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O GOD! bless this nation. Confirm this government. Reveal Thy glory unto this people and confer upon them life eternal. O GOD! illumine the faces, render the hearts radiant, exhilarate the breasts, crown the heads with the diadem of Thy Providence, cause them to soar in Thy pure atmosphere so they may reach the highest pinnacles of Thy splendor. Assist them in order that this world may ever find the light and effulgence of Thy Presence. O GOD! shelter this congregation and admonish this nation. Render them progressive in all degrees. May they become leaders in the world of humanity. May they be Thy examples among humankind. May they be manifestations of Thy grace. May they be filled with the inspiration of Thy WORD. Thou art the Powerful! Thou art the Mighty! Thou art the Giver and Thou art the Omniscient!
The prayer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at the close of his talk at Plymouth Congregational Church, Chicago, Ill.
--PHOTO--
Miss Effie Baker, a Melbourne Bahá’í, who traveled through Australia and New Zealand with Miss Root
--PHOTO--
Miss Amy Stevenson, of Auckland, New Zealand, and Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, Bahá’í teachers. (See page 334)
| VOL. 15 | FEBRUARY, 1925 | NO. 11 |
THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE in the world are those who love their work. For other things—possessions, friends, family—are part of the flux of life; but work we have always with us. This unescapable attachment of man to his work in a kind universe is not meant to be a curse. In work we find ourselves; we develop qualities of character that become stable and rock-founded; we contribute our share toward the improvement of the world we live in.
There cross our path now and then men who radiate joy in and through their work. These men may he, often are, in the humblest walks of life. Such a one, in our town, is the Italian who keeps a small fruit and grocery store. Cheerful from morning to night, he seems to derive a sincere pleasure from serving his customers. He is never anxious, over-hurried or irritable. He is not mercenary. His business is his expression, not his master. In the practice of his vocation he finds also those values which others seek outside of work—a smile, a word of greeting, a friendly chat—all the essentials in fact which go to make up the social pleasures. “The best of men,” said Bahá’u’lláh, “are they that earn their livelihood by a profession and expend on themselves and on their kindred, for the love of God, the Lord of all the worlds.”
Our humble friend is one of the worlds aristocrats, judged by this criterion.
"THOU DESIREST GOLD, and I desire thy purification from it. Thou hast recognized the wealth of thy
* Hidden Words, Bahá’u’lláh.
soul therein, and I have recognized thy wealth as being thy sanctity therefrom.”* Work in the spirit of service, Bahá’u’lláh tells us, is equivalent to prayer. But to work which becomes a means and an expression of the passion for gold, such praise and glory are not ascribed. It is there that we see work in its worst aspect—as a corroding care, and a cruel task master, a tyrant that smothers the soul.
A few years ago we had the pleasure of chatting with the proprietor of a new restaurant in our City. He was achieving marked success because of the excellency of his cuisine. He had the wisdom, by the way, to make his chef his cooperator by giving him a share in the profits. He was Spanish, and had been a waiter in his own country. Here he was rejoicing in opportunities for success and advancement such as only the New World affords. There was withal an earnest and simple quality about him.
The other day we ate in his restaurant for the first time in two years. In this interval of time, a period of financial success and of prestige for him, our friend had undergone a marked degeneration of character. He appeared nervous, strained, too anxious for patronage—a slave to his work. In analyzing the situation one could see that the man had fallen a victim of his very success. He had become mercenary. That is, monetary values had usurped with him the place which ideas and sentiments of service should hold. Of what a large and tragic class he is a type, with whom victory in the market place has become in reality a defeat. They have recognized their wealth to consist
in gold, whereas in reality their wealth consists in their sanctity from it.
SERVICE, not acquisition, is to be the key-note of the future business world. Certain leaders in industry are conveying even now this message as a truth upon which to build success. Henry Ford, in his biography, is quoted as saying that work should not be done with wealth in view; but if one’s work was well and honestly done, meeting a real need of humanity, the financial reward would take care of itself. “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you.” The millennium is close at hand when the world of business, which used to conceive profits in terms of exploitation, now conceives it in terms of service.
A college classmate of ours, who has had a spectacular rise from a poor boyhood to the head of one of the greatest organizations of trade in this country, sent recently this message to the boys at the college. “Tell them,” he said, “that the keynote of business today is service. It is a mistake to aim at wealth except by this means.”
WHAT WILL BE the effects of universal education when fully carried out? Dr. Henry W. Holmes of Harvard University, in a recent address before the Association for the Advancement of Science, predicted that universal education would eventually abolish hunger and poverty from the world. He also predicted that it would never bring about actual equality between all individuals. There will always be differences in degree. But labor will be raised to a higher level. This educator’s vision of the future organization of society is in line with the teaching of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who states, “All mankind possesses intelligence and capacities, but the intelligence, the capacity, and the worthiness of men differ.”
The divine forces moving toward a new world order are so strong that men of vision in every line of work are coming to see or to presage the improvements that will inevitably come, establishing the Kingdom of God on earth.
SINCE BAHA’U’LLAH gave forth his message of world brotherhood, and of the destined union of the East and of the West, many forces have been at work to bring this to pass. Today the intelligent leaders of opinion in both the Orient and Occident are reciprocally appreciative of the other’s civilization, and are working cordially to bring to pass a rapprochement between these two halves of humanity, so long separated by their diversity of culture as well as by physical barriers. Now that the physical barriers are being swept away by man’s inventiveness, it is becoming apparent that the two cultures, so opposite in many ways, must ultimately flow together to produce a new world culture combining the best qualities of each.
A remarkably clear and unprejudiced statement of the outstanding qualities of the Oriental and Occidental cultures and the need of their coalescing, is made by an Oriental teaching in the Occident, Professor C. H. Chu, of the University of Wisconsin, in an article “When the Twain Shall Meet” appearing in the current number of “The Orient.” Shall the twain never meet? “I myself,” he says, “do not believe they will be eternally separated, because even though they be different, they need not necessarily be antagonistic. They are, I think, supplementary to each other . . . The East can and will surely give to the West a new life. She will teach him to love leisure, ideals and peace. The East needs the West to help her bear the burden of human affairs. The East needs the bugle call to action. The West needs a temple bell to rest. . . . It is only through such a marriage that each can find a happier life and a better road toward a true and lasting civilization.”
It is no exaggeration to state, in this connection, that the Bahá’í Movement
is the only movement able to bring to pass this much needed union of the East and West. For only a religious influence and motive can move the East; and only the power of spiritual love and forbearance can actually unite two groups so disparate in traditions, customs and outlook upon life, as are the Orientals and the Occidentals: and the Bahá’í Movement, with its program for universal religion based upon the flowing together of the great world faiths rather than upon the subjugation by one of all the others, is not only destined to unite, but actually is uniting, the East and the West in unparalleled brotherhood.
The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are replete with instructions concerning the union of the East and the West, and the following brief quotation is particularly inspiring:
“The East and the West must unite to give to each other what is lacking. This Union will bring about a true civilization, where the spiritual is expressed and carried out in the material. Receiving thus the one from the other, the greatest harmony will prevail, all people will be united, a state of great perfection will be attained, there will be a firm cementing, and this world will become a shining mirror for the reflection of the attributes of God.
“We all, the Eastern with the Western nations, must strive day and night with heart and soul to achieve this high Ideal, to cement the unity between all the nations of the earth. Every heart will then be refreshed, all eyes will be opened, the most wonderful power will be given, the happiness of humanity will be assured. . . . The devoted energetic work of the united peoples, Occidentals and Orientals, will succeed in establishing this result, for the force of the Holy Spirit will aid them.
“We pray that God will unite the East and the West in order that these two civilizations may be exchanged and mutually enjoyed. I am sure it will come to pass for this is the radiant century. This is an age for the outpouring of divine mercy upon the exigency of this new century—the unity of the East and the West. It will surely be accomplished.”
- Humanity can rise on wings of its desire
- To cleave pure skies, or set a world on fire.
- Shall progress lead to lurid Titans’ flight
- And a burned planet plunged in endless night?
- O spirit bold and genius-led of man,
- Create a world of brotherhood that can
- Like pyramid on broad foundation placed
- Hold deathlessly its glory unabased.
- There is no stableness in the old way
- Of greed and war. For every empire’s might
- There rises other to disprove its sway.
- The great Gift waits us when we cease to fight!
- Revenge, mistrust, hatred, and lust of blood
- Have had their day. Even amidst them good
- Has blossomed like pale roses here and there.
Oh! in a kinder world, what scent would fill the air!
"WHEN THE SUN of wisdom dawned from the horizon of government, it revealed these exalted words: The people of wealth and men of honour and power must show profound reverence to religion. Religion is a clear light and a strong fortress for the protection and security of the people of the world. For the fear of God leads the people to do that which is just and prevents them from that which is evil. If the lamp of religion remain concealed agitation and anarchy would prevail, and the orb of justice and equity and the sun of peace and tranquility would be withheld from giving light. Every man of discernment will bear witness to the truth of what has been mentioned.” (Bahá’u’lláh.)
During the last century religion gradually lost ground before the progressing material civilization and weakened its hold upon the life and action of man. Through the many centuries of ignorance and priestly domination its fundamental principles and underlying spirit were neglected and only the external rituals and practices emphasized. As science progressed, and as man’s critical power developed, religion, due to this misrepresentation at the hands of its superficial adherents, failed to stand the attacks and vindicate its old, yet deserving position. The era of irreligion and agnosticism was thereby ushered in, and the cause of religion as a whole was weakened.
At present, however, we can detect certain signs of religious revival and the beginning of a definite reaction toward religion. Science has come to the conclusion that the material body of man cannot function without the help and assistance of some invisible power, which we may call spirit or soul. It has learned that from such infinitesimally small premises provided by science we cannot deduce a conclusion. So infinitely great, as what God is. Man's intellect and experience are too limited to deal with such a problem and attain such a truth. It suffices us to know that His Spirit permeates all things, that He is the Cause of Life and the Creator of man. The heads of the different religions on the other hand are opening their eyes to the truth of science and beginning to interpret religion in its true and spirtual significance. Thus religion and science are gradually unravelling each other’s truth and uniting in the pursuit of their common aim.
Standing, therefore, on the threshold of a new era, an era of religious revival and spiritual reawakening, it is interesting to understand what religion is, what position it is able to occupy in shaping the life of the individual, and what reforms it can inaugurate in society with its many fields of activity.
In the light of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh we can define religion as “the attitude of man towards God reflected in his attitude towards his fellow men.” Religion, therefore, comprises two indispensable and equally important elements; first an attitude towards God and then an attitude towards our fellow men.
According to this definition, neither the hermit who leaves man in his woes, and seeks solitude to save his own soul, is religious, nor the deeply ethical and altruistic man who spends his life and energy to help the poor but fails to render to God His due. Both of them devote themselves to only one of the two phases and neglect the other. The hermit is oblivious of the fact that man was created as a member of society and therefore has duties towards it, also that the example the prophets have set before us is to sacrifice our life for others and not selfishly spend our time in the salvation of our own soul.
The so-called modern ethical man, on the other hand, trying to avoid the absurd attitude that the hermit of the middle ages held, emphasized the second element, namely of serving our fellowmen, but went so far with it that he became blind to the importance of Divine inspiration, and went to an extreme equally absurd as the one maintained by the hermit.
The true and real attitude is the one set forth by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. According to him a religious man should pray to God, get encouragement and inspiration and then use his efforts for serving the world and bettering its pitiable condition. A Bahá’í should attach equal importance to prayer and meditation as to social work and humanitarian services.
To appreciate the influence of religion in molding the character of man we ought to compare it to two other institutions, namely law and education. (I mean by education material education as taught in most of our colleges). If man be left to his own instincts with absolute freedom and unrestrained activity, he will be apt to treat his fellows far worse than a wolf would treat its own kind. It is the combined influence of law, education, and religion, that has limited individual freedom in the interests of public welfare, trained our instincts and natural tendencies, and set before us a noble course to pursue in life. There has been, however, a tendency to deny the influence that religion claims in restricting man’s behaviour and directing his steps towards the betterment of the community. “Education and law,” they say, “can easily achieve the desired aim, there is no need for religion. Show man, through education, where his personal good resides, teach him the rules that the community has enacted to govern the conduct of its members, punish him according to law if he disobeys those rules and then the desired aim is attained. There is no more work left for religion to perform.”
Law if left alone is undoubtedly an inadequate measure to keep man from evil. It is as imperfect as all the other man-made things are. It has a tendency to be negative in nature and say more what we should forbear rather than what we should do. Law regulates the outward acts of man but does not change his heart and motives. It does not force him to do what is good but only punishes him if he breaks its rules.
Education complements the work of law, but only to a certain extent. There are many conscientious people who commit evil out of ignorance. A great number of our miseries undoubtedly arise from lack of knowledge. But virtue is not the result of mere knowledge. If man were the servant of his brain, if his actions were controlled only by his intellect then the solution would be easy. We have only to show him where virtue lies and he will seek it. The real motive power in man is his heart, it is our ideals and emotions that control our actions. It was not reason that led so many of our young men to war. It was emotion. If they had used only their intellect and reasoned out the consequences of their undertaking, they would have surely left the field of battle and sought their homes. As it is religion alone that can direct our emotions, create for us noble ideals, change our hearts, make us seek the good of the world rather than our own, and influence our private as well as our public life, as religion is positive in nature and makes us try and find some way of doing what is good, it has to be considered as a factor in directing human behaviour.
Just as in the life of the individual, so in society, religion could have great influence if only duly emphasized and wisely directed. The world is at present divided and sub-divided by innumerable social, economic, and political barriers. Social classes are at war, political parties are at war and nations are at war. The world will remain in this chaotic state so long as a unifying force, a potent social bond is not created to unite
these warring groups. Religion, and only religion, can perform this difficult task; because it appeals to the heart of the people and unites them.
