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| VOLUME 13 | OCTOBER, 1922 | No. 7 |
| CONTENTS FOR OCTOBER, 1922. | ||
| Frontispiece. | PAGE | |
The Universal Language of the Spirit | 163 | |
The Spirit of Abdul Baha. Part II | By Horace Holley | 165 |
From the Diary of Ahmad Sohrab, II | 171 | |
Peace for War | By James Howard Kehler | 174 |
The Need for Education of Women in the Near East | By Genevieve L. Coy | 177 |
The Wisdom of the Apostles | 180 | |
Vision. A Poem | By Garreta Helen Busey | 181 |
Ios, The Shepherd Boy | 181 | |
The Bahai Cause and the Chinese People | 184 | |
The Morn of Unity | From the Words of Abdul Baha | 186 |
Bahai Notes | 187 | |
Bahai Ideals of Education | 189 | |
A New Book | 189 | |
Persian Section | 191 | |
Published monthly by the Bahai Temple Unity
Subscriptions: $3.00 per year; 25 cents a copy
Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year
Bahai Publishing Society, Room 450, 508 South Dearborn St.
Chicago, Illinois, U. S. A.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103.
Act of October 3, 1917, authorized September 1, 1922.
--PHOTO--
A universal house of worship open to all sects and religions in the spirit of universal brotherhood and dedicated to the oneness of God and the oneness of mankind; now being built at Sheridan Road and Linden Avenue, just north of Chicago, by those in all parts of the world who are working for universal religion, brotherhood and peace. Contributions are coming from all parts of America and Europe. They are also being sent from Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Persia, India, Australia and Japan. Mirza Hadi, the father of Shoghi Effendi, writes that a sum of nearly three hundred pounds has been recently sent from Haifa and Acca although most of the friends there are without work. As Abdul Bahá has said: "Such an event has never been witnessed by man that from the farthermost country of Asia contributions were forwarded to the farthermost country of America.... This is through the bounty and providence of the Blessed Perfection, the assistance and confirmation of the Sun of Truth and the victory and triumph of the Luminary of Effulgence who has united so marvelously the regions of the world together." "Truly, I say, the friends of God displayed wonderful generosity in regard to the contributions for the Mashreq-Ul-Azkar. They displayed magnanimity at any cost to such an extent that some of them sold portions of their clothing on the street. This is through the power of the Covenant of God."
OCTOBER, 1922
THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF THE SPIRITTALK given by Abdul Bahá in his home at Haifa, Palestine, November 19, 1921 at the regular six o'clock evening meeting called "The Persian Meeting." Mr. John D. Bosch of Geyserville, California, was the only occidental present among the sixty friends who met at this time, just nine days before the passing away of Abdul Baha. In fact, this was the last public talk given by Abdul Bahá in the Persian meeting when an occidental attended. Interpreted by Mirza Mohammed Ali Afnan. Taken down in Persian by Dr. Lotfullah Hakim.
Abdul Bahá opened the meeting by saying to Mr. Bosch:
"Although you are here with these assembled friends and cannot speak with them nor they with you, yet you can speak with one another through the heart. The language of the heart is even more expressive than the language of the tongue and is more truthful and has a wider reach and a more potent effect."
Mr. Bosch said: "This is a wonderful spiritual experience—to be here with the friends."
Abdul Bahá then said: "When lovers meet it may be that they cannot exchange a single word, yet with their hearts they speak to one another. Thus do the clouds speak to the earth and the rain comes down; the breeze whispers to the trees; the sun speaks to the eyes of men. Although this is not actual speech yet this is the way in which the hearts of the friends talk together. It is the harmony between two persons, and this harmony is of the hearts. For instance, you were in America and I was in the Holy Land. Although our lips were still yet with our hearts we were conversing together. The friends here love you very much. They have a real attachment for you although with the tongue they cannot express it."
Mr. Bosch said: "I am very glad. I love them too."
Abdul Bahá then said: "If this love is real and true, if it is from the heart it will characterize itself by self-sacrifice. When the attachment is superficial friends do not sacrifice themselves even to the extent of a hair's breadth.
"His holiness the Christ loved both his disciples and believers to such an extent that he sacrificed his life for them. His holiness the Supreme (the Bab), loved the friends to such an extent that he gave his life for them. The Blessed Beauty (Baha 'Ullah) loved the friends so much that for their sakes he accepted a thousand difficulties and afflictions. Four times he was exiled. He was banished from one place to another.
His properties were confiscated. He gave all—his family, his relatives, his possessions. He accepted imprisonment, chains and fetters. His holy person was imprisoned in the fortress of Acca until the last moment of his life. He was made to suffer more calamities, afflictions and difficulties than could be enumerated. He had not an moment's rest. He had not an hour's comfort. He was continually under the greatest hardships and ordeals. What great persecutions he endured from his enemies! What great afflictions he bore from his own relatives! He accepted all these trials for our sakes so that he might educate us, so that he might make us illumined, so that he might make us heavenly, so that he might change our character, change our lives, so that he might illumine our inmost self. All these troubles he accepted for our sakes. He did indeed sacrifice his life for us. This love is the real love. This is the inner attachment and the genuine friendship. This is the love which sacrifices one's all, one's life. This is the reality of love. He accepted all these troubles.
"All this cannot be accomplished by merely talking. It cannot be done by saying, 'I love you,' or, 'How is your health,' or, 'You are my beloved,' or, 'You are esteemed.' This is not love. This is an attachment that will break in the testing. This is why one sees persons associating with one another, appearing to be enwrapped with one another. Each seems to sacrifice himself for the other. But when they part they become as strangers. This is human love. It is not spiritual love; it is not divine love; it has no real foundation and in the time of testing it will fall and disappear.
"If you should go to Persia and mingle with the friends there and should be in the house of any one of the friends, and people should come in to take you to kill you, you would then witness how the owner of the house would sacrifice himself for you. He would sacrifice himself for you rather than allow even one hair of your head to be hurt. This is love! It has happened often in Persia that the friends have sacrificed themselves for one another. This has happened many times. This love is the love of God.
"The King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs were two souls who were greatly honored among the people. They were very wealthy. They were extremely comfortable. The people pillaged all their property. They put them in chains. They put them in prison. The Shah of Persia decreed that they should be killed; that they should either deny their faith or be killed. The notables came to them and advised them to renounce their faith. The friends came and advised them; even the government advised them to recant so that they might save their lives. But they would not deny. They continued to cry aloud, 'Ya Bahá el Abha!' (O, Thou Glory of the Most Glorious!) And so they were martyred.
"This is the love of God! This is the love of the heart! This is divine love!"
BY HORACE HOLLEY
PART II.NOW, while wisdom is essentially a state of being, and only secondarily becomes an expression of principles, and wisdom cannot be comprehended in any one principle alone but only in the meeting of all principles in their source and cause, nevertheless, with respect to the world's capacity and requirements, Abdul Bahá in many tablets and addresses gave importance to certain definite principles which are consequently his characteristic impression upon the minds of the age.
Foremost among Abdul Baha's principles is that of the independent investigation of truth.
A key to this principle may be found in Abdul Baha's use of the word "imitation" where we would use such words as "superstition" or "prejudice" or "ignorance." Looking upon the minds, Abdul Bahá perceived them as merely imitating one another and the past, like those prisoners who are chained one to another in rows. For the Christian is born a Christian, and merely reflects the prevailing tradition in which he lives. The German or Frenchman is born to his nationality, and imitates in thought and action the necessities to which nationality has ever in the past given rise. Few people ever stand apart from their mental and moral environment and test its standards by any universal truth. What most of us consider "thought" is merely an adapting of the common thinking to our personal advantage. The savage obeys the law of the jungle, and we obey no less blindly the customs of our own day; and consequently, so far as true self-realization is concerned, we are merely that same savage reborn to a jungle of men rather than a jungle of beasts. The spiritual consequences of this only become apparent when we reflect that while none of us would intentionally commit murder, we have made governments machinery for murder on the largest scale; and while none of us would starve the orphan or oppress the widow, we willingly grow rich upon the starvations that competitive industry commits day by day. For we make our swiftly fleeting powers serve that which is also fleeting, and so at the last we have created nothing which is able to endure. True independent investigation of reality leads to the investigation of our own being, and independence of self as passion and desire is the supreme independence.
Another of Abdul Baha's principles is that of the oneness of man-kind. All that Abdul Bahá expressed through utterance or action, he expressed from the positive and steadfast realization that mankind, in its origin and its end, is one spiritual Man, whose atoms, so to speak, we are, and that one ray of the divine Self, and not many selves, sustains the spirit within the many souls. Today, as we see and feel the immediate inter-action of events and conditions throughout the world, and how no portion of humanity is independent of any
other portion, we begin to realize something of the significance of this Bahai teaching. Thus for the first time, one undeviating standard is available for the guidance of religions, governments, industries, education, science and art alike, and that standard is the promotion of the oneness of mankind. Whatever promotes unity is of the universal cause, and will prove fruitful and enduring; but whatever prevents unity is of the limited effects, and will be rejected by the Holy Spirit whose action is predominant over all.
