religious life of the masses. These, dominated and shackled, were robbed of the necessary freedom that would enable them to either appraise the claims and merits of the Message proffered to them, or to embrace unreservedly its truth.
Small wonder, then, that the author of the Bahá’í Faith, and to a lesser degree its Herald, should have directed at the world’s supreme rulers and religious leaders the full force of Their Messages, and made them the recipients of some of Their most sublime Tablets, and invited them, in a language at once clear and insistent, to heed Their call. Small wonder that They should have taken the pains to unroll before their eyes the truths of Their respective Revelations, and should have expatiated on Their woes and sufferings. Small wonder that They should have stressed the preciousness of the opportunities which it was in the power of these rulers and leaders to seize, and should have warned them in ominous tones of the grave responsibilities which the rejection of God’s Message would entail, and should have predicted, when rebuffed and refused, the dire consequences which such a rejection involved. Small wonder that He Who is the King of Kings and the Vice-gerent of God Himself should, when abandoned, contemned and persecuted, have uttered this epigrammatic and momentous prophecy: "From two ranks amongst men power bath been seized: kings and ecclesiastics.”
As to the kings and emperors who not only symbolized in their persons the majesty of earthly dominion but who, for the most part, actually held unchallengeable sway over the multitudes of their subjects, their relation to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh constitutes one of the most illuminating episodes in the history of the Heroic and Formative Ages of that Faith. The Divine summons which embraced within its scope so large a number of the crowned heads of both Europe and Asia; the theme and language of the Messages that brought them into direct contact with the Source of God’s Revelation; the nature of their reaction to so stupendous an impact; and the consequences which ensued and can still be witnessed today are the salient features of a subject upon which I can but inadequately touch, and which will be fully and befittingly treated by future Bahá’í historians.
The Emperor of the French, the most powerful ruler of his day on the European continent, Napoleon III; Pope Pius IX, the supreme head of the highest church in Christendom, and wielder of the scepter of both temporal and spiritual authority; the omnipotent Czar of the vast Russian Empire, Alexander II; the renowned Queen Victoria, whose sovereignty extended over the greatest political combination the world has witnessed; William I, the conqueror of Napoleon III, King of Prussia and the newly acclaimed monarch of a unified Germany; Francis Joseph, the autocratic king-emperor of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the heir of the far-famed Holy Roman Empire; the tyrannical ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz, the embodiment of the concentrated power vested in the Sultanate and the Caliphate; the notorious Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh, the despotic ruler of Persia and the mightiest potentate of Shí’ih Islám—in a word, most of the preeminent embodiments of power and of sovereignty in His day became, one by one, the object of Bahá’u’lláh’s special attention, and were made to sustain, in varying degrees, the weight of the force communicated by His appeals and warnings. . . .
Humiliation Immediate and Complete
Of all the monarchs of the earth, at the time when Bahá’u’lláh, proclaiming His Messages to them, revealed the Súriy-i-Múluk in Adrianople, the most august and influential were the French Emperor and the Supreme Pontiff. In the political and religious spheres they respectively held the foremost rank, and the humiliation both suffered was alike immediate and complete.
Napoleon III, son of Louis Bonaparte
(brother of Napoleon I), was, few historians
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will deny, the most outstanding monarch
of his day in the West. “The Emperor,” it
was said of him, "was the state.” The French
capital was the most attractive capital in
Europe, the French court “the most brilliant
and luxurious of the XIXth century.” Possessed
of a fixed and indestructible ambition,
he aspired to emulate the example, and finish
the interrupted work, of his imperial
uncle. A dreamer, a conspirator, of a shifting
nature, hypocritical and reckless, he, the
heir to the Napoleonic throne, taking advantage
of the policy which sought to foster
the reviving interest in the career of his
great prototype, had sought to overthrow
the monarchy. Failing in his attempt, he
was deported to America, was later captured
in the course of an attempted invasion of
France, was condemned to perpetual captivity,
and escaped to London, until in 1848,
the Revolution brought about his return, and
enabled him to overthrow the constitution,
after which he was proclaimed emperor.
Though able to initiate far-reaching movements,
he possessed neither the sagacity nor
the courage required to control them.
To this man, the last emperor of the French, who, through foreign conquest, had striven to endear his dynasty to the people, who even cherished the ideal of making France the center of a revived Roman Empire—to such a man the Exile of ‘Akká, already thrice banished by Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l‘Azíz, had transmitted, from behind the walls of the barracks in which He lay imprisoned an Epistle which bore this indubitably clear arraignment and ominous prophecy: "We testify that that which wakened thee was not their cry (Turks drowned in the Black Sea), but the promptings of thine own passions, for We tested thee, and found thee wanting. . . . Hadst thou been sincere in thy words, thou wouldst not have cast behind thy back the Book of God (previous Tablet), when it was sent unto thee by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. . . . For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from thine hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought.”
Bahá’u’lláh’s previous Message, forwarded through one of the French ministers to the Emperor, had been accorded a welcome the nature of which can be conjectured from the words recorded in the “Epistle to the Son of the Wolf”: "To this (first Tablet), however, he did not reply. After Our arrival in the Most Great Prison there reached Us a letter from his minister, the first part of which was in Persian, and the latter in his own handwriting. In it he was cordial, and wrote the following: ‘I have, as requested by you, delivered your letter, and until now have received no answer. We have, however, issued the necessary recommendations to our Minister in Constantinople and our consuls in those regions. If there be anything you wish done, inform us, and we will carry it out.’ From his words it became apparent that he understood the purpose of this Servant to have been a request for material assistance.”
In His first Tablet Bahá’u’lláh, wishing
to test the sincerity of the Emperor’s motives,
and deliberately assuming a meek and
unprovocative tone, had, after expatiating
on the sufferings He had endured, addressed
him the following words:
"Two statements graciously uttered by the king of the age have reached the ears of these wronged ones. These pronouncements are, in truth, the king of all pronouncements, the like of which have never been heard from any sovereign. The first was the answer given the Russian government when it inquired why the war (Crimean)
was waged against it. Thou didst reply:
‘The cry of the oppressed who,
without guilt or blame, were
drowned in the Black Sea wakened me at
dawn. Wherefore, I took up arms against thee.’
These oppressed ones, however, have suffered a greater wrong, and are in greater distress. Whereas the trials inflicted upon those people lasted but one day, the troubles borne by these servants have continued for twenty and five years, every moment of which has held for us a grievous affliction. The other weighty statement, which was indeed a wondrous statement manifested to the world, was this:
‘Ours is the responsibility to avenge
the oppressed and succor the helpless.’
The fame of the Emperor’s justice and fairness hath brought hope to a great many souls. It beseemeth the king of the age to inquire into the condition of such as have been wronged, and it behoveth him
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to extend his care to the weak. Verily, there hath not been, nor is there now, on earth any one as oppressed as we are, or as helpless as these wanderers.”
It is reported that upon receipt of this first Message that superficial, tricky and pride-intoxicated monarch flung down the Tablet saying: “If this man is God, I am two gods!” The transmitter of the second Tablet had, it is reliably stated, in order to evade the strict surveillance of the guards, concealed it in his hat, and was able to deliver it to the French agent, who resided in ‘Akká, and who, as attested by Nabíl in his Narrative, translated it into French and sent it to the Emperor, he himself becoming a believer when he had later witnessed the fulfillment of so remarkable a prophecy.
The significance of the sombre and pregnant words uttered by Baha’u’llah in His second Tablet was soon revealed. He who was actuated in provoking the Crimean War by his selfish desires, who was prompted by a personal grudge against the Russian Emperor, who was impatient to tear up the Treaty of 1815 in order to avenge the disaster of Moscow, and who sought to shed military glory over his throne, was soon himself engulfed by a catastrophe that hurled him in the dust, and caused France to sink from her preeminent station among the nations to that of a fourth Power in Europe.
The Battle of Sedan in 1870 sealed the fate of the French Emperor. The whole of his army was broken up and surrendered, constituting the greatest capitulation hitherto recorded in modern history. A crushing indemnity was exacted. He himself was taken prisoner. His only son, the Prince Imperial, was killed, a few years later, in the Zulu War. The Empire collapsed, its program unrealized. The Republic was proclaimed. Paris was subsequently besieged and capitulated. “The terrible year” marked by civil war, exceeding in its ferocity the Franco-German War, followed. William I, the Prussian king, was proclaimed German Emperor in the very palace which stood as a "mighty monument and symbol of the power and pride of Louis XIV, a power which had been secured to some extent by the humiliation of Germany.” Deposed by a disaster “so appalling that it resounded throughout the world,” this false and boastful monarch suffered in the end, and till his death, the same exile as that which, in the case of Bahá’u’lláh, he had so heartlessly ignored.
A humiliation less spectacular yet historically more significant awaited Pope Pius IX. It was to him who regarded himself as the Vicar of Christ that Baha’u’llah wrote that "the Word which the Son (Jesus) concealed is made manifest,” that "it hath been sent down in the form of the human temple,” that the Word was Himself, and He Himself the Father. It was to him who styling himself ”the servant of the servants of God” that the Promised One of all ages, unveiling His station in its plenitude, announced that "He Who is the Lord of Lords is come overshadowed with clouds.” It was he, who, claiming to be the successor of St. Peter, was reminded by Baha’u’llah that "this is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and shouteth . . . saying: 'Lo, the Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled.’” It was he, the wearer of the triple crown, who later became the first prisoner of the Vatican, who was commanded by the Divine Prisoner of ‘Akká to "leave his palaces unto such as desire them,” to "sell all the embellished ornaments” he possessed, and to ”expend them in the path of God,” and to "abandon his kingdom unto the kings,” and emerge from his habitation with his face "set towards the Kingdom.”
Count Mastai-Ferretti, Bishop of Imola,
the 254th pope since the inception of St.
Peter’s primacy, who had been elevated to
the apostolic throne two years after the
Declaration of the Báb, and the duration of
whose pontificate exceeded that of any of
his predecessors, will be permanently remembered
as the author of the Bull which
declared the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin (1854), referred to in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán, to be a doctrine of the Church,
and as the promulgator of the new dogma
of Papal Infallibility (1870). Authoritarian
by nature, a poor statesman, disinclined to
conciliation, determined to preserve all his
authority, he, while he succeeded through
his assumption of an ultramontane attitude
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in defining further his position and in
reinforcing his spiritual authority, failed, in
the end, to maintain that temporal rule
which, for so many centuries, had been
exercised by the heads of the Catholic
Church.
This temporal power had, throughout the ages, shrunk to insignificant proportions. The decades preceding its extinction were fraught with the gravest vicissitudes. As the sun of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation was mounting to full meridian splendor, the shadows that beset the dwindling patrimony of St. Peter were correspondingly deepening. The Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh, addressed to Pius IX, precipitated its extinction. A hasty glance at the course of its ebbing fortunes, during those decades, will suffice. Napoleon I had driven the Pope from his estates. The Congress of Vienna had re-established him as their head and their administration in the hands of the priests. Corruption, disorganization, impotence to insure internal security, the restoration of the inquisition, had induced an historian to assert that “no land of Italy, perhaps of Europe, except Turkey, is ruled as is this ecclesiastical state.” Rome was “a city of ruins, both material and moral.” Insurrections led to Austria’s intervention. Five great Powers demanded the introduction of far-reaching reforms, which the Pope promised but failed to carry out. Austria again reasserted herself, and was opposed by France. Both watched each other on the Papal estates until 1838, when, on their withdrawal, absolutism was again restored. The Pope’s temporal power was now denounced by some of his own subjects, heralding its extinction in 1870. Internal complications forced him to flee, in the dead of night and in the disguise of a humble priest, from Rome which was declared a republic. It was later restored by the French to its former status. The creation of the kingdom of Italy, the shifting policy of Napoleon III, the disaster of Sedan, the misdeeds of the Papal government denounced by Clarendon, at the Congress of Paris, terminating the Crimean War, as a “disgrace to Europe,” sealed the fate of that tottering dominion.
In 1870, after Bahá’u’lláh had revealed His Epistle to Pius IX, King Victor Emmanuel I went to war with the Papal states, and his troops entered Rome and seized it. On the eve of its seizure, the Pope repaired to the Lateran and, despite his age and with his face bathed in tears, ascended on bended knees the Scala Santa. The following morning, as the cannonade began, he ordered the white flag to be hoisted above the dome of St. Peter. Despoiled, he refused to recognize this "creation of revolution,” excommunicated the invaders of his states, denounced Victor Emmanuel as the "robber King” and as “forgetful of every religious principle, despising every right, trampling upon every law.” Rome, "the Eternal City, on which rest twenty-five centuries of glory,” and over which the Popes had ruled in unchallengeable right for ten centuries, finally became the seat of the new kingdom, and the scene of that humiliation which Baha’u’llah had anticipated and which the Prisoner of the Vatican had imposed upon himself.
”The last years of the old Pope,” writes a commentator on his life, “were filled with anguish. To his physical infirmities was added the sorrow of beholding, all too often, the Faith outraged in the very heart of Rome, the religious orders despoiled and persecuted, the Bishops and priests debarred from exercising their functions.”
Every effort to retrieve the situation created in 1870 proved fruitless. The Archbishop of Posen went to Versailles to solicit Bismarck’s intervention in behalf of the Papacy, but was coldly received. Later a Catholic party was organized in Germany to bring political pressure on the German Chancellor. All, however, was in vain. The mighty process already referred to had to pursue inexorably its course. Even now, after the lapse of above half a century, the so-called restoration of temporal sovereignty has but served to throw into greater relief the helplessness of this erstwhile potent Prince, at whose name kings trembled and to whose dual sovereignty they willingly submitted. This temporal sovereignty, practically confined to the miniscule City of the Vatican, and leaving Rome the undisputed possession of a secular monarchy, has been obtained at the price of unreserved recognition, so long withheld, of the Kingdom of Italy. The Treaty of the Lateran, claiming
Napoleon III
Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh
Tsar Alexander II
Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz
to have resolved once and for all the Roman Question, has indeed assured to a secular Power, in respect of the Enclaved City, a liberty of action which is fraught with uncertainty and peril. "The two souls of the Eternal City,” a Catholic writer has observed, “have been separated from each other, only to collide more severely than ever before.”
Well might the Sovereign Pontiff recall the reign of the most powerful among his predecessors, Innocent III who, during the eighteen years of his pontificate, raised and deposed the kings and the emperors, whose interdicts deprived nations of the exercise of Christian worship, at the feet of whose legate the King of England surrendered his crown, and at whose voice the fourth and the fifth crusades were both undertaken.
Might not the process, to which reference has already been made, manifest, in the course of its operation, during the tumultuous years in store for mankind, and in this same domain, a commotion still more devastating than it has yet produced?
The dramatic collapse of, both the Third Empire and the Napoleonic dynasty, the virtual extinction of the temporal sovereignty of the Supreme Pontiff, in the life-time of Bahá’u’lláh, were but the precursors of still greater catastrophes that may be said to have marked the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The forces unleashed by a conflict, the full significance of which still remains unfathomed, and which may be considered as a prelude to this, the most devastating of all wars, can well be regarded as the occasion of these dreadful catastrophes. The progress of the War of 1914—1918 dethroned the House of Romanov, while its termination precipitated the downfall of both the Hapsburg and Hohenzollern dynasties. . . .
The Crumbling of Religious Orthodoxy
Dear friends! The decline in the fortunes of the crowned wielders of temporal power has been paralleled by a no less startling deterioration in the influence exercised by the world’s spiritual leaders. The colossal events that have heralded the dissolution of so many kingdoms and empires have almost synchronized with the crumbling of the seemingly inviolable strongholds of religious orthodoxy. That same process which, swiftly and tragically, sealed the doom of kings and emperors, and extinguished their dynasties, has operated in the case of the ecclesiastical leaders of both Christianity and Islám, damaging their prestige, and, in some cases, overthrowing their highest institutions. "Power hath been seized” indeed, from both "kings and ecclesiastics.” The glory of the former has been eclipsed, the power of the latter irretrievably lost.
Those leaders who exercised guidance and control over the ecclesiastical hierarchies of their respective religions have, likewise, been appealed to, warned, and reproved by Bahá’u’lláh, in terms no less uncertain than those in which the sovereigns who presided over the destinies of their subjects have been addressed. They, too, and more particularly the heads of Muslim ecclesiastical orders, have, in conjunction with despots and potentates, launched their assaults and thundered their anathemas against the Founders of the Faith of God, its followers, its principles, and its institutions. Were not the divines of Persia the first who hoisted the standard of revolt, who inflamed the ignorant and subservient masses against it, and who instigated the civil authorities, through their outcry, their threats, their lies, their calumnies, and denunciations, to decree the banishments, to enact the laws, to launch the punitive campaigns, and to carry out the executions and massacres that fill the pages of its history? So abominable and savage was the butchery committed in a single day, instigated by these divines, and so typical of the “callousness of the brute and the ingenuity of the fiend” that Renan, in his "Les Apôtres,” characterized that day as "perhaps unparalleled in the history of the world.”
It was these divines, who, by these very
acts, sowed the seeds of the disintegration of
their own institutions, institutions that were
so potent, so famous, and appeared so invulnerable
when the Faith was born. It was
they who, by assuming so lightly and foolishly,
such awful responsibilities, were primarily
answerable for the release of those
violent and disruptive influences that have
unchained disasters as catastrophic as those
which overwhelmed kings, dynasties, and
empires, and which constitute the most noteworthy
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landmarks in the history of the first
century of the Bahá’í era.
This process of deterioration, however startling in its initial manifestations, is still operating with undiminished force, and will, as the opposition to the Faith of God, from various sources and in distant fields, gathers momentum, be further accelerated and reveal still more remarkable evidences of its devastating power. I cannot, in view of the proportions which this communication has already assumed, expatiate, as fully as I would wish, on the aspects of this weighty theme which, together with the reaction of the sovereigns of the earth to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, is one of the most fascinating and edifying episodes in the dramatic story of His Faith. I will only consider the repercussions of the violent assaults made by the ecclesiastical leaders of Islám and, to a lesser degree, by certain exponents of Christian orthodoxy upon their respective institutions. I will preface these observations with some passages gleaned from the great mass of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablets which, both directly and indirectly, bear reference to Muslim and Christian divines, and which throw such a powerful light on the dismal disasters that have overtaken, and are still overtaking, the ecclesiastical hierarchies of the two religions with which the Faith has been immediately concerned.
It must not be inferred, however, that Bahá’u’lláh directed His historic addresses exclusively to the leaders of Islám and Christianity, or that the impact of an all-pervading Faith on the strongholds of religious orthodoxy is to be confined to the institutions of these two religious systems. "The time fore-ordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth,” affirms Bahá’u’lláh, “it now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. . . . This is the Day which the Pen of the Most High hath glorified in all the Holy Scriptures. There is no verse in them that doth not declare the glory of His holy Name, and no Book that doth not testify unto the loftiness of this most exalted theme.” "Were We,” He adds, “to make mention of all that hath been revealed in these heavenly Books and Holy Scriptures concerning this Revelation, this Tablet would assume impossible dimensions.” As the promise of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is enshrined in all the Scriptures of past religions, so does its Author address Himself to their followers, and particularly to their responsible leaders who have intervened between Him and their respective congregations. . .
Addressing the Jewish people Bahá’u’lláh has written: "The Most Great Law is come, and the Ancient Beauty ruleth upon the throne of David. Thus hath My Pen spoken that which the histories of bygone ages have related. At this time, however, David crieth aloud and saith: 'O my loving Lord! Do Thou number me with such as have stood steadfast in Thy Cause, O Thou through Whom the faces have been illumined, and the footsteps have slipped?” And again: "The Breath hath been wafted, and the Breeze hath blown, and from Zion hath appeared that which was hidden, and from Jerusalem is heard the Voice of God, the One, the Incomparable, the Omniscient.” Furthermore, in His “Epistle to the Son of the Wolf” Bahá’u’lláh has revealed: "Lend an ear unto the song of David. He saith: Who will bring me into the Strong City?’ The Strong City is 'Akká, which hath been named the Most Great Prison, and which possesseth a fortress and mighty ramparts. O Shaykh! Peruse that which Isaiah hath spoken in His Book. He saith: 'Get thee up into the high mountain, O Zion, that bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: 'Behold your God! Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him.’ This Day all the signs have appeared. A great City hath descended from heaven, and Zion trembleth and exulteth with joy at the Revelation of God, for it hath heard the Voice of God on every side.”
To the priestly caste, holding sacerdotal
supremacy over the followers of the Faith
of Zoroaster, that same Voice, identifying
itself with the voice of the promised
Sháh-Bahrám, has declared:
"O high priests! Ears have been given you that they may hearken unto the mystery of Him Who is the Self-Dependent, and eyes that they may behold Him. Wherefore flee ye? The Incomparable
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Friend is manifest. He speaketh that wherein
lieth salvation. . . .”
It is not, however, with either of these two Faiths that we are primarily concerned. It is to Islám and, to a lesser extent, to Christianity, that my theme is directly related. Islám, from which the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh has sprung, even as did Christianity from Judaism, is the religion within whose pale that Faith first rose and developed, from whose ranks the great mass of Bahá’í adherents have been recruited, and by whose leaders they have been, and indeed are still being, persecuted. Christianity, on the other hand, is the religion to which the vast majority of Bahá’ís of non—Islamic extraction belong, within whose spiritual domain the Administrative Order of the Faith of God is rapidly advancing, and by whose ecclesiastical exponents that Order is being increasingly assailed. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and even Zoroastrianism which, in the main, are still unaware of the potentialities of the Cause of God, and whose response to its Message is as yet negligible, the Muḥammadan and Christian Faiths may be regarded as the two religious systems which are sustaining, at this formative stage in its evolution, the full impact of so tremendous a Revelation.
Let us, then, consider what the Founders of the Bahá’í Faith have addressed to, or written about, the recognized leaders of Islám and Christianity. We have already considered the passages with reference to the kings of Islám, whether as Caliphs reigning in Constantinople, or as Sháhs of Persia who ruled the kingdom as temporary trustees for the expected Imám. We have also noted the Tablet which Bahá’u’lláh specifically revealed for the Roman Pontiff, and the more general message in the Súriy-i-Múlúk directed to the kings of Christendom. No less challenging and ominous is the Voice that has warned and called to account the Muḥammadan divines and the Christian clergy.
"Leaders of religion,” is Bahá’u’lláh’s
clear and universal censure pronounced in
the Kitáb-i-Íqán,
"in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory. What unspeakable cruelties they that have occupied the seats of authority and learning have inflicted upon the true Monarchs of the world, those Gems of Divine virtue! Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived themselves of an everlasting sovereignty.”
And again, in that same Book:
"Among these 'veils of glory’ are the divines and doctors living in the days of the Manifestation of God, who, because of their want of discernment and their love and eagerness for leadership, have failed to submit to the Cause of God, nay, have even refused to incline their ears unto the Divine Melody. ‘They have thrust their fingers into their ears.’ And the people also, utterly ignoring God and taking them for their masters, have placed themselves unreservedly under the authority of these pompous and hypocritical leaders, for they have no sight, no hearing, no heart, of their own to distinguish truth from falsehood. Notwithstanding the divinely-inspired admonitions of all the Prophets, the Saints, and Chosen Ones of God, enjoining the people to see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears, they have disdainfully
rejected their counsels and have blindly followed, and will continue to follow, the leaders of their Faith. Should a poor and obscure person, destitute of the attire of the men of learning, address them saying: ‘Follow ye, O people, the Messengers of God,’ they would, greatly surprised at such a statement, reply: ‘What! Meanest thou that all these divines, all these exponents of learning, with all their authority, their pomp, and pageantry, have erred, and failed to distinguish truth from falsehood? Dost thou, and people like thyself, pretend to have comprehended that which they have not understood?’ If numbers and excellence of apparel be regarded as the criterions of learning and truth, the peoples of a bygone age, whom those of today have never surpassed in numbers, magnificence and power, should certainly be accounted a superior and worthier people.”