History shows clearly what true religion has achieved along this line. The Arab nation, during the sixth and seventh centuries after Christ, was made up of groups of barbarous warring tribes. Their life and their glory was in war. Islam, which was then a pure and powerful religion, changed the heart of this backward people, gave them new ideals united them under the same banner, and marshalled them towards a spiritual and material conquest of the world.
In a few decades this hitherto uncivilized nation became the master of the near and middle east and founded one of the greatest civilizations recorded in the annals of history. During the dark middle ages of Europe the seats of learning were the capitals of Islam. To these schools the scientists flocked in quest of knowledge. No unbiased student can read the history of Islam and not marvel at the achievement of true religion. We are not at present worse than those savage Arabs of the sixth and seventh centuries. If true religion could unite them, then why should it not have the same influence upon us? If a true religion should teach that “Glory is not his who loves his country, but glory is his who loves his kind,” if it were made a part of our religious belief that the good of the whole world should be sought, then no one would commit aggression against his fellow men. If the sovereigns should declare war, no one of their people would be found to follow them, peace would reign and guns and warships rust from lack of use.
At present most if not all the economic difficulties that threaten our internal peace are due to the distrust that exists between capital and labour. The very existence of the labour unions is to oppose capital by showing a united front. Strikes and lock-outs which are detrimental to both parties and are at present two of the greatest barriers to economic revival, have as their object to force the opposite party to agree to their terms. Make it a part of the religion of the capitalist to help the poor, tell the labourer that work done in the spirit of service is considered by God as prayer, and most of the economic difficulties that exist at present will vanish. There is no need for abolishing private ownership, changing the very foundation of our civilization, demolishing all our institutions, in order to better the condition of the poorer class, if less violent methods are able to lead to the same result. Bahá’u’lláh says, “O children of dust! Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest haply negligence may lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of their share of the Tree of Wealth, benevolence and bounty are attributes of mine, well is it with him that adorneth himself with my virtues.”
In another verse of the Hidden Words He says: “O ye rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are my Trust. Guard ye my Trust, and busy not yourself with your ease.” Obedience to this command would undoubtedly change the heart of the rich man and make it the aim of his life to share his wealth with the poor among the people and to further any legislation that betters their condition. He would not wait until the state takes a portion of his goods by force, he would gladly and willingly give them. This may seem to many utopian and impossible. It doubtless appears to be so in our present material civilization where the motto is: “Help yourself!” But as religion progresses and as higher ideals are set before man, these things will become common-place and usual activities of daily life.
The idealists and utopians of the world have failed to realize their hopes mainly because enchanted with their own
visions they neglected to provide a practicable method for the execution of those plans. Bahá’u’lláh, however, while emphasizing the importance of religion and the position it can occupy in creating an ideal for man, has revealed a workable and practicable programme, which if followed will solve the outstanding problems of the age. His policy was to marshal all the forces, religious and material, for one aim, namely the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.
It is most astonishing that our present scientists who devote their lives and energy to the study of the most microscopic organism, its structure and habits, so as to find out its harmful effect on the body of man, likewise those who discover the laws of nature and harness them all to serve humanity and further its well-being, should have neglected religion, the greatest civilizing force, the main-spring of our laws and customs, the source of our ideals and inspirations.
To study the effect of this force, to utilize it in furthering our civilization is the duty of every man and woman who has the good of the world at heart. Religion has been the principle force, the guiding light that led man from his most primitive stage of existence through all the centuries of his development, why should it now cease functioning? Now that the world needs most a unifying factor, a potent power for good.
The past century of agnosticism, though it has created a general apathy towards religion, was fraught with important consequences. Before that time most of the people were fettered with superstitions. Religion to them, was in many cases, a series of outward practices, to be observed at different times and places. If they were to become Bahá’ís they would bring most, if not all, of those cherished, but outgrown ideas with them. The Cause would become a conglomeration of religious beliefs, rather than religion purified. It would become a dumping place of all sorts of ideas. This spirit of agnosticism has demolished those antiquated institutions and left the hearts free to be influenced only by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and the spirit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”
comprehend the oneness of Divinity. He come to know and to acknowledge the precepts of God, and he must come to the point of knowing for a certainty that the ethical development of humanity is dependent upon Religion. (Star of the West, Vol. 6, No. 1, p. 4).
CIVILIZATION
FROM THE TABLETS OF ’ABDU’L-BAHÁTHE DIVINE RELIGIONS were founded for no other purpose than the unification of humanity and the pacification of mankind . . . At all times and in all ages religion has been a factor in cementing the hearts of men together and in uniting various and divergent creeds . . . (Wisdom Talks, p. 20).
ALL THE DIVINE Manifestations have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. They have taught that men should love and mutually help each other in order that they might progress. Now if this conception of religion be true, its essential principle is the oneness of humanity. The fundamental truth of the Manifestations is peace. This underlies all religion, all justice. The divine purpose is that men should live in unity, concord and agreement and should love one another. Consider the virtues of the human world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of them all. Read the gospel and the holy books. You will find their fundamentals are one and the same. Therefore unity is the essential truth of religion and when so understood embraces all the virtues of the human world. . . . And the religion of God is absolute love and unity. (Pro. of U, P., p. 29.)
AND AMONG the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that religion is a mighty bulwark. If the edifice of religion shakes and totters, commotion and chaos will ensue and the order of things will be utterly upset, for in the world of mankind there are two safeguards that protect man from wrong doing. One is the law which punishes the criminal; but the law prevents only the manifest crime and not the concealed sin; whereas the ideal safeguard, namely, the religion of God, prevents both the manifest and the concealed crime, trains man, educates morals, compels the adoption of virtues and is the all-inclusive power which guarantees the felicity of the world of mankind. But by religion is meant that which is ascertained by investigation and not that which is based on mere imitation, the foundation of Divine Religions and not human imitations. (The Hague Tablet, p. 10.)
IT IS EVIDENT that the fundamentals of religion are intended to unify and bind together; their purpose is universal, everlasting peace. . . .
Inasmuch as the essential reality of the religions is one and their seeming variance and plurality is adherence to forms and imitations which have arisen, it is evident that these causes of difference and divergence must be abandoned in order that the underlying reality may unite mankind in its enlightenment and upbuilding. All who hold fast to the one reality will be in agreement and unity. Then shall the religions summon people to the oneness of the world of humanity and to universal justice; then will they proclaim equality of rights and exhort men to virtue and to faith in the loving mercy of God. The underlying foundation of the religions is one; there is no intrinsic difference between them. Therefore if the essential and fundamental ordinances of the religions be observed, peace and unity will dawn and all the differences of sects and denominations will disappear. (Pro. U. P., p. 95.)
EACH OF The Divine Religions embodies two kinds of ordinances. The first are those which concern spiritual susceptibilities, the development of moral principles and the quickening of the conscience of man. These are essential or fundamental, one and the same in all religions, changeless, and eternal, reality not subject to transformation. . . .
The second kind of ordinances in the divine religions are those which relate to the material affairs of humankind. These are the material or accidental laws which are subject to change in each day of manifestation, according to exigencies of the time, conditions and differing capacities of humanity. (Pro. of U. P., p. 102.)
THE ESTABLISHING of the divine religions is for peace, not for war and the shedding of blood. Inasmuch as all are founded upon one reality which is love and unity, the wars and dissensions which have characterized the history of religion have been due to imitations and superstitions which arise afterward. Religion is reality and reality is one. The fundamentals of the religion of God are therefore one in reality. There is neither difference nor change in the fundamentals. Variance is caused by blind imitations, prejudices and adherence to forms which appear later, and inasmuch as these differ, discord and strife result. If the religions of the world would forsake these causes of difficulty and seek the fundamentals, all would agree, and strife and dissension would pass away; for religion and reality are one and not multiple. . . . Religions are many but the reality of religion is one.
Divine religion is not a cause for discord and disagreement. Religion is meant to be the quickening life of the body-politic. (Pro. of U. P., p. 113.)
RELIGION IS IN harmony with science. The fundamental principles of the prophets are scientific, but the forms and imitations which have appeared are opposed to science. If religion does not agree with science it is superstition and ignorance; for God has endowed man with reason in order that he may perceive reality. The foundations of religion are reasonable. God has created us with intelligence to perceive them. If they are opposed to science and reason, how could they be believed and followed? (Pro. of U. P., p. 124.)
UNLESS THE MORAL character of a nation is educated, as well as its brain and its talents, civilization has no sure basis. As Religion inculcates morality, it is therefore the truest philosophy, and on it is built the only lasting civilization. . . . Because Man has stopped his ears to the Voice of Truth, and shut his eyes to the Sacred Light, neglecting the Law of God—for this reason has the darkness of war and tumult, unrest and misery, desolated the earth. (Paris talks, pp. 19, 21.)
I WANT TO make you understand that material progress and spiritual progress are two very different things, and that only if material progress goes hand in hand with spirituality, can any real progress come about and the Most Great Peace reign in the world. If men followed the Holy Counsels and the Teachings of the Prophets, if Divine Light shone in all hearts and men were really religious, we should soon see peace on earth and the Kingdom of God among men. The Laws of God may be likened unto the soul, and material progress unto the body. If the body was not animated by the soul, it would cease to exist. (Paris Talks, p. 104.)
RELIGION IS the outer expression of the Divine Reality. Therefore it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and non-progressive it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore the revelation of them must be
progressive and continuous. All things are subject to re-formation. This is a century of life and renewal. . . .
The Divine Prophets have revealed and founded religion. They have laid down certain laws and heavenly principles for the guidance of mankind. They have taught and promulgated the knowledge of God, established praiseworthy ethical ideals and inculcated the highest standards of virtues in the human world. Gradually these heavenly teachings and foundations of reality have been beclouded by human interpretations and dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs. The essential realities which the prophets labored so hard to establish in human hearts and minds while undergoing ordeals and suffering tortures of persecution, have now well nigh vanished. Some of these heavenly messengers have been killed, some imprisoned; all of them despised and rejected while proclaiming the reality of divinity. Soon after their departure from this world, the essential truth of their teachings was lost sight of and dogmatic imitations adhered to.
Inasmuch as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have arisen among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity destroyed. The Prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement. They have been the founders of divine reality. Therefore if the nations of the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the revealed Word of God, they will agree and become reconciled. . . . In other words the fundamental reality of the divine religions must be renewed, reformed, revoiced to mankind. . . . The Prophets of God have founded the laws of divine civilization. They have been the root and fundamental source of all knowledge. (Pro. U. P., pp. 138-140.)
THE PURPOSE of religion is the acquisition of praiseworthy virtues, betterment of morals, spiritual development of mankind, the real life and divine bestowals. All the prophets have been the promoters of these principles; none of them has been the promoter of corruption, vice or evil. They have summoned mankind to all good. They have united people in the love of God, invited them to the religions of the unity of mankind and exhorted them to amity and agreement. . . . The counterfeit or imitation of true religion has adulterated human belief and the foundations have been lost sight of. . . . We must look at the reality of the prophets and their teachings in order that we may agree. (Pro. U. P., p 146.)
FROM THE time of the creation of Adam to this day there have been two pathways in the world of humanity; one the natural or materialistic, the other the religious or spiritual. The pathway of nature is the pathway of the animal realm. The animal acts in accordance with the requirements of nature, follows its own instincts and desires. Whatever its impulses and proclivities may be it has the liberty to gratify them; yet it is a captive of nature. It cannot deviate in the least degree from the road nature has established. It is utterly minus spiritual susceptibilities, ignorant of divine religion and without knowledge of the kingdom of God.
One of the strangest things witnessed is that the materialists of today are proud of their natural instincts and bondage. They state that nothing is entitled to belief and acceptance except that which is sensible or tangible. By their own statements they are captives of nature, unconscious of the spiritual world, uninformed of the divine kingdom and unaware of heavenly bestowals.
The second pathway is that of religion, the road of the divine kingdom. It involves the acquisition of praiseworthy attributes, heavenly illumination and righteous actions in the world of humanity. This pathway is conducive to
the progress and uplift of the world. It is the source of human enlightenment, training and ethical improvement; the magnet which attracts the love of God because of the knowledge of God it bestows. This is the road of the holy manifestations of God for they are in reality the foundation of the divine religion of oneness. There is no change or transformation in this pathway. It is the cause of human betterment, the acquisition of heavenly virtues and the illumination of mankind.
Alas! that humanity is completely submerged in imitations and unrealities notwithstanding the truth of divine religion has ever remained the same. (Pro. of U. P., pp. 171-174.)
THE FIRST BESTOWAL of God in the world of humanity is religion, because religion consists in Divine teachings to men; and most assuredly Divine teachings are preferable to all other sources of instruction.
Religion confers upon man the life everlasting. Religion is a service to the world of morality. Religion guides humanity to the eternal happiness. Religion is the cause of everlasting honor in the world of man.
Religion has ever helped humanity to progress. If a Divine Religion. should be productive of discord among society, it is a destroyer and not Divine; for religion means unity and binding together.
By religion we mean those necessary bonds which unify the world of humanity. This has ever been the essence of religion, for this object have all the Manifestations come to the world. Alas! that the leaders of religion afterwards have abandoned this solid foundation and have fabricated a set of blind dogmas and rituals which are at complete variance with the foundation of Divine Religion. (Bahá’í Scriptures.)
RELIGION is the cause of fellowship, not strangeness; the motive of ideal communion and not ill feeling; the foundation of the solidarity of the human race. . . . A hundred thousand times, alas! that ignorant prejudice, unnatural differences and antagonistic and inimical principles are yet displayed by the nations of the world toward one another, thus causing the retardation of general progress. This retrogression comes from the fact that the principles of divine civilization are completely abandoned and the teachings of the prophets of God are forgotten.