Another principle expressed by Abdul Baha is that the foundation of all religions is one. For by "foundation" Abdul Bahá means the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, from which all the religions originally came. The Holy Spirit is at all times one, though like the spring season it comes and goes, for the Holy Spirit is the expression of the will of God, and God is not divided against Himself, but the people of the world are divided. It is this division of the people which causes differences in the effects of the Holy Spirit from age to age, for the Holy Spirit is perfect and complete in itself, but enters the world of humanity only according to the capacity of the time. It is an inexhaustible ocean, while the people are but small vessels that quickly overflow. Thus Moses, Christ, Mohammed, Buddha seem different beings and founders of different religions; but we see them in the mirror of the world's division and not in the light of the Holy Spirit. In that light they are one being, one essence, one cause, one power and one foundation; and whatever they uttered is the reality, which we have seized and divided (interpreted) for our own gain, as the soldiers seized and divided the garments of Jesus. Abdul Bahá has said that when representatives of all the world's religions have gathered for a sincere investigation of the foundation of religion, this will become manifest and all the secondary, man-made features of religion will utterly disappear.
Abdul Bahá himself made no distinction between Jew or Christian, Hindu or Mohammedan. To all alike his spirit gave of its inspiration, and the acceptance or rejection of his ideal of unity was not of the creed but of the soul.
A fourth principle which Abdul Baha enunciated was that religion must be in accord with science and reason.
Now a person who is sick is limited by that sickness both physically and mentally, and he himself cannot overcome those limitations except by attaining health. In the same way there are limitations which fall upon the understanding from sickness of soul. It is spiritual sickness which permits a man to possess a religion at all contrary to science and reason. He may not realize these limitations, but that is part of the disease. These limitations shut out the ray of the spirit, as a wall shuts out the sun. So long as he remains in this condition, the spirit shows forth only its destructive power. Thus irrational religion does not and cannot become truly predominant in human affairs. Even the fanatic does not follow out his religion in all things, but his self-interest or self-gratification is served in devious ways. Without the Holy Spirit a religion cannot awaken the souls, but the irrational religion gains influence over material affairs through being itself material.
But this principle is binding upon science no less than upon religion. Abdul Bahá summons the man of science to spiritual religion as he summons the man of religion to an appreciation of science. If in a laboratory, by means of certain elements, an important experiment could be carried out and thereby great human benefits obtained, what would we think of the person who, though refusing to enter the laboratory, nevertheless denied the possibility of the experiment? Yet modern science for
the most part takes this very attitude toward religion. For the founders of all religions have indicated the elements and principles for the development of spirituality, and the people of science deny the essence of spirituality while refusing to enter the laboratory of infinity in their own souls.
As a matter of fact, while irrational religion and materialistic science seem outwardly opposed, inwardly they are equally conditions of being that manifest the absence of the Holy Spirit. Both are plants confined in darkness, and both are ships deprived of sails. Where the Holy Spirit obtains, the very words "science" and "religion" are left behind, for there is but one Reality, though this can be cognized by the several faculties on the several planes.
Abdul Bahá has also expressed as an organic, universal principle the equality of men and women. Now man and woman are the dual, inter-acting forces produced from the one unity, life, which still controls their duality so that it cannot ever quite become separateness.
Physical separateness only the more closely binds the bodies of imagination and desire. Man in nature realizes himself by contrast with woman, and woman in nature realizes herself by contrast with man. Thus any extreme development in one produces an extreme development in the other, so that an equilibrium of thought and emotion is always maintained. The combative type of man tends to produce the dependent, undeveloped woman, and the dependent, undeveloped woman tends to produce the combative type of man. In the same manner, the materialistic business man tends to produce the woman parasite, and the reverse is also true. For man in nature sees himself by reflection in woman, and woman in nature sees herself by reflection in man. Thus any imperfection in one is conveyed to the other, whence it returns augmented, and so on without end. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can create the one perfect mirror of reality for these imperfect images of being; for the Holy Spirit turns will and desire upward to a body of consciousness where sex does not exist. In this age, as the spiritual reality becomes more and more evident, the negative and disastrous influences of sex—that is, sex as the end of will and the aim of desire—steadily diminishes; and this is the cause of the freedom of women in this age. Were we conscious of the inner significances of being, we should behold in the freedom of women one of the most obvious evidences of the presence of the Holy Spirit in human affairs, and an evidence of inestimable importance. Without the true freedom of woman there can be no end of war and ignorance and disease, for only by the freedom of woman can man likewise become free.
Another principle laid down by Abdul Baha is that of the solution of the economic problem. The solution of the economic problem Abdul Bahá has declared to be a distinctive characteristic of religion in its universal aspect; for no human power or alliance of powers hitherto has been able to work a solution.
Now by the fear that lies in poverty, either actual or prospective, the human soul is ever turned downward into nature, where the predominant law is the struggle for existence; and becoming imbued with this law, and captive to it, the soul's struggles only the more heavily burdens its own chains. For the struggle for existence sets off the powers of one soul against the powers of another, and this mutual division of powers is mutual defeat. Thus in this day the sciences and inventions which shadow forth a universal order, and dumbly signify the existence of a reality whose law is cooperation, through perversion have become the greatest menace to the very existence of mankind.
"The disease which afflicts the body politic is lack of love and absence of altruism," said Abdul Bahá in New
York City ten years ago. "In the hearts of men no real love is found, and the condition is such that unless their susceptibilities are awakened by some power so that unity, love and accord develop within them, there can be no healing, no relief among mankind."
A close study of this aspect of Abdul Baha's teaching indicates certain fundamental elements as conditional to the solution of the economic problem. One of these elements is the universal obligation of useful labor. Consider how idleness is condemned by physiologist and psychologist today, no less vigorously than by the moralist and the student of economies. Wealth does not exempt any human being from the consequences of idleness or even misdirected activity. These consequences are ill health of mind as well as body, and that disordered condition whose ultimate end is impotence or insanity. Moreover, in avoiding useful labor, the privileged classes and their parasites have deprived themselves of the very capacity for labor, while increasing that capacity in those who cannot or will not avoid work. In this condition we may see perhaps one meaning of Christ saying: "The meek shall inherit the earth."
But Abdul Bahá has also stated that useful labor, performed in the spirit of service and with the ideal of perfection, is accounted an act of worship and a form of prayer. Now prayer and worship, in their true signification, are not cries for assistance, nor requests for a gift, nor yet taxes paid to a spiritual overseer, but are expressions of gratitude for the supreme gift of life in the spirit that knows no death. This is the motive that Abdul Beha declares should actuate our daily labor. Moreover, work performed with that motive is creative work, and creativeness is the nature of God, so that it is the worker who shows forth the divine image and likeness on this plane. But consider how many changes must take place in the industrial world before this creative sense can be generally expressed, and before labor is surrounded by those conditions which this conception of labor demands! Nevertheless, even this shall be; for the Holy Spirit is destroying mightily all that intervenes between man and his own reality.
Implicit in this conception of the spiritual value of useful labor, is Abdul Baha's teaching that the present wage system must be extended so as to include participation in the profits of industry. For it is evident that the essential purpose of industry is not to produce goods, but to maintain life—and maintain life on the plane of human dignity and refinement. The act of producing goods must therefore coincide, in purpose and result, with the act of ennobling and freeing the producers themselves. This is impossible under present conditions, but perfectly possible when industry is managed by the social engineer in place of the financial expert.
Another fundamental element is that of the voluntary sharing of wealth.
Reflect how those who possess other forms of wealth—physical, mental, moral and spiritual—have ever obeyed this universal and wonderful law. Thus those who share their physical strength with the weak; those who strive incessantly to increase the commonwealth of beauty and of truth; those who devote their lives to the realization of greater political justice; and, above all, those who give love to whosoever are deprived. All the love, beauty, truth, justice and science we have on earth are the result of a voluntary sharing of wealth—a divine principle whose veils grow darker and darker as we approach the lowest degree of wealth, which is gold. But were we to estimate the sum total of all the taxes paid to any government within the past fifty years, and regard this total as being wealth forcibly rather than voluntarily shared, we can perceive how disastrously extravagant material selfishness is, even on its own plane. For
a fraction of that sum total, given in the spirit of unity, would have obviated most of those expenses by which taxes are consumed, while in addition increasing vastly the means of producing more wealth by all and for all. Abdul Baha is he who has voluntarily shared wealth in all its forms and degrees, and this spirit is silently but rapidly leavening the world.
Thus when it is more clearly realized how disastrous separateness is, particularly in the larger fields of politics and industry, we shall behold unparalleled examples of self-sacrifice among the great and the small alike; and this essential condition having been fulfilled, relief and comfort will result. For the more powerful arts and sciences are not yet in manifestation, being withheld in the treasury of the spiritual kingdom, which can never be exhausted. Meanwhile, wealth is being forced from those who will not share it, and the old world is everywhere passing away. Yet far from condemning wealth, Abdul Baha makes its attainment through useful labor a specific advice; but the object of its possession is the promotion of the unity of mankind. By considering wealth as a talent on the material plane, the principle becomes clear. It is not the inequality of talents or possessions which produces injustice, but the spirit of separateness, in the poor as well as the rich, in the ignorant as well as in the learned. Inequality is the essential foundation of love, for no one can stand alone.
