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STAR OF THE WEST
- "We desire but the good of the world and the
happiness of the nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened, that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come."
Words of BAHA'O'LLAH.
Published Nineteen Times a Year in the Interest of the Bahai Movement
By the Bahai News Service, Chicago, U. S. A.
The Bahai Movement
RAPIDLY SPREADING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND ATTRACTING THE ATTENTION OF SCHOLARS, SAVANTS AND RELIGIONISTS OF ALL COUNTRIES—ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL
The Bahai Movement proclaims the time of universal peace and provides the base for the universal religion—the hope of the ages. It points the way and supplies the means for the unity of mankind in the knowledge and love of truth under the high banner of justice and mercy.
It is divine in origin, human in presentation, sane, practical and applicable to life in its every phase. In belief it inculcates naught but truth; in action, naught but good; in human relations, naught but loving service.
For the information of those who know little or nothing of the Bahai Movement we quote the following account translated from the (French) Encyclopaedia of Larousse:
BAHAISM: the religion of the disciples of Baha'o'llah, an outcome of Babism.—Mirza Husian Ali Nuri Baha'o'llah was born at Teheran in 1817 A. D. From 1844 he was one of the first adherents of the Bab, and devoted himself to the pacific propagation of his doctrine in Persia. After the death of the Bab he was, with the principal Babis, exiled to Baghdad, and later to Constantinople and Adrianople, under the surveillance of the Ottoman Government. It was in the latter city that he openly declared his mission, . . . and in his letters to the principal Rulers of the States of Europe he invited them to join him in establishing religion and universal peace. From this time, the Babis who acknowledged him became Bahais. The Sultan then exiled him (1868 A. D.) to Acca in Palestine, where he composed the greater part of his doctrinal works, and where he died in 1892 A. D. (May 29). He had confided to his son, Abbas Effendi (Abdul-Baha), the work of spreading the religion and continuing the connection between the Bahais of all parts of the world. In point of fact, there are Bahais everywhere, not only in Mohammedan countries, but also in all the countries of Europe, as well as in the United States, Canada, Japan, India, etc. This is because Baha'o'llah has known how to transform Babism into a universal religion, which is presented as the fulfillment and completion of all the ancient faiths. The Jews await the Messiah, the Christians the return of Christ, the Moslems the Mahdi, the Buddhists the fifth Buddha, the Zoroastrians Shah Bahram, the Hindoos the reincarnation of Krishma, and the Atheists—a better social organization! Baha'o'llah represents all these, and thus destroys the rivalries and the enmities of the different religions; reconciles them in their primitive purity, and frees them from the corruption of dogmas and rites. For Bahaism has no clergy, no religious ceremonial, no public prayers; its only dogma is belief in God and in His Manifestations. . . . . The principal works of Baha'o'llah are the Kitab-ul-Ighan, the Kitab-ul-Akdas, the Kitab-ul-Ahd, and numerous letters or tablets addressed to sovereigns or to private individuals. Ritual holds no place in the religion, which must be expressed in all the actions of life, and accomplished in neighborly love. Every one must have an occupation. The education of children is enjoined and regulated. No one has the power to receive confession of sins, or to give absolution. The priests of the existing religions should renounce celibacy, and should preach by their example, mingling in the life of the people. Monogamy is universally recommended, etc. Questions not treated of are left to the civil law of each country, and to the decisions of the Bait-ul-Adl, or House of Justice, instituted by Baha'o'llah. Respect toward the Head of the State is a part of respect toward God. A universal language, and the creation of tribunals of arbitration between nations, are to suppress wars. "You are all leaves of the same tree, and drops of the same sea," Baha'o'llah has said. Briefly, it is not so much a new religion, as Religion renewed and unified, which is directed today by Abdul-Baha.—Nouveau Larousse Illustre, supplement, p. 60.
STAR OF THE WEST
PUBLISHED NINETEEN TIMES A YEAR
In the Interest of the BAHAI MOVEMENT
By the BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, 515 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
Publishers: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI
Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the postoffice at Chicago, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
TERMS: $3.00 per year; 20 cents per copy
Make Money Orders Payable to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
To personal checks please add sufficient to cover the bank exchange.
Address all communications to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
WORDS OF ABDUL-BAHA
"Great importance must be given to the development of the STAR OF THE WEST. The circle of its discussion must be widened; in its columns must be published the essential problems pertaining to the Bahai life in all its phases. Its contents must be so universal that even the strangers may subscribe to it. Articles must be published, dealing with the universal principles of the Cause, the writers proving that this Cause takes a vital interest in all the social and religious movements of the age and is conducive to the progress of the world and its inhabitants. In short, the STAR OF THE WEST must promote the aspirations and the ideals that will gather little by little around these general Tablets, bringing into the light of day all the historical, religious and racial knowledge which will be of the utmost value to the Bahai teachers all over the world."
From Unveiling of the Divine Plan.
Vol. 11
CONTENTS
No. 1
| PAGE | |
Fac-simile of STAR OF THE WEST cover | 1 |
The Bahai Movement | 2 |
Twelve Basic Bahai Principles | 4 |
The Springtime of God | 6 |
| Words of ABDUL-BAHA | |
Photograph of Abdul-Baha Abbas | 8 |
Bahai—A Revelation of the Springtime of God | 9 |
| By ALBERT VAIL | |
Announcement—Twelfth Annual Bahai Convention | 13 |
Cablegram from Abdul-Baha | 16 |
Editorial—Naurooz Greeting | 16 |
Letter from the Secretary of Bahai Temple Unity | 17 |
Outline of the Bahai Calendar | 19 |
"Before Choosing a Wife a Man Must Think Soberly" | 20 |
| Words of ABDUL-BAHA | |
PERSIAN—Tablet of BAHA'O'LLAH | 24-21 |
Twelve Basic Bahai Principles
COMPILED FROM THE WORDS OF ABDUL-BAHA
These twelve basic Bahai principles were laid down by Baha'o'llah over sixty years ago and are to be found in his published writings of that time.
- 1. The oneness of the world of humanity.
- 2. Independent investigation of truth.
- 3. The foundation of all religions is one.