Firstly, religion must become the means of love and amity.
Secondly, it must proclaim the oneness of the world of humanity. (Star, Vol. 8, p. 15.)
WHY IS MAN so hard of heart? It is because he does not yet know God. If he had knowledge of God, he could not act in direct opposition to His laws; if he were spiritually minded, such a line of conduct would be impossible to him. If only the laws and precepts of the Prophets of God had been believed, understood and followed, wars would no longer darken the face of the earth. . . . All down the ages, the Prophets of God have been sent into the world to serve the Cause of Truth. . . . So at last, when Bahá’u’lláh arose in Persia, this was his most ardent desire, to rekindle the waning light of Truth in all lands. All the holy ones of God have tried with heart and soul to spread the Light of Love and Unity throughout the world, so that the darkness of materiality might disappear and the Light of Spirituality might shine forth among the children of men. . . .
All the Manifestations of God came with the same purpose, and they have all sought to lead men into the paths of virtue. Yet we, their servants, still dispute among ourselves! Why is it thus? Why do we not love one another and live in unity?
It is because we have shut our eyes to the underlying principle of all religions, that God is one, that He is the Father of us all, that we are all immersed in the ocean of His Mercy, and sheltered and protected by His loving care. . . .
The day is coming when all the religions of the world will unite, for in principle they are one already. There is no need for division, seeing that it is only the outward forms that separate them. . . .
(Paris Talks, pp. 113, 119.)
IT IS EVIDENT that a power is needed to carry out and execute what is known and admitted to be the remedy for human conditions; namely, the unification of mankind. Furthermore, it is evident that this cannot be realized through material process and means. The accomplishment of this unification cannot be through racial power, for races are different and diverse in tendencies. It cannot be through a patriotic power, for nationalities are unlike. Nor can it be effected through political power since the policies of governments and nations are various. That is to say, any effort toward unification through these material means would benefit one and injure another, because of unequal and individual interests. Some may believe this great remedy can be found in dogmatic insistence upon imitations and interpretations. No! this would be without foundation and result. Therefore it is evident that no means but an ideal means, a Spiritual Power, Divine Bestowals and the breaths of the Holy Spirit will heal this world sickness of war, dissension and discord. Nothing else is possible, nothing can be conceived of. But through spiritual means and the Divine Power it is possible and feasible.
Consider history. What has brought unity to nations, morality to peoples and benefits to mankind? If we reflect upon it we will find that establishing the Divine Religions has been the greatest means toward accomplishing the oneness of humanity. The Foundation of Divine Reality in religion has done this; not imitations. Imitations are opposed to each other and have ever been the cause of strife, enmity, jealousy and war. The Divine Religions are collective centers in which diverse standpoints may meet, agree and unify. They accomplish oneness of nativities, races and policies. . . All other efforts of men and nations remain as mere mention in history—without accomplishment. (Star of the West, Vol. 4, No. 3, p. 57).
THE PEOPLE of religions find, in the Teachings of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh, the establishment of Universal Religion—a religion that perfectly conforms with present conditions, which in reality effects the immediate cure of the incurable disease, which relieves every pain, and bestows the infallible antidote for every deadly poison. For if we wish to arrange and organize the world of mankind in accordance with the present religious imitations and thereby to establish the felicity of the world of mankind, it is impossible and impracticable—for example, the enforcement of the laws of the Old Testament (Taurat) and also of the other religions in accordance with present imitations. But the essential basis of all the Divine Religions which pertains to the virtues of the world of mankind and is the foundation of the welfare of the world of man, is found in the Teachings of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh in the most perfect presentation. . .
Today nothing but the Power of the Word of God which encompasses the realities of things can bring the thoughts, the minds, the hearts and the spirits under the shade of One Tree. (Hague Tablet, p. 7 and 10).
HOW SHALL WE of the West meet the East, unite, and between us produce something greater than either alone could conceive and project into being? What are the points of contact? The tourist comes encased in predjudice carrying with him his habits of thought and act as a part of his luggage, and no stretching or extension of physical horizon can increase a mental area bounded by a fixed standard of living and thinking. To observe, to study is not enlarging it the object of interest remains outside us, alien to our consciousness. So the tourist returns carrying many little tales of a strange world.
We expect more of the intelligent traveller who gives himself time and makes opportunity for patient observation of manners, customs and religious observances. He writes an exhaustive account of his travels, but though these travel books may interest us they leave us cold, for they give no understanding of the motivating and shaping forces that produce the phenomena so interestingly described.
It is like studying musical instruments without hearing them played upon. However faithfully we describe the lovely shape of a “’tar,” count its strings, trace its development from the primitive lyre and compare it with its relatives in the family of stringed instruments, we convey nothing that quickens or stimulates; the most minute analysis will not reproduce one faintest note of the music for which it was created. We cannot know an alien people until they cease to be alien. We cannot understand a stranger, however intimate the contact, and we remain strangers unless there be a meeting of hearts, not in the sense of affectionate response, but as Ghazzali uses the word” . . . the heart, that spiritual part of man which is the seat of the knowledge of God.”
Now outside those who journey “for to admire and for to see, for to observe this world so wide,” what efforts are being made today to bring East and West together in understanding? The Western statesmen who concerns himself with conditions in the East is influenced and limited by the ambitions of his country and the polity of his party. The meliorist, usually an American, believing that the world can be improved by practical means, thinks to alter conditions by exchanging the primitive forked plough for a traction engine, but a tractor is of little use to a man who considers himself captive in a web of destiny. Humanitarians would establish clinics and dispensaries, introduce methods of modern hygiene and work to better the sad lot of the Oriental woman, but these reforms are of little benefit to the inarticulate victims of a static acceptance of things-as-they-are. To treat the immediate cause of ills and distress is as stupid as that mediæval practice of annointing the sword to heal the wound. Palliative measures only postpone the cure.
The educator who would train and feed the minds of Oriental children comes, usually, to impose his knowledge rather than to adapt his teaching to the needs of the student. If the teacher is not receptive, willing to learn as much as he teaches he remains a pedagogue, and the world is likely to die of pedagogy. And this principle applies, too, to the scientist and archaeologist who is willing to accept only those facts which form links in the chain of research that binds him.
The cleric or religious coming out of the West is, for the most part, completely
satisfied with the residuum of the teachings of Jesus that remains to us. Safely encased in his belief like the egg within the shell, he presents a smooth, bland exterior which protects him from any infiltration of new ideas.
The scholar and orientalist strike nearer to the core of understanding in opening up to us the great literature of the East, for there poetry is the voice of the people rather than the language of an intellectual aristocracy as it is in Europe and America. But unfortunately the scholar is rarely himself a poet, so that much beauty is lost in translation, and the wealth of symbolism and imagery of the oriental poet is foreign and confusing to the western mind.
A common knowledge of a language is helpful, but to exchange ideas and opinions does not necessarily promote true understanding. To exchange opinions is like changing from one boat to another in the mid-ocean of consciousness. We may be happy and sure of our opinion, it may be solid under our feet as a stout ship; but beneath the ship lies the moving sea of truth itself, a sea vast and powerful which in an instant may engulf us and our opinions.
Universities and schools throughout Europe and America have opened their doors to students from the East and this is good if these young men and women will choose and adopt what is best of our culture and customs. But a new universal civilization cannot be built by a happy or fortuitous selection of that which is good and practical in existing forms any more than a universal religion can be produced by a syncretic or synthetic assembling of various religious teachings and principles. All must meet at the source and together build the supreme civilization.
Civilization can be roughly divided into three phases. The first was founded on the successful adaptation of man to his natural environment. In the second, brought to a climax in this last century, we find man grown skillful enough to harness the forces of nature and make them serve his needs and desires. The last and supreme phase into which we are now entering is based upon man’s adjustment to divine forces which will work through him to produce a new order, powers undreamed of and a happy release from the indocile senses and their domination.
The vision of the brotherhood of man is developing in every country, but the enthusiast making sincere and lively effort to quicken the race to a social consciousness of human interdependence and brotherhood is often misled by the rosy reflection of his own ardour. Enthusiasm is stimulating and contagious, but this stimulus is short-lived if there is not recognition and acceptance of the creative source of ardour, Mejnoun, distracted with love for Laila says, “They blame me and my madness, yet if they should bring my madness together with that which created it their blame would turn to wonder.”
Every significant action and the grouping of acts which makes the pattern of our days is the result of some dominant force working through consciousness; to observe the act without becoming aware of the motive power is futile. We look through a window into a room filled with dancers, the window is closed, we do not hear the music to which they dance and their antics are to us grotesque and ludicrous. If this is true in regard to the secular lives of strangers it is more profoundly true in the matter of their religious observances which often seem to us fantastic and artificial. If we can climb to the hidden spring that feeds the spiritual life of a group or an individual, then we can become united at the source and from that height can see the ocean into which all streams ultimately empty.
Very familiar—the sonorous assurance that there is no royal road to knowledge, but there is a spiritual short-cut to understanding, instantaneous and complete. Poet and ploughboy may come together, not on the basis of their immediate need
and interest, for to the poet the first significance of the ploughed field lies in the rhythmic furrows etched by the slow-moving plough, waves of rich cool soil tossed by the plough, he sees the earth as the fecund mother of beauty. The ploughboy, intent upon his task, is conscious of the tilled field only as a means to sustain life; the soil is his enemy to be conquered afresh with each successive season. But ploughman and poet can meet in the consciousness of the supreme source of the earth’s bounty and beauty. How to meet—in the mass—these brothers of East and West? Admitting the occasional miracle of a personal understanding and sympathy, rare even between blood-brothers; how to create a larger understanding? How to unite in service to humanity when in addition to diverse habits, points of view and traditions there exist as well profound differences of character and totally different responses and reactions to spiritual stimuli?
In the Oriental a religious quickening intensifies his innate tendency to devotion, contemplation and submission to the will of God. He is capable in a high degree of the contemplative ecstasy of the mystic. Carried to excess this results in inaction. Mystic derives from the word which means closing of the eyes and the man who lives in a tranced outwardly condition is like the stream which never reaches the seat but pours its waters into a still inland pool, unknown, unvisited.
The Occidental responds to spiritual stimulus in terms of action, he must speak his enthusiasm, express his ardour, busy himself with a thousand details which he believes to be bricks in the building of a new structure. This carried to extreme results in pre-occupation with external and objective affairs and he is apt to mistake activity for accomplishment and to be misled by the pleasant warmth of his efforts to a sense of spiritual well-being.
Now it is clear that there can be no exchange of qualities and characteristics between East and West, but there can be in this day a sublimation of natural tendencies and a development of new attributes which include innate tendencies in a sublimated form. The restless energy of the West may lead to that true vigour of activity which is the immediate translation of belief into deeds. Impetuosity may give way to that courage of faith that is sometimes more potent than the nicety of wisdom. The caution, prudence, patience and wisdom of the East may produce the larger wisdom of being more than one knows, not refraining from action because of incomplete knowledge, realizing that knowledge is the horizon line of consciousness, receding as we advance.
And above all there must be, in the East and in the West, a united effort to penetrate to that underlying plane of universal consciousness which supports our differences. For this penetration a spiritual understanding and power not hitherto existing in the world is necessary. Without some new factor in its spiritual life humanity may well feel that this penetration is beyond the limits of possibility. This new factor is found in the teachings of the Bahá’í Revelation and in the lives of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and Ábdu’l-Bahá. The history of the Movement amply demonstrates the presence of such a force in the world today, and the example of the lives of the Manifestations will enable all men to find beatitude and peace in action, serenity in effort, true mysticism in terms of social service and faith in active demonstration of the power of the spirit. A true union, a perfect fruition of the potential qualities of the East and the West.
Dr. Tasuka Harada, after graduation from Doshisha University, Kyoto, attended Yale, from which he received the degree of B. D. He also received honorary degrees from Amherst, D. D., and Edinburgh, LL. D. In Japan he engaged in Christian work and for twelve years was president of Doshisha University. He resigned his position there in order to come to Hawaii and take up work in connection with the Oriental department of the University of Hawaii. His book, “The Faith of Japan,” contains lectures given in America. He was a lecturer at Lowell Institute, Boston, Mass., in 1919 and repeated his lectures at Harvard, Yale and other Universities.
MODERN Japan began in 1868 with the reign of Emperor Meiji. During twenty centuries of Japanese history there are only three instances of war with foreign nations. The first was the invasion of Korea in the reign of Empress Jingo in the third century A. D. The second was the invasion of Japan by Mongols in the thirteenth century, when Japan had to fight in defense and successfully destroyed the invading army. The third was the invasion of Korea by Hideyoshi in the sixteenth century. After these wars Japan had a period of peace both externally and internally for nearly three centuries.
After the opening of Japan to foreign intercourse in the Meiji era, she has been engaged in three foreign wars. The first was the China-Japanese war in 1894-95; the second, the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-5; and the third, the World war in 1914-18. The first of these wars was fought, as I believe, in the defense of safety, and Japan took part in the World war because of her alliance with Great Britain, and her work was to protect the transportation of the soldiers from Australia and India to the scene of war.
There are certain facts we must admit. First, that since the opening of Japan to foreign nations, she has been compelled to prepare herself against the aggressive exploitations of the European nations. She learned of the navy from Great Britain, and the army from France and later Germany. Secondly, because of Japan’s close approach with Germany and admiration of German exactness and efficiency, the German spirit of imperialism had considerable influence among the intelligent class of people before the great war, but this condition underwent a radical change after the defeat of Germany. Nevertheless, in spite of all these facts, the real leaders of modern Japan have been not of the military class but civilians. Marshal Yamagata and General Katsura are the exceptions. On the other hand, Prince Ito, the framer of the new constitution; Marquis Okuma, the founder of Weseda University; Matsugata, the reformer of the financial system of Japan; and Inouye, and Mutsu, prominent diplomats, are among those who have led Japan in peaceful development.
