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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.
Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year.
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.
"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. 12 | CONTENTS | No. 4 |
| PAGE | |
Feast of El-Rizwan inaugurating Thirteenth Mashreq'ul-Azkar Convention and Bahai Congress | |
The Temple of Universal Religion—The Fundamental Oneness of All Existing Faiths | |
| Address by JENABE FAZEL. | |
The Thirteenth Mashreq'ul-Azkar Convention and Bahai Congress—The Feast of El-Rizwan—Convention and Congress Notes | |
| By LOUIS G. GREGORY. | |
Editorial—New Bahai Magazines | |
Religion must be the Cause of Love and Unity | |
| Address by JENABE FAZEL. | |
PERSIAN SECTION—Written by Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi | |
| 1. Talk by Abdul-Baha to the Theosophists, Edinburgh, Scotland. 2. Prayer revealed for the students of the school in same city. 3. Tablet regarding voluntary communism; also Tablet regarding the importance of teaching the Bahai Cause. 4. Visit to Abdul-Baha (Continued): Martyrdom of Mirza Vargha and his son Ruhollah, with their picture. | |
--PHOTO--
KAUFMANN & FABRY, CO CHICAGO 21.1907
FEAST OF RIZWAN 13th ANNUAL MASHREQ'UL-AZKAR CONVENTION
APRIL 23, 1921 AUDITORIUM HOTEL
FEAST OF EL-RIZWAN INAUGURATING THIRTEENTH MASHREQ'UL-AZKAR CONVENTION AND BAHAI CONGRESS
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. 12 | Azamat 1, 77 (May 17, 1921) | No. 4 |
Oneness of All Existing Faiths
Address of JENABE FAZEL, delivered at the Bahai Congress, at Auditorium Hotel, Chicago, Sunday afternoon, April 24, 1921. Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, interpreter. Stenographically reported by
Frederick H. Gurtler.IT IS indeed our supreme pleasure and happiness to have the privilege this afternoon to speak before this glowing audience of men and women. Praise be to God, that we are today living in an age, in a cycle, in which the mysteries of God, the secrets of nature, are exposed and revealed so that man may study these laws and gain wisdom. Such mysteries and secrets which have been known to man from time immemorial, these divine, intellectual, spiritual, artistic secrets of the world of God are all exposed by God so that we may gain benefit and attain to perfection.
When, seventy years ago, BAHA'O'LLAH, in Persia, laid the foundation of the oneness of religion and declared the possibility, nay, the realization of a universal religion, people who were doctrinaires scoffed at such an idea and thought it was impossible, but today through the diffusion of the light of knowledge and education every forward-looking man and woman has come to the conclusion that the greatest need of the world of humanity is universal religion, and no other.
In those past ages when people lived in the obscurity of ignorance and narrow-mindedness, not becoming acquainted with the contents of each other's sacred book, not realizing that their prophets have all come to teach them the law of love and unity, they looked upon one another with the eyes of a stranger, they anathematized one another, they thought that they were the peculiar, the sacred, the divine race while the rest of mankind were barbarians, savages, and deprived of the mercy of God.
His Holiness, BAHA'O'LLAH, even long before he declared his spiritual mission to mankind in 1863, in all his writings, in all his utterances, likened the religions of the world to so many pure mirrors reflecting the rays of the Sun of Reality. He proved beyond a shadow of doubt through his divine power and spiritual words, creative and inspiring, that all the seven religions of the world were originally like unto pure, crystalline, limpid rivers which were flowing from the heart of God, from the heart of His manifestations through the deserts of human concepts, but as they flowed on and on they gathered the mud, the refuse, they were discolored by human creeds and human imaginations and human fanaticism, and by the time they reached the ocean they were no more the pure water coming out of the Rock of Ages, but they were flowing mud.
Again BAHA'O'LLAH likened the world unto a university, the prophets being the teachers and the professors of this college or school, and as it is the aim and
the desire of the teachers to raise the intellectual, the spiritual, the artistic minds of the pupils through the various degrees of accomplishment till they attain to a time when they get their diplomas, so likewise the prophets had one divine plan before them toward which they were working, and for the attainment of which they were educating the children of men, and that was the brotherhood and the unity of mankind.
BAHA'O'LLAH planted the seeds of world citizenship and the oneness of the world of humanity in the hearts of his friends, and he irrigated and flooded these fields to such an extent that these Bahais began to study the sacred books of all the religions, collecting and drawing out of this vast treasure house of sacred ideals those principles which agreed with one another, putting them side by side, writing a textbook, and thus proving that the quintessence, the original teachings of all the teachers and prophets of the past had been one ideal, and these books are being taught to our children in our schools so that they grow up with that universal consciousness and international mind.
Not only have the Bahais been working in this field of investigation but even the scholars and the sages of this country, many of whom I met in the universities and colleges throughout this land, have been working along similar lines, writing textbooks on comparative religions, and showing in the most dramatic, in the most spiritual, convincing manner, that these great teachers of humanity throughout successive ages have taught one universal ideal.
From a philosophic standpoint we can divide the contents of the sacred books of the world into five parts. The first part is in regard to the principle of cosmogony or genesis, the creation of the world, and just as you have in the book of Genesis an account of creation, likewise other religions, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Mohammedans have similar allegorical stories about the creation of the world. This first historical part of the religious textbooks of the world, if we read them with the eyes of orthodoxy and literalization, are all unreasonable, not in accord with science or reason, not intellectual; they are like fairy stories that we relate to our children; but if we interpret them with the eye of spiritual symbology and realize that the writers have been teaching humanity in this manner we gain the most spiritual and heavenly knowledge.
The Hindus have a myth that when God created the globe it was in a fluid state and it was moving through space with such velocity that there was no time for the creation of creatures, so Juerrnath, who was one of the gods, offered his services to the Almighty that he would take hold of this globe and keep it in order, giving time enough to God to create the rest of the creatures, but he took hold of the globe and it was so heavy that his two hands fell off. The Hindus have the statue of this Juerrnath in all their temples as a god without two hands. Now if you give spiritual interpretation to this story you have a beautiful lesson; otherwise it is the most unreasonable, fanciful story of the primitive races.
In the Zoroastrian religions books they have similar stories about the stellar globes in the universe, stating that each one of these stars was an intelligent being, controlling, governing and dominating the agencies of the world for a long time.
In the book of Genesis we read that on a certain day the sun was created. Now the day is the result of the motion of the earth in relation to the sun. Inasmuch as the sun was not created up to the third or the fourth day, how could there be any days? Hence these contexts of the religious books of the world must be all interpreted with the modern conception of today and thus put them in line with the universal ideal of our time, and bring them within the harmonious institutions of the concepts of our age.
The second part of the texts of the religious books are all about supernatural things, about spiritual phenomena, belief in God, in the immortality of the soul, in the angel or devil, heaven or hell, resurrection and various other ideas with which we are familiar. This second part is shared in common in all the religious books, and those ideals belonging to the second part, if they are not in accord with reason and science, are superstitions and must be thrown away.
The third part are the miracles or extraordinary events attributed to the prophets by their followers. All the prophets of the past have achieved certain miracles, have performed extraordinary things, but the strange part of this fact is that although the followers of one prophet believe in all the miracles that their own has performed, they negate and deny similar miracles performed by another prophet.
The fourth part are the ceremonies, the rituals, the ecclesiastical rites which are existent more or less in different religions, in different languages. They may speak in various tongues, but they all mean the same thing. Now if these rituals are conducive to the purification of the soul, to the making of citizenship, of manhood, if they give spirituality and independence and responsibility to the worshipper, they are all good, and are rendering their service in their own place, but if they do not do that they are just useless impedimenta, intellectual and spiritual.
The fifth and most important part, which is the kernel of the religions, are the moral and the ethical teachings which are alike and identical in all the religions. If you place side by side the religious books of the world, study them impartially, you will gain this deep insight, that they are all teaching the same lesson, they are all inculcating the same fundamental norms. Their lessons consist in spiritual unity of mankind, in the refinement of character, in the etherealization of the soul so that we may learn common sense and live side by side with the spirit of fellowship, kindness and comradeship.
To illustrate, Moses says, you must love your neighbor. Christ explains the same idea only a step higher, that it is not a great thing for you to love your friend, you must love your enemy; should some one strike you on your right cheek, show him the left also. Confucius declares the same ideal by saying, do not like anything to be done to others that you would not like it to be done to you. Mohammed says, if you are walking along the street and some one comes and curses you, do not seem to hear it, but continue to walk, but if he persists in cursing, you should turn to him and say, "Peace be upon you" (laughter and applause). Again he says, the real believer is that soul from whose tongue and whose hand the people are safe. Thus has the golden rule been explained or taught in different ages, in various languages, with the hope that humanity would practice them.
Zoroaster, the prophet of Persia, takes men to a higher plane when he teaches that it is not your merit to love humanity, because you have to love your own kind, but your merit consists in your love for the animal kingdom. Do not harm an ant which is such a tiny creature because the ant has life and life is precious and sweet. Therefore, all the sacrifices, all the persecutions, all the contumely that the prophets of the past went through was for this one, chief aim, to teach humanity how to act and live peacefully and avoid and shun misunderstandings.
I was speaking with an individual about the prophethood of Mohammed and when I explained to him that Mohammed was also the prophet of Arabia and had come to teach the sons of the desert the knowledge of God he said "I have read the Koran from beginning to end and I have not found there one word about God, but always Mohammed says
'Allah, Allah'." (laughter.) He said, "Now, what kind of a prophet is he that he never says God?" I said, "Well, I am very sorry he did not live in America. The English language had not penetrated into the Arabian peninsula while he was living, so he had to use his own language for the same ideal." The prophets did not come to teach a name, they came to inculcate an ideal, and that ideal they had to explain and utter in their own language according to the conception of their own people, and therefore, according to the spirit of the age in which they lived.
