| ←Issue 11 | Star of the West Volume 15 - Issue 12 |
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IT IS NEW YEAR—that is to say, the rounding of the cycle of the year. A year is the expression of a cycle (of the sun). But now is the beginning of a cycle of Reality, a New Cycle, a New Age, a New Century, a New Time, and a New Year. Therefore, it is very blessed.
THE RISING OF THE SUN at the equinox is the symbol of life, and likewise it is the symbol of the Divine Manifestations of God, for the rising of the Sun of Truth in the Heaven of Divine Bounty established the signal of Life for the world. The human reality begins to live, our thoughts are transformed and our intelligence is quickened. The Sun of Truth bestows eternal life just as the solar sun is the cause of terrestrial life.
THIS PERIOD of time is the Promised Age . . . . Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb . . . The New Year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand.
--PHOTO--
Miss Martha Root, traveling Bahá’í teacher and writer. (See page 373.)
| VOL. 15 | MARCH, 1925 | NO. 12 |
THE NEW YEAR for Bahá’ís begins on the twenty-first of March, the first day of spring. How much more fitting and joyous a season in which to exchange New Year’s greetings, than in that bleak and forbidding day of mid-winter, the first of January, when cold and darkness are at the height of their power! With Bahá’ís, the joy of the New Year is linked up with all the joys of spring, when nature stirs again into creative life, and the battle between night and day, cold and warmth, gives absolute assurance of victory for the forces of light.
There is, in the warm appreciation and joyous celebration of the New Year and the arrival of spring, on the part of Bahá’ís, a feeling of the deep symbolism therein involved. For the springtime means in spiritual terms the revival of religion, which, like nature, is subject to seasons of birth, growth, fruition, and decline. This fundamental truth about religion, so clearly demonstrated on many occasions by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, must be understood if spiritual faith and optimism are to be maintained in periods of religious decline. For in times like the present, when the power of religion appears very much on the decline, the spiritually minded can keep their faith only by realizing that religions, which are only the outward manifestations of spiritual truth, must rise and fall like all other institutions; albeit the spiritual essence never dies, but becomes the germinal power for new religions rising from the foundations of the old, and ever surpassing them.
THOSE WHO HAVE the spiritual vision, knowing this truth, and perceiving that the religions of today—for religious difference is not limited to Christendom—are very much on the wane, are assured by the law of cycles of change, that now is the time for the birth of a new religion, more glorious than any in the past.
It is the faith of the Bahá’ís that this religion has already come in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh which are the foundation for a universal religion and a universal brotherhood of man in which war, racial prejudice, and selfish competition shall be replaced by a new civilization based upon love, co-operation, and service. And this is the inner meaning of the New Year to Bahá’ís, that mankind stands at the dawn of a New Age. The brave faith of the Millennianists, held so persisently in the face of continual failures of predictions that the end of the world is at hand, is true to this extent: that the end of the age of man as expressing the animal qualities is at hand—that and all that goes with it shall pass; while the age of man as expressing the spiritual qualities is about to begin, nay, has in reality already begun. And strangely enough the year 1844, declared by the Millerites to be the time of the end, was the very year in which the Bahá’í Cause was born.
WHAT IS THE BAHÁ'Í CAUSE?
What are Bahá’ís working for? Nothing less than the perfecting of the world’s civilization, along the lines laid down by Bahá’u’lláh. This is a vastly
greater program than one of mere individual perfection. It is inspiring. It impels to service and to sacrifice. For where one might be negligent about his own welfare, who can be utterly callous concerning the welfare and happiness of the countless millions of humanity yet to come in the world’s future? If the Bahá’í Cause can but conclusively prove to the present generation its ability and power to bring to pass an ideal condition of humanity, it will win converts by hundreds and thousands. And it will succeed in proving this, for every year sees further and further confirmation of its claim of being the divinely appointed way to human perfection. This proof is furnished, not by argument, but by the increase shown in the lives of its adherents in all quarters of the globe toward unity, love, and perfection of character and of living. The proof of a religion, Bahá’u’lláh said, is not in miracles performed by its founder, but in the miracles of spiritual perfection seen in the lives of its followers. In an epoch in which religion is waning, that movement which manifests the greatest spiritual power will ultimately win the hearts of all men. For mankind cannot live by bread alone. Without true religion we thirst, until the Spirit bestows the water of life; languish until the Word of God becomes flesh, both teaching and manifesting the Truth.