After the Meiji era, the first peace work which Japan interested herself in was that of the Red Cross. Seven years after the organization of the new government she took the first step to join the International Red Cross Union, and after many years the Japanese unit has grown to be one of the most prosperous organizations of its kind in the world. According to the late statistics, the members number 2,064,200, and the property amounts to 46,444,000 yen. It supports seventeen hospitals in various parts of the country and many thousands of nurses are ready to serve both in times of war and peace.
I will mention some of the more important
peace organizations that are now active in Japan. First, the Japanese Peace Society, of which Baron Sakatani is the president, and the membership of which includes foreign residents of Japan as well as Japanese. Second, the Woman’s Peace Association of Japan. This is a new association, but is quite active under the leadership of the president, Mrs. H. Inouye. Third, another woman’s organization, the W. C. T. U., which is also doing good work for international peace. Fourth, The Church Alliance for World Peace. In this organization the Christian churches of all denominations are united. Fifth, the America-Japan Society. Viscount Kaneko, a classmate of Theodore Roosevelt at Harvard, is the president, and the society is working for the development of good will between America and Japan. Sixth, The Association Concordia, an association aiming to find the common ground in social and religious development of various nations, and in that way to advance good will among all nations. Seventh, The League of Nations Association. Prince Tokugawa and Viscount Shibusawa are the leading spirits in this association and are trying to keep up the interest of the nation in the League of Nations. Last but not least is the American-Japan Relations Committee. It was organized by Viscount Shibusawa and other friends of America nearly ten years ago. It has been active in advancing friendship between America and Japan in co-operation with committees of the same name in New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu.
One of the remarkable signs of the times in Japan is the attitude of the students and young people in general for peace. When Mr. Y. Osaki, a prominent political leader, made a campaign for the reduction of armament at the time of the Washington Conference, he received almost unanimous support from the student class wherever he delivered his address. It is true that we have compulsory military training, but there is now strong opposition against such training.
The new cabinet in Japan is reported to be seriously considering a radical reduction of the standing army, to dispose of four legions out of twenty legions in all Japan. On September 12, when America was observing the so-called mobilization day, in Japan the Japanese Union of Educational Associations carried a nation-wide campaign for the propagation of the abolition of war. This does not mean that there is no jingo press, or reactionary element in Japan, but there is a strong movement for peace and influential leaders who are working for it. They need the assistance and co-operation of the lovers of peace in other countries.
Dr. Sydney Gulick in his book, “Significant Movements in Japan,” writes: “Since the Washington Conference the number of laborers in Japan employed in the Government dockyards has been decreased by twenty-five thousand, but gradually, out of consideration for the needs of the workers and because of the general industrial situation. At the same time the naval forces have been reduced by fifteen thousand men and the army by some fifty thousand men and twelve thousand officers. The combined military and naval budget for 1923 is less than that for 1922 by fifty-eight million dollars, while the national budget for primary education has been increased by fifteen million dollars.”
There are many angles through which a nation should be studied and judged. There are all sorts of people in Japan as well as in any other country.—(Talk given to a Woman’s Club in Honolulu.)
RUHI AFNÁN has so beautifully explained in his article in the June number of the STAR OF THE WEST how God, “on the one hand sent His Prophets with a perfect code of laws to teach some chosen disciples,” and, “on the other hand, reaching beyond this small circle of disciples, He inspired receptive souls in all quarters of the globe and among all races and religions to further the work.”
In the Far East three receptive souls were inspired with this spirit. In the spring of 1912 they met together in Tokyo, Japan, to form the nucleus of an association aiming to find the common ground on which all nations could harmonize. These men were the late Prof. Naruse, the founder of the first Woman’s College in Japan; Viscount Shibusawa, a banker and financier who has followed the teachings of Confucius for his moral standard in life; and Prof. Anesaki, Professor of Comparative Religion in the Imperial University, Tokyo. For the sake of finding this common ground on which all nations could agree, Prof. Naruse undertook a journey around the world, meeting prominent men in the different countries and receiving their expressions of good will, which were later published.
In the Diary kept by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s secretary while in London in 1912 is the following: “A distinguished Japanese, the President of the Woman’s University in Tokyo, who had been in the United States for many months, came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and showed him an article on the ‘Concordia Movement’ in Japan, which appeared in the Oriental Review of November, 1912. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to him about principles of the Bahá’í Cause and how we are in need of Divine Power to put these principles into practice. ‘Just as the sun is the source of all lights in the solar system, so today Bahá’u’lláh is the Center of Unity of the human race and of the peace of the world?’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote a beautiful prayer in his autograph book and earnestly pleaded with him to go back to Japan and spread these lofty ideals.”
The prayer is; “Oh God, the darkness of struggle, competition and war among various religions, nations and races has covered the horizon of Reality and hidden the Heaven of Truth. The world needs the Light of Guidance; therefore, O God, bless us with Thy Grace, so that the Sun of Reality may illumine the East and the West.”—(A. A.)
FOUR HUNDRED and eleven years ago, Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. This largest of the great oceans, which covers two-fifths of the surface of our world, was then an almost insurmountable barrier separating the lands and people which border its shores.
In the new age in which we now live, a great transformation has taken place. The barrier Balboa encountered in 1513 has become a highway of travel and commerce. Connected with cable and wireless, its lands are united by almost instantaneous communication. In this new way, through the Pacific, East and West are coming together, and it is possible for it to become the greatest means for friendship.
The focus of the mingling of East and West is at the crossroads of the Pacific, the Territory of Hawaii, where a wonderful spirit of brotherhood is found, which had its beginning a century ago. In 1817, Obookiah, a Hawaiian boy, was found weeping on the steps of Yale College. He had made his way to the United States on a whaling vessel in company with three other Hawaiian boys, and they had entered among the first 19 pupils in a foreign school at Cornwall, Connecticut. The boy was weeping because he wanted someone to go to his people and tell them of Jesus Christ. This little incident was destined to change the life of a people. Three years later, a company of young, consecrated
couples set sail from Boston in a whaling vessel, for the then little known islands of the Pacific. This was before the day of railroads, steamships, or telegraphs, and the only way to the Pacific was a six months’ voyage around Cape Horn, attended with many hardships, in vessels not fitted for passenger service.
The first band of Christian missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands landed at Kailua, Hawaii, April, 1820. To an untrodden vineyard they had come and found the way already prepared. The old system of tabus (forbidden things), which affected the rights of the common people, and more especially the women, had been abolished, and the group of eight islands were united under Kamehameha I, a warrior king. The Hawaiian people, by nature loving and kind, welcomed their new teachers and thus began the transforming of the islands. By the year 1860 they had a constitutional government and public schools.
The friendly spirit of the missionaries and the loving nature of the Hawaiian people produced an unusual intercourse of social equality. Grafted upon this foundation of friendliness, the orientals came. First came the Chinese who intermarried with the Hawaiians, then the Japanese and their ambition, the Filipinos, and others. All the races developed and mingled in peace and harmony, and today, under the United States, in the American schools, the children of all races mingle together with equal opportunities of education.
These island spots are fast becoming a strategic point for broadcasting good-will to all the world. Because of their background it is their duty, their spirit to carry forward this spirit of equality and mutual love and trust which was planted through the sacrificing missionaries. Situated at the center of the Pacific Ocean, they are peculiarly fitted to be an experiment station for trying out internationalism and making people love each other. As a tourist center they are constantly educating people through meeting with the oriental population. It has been pointed out that young Chinese and Japanese, trained in this atmosphere of good-will and freedom, can go back to be leaders of their race, while from the West, young people of America destined for service in the Far East, can come for training.
Balboa Day, September 17, was inaugurated in Honolulu, in 1915, on the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery by Balboa. A man who had a vision of the union of the countries around the Pacific, commenced in this way what has grown to be the Pan-Pacific Union, embracing all the Pacific lands. It is the occasion for the leaders in the great communities from Pacific lands to gather and tell each other what they are doing to make the city of their adoption a better place to live in because they have come to make it their home. This year it was observed throughout the Pacific lands. In Honolulu, under the auspices of the Pan-Pacific Union, it was the occasion for a dinner where East and West met together in a wonderful spirit of brotherhood. Speakers representing China, Japan, Korea, Philippine Islands, Australia, Canada, Hawaii, and the United States, gave their messages of good-will, and a Japanese sang songs composed by three nationalities of Europe.
“As we live in the midst of the preparedness for war,” said one speaker, “let us prepare for peace, let us learn to understand one another, let us learn the psychology of good-will.” And it was predicted that the time is coming when in the cabinet of the United States there will be a Secretary of Peace.
Like a band of crusaders to spread good-will among the nations of the world, the people from all parts of the Pacific are coming together. “A new era of divine consciousness is upon us. The thoughts of human brotherhood are permeating all regions. New ideals are stirring the depths of hearts and a new spirit of universal consciousness is being profoundly felt by all men.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá)
AND NEW ZEALAND
MARTHA ROOTAUSTRALIA means “Land of the Dawning.” It is the newest continent to come into the ken of civilized man, yet it shows in its rock formations, its animals, and its trees that it is indeed the oldest. Certainly it is one of the loveliest and most fascinating. This mystically beautiful land has risen up from three great oceans; it is proudly guarded by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian. O reader under the Stars and Stripes! do you know that if you except the lakes of your own land area, then Australia is larger than your native land?
A visit to Australia is full of charm.
Everything is different. The gum trees, the wattles flinging a yellow glory over the country, emit an elusively rare perfume. Wild flowers and birds are unlike any others in the world. There are certain animals, too, that have not learned to walk upright like man, yet do not go on all fours as beasts. The great kangaroos go hopping noiselessly about.
This story is not to be just about the scenery, the gnarled knotted trunks eucalyptian, or the wattle gold a-trembling, or the “laughing jackass” birds called kookaburras. This simple tale is about a “Father” and a “Mother” who came to Australia and brought SOMETHING which is going to fulfill a spiritual prophecy and make Australia in very truth the “Land of the Dawning.”
There were a man and his wife from San Francisco, two Bahá’ís, with beautiful grey hair and sweet young faces so filled with Light and Love that any stranger would say to himself, “What makes them so happy?”
In 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Center of the Covenant of the Bahá’í Cause, had sent Tablets (letters) to America outlining a great plan for a spiritual Divine Civilization for the whole world. A copy of these Tablets had been sent to these two Bahá’ís in California. As they read them and humbly prayed “Labeick! Labeick! Lord, here I am! Lord, here I am!” the deep urge came to them to carry the Glad Tidings of the Bahá’í Cause to Australia and New Zealand.
No commercialism trails over the pages of Bahá’í history. These two worked and economized and finally landed in Australia with barely fifteen dollers. Father was taken ill, but Mother went out to earn for those first few weeks. Then Father gained strength and went out and found a position. “He who ariseth to serve the Cause of God verily the doors of might and power shall be thrown open before his face!” but it is often true one has to ARISE in faith first.
For four years these two pioneer teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn by name, traveled through Australia, earning their living, and both telling the dear Australian friends about the Bahá’í Cause for world peace. The writer, a Bahá’í, has just come along and for four months has traveled in this new continent to assist in the work. What has she found? Bahá’í centers in every large city where Mr. and Mrs. Dunn have lived. A little group of Bahá’í pilgrims—the first ever to go from Australia or New Zealand—are sailing in two months to visit Haifa and Aqá, Palestine, to study the Bahá’í movement at its source. New believers are selling their homes and planning to go forth, disciples of this New Day, to carry these glorious Glad Tidings all over the world, taking it first to their own beloved home-land.
Another enthusiastic group said: Do come out and see what a wonderful site we have chosen for our Universal House of Peace when we shall buy ground and build it in the years ahead!
Mr. and Mrs. Dunn had been in another city only seven weeks. They gave a Bahá’í Feast, the first ever held in South Australia. Truly it was astonishing. One hundred and thirty-five interested friends were present. The decorations would have been considered remarkable in New York or in London, and the people had arranged it all. Most important of all, the Breaths of the Holy Spirit swept over the hearts.
What is the secret of this rapid progress of the Bahá’í Cause in Australia? The reasons which impressed the writer are these:
The Bahá’í Cause is the Truth and the world is reaching out eagerly to know it, to live it and to promote it; and secondly, Mr. and Mrs. Dunn “live the life.” With them it is mostly deeds and lastly words. The splendid, dynamic sons and daughters in the different cities told the writer what these teachers do; the new souls measure sacrifice, trustworthiness and other ideals by these two Bahá’í lives. The writer has never seen two Bahá’í souls give more, trust more, pray more.
Mr. Dunn said: “Never mention us in writing about Australia. I wish I COULD do something for Australia!” Mrs. Dunn said: “I have failed!” and she wept. It is in sweet humbleness like this that the spiritual gardens of Bahá’í souls have come into their first exquisite bloom in this fair land of the Southern Cross.
Every day do they pray for Shoghi Effendi, the precious Guardian of the Cause. They felt perhaps he would come to Australia. to rest in those, his dark days—they watched for him in the streets and when the boats arrived. Perhaps Shoghi Effendi’s spirit did come, and finding faithfulness and progress, he was rejoiced!
Perhaps others who read how two souls, not young, not well, without funds except to pay for a steamship ticket, could arise and carry the fragrance of the Bahá’í Cause to a young continent—perhaps they too will prayerfully adventure forth! May they also find health, success and salvation!
This story has an aftermath. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn went over to New Zealand on their vacation. Their real visit was to tell the people about the Bahá’í Cause. They started out down the principal street of the city wondering how to begin. Briefly—through prayer and guidance they found friends who had heard of the Bahá’í Cause in the “Christian Commonwealth” of England in 1911 and a lecture was arranged.