Furthermore, "Not one Prophet of
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God was made manifest Who did not fall a victim to the relentless hate, to the denunciation, denial and execration of the clerics of His day! Woe unto them for the iniquities their hands have formerly wrought! Woe unto them for that which they are now doing! What veils of glory more grievous than these embodiments of error! By the righteousness of God! To pierce such veils is the mightiest of all acts, and to rend them asunder the most meritorious of all deeds!” "On their tongue,”
He, moreover has written,
"The mention of God hath become an empty name; in their midst His holy Word a dead letter. Such is the sway of their desires, that the lamp of conscience and reason hath been quenched in their hearts. . . . No two are found to agree on one and the same law, for they seek no God but their own desire, and tread no path but the path of error. In leadership they have recognized the ultimate object of their endeavor, and account pride and haughtiness as the highest attainments of their hearts’ desire. They have placed their sordid machinations above the Divine decree, have renounced resignation
unto the will of God, busied themselves with selfish calculation, and walked in the way of the hypocrite. With all their power and strength they strive to secure themselves in their petty pursuits, fearful lest the least discredit undermine their authority or blemish the display of their magnificence.”
"The source and origin of tyranny,” Bahá’u’lláh in another Tablet has affirmed, "have been the divines. Through the sentences pronounced by these haughty and wayward souls the rulers of the earth have wrought that which ye have heard. . . . The reins of the heedless masses have been, and are, in the hands of the exponents of idle fancies and vain imaginings. These decree what they please. God, verily, is clear of them, and We, too, are clear of them, as are such as have testified unto that which the Pen of the Most High hath spoken in this glorious Station.” . . .
Dear friends! I have, in the preceding pages, attempted to represent this world-afflicting ordeal that has laid its grip upon mankind as primarily a judgment of God pronounced against the peoples of the earth, who, for a century, have refused to recognize the One Whose advent had been promised to all religions, and in Whose Faith all nations can alone, and must eventually, seek their true salvation. I have quoted certain passages from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb that reveal the character, and foreshadow the occurrence of this divinely-inflicted visitation. I have enumerated the woeful trials with which the Faith, its Herald, its Founder, and its Exemplar, have been afflicted, and exposed the tragic failure of the generality of mankind and its leaders to protest against these tribulations, and to acknowledge the claims advanced by those Who bore them. I have, moreover, indicated that a direct, an awful, an inescapable responsibility rested on the sovereigns of the earth and the world’s religious leaders who, in the days of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, held within their grasp the reins of absolute political and religious authority. I have also endeavored to show how, as a result of the direct and active antagonism of some of them to the Faith, and the neglect by others of their unquestioned duty to investigate its truth, and its claims, to vindicate its innocence, and avenge its injuries, both kings and ecclesiastics have been, and are still being, subjected to the dire punishments which their sins of omission and commission have provoked. I have, owing to the chief responsibility which they incurred, as a result of the undisputed ascendancy they held over their subjects and followers, quoted extensively from the messages, the exhortations and warnings addressed to them by the Founders of our Faith, and expatiated on the consequences that have flowed from these momentous and epoch-making utterances.
This great retributive calamity, for which
the world’s supreme leaders, both secular and
religious, are to be regarded as primarily
answerable, as testified by Bahá’u’lláh, should
not, if we would correctly appraise it, be
regarded solely as a punishment meted out by
God to a world that has, for a hundred years,
persisted in its refusal to embrace the truth
of the redemptive Message proffered to it by
the supreme Messenger of God in this day.
It should be viewed also, though to a lesser
degree, in the light of a divine retribution for
the perversity of the human race in general,
in casting itself adrift from those elementary
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principles which must, at all times, govern,
and can alone safeguard, the life and progress
of mankind. Humanity has, alas, with
increasing insistence, preferred, instead of
acknowledging and adoring the Spirit of God
as embodied in His religion in this day, to
worship those false idols, untruths and half-truths,
which are obscuring its religions, corrupting
its spiritual life, convulsing its political
institutions, corroding its social fabric,
and shattering its economic structure.
Not only have the peoples of the earth ignored, and some of them even assailed, a Faith which is at once the essence, the promise, the reconciler, and the unifier of all religions, but they have drifted away from their own religions, and set up on their subverted altars other gods wholly alien not only to the spirit but to the traditional forms of their ancient faiths.
"The face of the world,” Bahá’u’lláh laments, "hath altered. The way of God and the religion of God have ceased to be of any worth in the eyes of men.” "The vitality of men’s belief in God,” He also has written, "is dying out in every land . . . The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society.” "Religion,” He affirms, "is verily the chief instrument for the establishment of order in the world, and of tranquillity amongst its peoples. . . . The greater the decline of religion, the more grievous the waywardness of the ungodly. This cannot but lead in the end to chaos and confusion.” And again: "Religion is a radiant light and an impregnable stronghold for the protection and welfare of the peoples of the world.” ”As the body of man,” He, in another connection, has written, ”needeth a garment to clothe it, so the body of mankind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom. Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God.”
The Three False Gods
This vital force is dying out, this mighty agency has been scorned, this radiant light is obscured, this impregnable stronghold abandoned, this beauteous robe discarded. God Himself has indeed been dethroned from the hearts of men, and an idolatrous world passionately and clamorously hails and worships the false gods which its own idle fancies have fatuously created, and its misguided hands so impiously exalted. The chief idols in the desecrated temple of mankind are none other than the triple gods of Nationalism, Racialism and Communism, at whose altars governments and peoples, whether democratic or totalitarian, at peace or at war, of the East or of the West, Christian or Islamic, are, in various forms and in different degrees, now worshiping. Their high priests are the politicians and the worldly-wise, the so-called sages of the age; their sacrifice, the flesh and blood of the slaughtered multitudes; their incantations outworn shibboleths and insidious and irreverent formulas; their incense, the smoke of anguish that ascends from the lacerated hearts of the bereaved, the maimed, and the homeless.
The theories and policies, so unsound, so pernicious, which deify the state and exalt the nation above mankind, which seek to subordinate the sister races of the world to one single race, which discriminate between the black and the white, and which tolerate the dominance of one privileged class over all others—these are the dark, the false, and crooked doctrines for which any man or people who believes in them, or acts upon them, must, sooner or later, incur the wrath and chastisement of God.
"Movements,” is the warning sounded by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "newly-born and worldwide in their range, will exert their utmost effort for the advancement of their designs. The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance. Its influence will spread.”
Contrasting with, and irreconcilably opposed
to, these war-engendering, world-convulsing
doctrines, are the healing, the
saving, the pregnant truths proclaimed by
Bahá’u’lláh, the Divine Organizer and
Saviour of the whole human race—truths
which should be regarded as the animating
force and the hall-mark of His Revelation:
"The world is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” "Let not a man glory in that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.”
And again:
”Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.” "Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply . . . all
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mankind may become the upholders of one order, and the inhabitants of one city. . . . Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will.” "Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body.”
And yet again:
"All the saplings Of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being.”
And furthermore:
”That one indeed is a man who today dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.”
The Weakened Pillars of Religion
Not only must irreligion and its monstrous offspring, the triple curse that oppresses the soul of mankind in this day, be held responsible for the ills which are so tragically besetting it, but other evils and vices, which are, for the most part, the direct consequences of the "weakening of the pillars of religion,” must also be regarded as contributory factors to the manifold guilt of which individuals and nations stand convicted. The signs of moral downfall, consequent to the dethronement of religion and the enthronement of these usurping idols, are too numerous and too patent for even a superficial observer of the state of present-day society to fail to notice. The spread of lawlessness, of drunkenness, of gambling, and of crime; the inordinate love of pleasure, of riches, and other earthly vanities; the laxity in morals, revealing itself in the irresponsible attitude towards marriage, in the weakening of parental control, in the rising tide of divorce, in the deterioration in the standard of literature and of the press, and in the advocacy of theories that are the very negation of purity, of morality and chastity—these evidences of moral decadence, invading both the East and the West, permeating every stratum of society, and instilling their poison in its members of both sexes, young and old alike, blacken still further the scroll upon which are inscribed the manifold transgressions of an unrepentant humanity.
Small wonder that Bahá’u’lláh, the Divine Physician, should have declared: "In this day the tastes of men have changed, and their power of perception hath altered. The contrary winds of the world, and its colors, have provoked a cold, and deprived men’s nostrils of the sweet savors of Revelation.”
Brimful and bitter indeed is the cup of humanity that has failed to respond to the summons of God as voiced by His Supreme Messenger, that has dimmed the lamp of its faith in its Creator, that has transferred, in so great a measure, the allegiance owed Him to the gods of its own invention, and polluted itself with the evils and vices which such a transference must necessarily engender.
Dear friends! It is in this light that we, the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, should regard this visitation of God which, in the concluding years of the first century of the Bahá’í era, afflicts the generality, and has thrown into such a bewildering confusion the affairs, of mankind. It is because of this dual guilt, the things it has done and the things it has left undone, its misdeeds as well as its dismal and signal failure to accomplish its clear and unmistakable duty towards God, His Messenger, and His Faith, that this grievous ordeal, whatever its immediate political and economic causes, has laid its adamantine grip upon it.
God, however, as has been pointed out in the very beginning of these pages, does not only punish the wrong-doings of His children. He chastises because He is just, and He chastens because He loves. Having chastened them, He cannot, in His great mercy, leave them to their fate. Indeed, by the very act of chastening them He prepares them for the mission for which He has created them. "My calamity is My providence,” He, by the mouth of Bahá’u’lláh, has assured them, "outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy.”
The flames which His Divine justice have
kindled cleanse an unregenerate humanity,
and fuse its discordant, its warring elements
as no other agency can cleanse or fuse them.
It is not only a retributory and destructive
fire, but a disciplinary and creative process,
whose aim is the salvation, through unification,
of the entire planet. Mysteriously,
slowly, and resistlessly God accomplishes
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His design, though the sight that meets our
eyes in this day be the spectacle of a world
hopelessly entangled in its own meshes,
utterly careless of the Voice which, for a
century, has been calling it to God, and
miserabiy subservient to the siren voices
which are attempting to lure it into the
vast abyss.
God’s Purpose
God’s purpose is none other than to usher in, in ways He alone can bring about, and the full significance of which He alone can fathom, the Great, the Golden Age of a long-divided, a long-afflicted humanity. Its present state, indeed even its immediate future, is dark, distressingly dark. Its distant future, however, is radiant, gloriously radiant—so radiant that no eye can visualize it.
"The winds of despair,” writes Bahá’u’lláh, as He surveys the immediate destinies of mankind, "are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divides and afflicts the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appears to be lamentably defective.” "Such shall be its plight,” He, in another connection has declared, "that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly.” "These fruitless strifes,” He, on the other hand, contemplating the future of mankind, has emphatically prophesied, in the course of His memorable interview with the Persian orientalist, Edward G. Browne, "these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the “Most Great Peace, shall come. . . . These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family.” "Soon,” He predicts, "will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.” "After a time,” He also has written, ”all the governments on earth will change. Oppression will envelop the world. And following a universal convulsion, the sun of justice will rise from the horizon of the unseen realm.” "The whole earth,” He, moreover, has stated, "is now in a state of pregnancy; The day is approaching when it will have yielded its noblest fruits, when from it will have sprung forth the loftiest trees, the most enchanting blossoms, the most heavenly blessings.” ”All nations and kindreds,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá likewise has written, " . . . will become a single nation. Religious and sectarian antagonism, the hostility of races and peoples, and differences among nations, will be eliminated. All men will adhere to one religion, will have one common faith, will be blended into one race, and become a single people. All will dwell in one common fatherland, which is the planet itself.”
What we witness at the present time, during ”this gravest crisis in the history of civilization,” recalling such times in which “religions have perished and are born,” is the adolescent stage in the slow and painful evolution of humanity, preparatory to the attainment of the stage of manhood, the stage of maturity, the promise of which is embedded in the teachings, and enshrined in the prophecies, of Bahá’u’lláh. The tumult of this age of transition is characteristic of the impetuosity and irrational instincts of youth, its follies, its prodigality, its pride, its self-assurance, its rebelliousness, and contempt of discipline.
The Great Age to Come
The ages of its infancy and childhood are past, never again to return, while the Great Age, the consummation of all ages, which must signalize the coming of age of the entire human race, is yet to come. The convulsions of this transitional and most turbulent period in the annals of humanity are the essential prerequisites, and herald the inevitable approach, of that Age of Ages, "the time of the end,” in which the folly and tumult of strife that has, since the dawn of history, blackened the annals of mankind, will have been finally transmuted into the wisdom and the tranquillity of an undisturbed, a universal, and lasting peace, in which the discord and separation of the children of men will have given way to the world-wide reconciliation, and the complete unification of the divers elements that constitute human society.
This will indeed be the fitting climax of
that process of integration which, starting
with the family, the smallest unit in the
scale of human organization, must, after
having called successively into being the
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tribe, the city-state and the nation, continue
to operate until it culminates in the
unification of the whole world, the final
object and the crowning glory of human
evolution on this planet. It is this stage
which humanity, willingly or unwillingly,
is resistlessly approaching. It is for this
stage that this vast, this fiery ordeal which
humanity is experiencing is mysteriously
paving the way. It is with this stage that
the fortunes and the purpose of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh are indissolubly linked. It is the
creative energies which His Revelation has
released in the "year sixty,” and later
reinforced by the successive effusions of
celestial power vouchsafed in the "year nine”
and the "year eighty” to all mankind, that
have instilled into humanity the capacity to
attain this final stage in its organic and
collective evolution. It is with the Golden Age
of His Dispensation that the consummation
of this process will be for ever associated.
It is the structure of His New World Order,
now stirring in the womb of the administrative
institutions He Himself has created,
that will serve both as a pattern and a nucleus
of that world commonwealth which
is the sure, the inevitable destiny of the
peoples and nations of the earth.
Just as the organic evolution of mankind has been slow and gradual, and involved successively the unification of the family, the tribe, the city-state, and the nation, so has the light vouchsafed by the Revelation of God, at various stages in the evolution of religion, and reflected in the successive Dispensations of the past, been slow and progressive. Indeed the measure of Divine Revelation, in every age, has been adapted to, and commensurate with, the degree of social progress achieved in that age by a constantly-evolving humanity.
"It hath been decreed by us,” explains Bahá’u’lláh, "that the Word of God, and all the potentialities thereof, shall be manifested unto men in strict conformity with such conditions as have been fore-ordained by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. . . . Should the Word be allowed to release suddenly all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of so mighty a Revelation.” ”All created things,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá elucidating this truth, has affirmed, "have their degree or stage of maturity. The period of maturity in the life of a tree is the time of its fruit-bearing. . . . The animal attains a stage of full growth and completeness, and in the human kingdom man reaches his maturity when the light of his intelligence attains its greatest power and development. . . . Similarly there are periods and stages in the collective life of humanity. At one time it was passing through its stage of childhood, at another its period of youth, but now it has entered its long-predicted phase of maturity, the evidences of which are everywhere apparent. . . . That which was applicable to human needs during the early history of the race can neither meet nor satisfy the demands of this day, this period of newness and consummation. Humanity has emerged from its former state of limitation and preliminary training. Man must now become imbued with new virtues and powers, new moral standards, new capacities. New bounties, perfect bestowals, are awaiting and already descending upon him. The gifts and blessings of the period of youth, although timely and sufficient during the adolescence of mankind, are now incapable of meeting the requirements of its maturity.” “In every Dispensation,” He moreover has written, "the light of Divine Guidance has been focussed upon one central theme. . . . In this wondrous Revelation, this glorious century, the foundation of the Faith of God, and the distinguishing feature of His Law, is the consciousness of the oneness of mankind.”
Religion and Social Evolution
The Revelation associated with the Faith
of Jesus Christ focussed attention primarily
on the redemption of the individual and
the moulding of his conduct, and stressed, as
its central theme, the necessity of inculcating
a high standard of morality and discipline into
man, as the fundamental unit in
human society. Nowhere in the Gospels do
we find any reference to the unity of nations
or the unification of mankind as a whole.
When Jesus spoke to those around Him, He
addressed them primarily as individuals
rather than as component parts of one universal,
indivisible entity. The whole surface
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of the earth was as yet unexplored, and the
organization of all its peoples and nations
as one unit could, consequently, not be envisaged,
how much less proclaimed or established.
What other interpretation can be
given to these words, addressed specifically
by Bahá’u’lláh to the followers of the Gospel,
in which the fundamental distinction between
the Mission of Jesus Christ, concerning primarily
the individual, and His own
Message, directed more particularly to
mankind as a whole, has been definitely established:
”Verily, He (Jesus)
said: ‘Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become
fishers of men.’ In this day, however, We
say: 'Come ye after Me, that We may make
you to become the quiekeners of mankind.’ ”
The Faith of Islám, the succeeding link in the chain of Divine Revelation, introduced, as Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies, the conception of the nation as a unit and a vital stage in the organization of human society, and embodied it in its teaching. This indeed is what is meant by this brief yet highly significant and illuminating pronouncement of Bahá’u’lláh: "Of old (Islamic Dispensation) it hath been revealed: ‘Love of one’s country is an element of the Faith of God.’ ” This principle was established and stressed by the Apostle of God, inasmuch as the evolution of human society required it at that time. Nor could any stage above and beyond it have been envisaged, as world conditions preliminary to the establishment of a superior form of organization were as yet unobtainable. The conception of nationality, the attainment to the state of nationhood, may, therefore, be said to be the distinguishing characteristics of the Muḥammadan Dispensation, in the course of which the nations and races of the world, and particularly in Europe and America, were unified and achieved political independence. . . .
”One of the great events,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His “Some Answered Questions” affirmed, ”which is to occur in the Day of the Manifestation of that Incomparable Branch (Bahá’u’lláh) is the hoisting of the Standard of God among all nations. By this is meant that all nations and kindreds will be gathered together under the shadow of this Divine Banner, which is no other than the Lordly Branch itself, and will become a single nation. Religious and sectarian antagonism, the hostility of races and peoples, and differences among nations, will be eliminated. All men will adhere to one religion, will have one common faith, will be blended into one race, and become a single people. All will dwell in one common fatherland, which is the planet itself.”
This is the stage which the world is now approaching, the stage of world unity, which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assures us, will, in this century, be securely established. "The Tongue of Grandeur,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself affirms, "hath . . . in the Day of His Manifestation proclaimed: 'It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world.’ ” "Through the power,” He adds, ”released by these exalted words He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction, to the birds of men’s hearts, and hath obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from God’s Holy Book.”
The Wider, Inclusive Loyalty
A word of warning should, however, be
uttered in this connection. The love of
one’s country, instilled and stressed by the
teaching of Islám, as
"an element of the Faith of God”
has not, through this declaration, this
clarion-call of Bahá’u’lláh, been
either condemned or disparaged. It should
not, indeed it cannot, be construed as a
repudiation, or regarded in the light of a
censure pronounced against, a sane and
intelligent patriotism, nor does it seek
to undermine the allegiance and loyalty of any
individual to his country, nor does it conflict
with the legitimate aspirations, rights,
and duties of any individual state or nation.
All it does imply and proclaim is the insufficiency
of patriotism, in view of the fundamental
changes effected in the economic
life of society and the interdependence of
the nations, and as the consequence of the
contraction of the world, through the revolution
in the means of transportation and
communication—conditions that did not
and could not exist either in the days of
Jesus Christ or of Muḥammad. It calls for
a wider loyalty, which should not, and
indeed does not, conflict with lesser loyalties.
It instills a love which, in view of its scope,
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must include and not exclude the love of
one’s own country. It lays, through this
loyalty which it inspires, and this love which
it infuses, the only foundation on which the
concept of world citizenship can thrive,
and the structure of world unification can
rest. It does insist, however, on the subordination
of national considerations and particularistic
interests to the imperative and
paramount claims of humanity as a whole,
inasmuch as in a world of interdependent
nations and peoples the advantage of the
part is best to be reached by the advantage
of the whole.
The world is, in truth, moving on towards its destiny. The interdependence of the peoples and nations of the earth, whatever the leaders of the divisive forces of the world may say or do, is already an accomplished fact. Its unity in the economic sphere is now understood and recognized. The welfare of the part means the welfare of the whole, and the distress of the part brings distress to the whole. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh has, in His own words, "lent a fresh impulse and set a new direction” to this vast process now operating in the world. The fires lit by this great ordeal are the consequences of men’s failure to recognize it. They are, moreover, hastening its consummation. Adversity, prolonged, worldwide, afflictive, allied to chaos and universal destruction, must needs convulse the nations, stir the conscience of the world, disillusion the masses, precipitate a radical change in the very conception of society, and coalesce ultimately the disjointed, the bleeding limbs of mankind into one body, single, organically united, and indivisible.
World Commonwealth
To the general character, the implications and features of this world commonwealth, destined to emerge, sooner or later, out of the carnage, agony, and havoc of this great world convulsion, I have already referred in my previous communications. Suffice it to say that this consummation will, by its very nature, be a gradual process, and must, as Bahá’u’lláh has Himself anticipated, lead at first to the establishment of that Lesser Peace which the nations of the earth, as yet unconscious of His Revelation and yet unwittingly enforcing the general principles which He has enunciated, will themselves establish. This momentous and historic step, involving the reconstruction of mankind, as the result of the universal recognition of its oneness and wholeness, will bring in its wake the spiritualization of the masses, consequent to the recognition of the character, and the acknowledgment of the claims, of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh—the essential condition to that ultimate fusion of all races, creeds, classes, and nations which must signalize the emergence of His New World Order.
Then will the coming of age of the entire human race be proclaimed and celebrated by all the peoples and nations of the earth. Then will the banner of the Most Great Peace be hoisted. Then will the world-wide sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh—the Establisher of the Kingdom of the Father foretold by the Son, and anticipated by the Prophets of God before Him and after Him—be recognized, acclaimed, and firmly established. Then will a world civilization be born, flourish, and perpetuate itself, a civilization with a fullness of life such as the world has never seen nor can as yet conceive. Then will the Everlasting Covenant be fulfilled in its completeness. Then will the promise enshrined in all the Books of God be redeemed, and all the prophecies uttered by the Prophets of old come to pass, and the vision of seers and poets be realized. Then will the planet, galvanized through the universal belief of its dwellers in one God, and their allegiance to one common Revelation, mirror, within the limitations imposed upon it, the effulgent glories of the sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh, shining in the plenitude of its splendor in the Abhá Paradise, and be made the footstool of His Throne on high, and acclaimed as the earthly heaven, capable of fulfilling that ineffable destiny fixed for it, from time immemorial, by the love and wisdom of its Creator.