It has been through the sheer ignorance of men that they have looked upon the prophets are so many generals, as so many commanders leading armies into battlefields and fighting against each other. Do you think if the prophets were to come today, Mohammed and Christ and Moses and Buddha, that they would teach their followers to go and fight and kill, or would they teach them to associate with one another, to set aside all their narrow-mindedness and suspicions and bigotry and backbiting and live in accordance with the ideal of love, harmony and unity? That is, were it possible to have a conference of the prophets of the past they would have no other thought, they would, discuss no other theme but to purify the religions of the past from man-made dogmas and creeds and bring them back to that original source of divine contemplation and spiritual realization.
His Holiness, BAHA'O'LLAH, appeared in this age for the revealment of this great ideal and he has uncovered this divine mystery and has brought a universal religion but not a new religion, a religion which is the sum total, which is the consummation, which is the gathering together of all the past fragments of truth into one scintillating whole. The precious jewels and gems of realities which were hidden and the thorns and thistles of human misunderstandings are again exposed and revealed to the sight of men.
Universal religion, therefore, is in need of a universal temple, not a temple where only rites and ceremonies are performed but a temple which is the home of universal love and service dedicating all energies to the work of human salvation. The real temple is the heart of man. When we build this temple in the center of the heart we have the greatest divine temple. The outward temple must be a symbol, an outward expression of that spiritual temple in the heart of humanity. The real temple where God dwells, the abode where the Almighty resides all through eternity is the heart, provided we get hold of the broom of the love of God and sweep from the chambers of this inner temple all the cobwebs, all the dust of the past ages of ignorance, of superstition and imitation. What are the cobwebs and the dust with which the heart of humanity are covered today? They are greed, passion, lust, transgression, sin, all these things are the devils standing at the gateway of the human temple and not letting the angels of self-sacrifice and of self-renunciation and of divine emotions enter into the abode of the Almighty. When the temple of the heart is cleansed with this spiritual broom and all the dust and superstitions are scattered, then man will worship in that sacred shekinah, in that inner sanctuary without the need of outward walls, or using the temporal temple.
One of the great prophets of the orient has uttered a wonderful truth when he said that God told him that, "The heavens and the earth have not a place for Me, they are too small to hold Me, but the heart of a sincere lover, the heart of a believer, is the spacious kingdom of My presence." When the horizon of the heart is broadened, when the intellect of man is expanded, thus allowing the infiltration of the lights of divinity, then those inner temples will become the home of universal conscience and international mind.
BAHA'O'LLAH came to lay the foundation of a universal temple in the hearts of humanity, and because this universal temple is in need of an outward symbol, has instituted this great law of having a physical temple (the Mashreq'ul-Azkar) where all humanity may worship God in accord with their conscience, an exterior, outward temple, the ideals and the aims of which may tally and correspond with that inner, interior temple of the heart. The inner temple universal is a temple where God resides, the outer temple, which is also universal, is a place where there are no priests, where there are no rites, where there are no ceremonies but purely God who is the universal Father of all humanity and is worshipped with the utmost simplicity.
Just as BAHA'O'LLAH has opened the door of this inner universal temple so that out of it universal love may issue forth, likewise the door of the physical universal temple must be opened for all and out of its gates the lights of universal love must be scattered to all parts of the globe. Consequently, we hope that through the institution of these two temples always going and advancing side by side the inner temple of the heart, the outer temple of the world, thus through the co-operation of these two universal temples the world of humanity may be freed from the claws of the ferocious beasts of superstition and fanaticism, the temple of brotherhood, the temple of unity, the temple of spirituality and co-operation to be built in the heart and out of the heart, this outer symbol, thus they may work harmoniously and make this world as one home, the children of men as one flock and God as the universal Shepherd.
In truth, when we listen with the ear of the spirit today we hear the people of all religions crying at the top of their voices that the spirit has left their temples. What was the cause of the banishment of the Spirit from these temples? Because the leaders of the church wanted to organize the Spirit, they wanted to institutionalize the Holy Ghost, and thus they lost the great boon of spiritual spontaneity and unification. God, therefore, has a great gift for the world of humanity today. He has freed the spirit of worship from the chains and fetters of ecclesiasticism so that mankind may grow in this immensity of God's love with the greatest freedom, with the greatest liberty and with the greatest joy and happiness (applause).
and Bahai Congress
By LOUIS G. GREGORY
The Feast of El-RizwanCHICAGO, beloved by Abdul-Baha as the spot where the Divine Cause first touched America, was the scene of the Thirteenth Mashreq'ul-Azkar Convention, with its meetings for teaching.
"Let us be silent and turn our thoughts to Abdul-Baha!"
Mr. Albert R. Windust, presiding, opened the Feast of El-Rizwan, commemorating the Declaration of BAHA'O'LLAH, with these words.. The spiritual melody, "Softly his voice is calling now" followed, after which prayers revealed by Abdul-Baha were read:
"O my God! O my God! We are servants who have sincerely turned our faces unto Thy Grand Face, severed ourselves from all else save Thee in this great day and are assembled together in this glorious meeting, of one accord and desire, and unanimous in thought to promulgate Thy Word amid Thy creatures.
"O my Lord! O my Lord! Suffer us
to be signs of guidance, standards of Thy manifest religion throughout the world, servants of Thy Great Covenant—O our exalted Lord!—appearances of Thy oneness in Thy Kingdom, the El-Abha, and stars which dawn forth into all regions.
"O Lord! Make us as seas rolling with the waves of Thy great abundance, rivers flowing from the mountains of Thy glorious Kingdom, pure fruits on the tree of Thy illustrious Cause, plants refreshed and moved by the breeze of Thy gift in Thy wonderful vineyard.
"O Lord! Cause our souls to depend upon the signs of Thy Oneness, our hearts to be dilated with the bounties of Thy Singleness, so that we may become united as ripples on a waving sea, become harmonized as are the rays which shine forth from a brilliant light; so that our thoughts, opinions and feelings become as one reality from which the spirit of accord may be diffused throughout all regions.
"Verily, Thou art the Beneficent, the Bestower! Verily Thou art the Giver, the Mighty, the Loving, the Merciful!"
"O my Lord, my Hope! Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast sent down unto us this spiritual table, supreme benefit and heavenly blessing. O our Lord! Strengthen us to partake of this heavenly food, so that its fine essence may run through the pillars of our spiritual being and that thereby we may obtain a celestial power for serving Thy Cause, promulgating Thy signs and adorning Thy vineyard with lofty trees, the fruits whereof shall be near (to gather) and of perfuming fragrances. Verily Thou art the Clement, the Merciful!"
Thus through concentration and prayer the spiritual and material feast began. At the close of the material feast, the chairman, in behalf of the Chicago friends, waived all formal greetings, simply saying, "Chicago welcomes you all!" He then read the Call of the Kingdom in the words of Abdul-Baha:
"Praise be to God, that the dark ages have passed away and the century of light has come!" and ending with the "Glad Tidings!" (See Divine Plan, pages 17 and 18.)
Miss Alma Knobloch was introduced as one who had answered that call, the little woman who went into Germany and captured the hearts. She said in part: "I thank you for the privilege of presenting the greetings of the German believers. It is indeed a great pleasure to mention the spread of the blessed Cause in Europe. It is the unification of the nations through the vital principles of prosperity. It thrills to hear of the efforts in Paris to study the Holy Words, also the efforts of some of these friends in European countries, such as the work of Miss Edith Sanderson and others in Switzerland, rejoicing the hearts. In England there have been new life and energy since the return of Dr. Esselmont from the Holy Land. Through divine favor a rich harvest will appear in time. Fervent calls have come from Holland for the establishment of centers. We pray that God may favor them.
"The call from Germany came in 1907 and upon my arrival in Stuttgart, a beautiful attracted soul, Frl. Marg. Doring, greeted me with the Greatest Name. During thirteen years she has shared with me joys and hardships and has become a brilliant teacher. A woman's club first opened their doors, offering their rooms for Bahai talks and the nineteen-day feasts, serving with the greatest love and courtesy. In February, 1908, an assembly was formed. Great was the joy at the end of the year to receive Tablets from Abdul-Baha, assuring us that the light of truth had dawned from the horizon of Germany and that a number of friends had become confirmed believers, and 'that the spiritual feasts were praised by the Supreme Concourse.'
"The year 1909 saw the first German translation of the Holy Utterances, sent by my dear sister Fanny. Zuffenhausen and Esslingen formed centers. Frl. Kostlin's home became the center of a brilliant
circle. A children's class has been very successful. The blessing of the visit of Abdul-Baha will ever be recalled. The first Bahai Convention was held in Germany March 26-28, 1921. Speaking of my effort at Leipsiz, Abdul-Baha said, 'The blessing of God shall descend in torrents like the great waves of the ocean. Pure souls will arise to spread the teachings out of love for BAHA'O'LLAH; throughout, that land and that country shall become illumined.'
"The spiritual springtime appeared with his coming in April, 1913. Abdul-Baha said, 'The days we spent in Stuttgart are like so many golden pages in the book of creation. I inhale yet the sweet odor of those flowery days. I hope all the friends will be protected and guarded.'
"The German friends realize the meaning of his words, wherein he says: 'Every significant phenomenon in the world of existence has a center. For instance, the center of the solar system is the sun, which illumines the circle of the solar system. In the same way there is a center for the Light of Truth, emitting its Light upon the world of the spirit and conscience....'
"We have been greatly blessed through the visits of the believers, sharing the bounties received from their meeting. Most unusual has been the blessing during seven years, 1914-1921, of not being cut off from the Center of the Covenant. He has said, 'We are also fighting with Germany, but we have defeated her. But this is not a war of death; it is a war of life! This is not a defeat, but a victory. It will be conducive to the eternal glory of Germany. It (the Cause of God) will make her spiritually invincible.'
"All during the war travel was possible and there were many interesting experiences. Souls everywhere became attracted. The work of Consul Swartz and the public lectures of Mr. Remey have been appreciated.
"From South Africa comes good news of the success of Miss Fanny Knobloch. Meetings have been arranged for her through the governor and other notables. Sarange, Maguese, Parktown, Durban, Pretoria, Moritz and other places have been visited and many souls are cheered by the glad news. The Tablet of Abdul-Baha opened the way for her mail, held up for months. She has even visited Lepers' Island and has given the message of life to these afflicted people."