Another principle strongly emphasized by Abdul Bahá is the establishment of an international auxiliary language.
As the nervous system is one throughout the body, and coordinates all the organs and limbs, so the body of humanity requires one universal language and writing to be learned by all people in addition to the mother tongue, which shall serve to interpret the needs, unite the interests and consolidate the purposes; and multi-language is the paralysis of the body of mankind. Those who have concern for human welfare and progress will surely give this subject the attention it deserves.
But the principle by which Abdul Baha is most widely known, and for which he has been most extensively quoted, is that of universal peace. The assurance that this is the century of universal peace, the age of the elimination of warfare, the day of the most mighty moving of the spiritual waves and the full illumination of the sun of righteousness—this assurance is Abdul Baha's steadfast covenant with those who follow him.
Today, the disaster of warfare is a net thrown over the whole of humanity, like the net thrown over a gladiator about to be slain. None can emerge from this net until all emerge. But the very fact that there is no escape for one save through escape for all, and the overwhelming danger of the present situation, brings the consciousness of the oneness of humanity nearer day by day. Therefore this enveloping calamity is a result of the presence of the universal Holy Spirit—feared as a net of death by those who view it with personal eyes, yet seen to be a garment of divine protection by those who view all things in their spiritual light.
For the effort to avoid universal warfare is binding the minds and hearts of those who have been separate during all of history's ten thousand years. It is creating the great agencies and institutions of the future humanity; it is destroying all agencies and institutions whose purpose is to keep humanity divided and enslaved. Consider how the world's two most powerful kings have lately been overthrown and their empires rent asunder; and the full toll of inveterate ambition and greed has not yet been taken.
Therefore the indifferent are becoming mindful, and the activities of all humanitarians are finding a common channel and a unified expression. But
peace, perfect peace, is first of the heart, through the breaths of the Holy Spirit; consequently those among the humanitarians who are wisest, while they strive to produce concrete results and discuss all possible methods, nevertheless have for their great objective the reconciling of the hearts of men. For only that which is established in the heart can ever be established in the world, and peace will never be made real, lasting or secure until the world has recognized the power of the Holy Spirit which alone can conquer and subdue the rebellious hearts or fuse one changeless ideal upon the restless, ever-divided minds. This is the Most Great Peace; this is the Peace of God.
The arch which these social principles of Abdul Baha, like pillars, are intended to support—the structure which fulfills their purpose and directs their use—is the principle of an international tribunal.
Abdul Bahá ever visioned the world federation wherein all men and women have part, and invokes this world federation within the progressive people of all races and nations. Its cement is an international tribunal instituted through democratic selection and given binding authority by mutual agreement and pledge. No portion of the race but will be fairly represented, therefore no portion but will be controlled by its decisions. Abdul Bahá has said that when this tribunal is established, any government which instigated war would be set upon by all nations and, if necessary, abolished. This is the firm basis of peace, and no agreement with reservations can be substituted for it.
It is an inherent part of all Abdul Baha's teaching on the subject of tribunals and political progress that the spiritual conditions for real justice have not yet been fulfilled. He regards the function of legislation as a function of illumined minds, severed from all considerations save that of justice and truth. The act of making laws he declares to be an aspect of meditation. That is, just as the poet receives his visions, or the scientist his principles, through intense meditation, so will the future legislative body arrive at its structure of civic, national or international law. Order is of the essence of the manifested universe, and that order flows through and inspires the minds that turn to it in unity and for the purpose of creating justice. Thus those who are capable of entering this unity and impersonal abstraction are to be selected by the people from their wisest men. The legislator, in fact, is placed by Abdul Bahá in a high spiritual station, and the evident tendency on the part of our noblest clergy to turn from fruitless theological discussions in order to assist in the solving of great political and economic problems is a reflection of this teaching; for Abdul Bahá has also declared that the universal religion of the future will have no professional clergy.
Such, in brief, are some of the principles that characterize the teachings of Abdul Baha. They are those beacons he has lighted in the darkness of our world contention and strife, the vital energy he has poured into our apathetic minds and the guidance he has established for our selfish desires. They are the spirit of evolution, the genius of prophecy, the expression of man as a spiritually conscious being in the age of his maturity and strength. That these principles are the fruits of the tree of spiritual tradition is evident also in this further teaching of Abdul Baha, that this is the age when the Temple shall be builded, reconciling not merely the religions and creeds, but also religion and science, and science and industry; and that to assist in building the universal Temple is incumbent upon all who are responsive to the divine Will.
These principles are the ark in which whoso enters is secure, and whose remains outside of it will perish in the
rising waters of trouble that overflow the earth. Let no one confuse that which Abdul Bahá utters with the speculations of philosophers and the dreams of poets. He speaks of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit both creates and destroys, and none can resist the power of the Supreme.
For these principles are more than so many channels of useful activity; first and last they are signs and evidences of the return of the Holy Spirit to the world of men. As when a traveler is crossing a barren and desolate land, and he suddenly comes upon a broad highway, lined with luxuriant trees, he will follow that highway to the city of refuge; so those who are traveling the world of righteous endeavor, and are weary and fainting at the oppositions encountered both without and within—when they come upon one of these principles, and behold the power with which it is informed and the majestic grace with which it is offered, they will certainly investigate until they find its source and cause; and the center to which these principles lead from all the horizons of experience—the city of refuge where these spiritual highways end—is the luminous heart of Abdul Baha, that which has ever been called, and is, the City of God.
WHILE we were drinking our tea, Abdul Bahá came down and sat at the door of the house speaking with an Arab friend, Ahmad Effendi Jerah. He had been to dine with Saleh Mohamad, and it was late at night when he returned. Khosru preceded him carrying a lamp to light the way, as it was very dark. Some of the believers were still waiting for him when he came in. He asked them to wait for a moment, as he was longing to see them, and then went upstairs. In a short time he descended, and we were all waiting, many of us sitting on the floor, as there were not enough chairs.
"When people invite me alone to their houses," he said, "I ask them to prepare only one dish. Simplicity in food is best. But when they invite others beside me, I do not interfere with their arrangements."
Then he asked whether anyone had come from Abou Senan.
"During the days of the Blessed Perfection," he continued, "when I got up in the morning, the first thing I did was to inquire about the health of all the believers, one by one; and then I called on those who were sick to see how they were. If their indisposition was slight, I cared for them myself; otherwise I sent for the doctor. Then, this duty performed, I went to the school and examined the pupils. To those who were doing well I gave money or gifts; others I encouraged to push forward. Thus all the students who were graduated from that school received much praise, and were given scholarships in Damascus and Constantinople."
"In every undertaking, constant vigilance and attention are necessary, for, no matter how perfect an organization, if negligence creeps in, it will little by little lose its efficiency. If a piece of farm land is left to take care of itself,
or if the supervision of the farmer is slackened, the farm will be either abandoned or it will turn into a thorny patch."
"I have carried in my mind for some time an educational system, but so far there have been no means for its realization. If that system were once beaten into workable shape, in two years' time the children would have studied four languages. At the age of ten they would study sciences; and at the age of twelve they would he graduated. I wanted to establish such a trial school of eighty-one pupils, all six years of age, the children to be brought from Persia and Ashkabad, the teachers to be engaged and transported from America. But a number of unforeseen difficulties have prevented me."
The Master spoke this morning to Mirza Badi about his school for the children. He said: "I know thou art exerting thyself in the instruction of the children. The life of man must be productive of some results, otherwise his non-existence is better than his existence. As I said before, this teaching of the children is a service to the Blessed Perfection. Whosoever serves the world of humanity in this or any other way is serving His holiness Bahá 'Ullah. Your heavenly reward is with him. The education of children is one of the most great services. All these children are mine. If they are educated and illumined, it is as though my own children were so characterized. They will become the servants and the maidservants of the Cause of God, the gardeners in the vineyard of the Kingdom, and the lights of the assemblage of mankind."
Then he spoke with Sheik Yousoff about his (Abdul Baha's) own education—of how he was an exile and a prisoner from the time that he was nine years old and consequently never entered even the common school. This is an historical fact, and there are many people still living who bear witness to this fact.
Then he explained in detail the puzzling question of the "Trinity" and demonstrated from both a scientific and religious standpoint that "trinity" not only exists in every religion, but in philosophy as well. In the Mosaic dispensation there was (1) Elohim, the "I AM," (2) the burning bush and (3) Moses; in Christianity, (1) the Father, (2) the Holy Ghost and (3) the Son; in Islam, Allah, Gabriel and Mohammed. In philospohy we say, the mover, the motion and the moved; the cause of causes, the cause and the effect; the Illuminator, the illumination and the illuminated; the Creator, the creation, the created; the teacher, the knowledge, the student; the Giver of bounty, the bounty, and the recipient of the bounty. In principle, every religionist believes in this explanation in so far as it applies to the founder of his own faith; but when this same principle is applied to the founder of another religion, he refuses to accept it. Thus, while they are agreed as to reality, they disagree in mere names and historical personalities.