Not ours, puny mortals that we are, to
attempt, at so critical a stage in the long
and checkered history of mankind, to arrive
at a precise and satisfactory understanding
of the steps which must successively lead a
bleeding humanity, wretchedly oblivious of
its God, and careless of Bahá’u’lláh, from its
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calvary to its ultimate resurrection. Not
ours, the living witnesses of the all-subduing
potency of His Faith, to question, for
a moment, and however dark the misery
that enshrouds the world, the ability of
Bahá’u’lláh to forge, with the hammer of
His Will, and through the fire of tribulation,
upon the anvil of this travailing age,
and in the particular shape His mind has
envisioned, these scattered and mutually
destructive fragments into which a perverse
world has fallen, into one single unit, solid
and indivisible, able to execute His design
for the children of men.
Ours rather the duty, however confused the scene, however dismal the present outlook, however circumscribed the resources we dispose of, to labor serenely, confidently and unremittingly to lend our share of assistance, in whichever way circumstances may enable us, to the operation of the forces which, as marshaled and directed by Bahá’u’lláh, are leading humanity out of the valley of misery and shame to the loftiest summits of power and glory.
Haifa, Palestine, March 28, 1941.
THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
THE contrast between the accumulating evidences of steady consolidation that accompany the rise of the Administrative Order of the Faith of God, and the forces of disintegration which batter at the fabric of a travailing society, is as clear as it is arresting. Both within and outside the Bahá’í world the signs and tokens which, in a mysterious manner, are heralding the birth of that World Order, the establishment of which must signalize the Golden Age of the Cause of God, are growing and multiplying day by day. No fair-minded observer can any longer fail to discern them. . . . He can, if he be fair in his judgment, recognize in the chain of events which proclaim on the one hand the irresistible march of the institutions directly associated with the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and foreshadow on the other the downfall of those powers and principalities that have either ignored or opposed it—he can recognize in them all evidences of the operation of God’s all-pervasive Will, the shaping of His perfectly ordered and world-embracing Plan. . . .
This New World Order, whose promise is enshrined in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, whose fundamental principles have been enunciated in the writings of the Center of His Covenant, involves no less than the complete unification of the entire human race. This unification should conform to such principles as would directly harmonize with the spirit that animates, and the laws that govern the operation of, the institutions that already constitute the structural basis of the Administrative Order of His Faith.
No machinery falling short of the standard inculcated by the Bahá’í Revelation, and at variance with the sublime pattern ordained in His teachings, which the collective efforts of mankind may yet devise can ever hope to achieve anything above or beyond that “Lesser Peace” to which the Author of our Faith has Himself alluded in His writings. “Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace,” He, admonishing the kings and rulers of the earth, has written, "hold ye fast unto this the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents. Expatiating on this lesser Peace, He thus addresses in that same Tablet the rulers of the earth: “Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. . . . Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.”
The Most Great Peace, on the other hand,
as conceived by Bahá’u’lláh—a peace that
must inevitably follow as the practical
consequence of the spiritualization of the world
and the fusion of all its races, creeds, classes
and nations—can rest on no other basis, and
can be preserved through no other agency,
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except the divinely appointed ordinances
that are implicit in the World Order that
stands associated with His Holy Name. In
His Tablet, revealed almost seventy years ago
to Queen Victoria, Bahá’u’lláh, alluding to
this Most Great Peace, has declared: “That
which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign
remedy and the mightiest instrument for
the healing of all the world is the union of
all its peoples in one universal Cause, one
common Faith. This can in no wise be
achieved except through the power of a
skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician.
This, verily, is the truth, and all else
naught but error. . . .” “It beseemeth all
men in this Day,” He, in another Tablet,
asserts, “to take firm hold on the Most Great
Name, and to establish the unity of all mankind.
There is no place to flee to, no refuge
that any one can seek, except Him.”
EXCERPTS FROM THE LETTERS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI
I HAVE been acquainted by the perusal of your latest communications with the nature of the doubts that have been publicly expressed, by one who is wholly misinformed as to the true precepts of the Cause, regarding the validity of institutions that stand inextricably interwoven with the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Not that I for a moment view such faint misgivings in the light of an open challenge to the structure that embodies the Faith, nor is it because I question in the least the unyielding tenacity of the faith of the American believers, if I venture to dwell upon what seems to me appropriate observations at the present stage of the evolution of our beloved Cause. I am indeed inclined to welcome these expressed apprehensions inasmuch as they afford me an opportunity to familiarize the elected representatives of the believers with the origin and character of the institutions which stand at the very basis of the world order ushered in by Bahá’u’lláh. We should feel truly thankful for such futile attempts to undermine our beloved Faith—attempts that protrude their ugly face from time to time, seem for a while able to create a breach in the ranks of the faithful, recede finally into the obscurity of oblivion, and are thought of no more. Such incidents we should regard as the interpositions of Providence, designed to fortify our faith, to clarify our vision, and to deepen our understanding of the essentials of His Divine Revelation.
It would, however, be helpful and instructive to
bear in mind certain basic principles.
with reference to the
Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
which together with the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, constitutes the chief depository
wherein are enshrined those priceless
elements of that Divine Civilization, the
establishment of which is the primary mission
of the Bahá’í Faith. A study of the provisions of
these sacred documents will reveal
the close relationship that exists between
them, as well as the identity of purpose and
method which they inculcate. Far from regarding
their specific provisions as incompatible and
contradictory in spirit, every
fair-minded inquirer will readily admit that
they are not only complementary, but that
they mutually confirm one another, and are
inseparable parts of one complete unit. A
comparison of their contents with the rest
of Bahá’í Sacred Writings will similarly establish
the conformity of whatever they
contain with the spirit as well as the letter
of the authenticated writings and sayings of
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In fact, he
who reads the Aqdas with care and diligence
will not find it hard to discover that the
Most Holy Book [Aqdas] itself anticipates
in a number of passages the institutions
which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ordains in His Will. By
leaving certain matters unspecified and unregulated
in His Book of Laws [Aqdas],
Baha’u’llah seems to have deliberately left
a gap in the general scheme of Bahá’í Dispensation,
which the unequivocal provisions
of the Master’s Will has filled. To attempt
to divorce the one from the other, to insinuate
that the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh
have not been upheld, in their entirety and
with absolute integrity, by what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
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has revealed in his Will, is an unpardonable
affront to the unswerving fidelity
that has characterized the life and labors of
our beloved Master.
I will not attempt in the least to assert or demonstrate the authenticity of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu’l-Bahá, for that in itself would betray an apprehension on my part as to the unanimous confidence of the believers in the genuineness of the last written wishes of our departed Master. I will only confine my observations to those issues which may assist them to appreciate the essential unity that underlies the spiritual, the humanitarian, and the administrative principles enunciated by the Author and the Interpreter of the Bahá’í Faith.
I am at a loss to explain that strange mentality that inclines to uphold as the sole criterion of the truth of the Bahá’í Teachings what is admittedly only an obscure and unauthenticated translation of an oral statement made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in defiance and total disregard of the available text of all of His universally recognized writings. I truly deplore the unfortunate distortions that have resulted in days past from the incapacity of the interpreter to grasp the meaning of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and from his incompetence to render adequately such truths as have been revealed to him by the Master’s statements. Much of the confusion that has obscured the understanding of the believers should be attributed to this double error involved in the inexact rendering of an only partially understood statement. Not infrequently has the interpreter even failed to convey the exact purport of the inquirer’s specific questions, and, by his deficiency of understanding and expression in conveying the answer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, has been responsible for reports wholly at variance with the true spirit and purpose of the Cause. It was chiefly in view of this misleading nature of the reports of the informal conversations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with visiting pilgrims, that I have insistently urged the believers of the West to regard such statements as merely personal impressions of the sayings of their Master, and to quote and consider as authentic only such translations as are based upon the authenticated text of His recorded utterances in the original tongue.
It should be remembered by every follower of the Cause that the system of Bahá’í administration is not an innovation imposed arbitrarily upon the Bahá’ís of the world since the Master’s passing, but derives its authority from the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is specifically prescribed in unnumbered Tablets, and rests in some of its essential features upon the explicit provisions of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It thus unifies and correlates the principles separately laid down by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and is indissolubly bound with the essential verities of the Faith. To dissociate the administrative principles of the Cause from the purely spiritual and humanitarian teachings would be tantamount to a mutilation of the body of the Cause, a separation that can only result in the disintegration of its component parts, and the extinction of the Faith itself.
LOCAL AND NATIONAL HOUSES OF JUSTICE
It should be carefully borne in mind that
the local as well as the international Houses
of Justice have been expressly enjoined by
the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; that the institution of
the National Spiritual Assembly, as an
intermediary body, and referred to in the Master’s
Will as the "Secondary House of Justice,”
has the express sanction of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá;
and that the method to be pursued for the
election of the International and National
Houses of Justice has been set forth by Him
in His Will, as well as in a number of His
Tablets. Moreover, the institutions of the
local and national Funds, that are now the
necessary adjuncts to all Local and National
Spiritual Assemblies, have not only been
established by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets He
revealed to the Bahá’ís of the Orient, but
their importance and necessity have been
repeatedly emphasized by Him in His utterances
and writings. The concentration of
authority in the hands of the elected
representatives of the believers; the necessity of
the submission of every adherent of the
Faith to the considered judgment of Bahá’í
Assemblies; His preference for unanimity in
decision; the decisive character of the
majority vote; and even the desirability for
the exercise of close supervision over all
Bahá’í publications, have been sedulously
[Page 291]
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of San Salvador, El Salvador.
instilled by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as evidenced by His authenticated and widely-scattered Tablets. To accept His broad and humanitarian Teachings on one hand, and to reject and dismiss with neglectful indifference His more challenging and distinguishing precepts, would be an act of manifest disloyalty to that which He has cherished most in His life.
That the Spiritual Assemblies of today will be replaced in time by the Houses of Justice, and are to all intents and purposes identical and not separate bodies, is abundantly confirmed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself.
He has in fact in a Tablet addressed to the
members of the first Chicago Spiritual Assembly,
the first elected Bahá’í body instituted
in the United States, referred to them
as the members of the "House of Justice”
for that city, and has thus with His own pen
established beyond any doubt the identity of
the present Bahá’í Spiritual Assemblies with
the Houses of Justice referred to by Bahá’u’lláh.
For reasons which are not difficult
to discover, it has been found advisable to
bestow upon the elected representatives of
Bahá’í communities throughout the world
the temporary appellation of Spiritual Assemblies,
[Page 292]
a term which, as the position and
aims of the Bahá’í Faith are better understood
and more fully recognized, will gradually
be superseded by the permanent and
more appropriate designation of House of
Justice. Not only will the present-day
Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in
future, but will be enabled also to add to
their present functions those powers, duties,
and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition
of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, not merely
as one of the recognized religious systems of
the world, but as the State Religion of an
independent and Sovereign Power. And as
the Bahá’í Faith permeates the masses of the
peoples of East and West, and its truth is
embraced by the majority of the peoples of
a number of the Sovereign States of the
world, will the Universal House of Justice
attain the plenitude of its power, and
exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá’í
Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties,
and responsibilities incumbent upon the
world’s future superstate.
It must be pointed out, however, in this connection that, contrary to what has been confidently asserted, the establishment of the Supreme House of Justice is in no way dependent upon the adoption of the Bahá’í Faith by the mass of the peoples of the world, nor does it presuppose its acceptance by the majority of the inhabitants of any one country. In fact, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Himself, in one of His earliest Tablets, contemplated the possibility of the formation of the Universal House of Justice in His own lifetime, and but for the unfavorable circumstances prevailing under the Turkish régime, would have, in all probability, taken the preliminary steps for its establishment. It will be evident, therefore, that given favorable circumstances, under which the Bahá’ís of Persia and of the adjoining countries under Soviet Rule may be enabled to elect their national representatives, in accordance with the guiding principles laid down in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s writings, the only remaining obstacle in the way of the definite formation of the International House of Justice will have been removed. For upon the National Houses of Justice of the East and West devolves the task, in conformity with the explicit provisions of the Will, of electing directly the members of the International House of Justice. Not until they are themselves fully representative of the rank and file of the believers in their respective countries, not until they have acquired the weight and the experience that will enable them to function vigorously in the organic life of the cause, can they approach their sacred task, and provide the spiritual basis for the constitution of so august a body in the Bahá’í world.
THE INSTITUTION OF GUARDIANSHIP
It must be also clearly understood by every believer that the institution of Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate, or even in the slightest degree detract from, the powers granted to the Universal House of Justice by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and repeatedly and solemnly confirmed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will. It does not constitute in any manner a contradiction to the Will and Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, nor does it nullify any of His revealed instructions. It enhances the prestige of that exalted assembly, stabilizes its supreme position, safeguards its unity, assures the continuity of its labors, without presuming in the slightest to infringe upon the inviolability of its clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction. We stand indeed too close to so monumental a document to claim for ourselves a complete understanding of all its implications, or to presume to have grasped the manifold mysteries it undoubtedly contains. Only future generations can comprehend the value and the significance attached to this Divine Masterpiece, which the hand of the Master-builder of the world has designed for the unification and the triumph of the world-wide Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Only those who come after us will be in a position to realize the value of the surprisingly strong emphasis that has been placed on the institution of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship. They only will appreciate the significance of the vigorous language employed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with reference to the band of Covenant-breakers that has opposed Him in His days. To them alone will be revealed the suitability of the institutions initiated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the character of the future society which is to emerge out of the chaos and confusion of the present age. . . .
THE ANIMATING PURPOSE OF BAHÁ’Í INSTITUTIONS
And now, it behooves us to reflect on the animating purpose and the primary functions of these divinely-established institutions, the sacred character and the universal efficacy of which can be demonstrated only by the spirit they diffuse and the work they actually achieve. I need not dwell upon what I have already reiterated and emphasized that the administration of the Cause is to be conceived as an instrument and not a substitute for the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, that it should be regarded as a channel through which His promised blessings may flow, that it should guard against such rigidity as would clog and fetter the liberating forces released by His Revelation. . . . Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its affairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery that will insure, amid the storm and stress of a struggling civilization, the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the protection of its interests? To repudiate the validity of the assemblies of the elected ministers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh would be to reject these countless Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, wherein they have extolled their privileges and duties, emphasized the glory of their mission, revealed the immensity of their task, and warned them of the attacks they must needs expect from the unwisdom of friends, as well as from the malice of their enemies. It is surely for those to whose hands so priceless a heritage has been committed to prayerfully watch lest the tool should supersede the Faith itself, lest undue concern for the minute details arising from the administration of the Cause obscure the vision of its promoters, lest partiality, ambition, and worldliness tend in the course of time to becloud the radiance, stain the purity, and impair the effectiveness of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
February 27, 1929.
Dearly-beloved friends! Great as is my love and admiration for you, convinced as I am of the paramount share which you can, and will, undoubtedly have in both the continental and international spheres of future Bahá’í activity and service, I feel it nevertheless incumbent upon me to utter, at this juncture, a word of warning. The glowing tributes, so repeatedly and deservedly paid to the capacity, the spirit, the conduct, and the high rank, of the American believers, both individually and as an organic community, must, under no circumstances, be confounded with the characterstics and nature of the people from which God has raised them up. A sharp distinction between that community and that people must be made, and resolutely and fearlessly upheld, if we wish to give due recognition to the transmuting power of the Faith of Baha’u’llah, in its impact on the lives and standards of those who have chosen to enlist under His banner. Otherwise, the supreme and distinguishing function of His Revelation, which is none other than the calling into being of a new race of men, will remain wholly unrecognized and completely obscured.
THE SUPREME FUNCTION OF HIS REVELATION
How often have the Prophets of God, not
excepting Bahá’u’lláh Himself, chosen to appear,
and deliver their Message in countries
and amidst peoples and races, at a time when
they were either fast declining, or had already
touched the lowest depths of moral
and spiritual degradation. The appalling
misery and wretchedness to which the Israelites
had sunk, under the debasing and tyrannical
rule of the Pharaohs, in the days
preceding their exodus from Egypt under
the leadership of Moses; the decline that had
set in in the religious, the spiritual, the
cultural, and the moral life of the Jewish people,
at the time of the appearance of Jesus
Christ; the barbarous cruelty, the gross
idolatry and immorality, which had for so
long been the most distressing features of
the tribes of Arabia and brought such shame
upon them when Muḥammad arose to proclaim His
Message in their midst; the indescribable
state of decadence, with its
attendant corruption, confusion, intolerance,
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and oppression, in both the civil and religious
life of Persia, so graphically portrayed
by the pen of a considerable number of
scholars, diplomats, and travelers, at the
hour of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh—all
demonstrate this basic and inescapable fact.
To contend that the innate worthiness, the
high moral standard, the political aptitude,
and social attainments of any race or nation
is the reason for the appearance in its midst
of any of these Divine Luminaries would be
an absolute perversion of historical facts,
and would amount to a complete repudiation
of the undoubted interpretation placed
upon them, so clearly and emphatically, by
both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
How great, then, must be the challenge to those who, belonging to such races and nations, and having responded to the call which these Prophets have raised, to unreservedly recognize and courageously testify to this indubitable truth, that not by reason of any racial superiority, political capacity, or spiritual virtue which a race or nation might possess, but rather as a direct consequence of its crying needs, its lamentable degeneracy, and irremediable perversity, has the Prophet of God chosen to appear in its midst, and with it as a lever has lifted the entire human race to a higher and nobler plane of life and conduct. For it is precisely under such circumstances, and by such means that the Prophets have, from time immemorial, chosen and were able to demonstrate their redemptive power to raise from the depths of abasement and of misery, the people of their own race and nation, empowering them to transmit in turn to other races and nations the saving grace and the energizing influence of their Revelation.
In the light of this fundamental principle it should always be borne in mind, nor can it be sufficiently emphasized, that the primary reason why the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh chose to appear in Persia, and to make it the first repository of their Revelation, was because, of all the peoples and nations of the civilized world, that race and nation had, as so often depicted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, sunk to such ignominious depths, and manifested so great a perversity, as to find no parallel among its contemporaries. For no more convincing proof could be adduced demonstrating the regenerating spirit animating the Revelations proclaimed by the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh than their power to transform what can be truly regarded as one of the most backward, the most cowardly, and perverse of peoples into a race of heroes, fit to effect in turn a similar revolution in the life of mankind. To have appeared among a race or nation which by its intrinsic worth and high attainments seemed to warrant the inestimable privilege of being made the receptacle of such a Revelation would in the eyes of an unbelieving world greatly reduce the efficacy of that Message, and detract from the self-sufficiency of its omnipotent power. The contrast so strikingly presented in the pages of Nabíl’s Narrative between the heroism that immortalized the life and deeds of the Dawn-Breakers and the degeneracy and cowardice of their defamers and persecutors is in itself a most impressive testimony to the truth of the Message of Him Who had instilled such a spirit into the breasts of His disciples. For any believer of that race to maintain that the excellence of his country and the innate nobility of its people were the fundamental reasons for its being singled out as the primary receptacle of the Revelations of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh would be untenable in the face of the overwhelming evidence afforded so convincingly by that Narrative.
To a lesser degree this principle must of
necessity apply to the country which has
vindicated its right to be regarded as the
cradle of the World Order of Baha’u’llah.
So great a function, so noble a role, can be
regarded as no less inferior to the part played
by those immortal souls who, through their
sublime renunciation and unparalleled deeds,
have been responsible for the birth of the
Faith itself. Let not, therefore, those who
are to participate so predominantly in the
birth of that world civilization, which is the
direct offspring of their Faith, imagine for
a moment that for some mysterious purpose
or by any reason of inherent excellence or
special merit Bahá’u’lláh has chosen to confer
upon their country and people so great
and lasting a distinction. It is precisely by
reason of the patent evils which, notwithstanding
its other admittedly great characteristics
and achievements, an excessive and
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binding materialism has unfortunately engendered,
within it that the Author of their
Faith and the Center of His Covenant have
singled it out to become the standard-bearer
of the New World Order envisaged in their
writings. It is by such means as this that
Bahá’u’lláh can best demonstrate to a heedless
generation His almighty power to raise
up from the very midst of a people, immersed
in a sea of materialism, a prey to one
of the most virulent and long-standing
forms of racial prejudice, and notorious for
its political corruption, lawlessness and laxity
in moral standards, men and women who, as
time goes by, will increasingly exemplify
those essential virtues of self-renunciation,
of moral rectitude, of chastity, of
indiscriminating fellowship, of holy
discipline, and of
spiritual insight that will fit them for the
preponderating share they will have in
calling into being that World Order and that
World Civilization of which their country,
no less than the entire human race, stands in
desperate need. Theirs will be the duty and
privilege, in their capacity first as the
establishers of one of the most powerful pillars
sustaining the edifice of the Universal House
of Justice, and then as the champion-builders
of that New World Order of which that
House is to be the nucleus and forerunner,
to inculcate, demonstrate, and apply those
twin and sorely-needed principles of Divine
justice and order—principles to which the
political corruption and the moral license,
increasingly staining the society to which
they belong, offer so sad and striking a
contrast.
Observations such as these, however distasteful and depressing they may be, should not, in the least, blind us to those virtues and qualities of high intelligence, of youthfulness, of unbounded initiative, and enterprise which the nation as a whole so conspicuously displays, and which are being increasingly reflected by the community of the believers within it. Upon these virtues and qualities, no less than upon the elimination of the evils referred to, must depend, to a very great extent, the ability of that community to lay a firm foundation for the country’s future role in ushering in the Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
HOW STAGGERING THE RESPONSIBILITY
How great, therefore, how staggering the responsibility that must weigh upon the present generation of the American believers, at this early stage in their spiritual and administrative evolution, to weed out, by every means in their power, those faults, habits, and tendencies which they have inherited from their own nation, and to cultivate, patiently and prayerfully, those distinctive qualities and characteristics that are so indispensable to their effective participation in the great redemptive work of their Faith. Incapable as yet, in view of the restricted size of their community and the limited influence it now wields, of producing any marked effect on the great mass of their countrymen, let them focus their attention, for the present, on their own selves, their own individual needs, their own personal deficiencies and weaknesses, ever mindful that every intensification of effort on their part will better equip them for the time when they will be called upon to eradicate in their turn such evil tendencies from the lives and the hearts of the entire body of their fellow-citizens. Nor must they overlook the fact that the World Order, whose basis they, as the advance guard of the future Bahá’í generations of their countrymen, are now laboring to establish, can never be reared unless and until the generality of the people to which they belong has been already purged from the divers ills, whether social or political, that now so severely afflict it.
Surveying as a whole the most pressing needs of this community, attempting to estimate the more serious deficiencies by which it is being handicapped in the discharge of its task, and ever bearing in mind the nature of that still greater task with which it will be forced to wrestle in the future, I feel it my duty to lay special stress upon, and draw the special and urgent attention of the entire body of the American believers, be they young or old, white or colored, teachers or administrators, veterans or new-corners, to what I firmly believe are the essential requirements for the success of the tasks which are now claiming their undivided attention. Great as is the importance of fashioning the outward instruments, and of perfecting the {{page|296|file=BW_Volume9.pdf|page=325} administrative agencies, which they can utilize for the prosecution of their dual task under the Seven Year Plan; vital and urgent as are the campaigns which they are initiating, the schemes and projects which they are devising, and the funds which they are raising, for the efficient conduct of both the Teaching and Temple work, the imponderable, the spiritual, factors, which are bound up with their own individual and inner lives, and with which are associated their human and social relationships, are no less urgent and vital, and demand constant scrutiny, continual self-examination and heart-searching on their part, lest their value be impaired or their vital necessity be obscured or forgotten.