- 4. Religion must be the cause of unity.
- 5. Religion must be in accord with science and reason.
- 6. Equality between men and women.
- 7. Prejudice of all kinds must be forgotten.
- 8. Universal peace.
- 9. Universal education.
- 10. Solution of the economic problem.
- 11. A universal language.
- 12. An international tribunal.
1. The Oneness of the World of
Humanity
Baha'o'llah addresses himself to the world of man saying, "Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the fruits of one arbor." That is, the world of existence is no other than one tree, and the nations or peoples are like unto the different branches or limbs thereof, and human individuals are similar to the fruits and blossoms thereof . . . while in all past religious books and epistles, the world of humanity has been divided into two parts: one called the "people of the Book," or the "pure tree," and the other, the "evil tree." One-half of the people of the world were looked upon as belonging to the faithful, and the other as belonging to the irreligious and the infidel; one-half of the people were consigned to the mercy of the Creator, and the other half were considered as objects of the wrath of their Maker. But Baha'o'llah proclaimed the oneness of the world of humanity—he submerged all mankind in the sea of divine generosity.
2. Independent Investigation of Truth
No man should follow blindly his ancestors and forefathers. Nay, each must see with his own eyes, hear with his own ears, and investigate truth in order that he may find the Truth; whereas the religion of forefathers and ancestors is based upon blind imitation—man should investigate the truth.
3. The Foundation of All Religions is One
The foundation underlying all the divine precepts is one reality. It must needs be reality, and reality is one, not multiple. Therefore the foundation of the divine religions is one. But we can see that certain forms have come in, certain imitations of forms and ceremonials have crept in. They are heretical, they are accidental, because they differ; hence they cause differences among religions. But if we set aside these imitations and seek the reality of the foundation we shall agree, because religion is one and not multiple.
4. Religion Must Be the Cause of Unity Among Mankind
Every religion is the greatest divine effulgence, the cause of life amongst men, the cause of the honor of humanity, and is productive of life everlasting amongst humankind. Religion is not for enmity or hatred. It is not for tyranny or injustice. If religion be the cause of enmity and rancor, if it should prove the cause of alienating men, assuredly non-religion would be better. For religion and the teachings which appertain to it are a course of treatment. What is the object of any course of treatment? It is cure and healing. But if the outcome of a course of treatment should be productive of mere diagnosis and discussion of symptoms, the abolition of it is evidently preferable. In this sense, abandoning religion would be a step toward unity.
5. Religion Must Be in Accord With Science and Reason
Religion must be reasonable; it must agree perfectly with science, so that science shall sanction religion and religion sanction science. The two must be brought together, indissolubly, in reality. Down to the present day it has been customary for man to accept a thing because it was called religion, even though it were not in accord with human reason.
6. Equality Between Men and Women
This is peculiar to the teachings of Baha'o'llah, for all former religious systems placed men above women. Daughters and sons must follow the same form of study and the same education. Having one course of education promotes unity among mankind.
7. Abandonment of All Prejudices
It is established that all the prophets of God have come to unite the children of men and not to disperse them, and to put in action the law of love and not enmity. Consequently we must throw aside all these prejudices-the racial prejudice, the patriotic prejudice, the religious and political prejudices. We must become the cause of unity of the human race.
8. Universal Peace
All men and nations shall make peace. There shall be universal peace amongst governments, universal peace amongst religions, universal peace amongst races, universal peace amongst the denizens of all religions. Today in the world of humanity the most important matter is the question of universal peace. The realization of this principle is the crying need of the time.
9. Universal Education
All mankind should partake of both knowledge and education, and this partaking of knowledge and of education is one of the necessities of religion. The education of each child is obligatory. If there are no parents, the community must look after the child.
10. Solution of the Economic Question
No religious books of the past prophets speak of the economic question, while this problem has been thoroughly solved in the teachings of Baha'o'llah. . . . Certain regulations are revealed which insure the welfare and well being of all humanity. Just as the rich man enjoys his rest and his pleasures surrounded by luxuries, the poor man must likewise have a home, be provided with sustenance, and not be in want. . . . Until this is effected happiness is impossible. All are equal in the estimation of God; their rights are one and there is no distinction for any soul; all are protected beneath the justice of God.
11. A Universal Language
A universal language shall be adopted which shall be taught by all the schools and academies of the world. A committee appointed by national bodies shall select a suitable language to be used as a means of international communication, and that language shall be taught in all the schools of the world in order that everyone shall need but two languages, his national tongue and the universal language. All will acquire the international language.
12. An International Tribunal
A universal tribunal under the power of God, under the protection of all men, shall be established. Each one must obey the decisions of this tribunal, in order to arrange the difficulties of every nation.
About fifty years ago Baha'o'llah commanded the people to establish universal peace and summoned all the nations to the "divine banquet of international arbitration" so that the questions of boundaries, of national honor and property and of vital interests between nations might be decided by an arbitral court of justice.
Remember, these precepts were given more than half a century ago. At that moment no one spoke of universal peace, nor of any of these principles; but Baha'o'llah proclaimed them to all the sovereigns of the world. . . . They are the spirit of this age, the light of this age; they are the well being of this age.
The Bahai Revelation is the spirit of this age. It is the essence of all the highest ideals of this century. The Bahai Cause is an inclusive movement: the teachings of all religions and societies are found here. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muhammadans, Zoroastrians, Theosophists, Freemasons, Spiritualists, et al., find their highest aims in this Cause. Socialists and Philosophers find their theories fully developed in this Revelation.
The Cause of Bahá'o'lláh is the same as the Cause of Christ. It is the same temple and the same foundation. In the coming of Christ the divine teachings were given in accordance with the infancy of the human race. The teachings of Bahá'o'lláh have the same basic principles, but are according to the stage of the maturity of the world and the requirements of this illumined age.
—ABDUL BAHA.
- PRAISE be to God, the springtime of
God has arrived! This century is, verily, the spring season. The intellectual world and the world of the soul have become verdant thereby. It has resuscitated the very world of existence. On the one hand, the lights of Reality are shining forth; on the other, the clouds of God's mercy are pouring down the fullness of His bounty. On the one hand we have progress of the material type; on the other, great spiritual discoveries are being realized. Truly, this can be called the miracle of centuries, for it is the manifestation of the miraculous.
