National Teaching Committee Bulletins/1920/August 28/Text
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DISCIPLES OF THE NEW DAY
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There are as many untold stories of rarinasee ie ae there are Bahais in the world. This little —: ° tiie af wneciine from Boston to Chautauqua and back is just one of t = re on, ag larg ge OF love, exceeding faith and exceeding results. Thousands ne as ete as had never before heard of the Bahai Revolation, may ee ed these five pilgrims as the spiritual fragrance of he it tartan. Ideal which transform for them the world into a spir
Abdul Baha attracted souls of great capacity in a ro about as follows: Martha, returning from New York a." oFP He
& meeting for the great Persian brother, Fazel, - og i - | ie East Aurora, N. Ye being a notable American center o co = a ne Rto marry beauty to industry" in its work, an engagement ean 3 mie Bahai pilgrims to go out and speak in their auditorium. oe : ee ene wei, fe ‘acta ce kid eiaten ee sss Aaredies promised largest camp for spir ists in no i Somhinans sacainiy i ee a. "Ye eae, yy onan idea of giving peuple on ic, rose montal and spiritual outings as well “% SS. nie “ ps cations. It also interests people in reading to suc Poti. ieniate <a people have been graduated from its reading circle. a ee es the new "Jericho" -- its directors did not make the engag Dae « Naren cual neeiie’ ge ok Rapin pth Fire tggl egg a little group felt the Urge
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of tunel bee s Spirit to go to CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY.
Tho Boston pilgrims met Martha in Buffalo, August moire ao Bahais had had a dozen fine articles in their daily — Prag) 2 a Bahai lecture in the Iroquois Hotel for that evening. “palaceto" in Mrs. Movius of Nottingham Terrace epened her beautiful —_ Mee , loveliness set in the midst of a lumriant gardens Se of rhythmical ifted brother from Persia, Fazel, spoke to the accomp t relatives. Pooeuitibg. Bahai friends from smaller centers came and brough |
Fazel spoke to all the Words of Life. He and i? eres eee Questions and Abdul Baha blessed the event--there are new Bahai fruits of that afternoon of love and wmity.
- 3 d in each
t was Well attended; in Buffalo an : sasgunttien dann th a le of capacity who were | attracted. caret ck e troducing Fazel, showed how the world is seeking today ore ere. all, and be explained the results of the Bahai Movement as 3 hy
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in his trip to the Holy Land. Fazel spoke on "Abdul Baha, His Life and Teachings, a Solution for World Problems", He spoke as Abdul Baha spoke when in this country, giving the Message always from the viewpoint of his audience and intvoducing the basic principles. Both men turned their hearts to the Center of the Covenant and their words were always Abdul Baha's Words to the souls in each, particular audience. Martha took down all the addresses of the trip, verbatim, and Fazel's are already typed and put on record. A momber of the Rotary Club of Buffalo invited them to come again and speak before his organization; a clergyman offered his pulpit. People present from other cities extended Simiiar invitations, In every city people pressed forward to shake their
hands, or stopped them in the streets. They were LOVED} LOVED by all.
Saturday morning they spoke in Roycroft chapel at Hast Aurora, N. Y. here they outlined the new economic system given by Baha'o'hlah and explained by Abdul Baha, These disciples of the Center of the Covenant were urgently invited to come again and speak at a Sumday servicee The group placed two books in the library and Harry is sending two sets of books for the Roycroft libraries. "The Roycroft" (magazine), circulation 50,000, will publish an article about the visit.