SPIRITUAL PREREQUISITES
Of these spiritual prerequisites of success, which constitute the bedrock on which the security of all teaching plans, Temple projects, and financial schemes, must ultimately rest, the following stand out as preeminent and vital, which the members of the American Bahá’í community will do well to ponder. Upon the extent to which these basic requirements are met, and the manner in which the American believers fulfill them in their individual lives, administrative activities, and social relationships, must depend the measure of the manifold blessings which the All-Bountiful Possessor can vouchsafe to them all. These requirements are none other than a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and administrative activities, absolute chastity in their individual lives, and complete freedom from prejudice in their dealings with peoples of a different race, class, creed, or color.
The first is specially, though not exclusively, directed to their elected representatives, whether local, regional, or national, who, in their capacity as the custodians and members of the nascent institutions of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, are shouldering the chief responsibility in laying an unassailable foundation for that Universal House of, Justice which, as its title implies, is to be the exponent and guardian of that Divine Justice which can alone insure the security of, and establish the reign of law and order in, a strangely disordered world. The second is mainly and directly concerned with the Bahá’í youth, who can contribute so decisively to the virility, the purity, and the driving force of the life of the Bahá’í community, and upon whom must depend the future orientation of its destiny, and the complete unfoldment of the potentialities with which God has endowed it. The third should be the immediate, the universal, and the chief concern of all and sundry members of the Bahá’í community, of whatever age, rank, experience, class, or color, as all, with no exception, must face its challenging implications, and none can claim, however much he may have progressed along this line, to have completely discharged the stern responsibilities which it inculcates.
A rectitude of conduct, an abiding sense of undeviating justice, unobscured by the demoralizing influences which a corruption-ridden political life so strikingly manifests; a chaste, pure, and holy life, unsullied and unclouded by the indecencies, the vices, the false standards, which an inherently deficient moral code tolerates, perpetuates, and fosters; a fraternity freed from that cancerous growth of racial prejudice, which is eating into the vitals of an already debilitated society—these are the ideals which the American believers must, from now on, individually and through concerted action, strive to promote, in both their private and public lives, ideals which are the chief propelling forces that can most effectively accelerate the march of their institutions, plans, and enterprises, that can guard the honor and integrity of their Faith, and subdue any obstacles that may confront it in the future.
This rectitude of conduct, with its
implications of justice, equity, truthfulness,
honesty, fair-mindedness, reliability, and
trustworthiness, must distinguish every phase
of the life of the Bahá’í community.
"The companions of God,”
Bahá’u’lláh Himself has declared,
"are, in this day, the lump that must leaven the peoples of the world. They must show forth such trustworthiness, such truthfulness and perseverance, such deeds and character that all mankind may profit by their example.” ”I swear by Him Who is the Most Great Ocean!”
He again affirms,
"Within the very breath of such souls as
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are pure and sanctified far-reaching potentialities are hidden. So great are these potentialities that they exercise their influence upon all created things.” "He is the true servant of God,”
He in another passage has written,
"who, in this day, were he to pass through cities of silver and gold, would not deign to look upon them, and whose heart would remain pure and undefiled from whatever things can be seen in this world, be they its goods or its treasures. I swear by the Sun of Truth! The breath of such a man is endowed with potency, and his words with attraction.” "By Him Who shineth above the Day-Spring of sanctity!”
He, still more emphatically, has revealed,
"If the whole earth were to be converted into silver and gold, no man who can be said to have truly ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude would deign to regard it, much less to seize and keep it. . . . They who dwell within the Tabernacle of God, and are established upon the seats of everlasting glory; will refuse, though they be dying of hunger, to stretch their hands, and seize unlawfully the property of their neighbor, however vile and worthless he may be. The purpose of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon all mankind to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to resignation and submissiveness to the will of God, to forbearance and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom. His object is to array every man with the mantle of a saintly character, and to adorn him with the ornament of holy and goodly deeds.” "We have admonished all the loved ones of God,”
He insists,
"to take heed lest the hem of Our sacred vesture be smirched with the mire of unlawful deeds, or be stained with the dust of reprehensible conduct.” "Cleave unto righteousness, O people of Bahá,”
He thus exhorts them,
"This, verily, is the commandment which this wronged One hath given unto you, and the first choice of His unrestrained will for every one of you.” "A good character,”
He explains,
”is, verily, the best mantle for men from God. With it He adorneth the temples of His loved ones. By My Life! The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun and the radiance thereof.” "One righteous act,”
He, again, has written,
"is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens. It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore the force that hath spent itself and vanished. . . . Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous. . . . Say: O people of God! That which can insure the victory of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, have been set down in the sacred Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun. These hosts are such righteous deeds, such conduct and character, as are acceptable in His sight. Whoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and summoneth to his assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct, the influence from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused throughout the whole world.” "The betterment of the world,”
is yet another statement,
"can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.” "Be fair to yourselves and to others,”
He thus counseleth them,
"that the evidences of justice may be revealed through your deeds among Our faithful servants.” "Equity,”
He also has written,
"is the most fundamental among human virtues. The evaluation of all things must needs depend upon it.”
And again,
”Observe equity in your judgment, ye men of understanding heart! He that is unjust in his judgment is destitute of the characteristics that distinguish man’s station.” "Beautify your tongues, O people,”
He further admonishes them,
"with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not treacherously with any one. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people.” "Let your eye be chaste,”
is yet another counsel,
"your hand faithful, your tongue truthful, and your heart enlightened.” ”Be an ornament to the countenance of truth,”
is yet another admonition,
"a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue.” ”Let truthfulness and courtesy be your adorning,” is
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still another admonition,
"suffer not yourselves to be deprived of the robe of forbearance and justice, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted from your hearts upon all created things. Say: Beware, O people of Bahá, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments. Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct. It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and keepeth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
"O army of God!” writes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Through the protection and help vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty—may my life be a sacrifice to His loved ones—ye must conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a center of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say: 'This man is unquestionably a Bahá’í, for his manners, his behavior, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the Bahá’ís.’ Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God.” "The most vital duty, in this day,” He, moreover, has written, ”is to purify your characters, to correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved of the Merciful must show forth such character and conduct among His creatures, that the fragrance of their holiness may be shed upon the whole world, and may quicken the dead, inasmuch as the purpose of the Manifestation of God and the dawning of the limitless lights of the Invisible is to educate the souls of men, and refine the character of every living man. . . .” "Truthfulness,” He asserts, "is the foundation of all human virtues. Without truthfulness progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible for any soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also be acquired.”
Such a rectitude of conduct must manifest itself, with ever-increasing potency, in every verdict which the elected representatives of the Bahá’í community, in whatever capacity they may find themselves, may be called upon to pronounce. It must be constantly reflected in the business dealings of all its members, in their domestic lives, in all manner of employment, and in any service they may, in the future, render their government or people. It must be exemplified in the conduct of all Bahá’í electors, when exercising their sacred rights and functions. It must characterize the attitude of every loyal believer towards nonacceptance of political posts, nonidentification with political parties, nonparticipation in political controversies, and non-membership in political organizations and ecclesiastical institutions. It must reveal itself in the uncompromising adherence of all, whether young or old, to the clearly enunciated and fundamental principles laid down by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His addresses, and to the laws and ordinances revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in His Most Holy Book. It must be demonstrated in the impartiality of every defender of the Faith against its enemies, in his fair-mindedness in recognizing any merits that enemy may possess, and in his honesty in discharging any obligations he may have towards him. It must constitute the brightest ornament of the life, the pursuits, the exertions, and the utterances of every Bahá’í teacher, whether laboring at home or abroad, whether in the front ranks of the teaching force, or occupying a less active and responsible position. It must be made the hall-mark of that numerically small, yet intensely dynamic and highly responsible body of the elected national representatives of every Bahá’í community, which constitutes the sustaining pillar, and the sole instrument for the election, in every community, of that Universal House whose very name and title, as ordained by Bahá’u’lláh, symbolizes that rectitude of
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 1942—1943.
conduct which is its highest mission to safeguard and enforce.
So great and transcendental is this principle of Divine justice, a principle that must be regarded as the crowning distinction of all Local and National Assemblies, in their capacity as forerunners of the Universal House of Justice, that Bahá’u’lláh Himself subordinates His personal inclination and wish to the all-compelling force of its demands and implications. "God is My witness!” He thus explains, “were it not contrary to the Law of God, I would have kissed the hand of My would-be murderer, and would cause him to inherit My earthly goods. I am restrained, however, by the binding Law laid down in the Book, and am Myself bereft of all worldly possessions.” “Know thou, of a truth,” He significantly affirms, "these great oppressions that have befallen the world are preparing it for the advent of the Most Great Justice.” "Say,” He again asserts, "He hath appeared with that Justice wherewith mankind hath been adorned, and yet the people are, for the most part, asleep.” "The light of men is Justice,” He moreover states, ”Quench it not with the contrary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men.” "No radiance,” He declares, "can compare with that of justice. The organization of the world and the tranquillity of mankind depend upon it.” "O people of God!” He exclaims, "That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the sources of life to the world.” "Justice and equity,” is yet another assertion, ”are two guardians for the protection of man. They have appeared arrayed in their mighty and sacred names to maintain the world in uprightness and protect the nations.” "Bestir yourselves, O people,” is His emphatic warning, "in anticipation of the days of Divine justice, for the promised hour is now come.
Bahá’ís of Nicaragua.
Mathew Kaszab, Bahá’í Pioneer, Standing at Left.
Beware lest ye fail to apprehend its import, and be accounted among the erring.” "The day is approaching,” He similarly has written, "when the faithful will behold the day-star of justice shining in its full splendor from the dayspring of glory.” ”The shame I was made to bear,” He significantly remarks, "hath uncovered the glory with which the whole of creation had been invested, and through the cruelties I have endured, the day-star of justice hath manifested itself, and shed its splendor upon men.” "The world,” He again has written, "is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions.” And again, "There can he no doubt whatever that if the day-star of justice, which the clouds of tyranny have obscured, were to shed its light upon men, the face of the earth would he completely transformed.”
”God be praised!” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His turn, exclaims, "The sun of justice hath risen above the horizon of Baha’u’llah. For in His Tablets the foundations of such a justice have been laid as no mind hath, from the beginning of creation, conceived.” "The canopy of existence,” He further explains, "resteth upon the pole of justice, and not of forgiveness, and the life of mankind dependeth on justice and not on forgiveness.”
Small wonder, therefore, that the Author
of the Bahá’í Revelation should have chosen
to associate the name and title of that
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House, which is to be the crowning glory
of His administrative institutions, not with
forgiveness but with justice, to have made
justice the only basis and the permanent
foundation of His Most Great Peace, and
to have proclaimed it in His Hidden Words
as ”the best beloved of all things” in His
sight. It is to the American believers,
particularly, that I feel urged to direct this
fervent plea to ponder in their hearts the
implications of this moral rectitude, and to
uphold, with heart and soul and uncompromisingly,
both individually and collectively, this
sublime standard—a standard
of which justice is so essential and potent
an element.
As to a chaste and holy life it should be regarded as no less essential a factor that must contribute its proper share to the strengthening and vitalization of the Bahá’í community, upon which must in turn depend the success of any Bahá’í plan or enterprise. In these days when the forces of irreligion are weakening the moral fibre, and undermining the foundations of individual morality, the obligation of chastity and holiness must claim an increasing share of the attention of the American believers, both in their individual capacities and as the responsible custodians of the interests of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. In the discharge of such an obligation, to which the special circumstances resulting from an excessive and enervating materialism now prevailing in their country lend particular significance, they must play a conspicuous and predominant role. All of them, be they men or women, must, at this threatening hour when the lights of religion are fading out, and its restraints are one by one being abolished, pause to examine themselves, scrutinize their conduct, and with characteristic resolution arise to purge the life of their community of every trace of moral laxity that might stain the name, or impair the integrity, of so holy and precious a Faith.
A chaste and holy life must be made the controlling principle in the behavior and conduct of all Bahá’ís, both in their social relations with the members of their own community, and in their contact with the world at large. It must adorn and reënforce the ceaseless labors and meritorious exertions of those whose enviable position is to propagate the Message, and to administer the affairs, of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. It must be upheld, in all its integrity and implications, in every phase of the life of those who fill the ranks of that Faith, whether in their homes, their travels, their clubs, their societies, their entertainments, their schools, and their universities. It must be accorded special consideration in the conduct of the social activities of every Bahá’í summer school and any other occasions on which Bahá’í community life is organized and fostered. It must be closely and continually identified with the mission of the Bahá’í Youth, both as an element in the life of the Bahá’í community, and as a factor in the future progress and orientation of the youth of their own country.
Such a chaste and holy life, with its implications of modesty, purity, temperance, decency, and clean-mindedness, involves no less than the exercise of moderation in all that pertains to dress, language, amusements, and all artistic and literary avocations. It demands daily vigilance in the control of one’s carnal desires and corrupt inclinations. It calls for the abandonment of a frivolous conduct, with its excessive attachment to trivial and often misdirected pleasures. It requires total abstinence from all alcoholic drinks, from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs. It condemns the prostitution of art and of literature, the practices of nudism and of companionate marriage, infidelity in marital relationships, and all manner of promiscuity, of easy familiarity, and of sexual vices. It can tolerate no compromise with the theories, the standards, the habits, and the excess of a decadent age. Nay rather it seeks to demonstrate, through the dynamic force of its example, the pernicious character of such theories, the falsity of such standards, the hollowness of such claims, the perversity of such habits, and the sacrilegious character of such excesses.
”By the righteousness of God!”
writes Bahá’u’lláh,
"The world, its vanities and its glory, and whatever delights it can offer, are all, in the sight of God, as worthless as, nay even more contemptible than, dust and ashes. Would that the hearts of men could
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comprehend it. Wash yourselves thoroughly O people of Bahá, from the defilement of the world, and of all that pertaineth unto it. God Himself heareth Me witness! The things of the earth ill beseem you. Cast them away unto such as may desire them, and fasten your eyes upon this most holy and effulgent Vision.” "O ye My loved ones!”
He thus exhorts His followers,
"Suffer not the hem of My sacred vesture to be smirched and mired with the things of this world, and follow not the promptings of your evil and corrupt desires.”
And again,
”O ye the beloved of the one true God! Pass beyond the narrow retreats of your evil and corrupt desires, and advance into the vast immensity of the realm of God, and abide ye in the meads of sanctity and of detachment, that the fragrance of your deeds may lead the whole of mankind to the ocean of God’s unfading glory.” "Disencumber yourselves,”
He thus commands them,
"of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof. Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you from entering the straight and glorious Path.” "Eschew all manner of wickedness,”
is His commandment,
"for such things are forbidden unto you in the Book which none touch except such as God hath cleansed from every taint of guilt, and numbered among the purified.” "A race of men,”
is His written promise,
"incomparable in character, shall be raised up which, with the feet of detachment, will tread under all who are in heaven and on earth, and will cast the sleeve of holiness over all that hath been created from water and clay.” "The civilization,”
is His grave warning,
"so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men. . . . If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation.” "He hath chosen out of the whole world the hearts of His servants,”
He explains,
"and made them each a seat for the revelation of His glory. Wherefore, sanctify them from every defilement, that the things for which they were created may be engraven upon them. This indeed is a token of God’s bountiful favor.” ”Say,”
He proclaims,
"He is not to be numbered with the people of Bahá who followeth his mundane desires, or fixeth his heart on things of the earth. He is my true follower who, if he come to a valley of pure gold will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause. Such a man is assuredly of Me. From his garment the Concourse on high can inhale the fragrance of sanctity. . . . And if he met the fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow of desire for her beauty. Such an one indeed is the creation of spotless chastity. Thus instructeth you the Pen of the Ancient of Days, as bidden by your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.” "They that follow their lusts and corrupt inclinations,”
is yet another warning,
”have erred and dissipated their efforts. They indeed are of the lost.” "It behoveth the people of Bahá,”
He also has written,
”to die to the world and all that is therein, to be so detached from all earthly things that the inmates of Paradise may inhale from their garment the sweet smelling savor of sanctity. . . . They that have tarnished the fair name of the Cause of God by following the things of the flesh—these are in palpable error!” “Purity and chastity,”
He particularly admonishes,
"have been, and still are, the most great ornaments for the handmaidens of God. God is My Witness! The brightness of the light of chastity sheddeth its illumination upon the worlds of the spirit, and its fragrance is wafted even unto the Most Exalted Paradise.” "God,”
He again affirms,
"hath verily made chastity to he a crown for the heads of His handmaidens. Great is the blessedness of that handmaiden that hath attained unto this great station.” "We verily, have decreed in Our Book,”
is His assurance,
"a goodly and bountiful reward to whosoever will turn away from wickedness, and lead a chaste and godly life. He, in truth, is the Great Giver, the All-Bountiful.” "We have sustained the weight of all calamities,”
He testifies,
"to sanctify you from all earthly corruption and ye are yet indifferent. . . . We, verily, behold your actions. If We
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perceive from them the sweet smelling savor of purity and holiness, We will most certainly bless you. Then will the tongues of the inmates of Paradise utter your praise and magnify your names amidst them who have drawn nigh unto God.”
”The drinking of wine,” writes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "is, according to the text of the Most Holy Book, forbidden; for it is the cause of chronic diseases, weakeneth the nerves, and consumeth the mind.” "Drink ye, O handmaidens of God,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself has affirmed, "the Mystic Wine from the cup of My words. Cast away, then, from you that which your minds abhor, for it hath been forbidden unto you in His Tablets and His Scriptures. Beware lest ye barter away the River that is life indeed for that which the souls of the pure-hearted detest. Become ye intoxicated with the wine of the love of God, and not with that which deadeneth your minds, O ye that adore Him! Verily, it hath been forbidden unto every believer, whether man or woman. Thus hath the sun of My commandment shone forth above the horizon of My utterance, that the handmaidens who believe in Me may he illumined.”
It must be remembered, however, that the maintenance of such a high standard of moral conduct is not to be associated or confused with any form of asceticism, or of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The standard inculcated by Bahá’u’lláh, seeks, under no circumstances, to deny any one the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by an All-Loving Creator. "Should a man,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself reassures us, "wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him. Eat ye, O people, of the good things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties. Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thankful.”
THE MOST CHALLENGING ISSUE
As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well nigh a century, has bitten into the fibre, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Bahá’í community at the present stage of its evolution. The ceaseless exertions which this issue of paramount importance calls for, the sacrifices it must impose, the care and vigilance it demands, the moral courage and fortitude it requires, the tact and sympathy it necessitates, invest this problem, which the American believers are still far from having satisfactorily resolved, with an urgency and importance that can not be overestimated. White and negro, high and low, young and old, whether newly converted to the Faith or not, all who stand identified with it must participate in, and lend their assistance, each according to his or her capacity, experience, and opportunities, to the common task of fulfilling the instructions, realizing the hopes, and following the example of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Whether colored or noncolored, neither race has the right, or can conscientiously claim, to be regarded as absolved from such an obligation, as having realized such hopes, or having faithfully followed such an example. A long and thorny road, beset with pitfalls, still remains untraveled, both by the white and the negro exponents of the redeeming Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. On the distance they cover, and the manner in which they travel that road, must depend, to an extent which few among them can imagine, the operation of those intangible influences which are indispensable to the spiritual triumph of the American believers and the material success of their newly-launched enterprise.
Let them call to mind, fearlessly and
determinedly, the example and conduct of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá while in their midst. Let them
remember His courage, His genuine love,
His informal and indiscriminating fellowship.
His contempt for and impatience of
criticism, tempered by His tact and wisdom.
Let them revive and perpetuate the memory
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of those unforgettable and historic episodes
and occasions on which He so strikingly
demonstrated His keen sense of justice, His
spontaneous sympathy, for the down-trodden,
His ever-abiding sense of the oneness
of the human race, His overflowing love for
its members, and His displeasure with those
who dared to flout His wishes, to deride
His methods, to challenge His principles, or
to nullify His acts.
To discriminate against any race, on the ground of its being socially backward, politically immature, and numerically in a minority, is a flagrant violation of the spirit that animates the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. The consciousness of any division or cleavage in its ranks is alien to its very purpose, principles, and ideals. Once its members have fully recognized the claim of its Author, and, by identifying themselves with its Administrative Order, accepted unreservedly the principles and laws embodied in its teachings, every differentiation of class, creed, or color must automatically be obliterated, and never be allowed, under any pretext, and however great the pressure of events or of public opinion, to reassert itself. If any discrimination is at all to be tolerated, it should be a discrimination not against, but rather in favor of the minority, be it racial or otherwise. Unlike the nations and peoples of the earth, be they of the East or of the West, democratic or authoritarian, communist or capitalist, whether belonging to the Old World or the New, who either ignore, trample upon, or extirpate, the racial, religious, or political minorities within the sphere of their jurisdiction, every organized community, enlisted under the banner of Bahá’u’lláh should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging to any faith, race, class, or nation within it. So great and vital is this principle that in such circumstances, as when an equal number of ballots have been cast in an election, or where the qualifications for any office are balanced as between the various races, faiths or nationalities within the community, priority should unhesitatingly be accorded the party representing the minority, and this for no other reason except to stimulate and encourage it, and afford it an opportunity to further the interests of the community. In the light of this principle, and bearing in mind the extreme desirability of having the minority elements participate and share responsibility in the conduct of Bahá’í activity, it should be the duty of every Bahá’í community so to arrange its affairs that in cases where individuals belonging to the divers minority elements within it are already qualified and fulfill the necessary requirements, Bahá’í representative institutions, be they Assemblies, conventions, conferences, or committees, may have represented on them as many of these divers elements, racial or otherwise, as possible. The adoption of such a course, and faithful adherence to it, would not only be a source of inspiration and encouragement to those elements that are numerically small and inadequately represented, but would demonstrate to the world at large the universality and representative character of the Faith of Baha’u’llah, and the freedom of His followers from the taint of those prejudices which have already wrought such havoc in the domestic affairs, as well as the foreign relationships, of the nations.
Freedom from racial prejudice, in any of
its forms, should, at such a time as this
when an increasingly large section of the
human race is falling a victim to its
devastating ferocity, be adopted as the watchword
of the entire body of the American believers,
in whichever state they reside, in whatever
circles they move, whatever their age,
traditions, tastes, and habits. It should be
consistently demonstrated in every phase of
their activity and life, whether in the Bahá’í
community or outside it, in public or in
private, formally as well as informally,
individually as well as in their official capacity
as organized groups, committees and Assemblies.
It should be deliberately cultivated
through the various and everyday opportunities,
no matter how insignificant, that present themselves,
whether in their homes,
their business offices, their schools and colleges,
their social parties and recreation
grounds, their Bahá’í meetings, conferences,
conventions, summer schools and Assemblies.
It should, above all else, become the
keynote of the policy of that august body
which, in its capacity as the national representative,
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and the director and coördinator
of the affairs of the community, must set
the example, and facilitate the application
of such a vital principle to the lives and
activities of those whose interests
it safeguards and represents.