- The time has arrived for all mankind
to become united. The time has come when all nativities shall have one fatherland. The day is at hand when all religions[Page 7] shall be one religion. The day has dawned in which no racial conditions shall remain. The day has come when religious bias shall pass away. It is a day when the oneness of humankind shall uplift its standard. It is the day when international peace, like the true morning, is to flood the world with its light.
- Therefore, we offer the utmost supplication
to God, asking Him to dispel these gloomy clouds and to uproot these imitations in order that the East and West may become radiant, that all the nations of the world shall embrace one another, and the real spiritual brotherhood, like the sun of the heavens, may shine upon all the nations.
—ABDUL-BAHA.
(From address delivered by Abdul-Baha before the International Peace Forum, May 28th, 1912, at Metropolitan Temple, New York City.)
(Photograph taken in 1919, at Haifa, Palestine.)
STAR OF THE WEST
"We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened; that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come."—BAHA'O'LLAH.
Vol. 11
Baha 1, 76 (March 21, 1920)
No. 1
Bahai—A Revelation of the Springtime of God
From The Progressive Thinker, May 10, 1919.
BY ALBERT VAIL
BAHAI is but another word for springtime—the springtime of God upon this earth-world. The Bahai Gospel is the proclamation of a new age, a new cycle of spiritual realization and universal brotherhood now breaking upon our consciousness. The signs of the coming of this springtime appeared over sixty years ago in Persia, that home of ancient seers and mighty inspiration. There the great Bahai teacher, BAHA'O'LLAH, was born in the town of Nur, which being interpreted means "the city of Light." He was a prince of the royal Persian family, a prince of earth, but when the inspiration of the spiritual world poured its glory through his pen, his face, his pure and selfless life, he became the prince of spiritual, of heavenly revelation.
The Persian government and the priests, the church and the vested interests could not tolerate his universal and progressive teachings, and, although "the common people heard him gladly," perhaps because the common people came to him by the thousands to be taught the wonderful new truths which would free them from oppression and ignorance, the rulers of Persia drove him with his family and a little band of followers from prison to prison, and at last, discovering what they believed to be the most pestilential and wretched spot on the earth, they carried BAHA'O'LLAH to the town of Acca, Palestine, and there chained him to the stone floor of a tower cell. They could not believe that there was any power in heaven or earth strong enough to survive such conditions as they there imposed upon him.
But BAHA'O'LLAH, triumphant and glorious, in a little cell, wrote volumes of Tablets with tempestuous eloquence sustained by a mighty flood of divine inspiration from the unseen oceans of light. From this prison, fifty years ago, he wrote letters, called Tablets, summoning the kings of the world to a League of Nations, the law of mutual disarmament and to universal peace.
He wrote in 1868 to Louis Napoleon predicting his overthrow, and telling him that because of his injustice an enemy would come upon him from over the Rhine, would defeat him in battle, and Louis Napoleon would lose his throne. This prophecy was fulfilled to the letter in the Franco-Prussian war.
In that tortuous prison cell of Acca the doors of the divine and unseen spheres were wide open before the pure spiritual vision of BAHA'O'LLAH. Wondrous beings from the highest heavens visited him in garments of light. He describes it thus: "The gales of the All-Knowing, the All-Glorious, passed by me and taught me the knowledge of what hath been and is and is to be. I have not studied these sciences which men possess, nor have I entered the colleges.[Page 10] This (BAHA'O'LLAH) is a leaf which the breezes of the will of thy Lord the Mighty, the Extolled, have stirred. Can it be still when the rushing winds blow? Verily, I was not save as one dead in the presence of His command, the hand of thy Lord, the Merciful, turning me." The inspiration was so rapid, perfect, glorious, that sometimes he wrote in a night a book of a hundred or two hundred pages, each sentence as beautiful as though infinite pains had been spent upon its literary perfection.
In 1873 he wrote to the Emperor of Germany: "Remember! Where is he who was greater than thou and of more honor and dignity (Napoleon III), and where are his possessions? Awake, and be not of those who sleep. Consider his condition and remember those who in past times subdued the countries and governed the people. Verily, God hath made them descend from palaces to graves." "O banks of the River Rhine! We have seen ye drenched in gore, because the swords of retribution were drawn against ye; and ye shall have another trouble. And we hear the lamentation of Berlin, though it be today in manifest glory."
For the next fifty years BAHA'O'LLAH and Abdul-Baha foretold the coming of the great universal war, when a spark left over from the Balkans would ignite the arsenals of all Europe and would produce the greatest conflagration in human history. In fact, BAHA'O'LLAH prophesied one long succession of historical events. He also foretold, nineteen years before it came to pass in 1892, the year of his ascension into the heavenly world.
Abdul-Baha, his son and successor in spiritual guidance and servitude to the new cycle, possesses the same marvelous gifts. Continually BAHA'O'LLAH has sent him messages from the unseen world, and also a perfect glory of spiritual light which has made him celebrated through western Asia for knowledge and divine illumination. Scholars and sages of many sects and religions have journeyed to his prison door to hear his wonderful inspiration and his forecasts of the new world-order of universal brotherhood, spiritual illumination and the most great peace.
When the prison doors of Acca were opened in 1908 by the revolution of the Young Turks, Abdul-Baha came forth from fifty-four years of prison and exile. His face was furrowed with the lines of humanity's sorrows, yet radiant with universal love; his hair and beard were silver white, but his step majestic and rythmic with the vigor of eternal youth; his voice was melodious with the melody of the heavenly worlds where his spirit had dwelt in glory. When he visited Europe and America in 1911 and 1912, his message was found to be so modern, so prophetic of the new age, so brilliantly stated, so luminous with the Holy Spirit, that he was immediately asked to speak in the great City Temple, London, and at St. John's Westminster, and in a long succession of churches, synagogues, peace societies, universities, meetings for progressive religion. For three years he traveled, giving public addresses and receiving hundreds of callers daily. In all his addresses he proclaimed the foundation principles of the new Jerusalem, the universal city of God which he and his father, BAHA'O'LLAH had, with their pure spiritual vision, seen descending from the heavens of light into this world of confusion, a glorious Sun of Truth with healing on its wings for all the nations and also light to flood the world with new knowledge, new physical and heavenly sciences, a new hope, a new love, a new and holy power.