The chairman here mentioned Miss Agnes Alexander, whose success in Japan is now happily marked by the establishment of a Bahai Magazine in Japanese.
Miss Martha Root said. "It was in spirit that Abdul-Baha took the trip to South America, for it is now the Millennium and the world is ready. The message has reached the editors of the finest newspapers. Bahai books are in many libraries. Guido Nocchi, a wonderful soul, is very active in service. He has appeared at many religious festivals to spread the Cause. Five thousand of the pamphlets, commonly known as the 'blue booklet' have been distributed. Letters from this country have poured in upon the awakened souls and Miss Carrie Barbee has translated these missives into French and Spanish. They have also been helped by letters from Miss Agnes Alexander in Esperanto. Miss Leonora Holsapple, with a heart aflame and a knowledge of French, Spanish and some Esperanto, has recently hastened to those scenes and is doing a wonderful service. 'We are so young! Please feed us!' This is the cry of the hearts, expressed by Guido Nocchi. The pamphlet, What went ye out for to see? by Thornton Chase, has been spread through Brazil."
Miss Root gave a thrilling account of the journey over the snowclad Andes, ten thousand feet high, upon mule back, where one misstep of the trusty animal, not driven, but left to its own instinct, would have ended all. She could only hold on to the saddle, say the Greatest Name and pray for everybody. Assuredly
--PHOTO--
the seeds of the Kingdom are sown in South America. In conclusion she read the words of inspiration and assurance given by Abdul-Baha to Lua Getsinger, when about to start for India.
Zeenat Khahum, as if again in the home of Abdul-Baha, chanted.
held by
The Bahai Temple Unity
for the presentation of the Universal Principles of Unity and Peace
and
The Thirteenth Annual
Mashreq'ul-Azkar Convention
All sessions of the Congress and Convention
will be held in the
Banquet Hall, Ninth Floor
of the
Auditorium Hotel, Chicago
April 23d-27th, 1921
The first Bahai Temple of the Western World is being built at Wilmette, Sheridan Road and Linden Avenue, by those in all parts of the world who are working for universal religion and universal brotherhood. It is called in Persian the "Mashreq'ul-Azkar" or "The Dawning Point of Praises." It will be a universal house of worship open to all sects and religions. The model of the Temple is now on exhibition at the Art Institute.
Reduced fac-simile page one Program
Dr. Zia Mabsut Bagdadi was the next speaker, presenting the Cause in the East. "It began," he said, "with the declaration of the Bab, who was arrested in Persia, put into prison, and finally shot with a thousand bullets. Many thousand men, women and children were so cruelly treated that even the executioners, at times, shrank from inflicting the awful tortures. His Highness, BAHA'O'LLAH, was confined in prison, banished four times and forced to travel over snowy mountains on horseback without shoes. From Bagdad to Constantinople he and his followers were without food. After five years of rigorous life in Adrianople, he was banished again to the greatest and darkest of all prisons. This was Acca with its horrors. They were placed in the barracks and surrounded by very skillful guards,
SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 23D, 7 P. M.
Feast of the Rizwan
Chairman, MR. ALBERT R. WINDUST, of Chicago"The Spread of the Bahai Cause Throughout the World"
| In Europe and South Africa | MISS ALMA KNOBLOCH |
| In South America and Japan | MISS MARTHA ROOT |
| In the Near East | DR. ZIA BAGDADI |
| In Canada | MRS. MAY MAXWELL |
| In the United States | MIRZA AHMAD SOHRAB |
| How the Bahai Teachings are Uniting the East and the West | JENABE FAZEL, of Persia |
Mrs. Zeenat Khanum-Bagdadi, Chanting
Mrs. Ruth Breytspraak-Haymar, Violinist
Miss Marie Hertzog, Pianist
Miss Sarah Windust, Pianist
"The Architect of the Temple"
MR. LOUIS BOURGEOIS
"The Univeraal House of Worship for Today"
MR. WILLIAM H. RANDALL of Boston
"The Temple of Universal Religion—The Fundamental Oneness of all Existing Faiths"
JENABE FAZEL
Miss Charlotte Allen, Pianist
Miss Barbara Schrader, Soprano
Miss Ruth Pressell, Pianist
Mrs. May Scheffler, Contralto
Mr. Albert R. Windust, Tenor
Miss Sarah Windust, Pianist
6:00 to 7:00 P. M.—Reception to JENABE FAZEL
7:00 to 7:30 P. M.—"BAHAI JUNIORS" Exercises
7:30 P. M.—Stereoopticon Views of the Holy Land
Bahai Young People's Class
Miss Sarah Windust, Pianist
Reduced fac-simile page two Program
who even arrested, imprisoned, tortured and deported the early pilgrims who came on foot from Persia, a distance of six months' walk, to visit BAHA'O'LLAH. But BAHA'O'LLAH said, 'Be patient! Our sufferings are not on account of our lack of power, but because we must suffer in the path of the love of God!'
"Contrast these dark days of oppression with the light and freedom of the present! Mrs. Krug, one of a recent party of pilgrims from America, gave the message in the home of Abdul-Baha to the Persian Consul at Beirut, and she
and all the pilgrims were received even by the English government with great honor.
"The Protestants have given fifty million dollars to convert Mohammedans to Christianity; yet have failed. The Bahais, without money or cannon, guide
MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 25TH, 8 P. M.
Chairman, DR. PAULINE BARTON-PEEKE, of Cleveland"The Independent Investigation of Truth"
DR. D'EVELYN of San Francisco
"The Oneness of Mankind"
MR. LOUIS GREGORY
"Religion Must be the Cause of Love and Unity"
JENABE FAZEL
Miss Charlotte Allen, Pianist
Mr. Ernst Rebder, Tenor
Miss Ruth Pressell, Pianist
Mrs. May Scheffler, Contralto
Bahai Young People's Class
Miss Sarah Windust, Pianist
"The New Solution of the Economic Question"
MR. ALFRED E. LUNT of Boston
"The Conformity of Science and Religion—The Universal Education of the Future"
JENABE FAZEL
Miss Charlotte Allen, Pianist
Mr. John T. Rend, Basso
"The Temple of Universal Peace"
MRS. CORINNE TRUE of Chicago
"The Essential Necessity of the Confirmation of the Holy Spirit"
MR. ALBERT VAIL of Chicago
"The Dawn of the Sun of Reality and the Power of the Influence of Baha'o'llah"
JENABE FAZEL
Miss Charlotte Allen, Pianist
Mrs. May Scheffler, Contralto
Mr. Albert R. Windust, Tenor
Bahai Young People's Class
Miss Sarah Windust, Pianist
Reduced fac-simile page three Program
others to the light of Baha. This power
is like that of the lowly Nazarine, but on
a larger scale today. At Baku, Russia,
and in Persia, the Bolshevists saved the
Bahais from massacre. When certain
elements had planned their destruction
they were divinely protected. The more
trouble there is the better for the Bahais
and the more certain the spread of the
Cause. At Hamadan, Persia, twenty-five
years ago, there were seven hundred
believers without money or power. Now
there are six thousand Bahais, but not
six persons converted by Western missionaries.
Thus the Voice of BAHA'O'LLAH
fills the East and the West and
all other voices are hushed." Then Dr.
Bagdadi showed a very remarkable and
large picture of the knighting of Abdul-Baha.
He said: "Consider, the Turkish
Government for forth years were
suspicious of Abdul-Baha, but the English
MR. MOUNTFORD MILLS, President
DR. FREDERICK W. D'EVELYN, Vice-President
MR. ALFRED E. LUNT, Secretary
MRS. CORINNE TRUE, Financial Secretary
MR. WILLIAM H. RANDALL, Treasurer
ROY C. WILHELM
MR. ALBERT VAIL
MRS. MAY MAXWELL
MRS. LOUISE D. BOYLE
MRS. WILLIAM F. SLATER, Reception MISS MARY LESCH, Publication MISS SOPHIE LOEDING, Finance MR. ALBERT R. WINDUST, Music MR. CARL SCHEFFLER, Decorations MR. PETER BENDER, Ushers MR. ALBERT VAIL, Program MISS MARTHA ROOT, Publicity
Information or pamphlets concerning the Bahai
Movement and the Bahai Temple may be had by
addressing Bahai Temple Unity, 5338 Kenmore
Avenue, Chicago.
Reduced fac-simile page four Program
Government in forty days realized
his love and self-sacrifice for the world
of humanity!"
Mrs. Breytspraak-Haymar here called into play the sweet harmonious notes of the violin and responded to an encore.
Introducing Janabe Fazel, the chairman read from the Holy Utterances revealing the station of martyrdom:
"By heavenly armies those souls are intended who are entirely freed from the human world, transformed into celestial spirits and have become divine angels. Such souls are the rays of the Sun of Reality who will illumine all the continents.
Each one is holding in his hand a trumpet, blowing the breath of life over all the regions. They are delivered from human qualities and the defects of the world of nature, are characterized with the attributes of God and are attracted with the fragrances of the Merciful. Like unto the apostles of Christ, who were filled with Him, these souls have also been filled with His Holiness, BAHA'O'LLAH, that is, the love of BAHA'O'LLAH has so mastered every organ, part and limb of their bodies, as to leave no effect by the promptings of the human world.... This is the meaning of the Hosts of God." (Divine Plan, page 66).
Janabe Fazel said: "Although the hour is late, there is such a light in the faces of the friends that I am encouraged to speak, with your indulgence and patience. The previous talks show the promulgation of the Cause throughout the world among nations and races. Although the quintessence of prosperity is no other than unity, yet the distinguishing mark of the Bahai Cause is universal unity. This gives the dynamic force to impress people in all walks of life. If an outsider reads the Tablets of BAHA'O'LLAH and Abdul-Baha he will find so many passages of love and harmony that it would appear that these principles have been apotheosized. It is through spiritual powers, mutual explanations, love and understanding that the Bahais have brought unity between the East and West. Also the North and South arc thrilled with this wonderful message.