"O ye discerning ones!” Bahá’u’lláh has written, "Verily, the words which have descended from the heaven of the Will of God are the source of unity and harmony for the world. Close your eyes to racial differences, and welcome all with the light of oneness.” "We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations,” He proclaims, ". . . that all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the hands of affection and unity between the sons of men should he strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race he annulled.” "Bahá’u’lláh hath said,” writes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "that the various races of human kind lend a composite harmony and beauty of color to the whole. Let all associate, therefore, in this great human garden even as flowers grow and blend together side by side without discord or disagreement between them.” ”Bahá’u’lláh,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá moreover has said, "once compared the colored people to the black pupil of the eye surrounded by the white. In this black pupil is seen the reflection of that which is before it, and through it the light of the spirit shineth forth.”
"God,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself declares, "maketh no distinction between the white and the black. If the hearts are pure both are acceptable unto Him. God is no respector of persons on account of either color or race. All colors are acceptable unto Him, be they white, black, or yellow. Inasmuch as all were created in the image of God, we must bring ourselves to realize that all embody divine possibilities.” "In the estimation of God,” He states, "all men are equal. There is no distinction or preference for any soul, in the realm of His justice and equity.” ”God did not make these divisions;” He affirms, "these divisions have had their origin in man himself. Therefore, as they are against the plan and purpose of God they are false and imaginary.” "In the estimation of God,” He again affirms, "there is no distinction of color; all are one in the color and beauty of servitude to Him. Color is not important; the heart is all-important. It mattereth not what the exterior may be if the heart is pure and white within. God doth not behold differences of hue and complexion. He looketh at the hearts. He whose morals and virtues are praiseworthy is preferred in the presence of God; he who is devoted to the Kingdom is most beloved. In the realm of genesis and creation the question of color is of least importance.” "Throughout the animal kingdom,” He explains, ”we do not find the creatures separated because of color. They recognize unity of species and oneness of kind. If we do not find color distinction drawn in a kingdom of lower intelligence and reason, how can it be justified among human beings, especially when we know that all have come from the same source and belong to the same household? In origin and intention of creation mankind is one. Distinctions of race and color have arisen afterward.” "Man is endowed with superior reasoning power and the faculty of perception”; He further explains, "he is the manifestation of divine bestowals. Shall racial ideas prevail and obscure the creative purpose of unity in his kingdom?” ”One of the important questions,” He significantly remarks, "which affect the unity and the solidarity of mankind is the fellowship and equality of the white and colored races. Between these two races certain points of agreement and points of distinction exist which warrant just and mutual consideration. The points of contact are many. . . . In this country, the United States of America, patriotism is common to both races; all have equal rights to citizenship, speak one language, receive the blessings of the same civilization, and follow the precepts of the same religion. In fact numerous points of partnership and agreement exist between the two races; whereas the one point of distinction is that of color. Shall this, the least of all distinctions, be allowed to separate you as races and individuals?” "This variety in forms and coloring,” He stresses, "which is manifest in all the kingdoms is according to creative Wisdom and hath a divine purpose.” "The diversity in the human family,” He
A view of the National Archives of the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq in their Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Baghdád.
claims, "should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.” "If you meet,” is His admonition, "those of a different race and color from yourself, do not mistrust them, and withdraw yourself into your shell of conventionality, but rather be glad and show them kindness.” "In the world of being,” He testifies, "the meeting is blessed when the white and colored races meet together with infinite spiritual love and heavenly harmony. When such meetings are established, and the participants associate with each other with perfect love, unity and kindness, the angels of the Kingdom praise them, and the Beauty of Bahá’u’lláh addresseth them, ‘Blessed are ye! Blessed are ye!’” "When a gathering of these two races is brought about,” He likewise asserts, "that assemblage will become the magnet of the Concourse on high, and the confirmation of the Blessed Beauty will surround it.” ”Strive earnestly,” He again exhorts both races, "and put forth your greatest endeavor toward the accomplishment of this fellowship and the cementing of this bond of brotherhood between you. Such an attainment is not possible without will and effort on the part of each; from one, expressions of gratitude and appreciation; from the other, kindliness and recognition of equality. Each one should endeavor to develop and assist the other toward mutual advancement. . . . Love and unity will be fostered between you, thereby bringing about the oneness of mankind. For the accomplishment of unity between the colored and white will be an assurance of the world’s peace.” "I hope,” He thus addresses members of the white race, "that ye may cause that downtrodden race to become glorious, and to be joined with the white race, to serve the world of man with the utmost sincerity, faithfulness, love, and purity. This opposition, enmity, and prejudice among the white race and the colored cannot be effaced except through faith, assurance, and the teachings of the Blessed Beauty.” "This question of the union of the white and the black is very important,” He warns, "for if it is not realized, erelong great difficulties will arise, and harmful results will follow.” "If this matter remaineth without change,” is yet another warning, "enmity will be increased day by day, and the final result will be hardship and may end in bloodshed.”
A tremendous effort is required by both races if their outlook, their manners, and
Bahá’ís of Buenos Aires, Argentina, celebrating a Nineteen Day Feast in their Center, November, 1942.
conduct are to reflect, in this darkened age, the spirit and teachings of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Casting away once and for all the fallacious doctrine of racial superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion, and miseries, and welcoming and encouraging the intermixture of races, and tearing down the barriers that now divide them, they should each endeavor, day and night, to fulfill their particular responsibilities in the common task which so urgently faces them. Let them, while each is attempting to contribute its share to the solution of this perplexing problem, call to mind the warnings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and visualize, while there is yet time, the dire consequences that must follow if this challenging and unhappy situation that faces the entire American nation is not definitely remedied.
Let the white make a supreme effort in
their resolve to contribute their share to
the solution of this problem, to abandon
once for all their usually inherent and at
times subconscious sense of superiority, to
correct their tendency towards revealing a
patronizing attitude towards the members
of the other race, to persuade them through
their intimate, spontaneous and informal
association with them of the genuineness of
their friendship and the sincerity of their
intentions, and to master their impatience
of any lack of responsiveness on the part
of a people who have received, for so long
a period, such grievous and slow-healing
wounds. Let the negroes, through a
corresponding effort on their part, show by every
means in their power the warmth of their
response, their readiness to forget the past,
and their ability to wipe out every trace of
suspicion that may still linger in their
hearts and minds. Let neither think that
the solution of so vast a problem is a matter
that exclusively concerns the other. Let
neither think that such a problem can either
easily or immediately be resolved. Let
neither think that they can wait confidently
for the solution of this problem until
the initiative has been taken, and the
favorable circumstances created, by agencies that
stand outside the orbit of their Faith. Let
neither think that anything short of genuine
love, extreme patience, true humility,
consummate tact, sound initiative, mature
wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful
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effort, can succeed in blotting out the
stain which this patent evil has left on the
fair name of their common country. Let
them rather believe, and be firmly convinced,
that on their mutual understanding, their
amity, and sustained cooperation, must depend,
more than on any other force or organization
operating outside the circle of
their Faith, the deflection of that dangerous
course so greatly feared by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
and the materialization of the hopes He
cherished for their joint contribution to the
fulfillment of that country’s glorious destiny. . . .
AN INSCRUTABLE WISDOM, AN ALL-COMPELLING WILL
Such, dearly—beloved friends, is the vista that stretches before the eyes, and challenges the resources, of the American Bahá’í community in these, the concluding years of the First Century of the Bahá’í Era. Such are the qualities and qualifications demanded of them for the proper discharge of their responsibilities and duties. Such are the requirements, the possibilities, and the objectives of the Plan that claims every ounce of their energy. Who knows but that these few remaining, fast-fleeting years, may not be pregnant with events of unimaginable magnitude, with ordeals more severe than any that humanity has as yet experienced, with conflicts more devasting than any which have preceded them. Dangers, however sinister, must, at no time, dim the radiance of their new-born faith. Strife and confusion, however bewildering, must never befog their vision. Tribulations, however afflictive, must never shatter their resolve. Denunciations, however clamorous, must never sap their loyalty. Upheavals, however cataclysmic, must never deflect their course. The present Plan, embodying the budding hopes of a departed Master, must be pursued, relentlessly pursued, whatever may befall them in the future, however distracting the crises that may agitate their country or the world. Far from yielding in their resolve, far from growing oblivious of their task, they should, at no time however much buffeted by circumstances, forget that the synchronization of such world-shaking crises with the progressive unfoldment and fruition of their divinely appointed task is itself the work of Providence, the design of an inscrutable Wisdom, and the purpose of an all-compelling Will, a Will that directs and controls, in its own mysterious way, both the fortunes of the Faith and the destinies of men. Such simultaneous processes of rise and of fall, of integration and of disintegration, of order and chaos, with their continuous and reciprocal reactions on each other, are but aspects of a greater Plan, one and indivisible whose Source is God, whose author is Bahá’u’lláh, the theatre of whose operations is the entire planet, and whose ultimate objectives are the unity of the human race and the peace of all mankind.
Reflections such as these should steel the resolve of the entire Bahá’í community, should dissipate their forebodings, and arouse them to rededicate themselves to every single provision of that Divine Charter whose outline has been delineated for them by the pen of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Seven Year Plan, as already stated, is but the initial stage, a stepping-stone to the unfoldment of the implications of this Charter. The impulse, originally generated through the movement of that pen, and which is now driving forward, with increasing momentum, the machinery of the Seven Year Plan, must, in the opening years of the next century, be further accelerated, and impel the American Bahá’í community to launch further stages in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan, stages that will carry it far beyond the shores of the Northern Hemisphere, into lands and among peoples where that community’s noblest acts of heroism are to be performed.
THE ADVENT OF THE KINGDOM
Let any one inclined to doubt the course
which this enviable community is destined
to follow, turn to and meditate upon these
words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, enshrined, for all
time, in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, and
addressed to the entire community of the
believers of the United States and Canada:
"The full measure of your success,”
He informs them,
“is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended. Erelong, ye will,
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with your own eyes, witness how brilliantly every one of you, even as a shining star, will radiate, in the firmament of your country, the light of Divine Guidance, and will bestow upon its people the glory of an everlasting life. . . . The range of your future achievements still remains undisclosed. I fervently hope that in the near future the whole earth may he stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements. The hope, therefore, which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cherishes for you is that the same success which has attended your efforts in America may crown your endeavors in other parts of the world, that through you the fame of the Cause of God may be diffused throughout the East and the West, and the advent of the Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts be proclaimed in all the five continents of the globe.” "The moment,”
He most significantly adds,
"this Divine Message is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of America, and is propagated throughout the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion. Then will all the peoples of the world witness that this community is spiritually illumined and divinely guided. Then will the whole earth resound with the praises of its majesty and greatness.”
No reader of these words, so vibrant with promises that not even the triumphant consummation of the Seven Year Plan can fulfill, can expect a community that has been raised so high, and endowed so richly, to remain content with any laurels it may win in the immediate future. To rest upon such laurels would indeed be tantamount to a betrayal of the trust placed in that community by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. To cut short the chain of victories that must lead it on to that supreme triumph when, "the whole earth may he stirred and shaken” by the results of its achievements would shatter His hopes. To vacillate, and fail to "propagate through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific” a Message so magnificently proclaimed by it in the American continent would deprive it of the privilege of being "securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion.” To forfeit the honor of proclaiming "the advent of the Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts” in "all the five continents of the globe” would silence those "praises of its majesty and greatness” that otherwise would echo throughout "the whole earth.”
Such vacillation, failure, or neglect, the American believers, the ambassadors of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, will, I am firmly convinced, never permit. Such a trust will never be betrayed, such hopes can never be shattered, such a privilege will never be forfeited, nor will such praises remain unuttered. Nay rather the present generation of this blessed, this repeatedly blessed, community will go from strength to strength, and will hand on, as the first century draws to a close, to the generations that must succeed it in the second the torch of Divine Guidance, undimmed by the tempestuous winds that must blow upon it, that they in turn, faithful to the wish and mandate of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may carry that torch, with that self-same vigor, fidelity, and enthusiasm, to the darkest and remotest corners of the earth. . . .
One more word in conclusion. Among
some of the most momentous and thought-provoking
pronouncements ever made by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in the course of His epoch-making
travels in the North American
continent, are the following:
"May this American Democracy be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to unfurl the Standard of the Most Great Peace.”
And again:
”The American people are indeed worthy of being the first to build the Tabernacle of the Great Peace, and proclaim the oneness of mankind. . . . For America hath developed powers and capacities greater and more wonderful than other nations. The American nation is equipped and empowered to accomplish that which will adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the world, and be blest in both the East and the West for the triumph of its people. . . . The American continent gives signs and evidences of very great advancement. Its future is even more
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promising, for its influence and illumination are far-reaching. It will lead all nations spiritually.”
THE DESTINY OF AMERICA
The creative energies mysteriously generated by the first stirrings of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, have, as soon as released within a nation destined to become its cradle and champion, endowed that nation with the worthiness, and invested it with the powers and capacities, and equipped it spiritually, to play the part foreshadowed in these prophetic words. The potencies which this God-given mission has infused into its people are, on the one hand, beginning to be manifested through the conscious efforts and the nation-wide accomplishments, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í activity, of the organized community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the North American continent. These same potencies, apart from, yet collateral with these efforts and accomplishments, are, on the other hand, insensibly shaping, under the impact of world political and economic forces, the destiny of that nation, and are influencing the lives and actions of both its government and its people.
To the efforts and accomplishments of those who, aware of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, are now laboring in that continent, to their present and future course of activity, I have, in the foregoing pages sufficiently referred. A word, if the destiny of the American people, in its entirety, is to be correctly apprehended, should now be said regarding the orientation of that nation as a whole, and the trend of the affairs of its people. For no matter how ignorant of the Source from which those directing energies proceed, and however slow and laborious the process, it is becoming increasingly evident that the nation as a whole, whether through the agency of its government or otherwise, is gravitating, under the influence of forces that it can neither comprehend nor control, towards such associations and policies, wherein, as indicated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, her true destiny must lie. Both the community of the American believers, who are aware of that Source, and the great mass of their countrymen, who have not as yet recognized the Hand that directs their destiny, are contributing, each in its own way, to the realization of the hopes, and the fulfillment of the promises, voiced in the above-quoted words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The world is moving on. Its events are
unfolding ominously and with bewildering
rapidity. The whirlwind of its passions is
swift and alarmingly violent. The New
World is being insensibly drawn into its
vortex. The potential storm centers of the
earth are already casting their shadows upon
its shores. Dangers, undreamt of and
unpredictable, threaten it both from within
and from without. Its governments and
peoples are being gradually enmeshed in the
coils of the world’s recurrent crises and
fierce controversies. The Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans are, with every acceleration in
the march of science, steadily shrinking into
mere channels. The Great Republic of the
West finds itself particularly and
increasingly involved. Distant rumblings echo
menacingly in the ebullitions of its people.
On its flanks are ranged the potential storm
centers of the European continent and of
the Far East. On its southern horizon there
looms what might conceivably develop into
another center of agitation and danger. The
world is contracting into a neighborhood.
America, willingly or unwillingly; must
face and grapple with this new situation.
For purposes of national security, let alone
any humanitarian motive, she must assume
the obligations imposed by this newly
created neighborhood. Paradoxical as it may
seem, her only hope of extricating herself
from the perils gathering around her is to
become entangled in that very web of
international association which the Hand of an
inscrutable Providence is weaving.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s counsel to a highly placed official in
its government comes to mind, with peculiar
appropriateness and force.
"You can best serve your country if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism, underlying the government of your own country, to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world.”
The ideals that fired the
imagination of America’s tragically unappreciated
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President, whose high endeavors, however
much nullified by a visionless generation,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, through His own pen,
acclaimed as signalizing the dawn of the
Most Great Peace, though now lying in the
dust, bitterly reproach a heedless generation
for having so cruelly abandoned them.
That the world is beset with perils, that dangers are now accumulating and are actually threatening the American nation, no clear-eyed observer can possibly deny. The earth is now transformed into an armed camp. As much as fifty million men are either under arms or in reserve. No less than the sum of three billion pounds is being spent, in one year, on its armaments. The light of religion is dimmed and moral authority disintegrating. The nations of the world have, for the most part, fallen a prey to battling ideologies that threaten to disrupt the very foundations of their dearly-won political unity. Agitated multitudes in these countries see them with discontent, are armed to the teeth, are stampeded with fear, and groan beneath the yoke of tribulations engendered by political strife, racial fanaticism, national hatreds, and religious animosities. ”The winds of despair,” Baha’u’llah has unmistakably affirmed, "are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divides and afflicts the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now he discerned. . . .” "The ills,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, writing as far back as two decades ago, has prophesied, "from which the world now suffers will multiply; the gloom which envelops it will deepen. The Balkans will remain discontented. Its restlessness will increase. The vanquished Powers will continue to agitate. They will resort to every measure that may rekindle the flame of war. Movements, newly-born and world-wide in their range, will exert their utmost for the advancement of their designs. The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance. Its influence will spread.” As to the American nation itself, the voice of its own President, emphatic and clear, warns his people that a possible attack upon their country has been brought infinitely closer by the development of aircraft and by other factors. Its Secretary of State, addressing at a recent Conference the assembled representatives of all the American Republics, utters no less ominous a warning. “These resurgent forces loom threateningly throughout the world—their ominous shadow falls athwart our own Hemisphere.” As to its Press, the same note of warning and of alarm at an approaching danger is struck. "We must be prepared to defend ourselves both from within and without. . . . Our defensive frontier is long. It reaches from Alaska’s Point Barrow to Cape Horn, and ranges the Atlantic and the Pacific. When or where Europe’s and Asia’s aggressors may strike at us no one can say. It could be anywhere, any time. . . . We have no option save to go armed ourselves. . . . We must mount vigilant guard over the Western Hemisphere.”
The distance that the American nation has traveled since its formal and categoric repudiation of the Wilsonian ideal, the changes that have unexpectedly overtaken it in recent years, the direction in which world events are moving, with their inevitable impact on the policies and the economy of that nation, are to every Bahá’í observer, viewing the developments in the international situation, in the light of the prophecies of both Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, most significant, and highly instructive and encouraging. To trace the exact course which, in these troubled times and pregnant years, this nation will follow would be impossible. We can only, judging from the direction its affairs are now taking, anticipate the course she will most likely choose to pursue in her relationships with both the Republics of America and the countries of the remaining continents.
A closer association with these Republics,
on the one hand, and an increased
participation, in varying degrees, on the other,
in the affairs of the whole world, as a result
of recurrent international crises, appear as
the most likely developments which the
future has in store for that country. Delays
must inevitably arise, setbacks must be
suffered, in the course of that country’s
evolution towards its ultimate destiny. Nothing,
however, can alter eventually that course,
ordained for it by the unerring pen of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Its federal unity having already
[Page 312]
been achieved and its internal institutions
consolidated—a stage that marked its
coming of age as a political entity—its
further evolution, as a member of the family
of nations, must, under circumstances that
cannot at present be visualized, steadily
continue. Such an evolution must persist until
such time as that nation will, through the
active and decisive part it will have played
in the organization and the peaceful
settlement of the affairs of mankind, have
attained the plenitude of its powers and
functions as an outstanding member, and
component part, of a federated world.
The immediate future must, as a result of this steady, this gradual, and inevitable absorption in the manifold perplexities and problems afflicting humanity, be dark and oppressive for that nation. The world shaking ordeal which Bahá’u’lláh, as quoted in the foregoing pages, has so graphically prophesied, may find it swept, to an unprecedented degree, into its vortex. Out of it it will probably emerge, unlike its reactions to the last world conflict, consciously determined to seize its opportunity, to bring the full weight of its influence to bear upon the gigantic problems that such an ordeal must leave in its wake, and to exorcise forever, in conjunction with its sister nations of both the East and the West, the greatest curse which, from time immemorial, has afflicted and degraded the human race.
Then, and only then, will the American nation, molded and purified in the crucible of a common war, inured to its rigors, and disciplined by its lessons, be in a position to raise its voice in the councils of the nations, itself lay the cornerstone of a universal and enduring peace, proclaim the solidarity, the unity, and maturity of mankind, and assist in the establishment of the promised reign of righteousness on earth. Then, and only then, will the American nation, while the community of the American believers within its heart is consummating its divinely-appointed mission, be able to fulfill the unspeakably glorious destiny ordained for it by the Almighty, and immortally enshrined in the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Then, and only then, will the American nation accomplish ”that which will adorn the pages of history,” "become the envy of the world and be blest in both the East and the West.”
December 25, 1938.
STATEMENT ON WORLD ORDER BY SHOGHI EFFENDI
HUMANITY, whether viewed in the light of man’s individual conduct or in the existing relationships between organized communities and nations, has, alas, strayed too far and suffered too great a decline to be redeemed through the unaided efforts of the best among its recognized rulers and statesmen—however disinterested their motives, however concerted their action, however unsparing in their zeal and devotion to its cause. No scheme which the calculations of the highest statesmanship may yet devise; no doctrine which the most distinguished exponents of economic theory may hope to advance; no principle which the most ardent of moralists may strive to inculcate, can provide, in the last resort, adequate foundations upon which the future of a distracted world can be built. . . .
I cannot refrain from appealing to them who stand identified with the Faith to disregard the prevailing notions and the fleeting fashions of the day, and to realize as never before that the exploded theories and the tottering institutions of present-day civilization must needs appear in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which are destined to arise upon their ruin. . . .
For Bahá’u’lláh . . . has not only imbued
mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit.
He has not merely enunciated certain
universal principles, or propounded a particular
philosophy, however potent, sound and
universal these may be. In addition to these
He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him,
have, unlike the Dispensations of the past,
clearly and specifically laid down a set of
Laws, established definite institutions, and
provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy.
[Page 313]
These are destined to be a pattern for
future society, a supreme instrument for
the establishment of the Most Great Peace,
and the one agency for the unification of
the world, and the proclamation of the
reign of righteousness and justice upon the
earth. . . .
Unlike the Dispensation of Christ, unlike the Dispensation of Muḥammad, unlike all the Dispensations of the past, the apostles of Bahá’u’lláh in every land, wherever they labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal and emphatic language, all the laws, the regulations, the principles, the institutions, the guidance, they require for the prosecution of their task. . . . Therein lies the distinguishing feature of the Bahá’í Revelation. Therein lies the strength of the unity of the Faith, of the validity of a Revelation that claims not to destroy or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect, unify, and fulfill them. . . .
How pathetic indeed are the efforts of those leaders of human institutions who, in utter disregard of the spirit of the age, are striving to adjust national processes, suited to the ancient days of self-contained nations, to an age which must either achieve the unity of the world, as adumbrated by Bahá’u’lláh, or perish. At so critical an hour in the history of civilization it behoves the leaders of all the nations of the world, great and small, whether in the East or in the West, whether victors or vanquished, to give heed to the clarion call of Bahá’u’lláh and, thoroughly imbued with a sense of world solidarity, the sine quâ non of loyalty to His Cause, arise manfully to carry out in its entirety the one remedial scheme He, the Divine Physician, has prescribed for an ailing humanity. Let them discard, once for all, every preconceived idea, every national prejudice, and give heed to the sublime counsel of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the authorized Expounder of His teachings. You can best serve your country, was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s rejoinder to a high official in the service of the federal government of the United States of America, who had questioned Him as to the best manner in which he could promote the interests of his government and people, if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world. . . .