"Praise be to God," says Abdul-Baha in a letter to the Asiatic Quarterly of London, England, "that the Sun of Reality has shone forth with the utmost brilliancy from the eastern horizon. The regions of the world are flooded with its glorious light. There are many rays to this Sun:
[Page 11] "The first ray is heavenly teachings.
"The second ray is the oneness of the world of humanity.
"The third ray is the establishment of universal peace.
"The fourth ray is the investigation of reality.
"The fifth ray is the promulgation of universal fellowship.
"The sixth ray is the inculcation of divine love through the power of religion.
"The seventh ray is the conformity of religion with science and reason.
"The eighth ray is the abandonment of religious, racial, patriotic and political prejudices.
"The ninth ray is the universal spread of education.
"The tenth ray is the organization of the arbitral court of justice, or Parliament of Man, before the members of which all the international and intergovernmental problems are arbitrated.
"The eleventh ray is the equality of the sexes—the giving of the same educational facilities to women as to men, so that they may become adorned with all the virtues of humanity.
"The twelfth ray is the solution of all the economic problems of the world so that each indivdual member of humanity may enjoy the utmost comfort and well-being.
"The thirteenth ray is the spread of an auxiliary world language.
"Just as the rays of the phenomenal sun are infinite, likewise the rays of the Sun of Reality are infinite. The above summary only contains a few of its rays.
"The spreading of these rays will deliver the world of humanity from the darkness of ignorance, strangeness and narrowness, and will guide it to the center of all these rays. Then the foundation of warfare and strife, animosity and hatred, will be destroyed from amongst the people, and the misunderstandings existing among the religions will be dispelled. The foundation of the religions of God is one and that is the oneness of the world of humanity."
When some of us met Abdul-Baha in America, and beheld the brightness of the spiritual light in his face, felt the glorious vibration of divine power from his presence which swept the room, heard him answer questions on economics, politics, physics, history, philosophy, we felt his heart and mind were a veritable fountain of light. He talked with chemists about chemistry, with electricians about electrical engineering, with Elbert Hubbard about the American poets, with politicians about politics, with little children about their games, all with matchless ease. But he always threw the material knowledge into the divine light, turned it all toward the service of humanity, the pressing call for social and spiritual reconstruction to meet the new and diviner age.
Moreover, he is in his own life a manifestation of the full-orbed light of the new day. He not only reflects its pure, perfected knowledge in words and addresses clear as crystal, universal as humanity, luminous with the knowledge of earth and the diviner planes beyond our seeing; he lives his gospel in a life of marvelous perfection, pure love and triumphant joy. For years he slept on the damp, earth-covered floor of a cellar room. His food was of the poorest. Yet every morning when he awoke he praised God that another day was before him. Every night when he went to sleep he thanked God he had been permitted to serve Him another day in prison. "I was in prison for forty years," he said, with a smile bright as heaven's own light, "but every day was a day of perfect joy." His body was in prison, but his spirit traversed the glorious worlds of God. As BAHA'O'LLAH says of the great masters, the "Mirrors of Unity," "While walking among the servants, they soar in the skies of Nearness. They journey in the land of spirit without motion of foot, and fly[Page 12] upward to the summit of oneness without wing. In every moment they traverse the world of creation east and west, and in every moment pass through the kingdom of the seen and the unseen."
Behind Abdul-Baha's words shines this divine experience, this exalted consciousness, this resplendent joy, this heroic will and a love which will often melt a heart of stone. For twenty-four years, when he was in the prison city of Acca, a fanatical Mohammedan fakir cursed, persecuted, reviled him. But Abdul-Baha poured out upon him love and kindness, sent him a physician when he was ill, food when he was too poor to buy for himself. But the man always refused to speak to Abdul-Baha and showered upon him his fanatical curses and abuse. The love of "the Master of Acca" never varied in its divine sweetness and holy power. At last the fakir came to Abdul-Baha's door, threw himself at his feet, and said: "Forgive me, Sir! For twenty-four years I have done evil to you. For twenty-four years you have done good to me. Now I know I have been in the wrong."
It is this love and victorious spiritual power shining through the spoken and written words of both BAHA'O'LLAH and Abdul-Baha which makes them so powerful in transforming hearts and minds. Through their writings and spiritual radiance thousands of lives have been raised from the graves of materialism and prejudice and selfishness into the glorious consciousness of God's new day. Through their words they put one into connection with their spirit, which is simply the life of God shining from the mirrors of their minds with the full-orbed glory of the new cycle. This new light shining from their spirits has lifted a multitude of Mohammedans, Christians, Jews, Parsees, Buddhists, Hindus, of many lands and races, into the open plains of the most universal spiritual brotherhood the world has ever seen. It has so endowed these many souls with heroic love and the spiritual vision which looks through martyrdom into the heavenly glory beyond the transparent screen called death, that twenty thousand men, women and children have joyously laid down their lives for this great and universal movement toward religious rebirth, world unity and peace.
In a word, the Bahai movement is a proclamation of the principles of the spiritual springtime soon to sweep over the earth. "The Bahai Movement is the spirit of the age. It is the essence of all the highest ideals of this century. The Bahai Cause is an inclusive movement; the teachings of all religions and societies are found here. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Zoroastrians, Theosophists, Freemasons, Spiritualists, et al., find their highest aims in this Cause."
The Bahai Movement is transforming and uniting peoples of so many races and religions because it states these universal principles in universal terms and reinforces them by the lives of great masters who not only proclaim the truth but are "the life, the truth, the way." "Guidance hath ever been by words, but at this time it is by deeds." "The truth of words is tested by deeds and dependent upon life. Deeds reveal the station of a man." (Hidden Words of BAHA'O'LLAH.)