"Western nations enjoy liberty and freedom. But in the East it is often different. Here an amusing story is told to illustrate the fanatical prejudices sometimes found in the Orient. A Moslem priest was lying sick. A Christian doctor, who was an eminent scientist, was called in. The priest saw the doctor and asked his wife who he was. Upon being told he replied, 'If I take medicine from that infidel I will surely go to hell.' But the doctor said, 'Whether or not he takes my medicine, he will go to hell. If he refuses to take it he will go now. If he takes it he will go later. It will postpone his trip!' The priest thereupon thought it wisdom to take the medicine.
"It is self-evident that conflicts arise from ignorance, intolerance, and mistrust. BAHA'O'LLAH is like a glorious Sun flooding the horizon with light and more light. He spreads unity among races, religions and nations, through explanations, intelligence, and the working of the Holy Spirit. I have travelled many years and have seen BAHA'O'LLAH and Abdul-Baha radiating from hearts and souls. There is a greater transforming power in these Divine Manifestations. Light and peace appear. In Orient or Occident, North or South each race or nation has its own native costumes, customs and laws. Yet there is but one Spirit. Unity and fraternity are the light of the new age. These disciples of the new dispensation have dedicated their lives to peace, brotherhood, reality, throughout the world. As we travel and search and try to find out, we know that God is working in His own mysterious way to establish human solidarity. Forward looking men and women, who have not heard the message yet live the Bahai life. They acknowledge, when they hear it, the greatness of the message. Like the springtime, it thrills all with the reality of new life. BAHA'O'LLAH, the great universal Gardener, has planted the seeds in the world of humanity. He is also watering them and hearts are thrilled with the emotions of the Kingdom. The Paradise is established!
"During the past year I have found many friends in the United States and Canada, everywhere giving their lives to spread these principles. We hope, pray, work, supplicate, that the Bahais, who give so much of their time, may be crowned with universal success. May the ideal and real love of unity pitch its tent in the center of the world and the Kingdom of God be established in the hearts of men."
The glorious song of Benediction closed the Rizwan Feast.
On the Temple Grounds.
Sunday morning found many of the friends on the grounds of the Mashreq'ul-Azkar, hallowed by the visit of Abdul-Baha nine years ago and dedicated to the noblest of purposes. The nine great wells sunk in the earth and preceding to a depth of one hundred and twenty feet to reach the solid rock, were viewed with deep interest. The caissons to support the temple's foundation, will soon be sunk. Happy is that house whose foundation is a rock! It is the symbol of faith.
The friends gathered around Janabe Fazel, who gave an inspiring talk:
"Last year I came to Chicago and visited the land of the Mashreq'ul-Azkar. At that time it was the plain ground, without machinery to lay the foundation. But this year, praise be to God! I see the friends assembled to witness the work. No doubt in a short time others will come to see the dedication of the temple and its great service to humanity. The Mashreq'ul-Azkar is one of the greatest instruments for the diffusion of the Word. Consider, that the Temple is not yet built. Yet circulation of photographs of the model and lectures about it have created a most favorable impression of the Cause. Naturally those who travel can see this more clearly than those who reside continually in the same community. Whenever we spoke of it vast audiences listened with great interest. Many, many hundreds had read about it and asked questions. It created wide interest among all classes.
"People of the world find a lack of spirit in the usual temples, but are inspired when they hear of this universal structure, radiating the Holy Spirit. They arc eager to see it completed. If such interest results from only the model, what may we not hope from the completed structure? We who have here gathered must truly consecrate our highest and best thought to this work, without too much of discussion. To build it is the work of this Convention. The Divine confirmation is the only power to direct and enlighten the hearts. For this bounty we pray and supplicate."
Sunday Afternoon, Auditorium Hotel.
Hymn:
"Out of days of tribulation,
Days when nation hated nation,
Thou hast made us one relation.
Praise Thee, O God!"
Prayer revealed by BAHA'O'LLAH "O God! O God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy Commandments and abide in Thy law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God, leave them not to themselves; but guide their steps by the light of knowledge and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily Thou art their Helper and their Lord."
Miss Barbara Schrader sang a solo.
Mr. Mountfort Mills, presiding, read:
"The source of love is to advance to the Beloved and to abandon all else save Him and to have no hope save His will."
"The root of all knowledge is the knowledge of God: Glory be to Him! And this knowledge is impossible save through His Manifestation."
The chairman, said, "The words read are those of BAHA'O'LLAH in the last half of the century closed. During his lifetime he issued laws for a new civilization to be established. His Will and Testament appointed Abdul-Baha as the Center of His Covenant, to carry on his work of spiritual regeneration among all races and nations. I have just returned from my third pilgrimage to Abdul-Baha. All of them have been privileges. This meeting is to bring to you more closely than before the mighty import of this work and its indescribable value to each unit and group of society. It is our effort to share these teachings and their understanding of what we have so convincingly found, is the sole power of the world today to solve its problems.
Through various experiences with the Center of the Covenant, we have seen this power in operation. If the various nations will but give ears that connect with their hearts, their difficulties will be removed in a twinkling. I wish to convince you of this great longing, born of love. We can respond by placing ourselves in the right attitude. Investigate and become aware! This indescribable power, with its depth and immensity, is adequate in so many phases of man's suffering and difficulty. Share this power for your own benefit. Unless we surrender ourselves to it, civilization is helpless. Never in all history has there been so great an opportunity!
"Our effort is to make here such an atmosphere as we found on our pilgrimage. But to appreciate it we must shut out all prejudices, open our hearts and extend a spiritual hand to each and all. Disseminating truth is the sole purpose. Abdul-Baha gave his life to sacrifice and imprisonment with the sole object of helping humanity. Truth is the fundamental unity of religions. It is the same message and the same power of the messengers and prophets. Differences have arisen through interpretation and ecclesiasticism; but true religion is in the deepest springs of the human heart.
"Mashreq'ul-Azkar means the Dawning Point of Praises. The buildings symbolize the structure in the hearts. Chicago has been chosen for the site and now the foundation is being laid. It is now a very great pleasure to listen to one whose model has been chosen, Mr. Louis Bourgeois."
Mr. Bourgeois spoke: "My work is not speech making, therefor I will be brief. I went to see Abdul-Baha to have him approve the drawings I submitted to him and get his advice on things he would like to change. This is what I will speak about.
"I am reminded of a story I heard about a dream. The dreamer saw a great mountain, on the top of which was a great light. This light was supposed to be the goal or the attainment of immortality.
There were many roads from the valley to the top of this mountain and pilgrims were assembling in the valley preparing themselves for this lofty ascension. Each individual assembled in the valley came with a great burden on his back. This was symbolizing the burdens of each one of us, which are notions, desires, prejudices of all kind. Each one starting this ascension felt the burden was too great. At different heights in the paths there were guides to show the way. Those who did not like advice fell by the way with their burdens. Those who asked guidance were told to drop their burdens, but only a few dropped their burdens, the rest fell exhausted in the road and perished.
"This was the symbol that you must unburden yourself of all prejudices. To enter into that immortal abode of love the self must be annihilated, then harmony will be manifest in our heart.
"During my recent pilgrimage I saw Abdul-Baha but four days and about one hour each time. What was said about the Temple did not take more than fifteen minutes. I showed him the design of the large Temple in color. He examined it carefully and said, 'It is very beautiful, very beautiful.' Many times he repeated these words, 'Very beautiful.' 'The most beautiful in the world. It was given to you from the Kingdom,' he said, and I answered that I felt in my heart it was from the Kingdom and that it made me very happy to hear it from his lips. He added, 'All the troubles around you will be removed. You have been confirmed in this work.' In another visit he said that BAHA'O'LLAH had conferred a great favor upon me.
"He looked at the Chicago design which had no ornaments on the drawing and said. 'It is not like the other one showing the large design.' I explained to him that I had no time to draw the ornaments and that the engineer would not need them for his work. He replied, 'Do it just like this one,' pointing to the large design, and I replied that I would.
"Then we looked at the floor plans. After looking them over he asked me, 'What are you going to do with the rooms around the dome?' I told him that that was the reason of my visit to him and asked him what he would like to have done with them. He said, 'What did you have in mind when you planned those rooms?' and I told him that they could be used for the teaching of the message, a room for each language and opening the screen, throwing all into one large audience for service. He said, 'No, you will give a room to every religion so that each may worship in its own way.' This made me very happy.
"About raising funds. I told him of the idea of having beautiful color prints made up of the Temple and have every Bahai buy one for one dollar. Also to sell them to architects, designers, lovers of art, etc. I told him that many millions could be sold. He said, 'Very good, but this must be submitted to the Convention.' This is all I can remember of his talk about the Temple.
"Explaining the design to you, I will say that this Temple is the plastic of the teaching of BAHA'O'LLAH and Abdul-Baha. It is a composite architecture. All the great religions of the world have brought new architecture and as the purpose of this teaching is to unify all the religions of the world, I have used all the essence of the religious architecture of the world and united them into a harmonious whole. In this design there is the essence of the Egyptian architecture, the Greek, the Roman, the Arabic, the Gothic, the Renaissance and the crowning of the Temple Dome which is similar to mathematical figures that represent the spiral curve of the plants around the sun. Mathematics are the symbol of truth and truth will set us free. In the mathematical decoration are interwoven all the religious symbols of the different religions, the Swastica Cross, the Buddhist and Vendentist symbols; the seal of Solomon, symbol of the Jews; the Christian Cross; the Crescent and five-pointed Star, symbol of the Mohammedans; the double-pointed Star, symbol of this Revelation—the inner nine for BAHA'O'LLAH, the outer nine for Abdul-Baha, who is the reflection of BAHA'O'LLAH.
"This is a short outline of the Temple."
By the Chairman: "The Bahai teachings are not for seclusion, but appeal to men of affairs. One of the active servants of Abdul-Baha is Mr. William H. Randall."