PAUL OF TARSUS realized with prophetic vision the greatness of the calling of those who lived in and for Christ—knew that from that humble beginning of early Christians, would go forth an influence that would remake the then known world. And it is none the less so today—that those who devote themselves heart and soul to the teachings and cause of Bahá’u’lláh are fulfilling a calling greater than that of even statesmen. For even the greatest thinkers and actors on the stage of politics today are working in the dark, so to speak, compared with even the humblest of those who, accepting Bahá’u’lláh as a divinely inspired man, accept also His potent word for a world state, a world brotherhood, a world religion and a vast world civilization based on the law of love and of co-operation. Is any work or calling grander than this? All else is fractional. The greatest world genius searching for ways to help advance humanity, can apprehend through his own power of intellect but a portion of the truth that is needed for the salvation of the world. But Bahá’u’lláh has given forth those great principles which suffice fully to direct humanity on its new path of spiritual freedom and power, leading to the perfect civilization destined for it. Those who have the Bahá’í vision, therefore, are working not for themselves only, or for their kin and kind, but for the whole world; and what is even more important, are working efficiently, because divinely guided. That is why ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said, “that a moment in these days is more excellent than past centuries and ages . . . this century is the most important of all. He who pronounces one word of truth now, that word will continue to wave and vibrate without end and will never be annihilated.”
“Verily, the gift of guidance during this great century and this age of lights, is greater than reigning over the earth and all that is therein.”
THE OLD FORMS are everywhere being broken up, to make way for a new world civilization. The rites laid down in the Li King, which have guided the lives of the Chinese for over three thousand years, prescribing everything for everybody, are reported to be losing their hold upon young China. The problem confronting the educators of China now is, how to preserve the valuable traits of seriousness, strong sense of duty, love of order and propriety, and respect for elders and authority, which have been developed by the practice of Li.
If these very desirable qualities are disappearing in China as a result of the restlessness and radicalism of the growing generation, that ancient country may have at least the consolation of knowing that it is not an isolated sufferer in this respect. For a similar complaint is being voiced in every country in the world.
Does it not all distinctly point to the passing of the old laws, and the unwitting preparation for a new culture which shall be world wide? How, it the destructive and binding national, racial and religious forms did not lose their holding power, could a universal civilization ever come to pass?
One need not fear that society will lose all form and organization. The restlessness, the anarchy, the anarchy which seems everywhere to prevail in the overthrow of old customs, are not to be permanent conditions. They are merely symptoms of a change. Humanity cannot exist without forms, it cannot exist without those old fashioned virtues the value of which millenniums of civilization have evidenced. All that is good and worth while in ancient morals will be restored and enhanced in the new age. But they will be restored, as they were created, by means of religion. Nothing short of spiritual power will suffice.
What religion is to perform this great and lofty function of establishing the laws for a new world-wide civilization? There is only one existing religion that from its very inception is universal; possessed of all the laws necessary for building up a world civilization; and capable of winning the allegiance of all races and all creeds, not by means of conquest and absorption, not by comparison and detraction, but by the realization of the oneness of all religions, when evolved to their destined perfection.
The Bahá’í religion appears to each of the great world religions as the fulfillment of its prophecies and the fruition of its hopes. Thus the diverse world religions will ultimately merge into this one great central religion, Bahá’í, realizing in it their own perfection and glorious expansion.
When this day arrives, new and more delicate forms of culture will arise—a new world society with all the old virtues and many loftier ones to which humanity is but now evolving.
“THE WORLD of humanity shall become the manifestation of the lights of divinity, and the bestowals of God shall surround all. From the standpoint of both material and spiritual civilization extraordinary progress and development will be witnessed. In this present cycle there will be an evolution in civilization unparalleled in the history of the world. The world of humanity has heretofore been in the stage of infancy; now it is approaching maturity. Just as the individual human organism having attained the period of maturity reaches its fullest degree of physical strength and ripened intellectual faculties . . . likewise the world of humanity in this cycle of its completeness and consummation will realize an immeasureable upward progress; and that power of accomplishment whereof each individual human reality is the depository of God—that outworking universal spirit—like the intellectual faculty, will reveal itself in infinite degrees of perfection.” (Pro. of U. P., p. 35.)