Some form of a world super-state must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for purposes of maintaining internal order within their respective dominions. Such a state will have to include within its orbit an International Executive adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth; a World Parliament whose members shall be elected by the people in their respective countries and whose election shall be confirmed by their respective governments; and a Supreme Tribunal whose judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its consideration. A world community in which all economic barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; in which a single code of international law—the product of the considered judgment of the world’s federated representatives—shall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated units; and finally a world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world citizenship—such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline, the Order anticipated by Baha’u’llah, an Order that shall come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age. . . .
The call of Bahá’u’lláh is primarily directed
against all forms of provincialism,
all insularities and prejudices. . . . For legal
standards, political and economic theories
are solely designed to safeguard the interests
of humanity as a whole, and not humanity
to be crucified for the preservation of the
[Page 314]
integrity of any particular law or doctrine.
. . . The principle of the Oneness of
Mankind—the pivot round which all the teachings
of Bahá’u’lláh revolve—is no mere
outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an
expression of vague and pious hope. . . .
Its implications are deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. . . .
It represents the consummation of human evolution. . . .
The Revelation, of which Baha’u’llah is the source and center, abrogates none of the religions which have preceded it, nor does it attempt, in the slightest degree, to distort their features or to belittle their value. It disclaims any intention of dwarfing any of the Prophets of the past, or of whittling down the eternal verity of Their teachings. It can, in no wise, conflict with the spirit that animates Their claims, nor does it seek to undermine the basis of any man’s allegiance to Their cause. Its declared, its primary purpose, is to enable every adherent of these Faiths to obtain a fuller understanding of the religion with which he stands identified, and to acquire a clearer apprehension of its purpose. It is neither eclectic in the presentation of its truths, nor arrogant in the affirmation of its claims. Its teachings revolve around the fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is progressive, not final. Unequivocally and without the least reservation it proclaims all established religions to be divine in origin, identical in their aims, complementary in their functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable in their value to mankind. . . .
Those who have recognized the Light of God in this age claim no finality for the Revelation with which they stand identified, nor arrogate to the Faith they have embraced powers and attributes intrinsically superior to, or essentially different from, those which have characterized any of the religious systems that preceded it. . . .
Who, contemplating the helplessness, the fears and miseries of humanity in this day, can any longer question the necessity for a fresh revelation of the quickening power of God’s redemptive love and guidance? Who . . . can be so blind as to doubt that the hour has at last struck for the advent of a new Revelation, for a restatement of the Divine Purpose, and for the consequent revival of those spiritual forces that have, at fixed intervals, rehabilitated the fortunes of human society? Does not the very operation of the world-unifying forces that are at work in this age necessitate that He Who is the Bearer of the Message of God in this day should not only reaffirm that self-same exalted standard of individual conduct inculcated by the Prophets gone before Him, but embody in His appeal, to all governments and peoples, the essentials of that social code, that Divine Economy, which must guide humanity’s concerted efforts in establishing that all-embracing federation which is to signalize the advent of the Kingdom of God on this earth? . . .
Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith has . . . succeeded in raising a structure which the bewildered followers of bankrupt and broken creeds might well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing shelter. . . .
To what else if not to the power and majesty which this Administrative Order—the rudiments of the future all-enfolding Bahá’í Commonwealth—is destined to manifest, can these utterances of Bahá’u’lláh allude: "The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.” . . .
The Bahá’í Commonwealth of the future,
of which this vast Administrative Order is
the sole framework, is, both in theory and
practice, not only unique in the entire history
of political institutions, but can find no
parallel in the annals of any of the world’s
recognized religious systems. No form of
democratic government; no system of autocracy
or of dictatorship, whether monarchical
[Page 315]
or republican; no intermediary scheme of
a purely aristocratic order; not even any of
the recognized types of theocracy, whether
it be the Hebrew Commonwealth, or the
various Christian ecclesiastical organizations,
or the Imamate or the Caliphate in Islám—none
of these can be identified or said to
conform with the Administrative Order
which the master-hand of its perfect
Architect has fashioned. . . .
Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose. The bedrock on which this Administrative Order is founded is God’s immutable Purpose for mankind in this day. The Source from which it derives its inspiration is no one less than Bahá’u’lláh Himself. . . . The central, the underlying aim which animates it is the establishment of the New World Order as adumbrated by Bahá’u’lláh. The methods it employs, the standard it inculcates, incline it to neither East nor West, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither rich nor poor, neither white nor colored. Its watchword is the unification of the human race; its standard the “Most Great Peace.” . . .
The contrast between the accumulating evidences of steady consolidation that accompany the rise of the Administrative Order of the Faith of God, and the forces of disintegration which batter at the fabric of a travailing society, is as clear as it is arresting. Both within and outside the Bahá’í world the signs and tokens which, in a mysterious manner, are heralding the birth of that World Order, the establishment of which must signalize the Golden Age of the Cause of God, are growing and multiplying day by day. . . .
"Soon,” Baha’u’llah’s own words proclaim it, "will the present-day Order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.” . . .
The Revelation of Baha’u’llah . . . should . . . be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man’s collective life on this planet. The emergence of a world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and culture . . . should . . . be regarded, as far as this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely to progress and develop. . . .
MESSAGES FROM THE GUARDIAN
1940-1944
THE fourth year of the Seven Year Plan enters upon its course in circumstances that are at once critical, challenging, and unprecedented in their significance. The year that has passed has in so far as the rise and establishment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the western hemisphere is concerned, been one of the most eventful since the Plan began to operate and exercise its potent and beneficent influence. Both within and without the Community of the Most Great Name, the events which the last twelve months has unfolded have in some mysterious way, whether directly or indirectly, communicated their force to the Plan’s progressive unfoldment, contributed to the orientation of its policy and assisted in the consolidation of the diversified undertakings, both primary and subsidiary, that fall within its orbit. Even the losses which the ranks of its stout-hearted upholders have sustained will, when viewed in their proper perspective, be regarded as gains of incalculable value, affecting both its immediate fortunes as well as its ultimate destiny.
The successive international crises which agitated the opening months of the year that has elapsed, culminating in the outbreak of the war in Europe, far from drowning the enthusiasm or daunting the spirit of the prosecutors of God’s Plan, served by deflecting their gaze from a storm-tossed continent,
Procés Verbal by which the burial ground at Ismailia was transferred to the property of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ismailia on August 10th, 1940.
to focus their minds and resources on ministering to the urgent needs of that hemisphere in which the first honors and the initial successes of the heroes of that Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh are to be scored and won.
The sudden extinction of the earthly life of that star-servant of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, Martha Root, who, while on the last lap of her fourth journey round the world—journeys that carried her to the humblest homes as well as the palaces of royalty—was hurrying homeward to lend her promised aid to her fellow-countrymen in their divinely-appointed task—such a death, though it frustrated this cherished resolution of her indomitable spirit, steeled the hearts of her bereaved lovers and admirers to carry on, more energetically than ever, the work which she herself had initiated, as far back as the year 1919 in every important city in the South American continent.
The subtle and contemptible machinations by which the puny adversaries of the Faith, jealous of its consolidating power and perturbed by the compelling evidences of its conspicuous victories, have sought to challenge the validity and misrepresent the character of the Administrative Order embedded in its teachings have galvanized the swelling army of its defenders to arise and arraign the usurpers of their sacred rights and to defend the long-standing strongholds of the institutions of their Faith in their home country.
And now as this year, so memorable in the annals of the Faith, was drawing to a close, there befell the American Bahá’í community, through the dramatic and sudden death of May Maxwell, yet another loss, which viewed in retrospect will come to be regarded as a potent blessing conferred upon the campaign now being so diligently conducted by its members. Laden with the fruits garnered through well-nigh half a century of toilsome service to the Cause she so greatly loved, heedless of the warnings of age and ill-health, and afire with the longing to worthily demonstrate her gratitude in her overwhelming awareness of the bounties of her Lord and Master, she set her face towards the southern outpost of the Faith in the New World, and laid down her life in such a spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice as has truly merited the crown of martyrdom.
To Keith Ransom-Kehler, whose dust sleeps in far-off Iṣfáhán; to Martha Root, fallen in her tracks on an island in the midmost heart of the ocean; to May Maxwell, lying in solitary glory in the southern outpost of the Western Hemisphere—to these three heroines of the Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, they who now labor so assiduously for its expansion and establishment, owe a debt of gratitude which future generations will not fail to adequately recognize.
April 15, 1940.
As the administrative processes expand, as their operation steadily improves, as their necessity is more fully and strikingly demonstrated, and their beneficent influence correspondingly grows more apparent and evident, so will the blessings, the strength and guidance bestowed by Him Who animates and directs these processes be more abundantly vouchsafed to those who have been called upon to utilize them, in this age, for the execution of God’s Purpose and for the ultimate redemption of a sore-stricken travailing humanity. Many will be the setbacks, the shocks and the disturbances, which the commotions of a convulsive age must produce, yet no force, however violent and world-wide in its range and catastrophic in its immediate consequences, can either halt these processes or deflect their appointed course. How great, then, the privilege, and how staggering the responsibility, of those who are destined to guard over them and to bring them eventually to full fruition. Nothing short of utter, of continuous consecration to His Will and Purpose can enable them to fulfill their high destiny.
May 15, 1940.
(The) stupendous struggle now convulsing
(the) major part (of the) European continent
(is) progressively revealing (the) ominous
features, (and) increasingly assuming (the)
proportions, (of
the) titanic upheaval foreshadowed seventy
years ago (by the) prophetic pen (of)
Bahá’u’lláh. (The) disruptive forces
associated (with) humanity’s world-shaking
[Page 318]
ordeal (are) closely interrelated (with the)
constructive potentialities inherent (in the)
American believers’ Divinely-ordained Plan.
Both (are) directly hastening (the) emergence
(of the) spiritual World Order stirring
in the) womb (of a) travailing age. (I)
entreat (the) American Bahá’í Community,
whatever (the) immediate or distant repercussions
(of the) present turmoil on their
own continent, however violent its impact
(upon the) World Center (of) their Faith,
(to) pledge themselves anew, before (the)
Throne (of) Bahá’u’lláh, (to) discharge,
with unswerving aim, unfailing courage,
invincible vigor, exemplary fidelity (and)
ever-deepening consecration, (the) dual
responsibility solemnly undertaken under
(the) Seven Year Plan. (I) implore them
(to) accelerate (their) efforts, increase
(their) vigilance, deepen (their) unity,
multiply (their) heroic feats, maintain
(their) distant outposts (in the) teaching
field (of) Latin America, (and) expedite
(the) termination (of the) last stage (in
the) ornamentation (of the) Temple. (I am)
praying continually (with) redoubled fervor.
June 13, 1940.
Present world chaos, exhibiting (the) impetuosity, follies, rebelliousness characteristic (of) humanity’s adolescent stage (of) development, and harbinger (of the) long-promised Golden Age (of the) maturity (of the) human race, (is) relentlessly spreading (and) distressingly intensified. (The) alternating victories (and) reverses, heralding parallel transition (of) proscribed Cause (of) Bahá’u’lláh struggling towards emancipation, world recognition (and) spiritual universal dominion, (are) simultaneously multiplying. (The) recrudescence (of the) chronic persecution afflicting (the) cradle (of the) Faith, (the) grave danger threatening (the) appropriated Temple (and) disbanded centers (in) Turkistán (and) Caucasus, (the) repressive measures successively choking (the) life (and) paralyzing (the) action (of both the) long-standing (and the) newly-fledged communities (of) Central, Western (and) South-Eastern Europe, (the) intermittent outbursts (of) religious fanaticism directed (against the) North African Assemblies, (and the) aggravation (of the) situation (at the) world Spiritual (and) Administrative Center, contrast with, (and are) outweighed by, (the) surging spirit, (the) startling expansion, (the) sweeping conquests, (the) superb consolidation (of the) swiftly-accumulating resources (of the) one remaining community singled out (for the) proclamation (of the) Administrative Order throughout (the) length (and) breadth (of the) Western Hemisphere. (I) appeal (to the) New World champions (of the) New World Order (of) Bahá’u’lláh (to) stand fast (at) this tragic hour (in the) fortunes (of) mankind (and the) challenging state (of the) evolution (of the) Faith. (I) beg them (to) close their ranks jointly, severally (and) vow themselves (to) incomparably sublime task whose operation must hasten (the) ascendancy (of the) beloved Cause (and the) spiritual redemption (of a) reconstructed mankind.
October 29, 1940.
My heart is thrilled with delight as I witness, in so many fields, and in such distant outposts, and despite such formidable difficulties, restrictions, obstacles and dangers, so many evidences of the solidarity, the valor, and the achievements of the American Bahá’í community. As the end of the First Century of the Bahá’í Era approaches, as the shadows descending upon and enveloping mankind steadily and remorselessly deepen, this community, which can almost be regarded as the solitary champion of the Faith in the Western World, is increasingly evincing and demonstrating its capacity, its worth, and ability as the torchbearer of the New, the World Civilization which is destined to supplant in the fulness of time the present one. And more particularly in the virgin and far-flung territories of Latin America, it has in recent months, abundantly given visible evidence of its merits and competence to shoulder the immense responsibilities which the carrying of the sacred Fire to all the Republics of the Western Hemisphere must necessarily entail.
Through these initial steps, which, in pursuance of the Plan conceived by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, this community has taken, through
Laying Foundation Stone of Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds at Cairo, Egypt, 1941.
the settlement in each of these sovereign states of the New World of American Bahá’í pioneers, through the formation of Bahá’í groups and the establishment of two Assemblies in Buenos Aires and Bahia, the American National Assembly, as well as its Inter-America Committee, and all subsidiary agencies, no less than the individual members of the North American Bahá’í community who have sacrificed and are still sacrificing so much in their support of this Divine and momentous Plan, have earned the unqualified admiration and the undying gratitude of sister Assemblies and fellow-workers throughout the Bahá’í World.
Their work, however, is only beginning. The dispatch of pioneers, the provision of adequate means for their support, their settlement and initiation of Bahá’í activities in these far-off lands, however strenuous and meritorious, are insufficient if the Plan is to evolve harmoniously and yield promptly its destined fruit. The extension by the Parent Assembly—the immediate source from which this vast system with all its ramifications is now proceeding—of the necessary support, guidance, recognition and material assistance to enable these newly-fledged groups and Assemblies to function in strict accordance with both the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, would seem as essential and urgent as the preliminary task already achieved. To nurse these tender plants of the Vineyard of God, to foster their growth, to direct their development, to accord them the necessary recognition, to help resolve their problems, to familiarize them with gentleness, patience and fidelity with the processes of the Administrative Order and thus enable them to assume independently the conduct of future local and national Bahá’í activities, would bring the Plan to swift and full fruition and would add fresh laurels to the crown of immortal glory already won by a community that holds in these days of dark and dire calamities, valiantly and almost alone, the Fort of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Fortified by these reflections, let them gird up their loins for still mightier exertions and more brilliant victories.
December 3, 1940.
The internecine struggle, now engulfing the generality of mankind, is increasingly assuming, in its range and ferocity, the proportions of the titanic upheavel foreshadowed as far back as seventy years ago by Bahá’u’lláh. It can be viewed in no other light except as a direct interposition by Him Who is the Ordainer of the Universe, the Judge of all men and the Deliverer of the nations. It is the rod of both the anger of God and of His correction. The fierceness of its devastating power chastens the children of men for their refusal to acclaim the century-old Message of their promised, their Heaven-sent Redeemer. The fury of its flames, on the other hand, purges away the dross, and welds the limbs of humanity into one single organism, indivisible, purified, God-conscious and divinely directed.
Its immediate cause can be traced to the forces engendered by the last war of which it may be truly regarded as the direct continuation. Its first sparks were kindled on the eastern shores of the Asiatic continent, enveloping two sister races of the world in a conflagration which no force seems able to either quench or circumscribe. This cataclysmic process was accelerated by the outbreak of a fierce conflict in the heart of Europe, fanning into flame age-long animosities and unchaining a series of calamities as swift as they were appalling. As the turmoil gathered momentum it swept remorselessly into its vortex the most powerful nations of the European continent—the chief protagonists of that highly-vaunted yet lamentably defective civilization. The mounting tide of its havoc and devastation soon overspread the northernmost regions of that afflicted continent, subsequently ravaged the shores of the Mediterranean, and invaded the African continent as far as Ethiopia and the surrounding territories. The Balkan countries, as predicted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, were soon to sustain the impact of this tragic ordeal, communicating in their turn the commotions to which they had been subjected to both the Near and Middle East, wherein are enshrined the heart of the Faith itself, its Cradle, its chief center of Pilgrimage, and its most sacred and historic sites.
Its menace is overleaping the limits of the
Old World and is plunging into consternation
[Page 321]
the Great Republic of the West, as well
as the peoples of Central and South America.
The New World as well as the Old is experiencing
the terrific impact of this disruptive
force. Even the peoples of the Antipodes
are trembling before the approaching tempest
that threatens to burst on their heads.
The races of the world, Nordic, Slavonic, Mongolian, Arab and African, are alike subjected to its consuming violence. The world’s religious systems are no less affected by the universal paralysis which is creeping over the minds and souls of men. The persecution of world Jewry, the rapid deterioration of Christian institutions, the intestine division and disorders of Islám, are but manifestations of the fear and trembling that has seized humanity in its hour of unprecedented turmoil and peril. On the high seas, in the air, on land, in the forefront of battle, in the palaces of kings and the cottages of peasants, in the most hallowed sanctuaries, whether secular or religious, the evidences of God’s retributive act and mysterious discipline are manifest. Its heavy toll is steadily mounting—a holocaust sparing neither prince nor peasant, neither man nor woman, neither young nor old.
The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh—that priceless gem of Divine Revelation enshrining the Spirit of God and incarnating His Purpose for mankind in this age—can neither aspire nor expect to escape unhurt amid the hurricane of human disasters that blows around it. By most men unnoticed, scorned and ridiculed by some, feared and challenged by others, this world redemptive Faith, for whose precious sake the world is undergoing such agonies, finds its virgin strength assailed, and its infant institutions hemmed in, by the dark forces which a godless civilization has unloosed over the face of the planet. In the Old World, whether in Europe, Asia or Africa, it is being buffeted about, ostracized, arraigned and repressed. In certain countries its community life is being extinguished, in others a ban is severely imposed on its propagation, in still others its members are denied all intercourse with its World Center. Dangers, grave and unsuspected, confront its cradle and surround its very heart.
Not so, however, with the countries of
the Western Hemisphere. The call of
Bahá’u’lláh summons, at this challenging hour, the
peoples of the New World, and its leaders to
redress the balance of the old.
"O Rulers of America,”
He thus addresses the Chief
Magistrates of that continent,
"and the Presidents of the Republics therein. . . . Adorn the temple of your dominion with the ornament of Justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Maker of the heavens.”
The Great Republic of the
West, an object of special solicitude
throughout the ministry of the Center
of the Covenant, whose soil has been
hallowed by His
footsteps, and the foundation of whose
edifice—the Mother Temple of the West—has
been consecrated by His hand, has been
singled out through the operation of His
Will, and been invested by His Pen with a
unique, an inescapable, a weighty and most
sacred responsibility. The Mission entrusted
to the community of the North American
believers in the darkest days of the last war,
is, after a period of incubation of well nigh
twenty years, and through the instrumentality
of the administrative agencies erected
after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, efflorescing
under our very eyes. Already, since the
inception of the Seven Year Plan, this
community can well claim to have attained,
through its deeds, a stature that dwarfs its
sister communities, and can glory in a
parentage that embraces every Republic of Latin
America. The first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of the West, its beauteous and noble handiwork, is
virtually completed. A nucleus for a future
flourishing local community is already
formed in every state and province in North
America. The administrative structure,
following the pattern of its prototype in the
U.S.A. is, through the agency of that same
Plan, raising its triumphant head in the
Central and South American Republics. The
Plan itself, propelled by the agencies released
by those immortal Tablets which constitute
its charter, bids fair, in the fifth year of its
operation, to exceed the highest expectations
of those who have so courageously launched
it. Its consummation, coinciding with the
termination of the first century of the Bahá’í
Era, will mark the opening of yet another
phase in a series of crusades which must
carry, in the course of the succeeding century,
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the privileged recipients of those epoch-making
Tablets beyond the Western Hemisphere to the
uttermost ends of the earth, to
implant the banner, and lay an unassailable
basis for the administrative structure of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
The quality and magnitude of the work already achieved by these stalwart champions of God’s New World Order are inexpressibly exhilarating and infinitely meritorious. The immensity of the task still to be performed staggers our fancy and inflames our imagination. The potentialities with which these tasks are endowed elude our shrewdest calculations. The promise they enshrine is too dazzling to contemplate. What else can we do but bow our heads in thanksgiving and reverence, steel our hearts in preparation for the strenuous days ahead, and intensify a hundredfold our resolution to carry on the task to which our hands are set at present?
May 25, 1941.
The virtual completion of a thirty year old enterprise,* which was initiated in His days and blessed by His Hand, is the first and foremost accomplishment that must shed imperishable luster not only on the administrative annals of the Formative Age of the Faith, but on the entire record of the signal achievements performed in the course of the First Century of the Bahá’í Era. The steady expansion and consolidation of the world mission, entrusted by that same Master, to their hands and set in operation after His passing, constitutes the second object of my undying gratitude to a community that has abundantly demonstrated its worthiness to shoulder the superhuman tasks with which it has been entrusted. The spirit with which that same community has faced and resisted the onslaught of the enemies of the Faith who, for various reasons and with ever-increasing subtlety and malice, have persistently striven to disrupt the administrative machinery of an Order, foreshadowed by the Báb, enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, and established by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is yet another testimony to the unrivalled merits and the eminent position attained by its privileged members since the ascension of the Center of the Covenant.
————————
*i.e., completion of the Temple.
The extinction of the influence precariously exerted by some of these enemies, the decline that has set in in the fortunes of others, the sincere repentance expressed by still others, and their subsequent reinstatement and effectual participation in the teaching and administrative activities of the Faith, constitute in themselves sufficient evidence of the unconquerable power and invincible spirit which animates those who stand identified with and loyally carry out the provisions and injunctions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
And now more particularly concerning the prime mover of this latest agitation, which, whatever its immediate consequences, will sooner or later come to be regarded as merely one more of those ugly and abortive attempts designed to undermine the foundation, and obscure the purpose, of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Obscure in his origin, ambitious of leadership, untaught by the lesson of such as have erred before him, odious in the hopes he nurses, contemptible in the methods he pursues, shameless in his deliberate distortions of truths he has long since ceased to believe in, ludicrous in his present isolation and helplessness, wounded and exasperated by the downfall which his own folly has precipitated, he, the latest protagonist of a spurious cause, cannot but in the end be subjected, as remorselessly as his infamous predecessors, to the fate which they invariably have suffered.
Generated by the propelling and purifying forces of a mysterious Faith, born of delusion or malice, winning a fleeting notoriety derived from the precarious advantages of wealth, fame or fortune, these movements sponsored by deluded, self-seeking adventurers find themselves, sooner or later, enmeshed in the machinations of their authors, are buried in shame, and sink eventually into complete oblivion.