Mr. Randall said, "I am very happy to be with you in this splendid meeting. A Japanese definition of heaven is, "Nothing given for nothing!" The idea is that we must earn heaven. So rapid are the changes in the world today that even the notion of home life is no longer final. Each nation's business has become the world's business. The races are continually forced to meet each other. Therefore, there must be either brotherhood or Armageddon! Is there no common ground or principle of life that brings peace and harmony? Yes! And in advancing toward it we must value the distinction between personality and individuality. The latter is the creation of God. The first is the work of man. Man weaves himself into the chrysalis of nature, but God releases him on the wings of the spirit. In the individuality, which springs from a common origin, rests the foundation of oneness and the spiritual unity of the human race. To awaken this conception is the work of God.
"The divine origin of the soul of man is not racial. Humanity becomes distinguished because the Holy Spirit enters the human temple and vitalizes it with the breath of God. Thus there is communion of all the souls. Essential relationship is thus established. The present peace is merely a military establishment and therefore not durable. But divine civilization will bring peace.
(Continued on page 85)
O thou STAR OF THE WEST!
Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shall 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 shall become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend upon firmness firmness, firmness!
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.
| Vol. 12 | Azamat 1, 77 (May 17, 1921) | No. 4 |
In No. 2 issue of the present Volume of the STAR OF THE WEST we reproduced, in miniature, the 16 pages of the Star of the East, a new Bahai magazine, published in Tokyo, Japan. In this issue we reproduce in miniature the cover and title page of the Sun of Truth, another new Bahai magazine, published in Stuttgart, Germany; also a reproduction of the cover of the Bahai News, just received from Bombay, India.
We were told by his honor, Jenabe Fazel, that for some time a Bahai magazine or newspaper has been published in Ishkabad, Russia—although we have not received a copy of it. All are acquainted with Reality, now in its third year, published in New York City, and The Children of the Kingdom, published in Boston, for the Bahai Juniors.
It gives the STAR great happiness to mention these new Bahai magazines and we consider it a privilege to be the pioneer among such a galaxy of publications. The Star of the East says that because of the light from the STAR OF THE WEST their magazine shone forth. The Bahai News of Bombay, chooses the very title under which the STAR began—the change of name taking place when beginning its second year. It has always been conducted by the Bahai News Service, and we note that the friends in Bombay have selected this same title for the institution conducting their publication. This is indeed another testimony to the pioneer work of the STAR, which is now in its twelfth year. Although but a young tree it has already brought forth fruit in that magazines with similar titles have come into being.
The message of Abdul-Baha, sent through Mrs. Ella Goodall Cooper, that "a day will come when this paper will be the greatest in the world," together with the evidences above referred to, has caused a new era for the STAR OF THE WEST. At the recent Bahai Convention, held in Chicago, the delegates assembled appointed a Committee to investigate, report and offer suggestions for the development of the STAR to a magnitude worthy of its position in the Bahai firmament. One meeting has
already been held and plans will soon be announced.
The Editors.
NEWS FROM INDIA
(Reprinted from the Bahai News)
The Publication Committee of Bombay has been experiencing some difficulty in corresponding with the various Bahai Centers in Persia, India, Egypt and elsewhere. Of late the bulk of that correspondence has increased to an enormous degree. It is therefor considered desirable that the various assemblies may get news primarily from the Bahai News and with a view to facilitate and expedite the publication of such news, one center in each country, such as Teheran in Persia or Bombay in India or Cairo in Egypt or Chicago in United States of America, be the center both for the incoming news and the outgoing news for
| Vol. I] | March 1921 | [No. I |
(Published every month in the interest of the
Bahai Movement from India.)'Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the fruits of one arbor.
'Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country; Let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.'
Words of BAHA'O'LLAH.
| PAGE | |
The Teachings of Baha'O'llah by Mr. N. R. Vakil | 1 |
The Report of the First All-India Bahai Convention | 2 |
Brief Summary of the Evening Sessions of the Convention | 3 |
Letters circulated among the Bahais of India | 4 |
The News of the Bahai World | 6 |
The Persian Section of the Bahai News | 10-18 |
India—Rs. 3 per year; Ana. 4 per copy. England—5a. per year.
America—1$ per year. Egypt & Syria—25 Qhrush Sagh per year.
Persia—9 Kiran per year. Postage extra.
--PHOTO--
Cover of Bahai News
--PHOTO--
DER
WAHRHEIT| HEFT 1 | MÄRZ 1921 |
Cover of Sun of Truth
--PHOTO--
SONNE DER WAHRHEIT
ORGAN DES DEUTSCHEN BAHAI-BUNDES
Herausgegeben vom Bahai-Verlag, Stuttgart
Verantwortliche Schriftleitung: Alice Schwarz-Solivo, Stuttgart, Alexanderstraße 3
Preis des Einzelheften M. 3.50, Preis des Jahrgangs im Abonnement, vierleljâbri, M. 9.—
| Heft 1 | Stuttgart, im März 1921 | 1. Jahrgang |
Inhalt: Zum Gelelt. — Auszug aus einem Sendschreiben A. B's. — Einführung. — Die wahrhaft Gesegneten. — Abdul Bahá über die Weltschöpfung. — Aus den „Worten der Weisheit“ von Baha'o'llah — Beantwortete Fragen. — Abdul Bahas Ruf. — Wahrheit der Bahailehre. — Ueber die menschliche Seele. — Eine Stimme für den universalen Frieden. — Esperanto. — Das Erstrebenswerte. — Die zwei Religionen. — Soziales.
Die wahre Liebe in all ihren Formen ist die göttliche Kraft, welche die Welt in den Fugen hält. ABDUL BAHA.
(Phelps, S. 174, 136, 119.)
Wahrlich, es erfordert große Weisheit, der Welt die Wahrheit zu bringen.
ABDUL BAHA.
Zum Geleit
Schon lange ist es die Absicht des Bahai-Bundes, zur Verbreitung der Lehren und Prinzipien der Bahai-Religion eine Zeitschrift herauszugeben, die den Leser in die Gedanken der neuen Weltlehre einführen und über deren Entwicklung auf dem Laufenden erhalten soll. Diese Absicht ist erfreulicherweise nun zur 'Ausführung gekommen.
Der derzeitige Führer und Mittelpunkt der Bahaibewegung, Abdul Baha, der Sohn Baha'o'lla's, des Gründers der Bahai-Lehre, hat durch ein besonderes Schreiben seine Zustimmung dazu gegeben und gleichzeilig bestimmt, daß diese Zeitschrift „SONNE DER WAHRHEIT“ heißen soll.*) Sie bietet jedermann die Möglichkeit, sich über die Bahai-Bewegung, die über die ganze Welt verbreitet ist, genau zu unterrichten. Eine neue religiӧse und geistige Epoche findet in derselben ihren Ausdruck. Wir stehen am Beginn eines neuen Zeitalters, das mit Baha'o'llah beginnt, der als großer Gottgesandter Sonne vergleichbar, durch deren Ausstrahlung neues Leben zu keimen beginnt. Abdul Baha ist der reine Spiegel, der die Strahlen dieser Sonne der Wahrheit aufnimmt und sie in die Welt hinaussendet.
Über Abdul Baha's Leben und Wirken ist schon viel geschreiben worden, doch ist es heute noch nicht möglich, ein umfassendes und abgeschlossenes Bild weder seines Wirkens noch des ganzen Umfangs seiner Lehre zu geben: dies wird späteren Zeiten
*) Vergleicht das folgende Sendschreiben.
Title page of Sun of Truth
each country as well as for the communication of news to and from other countries. In this way alone can such a large volume of correspondence be efficiently and economically handled. We hope our correspondents in Persia will kindly take a special note of this, since a great deal of our correspondence at present is with many minor centers of that country. Bombay henceforward will be the only distributing center for all incoming news as well as for outgoing news for the whole of India. Teheran may be another such center for the whole of Persia. This distribution will be effected at first through Bahai News and afterwards if necessary by means of circular letters.
The New Year's Day was celebrated in the Bahai Hall of Bombay on the evening of the 21st March, 1921. More than one hundred Bahai brothers attended and partook of light refreshments and sweetmeats. Rose water and sweets were first distributed. Short speeches were then made for the promotion of the Bahai Cause among the many peoples of India and an appeal was made for the newly born Bahai journal, the Bahai News. Greetings were exchanged among friends and prayers and poems were chanted and a spirit of love prevailed which made the occasion both pleasant and sanctified. It was indeed a sacrament of the servants of God and the lovers of the Lord. A Bahai brother from Jandula (Dera Ismail Khan, Punjab) had sent by telegram the new year greetings and a suitable reply was telegraphed back. It was announced that the ladies' gathering for the celebration of the New Year's Day would be held the next evening. We learn the evening of the 22nd March was a happy evening for the Bahai sisters in Bombay. May the New Year be a happy and a joyous one for all the Bahai sisters and brothers all over the world. Several Persian pilgrims who were on their way to the Holy Land also shared in the rejoicings.
We are glad to be able to announce that our dear brother, Kaushal Kishore Bhargva, who is studying the making of sugar in Glasgow, will visit London and Manchester during his vacation with a view to meeting many Bahai friends in those places and also to give the Message and the glad tidings to many more.
It would interest many friends to know that His Holiness Abdul-Baha was recently on a visit to Tiberias and that the change was a welcome one for the health of His Holiness.
We regret to say that in our March issue we forgot to mention the names of Messrs. A. Rangaswami Iyer and Khusroo Boman Irani as delegates to the First All-India Bahai Convention from Madras and Poona respectively.
Address of JENABI FAZEL, delivered at the Bahai Congress, held in the Auditorium Hotel, Chicago, Monday evening, April 25th, 1921.
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Interpreter.
Stenographically reported.PRAISE be to God we are tonight in a gathering the atmosphere of which one witnesses with spiritual eyes the vibrations of the spirit and in the faces of the audience one sees the glowing joy of heaven. The very air of this meeting is indeed impregnated with the fragrance of the rose-garden of love and amity and the hearts are filled with the desire and the hope of the oneness of the world of humanity.