Next day, Sunday, was spent at Lily Dale, N. Y. The spiritualists had given to them the morning service in the auditorium, About three thousand werepresent. The svent had been heralded in the Chicago "National Spiritualist" and in “The Progressive Thinker", two of the best spiritualist magazines in America, Fazel's address on "The Bahai Vision of Immortality" is something that every Bahai could with profit study. The audience cheered both Fazel and Harry, while en masse they seemed to exclaim: "This is OUR religion/"
Directors changed their afternom service and invited Fazel and Harry vo speak at 4.30 o'clock in Forest Temple, a magnificent, natural auditorium Where nearly three thousand came again to hear about "New Evidences of Life After Death". Fazel and Harry are wonderful speakers together and they were centers of love that drew the hearts of their listeners like impelling magnets, ‘nmad and Manucher interpreted gloriously. The meeting was later turned into an open forum; questions on the Bahai view of immortality were asked and answered like the surging of mighty waves breaking against a perfectly secure Gibraltar. Everybody was happy and exclamations were heard: "They believe what we believe/" Fazel directed them to read the Teachings of Baha'o'llah and Abdul Baha on immortality. ‘Harry promised to send them a set of Bahai books for their library, and the remarkable afternoon came to a close by the choir leader calling out: "Couldn't this great man sing us a song in Persian?" Harry Stepped forward and annowmced: "His Excellency, Janabi Fazel Mazandarani, will Close this session by chanting for you a prayer in Persian, The hush of the Center of the Covenant fell upon them as Janabi Fezel ‘stood in the lingering sunset glory and prayed to Baha'o'llah and Abdul Baha.
Monday, they journeyed on.to Chautauqua. It was dark and rainy in the physical world which seemed to reflect the outlook for a Bahai engagement. But Abdul Baha had given the urge to every heart in the guintet that Chautauqua was the place where HE WOULD SPEAK! The faith, the effort and the falling of the walls of ancient Jericho will newr again seem extraordinary to the five
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who saw Abdul Baha open the great. Chautauqua amphitheater, at the best hour of the day, for an address to over four thousand souls and put Fazel and Harry on the platform to speak on "The Political and Spiritual Regeneration of Persia and Its Cause",
Since Abdul Baha was in America in 1912, perhaps no American event has been more significant in Bahai history.
Two opening paragraphs in the "Chautauguan Daily" give the key to the address! A thost extraordinary address was given yesterday morning in the Amphitheater by eae Fazel Mazandaran Professor of aie. in the Imperil
_Univers 0 ar . cc | 6 of his inter“preters, = Ahmad Sohrab, it lo t ac f the mes | : varsal love and brotherhood given to the world by thof Oriental mystic, “Abdul Baha. > ,
| "Vr, We. H, Randall, a distinguished speaker from Boston, introduced Mirza Mazandarani who spoke of the joy and intellectual stimolus he had received in Chautaugua, and paid tribute to the work of American missionary and philanthropic effort in Persia. He then said: ‘Love is the cause of the salvation of mankind, which suffers men and women to enter into the Kingdom of God. His Holiness, Christ, epitomized a world of meaning into one sentence by saying: 'Love is God". Divine, spiritual religions have been founded in different cycles to establish love in the hearts of men. Consider the power of love emanated from Christ, how in His Day and in the apostolic age the various tribes and nations were wmited with its golden bonds. It is established beyond a shadow of doubt that in the world there is no greater means of love, unity and brotherhood than religion. The prophets accepted all kinds of persecution, and Christ went to the cross in order to create the Fire of the Love of God in the hearts of men." Then he gave a short history of the Bahai Cause, its. principles and its effects in Persia and throughout the world.
The Chautauqua audience cheered again and again. One said: "He hasn'*t told us enough, I am hungry to hear more." Another said: "This Bahai Cause is our Christian religion universalized." Dear Manucher, like a shy, young, beautiful gazelle of the El-Abha Kingdom gave the Message to more people individually than any one of the five. He spoke with souls in the amphitheater and later brought them to meet the four. Those Bahais who do not know Chautauqua can never realize what it meant to get that opening and > the aftermath of opportunities that have and will follow. Some leaders of several religious movements, Unitarian, New Thought, Christian, Indian lore, directors of reading courses called upon the Bahais on the broad verandas of the Hotel Athenaoum. Each one went away happy, taking the love of the Bahai Cause home with him. New friends from Roycroft shops and Lily Dale Camp came on to Chautaugua to hear more. (The Chautaugua platform will mean open sesame in Inmdreds of other places. )
Jamestown, a city of 40,000, is one hour's ride by trolley from Chautauguae Its lawyers and nowspaper men, some one hwmdred of them, who com pose the Saturday Night Club, opened their clubhouse Wednesday evening, to the Bahai speakers. It was a men's meeting. At first the atmesphere of the
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Place indicated they wanted a political evening, not a religious one. Abdul Baha used Harry to answer those lawyers--like the Charge of the Light Brigade, intellect against intellect, for about ten minutes he proved that the solution of world problems is through Spiritual Teachings. Then his great heart of love drew them to his arguments which were so inspired that when he finished, a lawyer sprang up and said: "You have brought it home! This is the Greatest truth I have ever heard in my life!"