Another lovely woman, Margaret, in that city had also heard of the Bahá’í Movement from a “Christian Commonwealth” mailed to her by a sister studying in London; the sister had heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Westminster. Margaret believed and had been a Bahá’í in her heart for nine years. Many people came to the lecture. That was only two years ago. Now when the writer visited New Zealand she found it just as awake as Australia and the friends there arranged Bahá’í lectures two and three a day. They were such spritual, such efficient Bahá’ís! Aqá and London will be proud of these new brothers and sisters from both these lands and will see some of them too, for they are going to take a Bahá’í teaching trip.
Cosmic causes are not spread in a decade or a generation. This little story does not mean at all that Australia and New Zealand have become Bahá’í countries. It does mean that some very fine Australians and New Zealanders are confirmed Bahá’ís.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “This Cause has become world-wide. In a short space of time it has penetrated throughout all regions for it has a magnetic power which attracts all intelligent men and
women towards its center. If a person becomes informed of the reality of this Cause he will believe in it, for these teachings are the spirit of this age.
“The Bahá’í Movement imparts life. It is the cause of love and amity amongst mankind. It establishes communication between various nations and religions. It removes all antagonisms. And when this cause is fully spread, warfare will be a thing of the past, universal peace will be realized, the oneness of the world of humanity will be manifested, and religion and science will work hand in hand. Then this world will become one family.”
EXCERPTS from the $25,000 Prize Plan of Education for Peace by Dr. David Starr Jordan:
AS THE HISTORY of the future shall be written in the schools of today, it is vital that the teacher lay in the minds of children the foundation of a sane and wholesome background from which to develop international amity and intelligent abhorrence of war.
“The plan of education for peace foreshadowed in the organization of the World Federation of Educational Associations, established at San Francisco in 1923, looks courageously toward the ultimate abolition of international war as a legitimate sequence of disagreements between nations or between individuals of different countries. Its central purpose is the mobilization of teachers in all lands, most immediately in America, in order that their combined influence and that of their pupils may be thrown solidly on the side of peace.
“The welfare of our country does not demand abasement or injury of any other. It is well ‘to love the cities where we were born and the little hills that bear these cities up.’ It is evil to distrust and hate the people of other cities or other lands, or to endeavor by personal or official means to do them needless injury.
“Special Arrangements for Training Youth in World Amity.—Children may be brought to sympathize with life in other lands through the promotion of correspondence between the youth of nation and nation. With students of more advanced age, international scholarships, exchange professorships, university departments of international relations, are active agencies for better understanding. Essays, orations, forum discussions of one sort or another serve a useful purpose, and other features of like character will be devised from time to time.
One particularly effective method of inducing thoughtful study of international problems by the youth of the world would be that of a series of competitive orations, its geographical extent being limited only by practical considerations of utility and expense. A plan to this end may be outlined as follows:—
Students under twenty-one years of age, or of some specified grade of educational advancement, would be encouraged to prepare competitive essays or orations of a definite length on some chosen topic or topics relating to international peace. Judges in every case should take account, perhaps equally, of composition and delivery on the one hand, and of mastery of the subject on the other. The winner from each school would then meet and compete with winners from similar schools comprised within a fixed geographical area; and so on, with progression from smaller to larger groups, up to a final nation-wide or even international contest.
“The importance of such a contest lies in the education of the coming generation, and incidentally that of their parents and friends. Similar studies, taken seriously, would give the young people of the nation or of the world a background of knowledge and mutual understanding which might be of inestimable value in any future crisis of civilization.
“Pledging the United States to the Service of Peace.—To this end I would suggest that a committee of American teachers should consider the propriety of using our collective influence in favor of an official ‘Council of Peace’ or ‘Bureau of Conciliation’ within the Department of State.
“War, as we know it, is not ‘ingrained in human nature.’ It is an acquired vice, a product of lust for power. Human nature changes very slowly, but the point of view may alter very suddenly when people are ripe for it. Education prepares for just such a new vision, and sudden changes in point of view have repeatedly taken place, every great collective wrong having been vanquished. when enough men began to realize its true character.
“To such final end of war the teacher should contribute, directly in his relation to the young, indirectly in his relation as a scholar and a patriot to the adult generation. For the world still faces a perilous emergency. The coming generation, even though better trained, is not yet here, and the men and women of today on whom we rely for the saving of civilization are the same people who allowed militarists and diplomatists to plunge them into war. The condition is critical; it admits of no delay. Every teacher should therefore do his part towards that mental and moral disarmament which must precede and accompany military disarmament. The present generation, however, confused and exhausted, will determine the immediate future.
“It is hopefully true, however, that no single generation can finally wreck or even finally save civilization, because in the long history of man we have built up an enduring organization for the common welfare. Yet no good result comes about of itself, only through the long concerted effort of good men and women.
“The Permanent Court of International Justice.—The relations of the Court of Arbitration at the Hague, and those of the Permanent Court of International Justice, now functioning, should be understood by the teachers of the world.”
“No earthly power can resist the onrushing power of peace, for this bower is assisted by the Power of God, and that which is divinely assisted must prevail.
“The thoughts of universal peace must be instilled in the minds of all the scholars, in order that they may become the armies of peace, the real servants of the body politic of the world. . . . Mankind must learn the lesson of peace; they must be instructed in the school of love.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
To the Editors of the STAR OF THE WEST:
Following a discourse which I recently gave under the auspices of the Bahá’í Assembly of Pasadena, in which I related the circumstances of a conversation which I had in London during the session of the “Conference of Living Religions,” several of the Bahá’í friends requested me to send this narrative to you in order that it might come before the readers of the STAR OF THE WEST as an interesting evidence of the Bahá’í attitude toward the Founders of all the great religious systems of the world.
The narrative follows:
One afternoon during the sessions of the Conference I stood before the table on which were displayed the Bahá’í publications when I noticed a very fine looking Muhammadan from India who was glancing over some of the Words of Bahá’u’lláh. He smiled brightly as, on lifting his eyes, he discovered that I was looking at him, and so I made bold to inquire if he was familiar with the Bahá’í writings. He replied that he was, but that he was an adherent of the Ahmadiyyah Movement.
I said that I had not known anything about this movement until I had heard it expounded by the speaker the day before. The man then turned to me and asked:
“How do you regard Bahá’u’lláh as a man?” I hesitated for a moment, seeking the wisest way to reply, and then I said: "In the same way in which we regard all the Manifestations of God as they have appeared in the world throughout the ages.”
“Yes, I know,” said my friend from India, “but I mean, how do you regard him aside from the man of inspiration which spoke through him in his writings? You see the Koran is the Inspired Word which came to the world through Muhammad, but there is a difference between the ‘Inspired Word’ and the man himself. Now how do you regard Bahá’u’lláh as a man?”
I replied: “The Manifestations of God are perfect in all their stations. They are the highest manifestation of spirit in each degree, and though our human limitations prevent us from fully appreciating this fact, it is nevertheless true, and their divine Infallibility is established.”
My friend then asked: “Could you as a Bahá’í worship in a Muhammadan shrine?”
I replied: “Yes, most devoutly.”
“Well,” said he, “could I, as a Muhammadan, worship in a Bahá’í shrine?”
“Of course,” said I. “That is the beauty and miracle of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, that he has established the validity of the Prophets of God beyond question. That is why the Bahá’í religion is called the ‘Religion of Reconciliation.’”
“No, you are wrong,” he insisted. “The Prophet is one thing, the man is another, we differentiate between these two functions.”
“But,” I said, “is not this a very dangerous attitude? How are you able to judge where the man leaves off and the Prophet begins?”
“The Written Word,” he replied, “is the evidence of prophethood, but beyond that Muhammad was as any other man.”
“Then,” said I, “if that is the way you regard Muhammad, I am more of a Muhammadan than you are, for I recognize and accept him as a Manifestation of God, and as such he was infallible.”
I smiled as I turned to leave and each time after that that I caught the eye of this man in the audience he seemed to regard me wonderingly and perhaps he is even yet puzzling over the Bahá’í understanding of the divine revelators.
This seemed such an interesting outcome of the friendly association created by the Conference, that I send it to you, hoping it may throw light upon this question to other questioning minds.
MRS. STUART W. FRENCH.
--PHOTO--
—Linkletter Studio—
—Bahai Assembly, Seattle Wash. Dec. 28, 1924—
--PHOTO--
صفحه 1 - 5
فکر و تربیت چشم و دست میباشد بواسطه ده پاره کتب مختلفه الحجم که اطفال با آن بازی کرده و برج میسازند نیز تربیت حسّ بنظر حاصل میشود و نیز بواسطه ده پارچه منشوری آبی رنگ شبیه به مربعات مستطیل قائم الزوایا مناظر مختلفه هندسی باطفال آموخته و نیز تربیت دو مقطع میباشد و نیز بواسطه ده پارچه چوب صاف تراشیده طویل شبیه به عصا ولی مختلفه الطول که طول چوب اوّل نصف چوب دویّم و باقی بر همین منوال مندرج میباشند تعلیم طول و قصر باطفال داده میشود موضوعات هندسی از هر نوعی دو عدد مکعبات ضخیم و همچنین مثلثات و مخروطات منقطع و کرّات و دوائر بیکدیگر در کیسه ئی است اطفال تعلیم میگیرند که آنها را با یکدیگر انطباق دهند و نیز دستمال بر چشمشان بسته تعلیم میگیرند که اشیاء متشابه را باساس تمیز دهند برای ترقیّ حسّ تنسیج و تنظیم در جعبه های دستکش نیز چندین تکه از منسوج از انواع متعدّده و از هر نوعی دو عدد گذارده شده مانند مخمل ابریشم پنبه پشم ریسمانۀ خوش قماش ضخیم و قس علیهذا و نیز پارچه های چرب مختلفه بضخامت مستورۀ بکانمه همینکه طفل در تحت اختیار داشتن عضلات خود را بدرجۀ رسد که جعبه آنها را از دستکش میز کشیده و مجدّد بجای گذارد بآن تعلیم داده میشود بنامهای مخصوص هر جعبه که آنها را محتاطانه بکنار زده و نامها را تکرارمیکنند و سپس همه را با یکدیگر مخلوط کرده بر سر میز گذارده و طفل آنها را از یکدیگر جدا کرده و جفت جفت مطابق مینماید و در جعبه ها همانطوری که بودند میگذارند دروس برای حسّ احساس خود بوده بواسطۀ شستن دست در درجات مختلفه الحرارۀ آب تعلیم میگرند تربیت سامعه بواسطۀ چندین زنگ خوش نغمات بعمل میآید و مهمترین تربیت بتعلیم سکوت داده میشود اطفال مجتمعا در حال سکوت در یک گوشّ اطاق ایستاده و معلمّ درس را بیان میکند پس از آن اطفال باید بغایت آرام باشند و معلمّ نام هر یک را بطوری که جوهر صدا بلند نمیشود بر زبان میراند و آنان یک بیک از وسط اطاق گذشته نزد معلمه آمده قرار میگیرند و گاهی پرده آویخته شده و اطاق تاریک گشته و اطفال با معلم بآوازهای بیرون کوچه و خیابان گوش فرا میدهند و اطفال در نهایت آرامی و سکوت هستند و نیز بواسطه ده عد چوب نجاری شده طویل کراواتی فی المثل تماما سرخ دویّم سرخ و آبی سیّم سرخ و آبی و سرخ و باقی برین قیاس که اطفال با آن بازی میکنند برای شناختن اعداد مهیّا میشوند و برای خواندن و نوشتن و اعمال اعدادی یک اساس فکری و عضلاتی متینی حاصل مینمایند همچنین بواسطۀ اعداد مکتوبه درست شده
صفحه 2 - 5
از کاغذ حجیم تمرکز دادۀ در تخته نجّاری شده نرم ملوّن که اطفال بتکرار بنک انگشت گردانده و بازی میکنند تأسیسبخاطر داشتن با دست و عضلات میشود و اطفال بآسانی میتوانند خود اعداد را شناخته و تغییر و تبدیل نمایند و نیز دروس اعدادی بواسطه گلوله های چوبی محکم رنگ کرده و نخ کشیده اداره میشود حروف از کاغذ حجیم ساخته شده و طفل دست بر آن حروف نهاده و صوت هر حرفی را تلفظ مینماید و این بحسّ اساس و حسّ نظر تمام میشود و در یک زبان قصیری قادر بر خواندن میشوند و نیز اطفال را وامیدارند که میزهای خود را بشویند و آب و اشیاء دیگر آورده در سینی ها بگذارند و سپس اجازه داده میشود که هریک جلوی میز خود نشسته و منفردا غذای خفیف تناول کنند و این محض تربیت عضلاتی اطفال است و نیز با کمال دقتّ آنان را تفرّس میکنند که ببینند چه چیزی را نمیدانند و سپس مجدّدا بالقاء دروس تربیت مشغول میشوند یکی از درسهای تربیت عضلات این است که اطفال بر یک خط سفید مرسوم بر کف اطاق راه میروند و یک فنجان آب رنگین را بدست گرفته اند و چنان محتاطانه اختیار عضلات را در تحت اداره میگیرند که آب رنگین نریزد اولیاء اطفال که در تربیت آنان فعالیّت دارند در خانه در اوقات استراحت بقوّۀ تربیت در آنان احساساتی را تولید مینمایند و در این وضع تربیت که با کمال دقتّ از ابتدای طفولیّت برای تربیت حواس و احساسات اطفال و برای تسویه کامل در اطفال عضلاتی تهیّه میشود صدور خطایا و جنایات محتمل الوقوع در مستقبل و حمایت اصلاح و ریشۀ آن کنده و جلوگیری میشود و طفل در همان وقت نموّ حقیقی شروع میکند که برای حیات و زندگانی صحیح میباشد مطابق با وضع تربیت حاضره ارتقاء مسائل مافوق عقل و فهم اطفال احتراز میشود و موافق با این اسلوب تازه علمی عملی تربیت برای ترقیّات اطفال خردسال احساسات و توجّه بمعلمّ بدرجۀ است که ساده ترین درس که بایشان القا میشود آنرا با مقام کمال عظمت و محبّت تلقیّ مینمایند.