The Bahai Cause is a new tree of life growing in the orchard of the old, very old trees of the historic world-religions. These trees were once young and beautiful, and they yielded heavenly fruits. Now a new tree, vital, glorious in spiritual perfection, "with world-wide growing capacity," is the need of the hour. The Bahais believe that in the universal teachings and spirit of BAHA'O'LLAH and Abdul-Baha they have found that tree of life whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations.[Page 13]
Announcement—Twelfth Annual Bahai Convention of the Mashrekol-Azkar and Bahai Congress
To be held in New York City from April 24th to 28th, inclusive.
IN the past, these great events have always brought a wave of happiness and joy to the hearts of the friends, who gather together from different parts of the United States and Canada, to discuss the problems of the Cause and the erection of the universal edifice of God. The convention of last year opened the broad vistas of international service. Many souls arose to carry the glad tidings of the Kingdom to different parts of the world and made many sacrifices to diffuse the fragrance of the flowers of love in the hearts. More than twenty souls went into the field heralding the coming of the Kingdom.
The annual convention of the year 1920 will again be held in New York City, from April 24th to 28th, inclusive. As we look back over the history of the various conventions, we realize that each one had a distinctive work to achieve. The convention of this year will have also several events enhancing its importance and adding to its spiritual influence.
THE SELECTION OF THE PLAN OF THE MASHREKOL-AZKAR.
1. The most important work of this year's convention is the selection of the plan for the building of the Mashrekol-Azkar. According to the latest instructions from Abdul-Baha, the design for the Temple shall be selected by the delegates this year and the foundation laid as quickly as possible. The Bahais earnestly desire to construct this divine edifice during the lifetime of the Center of the Covenant and toward this goal all the energies of the delegates and friends will be directed, so that a sufficient amount of money may be collected to carry the work to its final triumph—when the doors of this universal temple will be opened to all nations and religions.
THE COMING OF THE PERSIAN TEACHER
2. Abdul-Baha has sent a Persian Bahai teacher, Mirza Fazel Mazandarani, and his interpreter to attend the sessions of the congress and deliver his message of love. This teacher is a great thinker and scholar in Persia, and his presence at this convention is an added blessing and a strong evidence of the love of Abdul-Baha for the American Bahais.
THE RETURN OF MANY AMERICAN PILGRIMS FROM THE HOLY LAND.
3. During this year many of our dear American Bahais had the privilege of visiting Abdul-Baha, the Center of the Covenant, and they have returned with a wonderful spirit of love and service. A large number of these souls will be present at the convention. Each one of them will have a marvelous story to relate, a fresh vision to unfold and a new enthusiasm to impart. The realization of this fact will bring us a very keen joy, for we know that Abdul-Baha wishes the friends to unite like a band of pearls. No doubt these pilgrims will fill the air with their glorious spirit of love, sweetness, unity and beauty.
CONGRESS SESSIONS.
4. From Sunday night to Wednesday night, there will be four general meetings in which public speakers will address the audiences, explaining the universal Bahai teachings. Last year, at the convention, the program committee invited a number of prominent outside speakers who are sympathetic to the Cause. Abdul-Baha was pleased with[Page 14] this fact and sent loving messages to each one. This year also the same speakers are again invited to voice their appreciation of the Bahai work.
CONVENTION MEETINGS.
5. From Monday to Wednesday there will also be six sessions, morning and afternoon, devoted to the various interests of the Cause. On Monday the sessions will be given to the report of the teachers who have returned from the field, the report of the delegates, the discussion of the duties of the teachers and the plan for sending more teachers to other fields. On Tuesday the Mashrekol-Azkar and its vital importance will be discussed, the plans will be viewed by the delegates and other Bahai activities will be presented for consideration. On Wednesday the delegates will select the design for the Temple, elect new members of the executive board and transact other necessary business.
THE WEDDING OF THE EAST AND THE WEST.
6. Another interesting event of this convention will be the wedding of our dear brother and sister, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab and Miss Juanita Storch. In his last Tablet Abdul-Baha says, "God willing, the event of your wedding will likewise come to pass. In this convention this year, it must unquestionably be solemnized." This is another sign of the power of the Word of BAHA'O'LLAH in thus uniting the East and the West in the divine bond of love and union. It is the bringing together of the Orient and the Occident and an evidence of the potency of the teachings of the Center of the Covenant. It is their hope that in thus uniting their spiritual forces they will be better enabled to serve the Cause of BAHA'O'LLAH and the friends of God in all parts of the world. This is the day of unity, the century of love, the period of light and the cycle of truth.
The Mashrekol-Azkar
The first erected on Mt. Carmel, Palestine; the second in Ishkabad, Russia, and the one to be built in Chicago, U. S. A.
Two excerpts referring to the Mashrekol-Azkar to be built in Chicago.
Through his honor, Mirza Ali Kuli Khan, and the maid-servant of God, Mrs. Helen S. Goodall, to Miss Angeline Haste, San Francisco, California:
O thou lover of truth!
. . . O thou beloved maid-servant of God! The two stars thou didst behold were wonderful signs, for they were shining above Lake Michigan; and now the ground for the Mashrekol-Azkar is located there. This was a spiritual revelation and those two stars were two heavenly orbs which were manifested to thy eyes, indicating that the Bahai luminary will dawn above Lake Michigan, which will illumine all parts. This means that the power of God shall find a wonderful penetration and by the rays of the kingdom enlighten all directions. . . .
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab,
November 22, 1909.)
The following extract is contained in a compilation of incidents and short sayings of Abdul-Baha, sent out by Mrs. Henrietta Clark Wagner, in 1912:
"Miss Boylan said that while in Thonon (Switzerland), last summer, she asked Abdul-Baha about the work of the Mashrekol-Azkar, feeling that it was extremely necessary to push this work and get the Temple built as rapidly as possible, and that he must come to build it, in fulfillment of the prophecy that the Lord would come to rebuild the Temple which had been torn down.