SOON IT WILL be the time of Spring. Already the signs of the flowers may be seen upon the mountains and in the valleys. When spring comes there is a divine wisdom in its appearance. God has a special object in renewing the earth with its bounty. For the dead earth is again made to blossom so that the life of plants and flowers may continue and be reproduced. The trees put forth their leaves and are able to bear all kinds of delicious fruits. All the birds and animals, everything with soul-life is rejoiced and rejuvenated in the coming of Spring. If this does not come to pass, it is not Spring; it may be autumn. But it is possible that Spring may come and yet a tree rooted in bad ground will be deprived of its vivifying powers. Or a fruitless tree may not bear, although the warm sun and vernal shower are descending upon it. So likewise an evil soul may derive no benefit, produce no fruit from the coming of a Manifestation of God. The divine springtime which brings forth spiritual flowers in other souls fails to beautify the soul that is evil. In general, however, just as everything is vivified, refreshed and renewed by the bounty of the literal spring, so every soul receives some degree of illumination and growth from the Manifestation when he comes. He is the Divine Spring which comes after the long winter of death and inaction. The wisdom of God is seen in his coming. He adorns the soul of man with new life, divine attributes and higher spiritual qualities. By this the soul is enlightened, illumined. That which is dark, gloomy and forbidding becomes light, hopeful and productive of new growth. So in the Divine springtime, the blind receive sight, the deaf are made to hear, the dumb speak, the timid become courageous and the heedless awaken to new realizations. In short, they have become the image of that which God planned them to be and which the heavenly books promised shall be the true station of man. This is the power, purpose and virtue of the Heavenly Springtime. (Ten Days in the Light of Aqâ, p. 57.)
PRAISE BE TO GOD! The springtime of God is at hand. This century is verily the spring season. The world of mind and kingdom of soul have become fresh and verdant by its bestowals. It has resuscitated the whole realm of existence. On one hand the lights of reality are shining; on the other the clouds of divine mercy are pouring down the fullness of heavenly bounty. Wonderful material progress is evident and great spiritual discoveries are being made. Truly this can be called the miracle of centuries, for it is replete with manifestations of the miraculous. The time has come when all mankind shall be united, when all races shall be loyal to one fatherland, all religions become one religion and racial and religious bias pass away. It is a day in which the oneness of mankind shall uplift its standard, and international peace like the true morning flood the world with its light. (Pro. of U. P., p. 148.)
THANK YE GOD that ye have come into the plane of existence in this radiant century wherein the bestowals of God are appearing from all directions, when the doors of the kingdom have been opened unto you, the call of God is being raised and the virtues of the human world are in the process of unfoldment. The day has come when all darkness is to be dispelled and the Sun of Truth shall shine forth radiantly. This time of the world may be likened
to the equinoctial in the annual cycle. For verily this is the spring season of God. In the holy books a promise is given that the springtime of God shall make itself manifest, Jerusalem, the Holy City, shall descend from heaven, Zion shall leap forth and dance and the Holy Land be submerged in the ocean of divine effulgence.
At the time of the vernal equinox in the material world a wonderful vibrant energy and new life-quickening is observed everywhere in the vegetable kingdom; the animal and human kingdoms are resuscitated and move forward with a new impulse. The whole world is born anew, resurrected. Gentle zephyrs are set in motion, wafting and fragrant; flowers bloom, the trees are in blossom, the air temperate and delightful; how pleasant and beautiful become the mountains, fields and meadows. Likewise the spiritual bounty and springtime of God quicken the world of humanity with a new animus and vivification. All the virtues which have been deposited and potential in human hearts are being revealed from that Reality as flowers and blossoms from divine gardens. It is a day of joy, a time of happiness, a period of spiritual growth. (Pro. of U. P., p. 35.)
EVERY SPRING has an autumn and every autumn has its spring. The coming of a Manifestation of God is the season of spiritual spring. For instance, the appearance of His Holiness Christ was a divine springtime. . . . The Sun of Reality dawned, the cloud of mercy poured down its rain, the breezes of providence moved, the world became a new world, mankind reflected an extraordinary radiance, souls were educated, minds were developed, intelligences became acute and the human world attained a new freshness of life like unto the advent of spring. Then gradually that spring was followed by the autumn of death and decay. . . . The people became negligent and oblivious. Minds weakened until conditions reached such a crisis that material science rose in the ascendant. . . . The nations were enmeshed in superstition and blind imitation. Discord and disagreement arose, culminating in strife, war and bloodshed. Hearts were torn asunder in violence. Various denominations appeared, diverse sects and creeds arose and the whole world was plunged into darkness.
At such a time as this His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh dawned from the horizon of Persia. He reformed and renewed the fundamentals and realities of the Christ’s teachings. He endured the greatest difficulties and underwent the severest ordeals.
Praise be to God! that the teachings of God are revoiced, the light of reality has dawned again, the effulgence is increasing daily and the radiance is shining more gloriously in the zenith. (Pro. of U. P., p. 52.)