At a quarter past two in the afternoon we left Acca in the carriage and started on the never-to-be-forgotten drive along the horseshoe beach toward Haifa. The sea was smooth and the weather was bright and clear—quite transparent.
"Since my return last year," the Master said, "I have not driven along this shore because the train service was so much more comfortable. Now we have returned to our original way of traveling. I judge by the traces of the wheels on the sand that there is already quite a regular schedule established."
On the way we saw many detachments of soldiers going this way or that, and many of them stopped to salute the Master. We proceeded on our drive and finally came upon companies of fishermen who had cast their nets into the sea. Wide-spreading, broad nets they were,
and some of the men were drawing in the ropes. But the nets were still far out in the sea. The net of another group could be seen, being brought nearer and nearer to the shore; and still another group had landed their catch and were on the eve of departure. When we reached the second group, the Master asked Isfandyar to stop the horses so that he might watch the proceedings. The net was at last drawn out upon the beach, and one's heart was touched to see the great mass of palpitating, quivering little fishes. There were actually thousands of them. As I looked I was reminded of the days of Christ and his fishermen disciples. I spoke of the similarity of the scene to the Master. My few simple words suggested the subject, and he delivered a most remarkable talk as the carriage rolled over the hard, white sand. He said:
"His holiness, Christ, because of the vocation of his disciples, gave them the title of 'fishers of men'; but the Blessed Perfection designated the Bahais as the 'vivifiers of the world.'
"Today this world is like a rolling, tumultuous sea. The Bahais are practised sailors and trained fishermen who, with the net of the Love of God and the strength of the Word of God, deliver the poor fish from the whirlpool of destruction and bring them to the haven of safety and salvation. Although the fish of the sea, when once drawn out of the water, die, yet the fish of humanity, when they rise out of the sea of darkness, passion and lust, are immediately transformed into sweet-singing nightingales soaring in the atmosphere of holiness. They break forth into melodies and give joy to many hearts. The fish of the sea of nature are blind, deaf and mute; but when they enter the ocean of God they become seeing, hearing and eloquent. The Bahais are displaying great and they manifest far-reaching magnanimity. The confirmation of the Blessed Beauty is their net; unity and concord is their bait; attraction and enkindlement is their trap, service and self-sacrifice is their support. They cast their net into the great, turbulent sea and day by day they deliver new fishes. What delightful service is this to the world of humanity! What fruitful exertion is this in the universe of God! What noble striving is this in the path of the Kingdom! What heavenly privilege is this in the promulgation of truth! What divine splendor in the illumination of the souls of mankind! The apostles of his holiness Christ were very religious, very faithful, very spiritual and severed from all else save God. They were inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit, and labored with heart and soul for the diffusion of the lights of the Kingdom of the Father. They strove for the progress of their souls, to be characterized with the qualities of loyalty and faithfulness and with whole-hearted sincerity. They fished by day and by night. They took no rest nor did they seek after any comfort. The Bahais must walk in their footsteps, imbue themselves with their endurance and learn their patience and long-suffering. Let them not lose courage in the face of difficulties. Let them be the fishermen of the sea of spirituality. Let them sail on the ocean of the world of humanity in the swift-moving vessels of assurance and certainty. Let them save the half-famished fish from the sea of doubt and hesitation and instruct them in the teachings and principles of God."
BY JAMES HOWARD KEHLER
The peace plan from which these extracts are taken was written by a gifted
American journalist in 1910 and published in April, 1914.—EDITOR.When crowds have come, as a result of . . . changes of belief, to acquire a profound antipathy for the images evoked by certain words, the first duty of the true statesman is to change the words.—GUSTAVE LE BON.
ORIGINALLY, it is to be supposed, names grew out of functions and were expressive of them; but inasmuch as the functions of institutions must change with the times if they are to continue to express the times, it follows that names must be changed if they are not to limit function by failing to express it.
There is a law of the association of ideas by which men, and therefore institutions, tend to function according to the names or titles by which they are called, and according to the traditions which attach to those names or titles; a law by which there is both internal and external constraint upon men thus to function traditionally, rather than creatively.
The laws of mental action are so well known today that the frequently immeasurable importance of a word, and in particular the tremendous import of the names of things, are quite generally recognized.
There is no doubt that the original function of an army was war. Soldiers were expected to fight. An army not engaged in war represented discontent, a sheer waste of energy, great expense and a certain internal menace. It was natural and right that the department of government which handled the army should be called the Department for War.
But the times have so changed that the chief duty of an army is to keep the peace. Soldiers are expected not to fight, except under conditions of extreme necessity. The men who control armies are considered successful in the degree to which they avoid conflict.
The ideal of the world has changed. The victories of peace are our victories. The horrors of war touch the modern mind more quickly and deeply than the honors of war. No particular honor attached to peace in the ancient world. The battlefield was the field of honor and there were no great distinctions to be gained elsewhere.
NEW WORDS FOR OLD
Since peace is our ideal and the avoidance of war our intention; since the primary office of our armies admittedly is the preservation of peace, why should we not call that department of government which has to do with the army the Department for Peace?
Why not revise the name to fit the altered purpose? Why not thus gain for our ideal and our intention the enormous suggestive power which lies
in a name, rather than to go on handicapping our ideal and our intention by the equal suggestive power which inheres in a name that denies our ideal and lies about our intention every time it is spoken or written?
"Department for War," indeed! Have we such a departmnet, in reality? Has any people today such a department, in fact? Will any government today admit that any part of its purpose is to make war?
There may be remaining monarchs or ministers who cherish a secret fondness for wars of aggression, but they are a relic of the past; they do not represent the spirit or the ideals of their own peoples, or that new world-consciousness which has set the face of the world firmly toward peace.
Our "war policies"—what are they but policies of peace? Why then designate what actually is a Department for Peace by an anachronistic title which forces us to call its policies by a false and misleading name?
THE SLAVERY TO NAMES
A department of government called the Department for War is not functioning within the meaning of its name unless it is warring or planning war. Yet there exists the psychological tendency in every man engaged for an expressed purpose, to feel that he must seem to work toward that purpose in order to seem to be doing his duty. There is the same tendency on the part of other men, the public, to think that he should so work—a subconscious but very potent expectancy that he will so work.
Thus, under constraint, from the inside, of a name which tells him that his department is for war and that his business is war; and, from the outside, of a public expectancy created by the same psychological process, he is breasting the current of public thought and of his own nature. He can become no great warrior and is a negative agent for peace.
No army today, so far as I know, feels that he dares to be an open advocate of peace—that he dare join definitely in a peace movement. He feels constrained to talk, act and look warlike—for is he not in the service and pay of war—in a department called the Department for War, and under a cabinet minister called the Secretary for War? He must live up to the name of the thing he serves, in appearance at least. Truly, language is mighty and will prevail. We are all slaves of the names of things.
Consider what it would mean to have our secretaries for war, together with our armies and their officers, committed definitely, publicly and by name, to our national ideal of peace; to give them the benefit and stimulus of a public expectancy in accordance with the public ideal—thus to utilize for our ideals instead of for our aversions that mental law which constrains men to express the name by which they are called.
The power of suggestion is too well known to require comment here. Schoolboys know that the public can be definitely and effectively psychologized for an idea by giving the idea a name and giving the name publicity. The armies and governments of the world can be turned into constructive and positive, instead of negative agents for peace, if the nations of the world will revise the name of one of their institutions to accord with the present functions of that institution.
WAR AND THE AVERAGE MAN
There is widespread doubt, amongst average men, of the usefulness of the army. Average men still think, because of the name under which it operates, that the army is for war. The average man, because of the spirit of the times, wants peace, not war. He wonders sometimes why we keep up such an expensive
establishment for a thing which seems to him rather useless, out-of-date and remote.
The average man does not analyze deeply. He does not see that what he really is paying for is peace, that his army and his Department for War really are doing all that they can, under the handicap of their name, for peace, and as little as possible for war. He is willing to pay for peace. Why not convince him that peace is what he is paying for, by calling it by its right name?
I believe that every man today wants peace more than he wants war, but over against that fact must, be placed the law of his nature which compels him also to want to get what he is paying for.
Let the same man see that he is paying for peace, by calling it peace, and in times of peace he will feel that he is getting what he pays for. If his country is plunged into war, his innate dissatisfaction runs against war, because he then is not getting what he is paying for. His intellectual preference then parallels his emotional prejudice and both function naturally for peace. We have a whole man, the two sides of his nature harmonized and functioning solidly in one direction—a highly desirable result, surely.
Constant criticism is heard of our war budgets only, I think, because they are called war budgets. Average men are quite likely to think that money spent on war equipment is wasted unless we have war. In times of peace we shall always hear criticism of every expenditure in the name of war. In times of war, we shall hear no complaint of any effort or expenditure in the name of peace.
It may easily be pointed out that average thinking is loose thinking. No doubt, but it is what we have to deal with and we cannot change the nature of it. But we can change the name of a thing to express its real nature. When we do that we shall have a department for peace, doing effectively and enthusiastically what it now does more or less furtively and more or less ineffectively; we shall call the policies of that department peace policies, we shall have peace budgets and peace appropriations and we shall have the united and enthusiastic support of a public which does its thinking, involuntarily and because of the spirit of the times, in terms of peace and not of war. By the change of a word, we shall have adjusted our institutions to the thinking of the people and of the times, instead of continuing foolishly and futilely to breast the current of advancing thought.