"Miss Boylan said Abdul-Baha replied[Page 15] that he had fulfilled that prophecy by building the Tomb of the Bab. He said the Tomb of the Bab on Mount Carmel was the first Mashrekol-Azkar, and that Temple is already built. The one in Ishkabad is a radiation from that first one. The one in Chicago will be another radiation. In future there will be many all over the world, all radiating from the central Mashrekol-Azkar."
From SHOGHI RABBANI'S DIARY,
June 8th, 1919.
The eternal edifice of the Mashrekol-Azkar of Ishkabad, Russia, its perfection, its importance and its unique role was the sole absorbing theme of our conversation and the subject of our thoughts.
This imposing monument is nearing perfection, its dome, large and brilliant, looms from afar. The Greatest Name, carved in gold and in large conspicuous characters, reflects the rays of the sun; while all of its accessories have been provided and many of its branches, such as schools for girls, orphanage, reception rooms, and hospital are nearing completion. Its nine attractive gardens completely encircle the Temple, intercepted by nine spacious walks and having each at their central portion a magnificent fountain with beautiful jets of water that add much to the beauty and charm of the place. Electric lights flash amid the trees that cover with their extended branches these fountains and in such a cool and lovely place the friends gather and offer to Almighty God their prayers and their praise. Although the public park in that city is wide and imposing, yet comparatively speaking, it is forlorn and forsaken—the attraction and charm of the gardens encircling the Temple by far surpassing the beauty of the park.
Not a visitor, not a passerby, not a resident comes to that city without visiting this matchless spot, none without expressing his admiration and astonishment at such an exceptional set of buildings, so strongly built, so magnificently designed, and so richly provided. Many have made the following remark: "He who erected this edifice and laid the foundation of such a monument is assuredly divine."
Often it is the case that the construction of the Temple, its lovely gardens, its completeness and thoroughness in material, intellectual and spiritual equipments, the character of its occupants and owners, their hospitality, their fervor and their conduct—often these awaken the minds of the people and attract them to the Cause.
Such was the description given by Agha Mirza Mehdi as he with the friends in Acca gathered this afternoon around Abdul-Baha, at the Tomb of BAHA'O'LLAH for the Sunday afternoon visit.
When Abdul-Baha inquired the condition and the association of the friends, it was intimated that unlike the days gone by the friends are intimately associating with all the people of every shade and opinion, of every sect, and social standing. He said: "Such is the way that must be adopted, for only through intimate association will the friends be able to teach and sow a seed in the heart of a seeker. The flower must be brought close and near in order to inhale its scent and fragrance."
Then referring to the Mashrekol-Azkar, Abdul-Baha said: "The Temple of Ishkabad is unique in that it is the first temple of the kind that has been erected. Many such temples shall be constructed in the future, but this one will ever enjoy this unique privilege and preference. When its accessories are completed and its full machinery starts running, when the melody of vocal and instrumental music arises and bursts upon the air with its joyous trends, when the prayers and supplications addressed at dawn and at sunrise ascend to the Throne of the Almighty, then will the effect of the Mashrekol-Azkar be made
(Continued on page 19)
STAR OF THE WEST
TABLET FROM ABDUL-BAHA.
O thou Star of the West!
Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shalt become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst thou stand unshakable, become the object of the attention of the friends and the center of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto the waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thy voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide—and at last thou shalt become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend upon firmness, firmness, firmness!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
TABLET FROM ABDUL-BAHA
O ye apostles of BAHA'O'LLAH—May my life be a ransom to you!
. . . . Similarly, the Magazine, the STAR OF THE WEST, must be edited in the utmost regularity, but its contents must be the promulgator of the Cause of God—so that both in the East and the West, they may become informed with the most important events.
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
Editorial Staff: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI
Honorary Member: MIRZA AHMAD SOHRAB
Vol. 11
No. 1
Cablegram from Abdul-Baha
WILHELMITE, NEW YORK:
ASADULLAS FAZEL AND MANOUCHER KHAN PROCEEDED AMERICA. EXERCISE TOWARD THEM UTMOST CONSIDERATION.
ABBAS.
Editorial
NAUROOZ GREETING:
Allaho'Abha!
Ten years ago the STAR OF THE WEST was founded. During that period the seed of its being germinated and brought forth a single stem. The Divine Gardner has preserved and confirmed it. With this issue its second decade begins. Now, it must be developed.
Abdul-Baha says in the Unveiling of the Divine Plan: "Great importance must be given to the development of the STAR OF THE WEST. The circle of its discussions must be widened; in its columns must be published the essential problems pertaining to the Bahai life in all its phases. Its contents must be so universal that even the strangers may subscribe to it. Articles must be published, dealing with the universal principles of the Cause, the writers proving that this Cause takes a vital interest in all the social and religious movements of the age and is conducive to the progress of the world and its inhabitants. . . ."
Abdul-Baha has thus outlined its policy. Its destiny is certain, but its fulfillment will, in the very nature of enduring things, be slow. He says, continuing the above quotation: "In short, the STAR OF THE WEST must promote the aspirations and the ideals that will gather little by little around these general Tablets, bringing into the light of day all the historical, religious and racial knowledge which will be of the utmost value to the Bahai teachers all over the world."
For many years to come, storms of thought, blights of misunderstanding, difficulties of production and distribution, and other problems may hinder its[Page 17] rapid growth, but the light and heat of the Sun of Truth in this divine springtime shall prevail.
Meanwhile—
Let the writers of such articles as Abdul-Baha demands, send in articles to the STAR OF THE WEST. Let the Bahais of America "subscribe for this growing newspaper only for service to the cause of God," as Abdul-Baha commanded the Bahais of Persia to do. For it is evident that it cannot grow without the means of subsistence.
IMPORTANT:
Through a misunderstanding the Bahais of the Occident believed that the "blessed days," foreseen by Daniel (Chap. 12, verse 12), began in the year 73 of the Bahai dispensation, which corresponds to the year 1917 of the Christian calendar, or 100 years after the birth of BAHA'O'LLAH, but this error on our part has been corrected by Abdul-Baha in a recent Tablet to Faraz'Allah Zaki El-Curdi, as follows:
"As to the question thou hast asked in connection with the verse in Daniel's book, namely: 'Blessed is he who cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.' This year should be taken as a solar year and not a lunar one, for in accordance with this calculation one century will have elapsed from the rising of the Sun of Truth, when the teachings of God will have been firmly established, when the lights will have flooded all the regions in the East as well as the West. On that day will the believing souls rejoice. . . ."