There is no other discussion more
profitable today than the discussion of universal love, no other ideal conducive to the betterment of the world of mankind than those ideals which bring happiness and joy. This is indeed one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Bahai meetings that when we enter therein we feel their humanity, their love, their happiness. They have no other subject except the subject of love, no other law to put in execution but the law of friendship and whenever and whereever they talk, no matter on what subject, they will always somehow bring it to the conclusion and that conclusion is universal love and universal amity.
In oriental countries whenever the people enter a Bahai meeting or talk with an indivdual Bahai they, after a few moments, realize either consciously or unconsciously that they are amongst the angels of heaven, because these Bahais in all their talks, in all their conversations, have no other aim but this great universal aim of universal love. Is there, indeed, a greater reality in the world of humanity than love? A thousand times no. Love is the spirit of this universe. Love is the cause of the creation of phenomena. Love is the foundation of all our social and ethical activities. God has created His world through love, He has kept it in cohesion through love and He is creating constantly all things through the law of love.
As a person travels from one end of the globe to another, wherever he observes civilization, progress, achievement, development, he realizes that all these things have come through the law of affinity and association, apd whenever he observes destruction, chaos, disorder, he immediately realizes that they have been brought about through hatred, animosity, and internecine war. The progress, the glory, the majesty and the sublimity of the world of humanity are dependent upon love and affinity. Love is the magnet that draws unto man all the favors, all the bounties of God. It is the spiritual electricity that illumines the hearts and the minds of the world of mankind. In brief, love is the panacea for all the diseases of mankind, it is the greatest and the most effective remedy that you can find in the divine pharmacopoeia Love is the seed out of which grows the fruit of justice. Love is the seed out of which develops unity and agreement and personal contact with God. God is love, and He has sent all His prophets to teach love, and all the lessons that they gave to their followers consisted of the lessons of love.
The prophets would not only teach love but with their creative word created love in the hearts of humanity. Through the creation of love, through the emanation of that supernatural power which God had deposited in them they evolved that unity amongst the children of men. When we study the history of the religions, for example, the Mosaic dispensation, and become acquainted with its various historical facts, we come to realize that Moses created love and unity amongst the children of Israel. Similarly Christ, unaided and alone, unfurled the banner of love amongst his disciples, his apostles and his followers. The same illustration is true of the coming of all the other prophets who established the law of love.
Unquestionably when people come together they can bring about the law of love through the ties of the family. They can likewise establish the law of love through scientific achievements. Patriotism is another instrument for bringing about the law of love, but all these various means to realize the law of love are limited and ephemeral. They can be brought to us through certain accidents of life, but the providence of God, the Manifestations of the Almighty came to establish that divine love upon the Rock of Ages which is eternal, everlasting and age abiding.
The foundation of the religions was love and amity. The result, the spirit, the working, the law and the sum total of law given by the prophets has been
no other than the execution of the law of love. It is, however, most regrettable that when these great Manifestations appeared in the world and established the law of love, after a period of time from their departure, out of the dark well of human imaginations and bigotry, smoke and clouds of intolerance and narrowmindedness arose toward heaven and prevented the shining of the Sun of Love. These clouds were the result of the evaporation of the seas of human desires, greed and passion, and they were so impenetrable, so dense that for many ages they kept the Sun of Reality behind their thick veils.
The angel of love left the audience of humanity and on the throne was established the satan of hate. The principles of amity, of fellowship and concord which were the results or the objects of the Manifestations of God, departed from this world and in their place came the policies and the exigencies of human conditions and human notions which were no other than destructive, than humiliating, for that divine nature deposited in the heart of man by the hand of God.
Who were the centers and the mainsprings of these clouds of superstition, this smoke of human imaginations? They were the religious leaders, self-seeking, self-centered men, who had no other thought but to advance their own ideas. They were filled with spiritual pride, they were haughty, they were the satans of their age. and thus they brought into the world all these calamities and catastrophes. No doubt the simple-minded and the simple-hearted, who form the mass of humanity, looked upon these dark clouds as though they contained the heavenly rays, and they looked toward these mirages as though they were the salubrious waters.
These people with their selfish aims and purposes divided the religion of God into so many parts, you might call them butchers. They cut the body of the spiritual religion into so many pieces that no spirit was left in it (laughter). Hence we can assure ourselves without any contradiction that the foundation of religion, the essence of religion, the perfume of religion, was love and amity, and anything aside from these primal laws was the emanation of the egos of these self-seeking leaders. (applause.)
His Holiness, BAHA'O'LLAH, appeared in Persia, and through his dynamic, divine power, polished, cleansed the surfaces of the mirrors of religion from the dust of imagination. The body of religion, which was covered with all these ideas of human notions and traditions, was washed and purified. He taught humanity a most wonderful lesson, and this was that religion is the essence of love, religion is love, and anything beside it is superstition. He unstopped the ears, he opened the eyes, he enlarged the hearts and expanded the souls. He explained that religion is amity, religion is friendship, religion is concord, and if any form of religion brings about hatred, strangeness and alienation amongst men, it is better not to have religion but to have love and amity.
It is perfectly plain that a harmful substance is not good to have around us and it is better to keep ourselves away from it as much as possible. He likewise explained that religion is the remedy, it is the medicine for the diseases of humanity, and if the taking of this medicine aggravates the disease it is better not to take it.
They tell a story in Persia that there was a sick man lying on the bed, and they brought for him a physician. The physician took the pulse, diagnosed the disease, and wrote the prescription. When he went out the nurses came around and began to discuss with one another whether this doctor was an allopath, or a homeopath, or an osteopath, or some other kind of path (laughter) or whether he had diagnosed the disease rightly, whether they should give the patient the medicine when he was sitting in his bed or when he was sitting in his
chair. They talked so much that finally one of them said, "Let me go and find out how the patient is," and when he went there the patient had already passed away, (laughter.)
The religions of God are the medicines, the remedies for the removal of the diseases of humanity, but the followers of these divine physicians instead of taking the medicines that they had prescribed, sit around tables in conventions and conferences and councils, talking about the stations, the sublimity of these great physicians, and they never thought that the time had come for them to take the medicine. Thus His Holiness, BAHA'O'LLAH, has warned us that the age has come in which humanity must avoid all theological wrangles and metaphysical discussions with which the past ages were afflicted, and has revealed to us the quintessence of the religions of the world, which is harmony, love and unity.
When BAHA'O'LLAH, through his heavenly power, manifested to the world of humanity this great truth, immediately the clouds were dispersed and the Sun of Reality shone forth with the utmost brilliancy. He pitched a tent, a tabernacle of unity, on the top of Mount Carmel, in the Holy Land, the branches of which have spread to all parts of the globe. He constructed a home of love in the rooms and the galleries and the chambers of which all the races, all the nations and all the religions may live with the greatest fellowship and association. This is the century of international justice. This is the era of love. This is the cycle of friendship. This is the time in which the power of universal religion must be revealed. This is the hour in which all the children of men must forget their past differences and live peacefully under the tent of universal love, being the members of one family, the stars of one heaven, the fingers of one hand, and the flowers of one rose-garden (applause).
Peace must spring from the heart of love, not the sword. The Temple, when you see it, will tell you what the Bahais think of peace; for the Kingdom is the state of unity within man. It is the embodiment of the teaching of religion and its universal spread. The temple of humanity is again adorned with the message of God, to bring composure to the hearts of the world. It is like the kind and tender mother, who knows that the child needs universal companionship, love, justice and education. A spiritual king, with the commands of teaching and healing, comes! A new book answers the new soul needs of humanity! True religion offers the great spiritual balm to heal the world, removing all misunderstandings.
"God stamped his image and likeness upon all. We must recognize brotherhood and unity. This is made possible by concentration upon the great Collective Center, which is the Bahai way to worship. Come as you are! Whether Jew, Christian, Moslem, or Buddhist, the mantle you wear is of no importance. It is the seeking heart that counts. Welcome to the universal edifice of God!
"Many temples will be built by many people. But our hope is that one million souls with universal hearts will build this temple. It will supply the world consciousness that is needed today. It will furnish room for meeting and consultation through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the path that leads to God—service, brotherhood, love."
Janabe Fazel closed with an address. (See page 62.)
Sunday Evening.
A beautiful and impressive feature of the convention was the children's meeting Sunday evening. Miss Ella Robarts,
editor of the magazine called The Children of the Kingdom, voiced words of greeting and Mrs. Grace Foster, also active in the junior work, presided. An elaborate program was rendered, beginning with the childish voice of Parvene Hagdadi, aged four, chanting, and consisting of songs, recitations of the Hidden Words and Tablets. The message, the Mashreq'ul-Azkar, the Great Bab, the Manifestation and the Center of the Covenant were all reflected in the sweet words flowing from the pure hearts of the children of Chicago, supported by juniors from Kenosha. Hearts were touched by these simple and beautiful expressions of love.
Following these exercises Mr. Saffa Kinny chanted the Hidden Words and Miss Martha Root, by the aid of a stereopticon, presented the picture of Abdul-Baha, and other pictures which told of the personalities and activities of the friends in various parts of the world. Mr. William H. Randall explained the pictures.
Opening Session of the Convention.
A song of praise and chants by Mr. Saffa Kinny and Jenabe Fazel brought an atmosphere for spiritual consultation to the Convention. Mr. Mountfort Mills, called to the chair, described Abdul-Baha as he recently saw him. He said: "Mount Cannel, the home of the Beloved, is a great center of spiritual life. It is hallowed by the footsteps of Jesus and other great Messengers of the past. Abdul-Baha, in one of his beautiful talks, explained that his body was weak after a serious illness; that he must undergo all these hardships that we may have an example and be willing to do the same. I mention this particular talk to show his great manifestation of love for us. He is the expression of God's will to us and he expresses it in the form of love. He is an example of the temple he is building. He says, 'My dwelling is in the hearts. Brick and stone crumble and pass. Material prosperity has no permanency. It is different with the Mashreq'ul-Azkar; for this is a means of uniting the hearts and bringing the friends together. Suffering brings progress and prosperity. I have undergone all these sufferings that the friends may love BAHA'O'LLAH. The only way to love BAHA'O'LLAH is to love one another.'"