PATRIOTISM, OLD AND NEW
Patriotism once expressed itself in enthusiasm for war, but war was then the chief business of the state. Practically every man was a soldier. To support the state could mean nothing most of the time unless it meant the support of war.
But the times have changed. Men have changed. The enthusiasm of the modern man is for peace. The work of nations today is hampered, not helped, by war. Average men are doing things which demand peace for their accomplishment.
The expression of patriotism has changed, necessarily. The man who loves his country today expresses his patriotism in upholding the hands of those who are working to avert war.
He has wider patriotism also, which expresses itself in world-neighborliness—in a passion for justice rather than for strife.
IN THE NEAR EAST
BY GENEVIEVE COYWHEN an American woman reads in the books of Bahá 'Ullah that both boys and girls should receive an education, she is likely to say to herself, "Of course! We have always believed that." When appeals come to us to contribute to schools for girls in the East, we think, "Yes, that is very good. I should like to help a little with that." But not until we have actually seen with our own eyes the condition of women in the East do most of us appreciate how great is the need for such schools. When a Western woman has lived for only a few weeks in the Orient she comes to a vivid realization of how fortunate it is for her, as a woman, that she was born in the Occident.
Suppose yourself to be an Eastern woman: what will your life be like? As a child you practically never play with boys. Your brothers have boyfriends; you have girl-friends; but the two groups never mix. You probably do not go to school, but if you do, there are never any boys there. And yet, with this ignorance of boys and men, you realize as you grow older that you must marry. There is no other occupation for you to enter; all the positions as clerks, teachers, doctors, etc., are filled by men. The life of an unmarried woman in the East is perhaps a little worse than that of the married one. You know that your parents will choose a husband for you; he may be twice as old as you are; he may be ugly, repulsive, cruel. But you will have no choice in the matter. Unless your father and mother are unusually kind and progressive, you will be given to the man who pays the most money to your parents. Love and companionship in marriage, as understood in the West, are not even thought of in connection with your betrothal. On the wedding-day, after the ceremony, your husband entertains his men-friends; you have a party for the ladies. Not until after that will you meet your husband. Then imagine what he may be? Will he be kind, or cruel? Will he smile on you, or frown? How many other wives will he bring home to share the house with you?
After marriage, how will you spend your time? You must attend to the household; later you must care for the children. You may be interested in pretty dresses, in an occasional ladies' party. You will not read many books and magazines because you have had so little education. You will have few interests in common with your husband. You may never go for walks, or for bicycle rides, or for a swim in the sea. All these are impossible because you must wear a veil everywhere. Perhaps you go for an occasional carriage-ride, but, even though it be along a country road, you must have a constant sidelong glance looking for men, and should one of those wily creatures appear, down must go your veil.
A few stories about Eastern women may serve to make these conditions more vivid. In a certain city a young
girl who had been brought up by an uncle was married to a very old man. As was natural, she had no love for him, and she soon lost her heart to a young man whom she met secretly. Her husband learned of her love for the young man, and one day killed his wife, her uncle and himself. He killed his wife because of her love for the young man; himself, to escape punishment for the murder of his wife; the uncle, because he "should have brought the girl up better, so that she would not fall in love." A young Mohammedan girl became a widow, and later fell in love with a Christian. Her father had the young man killed, whereupon the mother of the Christian had the young widow brought into court and accused of the murder. It was only the intervention of influential friends that saved the girl from prosecution for a crime that had caused her the utmost horror and misery. A young girl was married by force to a relative whom she disliked very much. She was very unhappy and soon became ill. A child was born, but it died because of the weakness of the mother. For this girl there is no future but ill-health, misery and unhappiness. Such stories as the above may occasionally be told of young women in America, but in many parts of the East they are the rule rather than the exception.
Imagine the effects on the moral and spiritual life of a country in which such an attitude toward women prevails. There is no encouragement for the development of the finer, higher qualities in women. Man, lacking the utmost of aspiration that woman can give, fails to attain his own highest development. The early years of the children's lives are half wasted, because the mother is little more than a child herself. The whole social structure suffers from the lack of the intelligent service of half of the population. In this connection Abdul Bahá says: "Women have equal rights with men upon earth; in religion and in society they are a very important element. As long as women are prevented from attaining to their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."
The remedy for these evils lies in the education of the women of the East. Westerners can never understand the situation fully enough so that they may prescribe treatment. But when the girls and women of the Orient begin to share the educational advantages which are free to millions of children in America, they will be able to develop solutions for their own problems.
There are few schools for girls in the East and all of these are, by Eastern standards of money values, very expensive. To send a six or seven year old girl to a good school in Haifa, Palestine, costs $150.00 a year for tuition. By the time the child is twelve years old it is necessary to send her to some distant school for the higher courses. A year in a school in Beyrout or Cairo costs at least five hundred dollars. I am told that to send a girl of Palestine or Syria to school for twelve years costs about four thousand dollars. Even in America only a small percentage of parents can afford to spend that sum in order that the child may graduate from high school. Of the Bahai parents of Haifa very few can afford such an expenditure and the same is doubtless true of all towns and cities of the East.
But even suppose that parents can afford to send a girl to the best schools the country provides, will the result be a satisfactory education? The Bahai friends of the Orient answer this question in the negative. They appreciate the education and training given by these schools, but they regret that the teaching in them is sectarian and limited, rather than universal and inclusive. They desire for their children an education which is free from all suggestion of racial prejudice. In the schools of the future they would teach not the religious
ideals and history of any one faith, but the fundamental truths of all the great religions of the world. An understanding and appreciation of the principles of the abolition of prejudice, of economic justice and of universal peace must become so deeply rooted in the child that no experience can shake her allegiance. Her whole nature should be interpenetrated with the ideal of the oneness of mankind and all that that implies. The lack of such a training in spiritual principles is especially unfortunate at the adolescent period, an age at which it is absolutely necessary here in the East to send the girls to schools at a distance. In the schools of the United States some of the universal ideals taught by Bahá 'Ullah and Abdul Baha are being gradually introduced into the program of studies. It may be that in the future all these principles will be taught in the public schools and private schools devoted to such a program may never be needed. But in the Orient for many years to come the teaching of these ideas and attitudes will be found only in the private school, endowed by men and women who believe that the oneness of mankind" is a living reality.
In conclusion let me suggest briefly some of the elements which education for Eastern girls should contain: (1) Girls should be trained to be intelligent about their own health; this should include the introduction of games, sports, etc.; (2) the only "professional" life for Oriental girls will for a long time to come be that of wife and mother. They should be thoroughly educated in the elements of home economics—the uses and preparation of feeds, the making and buying of clothing, the care and training of children, etc.; (3) instruction should be given in languages, literature, science, history, art, music, etc., which will prepare the girl to be a companion to her husband and a teacher of her children. At the same time these studies will arouse her interest in social situations and problems; they will also provide her with different kinds of recreation for her leisure hours; (4) the whole life of the school should tend toward a truly spiritual education, toward the ideals and habits of honor, kindness, love, service, reverence, etc. To these may be added such direct instruction in spiritual matters, religious history, etc., as may seem wise.
Of the four types of education suggested only the third is well provided for in most of the present schools for girls. Jenabe Fazel tells a story of a girl who had had only this type of training. She married, but she took no thought or care for the physical well-being and comfort of her husband. All day long she read books and magazines. One day, in some disgust, her husband said to her, "Do you think that literature will clothe me, and mathematics feed me?"
It is to the future Bahai schools that we must look for a well-balanced material and spiritual education for Eastern girls. In the founding of such schools it is the privilege of Western girls and women to assist. Through such help the Eastern women will be aided in obeying the instructions of Abdul Bahá when he says, "Woman must endeavor to attain greater perfections, to be man's equal in every respect, to make progress in all things in which she had been backward so that man will be compelled to acknowledge her equality of capacity and attainment."
"IN order to spread and teach the cause of God two of the Apostles went to the city of Antioch. No sooner had they arrived than they started to exhort and give counsel to the people. As the inhabitants of the city were uninformed of the divine principles they started to censure and arraign them, which finally ended in their persecution and torture and imprisonment. The details of these sad events did not reach the Disciples and thus the way of association and communication was entirely barred.
"But when Peter heard about it he started for that country without delay. Having entered the city he commenced in the begining to associate and fraternize with the people until, little by little, he became the loving companion and comrade of the nobles and ministers. In a short space of time he became well known for his piety, godliness, virtue, explanations, knowledge, perfections and excellences of the world of humanity. Finally he became acquainted with the king of that country and consorted with him with joy and fragrance. When Peter saw that the king was relying upon him with the utmost confidence, trust and assurance,—one night apropos of some question, he brought in the name of the Apostles. The king told him that some time ago two such ignorant and illiterate souls had entered his city and, having begun to deliver seditious speeches, he had ordered his officers to arrest them and put them under chains and fetters. His holiness Peter expressed a passing wish to meet them. The king commanded his attendants to bring them in to the audience chamber. According to the requirements of the place and time Peter appeared not to recognize them and then asked:
"'Who are you? Where do you come from?'