This indicates that there are over thirty years more of storm and sunshine, of difficulty and happiness before the beginning of the blessed millennial summer time of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Let us appreciate the value of the springtime.
Allaho'Abha!
—The Editors.
Letter from the Secretary of Bahai Temple Unity to the Bahais of America
"O ye lovers of the Beauty of the True One,
Become ye self-sacrificing
Become ye self-sacrificing."
ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS
To the Bahai Assemblies of America and Canada, Greetings in His Name:
I am now able to give the dear friends the detailed information of the approaching convention and congress which was necessarily omitted in the call for the election of delegates issued February 18th, 1920.
The Assemblies are stirring with a new life at the news of the momentous events which this convention is to enact. An increasing number of Tablets from the Center of the Covenant evidence the will and desire of the Beloved is to place in the hands of the selected and elected delegates to these conventions greater and larger responsibilities than ever before. He is training us in the accomplishment of the divine affairs entrusted to us. He is blessing us in uncovering within us a capacity to do this, which has been largely dormant hitherto. That we must arise in accord with the spiritual instructions and perform this work with the greatest wisdom, love and union is a part of the great Covenant to which we have pledged ourselves. In these spiritual instructions the Center of the Covenant has addressed the lordly and divine gatherings such as this forthcoming representative gathering of the friends of God. One of the conditions of attainment to the supreme and[Page 18] destined station (see Divine Plan, p. 67) is that there must be "fellowship and love amongst the believers." This love must reach a superlative degree of joy and fragrance. Again: "Whosoever has lost himself, has found the universe and the inhabitants thereof." "The master-key to self-mastery is self-forgetfullness." (p. 77, 78.) The burden of all these stirring words, his instructions, are that we must love one another, renounce ourselves, forget our opinions, cast aside personalities, do only the business of the Cause, and confer life, joy and fragrance upon the souls. "Contention is absolutely forbidden," only "infinite amity and love" shall exist among the friends. The "least trace of controversy" shall become the signal for silence among those so engaged.
- "The brilliant sun is shining;
- The full moon is ornamenting the horizon
- of ether;
- The great ocean-tide is flooding every
- little stream;
- The gifts are successive, the favors
- consecutive;
- The refreshing breeze is blowing, wafting
- the fragrant perfume of the blossoms;
- Boundless treasure is in the hand of the
- King of Kings;
- Lift the hem of thy garment that thou
- mayest receive it!"
These fragrant "blossoms" whose perfume reaches us, whence they are and whither do they grow? Are they not the roses and hyacinths of the King's garden, around which the dwellers of that ineffable concourse are gathered? In truth, this perfume is the fragrance of their own radiant and purified hearts. Let us gather with them, at the convention, with cleansed nostrils, constituting an assembly wherein the divine perfections of that luminous concourse shall cast no shadow, but light upon light.
The Feast of Rizwan will be celebrated April 24th, 1920, at the Aldine Club, 200 Fifth Avenue, 14th floor, New York City, with a reception at 5:00 P. M. and the feast will be laid at 6:30 P. M. The kind friends of the New York Assembly through the Rizwan committee are in charge of the feast. In keeping with the desire of the friends everywhere, the feast will be celebrated in the utmost simplicity and beauty, and mainly Persian food will be served, the price for each person not to exceed $2.50. The Aldine Club quarters are very beautiful and attractive, and there are accommodations for 750 people. All the facilities of the Club will be at our service.
The convention, or annual meeting of Bahai Temple Unity, will open at the Convention Hall of the Engineering Societies at 29 West 39th Street, at 10 A. M., on Monday, continuing through the day, and similarly on Tuesday and Wednesday. This hall seats 500. Connected with the Convention Hall will be a large and beautiful room where the Mashrekol-Azkar plans and models will be placed for the observation of the friends.
The congress will be held on the evenings of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, four sessions, detailed program of which will be ready shortly. The congress sessions are to be at the same address as the convention, namely, the Engineering Societies, 29 West 39th Street, and will be in the Auditorium of the Societies. a most beautiful and spacious room, accommodating 950, splendidly lighted, and with every convenient facility.
Please inform your delegate and alternate especially of this outline, as well as the friends of the assembly who though not all present in the gatherings, will unite in spirit and in love and fragrance throughout this Rizwan time.
"The heavenly Beloved with celestial beauty is present in the assemblage of the friends! Be ye thankful!" (Divine Plan, p. 79.)
In His love,
- Your brother,
- Alfred E. Lunt, Secretary.
The Mashrekol-Azkar
(Continued from page 15)
evident and manifest. The temple that is going to be erected in the United States will be an important and magnificent one, its influence and reaction upon the Cause will be tremendous, and the impetus it shall give to the movement, irresistible."
Soon shall the city of Teheran, Persia, witness the laying of the foundation of the Temple of Worship, for restrictions have been removed and hindrances eliminated.
It will be of interest to note that a hearty invitation has been extended to Abdul-Baha by the friends of Ishkabad, in writing and through and oral message, supplicating him to come to Ishkabad and thus rejoice those expectant friends.
Outline of the Bahai Calendar
The Bahai year begins on March 21st, and is divided into 19 months of 19 days each, plus 4 (or 5 every fourth year) intercalary days–February 26th to March 1st, inclusive.