Then Fazel spoke again at length, Ahmad gave a vivid description of conditions in the Holy Land and Harry said they would be glad to answer questions, An open forum continued until midnight, and near the close one lawyer said: "I congratulate the men of this club in connecting themselves with this highest Divine Force. I never heard the great law of Divine Intelligence, called God, SO well defined as explained here tonight. I thank God for the communion such as we have had here," This tribute, the questions and answers and part of the addresses were published next day in a Jamestowm Journal. Next day nine lawyers Called and mde enquiries at the library for books on the Bahai Cause. Martha is sending to their club library "Some Answered Questions", "Paris Talks" and "London Talks",
So outwardly the short pilgrimage came to an end. In those few days Abdul Baha taught not only people of great capacity, but centers of great capacity in America. In reality the imer PILGRIMAGE is just begun for these NEW souls are going to sing the Melodies of the Kingdom. They will go a~journeying to carr7 the song of the Center of the Covenant on down the ages and back to Its Infinite Essence in Fl-Abha!
Written by Martha, the day she returned home, August 19, 1920.
-~-0000000-- The foregoing record of a.brilliant pilgrimage by our revered and blessed teacher, Jenabe Fazel, accompanied by Harry, Ahmad,. Manoucher and Martha, is so significant; the seed sowing was so marvellous; the Supreme Concourse really opening the doors and rushing to the assistance of the blessed Servers, that we feel the friends should have this NOW in this Special Bulletin, for we long to imnediately share with the members of the Beloved Family everywhere a story of work actually accomplished, and which is so thrillingly important.
Martha felt the "call" to this service, and she also had the great and quite necessary gift of faith. ("Faith is a miracle. It has a wonder-work-. ing power," Abdul Baha)
Harry writes: "Ve have returned from an extraordinary trip through New York State. Mirza Fazel has given the Message to more than 15,000 people and the doors are opening everywhere."
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Several letters written from Green Acre immediately aftor the return of Jeonabe Fazel and party there for the closing week, may be briefly summed up and quoted as follows:
"Wie have just had a mest wonderful experience. So inspiring was it,I think most of us feel we can do anything! It came through the talks of the returned teachers from their speaking tour in New York State. Mr. Randall closed his talk by saying that we should prepare our little Bahai groups to become teachers qualified to address audiences, because he said he realized that very soon we are going to receive more demands for Bahai speakers than we can supply. It will be no longer the speaker seeking an audience, but the audience seeking a speaker, and we should start at once the training which will meet this need. Mirza Fazel emphasized strongly the point that we are not to think of ourselves, but to realize that if we arise to teach, we will have the hosts of the Supreme Concourse to assist us."
The friends everywhere are arising "with all heart" to co-operate, and there will be continued rejoicing as news comes to us from time to time of the sharing of the Life-imparting Message with thousands throughout the cowmtry. The really sincere striving of the friends towards Ideal Unity is being demonstrated; the wity of the hearts is bearing fruit, for all want to serve in Some way in this season of seed-sowing. As a greater realization of our responsibilities comes to us, there comes also the clarified vision which gives us glimpses of the services we should accomplish NOW for we will never "find a like opportunity".
The Creative Words of Abdul Baha take effect in the hearts of the Sincere, and here are some of these Words which so confer life!
"This time is the time of teaching (the Truth). Each one of the beloved of GOD must night and day endeavor and exert himself in teaching the souls (or people) and guide men to the Divine Kingdom. Such souls (those who teach) are in this Day assisted (by God) and successful; for, each time (or season) hath a requirement. One day is the time of seed-sowing; one day is tho time of watering; one day is the time of reaping; and one day is the time of harvest. Now in the Kingdom of GOD, is the time of seed-sowing. Think ye of this, in order that ye may be assisted and confirmed; that ye may see the assistance of the hosts of the Kingdom of ABHA and behold the confirmation of the Angels of Heaven." (Abdul Baha)
THE TEACHING COMMITTEE, By Mariam Haney, Secretary.
Issued at Washington, D C., August 28, 1920.