"They answered: 'We are the servants of his holiness the Spirit of God (Christ), and we come from Jerusalem.'
"Then he asked about his holiness, the Spirit: 'Who is he?'
"They said: 'He is the Promised One of the Bible and the Desired One of all the servants.'
"Afterward, in the spirit of the antagonist, he asked them the universal and particular questions and at every step contended with them. Often the very nature of the question gave them a clue as to how to answer.
"In short, one by one, he put the doubts and scruples of the people in the form of questions and they gave convincing answers. Now and then he would accept a number of their explanations, and anon, he would wave aside a set of others bringing forth counter propositions so that the audience might not find out that he also was one of them. In brief, several nights were spent in these interrogations and answers, now in refutation, again in acceptance, then in discussion and anon in controversial contention until all those who were present became fully informed of the fundamental
principles of God and all their uncertainties were dispelled. Then, on the last evening he dramatically announced that truly all that (they had) heard conformed with reality; and everyone agreed with him. Then, and not until then everyone realized that this third person was the friend of the first two souls. For this reason it is revealed in the blessed verse: 'We have glorified them by the appearance of a third person.'
"This story illustrates the meaning of wisdom. Therefore the teacher must speak according to the acceptable standard of the place and the time so that his words may affect the hearts and the people may understand his address. Teaching the Cause of God in this manner will produce fruits. We must not remain stationary and silent. If the thousand-voiced nightingale does not break into musical trills and rapturous melodies it is like a mute sparrow. If the thrush of the rose garden of significances does not sing tuneful lays and sweet airs it is the speechless, wingless jaybird. If the dove of the garden of mysteries does not coo it is the raven of the wretched ash heap. If the peacock of the Paradise of immortality does not display its multicolored plumage it is the black raven of the desolate ruin of mortality. Consequently, if ye are of the birds of the gardens of sanctity flutter ye your wings and soar heavenward. If ye are of the nightingales of the Rizwan of the Lord of Lords then sing and warble His glorification. If ye are of the lovers of the countenance of the Almighty then raise your voices and demonstrate your sincerity. If ye are of the wooers of the face of the Beloved then cry and weep disconsolately, so that you may throw an earthquake into the pillars of the world, burn the hearts of mankind with the burning fire of God's conflagration, intoxicate and exhilarate all the lovers and yearning ones with the wine of glory and attain to the ultimate hope of the favored ones and the highest aspiration of the sincere ones.
(Recorded and translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.)
- Are you then one to whom I dare relate
- The great white dreams that beat upon my sight?
- Have you been lifted high above the night
- With its dim stars, to the fair shining gate
- Of dawn; beheld the sombre face of Fate
- In its eternal beauty; and been free
- From the long heart-ache and its misery
- Of fear, despair, of weariness, and hate?
- You answer not, and all unheeding go
- Along the highway. I may never know
- If you have ridden on the wings of light—
- But as you pass, your face is very bright,
- As if, in the clear mirrors of your eyes
- Were caught some straying gleams of paradise.
IOS was a shepherd boy who tended his flocks in the valleys and on the sloping hills of Persia. He was poor and simple and knew no life but the care of his sheep, but one love he had and one great longing—it was to behold the face of his King. He had never seen this One of whose greatness and goodness he heard wonderful tales, and he felt that he would live content and die happy if he could but once behold his face.
One day Ios heard that the King with his retinue would pass on the highroad not far from his pasture. Shaken with the intensity of his love he left everything and stationed himself on the road. At last the Royal Procession appeared, haut boys on horseback, soldiers and buglers glittering and gorgeous in the sunshine.
Ios' eyes gazed past all this to the royal equipage slowly approaching, with flushed face and throbbing heart he watched for the face he had waited and longed for all his life.
Seeing that the procession was stopped in its progress the King enquired the cause and was informed that a poor shepherd boy stood in the way and begged to see him. The King commanded that the boy be brought, and Ios trembling with joy came to the side of the carriage, and gazed long and steadfastly on the face he adored. The King amazed at this ardent look said "Who art thou?" "Ios, the shepherd boy, my King," he replied. "What dost thou seek from me?" "Oh my King," he said, "All my life I have longed for thee. The utmost desire of my heart has been to behold thy face. Now I am happy and content, I can return to my humble life forever blest since I have beheld thee."
The King was greatly touched and looking long and earnestly at the boy passed on his way.
But the memory of Ios haunted him—such love he had not known. All those who surrounded him lived by his favors and bounty, but here was one who sought nothing, asked nothing—who could live and die on the memory of his face.
II.
The King's yearning for Ios grew so strong that at last he sent for the shepherd boy and had him brought to the palace. Ios came with eager joy and presented himself trembling and radiant, before the royal presence. Then the King was greatly pleased with Ios and made him the guardian of his treasure and reposed in him a high trust.
But those who had lived by the King's favor were filled with jealousy and tried to find some fault in Ios so that they might destroy him in the eyes of the King. They watched day and night and soon they found a flaw. In the silence of the night when all were sleeping they saw Ios creep stealthily forth, wind his way through the palace and enter a small room far up under the roof. "Ah," they said, "He is robbing the treasury and storing away the treasure in a secret place." Then they hastened with the news to the King. That night he watched with them and saw Ios steal away to his secret hiding place. The King followed, threw open the door and entered the
room. It was bare and empty, but on the wall hung the shepherd's coat Ios had worn and his crook with which he tended his flock. "What is the meaning of this, Ios," he exclaimed, "That thou dost creep to this room silently in the dead of night, and thus arouse suspicion when I have so trusted thee?" "Oh, my King," replied Ios, "When first I beheld thee I was a poor ignorant shepherd boy, but thou hast raised me to this lofty state through thy pure bounty and generosity, therefore, I never wish to forget from what I came, but to remain ever humble and grateful to thee. Thus I come each night to reflect on what I was and what Thou has made me through Thy bounty, generosity and favor.
III.
One day while the King was riding with his courtiers and favorites he opened a wallet in his sadde, and cast handfuls of precious jewels in the road. His friends stopped, dismounted and gathered the gifts scattered by his loving hand. Ios alone remained at his side with his eyes fastened on the beloved face, never glancing away. Then the courtiers murmured saying, "See Ios, he despises the gifts of the King and will not trouble himself to attain them." The King looked at him and smiling said, "How is this, Ios, dost thou despise my gifts?"
"Never have I desired anything from thee, but to behold thy face, this has been and ever shall be sufficient for this servant."
IV.
In Persia they have a great variety of delicious melons and it is the custom in this season to hold feasts and serve this abundant fruit to the guests. When the season came and the melons were ripe the King held a feast and invited many people. Ios was absent engaged on some service, but presently the guests saw that there was one melon left uncut. Then they murmured among themselves saying, "You will see that this melon, which is no doubt very sweet and delicious is reserved for the Beloved of the King," and soon the King sent for Ios, and cutting the melon gave him a piece saying "Thou, too, must partake of my feast. I have kept this melon for Thee." The King also took a piece, but when he tasted it he exclaimed "This melon is as bitter as gall, how eouldst thou eat it, Ios?" But the boy replied, "All my life I have received sweet from thy hand, now if thou dost give me bitter shall I refuse it? For bitter is sweet from the hands of my King."
V.
That which the King valued in all his domains was the Royal Gardens, which were vast and very beautiful with trees and flowers, lakes and fountains, and where every living thing was safe and protected, for it was forbidden therein to kill. And Ios so lived in the King's heart, was so loved and trusted that he made him the guardian and custodian of this Garden of Life and Beauty, which was the highest honor in his Kingdom. Then Ios faithfully guarded his trust.
One day as Ios was walking in the beautiful Gardens, the King's son, who had been jealous of him crept stealthily up behind him and swiftly shot an arrow from his bow and fled. It pierced the breast of a swan and the red blood flowed down the pure white breast into the water, and the swan swayed and drooped and died.
Ios stood aghast with grief and horror, gazing at the swan then at the bow lying in the path at his feet. As he stooped to pick it up a gardener approached and accused Ios of killing the swan. Then the man hastened to the Royal Presence and told what Ios had done. The King summoned him and said "What hast thou done?" Ios bowed his head in silence. "Speak," the King commanded, "Who has slain the swan?" But Ios would not speak. The King heart was breaking and he exclaimed, "Thy silence condemns thee. If thou dost not speak and justify thyself I shall banish thee forever from my
face." Ios lifted his eyes and looked long on the King's face, then meekly bowed his head and went out from his presence and went alone into exile.
Time passed and the Prince's conscience gave him no rest. He saw how his Father grieved for Ios, and at last he heard that Ios was dying of a broken heart in his lonely hut far away. Smitten with remorse he threw himself at his Father's feet and confessed to having killed the swan. The King in great grief sprang up and cried out, "Take me to Ios." And when he came in haste to the hut he found him dying. He rushed to him, clasped him in his arms, kissed his brow, his lips, while his tears rained on his face. "Oh, Ios, my servant, my Beloved, thou must not leave me; I love thee, thou hast sacrificed thy life for my son." And Ios, lying in his arms, gazing upon his face exclaimed: "I die in Paradise upon Thy Breast, my King!"