The schism which their foolish leaders
had contrived so sedulously to produce
within the Faith, will soon, to their utter
amazement, come to be regarded as a process
of purification, a cleansing agency,
which, far from decimating the ranks of
its followers, reinforces its indestructible
unity, and proclaims anew to a world, skeptical
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or indifferent, the cohesive strength
of the institutions of that Faith, the
incorruptibility of its purposes and principles, and
the recuperative powers inherent in
its community life.
Were anyone to imagine or expect that a Cause, comprising within its orbit so vast a portion of the globe, so turbulent in its history, so challenging in its claims, so diversified in the elements it has assimilated into its administrative structure, should, at all times, be immune to any divergence of opinion, or any defection on the part of its multitudinous followers, it would be sheer delusion, wholly unreasonable and unwarranted, even in the face of the unprecedented evidence of the miraculous power which its rise and progress have so powerfully exhibited. That such a secession, however, whether effected by those who apostatize their faith or preach heretical doctrines, should have failed, after the lapse of a century, to split in twain the entire body of the adherents of the Faith, or to create a grave, a permanent and irremediable breach in its organic structure, is a fact too eloquent for even a casual observer of the internal processes of its administrative order to either deny or ignore.
Therein, every loyal and intelligent upholder of Bahá’u’lláh’s incomparable Covenant—a Covenant designed by Him as the sole refuge against schism, disruption and anarchy—will readily recognize the hallmark of His Faith, and will acclaim it as the supreme gift conferred by Him Who is the Lord of Revelation upon the present and future generations who are destined, in this greatest of all Dispensations, to flock, from every creed and religion, to the banner, and espouse the Cause, of His Most Great Name.
Dear friends! Manifold, various, and at times extremely perilous, have been the tragic crises which the blind hatred, the unfounded presumption, the incredible folly, the abject perfidy, the vaulting ambition, of the enemy have intermittently engendered within the pale of the Faith. From some of its most powerful and renowned votaries, at the hands of its once trusted and ablest propagators, champions, and administrators, from the ranks of its most revered and highly-placed trustees whether as companions, amanuenses or appointed lieutenants of the Herald of the Faith, of its Author, and of the Center of His Covenant, from even those who were numbered among the kindred of the Manifestation, not excluding the brother, the sons and daughters of Bahá’u’lláh, and the nominee of the Báb Himself, a Faith, of such tender age, and enshrining so priceless a promise, has sustained blows as dire and treacherous as any recorded in the world’s religious history.
From the record of its tumultuous history, almost every page of which portrays a fresh crisis, is laden with the description of a new calamity, recounts the tale of a base betrayal, and is stained with the account of unspeakable atrocities, there emerges, clear and incontrovertible, the supreme truth that with every fresh outbreak of hostility to the Faith, whether from within or from without, a corresponding measure of outpouring grace, sustaining its defenders and confounding its adversaries, has been providentially released, communicating a fresh impulse to the onward march of the Faith, while this impetus, in its turn, would through its manifestations, provoke fresh hostility in quarters heretofore unaware of its challenging implications—this increased hostility being accompanied by a still more arresting revelation of Divine Power and a more abundant effusion of celestial grace, which, by enabling the upholders of that Faith to register still more brilliant victories, would thereby generate issues of still more vital import and raise up still more formidable enemies against a Cause that cannot but, in the end, resolve those issues and crush the resistance of those enemies, through a still more glorious unfoldment of its inherent power.
The resistless march of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, viewed in this light, and propelled by the stimulating influences which the unwisdom of its enemies and the force latent within itself, both engender, resolves itself into a series of rhythmic pulsations, precipitated, on the one hand, through the explosive outbursts of its foes, and the vibrations of Divine Power, on the other, which speed it, with ever-increasing momentum, along that predestined course traced for it by the Hand of the Almighty.
As opposition to the Faith, from whatever source it may spring, whatever form it may assume, however violent its outbursts, is admittedly the motive-power that galvanizes on the one hand, the souls of its valiant defenders, and taps for them, on the other, fresh springs of that Divine and inexhaustible Energy, we who are called upon to represent, defend, and promote its interests, should, far from regarding any manifestation of hostility as an evidence of the weakening of the pillars of the Faith, acclaim it as both a God-sent gift and a God-sent opportunity which, if we remain undaunted, we can utilize for the furtherance of His Faith and the routing and complete elimination of its adversaries.
The Heroic Age of the Faith, born in anguish, nursed in adversity, and terminating in trials as woeful as those that greeted its birth, has been succeeded by that Formative Period which is to witness the gradual crystallization of those creative energies which the Faith has released, and the consequent emergence of that World Order for which those forces were made to operate.
Fierce and relentless will be the opposition which this crystallization and emergence must provoke. The alarm it must and will awaken, the envy it will certainly arouse, the misrepresentations to which it will remorselessly be subjected, the setbacks it must, sooner or later, sustain, the commotions to which it must eventually give rise, the fruits it must in the end garner, the blessings it must inevitably bestow and the glorious, the Golden Age, it must irresistibly usher in, are just beginning to be faintly perceived, and will, as the old order crumbles beneath the weight of so stupendous a Revelation, become increasingly apparent and arresting.
Not ours, dear friends, to attempt to survey the distant scene; ours rather the duty to face the trials of the present hour, to ponder the meaning, to discharge the obligations, to meet its challenge and utilize the opportunity it offers to the fullest extent of our ability and power.
August 12, 1941.
Heart thrilled (with) pride (at) message
announcing (the) approaching completion
(of the) ornamentation (of) seven faces
(of) Mashriqu’l-Adhkár,
proclaiming (an)
intensification (of) North American
teaching campaign, (and) revealing (the)
adamantine resolution (of the) Temple builders
(and) stalwart crusaders, in face (of the)
perfidy, ingratitude (and) opposition (of
the) enemies both within (and) without
(the) Holy Faith. As (the) fury (and)
destructiveness (of the) tremendous world
ordeal attains (its) most intensive pitch,
so (the) Mission conferred twenty years ago
by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sacred Will on (the)
worldwide, indivisible (and) incorruptible
body (of) His followers unfolds its fullest
potentialities. Securely abiding (and)
confidently battling within (the) impregnable
structure (which) that Will has divinely
established, (the) dwellers (in the) ark
(of the) divine Covenant (the) world over
watch with awe, pride and delight (the)
evidences (of the) mounting momentum
(of the) eternal process (of) integration
(and) disintegration hurrying (the) Faith
along (its) predestined course. (The)
cornerstone (of the) National Administrative
Headquarters (of the) Egyptian Bahá’í
community (has been) ceremoniously laid.
(The) first officially recognized Bahá’í
cemetery (is) ready (to) receive (the)
precious remains (of the) illustrious
Abu’l-Faḍl (and the) immortal Lua. (The)
Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (in) Baghdád (has been)
extended (and is) nearing completion.
(The) property dedicated (as) first
Administrative Center (of the) Syrian Bahá’ís
(has been) purchased. (A) group (of) families
(of) Persian believers, Muslim, Jewish,
Zoroastrian (in) origin, afire (with the)
example set (by) American pioneers, (are)
settling (the) adjoining territories (of)
Hejaz, Yemen, Afghanistan, Baluchistan
(and) Bahrein Island. (The) spiritual
competition galvanizing (the) organized
followers (of) Bahá’u’lláh (in) East (and)
West waxes keener as first Bahá’í century
speeds to (its) close. With bowed head,
exultant spirit (and) thankful heart I
acclaim these recurrent, increasingly
compelling manifestations (of the) solidarity,
loyalty (and) unquenchable spirit animating,
throughout five continents, (the) community
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(of the) followers (of the) Most Great name.
November 22, 1941.
The entry of the United States of America into the war invests it with the character of a truly world-embracing crisis, designed to release world-shaking, world-shaping forces, which, as they operate, and mount in intensity, will throw down the barriers that hinder the emergence of that world community which the World Religion of Bahá’u’lláh has anticipated and can alone permanently establish. It marks a milestone on the road which must lead the peoples of the North American continent to the glorious destiny that awaits them. It confronts the American Bahá’í community, already so well advanced in the prosecution of their Seven Year Plan, with a challenge at once severe and inescapable. The exterior ornamentation of their consecrated Edifice has been providentially expedited to a point where its completion is now assured. The intercontinental and national teaching campaigns, that constitute the second and even more vital aspect of that plan, though progressing magnificently in the States, in Canada and throughout Latin America, are still far from having attained their consummation. The obstacles which the extension of the war to the Western Hemisphere has raised are, I am well aware, manifold and formidable. The heroic self-sacrifice exhibited by the North American Bahá’í community will, I am confident, surmount them. The Hand of Omnipotence, which has led so mighty a member of the human race to plunge into the turmoil of world disaster, that has provided thereby the means for the effective and decisive participation of so promising a nation in the immediate trials and the future reconstruction of human society, will not and cannot allow those who are directly, consciously and worthily promoting the highest interests of their nation and of the world, to fall short of the accomplishment of their God-given task. He will, more than ever before in their history, pour out His blessings upon them, if they refuse to allow the present circumstances, grievous though they are, to interfere with the full and uninterrupted execution of this initial undertaking in pursuance of their world mission. The coming two years must witness, fraught as they may well be with the greatest ordeal afflicting their countrymen, a manifestation of spiritual vitality and an output of heroic action, commensurate with the gravity and afflictions of the present hour, and worthy of the concluding years of the first Bahá’í century.
January 15, 1942.
I (am) prompted (to) direct special attention (to the) Báb’s clarion call addressed (to the) people (of the) West (to) issue forth (from their) cities (and) aid (the) Cause; (to) Bahá’u’lláh’s subsequent, specific (and) unique summons (to) all (the) Presidents (of the) Republics (in the) New World, (and to) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s still more specific formulation (of the) Plan entrusted (to the) North American continent. (I am) impelled (to) urge all believers (to) give henceforth (their) urgent, sustained, primary consideration (at) all Assembly meetings, Summer School sessions, Convention deliberations, Nineteen Day Feasts, Regional Conferences (and) Teaching gatherings (to the) speedy accomplishment (of the) specific teaching tasks (in the) North American States (and) Provinces (and in the) Central (and) Southern (American) Republics. (The) seventh year (of the) first Bahá’í Century witnessed (the) termination (of the) last of three successive upheavals involving (the) sacrifice (of the) lives (of the) majority (of the) dawn-breakers (of the) Heroic Age. Can sacrifice (of) home, possessions, comfort (and) security by their descendants, (the) champion builders (of the) Formative Age, be deemed too great for (the) sake (of the) Plan associated (with the) last seven years (of the) same Century, and whose unqualified success can alone befittingly crown it?
February 9, 1942.
(My) overburdened mind relieved, (my)
saddened heart comforted, (by) American
Bahá’í Community’s high resolve (and by)
National Assembly’s dual decision (to)
consummate exterior ornamentation (and)
authorize construction (of) steps (of)
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
Undismayed (by) vastness
[Page 326]
(of) unfinished tasks, undaunted (by)
physical obstacles raised (by) world-encircling
conflict, fortified (by) consciousness
(of) past victories, spurred on (by)
urgency (and) solemnity (of the) hour,
undeflected (by) machinations (and)
faithlessness (of the) breakers (of) Bahá’u’lláh’s
(and) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Covenants, American
believers must unanimously pledge themselves
(to) subordinate every activity,
canalize every resource, exert every ounce
(of) effort (to) insure befitting discharge
(of their) supreme one responsibility (to)
carry (the) light (of the) Faith (and)
cast (the) anchor (of the) administrative
order (in) every Canadian province, every
North American state, every republic (of)
Latin America. (The) Concourse on high
applaud, bless (and) envy (the) mission
fallen (to the) lot (of) such stalwart
champions laboring so ably, (so) valiantly,
for so mighty (a) Cause, under such tragic
circumstances, in so promising (a) field,
at so significant (a) period (in) Bahá’í history.
March 14, 1942.
Last phase (of) Seven Year Plan so auspiciously begun, so vigorously prosecuted, (is) opening. (The) first Bahá’í Century (is) fast running out. (The) agonies (of a) travailing age (are) culminating. (The) Báb’s stirring, unique injunction, directing (the) peoples (of the) West (to) leave their cities (to) insure (the) triumph (of the) Divine Cause (was) recorded (a) century ago (in the) Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’. Bahá’u’lláh’s significant summons calling upon all (the) Presidents (of the) Republics (of the) western hemisphere (to) champion (the) Cause (of) Justice (was) issued seventy years ago (in) His Most Holy Book. (The) broad outlines (of) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s matchless design, conceived twenty-five years ago (for the) benefit (of the) North American believers, (was) transmitted (to) posterity (in the) Tablets (of the) Divine Plan. (The) Seven Year Enterprise, regarded (as the) initial stage (in the) execution (of a) World Mission, (has been) already launched. (The) gigantic Temple undertaking, constituting (the) major obligation (of) this enterprise, (has been) virtually consummated. (The) vast Intercontinental Teaching Campaign (is) visibly yielding first fruits (in) every Republic (of) Latin America. Upon (the) crucial year ahead hinge (the) fortunes (of this) historic crusade. From Alaska to Chile, (the) Americas (are) astir (with the) leavening influences (of the) rising Order (of the) newborn Revelation. (The) great Republic (of the) West (is) inescapably swept (into the) swelling tide (of the) world tribulations, presaging (the) assumption (of a) preponderating share (in the) establishment (of the) anticipated Lesser Peace. Invisible hosts (are) marshalled, eager (to) rush forth (and) crown every effort, however humble, however belated, exerted (to) speed (the) unfinished tasks. Again (I) renew plea (for) closer communion (with the) Spirit (of) Bahá’u’lláh, (for) more passionate resolve, (for) more abundant flow (of) material resources, (and for) wider dispersion, intenser concentration, by (a) still greater number (of) pioneers, settlers (and) itinerant teachers (to) insure for (the) Plan (a) termination commensurate (with and) wondrous as (the) exploits marking (the) opening decade (of) first Bahá’í Century. Myself deprived (of) personal participation (in the) task allotted (to the) prosecutors (of the) epoch-making Plan, (I am) impelled (to) deputize five members (of the) American Bahá’í community (to) help fulfill (in) my behalf whatsoever pioneer field (is) most vital (to) its urgent requirements. Pledging five thousand dollars (for) accomplishment (of) this purpose.
April 26, 1942.
Viewed in the perspective of Bahá’í history,
the Seven Year Plan, associated with
the closing years of the First Bahá’í Century,
will come to be regarded as the mightiest
instrument yet forged, designed to enable the
trustees of a firmly established, steadily
evolving Administrative Order to complete
the initial stage in the prosecution of the
world mission confidently entrusted by the
Center of the Covenant to His chosen
disciples. The Divine Plan, thus set in
operation, may be said to have derived
its inspiration from, and been dimly
foreshadowed in, the injunction so
significantly addressed by
[Page 327]
Bahá’u’lláh to the Chief Magistrates of the
American continent. It was prompted by
the contact established by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Himself, in the course of His historic
journey, with the entire body of His followers
throughout the United States and Canada.
It was conceived, soon after that contact
was established, in the midst of what was
then held to be one of the most devastating
crises in human history. It underwent a
period of incubation, after His ascension,
while the machinery of a divinely appointed
Administrative Order was being laboriously
devised and its processes set in motion. Its
initial operations were providentially made
to synchronize with the final years of
a century that witnessed the birth and rise of a
Faith of which it is the direct consequence.
The opening stage in its execution has been
faced by, and will survive, the severe
challenge of a crisis of still greater magnitude
than that which baptized its birth. The
conclusion of the first phase of its
tremendous and irresistible unfoldment is
now approaching. The hopes and aspirations of a
multitude of believers, in both the East and
West, young and old, whether free or
suppressed, hang on its triumphant consummation.
The temple itself, that fair incarnation
of the soul of an unconquerable Faith, and
the first fruit of the Plan now set in motion,
stands in its silent beauty, ready to reinforce
the strenuous endeavors of its prosecutors.
Towering in grandeur and resplendent in its
majesty it calls aloud incessantly for a
greater, a far greater number of pioneers
who, both at home and in foreign fields, will
scatter to sow the Divine seeds and gather
the harvest into its gates. The Author of
the Plan Himself, looking down from His
retreats above, and surveying the prodigious
labors of His defeatless disciples, voices, with
even greater insistence, the same call. The
time in which to respond to it is relentlessly
shortening. Let men of action seize their
chance ere the swiftly passing days place
it irretrievably beyond their reach.
May 26, 1942.
(My) heart (is) aglow (with) pride (and) gratitude (for the) formation (of) ten Assemblies (in) Latin-America (and) establishment (of) fourteen additional Assemblies (in the) United States (and) Canada. Howevermuch elated (I) refuse (to) believe (that the) stout-hearted, far-sighted, sternly-resolved American Bahá’í community will be willing (to) rest, at so critical (a) juncture, (on the) laurels toilsomely, deservedly won. Spurred (by) newly achieved victories, roused (by) sight (of) progressive restriction (in) teaching field (in) Eastern Hemisphere, galvanized (by) ceaseless assaults (of) deluded adversaries, (the) dauntless defenders (of) Bahá’u’lláh’s (and) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s indestructible Covenants (in the) New World must, will arise (to) insure further deployment (of) forces (on the) pioneer front extending (the) length (and) breadth (of the) Americas. Immediate unprecedented multiplication (of) pioneers (is) imperative. Extension (of) facilities (for) further encouragement by all administrative agencies (is) urgently required. Nothing short (of) prompt, wide, systematic, sustained dispersion can properly safeguard (the) fruits (of) past labors (and) sacrifices, can compensate (for the) disabilities afflicting (the) incapacitated communities (of) other Continents, can adequately fulfill (the) purpose for which entire administrative machinery (was) painstakingly fashioned, can conclusively confound machinations (of) contemptible enemies, can substantially reinforce impetus already imparted (to) pioneer activities (of) Oriental believers, can sufficiently empower (the) American Bahá’ís (to) discharge (their) paramount obligation (to) contribute (to) fulfillment (of) America’s spiritual destiny, or can precipitate (the) flow (of) spiritual energies enabling (the) soul (of the) community and individuals comprising it (to) draw nigh (to), imbibe (the) Spirit (of) Bahá’u’lláh, prove worthy (of the) untold blessings (of) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, (and) hand down unimpaired (to) future generations (the) torch transmitted (to) them (by their) heroic spiritual predecessors (of) Persia. (I am) eagerly, prayerfully awaiting still more compelling manifestations (of the) invincible valor (of the) executors (of the) Divine Mandate now approaching (a) fateful milestone (in) Bahá’í history.
July 14, 1942.
I am thrilled with admiration as I contemplate, at this advanced stage in the unfoldment of the Seven Year Plan, the vastness of the field already covered by the pioneer activities of its stalwart and valiant prosecutors. The heights of heroic self-sacrifice to which they have attained, the depths of faith and devotion they have plumbed in the course of their ceaseless exertions are no less noteworthy than the immensity of the task they have already performed. An effort so prodigious, a mission so sublime, a solidarity so truly remarkable, an achievement, which in its scope and quality, stands unparalleled in American Bahá’í history, provide a befitting climax to the century old record of magnificent accomplishments associated with the rise and progress of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Such a glorious century, so unique in the annals of mankind’s spiritual history, is, however, not yet completed. The gigantic enterprises which the American believers are pledged to consummate are as yet but partially concluded. The remaining two years must witness an intensification of Bahá’í activity throughout the entire Western Hemisphere on such a scale as to eclipse the splendor of all past achievements, and worthily crown this initial phase in the progressive evolution of the Divine Plan. An unprecedented multiplication in the number of pioneer teachers and settlers; an unexampled flow of material resources for their maintenance and the extension of their labors; a still wider dissemination of Bahá’í literature, to aid and support them in their presentation of the Faith to Latin American peoples; an immediate increase in the number of groups and Assemblies in the States and Provinces of North America; an increased awareness on the part of all believers, whether in the North or in the South, whether newly enrolled or of old standing in the Faith, that every one of them shares, vitally and directly and without any exception, in the responsibility for the successful prosecution of the Plan; a still firmer resolution not to allow a world-convulsing conflict, with its attendant miseries, perils, dislocations, and anxieties, to deflect them from their course or distract their attention; these are the crying needs of this critical, this challenging, this swiftly passing hour; to exploit its possibilities, to meet its challenge, to grasp its implications, is the manifest, the inescapable, and urgent duty of every member of the Bahá’í communities now laboring so assiduously in the Western Hemisphere. May the cumulative effect of their concentrated and sustained labors shed further lustre on the concluding years of this, the first century of the Bahá’í Era.
August 15, 1942.
Fate (of) Seven Year Plan (is) perilously
hanging (in the) balance. (This) pivotal
year, born amidst high hopes (of) unprecedented
upsurge (of the) unbreakable
spirit (of the) American Bahá’í community,
(is) already half spent. Obstacles, engendered
by steadily-deepening, world-convulsing
conflict, (are) hourly increasing. (I am)
moved (to) plead afresh (for) immediate
multiplication (of) pioneers in teaching
field, North, South, (on a) scale far
surpassing anything hitherto contemplated.
(The) present tempo (of) teaching activities
(is) clearly insufficient (to) insure
definite, all-embracing victory. (I am)
impelled by extreme gravity (of this)
swiftly-passing hour (to) address (an) appeal (to)
individuals, groups (and) Assemblies, (to)
embrace (an) irrevocable resolution, gird
themselves (for) superhuman effort, and
deputize pioneers (at) whatever cost, however
inadequate (their) qualifications, for
immediate settlement (of) areas needing
assistance. Strictest economy (in) all
administrative departments henceforth
imperative. Still more abundant flow (of)
resources (to the) National Fund, involving
still nobler self-sacrifice, (is) demanded.
Definite removal (of) every restriction,
(the) extension (of) every facility, (for)
encouragement (of) prospective settlers,
(is) urged. (The) adversaries (of the)
Faith (are) jealously vigilant. (The) sister
communities (are) watching (in) anxious
suspense (to) behold befitting consummation
(of) America’s epoch-making achievements.
Swift action, boldly conceived,
unanimously supported, systematically
conducted, can alone retrieve present situation.
(The) time (is) too short, conditions too
critical, need too great, opportunity too
[Page 329]
precious, issues at stake too momentous, to
justify slightest complacency, allow least
relaxation (in the) stupendous exertions
required (to) seal (the) triumph (of the)
greatest collective enterprise launched
during (the) fifty years (of) American Bahá’í
history. Prayerfully, longingly awaiting
decisive answer, at this late hour, (to my)
supremely urgent call.
October 3, 1942.
Acclaim with grateful heart, on twenty-first Anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension, the glorious emergence of the firmly-welded, incorruptible American Bahá’í community from severest crisis since His passing with the blindness of the breakers of Bahá’u’lláh’s and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Covenants has, amidst His kindred, and in the City of the Covenant, recently tragically precipitated. Posterity will unhesitatingly recognize so spontaneous, shining, stirring demonstration of fidelity rendered alike to the Lord of the Covenant and to its Center as a victory more enduring, more momentous, than any triumphs, however notable, which the standard-bearers of the Administrative Order, the champion builders of the Temple, the stalwart executors of the Divine Plan have achieved or may yet achieve in the closing years of the expiring First Bahá’í Century. Nursed since birth in the lap of the unfailing solicitude of the Center of the Covenant, torch-bearer of the Divine Order recognized as child of that Covenant, vanguard of that host destined to diffuse the Light of that same Covenant over the face of the entire globe, American Bahá’í Community is now assuming rightful place at the forefront of the worldwide, loyal, unbreachable spiritual army of Baha’u’llah preparing, both in the East and West, to launch still greater campaigns, scale loftier heights, at the dawning of the Second Bahá’í Century.