تأسفّ و توقفّ
قسمت فارسی نجم باختر در عرض قریب دو سال اخیر بقدری که ممکن بود برای قیام بر نشر تعالیم مقدّسه و خدمات تربیتی عملی عالم انسانی سعی و جهد خویش را بعمل آورده و در صبح با همۀ موانعی که بود پس تثار و اگرچه میسّر نشد ولی همّتش در این بود که متدرّجا توسعه یافته و صفحاتش زیادتر و مشتمل بر مقالات مانقری گردد و نه تنها صورتا و معنا بیشتر محلّ توجّه شده بلکه دارای اثر و افادۀ عملی باشد که بصور ساعیّه و نمونه حقیقی از جنبه اتحاد ایران و امریک و شرق و غرب باشد ولی پیوسته قلت اشتراک طالبان فارسی و بالاخره در ایّام اخیره از جهت عدم امکان العیال آن به مشترکین محترم ایران سته بزرگی که بدخل و خرج آن وارد آ»أ بناء علیهذا و از جهت مقاصد دیگر که زمامداران این جریده را شاید در نظر است اینکه عجالة جریان آنرا توقفّ دادند لذا با نهایت افسوس ابلاغ میشود که اکنون این ستارۀ مغرب یعنی قسمت فارسی آن در تحت افق افول و غروب از نظر ما غائب و پنهان و مراتب بعد منتشر نخواهد شد و لعل الله یحدث بعد ذالک امرا جضب القلم ثمّ الرقم و العلام
صفحه 1 - 4
بنای جولان نمیگذاشت و هرگاه شخص بصیر با دیده تحقیق در این یک نکته تأملّ و تبصرّ نماید که بزرگترین میزان برای معرفت هر امری ازامور ملاحظه و امعان نظر در آثاری است که بر آن متمشی و مترتبّ است از مشاهدات تأثیرات محیّره العقول انبیاء مرسلین بر عظمت مافوق الطبیعۀ ایشان گواهی داده و روح صدق و حقیقت را در آثار جمیله آن منابع علم و قدرت ربّ العالمین زنده و متکلمّ می بیند چه این قضیبه از بدیهیّات اولیّه است و احدی انکار آن نتواند نمود که ایجاد مستلزم واجدیّت است و فاقد هستی قادر بر اعطاء هستی نیست در اینصورت نفس همان کمالاتی که ظهور شارعین مقدّس در همه مراتب وجود بعث و خلق نموده اعظم برهان است که آن مظاهر صفات الهیّه واجد و منسجع جمیع نعوت کمالیّه بوده اند آیا برای تصدیق علم محیط و عقل کلّ آن محابط وحی کدام دلیل محسوستر از فضائلی است که در هر عصر و زمان متناسب با ظروف و مقتضیّات آن در عالم بشریّت جعل و ایجاد نموده و ملل متوّحشه و اقوام بائره را باعلی مزاعی علم و حضارت ارتقا دادند آیا برای اثبات سلطۀ و احاطه آن ارواح ملکوتیّه بر هیکل عالم چه برهان مشهود تر از وحدت زمانه می باشد که در بین عناصر متهّدمه و اعضاء متلاشیه آن ظاهر ساخته و در پیکر وجود بعد از موت و تشیّت و اعضاء بعث حدیث نموده اند آیا برای اعتراف بشهامت نفس و ارتباط آن مظاهر مظلومیّت با عالم ملکوت چه بنیۀ واضحتر از صبر و استقامت مافوق التصوّرایشان در مقابل و اقسام زوابع و بلایا است که یأس از مساعدت خلق و محرومیّت از هر قسم تسلیّ در عالم درختی و هن و ضعفی در قوت نداشت ثابت بر استقامت بایشان ظاهر نساخته و مشاهدۀ عوالم ابدی تلخی های این جهان را در ذائقه جان ایشان شیرین نموده است آیا برای اتکاء آن مشارق انقطاع به تأییدات سماویّه و عدم اعتنایشان بوسائل مادیّه چه حجّتی لائحتر از آن است که در عین مغلوبیّت خود را غالب و فائق و در بحبوحۀ متهوریّت خود را قاهر بر جمیع خلائق مشاهده مینمودند و خلاصه آنچه در هر یک از اثرات اقوال و اعمال آن مصادر حقیقت و کمال و خوارق و معجزاتی مشاهده نمائیم که جمیع قوای عالم از ایقان بمثل عاجزند و سلطه و سطوت معنویّه ایشان با وجود مقاومت های ملوک مقتدر و مخاصمت های علماء نافذ الحکم چنان تأثیری در تملیک و تسخیر افئده و قلوب به بیمار ساخته که انکار عظمت آن انکار دحسّ محسوسات و ابده بدیهیّات است . بقیّه دارد . عزیزالله مصباح
مناظر دینیّه بقیّه از شماره های گذشته
مسلم : ما اهل اسلام مطابق بشارات و وعودی که خفا عن سلف در دست داریم منتظر ظهور شخص موعودی هستیم که چون طلوع نماید با قوّه و قدرت ظاهریّه و معنویّه مفاد دیانت اسلام را اصولا و فروعا در شرق و غرب منتشر و جاری میسازد .
مسیحی : این انتظار شخص بزرگ موعود معیّن نه تنها در امتّ اسلام موجود بلکه اغلب یا همه ادیان در همین انتظار صدها و هزارها سال گذرانده و هنوز بآنحال باقی هستند دیانت مسیحیّه نیز از همان ایّام بعد از صلیب مسیح الی الحال که قریب یکهزارو نهصد سال میباشد بانتظار رجوع و نزول مسیح از آسمان و تأسیس سلطنت در این عالم بوده اند و علمای دینیّه ما بشارات و پیشین گوئیهائی مسلمه در کتب و رسالات مقدّمه را چنان تفسیر و تأویل مینمودند که تحققّ آن وعد را قریب الوقوع نشان میدادند و حال نیز بهمان منوال باقی هستند باستثناء قلیلی از شعب که نزول شخص مسیح را بهیکلهبشریّن معتقد نبوده بلکه رجوع آن حضرت را بتأسیس و اجراء تعالیم مبارکه و بسطنوایای مقدّسه اش در عالم تفسیر و توضیح نمودند و امتّ یهود نیز پس از انشقاق و اختلاف اتباء بنی یعقوب و تسلط دول و ملل مجاوره بر آنان و انهدام هیکل سلیمان الی اکنون که حدود دو هزار و پانصد سال است بانتظار موعودی نشست که چون طلوع نماید هیکل سلیمان را از نو بنا کرده و شعب اسرائیل را با هم مجتمع و متححّد ساخته و در فلسطین تأسیس سلطنت اسرائیلی نموده و اتحاد و صلح و سلمدر آنجا کرده و آن مملکت را به عظمتی رساند که ممالک و دول دیگر
صفحه 2 - 4
در ظلّ جناحش قرار گرفته و راحت و آسایش یابند و علماء دینیّه شان پیوسته وعود مذکوره در کتب مقدّسه را قریب الوقوع تفسیر و تأویل مینمودند و حال نیز بانتظار ظهور آن موعود باقی باستثناء جماعت جدید یهود بنام معلمین که که طلوع شخص موعود را معتقد نه بلکه تأسیس آن نوایا و مقاصد را در فلسطین منتظر میباشند زردشتیان بانتظار شاه بهرام اند و معتقدند که بهرام شاه با همان شجاعت و قوّه ئیکه سبب تأمین ایران و اقتدار و عظمتش بر ممالک گردید از انظار غایب و در همه آن اعصار متمادیّه ماضیه حیّ و زنده است و بیاید روزی که ظهور نموده و آئین زردشتی و عظمت قدیم آن دین و مملکت را در عالم تأسیس نماید و با آنهمه تغییرات عجیبه که در تاریخ حیات آنان واقع که اکنون از آن آئین و ملتّ جز قلیلی باقی نمانده بدین امید و انتظار نشسته اند و بودائی ها منتظرند که روح و حقیقت بودا برای پنجمین بار تجدید یافته و هیکلی بخود گرفته و عالم را بانوار معرفت و حکمت معنویّه منوّر سازد هندوها نیز بایت عقیدت اند که روح الهی کراشنا بار دیگر با جنس بشر تکلمّ نموده و عالم انسانی را به رشد و هدایت حقیقیّه رهبری نماید ولی همه این اهل ادیان آن موعود منتظر خود را که با شرایط و علاماتی بانتظار نشسته اند معتقدند که چون بیاید موافق با تعالیم و قوانین آن دین عالم را دلالت کرده و آن اصول و فروع را تأسیس نماید و حتیّ شعب و مذاهب متعدّده و متکثرّه که هریک از این ادیان هستند آن موعود را با علامات و شرائطی مخصوص و برای اجراء مقاصد و اصول و فروع مذهبی خود منتظرند و این غیر ممکن است که با قوّۀ و ترتیب آتیه و دلائل حزبی از این احزاب کثیره و غیره را چنین اقناع و اسکات نمود که دست از وعود موعود و امیدهای دینی خود شست و بانتظار وعود و موعود حزبی دیگر ایّام بگذرانند و امید های خود را بامید آنان مبدّل نمیند و اگر این ممکن و میسور بود در عرض آن صد ها و هزار ها سال گذشته با هر سعی و کوششی که که هر حزبی نمودند میشد و این نیز قابل القبول نیست که در این قرن تمدّن عجیب و ترقیّ دانش و علوم و اکتشافات و اختراعات معجزات سمات فروع و قوانین و عقاید و احادیثی که که مقتضای صد ها و هزار ها سال گذشته بود بتوان با اهل عالم قبولاند ولی همه این پیشگوئیها و انتظارات امم را توان بیک طریق معمولی تعبیر و تفسیر نمود و همه را تصدیق کرد باین بیان و توضیح که در یک عصر منوّر عمومی که عصر طلوع جمال و کمال الهی است و بعبارت ساده به عصر بلوغ عالم انسانی و تجدّد حیات تعبیر میشود ارواح و انوار آن نفوس عظیمه روحا و معنا ظاهر و مشهود شده و تعالیم حقیقیّه اساسیّه در آن ادیان احیا و تجدید گشته و اممشان به پرتو انوار معرفت روحانیّه روشن شده و در سراپرده تعالیم آسمانی و وحدت عالم انسانی با یکدیگر دست برادری و اتحّاد دراز نمایند .