(These stories of Ios were told by Abdul Bahá to Lua Getzinger and are here transcribed from memory by May Maxwell.)
THE BAHAI CAUSE AND THE CHINESE PEOPLE
A CHINESE student connected with the Peace Conference in Washington, D. C., last February attended a Bahai meeting and asked questions with intense interest. At the close of the session he said: "This is the best religion of which I have heard." Another student, whose family are leaders in the new China, read the Bahai literature with great enthusiasm. "This is just, what the new China needs," he said. "Confucius taught duties to princes. But how are we to teach the ethics of Confucius to the people in a Republic where there are no princes? Today we need a universal ethics in China, something modern and something to unite the religions."
"When I was a little boy," continued this student, "my dear old grandmother in China used to take me on her knee and say, 'Some day, in the golden age, the good and wise Confucius will come back to earth.' I do believe if my grandmother were living now she would say, 'Abdul Bahá is Confucius come back to earth!'"
This same Chinese student read Abdul Baha's "Paris Talks" with enthusiasm. He read them in the morning and their radiant sentences filled his heart with the joy of loving-kindness. But about four in the afternoon, after a hard day's study, he became irritable, ready, he said, to strike anyone who disagreed with him. Then he would sit down and read again the "Paris Talks." They filled his heart with such love that he could be kind and gentle to his associates until he went to bed at ten in the evening.
A Chinese students' club in one of our great universities listened not long ago to a Bahai address and asked eager questions. Some of them had been caught by the materialism and agnosticism of current western thought but most of them were eager for a modern religion. They were especially attracted to the Bahai teaching of the oneness of the races, the need of a universal language, the fundamental truth in all religions, and to the picture of the universal Temple to be built at Wilmette, north of Chicago, with its nine gardens,
nine doors open to all sects and religions. "How wonderful," they said, "to find a religion which teaches that all the world-religions are fundamentally true and divine!"
The Chinese are just waiting for the universal light of the Bahai Glad Tidings. "China, China, China-ward the Cause of Bahá 'Ullah must march," says Abdul Baha. "Where is that holy, sanctified Bahai to become the teacher of China! China has most great capability. The Chinese people are most simple-hearted and truth-seeking. The Bahai teacher of the Chinese people must first be imbued with their spirit, know their sacred literature, study their national customs and speak to them from their own standpoint and their own terminologies. He must entertain no thought of his own but ever think of their spiritual welfare. In China one can teach many souls and train and educate such divine personages that each one of them may become the bright candle of the world of humanity. Truly, I say, the Chinese are free from any deceit and hypocrisies and are prompted with ideal motives. Had I been feeling well I would have taken a journey to China myself!"
One day on Mount Carmel Abdul Baha told of his plans to go to China in the days of his imprisonment and exile, of how he longed to travel to all nations in the service of the Kingdom. But for forty years he was a prisoner. He prefaces his story with these words about how Bahá 'Ullah loved to describe the glory of teaching:
"Whenever during his lifetime the Blessed Perfection (Baha 'Ullah) desired to signalize anyone with his special favor he encouraged him to go forth and teach the Cause of God. When he spoke to one of the pilgrims or wrote to a far-off Bahai concerning the promotion of the Cause, inciting the former and the latter to arise and deliver the message of the Kingdom everyone felt instinctively that these souls were elected, the chosen ones and that the glances of mercifulness had encircled them. It is noteworthy to remark that most of the general epistles of Bahá 'Ullah, embracing comprehensive teachings and principles are revealed in the names of the teachers of the Cause. A number of rare, spiritual souls having consecrated themselves to the promulgation of the glad-tidings of the Kingdom were peculiarly favored by him. Whenever their names were mentioned in his presence his countenance became all wreathed in smiles. This was the most notable proof and clear evidence of the favor and bestowal of the Blessed Perfection. When he happened to discourse on teaching and teachers he waxed most eloquent, his words inspired the hearts, his face became radiant with the anticipated joy of a humanity instructed in the laws of God and the application of the laws of nature, and his unquestioned, divine authority filled the listeners with such fiery enthusiasm for the promotion of the Cause that they were ready to give up their lives to execute his command. He used to say that the teachers were the Israfels of God who, with the sound of their trumpets blow the spirit of life into the dead bodies of mankind.
"One day, in the course of his talk, he praised so much the lives and services of the teachers of the Cause and expressed such high appreciation of their unselfish lives that, although I was a prisoner, I said to myself: 'O! That I might be confirmed in this!' Then I thought I might go to Kashgar, one of the provinces of China and a place not visited up to that time by any Bahai teacher. I was going to travel alone and with no baggage—only a handbag containing a number of tablets and books and papers and pens. I secured even my passport; the old Mofti stood as my guarantor. When the crafty Motosarraf, Ibrahim Pasha, heard about this he sent his secretary to me with the message: 'I have heard that your Excellency contemplates taking a long journey. I will
not be so disrespectful or discourteous as to thwart your plan or in any way hinder your departure but, as I am the Governor of this province, I am responsible to the central government for everything that happens here. Therefore, it will be but my official duty to send a cable concerning your departure as soon as you set your feet on the steamer.' I was familiar with the fortuitous ways of oriental expression. So I saw that this was a polite way of saying: 'We will not let you go!' Hence I deferred my departure to a more opportune time."
"China is the country of the future. I hope the right kind of teacher will be inspired to go to that vast empire to lay the foundation of the Kingdom of God, to promote the principles of divine, civilization, to unfurl the banner of the Cause of Bahá 'Ullah and to invite the people to the banquet of the Lord!"
(Words of Abdul Bahá recorded and translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.)
"O YE friends of God! The morn of guidance is radiant and the hearts of the people of faithfulness are like unto a garden. The divine breeze is blowing, the Spirit of God is manifest, the faded hearts are quickened and rejuvenated. . . . Turn your faces toward the rose garden of God for, verily, the fragrances of the Holy Spirit are passing by. Gaze ye toward the Kingdom of Abha for his Ancient Bestowal is descending. Look ye up toward the Supreme Horizon for the Sun of Hope is dawning. This bestowal is one of the most particular gifts of this great cycle for from its beginning to its end it is the dawning place of the penetration of the lights of the Ancient Beauty. Therefore appreciate ye the value of these times and let not the opportunity slip by from your hands, for the zephyr of the morn of unity is blowing and the rays of the Sun of Reality are shining from all horizons of the universe with universal force. This century is the beginning of all future generations. The standards of guidance shall wave over all countries, yet in this period the power of confirmation is most perfect and well nigh inexhaustible and the lights of unity are irradiating from the hearts of men. To take one step in this day is equal to one hundred thousand steps in the future and to inhale one breath in this age is compared to one hundred thousand breaths in the future, for this is the beginning of the age of the time of the downpour of the rain and the season of the heavenly spring."
(To a friend in Tokyo:) "O thou herald of the Kingdom of God! Thy letter was received. A thousand times bravo! for thy high magnanimity and exalted aim! Trusting in God, and while turning thy face toward the Kingdom of Abha, unfurl thou the Divine Flag in Tokyo and cry at the top of thy voice: 'O ye people! The Sun of Reality hath appeared and flooded all the regions with its glorious lights. It has upraised the standard of the oneness of the world of humanity and summoned all mankind to the refulgent truth. The cloud of mercy is pouring, the zephyr of Providence is wafting and the world of
humanity is being stirred and moved. The Divine Spirit is conferring eternal life; the heavenly lights are illumining the hearts; the table of the Sustenance of the Kingdom is spread and is adorned with all kinds of foods and victuals!'
"'O ye concourse of men! Awake! Awake! Become mindful! Become mindful! Open ye the seeing eyes; unstop the hearing ears! Hark! Hark! The soft notes of heavenly music are streaming down, ravishing the ears of the people of spiritual discernment. Ere long this transcendent light will wholly enlighten the East and the West.' In short, with a resounding voice, with a miraculous power and with the magnetism of the love of God teach them the Cause of God and rest thou assured that the Holy Spirit shall confirm thee."
"The germinating and growing trees join the babbling brooks and the sighing pines in the singing of their anthems. May you also resuscitate the dead souls with the wafting of the breeze of divine grace. Praise be to God that the bounty and bestowal of the Blessed Perfection are with us; his confirmation, his spirituality, his advice, his exhortations are with us.
"He has given us an irresistible power which all the nations of the world cannot withstand. May you ever be under the protection of God. May the Almighty Father assist and protect you. I shall never forget you. I shall ever remember you. You will always be in my thoughts. I hope you will not forget me. I trust that the ideal bonds, the spiritual communication may ever become stronger and firmer. These celestial ties are eternal. Whenever I supplicate and entreat toward the Kingdom of Abha I shall beg for you confirmation and assistance, that the door of all good may be opened before your faces so that each one of you may become a sign of guidance and a flag of peace.
"The portraits which are drawn on the canvas of the world have become very antiquated. Now you must become inspired to paint new life-like portraits in the frame of the universe with the delicate brush of the spirit."
(Recorded and translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.)