November 30, 1942.
Heart aglow with pride, love, gratitude for superb achievement of completion of exterior of the House of Worship, Mother Temple of the West; Bahá’u’lláh’s high behest, enshrined in His Most Holy Book, has been brilliantly executed. The thirty-five year old enterprise, initiated on same day that the Báb’s sacred remains were transferred to Mount Carmel, has been triumphantly consummated. The unique Edifice, singled out for consecration by the hands of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, has been nobly reared. The Greatest Holy Leaf’s last ardent wish has been befittingly fulfilled. The Concourse on high is jubilant. Myself bow head in joyous, reverent recognition of prodigious accomplishment which deserves to rank among the outstanding enterprises launched in the Heroic Age and the most signal victory won since the inception of the Formative Period of the Bahá’í Dispensation.
January 18, 1943.
The recent response of the American
friends to my appeal for pioneers to go forth
and settle in virgin territories and places
where the need is greatest has raised a load
from my heart, and mightily reinforced
the hopes and expectations which their past
achievements have aroused within me. We
stand at the threshold of the last year of
the first Bahá’í century. The unfinished
tasks, however much they have been reduced,
are still formidable. The Temple is
as yet unfinished. The initiation of a
nationwide publicity campaign, intelligently
directed and energetically pursued, utilizing
to the full the advantages gained in recent
years in so many fields of Bahá’í activity
still remains to be undertaken. Measures
for a befitting celebration of the centennial
anniversary of the Faith must be carefully
considered and duly executed. The aims and
purposes of our beloved Cause, the achievements
of its heroes, martyrs, teachers, pioneers
and administrators, the unity of its
followers, the character of the institutions
they have reared, should, one and all, be
ably presented, wider broadcast, carefully
explained in publications, through the radio
and the press. There is no time to lose. A
great responsibility rests on the elected
representatives of the most envied community
in the Bahá’í world, whose advantages are
unique, whose capacities are incomparable,
whose vision, courage, tenacity, resolution
and loyalty are exemplary; which has amply
demonstrated its worthiness to be the recipients
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of the countless favors showered upon
it by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and of the specific
bounty conferred upon the rulers and presidents
of the continent of which it is a part
by no one less than Bahá’u’lláh Himself, in
His Most Holy Book. To His "Apostles,” as
testified by the Center of His Covenant, I
direct my fervent plea that they establish,
beyond the shadow of a doubt, in these
concluding months of the first Bahá’í century,
their indisputable right to be designated by
so exalted a title, and vindicate their ability
to execute the mission with which that title
has invested them.
January 8, 1943.
Overjoyed at the multiplying evidences of the extraordinary progress of the manifold activities of the consecrated American Bahá’í Community. Please, afresh, on eve of the last remaining year of the first Bahá’í Century strain every nerve and concentrate all resources to insure further immediate increase in the number of pioneer settlers in the virgin areas. Call is urgent, hour crucial, golden opportunities slipping away. No sacrifice too great to achieve the consummation of the hopes embodied in the Seven Year Plan. I direct my special appeal to the large, flourishing communities promptly and effectually to cast their weight in the scales to stimulate the dispersion vitally required to achieve the final victory. I am praying the watchful Master to speed the valiant stewards of the Covenant along the path leading to the shining goal.
March 15, 1943.
The completion of the exterior ornamentation of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Wilmette, the most hallowed Temple ever to be erected by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, and the crowning glory of the first Bahá’í century, is an event of unique and transcendental significance. Neither the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Bahá’í world, reared in the city of ’Ishqábád, nor any House of Worship to be raised in succeeding centuries, can claim to possess the vast, the immeasurable potentialities with which this Mother Temple of the West, established in the very heart of so enviable a continent, and whose foundationstone has been laid by the hand of the Center of the Covenant Himself, has been endowed. Conceived forty years ago by that little band of far-sighted and resolute disciples of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, members of the first Bahá’í community established in the Western Hemisphere; blessed and fostered by a vigilant Master Who directed its course from the hour of its inception to the last days of His life; supported by the spontaneous contributions of Bahá’ís poured in from the five continents of the globe, this noble, this mighty, this magnificent enterprise deserves to rank among the immortal epics, that have adorned the annals of the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
The debt of gratitude owed by the entire Bahá’í world to its champion-builders is indeed immeasurable. The admiration which this brilliant exploit has evoked in the breasts of countless followers of the Faith in East and West knows no bounds. The creative energies its completion must unleash are incalculable. The role it is destined to play in hastening the emergence of the world order of Bahá’u’lláh, now stirring in the womb of this travailing age, cannot as yet be fathomed. We stand too close to so majestic, so lofty, so radiant, so symbolic a monument raised so heroically to the glory of the Most Great Name, at so critical a stage in human history, and at so significant a spot in a continent so richly endowed, to be able to visualize the future glories which the consummation of this institution, this harbinger of an as yet unborn civilization, must in the fulness of time disclose to the eyes of all mankind.
That so laborious, so meritorious an undertaking has been completed a year before its appointed time is a further cause for rejoicing and gratitude, and an added testimony to the vision, the resourcefulness, and enterprising spirit of the American believers.
No need, however, to dwell at length on
their past achievements, remarkable and
exemplary though they have been, nor is this
the time to expatiate on the superb spirit that
has characterized their stewardship in the
service of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Tasks
of extreme urgency, of great magnitude, of
the utmost significance await them in this
concluding year of the first Bahá’í century,
and at this hour of great peril, of stress and
trial for all mankind. The sacred—the pressing,
the inescapable teaching responsibilities
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assumed under the Seven Year Plan must be
resolutely faced as befits those whose record
has shed so brilliant a light on the annals of
the first Bahá’í century. The consolidation
of each and every nucleus formed so painstakingly
in every Republic of Central and
South America, the formation of a Bahá’í
Assembly in every virgin State and Province
in the North American Continent, call for
undivided attention, for further heroism,
for a concerted, a persistent, a herculean
effort on the part of the stalwart builders
of that bounteous Edifice which posterity
will recognize as the greatest shrine in the
Western world.
Nor must the elaborate preparations in connection with the forthcoming celebration of the centenary of our glorious Faith be overlooked or neglected, if we would befittingly consummate this first, this most fecund, century of the Bahá’í era. An unprecedented, a carefully conceived, efficiently co-ordinated, nation-wide campaign, aiming at the proclamation of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, through speeches, articles in the press, and radio broadcasts, should be promptly initiated and vigorously prosecuted. The universality of the Faith, its aims and purposes, episodes in its dramatic history, testimonials to its transforming power, and the character and distinguishing features of its World Order should be emphasized and explained to the general public, and particularly to eminent friends and leaders sympathetic to its cause, who should be approached and invited to participate in the celebrations. Lectures, conferences, banquets, special publications should, to whatever extent is practicable and according to the resources at the disposal of the believers, proclaim the character of this joyous Festival. An all-America Convention, at which representatives of Bahá’í centers in every Republic in Central and South America will be invited to participate, and to which, for the first time, all isolated believers, all groups, and all communities already possessing local Spiritual Assemblies will have the right to appoint delegates and to share in the election of the National Spiritual Assembly, will, moreover, have to be held to commemorate this epochmaking event. A dedication ceremony, in consonance with the solemnity of the occasion, and held beneath the dome of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, on the very day and at the very hour of the Báb’s historic Declaration, followed by a public session, consecrated to the memory of both the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, should constitute the leading features of this historic Convention.
For it should be borne in mind that in the year 1944 we celebrate not only the termination of the first century of the Bahá’í Era, but also the centenary of the birth of the Bahá’í Dispensation, of the inception of the Bahá’í cycle, and of the birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and commemorate as well the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in the Western world.
No effort, nor any sacrifice can be deemed too great to insure the decisive, the brilliant success of the celebrations which this historic year, of such manifold significance, must witness. He Who in the past, has in diverse ways and on so many occasions, graciously and unfailingly guided, blessed and sustained the members of this privileged community will, no doubt, continue to aid and inspire them to carry to a victorious conclusion the unfinished tasks which still confront them, and will enable them to crown their labors in a manner that will befit their high destiny.
March 28, 1943.
I desire to announce to the elected
representatives of the valiant, blessed, triumphant
American Bahá’í Community assembled beneath
the dome of the recently completed
Mother Temple of the West on the occasion
of the Convention inaugurating the hundredth
year of the first Bahá’í Century, the
momentous decision to convene, in May,
1944, an All-America Centennial Convention
comprising delegates to be separately
elected by each State and Province in the
North American continent, and to which
every Republic of Latin America may send
one representative. All groups, all isolated
believers, as well as all local communities
already possessing Assemblies, will
henceforth share in the election of Convention
delegates. The multiplication of
Bahá’í Centers and the remarkable increase
in the number of groups and isolated believers,
prompt my decision. The historic
occasion of next year’s festivities, commemorating
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alike the Hundredth Anniversary of
the birth of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and the
Fiftieth Anniversary of its establishment in
the Western Hemisphere, and celebrating the
completion of the exterior ornamentation of
the first House of Worship in the Western
World, imperatively demand it. Details of
the project have already been mailed. I
congratulate the best-beloved American
believers, I share their joy and wish them
Godspeed, confident of still greater victories as
they forge ahead in the course of the second
Bahá’í Century along the path leading them
to their high destiny. I hope to forward, in
time for the solemn thanksgiving service to
be held in the auditorium of the Temple on
the evening of May twenty-second, at the
hour of His epoch-making Declaration, a
sacred portrait of the Báb, the only copy
ever sent out from the Holy Land, to be
unveiled at the dedication ceremony and to
repose for all time, together with
Bahá’u’lláh’s blessed hair, beneath
the dome of the
Holy Edifice within the heart of the North
American continent.
April 14, 1943.
Successive reports, proclaiming the American believers’ brilliant feat, the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the Temple, their historic exploits in the spiritual conquest of every Republic of Latin America, as well as their impending victory to be won through the establishment of the structural basis of the Bahá’í administrative order in the virgin States and Provinces of North America, are thrilling the Eastern communities of the Bahá’í world with delight, with admiration and with wonder.
Ninety-five Persian families, emulating the example of the American trail-blazers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, have recently forsaken their homes and followed in the footsteps of pioneers already departed from Persia yesterday evening to hoist its banner in the adjoining territories of Afghanistan, Balúchistán, Sulamaniyyih, Ḥijáz and Bahrayn Island.
Local Assemblies have been founded in Kashmir Valley in the extreme north and in Madras Presidency in the extreme south, as well as in Haydarabad, the leading stronghold of Muslim orthodoxy in India.
The National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters of the Egyptian believers are nearing completion. A similar institution is in process of establishment in India’s capital city, Delhi. A Guest House, adjunct to the newly built Administrative Headquarters of the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq, has been constructed.
Bahá’í communities of East and West are arising in the fourth year of the devastating conflict in the full strength of their undisruptible solidarity, resolved to write, through immortal deeds, further glorious pages in the last Chapter of the first Bahá’í Century.
I appeal to the standard-bearers of Bahá’u’lláh’s ever-advancing army to safeguard the spiritual prizes already won and maintain every outpost of the Faith established in the southern hemisphere. I entreat them to exert still more magnificent efforts to discharge befittingly the one remaining responsibility in the North American continent.
I am praying for the achievement of a resounding total victory in all the Americas, thereby sealing the triumph of the first stage in the Divine Plan for whose execution the entire machinery of the Administrative Order was for no less than sixteen years patiently and laboriously erected.
May 27, 1943.
The latest evidences of the magnificent
success that has marked the activities of
the members of the American Bahá’í community
have been such as to excite the
brightest hopes for the victorious consummation
of the collective undertaking they
have so courageously launched and have so
vigorously prosecuted in recent years. As
the first Bahá’í Century approaches its end,
the magnitude and quality of their achievements
acquire added significance and shed
increasing luster on its annals. The proceedings
of the recently held annual Convention; the
formation of twenty-eight Assemblies in the
course of the year that has
just elapsed; the splendid progress achieved
in the Latin-American field of Bahá’í activity;
the superb spirit evinced by the pioneers holding
their lonely posts in widely
scattered areas throughout the Americas;
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the exemplary attitude shown by the entire
body of the faithful towards the machinations
of those who have so sedulously striven
to disrupt the Faith and pervert its purpose
—these have, to a marked degree, intensified
the admiration of the Bahá’í communities
for those who are contributing so outstanding
a share to the enlargement of the limits,
and the enhancement of the prestige, of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. The preparations which
the American believers are undertaking for
the celebration of the Centenary of the
Faith must be such as to crown with immortal
glory the fifty-year long record of
their stewardship in the service of that
Faith. Such a celebration must, in its scope
and magnificence, fully compensate for the
disabilities which hinder so many Bahá’í
communities in Europe and elsewhere, and
even in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land, from
paying a befitting tribute to their beloved
Faith at so glorious an hour in its history.
The few remaining months of this century
must witness a concentration of effort, a
scale of achievement, a spirit of heroism
that will outshine even the most daring
exploits that have already immortalized the
Seven Year Plan and covered with glory
its valiant prosecutors. The plea I addressed
to them, at this late hour, will, I am sure,
meet with a response no less remarkable
than their past reactions to the appeals I
have felt impelled to make to them ever
since the inception of the Plan. He Who,
at every stage of their collective enterprise,
has so abundantly blessed them, will, no
doubt, continue to vouchsafe the blessings
until the seal of unqualified victory is set
upon their epoch-making task.
August 8, 1943.
My heart is overflowing with joyous gratitude at the magnificent advance made in numerous spheres of Bahá’í activity. The formation of an Assembly in the few remaining areas of the North American continent, the consolidation of the foundations of the newly-established Assemblies, and the preservation of the status of the Bahá’í centers in all Republics of Latin America, imperatively demand vigilant care, concentrated attention and further self-sacrifice from the vanguard of the valiant army of Bahá’u’lláh. The beloved Faith is surging forward on all fronts. Its undefeatable, stalwart supporters, both teachers and administrators, are steeling themselves for noble tasks, braving acute dangers, sweeping away formidable obstacles, capturing new heights, founding mighty institutions, winning fresh recruits and confounding the schemes of insidious enemies. The American Bahá’í community must, and will at whatever cost, despite the pressure of events and the desolating war, maintain among its sister communities the exalted standard of stewardship incontestably set during the concluding years of the first Bahá’í Century. The confident spirit, unfaltering resolution animating its members, their tenacious valor, elevated loyalty, nobleness of spirit and mighty prowess, will, ere the expiry of the century, crown with complete victory the monumental enterprises undertaken during the course of the fifty years of its existence.
October 5, 1943.
The vigorous action promptly taken by
your Assembly to insure the success of the
forthcoming Centenary Celebration is
highly commendable, and provides a fresh
demonstration of the magnificent response
made by the American believers to every
call demanding renewed exertion on their
part in the service of the Cause of
Bahá’u’lláh. The progress recently achieved in
building up Spiritual Assemblies in
the virgin areas of the North American continent
has been truly remarkable. To consummate
so vast an enterprise, however, a still more
compelling display of the vitality of the
spirit animating the American Bahá’í community
is required, a still greater concentration of
effort is needed, an even more
stirring evidence of the daring boldness of
its members is imperative. Whoever will
arise, in these concluding, fast-fleeting
months of the last year of the first Bahá’í
Century, to fill the remaining posts, and
thereby set the seal of total victory on a
Plan so pregnant with promise, will earn
the lasting gratitude of the present
generation of believers in both the East and the
West, will merit the acclaim of posterity,
will be vouchsafed the special benediction
of the Concourse on High, and be made the
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recipient of the imperishable bounties of
Him Who is the Divine Author of the Plan
itself. Whoever will rush forth, at this
eleventh hour, and cast his weight into the
scales, and contribute his decisive share to
so gigantic, so sacred and historic an
undertaking, will have not only helped seal the
triumph of the Plan itself but will also
have notably participated in the fulfilment
of what may be regarded as the crowning
act of an entire century. The opportunity
that presents itself at this crucial hour is
precious beyond expression. The blessings
destined to flow from a victory so near at
hand are rich beyond example. One final
surge of that indomitable spirit that has
carried the American Bahá’í community
to such heights is all that is required, as the
first Bahá’í Century speeds to a close, to
release the flow of those blessings that must
signalize the termination of the first, and
usher in the dawn of the second, Bahá’í
Century.
November 16, 1943.
The auspicious year destined to witness the Centenary of the Birth of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is brilliantly opening. The last year of the first Bahá’í Century is more than half spent. The tempo of organized, concerted activities of the members of the worldwide Bahá’í community is correspondingly accelerating. Teaching campaigns, enterprises of institutional significance, publicity measures, publication projects, and celebration plans are rapidly multiplying. Inter-community competition is steadily mounting. The world-desolating conflict, now in its fifth year, is powerless to cloud the splendid prospect of the triumphant termination of the first, most shining century of the Bahá’í Era. Ṭihrán reports thirty-four Assemblies constituted, fifty-four groups reinforced, fifty-eight new centers established. Messages from Delhi indicate that Bahá’ís have established residence in over sixty localities in India and eighteen Assemblies are already functioning. To the National Bahá’í Headquarters previously founded in Ṭihrán, Wilmette and Baghdád, are now added similar centers in Cairo, Delhi and Sydney, officially registered in the names of their respective National Assemblies, and representing an addition to Bahá’í national endowments amounting to approximately eighteen thousand pounds. The Bahá’í international endowments have been further enriched by a recent acquisition on Mount Carmel in the vicinity of the Báb’s Shrine transferred to the name of the Palestine Branch of the American National Assembly. Twenty-five acres of land situated in the Jordan valley have just been dedicated to the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh. The recent acquisition of land adjacent to the site of the projected Ṭihrán Temple raises the holding to over three and a half million square meters. The Seven Year Plan, providing the chief impulse to the extraordinary expansion of these magnificent activities, must, during the remaining five months, as befitting thanksgiving act for continued outpouring of God’s unfailing grace, surge ahead to dazzling victory surpassing our highest expectations. The prosecution of the Plan, whose scope transcends every other enterprise launched by Bahá’í communities throughout the whole century, must, ere the hundred years run out, culminate in one last, supreme effort whose repercussions will resound throughout the Bahá’í world.
January 4, 1944.
The one remaining and indeed the most
challenging task confronting the American
Bahá’í Community has at long last been
brilliantly accomplished. The structural
basis of the Administrative Order of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh has, through this superb
victory, and on the very eve of the
world-wide celebrations of the Centenary of
His Faith, been firmly laid by the
champion-builders of His World Order in every state
of the Great Republic of the West and in
every Province of the Dominion of Canada.
In each of the Republics of Central and
South America, moreover, the banner of His
undefeatable Faith has been implanted by
the members of that same community, while
in no less than thirteen Republics of Latin
America as well as in two Dependencies in
the West Indies, Spiritual Assemblies have
been established and are already functioning
—a feat that has outstripped the goal
originally fixed, for the valiant members of that
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Community in their intercontinental sphere
of Bahá’í activity. The exterior ornamentation
of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of the West—the culmination of a forty year old
enterprise repeatedly blessed and continually
nurtured by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has, furthermore,
through a remarkable manifestation of the
spirit of Bahá’í solidarity and self-sacrifice
so powerfully animating the members of that
stalwart community, been successfully completed,
more than a year in advance of the
time set for its termination.
The triple task undertaken with such courage, confidence, zeal and determination —a task which ever since the inception of the Seven Year Plan has challenged and galvanized into action the entire body of the American believers and for the efficient prosecution of which processes of a divinely appointed Administrative Order had, during no less than sixteen years, been steadily evolving—is now finally accomplished and crowned with total victory.
The greatest collective enterprise ever launched by the Western followers of Bahá’u’lláh and indeed ever undertaken by any Bahá’í community in the course of an entire century, has been gloriously consummated. A victory of undying fame has marked the culmination of the fifty year long labors of the American Bahá’í community in the service of Bahá’u’lláh and has shed imperishable lustre on the immortal records of His Faith during the first hundred years of its existence. The exploits that have marked the progress of this prodigious, this threefold enterprise, covering a field stretching from Alaska in the North to the extremity of Chile in the South, affecting the destinies of so great a variety of peoples and nations, involving such a tremendous expenditure of treasure and effort, calling forth so remarkable a spirit of heroism and self-sacrifice, and undertaken notwithstanding the vicious assaults and incessant machinations of the breakers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Covenant, and despite the perils, the trials and restrictions of a desolating war of unexampled severity, augur well for the successful prosecution, and indeed assure the ultimate victory, of the remaining stages of the Plan conceived, a quarter of a century ago, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the North American continent.
To the band of pioneers, whether settlers or itinerant teachers, who have forsaken their homes, who have scattered far and wide, who have willingly sacrificed their comfort, their health and even their lives for the prosecution of this Plan; to the several committees and their auxiliary agencies that have been entrusted with special and direct responsibility for its efficient and orderly development and who have discharged their high responsibilities with exemplary vigor, courage and fidelity; to the national representatives of the community itself, who have vigilantly and tirelessly supervised, directed and coordinated the unfolding processes of this vast undertaking ever since its inception; to all those who, though not in the forefront of battle, have through their financial assistance and through the instrumentality of their deputies, contributed to the expansion and consolidation of the Plan, I myself, as well as the entire Bahá’í world, owe a debt of gratitude that no one can measure or describe. To the sacrifices they have made, to the courage they have so consistently shown, to the fidelity they have so remarkably displayed, to the resourcefulness, the discipline, the constancy and devotion they have so abundantly demonstrated future generations viewing the magnitude of their labors in their proper perspective, will no doubt pay adequate tribute—a tribute no less ardent and well-deserved than the recognition extended by the present-day builders of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh to the Dawn-Breakers, whose shining deeds have signalized the birth of the Heroic Age of His Faith.
To the elected representatives of all the
Bahá’í communities of the New World,
assembled beneath the Dome of the Mother
Temple of the West, on the occasion of the
historic, first All-America Bahá’í Convention—a
Convention at which every state
and province in the North American continent is
represented, in which the representatives of
every Republic of Latin America have
been invited to participate, whose
delegates have been elected, for the first time
in American Bahá’í history, by all local
communities already possessing Assemblies,
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by all groups and isolated believers throughout
the United States and Canada, and
whose proceedings will be forever associated
with the celebration of the Centenary of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, of the hundredth
anniversary of the birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, of
the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of
the Bahá’í Faith in the Western Hemisphere,
and of the completion of the exterior
ornamentation of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of the West to all the privileged attendants of
such an epoch-making Convention, I, on my
own behalf, as well as in the name of all
Bahá’í Communities sharing with them, at
this great turning point in the history of our
Faith, the joys and triumphs of this solemn
hour, feel moved to convey the expression of
our loving admiration, our joy and our
gratitude for the brilliant conclusion
of what posterity will no doubt acclaim as one of the
most stirring episodes in the history of the
Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh,
as well as one of the most momentous
enterprises undertaken during the entire course
of the first Century of the Bahá’í Era.
April 15, 1944.