چند کلمه از وضع تربیت دارجه اطفال خرد سال
نخستین لزومیّت این است که منازل و اطاقهای مخصوص اطفال از هر جهت موافق اندازه شان باشد میز و صندلیشان پست و جعبه و دستکش میز و مقرّشان باشد برای بازی در بیرون لباس مخصوصداخل نباشد و اوّلین درس این است که آنرا محافظت نمایند نام هر طفلی بر جبّه و کیف مشتمل بر اشیاء مخصوصه او نوشته ولی چون در ابتداء نمیتوانند بخوانند بواسطۀ پارچه های رنگین شفافی که بر آنها گذارده شده هر یک مال خود را تمیز داده و متدرّجا اسمای خویش را میشناسند تربیت حواس بواسطۀ اشیاء مختلفه چندی شروع شده و ترقیّ مییابد که اسباب و وسائل مادیّه تربیت میباشد و فقط بآن وسائل مخصوص این تربیت را توان دست آورد و آن اسباب بازی در مدارس موجود و اطفال آزادنه از حعبه های میز در آورده بازی میکنند ده تکه چوب نجّاری شده لطیفه منبسطه باندازه های مختلف که پارچه دهمین کاملا در جای خود از اوّلی منبسط تر است اطفال با آن بازی کرده و در گودی متتابعا می اندازند این بازی وسیلۀ تربیت حسّ نظر و وزن کردن و تسویه عضلاتی است و اوّلین درجه در ماشین اعداد میباشد اسباب نخ کشیدن و بتکمه انداختن و اشیاء آویزان کردن و بستن و غیره از منسوج ساخته شده و چنانچه اطفال رخت خود را بر آن می بندند و می آویزند و این مواد سبب تسویه عمل عقلانی و تمرکز
صفحه 1 - 3
در سعادت آندیگر صرف نماید امانت ابوین باولاد آن است که که بکفالت و تربیت آنان قیام نماید و امانت اولاد بابوین آن است که در مراعات و احترامشان کماینبغی قائم باشند امانت خادم آموخته و مأمور آن است که در اقدام در وظیفه خود قصور نیارد و امانت مخدوم و آمر و مرکز آن است که در عمل بوظائف خود نسبت بآنان کوتاهی ننماید و همچنین بابع و مشتری اجیر و مستاجر و متجاورین و شرکاء با یکدیگر و حاکم و محکوم بهمدیگر و امانت نمایندگان ملتّ و دولت و رؤساء مملکت و مروّجین دیانت و غیره و غیره هر یک آن است که بآن وظیفه و خدمت خود وفا نمایند و حتی در مقام انبیا آنکه در ابلاغ پیام الهی وفا کردند و با اراده قویّه و تسلط بر نفس بمصائب و آلام تحمّل و شکیبائی آوردند و خلاصة القول توان گفت که هرگاه دیانت عملیّه اخلاقیّه را بخواهیم بعبارت ساده مختصر بیان کنیم منزوای آن امانت میباشد و امانت اگر نه تمام دیانت لا اقلّ بی شکّ نسبت بآن میباشد مواعظ و نصایح الهیین برای تأسیس آن در عالم بشری بوده چه بسا زهّاد و نفوس مشار بالبنان در دیانت که به عظمت زمین و آسمان و جهان ملاحظه میشدند ولی از جهت عدم اتصّاف باین سنّت بلند پایه از رتبه روحانیّه فی الحقیقه ساقط و چه بسیارند خاکسار که بواسطۀ تحلیّ و تجلیّ بآن جوهر و حقیقت دیانت نائل و در صف ابرار محسوب « انا عرض الامانة علی السّموات والارض والجبال فابین ان تحلیفها و اشفقن منها و جمعها الانسان انه کان ظفر باصولا
دین یا اساس فوز و فلاح . بقیّه از شماره های قبل
و کدام برهان محسوستر از آن که حقایقی را که حکمای بزرگ عالم بمساعدت ادّله عقلیّه و قیاسات منطقیّه نمیتوانستند در اذهان جای دهند چند نفر صیّاد ماهی با وجود فقدان همه وسائل و احاطه اقسام موانع در جمیع جهان منتشر ساختند و صوامع عقول و افهام را از تماثیل و و اصنام و اضالیل و اوهام بپرداختند و چنانچه تاریخ شاهد مقال است در آن ایّام علاوه بر شیوع عوائد و تنبست قبائل اروپ همه در حال جهل و بدویّت بسر میبردند و در بین ایشان اثری از علم و مدنیّت نبود و همینکه دیانت نسوانیّه در اصقاع عالم انتشار یافت علاوه بر دلالت نفوس به شاهراه هدایت و صراط المستقیم توحید عالم علم و حکم را مرهون هزاران شکر و منتّ داشته قبائی وحشی اروپا از درکات بداوت بدرجات حضارت ارتقا داد و قطعات اروپ به برکات تعالیم آسمانی بانواع فضائل فائز و نایل گشت اسافنه اقسیتین دیانت مسیحیّه در ابتداء امر همه در حکم مساوی و با نهایت روحانیّت متفقّ الکلمه و متحّد القلب به نشر دین مسیح و تکمیل علوم و ترویج معارف مشغول بودند و باین سبب اقوالشان در اعلاء کلمه الهیّه و هدم خرافات باطله و بسط مدنیّت حقیقیّه در قلوب ملل و امم تأثیر و نفوذ شدیده داشت تا آنکه در بین ایشان نیز طمع رجحان و تفوّق سبب حدوث خصومت و تفرّق شده و بالأخره منجر بانشقاقات نفسانیّه و افتراقات مذهبیّه گشت و اساقفه هر یک از آن کنائس بر حسب اغراض شخصیّه چندان جهد و اهتمام در جعل اکاذیب و اوهام نمودند که تعالیم روانبخش انجیل بالمرّه از قلوب محو شد و از شریعت و آئین حضرت مسیح جز رسوم و تقالیدی جاهلانه باقی نماند و امّا دیانت اسلامیّه در میان امّتی ظهور یافت که در صحاری مجدیّه جزیرة العرب با عبادات همجیّه و اعتقادات وثنیّه و تفرّق قبائل و تنافر قلوب و ضفائن متولدّ شد و محاربات دائمۀ فانت میگذراندند و از حیث عادات و صفات و افکار و متصّفات متوحشّترین امم مائده بودند نه احکام و قوانینی داشتند که ممدّ رفاهیّت و آسایش آنان باشد و نه مقتضیّات جزء میباشد ارئض ایشان بسبب روائت هوا و قلب ماسطار و سپاه استعداد و لیاقت هیچ قوم حیاتی جز بدایت محضه و امتّ حضرت رسول اکرم فیمابین چنین قومی مبعوث و بی ناصر و معین به تعلیم شرع معین مأمور شد و سنین متوالیّه با دستور « ادع الی سبیل ربّک بالحکمة و الموعظة الحسنة » بوعظ و نصیحت پرداخته و با نهایت مهر و رأفت اهل مکه را بدین الهی دعوت فرمود ولی نسائم لطیفه مواعظ و نصایح او گه هنظل عقائد و عوائد سخیفه قریش و سائر طوائف و عشائر عرب بود در قلوب قاسیۀ ایشان که از ازمنۀ عتیقه متوغلّ در همجیّت و وثنیّت بودند تاثیری
صفحه 2 - 3
نداشت و جز معدودی از نفوس طیّبه که بصدق نبوّت او گواهی دادند سائرین با نهایت سبعیّت و قساوت ببغضا و عداوت قیام نمودند و و بهر اندازه که امر اسلام را به بسط و انتشار میگذاشت و علائم استحکام اصول دعائم آن هویدا و آشکار میگشت و حسد قریش اشتمداد یافته و بر ظلم و عدوان ایشان بیفزود و چنانکه آنحضرت بحکم اضطرار بعضی از اصحاب خود را به حبشه و بعضی را بمدینه امر به جلاء وطن فرمود و خود در مقابل ظلم و اضطبا و طوائفی وحشی و شدید الفساد بدون آنکه در انجام وظیفه و ادای مأموریّت خویش ادنی تهاون و فتور مهند و با حزم و ثبات کامل به تبلیغ امر حضرت سبحان مشغول بود تا آنکه قریش برای قطع اساس شریعت الهیّه بر قتل او اتفاق نمودند و این قصّه سوء سبب هجرت رسول بمدینه معظمه شده و مقاصد دنیّه قریش بعکس نتیجه بخشید چه گذشته از آنکه قوّت و غلبه اراده و اقتدار الهی بنیان مکر و کید ایشان را ویران ساخت قوّت و تأیید امر او بسبب این هجرت کمال و تزئید یافت باین معنی که ورود آن حضرت بمدینه سبب انتشار کلمۀ الهیّه شده و حضرت رسول اکرم بفحوای آیۀ مبارکه « و ان کذبرک فقد کذبت رسل من قبلک فعبروا علی ما کذبّوء و اوزواء حتیّ ایتهم نصرنا ولا سیّدن بکلمات الله بعد از تحمّل بلایا و مصائب موفوره بر مشکلات فائق آمده و امر او یوما فیوم سائر و در منهج تسامن و تعالی بود تا آنکه نفوس کثیره بمواهب ایمان از غیاهب غوایت و حمایت استخلاص یافتند و جسمانی وحشی و نادان که اضلی و ارذل از بهائم مضرّه بودند بر حسب وعود الهی بر امم و ملل عظیمه غلبه و استیلاء یافتند مؤسّسین فضائل انسانیّه شدند و در عصر و زمانی که به شهادت همه مورّخین در بین اهالی اروپا اثری از علم و تمدّن نبود حقیقت معارف و مدنیّت آن قوم چنان در آفاق جهان انتشار یافت که طلاب علوم از اوطان بعیده بممالک عرب مسافرت نموده و در مدارس ایشان علوم و حکم عالیه تحصیل مینمودند و همچنین در بین اعراب نوابغی ظهور یافت که در هر فنّ از فنون کتب و تصانیف مهمّه که هنوز در جمیع اقالیم متحضّر و مشتهر و معروف است تدوین و تصنیف نمود عالم را محو و حیران ترقیّ عقول و افکار خود ساختند و چنانچه تاریخ شاهد مقال است ملل غربیّه جمیع عجائب علمیّه و فنون صناعیّه خود را از کتب عرب اخذ و اکتساب نموده و مدنیّت ایشان نتیجه اتباع علوم و قوانین اسلامیّه است حال در این امور حیرت افزا اندکی امعان نظر و اقرار نظر لازم است که آیا شخصی امّی بی حشم و قبا بدون یکّه و پناه تاسته از عون و مدد سماوی نباشد چنین سلطه و نفوذ چگونه تواند داشت که به تنهائی و انفراد امّتی بادیه نشین را خیرالامم و قبائلی جامع الرزائل را سروران عالم نماید و آیا ارادۀ شمس واحد تا مؤیّد تأییدات غیبیّه نباشد چگونه متصوّر و معقول است که بر جمیع ارادات بشریّه مهیمن و غالب آمده و با وجود مقاومت اعداء و معاندت اقویا مشارق و مئارب را تابع و طالع سازد . باریاز آنچه بنحو اجمال در طیّ مقال معروض داشتیم واضح و مبرهن گشت که اساس و مبنای سعادت و منقبت نوع بشر در همه قرون و اعصار ادیان سماویّه بوده و هریک از آن ادیان با آنکه همیشه خارقا لعباده در میان ملل و اقوامی جاهل و متوحشّ تأسیس شده بدون استناد بعلل و اسباب ظاهره و وسائل و مدّات مادیّه سبب نشو و ارتقاء امم و ملل عالم گشته و نوع بشر را از اسفل درکات جهل و بداوت باعلی درجات علم و حضارت انتقال داده است چنانچه اگر با تفکرّی خالی از تعصّب غرابت افکار و علایت متسقات و دنائت نفس و ردائت طبع و متاوت قلوب و تحزبات طوائف و تبدر است امم را در اوان ظهورات الهیّه در صفحۀ ذهن مرتسم ساخته و آثار تعالیم دینیّه را در بعث روح مدنیّت و بعث حیات انسانیّت و توحید اقوام و تشیید روابط الفت و التیام و تهذیب افکار و قطیب آثار در مدّ نظر آریم فرق و تفاوت تأسیسات خدا و خلق را به نهایت سهولت دریافته اذعان و اعتراف خواهیم نمود که مصدر ترقیّ و منبع نظام اجتماعی در هر عهد و عصر فقط روح دیانت بوده و اگر رحمت سابقه هیاکل مظاهر مقدّسه را برای مداوای آفات عارضۀ بر انجمن انسانی مبعوث نمیفرمود هرگز عقول و مدارک بسط و رشد نمی یافت و فکرت انسانیّه در میدان علوم و حکم سامیّه
صفحه 1 - 2
و تعلیم قناعت بآنچه موجود است و عدم اعتناء به زندگانی این عالم و حاضر بودن برای موت و نیز استهلاک در اوهام ما انزل الله بها من سلطان و تعصّبات و اختلافت دینیّه بدرجه ئیکه افکار از فراهم آوردن محصولات زندگانی برای خود بکلیّ منصرف و اوقات لازمی برای آن نداشته ولی ممالک عرب در قرون وسطی مسیحی که دچار همین امراض بودند بهمین فلج و عقم کنونی ممالک مشرق گرفتار و تاکنون بهر درجه ئیکه از آن مهلکات طریقات نجات یافتند بنای حرکت و حمایت و نهضت تازه گذاشتند و این نیز تا آن درجه که اخلال باساس دیانت که بالیقین یگانه سبب مدنیّت حقیقیّه میباشد وارد نیاورده بی شکّ مؤثریّت عظیمی در ترقیّ و تدنیّ ملل دارد و انبوه کثیری از روحانیین و شعرای نامی مغرب و نویسندگان شهیر آن که قلبا منجذب بروح و اساس دیانت و منزجر از تقالید لایسمن و لایغنی من جوع دینیّه بوده و هستند الی الحال برای وضع این مرض مهلک کوشان و جوشان میباشند و شکی نیست که این خود یکی از مقاصد معظمّ این عصر مجید میباشد که توجّه و توکلّ الی الله در عین اقدام در عمران و مدنیّت و شهولت زندگانی تأسیس گردد و هر نفسی باید آستین بالا زده و عملی و پیشۀ راجع به صناعت و زراعت و تجارت و اختراعات و تسهیلات زندگانی و راحت بنی نوع انسانی بجای آرد که شجرۀ حیات خود را باثمر و ذی اثر نماید و گرنه دیانتش فقط در عالم لفظ و تصوّرات خودش میباشد و نیز اوهام و تقالید و تعصّبات هادمه بنیان بشر باید مرتفع و زائل گردد و جمعی دیگر سبب و علتّ آنرا ترقیّ و تنزّل جنس نسوان در دو رویۀ زمین دانسته اند که در ممالک غرب جنس زن با جنس مرد در تربیت و دانائی و فعالیّت و اقدامات در مصالح نوع شریک و سهیم و مانند دو دست در یک هیکل با هم معاضدت مینمایند ولی در دنیای کهنه جنس زن را خلقتا ضعیف و ناتوان دانسته و قوای خداداری