During the retirement of the Credentials Committee, Mrs. John Bosch told of her teaching journey to Tahiti, in the Society Islands and about the number of souls in Polynesia now interested in the divine Cause. The queen of Tahiti is among these. Mrs. May Maxwell pictured the greater capacity of Montreal and the increased illumination of all Canada. "General" Jack told of the work in Vancouver and Victoria, B. C. Miss Root related that a prominent spiritualist, with a large circle of followers, had renounced spiritualism and fully accepted the Cause. Mr. Mills dwelt upon the importance of the interracial convention soon to be held in Washington, laying emphasis upon the importance which Abdul-Baha gives to it. Mrs. Parsons reported the progress of the plans for the said convention and Dr. Bagdadi, in a powerful address which stirred, appealed in the name of their common safety, for harmony and good will between the races. The day's session was largely taken up with reports of committees and officials. These related to the material progress of the Mashreq'ul-Azkar.
Monday Evening.
Dr. Pauline Barton-Peeke presided, reading a wonderful Tablet which began, "Truth is the Word of God, which gives life to humanity," and describing the beauties, perfections and brilliancy which shine forth from the Word of God.
Dr. Frederick W. D'Evelyn was the first speaker, bringing greetings from the kindred in San Francisco. "The Bahai Religion," he declared, "is not a religion, but religion itself. It is the summing up. It is not an event for which there has been no herald, but the simple, logical sequence of what has gone before.
Freedom from the tales of the past is the best attitude for the seeker to comprehend the great message, which is commensurate with the needs and maturity of the age. It arises from the Cause of causes and the Reason of reasons. Man must comprehend the realities. Independent investigation brings vision. This is a supreme power given to man which he must use for himself. In the Kingdom of Divinity no substitutes are allowed.
"Identity and quality are one. Truth is quality, but not duality. It is absolute unity. Our relationship to God is one with our relationship to Truth. The Spirit of God is one identity in every respect. It cannot be comprehended, but we may know something about its qualities. All that the learned can do is to demonstrate the existence of an invisible and abstract God. But knowledge of God and existence are not interchangeable terms.
BAHA'O'LLAH says, 'Unless the truth-seeker destroys with the fire of severance the veils which are conventional among the people, he will never comprehend the ideal truth.' The bounty of real truth has no connection with acquired learning. Let us rend asunder the veils, finding the common but subtle inter-position between man and truth.
"What is spiritual life or religion? It is simply the attitude by which society is preserved. When the Sun is dimmed and the Moon ceases to give her light, the cycle is renewed. Taking a backward glance, it becomes apparent that these manifestations have preceded times of great difficulty and disaster. Because their messages are strange, men fail to see them as the Manifestations of God's own commands. 'To the Jew it is a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.' To the Christian it appears as a limitation. But 'Verily. I am God!' is the voice of the Manifestation. This mighty personality is the Temple of God. The attributes of the sun were in the sun before they came to earth. So the qualities were in God before they came to us. Therefore to know the Manifestation is to know God. Prayer is reality, a name for the Manifestation of God. Enter this door of reality! Investigate! The knowledge is yours! Take nothing less than the image and superscription of God! He created us to know Him. Faith and trust in Him will overpower all the sciences and metaphysics of the day. It is the soul of man that takes the flight, proving the call and attaining the station."
["The Oneness of Mankind" was the subject of the splendid address by Mr. Louis G. Gregory, the writer of this article. His modesty gives us an opportunity to express this brief ivord of appreciation.—The Editors.]
The address of Janabe Fazel followed. (See page 82.)
Convention—Tuesday Morning.
Janabe Fazel said: "Many problems are to be discussed in a short time. Praise be to God, that the delegates are all in a spirit of love and amity, and all deliberations will be in that spirit. The Mashreq'ul-Azkar, teaching, and publications are some of the matters to be considered. The confirmations of Abdul-Baha are with these sincere souls. Abdul-Baha says, 'Forget personal likes and dislikes. The Holy Spirit will descend upon thee and the wings of light be given, so that you may soar in the atmosphere of reality.' My advice is to turn all hearts to Abdul-Baha and to supplicate for perfect unity.
"Upon my arrival in America last year it was my joy to enter the Convention and to feel the spirituality of the friends. Now, after twelve months, I expect to find you in even a greater degree of love and unity. During my extensive tour the Mashreq'ul-Azkar has been found to be one of the greatest teachers of the Cause of BAHA'O'LLAH. Whenever presented to an audience, innumerable souls rushed to the platform and said they had read about it. Now that the model is selected, ways and
means for its construction is the next important problem. I hope these delegates will have a new vision.
"Another important matter is teaching. Still another is publication. Later I will speak. Now my prayer is for your success and prosperity."
The work of the Convention was expedited by the report of the Agenda Committee, Mr. George Lattimer, chairman. The following matters were reported for consideration: Proposed reincorporation of the unity, ratification of contracts, Bahai Calendar, Education in the Orient, memorial to Mirza Abul Fazl, Ideas Committee, Star of the West, Bahai Publishing Society, Reality Magazine, permanent committees, teaching committe, committee on nominations, finance for the Mashreq'ul-Azkar.
A letter from Mr. Charles Mason Remey was read to the Convention. It pertained to the Mashreq'ul-Azkar and the entire morning session was almost given over to matters called up by its consideration. At the conclusion, by a unanimous vote, the secretary of the convention was instructed to express, by letter, its thanks to our absent brother. Mrs. May Maxwell and Mr. Roy Williams eloquently dwelt upon the inviolability and power of the Word.
Convention—Tuesday Afternoon
Janabe Fazel spoke: "It is self-evident that teaching is most important. As we read the Tablets, though they are but two lines, we feel the urge to teach and spread the Word. The only means of spiritualizing and changing the hearts is teaching. As we travelled, we felt the necessity of teaching and sending out teachers, so as to convey the truth. The people hastened after us like men hungry and thirsty. I cannot forget one instance, where an audience encircled us, insisting that another teacher be sent. The example of the teacher is like unto farmers who go through the grounds to scatter the seeds. If the seeds which are sown are not irrigated, they will dry up. It is therefore necessary to continue irrigating the field of the hearts.
"In Persia they plant the teachings in such a methodical manner that it may be compared to the work of a clock. One teacher follows another at regular intervals. The fields are thus irrigated with the Water of Life. The efforts of the teachers do not go to waste. If your committee takes this as an example and adopts the follow-up plan, the results will be glorious.
"Man is always attracted to the new. If the same teacher remains in the same place the people tire. A better effect is produced by traveling. Materials are also necessary for building. The Bahai teachings are the instruments and channels for universal peace. The Bahais are the instruments. All the affairs should be correlated with the utmost perfection, those who can teach, giving a part of their time, or all should be known. There will be a great harvest from these efforts. It is encumbent upon all to teach; but teachers must be informed.
"We do not, in Persia, have public meetings. Teachers come in contact with small groups, so they are quick to learn individuals and how to attract them. This is wise, so as to avoid giving spiritual indigestion. In this country there are various schools of thought and many walks of life. So it is more difficult for the teacher to adapt himself to the universal needs. So there is great responsibility for the teaching committee and I hope that through their efforts a great spiritual conflagration will sweep the United States."
Tuesday Evening.
Mrs. Louise D. Boyle, presiding, read from the Creative Word:
"Praise be to Thee, O God of Names and Creator of heaven. Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast made known unto Thy servants Thy Day, wherein the River of Life streamed forth from the finger of Thy Generosity and the Fountain of Revelation and Unity became
manifest by Thy Manifestation to all who are in Thy earth and heaven.
"O God! This is a Day, the Light of which Thou hast sanctified above the sun and its effulgence. I testify that this Day is illumined by the Light of Thy Face and by the effulgence of the dawning Lights of Thy Manifestation."
"O my servants! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must bear fresh and beautiful fruits, that we and others may be profited by them. Therefore it is necessary for you to engage in arts and business. This is the means of attaining wealth, O ye possessors of intellect. Affairs depend upon means, and the blessing of God will appear therein and will enrich you. Fruitless trees have been and will be fit only for fire."
The chairman, introducing Mr. Alfred E. Lunt, said:
"There is a cry for social justice. Some new adjustment of the economic situation is necessary. Through the application of the Bahai principles there will be 'not warfare, but perfect welfare.'"
Mr. Lunt in part said: "The problem today is as truly universal as any material problem can ever become, because all are in need of food and shelter. Under the feudalism of the middle ages, humanity was in a grasp so unyielding that apparently nothing could unloose it. Much worse was it than modern slavery. It was accepted as a necessity of existence. But even today there are many thousands who utter the cry of despair: 'Let me die! Let me die!' This is the feeling of vast masses of people placed in a degradation which even the brute does not experience. This is the operation of that inexorable law of nature which knows no mercy.
"But now, through the influx of divine justice, humanity has sought freedom from this cruel law. But much of disaster yet remains. The attitude of some elements of humanity toward others is comparable to the wolf thnt destroys his kind or the devil fish that shows malice toward its own. Among men, the rule of the law of the survival of the fittest illustrates this unhappy state. Human laws fail, for rules relating to the contingent world do not apply to the true world of man. A king once divided equally all the property of his realm, in the hope that his subjects would enjoy perfect freedom. The efforts failed, because he tried to get results on the human plane, without relying on the power that attracts the hearts. Under the operation of the divine law the poor are exempted from burdensome taxes. Inheritance taxes and profit-sharing also lighten the burdens of humanity by a more equitable distribution of wealth. The divine Kingdom inaugurates the sway of love. Each attracted soul is like a lamp with the oil and wick. The oil is dark and cold and the wick, is deep in the lamp. But when it is touched by the flame it becomes bright and luminous. So touched by the flame of Divinity, man realizes that spiritual brotherhood for which he was created."
Janabe Fazel spoke on the conformity of science and religion—the universal education of the future.
Convention—Wednesday Morning.