The first day of each Bahai month falls as follows:
| MONTH | NAME | FIRST DAYS |
1st | Baha' (Splendor) | Mar. 21 |
2nd | Jalal (Glory) | Apr. 9 |
3rd | Jamal (Beauty) | Apr. 28 |
4th | Azamat (Grandeur) | May 17 |
5th | Nur (Light) | June 5 |
6th | Rahmat (Mercy) | June 24 |
7th | Kalamat (Words) | July 13 |
8th | Asma (Names) | Aug. 1 |
9th | Kamal (Perfection) | Aug. 20 |
10th | Eizzat (Might) | Sept. 8 |
11th | Masheyat (Will) | Sept. 27 |
12th | Elm (Knowledge) | Oct. 16 |
13th | Kudrat (Power) | Nov. 4 |
14th | Kowl (Speech) | Nov. 23 |
15th | Massa'ulk (Questions) | Dec. 12 |
16th | Sharaf (Honor) | Dec. 31 |
17th | Sultan (Sovereignty) | Jan. 19 |
18th | Mulk (Dominion) | Feb. 7 |
19th | Ola (Loftiness) | Mar. 2 |
| (Month of fasting.) |
The following days and seasons are observed by the Bahais:
The Feast of Naurooz—the Bahai New Year—March 21st.
The Feast of Rizwan—(Paradise)—commemorating the Declaration of BAHA'O'LLAH in the Garden of El-Rizwan in Bagdad, April 21st, 1863. This season of feasting lasts twelve days—April 21st to May 2nd, inclusive. The first, ninth and twelfth days (April 21st, April 28th and May 2nd) are especially celebrated.
The Anniversary of the Declaration of the BAB—May 23rd. (1844).
The Anniversary of the Departure of BAHA'O'LLAH—May 28th. (1892).
The Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the BAB—July 9th. (1850).
The Anniversary of the Birth of BAHA'O'LLAH—November 12th. (Born in Nur, Persia, 1817.)
The Feast of the Appointment of the Center of the Covenant—ABDUL-BAHA—November 26th.
Intercalary Days—During which hospitalities are extended to friends, the poor and the needy—February 26th to March 1st, inclusive.
Month of the Fast—March 2nd to 20th, inclusive—during which no manner of food or drink is to be taken between sunrise and sunset. Fasting is enjoined upon every one. Children, travelers, sick and infirm people, pregnant women and nursing mothers are free from this obligation.
"Before choosing a wife a man must think soberly"
Talk by ABDUL-BAHA to Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on December 22nd, 1918, the day before his departure from the Holy Land.
NOW that thou art returning to America thou must think of taking unto thyself a wife. Do thou choose a girl who may be suitable to thy intellectual and spiritual ideals. She must be wise, intelligent, and a symbol of aspiring perfection. She must take an interest in all the problems pertaining to thy life, and be thy companion and partner in every phase of thy existence. She must be sympathetic, kind-hearted, happy and endowed with a joyful disposition. Then thou must devote thyself to her happiness and love her with a glorious, spiritual love.
Before choosing a wife a man must think soberly and seriously that this girl will be his friend throughout all his life. It is not a temporary matter. She is a soul with whom he must associate all the days of his life; she will be his mate and his intimate confidant; therefore, day by day their love and their attachment to each other must increase.
The greatest bond that will unite the hearts of man and wife is faithfulness and loyalty. Both must exercise toward each other the utmost faithfulness and loyalty and not let any trace of jealousy creep between them; for this thing like unto poison vitiates the very foundation of love.
The man and wife must dedicate their knowledge, their talents, their fortunes, their titles, their bodies and their spirits, first to BAHA'O'LLAH and then to each other. Their thoughts must be lofty, their ideals luminous, their hearts spiritual, and their souls the dawning-places of the rays of the Sun of Reality. They must not become ill-disposed toward each other on account of the ephemeral incidents and accidents of this changeful life. Their hearts must be spacious, as spacious as the universe of God. In case any difference of opinion should arise between them, they must do their utmost to settle it by themselves, and not let its knowledge go out of the family; for people are apt to change a speck into a mountain. Again, in case a circumstance causes a real offense between the two, they must not keep it in their hearts, but rather explain its nature to each other and try to remove it as soon as possible. They must prefer fellowship and amity to jealousy and hypocrisy, and be like two pure mirrors reflecting the light of the stars of love and beauty to each other.
You must tell to each other all your noble and heavenly conceptions. Have no secrets between you. Make your home a haven of rest and peace. Be ye hospitable and let the doors of your home be open to the faces of friends and strangers. Welcome everyone with a smiling face and let them all feel that they are in my home.
God has created such union and harmony between man and wife that no one can conceive in this world a greater plane of union. You must irrigate continually the tree of your union with the water of love and affection, so that it may remain green and verdant throughout all the seasons, producing the most luscious fruits for the healing of the nations.
In short, you two must live such a life that your home may become a vision of the paradise of Abha; so that whosoever enters therein may feel the essence of purity and cleanliness, and may cry out unconsciously: "Here is the home of love, here is the palace of love, here is the nest of love, here is the garden of love;" and you two, like unto two sweet-singing birds, must be[Page 21]
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perched on the highest branches of the tree of life, filling the air with songs of love and happiness.
Endeavor as far as you are able to lay the foundation of your love in the very center of your spiritual being, in the very heart of your consciousness, and do not let this foundation of love be shaken in the least.
And when God gives you sweet and lovely children, exert yourselves in their education and training, so that they may become the imperishable flowers of the divine rose-garden, the nightingales of the ideal paradise, the servants of the world of humanity and the fruits of the Tree of Life.
Live ye in such a manner that others may take your life as an example, and may say to each other: "Look! How they live like unto two doves in one nest with perfect love, affinity and harmony. It is as though God had kneaded from eternity the very essence of their beings for the love of each other."
When such conditions exist and such ideals hold sway, then you have taken a large portion from the everlasting life, have quaffed deeply from the fountain of Truth, and have spent your days in the paradise of glory gathering the immortelles of divine mysteries.
Be ye to each other as heavenly lovers and divine beloved ones. Spend your life in the paradise of love. Build your nest on the leafy branches of the tree of love. Soar ye in the clear atmosphere of love. Swim ye in the shoreless sea of love. Walk ye in the eternal rose-garden of love. Move ye in the shining rays of the sun of love. Be ye firm and steadfast in the path of love. Perfume your nostrils with the sweet fragrance of the flowers of love. Familiarize your ears with the soul-entrancing melodies of love. Be ye intoxicated with the wine of love. Drink we deeply of the elixir of love. Let your ideals be the bouquet of love, and your conversation the white pearls of the ocean of love.
(Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, December 6th, 1919, Sebastopol, California.)
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