آنان را غیر لایق و کافی در مصالح انگاشته و مخلوق از خلع الیه رجال و ضعیفه نامیده و ذکر نامشان را ناروا گفته و منقاد مطلق و خانه نشین کرده اند ولی در ممالک غرب که بنات و بنیین هر دو علیحدّ ه تربیت گرفته اند و هر دو با اعصاب و اراده قوی و شجاعت قلب و نورانیّت فکر بزرگ شده اند تساوی و تعاضد مابین این دو جنس تحققّ یافته و اطفال از کودکی بواسطه کمال تربیت مادران در مهد تربیت پرورش مییابند و اطفال شرق بواسطۀ عدم تربیت حقیقی مادران مانند نهال نورسته کج و معوج بزرگ میشوند و درین شکیّ نیست که این مسئله دخالت عظیم در ترقیّ ملل دارد و تعالیم مقدّسۀ این دور عظیم تساوی تربیت رجال و نساء و تعاضد و فعالیّت آنان مانند دو امتّ در هیکل عالم انسانی تأسیس فرموده است نفوسی دیگر سبب این ترقیّ و تفهتر دو دنیا را در تغایر طرز ادارۀ مملکت فهمیده اند که دنیای جدید تا وقتی که بهمان روش قدیم اداره میشد حال و وضعش مانند دنیای کهنه بود ولی از آن وقتی که تغییر یافته و بناء اداری بر اساس شور و دخالت عقول عقلا قرار گرفته و نفوس مملکت افکار خویش را برای تأسیس سعادت اجتماعی خود بکار برده اند و مسئولیّت خویش را اجرا نمودند این ترقیّات و مدنیّت حاضره شروع شده و شکی دراین نه که بنای حیات اجتماعی بشری در این دور اعظم بر اساس مشورت و معاضدت عقول و افکار با یکدیگر قرار گرفته انبوهی دیگر عدم تساوی آحاد و اصناف سکنۀ ممالک شرق در قوانین مملکت و در مجازات و مکافات یک سبب بزرگ تقهتر آن تصوّر نموده اند که مابین اصناف عقاید و ادیان که امور قلبیّه است در قوانین تفاوت گذارده شده و نفوس جانفشان مستهلک در خدمات صادقانه و کشف یک فکر تازه پس از مدّتی نائل نگشته ولی چاپلوسان و چرب زبانان متملقّ
صفحه 2 - 2
پیوسته تقدّم و پیشی داشته اند و نفوسی که بمعادر خطایای بزرگ واقع بملاحظات منوط داشته بمقرّیهای دینیّه و غیره در تحت قانون جزا و جرم وارد نمیشدند قومی دیگر علتّ را عدم تفکیک قوّۀ روحانی از قوّه سیاسی مملکتی در شرق دانسته اند و نفوذ زمامداران دینی در امور مملکت بدرجه ئیکه هر تأسیسی از تأسیسات مملکت را که نمیخواستند بنام مخالفت با دین مردم را شورانیده و نوایای حکومت را عقیم میساختند و از آن هنگامیکه دول مغرب خویش را از زیر تنه سنگین این قوّ درآورده و در تأسیسات مملکتی آزاد شدند و همّ رؤساء روحانی فقط مصروف در امور روحانیّه دینیّه شده و دوائر مملکتی از فروع دینیّه مجزّا گشت در آن ممالک بناء ترقیّ و تمدّن و آسایش برقرار گردید جمعیّتی دیگر علتّ خمودت ممالک شرق را از اغذیّه ثقلیّه پر از چربی و روغن تصوّر کردند که شب و روزی چند بار بحدّ زیاد بکار برده و در مقابل ریاضت و ورزش بدنی نیز موجود نه این اغذیه لذیذه که با ترکیبات غیر موافق ضمت و موروث از تعالیم است ریشه امراض متنوّعه بدنیّه و سمن مفرط و ضعف اعصاب و موجب تلبک معده و سوء اخلاق و غلظت و خمودت افکار میگردد و شکیّ درین نه که تصحیح اغذیه موجب صحّت بدن و صحّت فکر و قیام و نهضت انسانی است دیگر از اسباب دقیقی که تصوّر میشود که موجب نهضت ترقیّ مدنیّت حاضره مادیّه ملل مغرب است و ممالک شرق از آن محروم کلوب و مجامع متنوّعه است علمی تجارتی زراعی ادبی و غیره و غیره و نطق های در جمعیّتهای مختلف است که هزاران نفوس حاضره را تنویر فکر کرده و واقف بغرائض زندگانیشان میکردند اهمیّت این مسئله در ممالک شرق در تأسیس تربیت و نهضت عمومیّه در نخستین درجه اهمیّت است اطبّای حذاقه مجرّب در مجامع عمومی نفوس را بوظائف خود صحّت و جلوگیری از امراض دلالت کنند که حتیّ نفوس امّی از وظائف خویش مستحضر گردند خطای اجتماعی نفوس را از وظائف مملکتی و حیات اجتماعشان آگاه سازند جمعی دیگر اوضاع دقیقی که امروزه در عالم میگذرد شرح و بیان نمایند نفوس مطلعّ دانشمند اختراعات و اکتشافات بدیعۀ امروز را توضیح دهند و نفوس را تشویق به علم و دانش نمایند نفوسی دیگر کیفیّات انتظامات سائر ممالک را بقوّۀ بیان مجسّم و مصوّر سازند جمعی در علم اخلاق و آداب معاشرت نطق و خطابه ایراد نمایند در این شکّی نیست که این مسئله سبب قیام و نهضت در کالبد افراد هیئت اجتماعیّه خواهد شد حال این اسباب مذاکره و غیره امّهات علل و اسبابی است که تصوّر میرود که شالودۀ مدنیّت مادیّه حاضره ممالک مغرب را استوار ساخته و در مطاوی تعالیم عظیمه این دور حمید مبیّن و مثبوت میباشد و تا در عالم عمومی نگردد مدنیّت مادیّه عمومیّه در تمامت وجه الارض سایه نخواهد افکند و تا این مدنیّت مادیّه در زیر سایه محبّت الهیّه و خدمت به وحدت بشر در نیاید راحت و آسایش کبری در عالم تأسیس نخواهد گشت .
امانت
این صفت و خصلت مرکبّ از چند صفت و یا مشروط بشروط چند خصلت است که چون تحققّ یابند صنعت و امانت وجود یابد مانند خصلت وفا و اراده قویّه و تسلطّ بر آرزوی نفسانی هرچند آن آرزو در کمال شدّت و قوّت باشد فی المثل هرگاه در نزد شخص امین مالی از غیر از جهت اعتماد بمحافظت او موجود و در تصرّف در آن موانع و عواقب قویّه و وخیمه نیز محتمل نه در این صورت وفا و قوّت اراده و تسلطّ بر آرزوی نفسانی ویرا بآن وامیدارد که دست از تصرّف بی اجازه باز دارد و این همان صفت امانت است و این تنها در مقام مال نه بلکه در مقام فکر و عقیده و عرض و حیات و سائر متعّلقات ساری و جاری است چنانچه هرگاه نفسی سرّ خود را که متعلقّ به عقیده و یا حیات او است با کسی در میان نهد هرگاه آن شخص متصّف بصفت امانت است آن سرّ را فاش نسازد از اینرو ستاری یکی از شعب امانت شناخته میشود امانت بنده و زوجه آن است که حرکت تمام و حیات خود را
نجم باختر . فبروری 1925
جلد 15 شماره 11
صفحه 1 - 1
سرّ ترقیّات مادیّه ملل غرب
این مسئله از شدّت وضوح محتاج به بیان و اقامۀ دلیل و برهان نیست که در مدنیّت مادیّه عصر حاضره ملل و ممالک غرب بمقام منیع لایوصفی رسیده اند ولی اقوام و اقالیم مشرق هنوز در اوّلین درجۀ آن واقف چنانچه اختراعات و اکتشافات جسمیّه مالیۀ معجزات و علوم و فنون عظیمه روزافزون دنیای مغرب را مانند یک کرۀ جدیدالاکتشافی از دنیای شرق مجرّد نموده است و انوار درخشان طاووسی الالوان الکتریکی زمین و محیط هر دو نمکره مغرب را مانند آسمانی مملوّ از کواکب رنگارنگ روشن ساخته خطوط آهن و سیمهای تلگراف و تلفون در زیر آب و تحت و فوق الارض مانند اعصاب در آورده و شرائین از هر طرف هیکل بلاد ممالک مغرب را بیکدیگر بافته و سفاین در دریا و طیّارات در آسمان از هر کرانۀ در جریان و طیران صفا و تلألؤ ممرّ ها و معابر و عظمت و نظافت ابنیه و مناظر از جنات مدن حکایت مینماید و و آنهمه رهنماها و فابریکات که به قوّه بخار در خدمات نوع انسان شب و روز در کار و شغل میگذرانند مطبوعات حاوی وقایع روزانه عالم و کتب مشتمل بر افکار و اکتشافات بدیعه مانند سیل در کوهسار مطالع جاری و انتظام دوائر دولت و ملتّ و حریّت در اقطاع مملکت چون روح در بدن ساری است بدرجه ئیکه برای نفوسی که برأی العین ندیده اند تصوّر آن شکل و هرگاه از بعض اقطاع مشرق مستقیما در مرکز مدنیّت غرب آورده شوند بی شک سبب اندهاش عظیم خواهد شد و مختصر آنکه عالم متمدّن مترقیّ مغرب بال و پر خود را بر عالم مشرق انداخته و آن را در ظلّ خود میپروراند و مانند امیر و مدبّر قدیر میگرداند و مایحتاج میرساند و ممالک و اقوامی که در مشرق صاحب حمایت مدنیّت مادیّه شمرده میشوند مانند ژاپون برای آن است که از مغرب اقتدا کرده و همان اسباب و رویّه را در مملکت خود بکاربست حال تفکرّ در این مسئله در نخستین درجۀ اهمیّت است که ممالک شرق که در ایّام باستان مهد تمدّن قدیم بوده اند و ممالک مغرب را نام ونشانی در آن ایّام نبود چنین از قافلۀ سیر و ترقیّ در عقب و واپس مانده و با اینهمهسیل علوم و اسبابی که متعابقا متتابعا از کوهسار مشرب سرازیر میشود تنبّه حاصل نکرده و قیام نمینمایند آیا اسباب این ترقیّ و حیات و قیامتی که در مغرب برپا است چه و علتّ آن تقهقر و فلج ترقیّ و تعالی مشرق کدام است چرا در ممالک مغرب تمامت وجه الارض فی جبال و قفار لم یزرع بقوّه علم و عمل و استحفام آب و آتش و برق در تحت کشت و استنتاج آمده و یک شبر زمین بیحاصل کمتر مشاهده میشود ولی در ممالک مشرق آنهمه اراضی شاسعه محنوبه طبیعیّه عقیم مانده چرا در ممالک غرب ازدیاد جمعیّت انسانی بدرجۀ رسیده که ناچار بآن شدند که ارتفاع ابنیه را بدرجۀ رسانند که سر بر فلک سائیده و هوا را بجای زمین تصرّف نمایند و برای سهولت حمل و نقل معابر فوق یکدیگر در زیر زمین مرتبّ نموده و وسائل حمل و نقل با قوّۀ بخار و الکتریک در طبقات الارض و تحت انهار عظیمه افواج جمعیّت انسانی را
صفحه 2 - 1
بسهولت عبور و مرور داده ولی ممالک واسعۀ مشرق مانند صحاری و براری خالی وقعر افتاده بر گل و لای و غبار با قوّه سیّارات پاها و طیّارات حیوانات بارکش خود را از مهلکۀ بمحکمۀ عدل و داد میکشانند چرا در مدن و بلاد غرب در زیر سایۀ امنیّت هر دین و آئین و جنس انسانی بخوشی زندگانی مینمایند و مالک هستی و متعلقات خود میباشند ولی در ممالک مشرق امنیّت و آسایش بعناوین مختلف مسلوب است بر او چرا و چرا در مقابل این سلطه از سئوالات و امتیازات خارقه عجیبی که مابین ممالک مشرق و مغرب موجود و آنها را دو دنیای کهنه و تازۀ زنده جلوه گر نموده حبابهای بسیار از بنان و بیان نفوس متفکرّ بصیر بحال هر دو دنیا دیده و شنیده میشود بعضی سبب و علتّ آن را در زمینه تربیت و مدارس دیده اند و چنین دانسته اند که بناء مدنیّت مادیّه حاضره بر اساس کمالیّت و عمومیّت تربیت و مدارس قرار گرفته است چنانچه هر ملتیّ که آنرا برتر و بیشتر وارد است در مقام مدنیّت و مملویّت بیشتر است و این خود واضح است که مملکت و ملتیّ که آحاد اعضاء آن نمیدانند که در کجای دنیا هستند و چه مقامی را در عائله ملل و دول عالم دارا هستند و وضعیّت حاضره مدنی بچه منوال میگذرد و اصول حیات امروز دنیا کدام است حتیّ بدرجه ئیکه از مملکت خود بیخبرند و فقط بحمایت محدود آباء و اجداد از هزاران سال قبل مشغول و دلخوش چنین مملکت و ملتی با ممالک هوشیار بصیر واقف برموز عصر حاضر همدوش و همقدم نتواند شد این نیز معلوم است که مقصد از تربیت و مدارس نه تنها اطلاع از مبادی علوم معمولۀ رائجه عصر میباشد بلکه بینائی و وسعت فکر و تجلیّ بصفات و اخلاقی است که افراد را عضو دانای فعّال قدوم در مصالح ملک و ملتّ نماید که از وجودش انتفاع حاصل آید و چون در تعالیم مبارکه این دور عظیم تأملّ شود واضح میگردد که تأسیس و تصدیق این فکر و مقصد از قلم فصحی در رسائل و بیانات شتی بکرّات و مرّات جاری شده و لزومیّت و اهمیّت آنرا باقصی درجه بیان فرمودند عمومیّت تربیت را و آنکه تأسیس آن وظیفه هر فرد و اجباری است و بالاخص وظیفه بزرگان و زمامداران مملکت میباشد و کیفیّت و شئون آنرا بتمام و کمال بیان نموده اند برخی دیگر سبب و علتّ این تنزّل و ترقیّ ممالک و ملل شرق و غرب کثرت بیحدّ افراد بی شغل و عمل بعناوین کثیره متنوّعه در ممالک شرق دانسته که از دسترنج باقی معدود و محدود جمعیّت زندگانی مینمایند و ممالک مغرب از وقتی که شروع بمعالجه این مرض نموده و در این وضعیّت تخفیف کلیّ حاصل شد رو به ثروت و جلال و عظمت قدم گذاشته اند و این قصد را نیز در این اساس عظیم مبیّن داشته اند و مقام لزومیّت اشتغال را بدرجۀ بالا بردند که آنرا نفس عبادت الهی خواندند و شخص با شغل سائل را مردود ترین نفوس یاد نمودند گروهی دیگر علتّ و سبب آنرا فقر ممالک مشرق در مسائل غیر اصلیّه ادیان و صرف اوقات کاملا در آن فروعیکه محلّ احتیاج این عصر نبوده و در مدنیّت حاضره مقامی ندارند دانسته اند