THE DIVINE RELIGIONS are like the progression of the seasons of the year. When the earth becomes dead and desolate and because of frost and cold no trace of vanished spring remains, the springtime dawns again and clothes everything with a new garment of life. The meadows become fresh and green, the trees are adorned with verdure and fruits appear upon them. Then the winter comes again and all the traces of spring disappear. This is the continuous cycle of the seasons—spring, winter, then the return of spring; but though the calendar changes and the years move forward, each springtime that comes is the return of the springtime that has gone; this spring is the renewal of the former spring. Springtime is springtime no matter when or how often it comes. The divine prophets are as the coming of spring, each renewing and quickening the teachings of the prophet who came before him. Just as all seasons of spring are essentially one as to newness of life, vernal showers and beauty, so the essence of the
mission and accomplishment of all the prophets is one and the same. Now the people of religion have lost sight of the essential reality of the spiritual springtime. (Pro. of U. P., p. 122.)
Today his Holiness, Bahá’u’lláh, is the collective center of unity for all mankind and the splendor of his light has likewise dawned from the east. He founded the oneness of humanity in Persia. He established harmony and agreement among the various peoples of religious beliefs, denominations, sects and cults by freeing them from the fetters of past imitations and superstitions; leading them to the very foundation of the divine religions. From this foundation shines forth the radiance of spirituality which is unity, the love of God, praiseworthy morals and the virtues of the human world. Bahá’u’lláh renewed these principles just as the coming of spring refreshes the earth and confers new life upon all phenomenal beings. For the freshness of the former springtime had waned, the vivification had ceased, the life-giving breezes were no longer wafting their fragrances, winter and the season of darkness had come. His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh came to renew the life of the world with this new and divine springtime. . . . The spiritual springtime has come. Infinite bounties and graces have appeared. What bestowal is greater than this? (Pro. of U. P., p. 159.)
"OLD things have passed away: Behold! I make all things new.”
Each Prophet, or Manifestation of God, when he comes to the world founds a new dispensation, a new time for his followers. Thus we have had the Mosaic time; the Christian time; the Muhammadan time, etc. Today those who believe in and follow Bahá’u’lláh are establishing the Bahá’í time. It institutes a new method of reckoning by dividing into periods, of nineteen months each year, and each month consisting of nineteen days. This division leaves four intercalary days at the end of each year, which are to be devoted to works of love and charity. The New Year begins on the twenty-first of March in accord with the teachings of our Revelator.
There is a great and glorious truth underlying the appointing of March the 21st, the time of the Vernal Equinox, as the time of New Year rejoicing. The former, “New Year’s Day,” January 1st, dedicated by the Romans to the two-faced warrior-god, Janus, and celebrated by the ancient Greeks and modern Christians, comes in the dead of winter, in the period of cold and death. The Bahá’í New Year comes at the very beginning of spring, symbolizing the Springtime of the soul. It stands for newness of life physically and spiritually, and thus we have all the beautiful ideals of Easter and of the New Year bound together in one grand whole. It is the time when the heart of man cries out exultantly; “O! give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. Sing unto Him a new song, for He causeth the desert to blossom as the rose, and the valley He covers with greenness; out of night he bringeth day, and out of death the Life Everlasting.”
On this our glad New Year, a new Light shines upon the mountains, for Life and the Resurrection are proclaimed forevermore. The bars of winter are broken asunder and the iron bands of death are riven. The lilies lift their
holy white grails filled with the sunshine of God’s Love, for hath He not manifested His Love in every flower and in the uprising of all green things?
- “In the beauty of the lilies Christ was
- born across the sea,
- With a glory in His bosom, which
- transfigures you and me.”
They are the sweet, small interpreters of large certainties. Though winter cuts them down, with every spring they come again, writing their testimony on the new page of the book of revelation, wherein we read that life is an eternal Genesis.
Thus we can understand why Bahá’u’lláh, the Father of Wisdom and Love, appointed this blessed season for the New Year beginning. The Spring festival is as old as the hope of man, call it by whatsoever name we will. Be it the Passover of the Jews; the Easter of the Christians; the Megalesian festival of the Romans, held in honor of the Magna Mater, or “Great Mother”—lasting six days in early April; the Spring festival of the early Saxons, in which they worshipped the goddess of Spring and called her Eostre; their feast day being named the “Sunday of Joy”; or in this time the Bahá’í feast of Nawrúz, the “New Day”; in each and all we hear the one great keynote in the song of Spring, with its renewal of all nature in beauty and rejoicing: “Behold! I make all things new!” Oh! blessed symbol of a most joyous spiritual Truth.