Janabe Fazel said in part, "Unity is the favorite theme of Abdul-Baha. The unity and fragrance of this Convention will bring joy to his heart. The work of education in the Orient is progressing. I wish to express gratitude and appreciation to the American friends for their aid. The Mashreq'ul-Azkar at Hamadan, Persia, seats one thousand. The friends sit on the floor in Oriental fashion. They conduct a school, a store and public bath. The store helps the revenues of the school. In that city there are many thousands of Jews and the Bahai Jews are numerous. The tie of universal brotherhood is strengthened by their knowledge that there are friends beyond the seas who are thinking of them. On festal occasions the children who are helped by friends here are called
'the children of the American Bahais.'"
The new Temple Unity Board elected follows: Mountfort Mills, Alfred E. Lunt, William H. Randall, Roy C. Wilhelm, Mrs. Corinne True, Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi, Mrs. Louise D. Boyle, George O. Latimer, Charles Mason Remey.
The new National Teaching Committee :
Honorary Member—Janabe Fazel.
Representing the Northeastern States—William H. Randall, Mabry C. Oglesby, Saffa Kinney, Roy C. Wilhelm.
Southern States—Mrs. A. S. Parsons, Mrs. Mariam Haney, Mrs. Delia Murphy, Louis G. Gregory.
Middle States—Mrs. Annie L. Parmerton, Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi, Carl Scheffler.
Western States—Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Mrs. Ella G. Cooper, Mrs. Elizabeth Clark, George O. Latimer.
Canada—Mrs. May Maxwell, Mrs. Laura Luther, Miss Marion Jack, J. H. Hougen.
Wednesday Evening.
Mrs. Grace Krug presided and told many beautiful things about the life of Abdul-Baha, whom she saw on her recent pilgrimage. She said he had given a definition of religion as love in action, that attitude toward God which reflects itself in our attitude toward man.
She read: "O son of man! Lift up thy heart with delight, that thou mayest be fitted to meet Me to mirror forth My Beauty."
Mr. Albert R. Vail, with his usual charm, spoke on the essential necessity of the Confirmation of the Holy Spirit:
"It is the day of universal consciousness, and people, whether they live North, South, East or West, can see the light and feel the heat of the luminous Sun of Truth. It is the dawn of the oneness of the world of humanity and of universal peace. BAHA'O'LLAH, fifty or sixty years ago, called all nations to become one nation. He proclaimed universal education, to be supplied by the state; a universal language; equality of men and women, the sign of love gradually penetrating the hearts and the victory of truth and justice.
"The disciples of Jesus had no success until they received the baptism which Jesus promised them. Then all spoke one language. It was the tongue of those who can feel, the music of those who can hear, the spirit of those who can love. It was the outpouring of divine wisdom and love. The greatest turning point in the world's history is now. It is the springtime, when all religious and sects come together in the world's peace. This great peace is preceded by confusion, revolution, upsetting of old systems and forms. But through it all the radiance of divine love bears down upon the world. It brings new virtues, new poets, new arts, a new creation. As Abdul-Baha says, 'the realities of all things move and quiver!'
"The flower that faces the sun receives its full beauty; but if it lets something overshadow it, there will be a deprivation of this bounty. The world's history is written in the springtime of these divine appearances. And now is the greatest springtime, which will make all religions one.
"Philosophers do not make people better. Even the greatest of them, such as Plato and Marcus Aurelius, were powerless to change people's characters. What is needed to improve the world is the power of the Holy Spirit. The Prophets of God, without human means, wealth, education, or power, flood the world with light and transform humanity. BAHA'O'LLAH proclaimed universal principles and lived them. He lived love and sacrifice and became more and more radiant. Abdul-Baha reflects that Divine Spirit with the same brilliancy and penetration. It is this power that makes skeptics become believers; doubtful souls have faith; the aged renew their youth; the simple become wise and liars become truthful. It is the dynamic force of the universal religion and the Most Great Peace."
Mrs. May Scheffler and Mr. Albert R. Windust sang a duet.
Mrs. Corinne True, on the Temple of Universal Praise, was the next speaker: "In this temple, God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. It is not that we are to turn away from the great Prophets of the past, but we are to turn toward the Light of the Day of God. It is the realization of the blessed hope and the fulfillment of the great promises which Jesus gave to his disciples. The 'time, times and a half' recorded in the prophecies brought, with its maturity, the declaration of the Bab. Afterward, in due time, came the mighty voice of BAHA'O'LLAH. After the dawn many clouds arose. After the sunshine came many storms. But now we are building the Mashreq'ul Azkar, to fell the people that the Great Day has come. It is the day of wonderful peace and love.
"Abdul-Baha says, 'It is in the Orient that peace is born; but in the Occident it is put into action in a practical way.' The oneness of God and the oneness of humanity must go together. For there are not two Gods, but only one.
"Abdul-Baha says, 'The gates of the temple will be flung wide open to mankind, prejudice toward none, love for all. The central building will be devoted to the purposes of prayer and worship. Thus for the first time religion will become harmonized with science, and science will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their material and spiritual gifts upon all humanity.'"
Janabe Fazel was the last speaker.
Convention—Thursday Morning.
Janabe Fazel said, "Let it be understood that the cause has many branches of service. One is as important as another, for each supports the others and contributes to the life of the whole. The body of the Cause is like the body of a man. Nose, eyes, hands and feet must all be cared for. If a man bandage his eyes the other members will suffer. Consideration and importance must be given to all. Let misunderstanding be entirely removed.
"In Persia there is a central committee to which funds go and from which they are distributed to all the different activities. There is, under the direction of that central committee, a complete impartial distribution of funds. Means are given to carry on the various branches of the Cause. One branch is education. There being no public schools, the Bahais see to the scientific and moral education of their children. Another committee is for charity, helping the poor and aged and those disabled. This committee is constantly at work and is informed about the condition of the unfortunate. The third committee is for teaching. Its members are very busy finding the efficient teachers and directing them. Bahais in Persia give more importance to the teaching committee. The teachers are well informed and set an example of self-sacrifice to all the other promoters of the Word of God. Teachers have a club among themselves to exchange views and experiences they have gained in travel, thus gaining much information. Sometimes the treasury is empty and the friends put their wits together to fill it. After the war there was much proverty and suffering. A relief committee was organized. The spiritual assembly of Teheran issued circulars to all parts. Provisions were sent in from all directions. Although in the famine one hundred thousand people died, not one Bahai perished. Professor Jackson of Columbia University, during a journey in Persia, visited the storehouse built by the Bahais.
"Some of the friends write moral plays to entertain and teach people. Really they do two things by these plays, teach and raise money. One of these plays showed the ancient educational system of Persia, and in contrast, the improvements now made by BAHA'O'LLAH. Thus thoughts and character are developed. Another play portrayed the characters of the mullahs, always gathering up money. It created much opposition among the mullahs, who suppressed it.
"I hope that you who have come together here, after consultation, will develop many plans, so that when you go away you may raise funds for the advancement of the cause."
Mrs. Mariam Haney briefly told how the work of the teaching committee was tremendously enlarged, and how through the circulation of the Bulletin and other activities, appeals for teachers, often pathetic, were coming from many directions. The volume of correspondence was very large.
Mr. Randall, reporting for the teaching committee, said he was very happy to have the Convention support the view of that committee, that there was harmony between the Mashreq'ul-Azkar and the teaching work. They were two actions of one heart and one supported the other. The Bulletin, as a teacher, showed no division in purpose.
Dr. Bagdadi quoted Abdul-Baha as dwelling upon the importance of giving solid arguments and proofs in support of the message. Bahais are perfect and convinced, but they must make others perfect and themselves must be convincing. Teachers are of two kinds, those who give all their time to the work and those who give a part of their time. The first group must first prepare the means for their expenses and living so that when they travel their minds will be free from worry. If a person cannot go himself, but defrays the expenses of another, that is praiseworthy. If a teacher is free from asking anybody's aid, his sanctified breath will penetrate. Abdul-Baha refused a large sum sent to him when about to enter this country, offered by friends here. He said, "I have my expenses." This refusal made some souls sad, but there was a wisdom in it. When in Europe he was so pressed for funds that he could eat only bread and vegetables. Yet he paid £150 for the expenses of a student and £500 to one of his secretaries. Such is the standard of severance for the teachers. The doctor cautioned the friends against writing unnecessary letters to Abdul-Baha, whose correspondence is enormous. He called attention to the Bahai Girls' School to be erected on Mt. Carmel and how noble it is to help in this work.
Mrs. Parsons quoted Rouha Khanum, one of the daughters of Abdul-Baha as saying that it distressed Abdul-Baha not to be able to answer all the letters of the friends. If a number of persons were to unite on the same question, it would be much better than for many persons in numerous letters to ask the same question.
Mrs. Mary Lesch transferred to the Convention on terms satisfactory to all, the interests of the Bahai Publishing Society, thus safeguarding this splendid institution.
Dr. Maxwell-Rider, spoke of the possibilities of moving pictures as a means of presenting the Cause to the world.
Mr. Windust presented the matter of the STAR OF THE WEST, and the necessity of its receiving the support of all the friends in order to grow.
Mr. Oglesby reported the text of a cable sent by the Convention to Abdul-Baha, supplicating divine assistance.
Mr. Gilligan spoke interestingly of prison work as a large and inviting field for Bahai activity.
Mrs. Marjorie Morton made an eloquent plea for the women of the Orient, whose lives of exclusion and repression made them the real martyrs of today.
Mrs. Boyle and Mr. Vail explained the needs of the School of Tarbiat, the latter paying a touching tribute to the late Miss Lillian Kappes. Funds for the support of scholarships in this school can be sent to Mrs. E. R. Boyle, The Hadleigh, Washington, D. C.
The reading of a Tablet of Abdul-Baha to American friends closed the Convention. His divine and holy love is the light of consultation and the boundless treasury of the friends.
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MARTYRS and PRISONERS
IN PERSIA 1896.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:—
MIRZA WARGHA; HIS SON ROUH'U'LLAH, (The Martyrs). Mirza HUSSEIN- ZANJANI. HADJI IMANI.
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