THERE comes to us bright news of Miss Agnes Alexander who some years ago carried the Bahai teachings to Hawaii where her mother and father had served for many years as Christian missionaries. At the beginning of the Great War Miss Alexander went to Japan with the news of the new application of the Gospel of Christ to the international problems of today,—the Bahai Glad Tidings. Through the help of God she is seeking to lay in a world of war a foundation stone of the palace of universal peace. She does not know the language of Japan. But she knows the laguage of the Kingdom. Her success has been wonderful. She has gathered together a group of the young idealists of Japan and has told them the heavenly teachings of the new day. They have started a magazine called "The Star of the East" and they are aglow with the joy of being pioneers in bringing to the East the cause of universal brotherhood and the most great peace.
Miss Alexander writes that the present editor of "The Star of the East" is an ardent Esperantist. For thirty years he
has been seeking and studying religions. Last October, through Esperanto, the beloved language which opens all doors in the Far Orient, he heard the Bahai Message. It was the very essence of the thoughts that he had been thinking and was the full answer to all his questions.
Recently, through the means of Esperanto the Bahai Message has reached the island of Formosa. The editor of an Esperanto paper is making it known to his people. On May twenty-third Bahai articles appeared in three leading Japanese dailies. More and more articles are appearing in different parts of Japan upon the Bahai principles of universal education, the oneness of mankind and the fundamental oneness of religions.
Just before his ascension Abdul Baha wrote to the new friends in Korea to whom Miss Alexander had told the Glad Tidings of Unity these stirring words:
"Your heartfelt sincere greetings have reached Abdul Baha's ears and your message gave great spiritual happiness.
"Praise be to God! That celestial light guided and led you to the Sun of Reality, bestowed everlasting life and granted heavenly illumination. Ye are like seedlings which have been planted by the hand of Bestowal in His spiritual rose-garden. It is my hope that through the warmth of the Sun of Reality, the pouring down of the showers of mercy and the wafting of the breezes of bestowal ye may progress day by day so that each one may become a blessed tree full of leaves and flowers and may cast your shade over great multitudes.
"The graces of the Kingdom of Abha are the rays of the Sun of Reality. It illumines the earth and heavens, makes the star a shining moon, turns the speck into a huge mountain, bestows strength upon the weak, gives everlasting healing to the sick, grants heavenly treasures to the poor, confirms the oppressed ones to (win) everlasting glory and turns the people of darkness into the people of light.
"O heavenly friends! The doors of heaven have been opened, the lights of God have shone forth and the heavenly call has been raised. Summon ye all humanity to listen to this heavenly call and invite them to the celestial world so that they may find a new spirit and attain to a new life. In all conditions my heart and spirit are with you."
Shoghi Effendi, since Abdul Baha's departure the Guardian of the Bahai Cause, wrote to these friends in Japan a beautiful letter in which he says:
"As attendant and secretary" of Abdul Baha "for well nigh two years after the termination of the Great War I recall so vividly the radiant joy that transfigured his face whenever I opened before him your supplications as well as those of Miss Agnes Alexander. What promises he gave us all regarding the future of the Cause in that land at the close of almost every supplication I read to him! Let me state, straightway, the most emphatic, the most inspiring of them all. These are his very words, that still keep ringing in my ears: 'Japan will turn ablaze! Japan is endowed with a most remarkable capacity for the spread of the Cause of God! Japan, with (another country whose name he stated. . . ) will take the lead in the spiritual reawakening of peoples and nations that the world shall soon witness!' On another occasion,—how vividly I recall it!—as he reclined on his chair, with eyes closed with bodily fatigue, he waved his hand and uttered vigorously and cheerfully these words in the presence of his friends: 'Here we are seated calm, quiet and inactive, but the hand of the Unseen is ever active and triumphant in lands even as distant as Japan!'"
The Bahai friends of England have organized their spiritual assembly that they may deepen their unity and more rapidly spread the heavenly teachings.
The first Bahai assembly, Mr. August Rudd writes, was recently organized in Sweden.
Glowing letters tell of the activity of the Bahai teachers in Germany, of their radiance, their joy, their love and of the new centers organized for the study of the principles of world unity.
Jenabe Fazel, of Persia has arrived with his family in Haifa, Palestine. He writes that he is telling the friends who gather from all parts of the world on Mount Carmel of the Bahai Temple and of how the whole world wants it. He writes that the friends in Haifa will soon send contributions for the Temple in Chicago.
BAHAI IDEALS OF EDUCATION.
Jenabe Fazel Speaks in a Western College.
DURING his celebrated American tour, Jenabe Fazel spoke one rainy night in a western college on Bahai educational ideals. The classroom, despite the rain was well filled with students and teachers.
Schools, he said, must be filled with light and joy, like Paradise, so that the children may run to them in the morning and be loath to leave them in the evening. Such was the teaching of Bahá 'Ullah seventy years ago in Persia. But the children must also go through hard exercise and training so as to be able to meet any emergency in later life. Each child, boy and girl, must learn a profession or trade as well as literary and academic subjects. Bahá 'Ullah also said, over half a century ago, that we must through child psychology find the aptitude of every child so that the children may study that for which they are fitted and not waste time in that for which they are not fitted.
The great education in the schools, however, should be the moral training. We should, Bahá 'Ullah declared, have a universal gathering of the wisest men and women in the world to select the choicest teachings of all the world-prophets, put these selected teachings together and teach them to the children of all the nations. This would train them in universal brotherhood and all the noblest virtues of humanity.
When the lecture was ended and the discussion began a very progressive professor of sociology said: "I can see ethical genius in Zoroaster, Confucius, the New Testament. But what is there worth teaching our modern children in the Old Testament, or the Koran?"
Jenabe Fazel, with radiant enthusiasm began repeating spiritual verses of most glorious content from the Old Testament Prophets and from the Koran. The professor of sociology listened with great interest and then exclaimed: "That is not religion. That is only good sociology!"
Some members of the audience called the Bahai ideals of education the quintessence of real, spiritual religion, others thought it only good sociology and the most perfect of universal social ethics, but all greeted it with equal joy.
A NEW BOOK
A BEAUTIFUL volume called The Promulgation of Universal Peace has just come from the press. It is the first volume of the American addresses of Abdul Baha, that glorious book for which his friends have been waiting. It has been prepared with the greatest care by Mr. Howard MacNutt, the English translation polished and made more exact in order to reflect more purely the light of the beauty of Abdul Baha's matchless Persian style, and has been beautifully printed through the loving
care of Mr. Albert and Mr. Arthur Agnew. Mr. MacNutt has also written an eloquent, comprehensive introduction which ends with a picture of the covenant, the ancient, the new, the eternal covenant which is "the penetrating power of the pure religion of God" in every age. At Abdul Baha's request this introduction is published also in Persian, a manifest union of the East and the West.
This volume of addresses is a wonderful introduction to the Bahai teachings. It gives the universal principles of the new covenant, marvelous pictures of the influence of Moses, of the divine Christ, of the great world prophets, with stirring accounts of the life of the Bab and Bahá 'Ullah as they appeared in Persia with the light of the new day of God, the day of the Most Great Peace.
There are beautiful little talks to groups of friends on pure and sanctified living, on the radiant pathway of spiritual rebirth and teaching. They are so vivid the Master seems almost to rise a living, loving presence from the shining pages. As we read we realize that his words "are the breaths of the Holy Spirit which create men anew."
"Praise be to God," he said, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. MacNutt, "the light of unity and love is shining in these faces. These spiritual susceptibilities are the real fruits of heaven. His holiness the Bab, his holines Bahá 'Ullah over sixty years ago proclaimed the glad tidings of Universal Peace. The Bab was martyred in the cause of God. His holiness Bahá 'Ullah suffered forty years as a prisoner and exile in order that the kingdom of love might be established in the East and West. He has made it possible for us to meet here in love and unity. Because he suffered imprisonment we are free to proclaim the oneness of the world of humanity for which he stood so long and faithfully. He was chained in dungeons, he was without food, his companions were thieves and criminals, he was subjected to every kind of abuse and infliction, but throughout it all he never ceased to proclaim the reality of the Word of God and the oneness of humanity. We have been brought together here by the power of his Word—you from America, I from Persia,—all in love and unity of spirit. Was this possible in former centuries? If it is possible now after fifty years of sacrifice and teaching, what shall we expect in the wonderful centuries coming?
"Therefore let your faces be more radiant with hope and heavenly determination to serve the cause of God, to spread the pure fragrances of the divine rose-garden of unity, to awaken spiritual susceptibilities in the hearts of mankind, to kindle anew the spirit of humanity with divine fires and to reflect the glory of heaven to this gloomy world of materialism. When you possess these divine susceptibilities you will be able to awaken and develop them in others. We cannot give of our wealth to the poor unless we possess it. How can the poor give to the poor? How can the soul that is deprived of the heavenly bounties develop capacity to receive those bounties in other souls?
"Array yourselves in the perfection of divine virtues. I hope you may be quickened and vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Then shall you indeed become the angels of heaven whom Christ promised would appear in this day to gather the harvest of divine planting. This is my hope. This is my prayer for you."
The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Bahai Publishing Society, Chicago, $2.50.
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