Therefore the Bahá’ís should rejoice and sing praises unto God, for they know that His universe, and all therein, shapes itself, not unto death and destruction, but to a yet more glorious development of Life, and that it endureth, “from everlasting to everlasting,” and each New Year shall be brighter and brighter “unto the perfect day.” The Father of Glory hath come and hath established God’s Kingdom “upon earth as it is in Heaven,” a Kingdom which shall embrace all nations.
The winter of souls has passed. The Spring and a glad New Year has come and the first fruits of “them that slept” hath arisen. Darkness hath fled from the earth and the Sun of Truth illumines the heavens by day from horizon to horizon; the Moon of a New Covenant which is as the Light of the Sun maketh bright the night. Oh! Lift up your hearts and be joyful all ye nations of the earth.
- Welcome, O Spring! With royal cheer
- We celebrate thy glad New Year.
- May it be filled with new delight,
- With greater knowledge, faith more
- bright.
- New health and strength, a firmer will
- All other hearts with joy to fill;
- Forgetting self from day to day,
- To follow in the “Perfect Way.”
- New sympathy with other’s creeds,
- New tenderness for other’s needs,
- New prayers for all who live on earth,
- New aspirations and new birth.
- New laws for men—that strife shall
- cease,
- For He hath come who bringeth Peace;
- That all shall serve in bonds of love,
- All worshipping One God above.
- New efforts to go forth and bring,
- The weary ones unto the King;
- That He in Power upon His Throne,
- In Love may claim them for His own.
- He calleth to the world Behold!
- All things are New—passed is the old!
- Passed is the winter’s icy breath,
- Life’s Spring is here with fragrant
- breath;
- New leaves and buds, new upturned sod,
- New understanding of our God ;
- New Love which casteth out all fear,
- New Peace, new Joy, a Glad New Year.
“IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” As darkness was round about the heaven and earth God in His infinite wisdom said, “Let there be light. And God saw that it was good. So God made two lights, the greater and lesser; the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light the night. He made the stars also.”
These lights as we know are celestial bodies which give light not through their own will, but by the command of God. He also said that the lights shall be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years; and that the lights are to “divide day from night.”
The creation of the sun and its satellites are thusly recorded, and the theologians have taught us these thousands of years the literalness of this six-day creation to convey, l expect, the marvelous power of God. Can this be the purpose of thus recording the creation of the sun and its satellites, or are there inner significances veiled behind the story of the beginning of our planet? Perchance there may be a mystery of spiritual purport contained within these words of the creation.
In our firmament through the will of God we have three great lights. The sun, ruler of the day; the moon, ruler of the night; and the morning star, the announcer that the sun is about to arise.
The earth has its different seasons all due to its position in relation to its receiving the rays of the sun. It is through the bounty of the sun that the icy blasts of winter are dispelled and the dead frozen earth is revivified. Springtime is ushered in, and then summer time with the bounty of the sun shining upon us in its fulness to bring the grain, fruits, etc., into their maturity; then the fall when the green trees wither and flowers and herbs fade away, followed again by the winter season, All the seasons are due to the bounty or lack of bounty of the sun. Likewise the darkness of night flees from before the sun’s rays and we “behold men not as trees or as through a glass darkly, but face to face.” Thus again through the bounty of the turn we have day. The sun is life-giving and the life-sustaining orb of our heaven, The lesser orb, the moon, is a dependent body receiving its light from the sun and in turn reflecting it to this earth. The moon, however, may have some independent attraction—the rise and fall of the tides, for instance. But the principal duty of the moon is to reflect the light of the sun, after the sun has set and the darkness of night is about to come upon us. We know, too, that the light of the sun is reflected by the moon, as a quarter, a half, and in its fulness. But the sun gives forth its light with a fulness always, its rays ever descending with its bounties.
Thus we have in brief the material significance of the three lights of our phenomenal heaven, bringing home to us our physical dependency upon these orbs. It is through the action of the rays of the sun upon the earth that we have oil, coal, rain, trees, food, and even our health, wealth, growth, happiness and life. All are due to the sun. It is through this knowledge that the worshipping of the sun had its origin. These bounties to us are not because of the will of the sun, but because of the will of God.
The creation of these orbs has been through the bounty of God for the purpose of sustaining our material existence. That is important. But it is infinitely more important that God should have created Orbs through whose bounty
we would receive a spiritual Light, the rays of which would have healing in its wings for all the ailments of humanity, the rays which would melt the icy hearts of the unjust, cause the boundary lines of all nations to vanish, and fuse all nations and races into one large family, annihilate all superstitious fancies, heal the blind, the deaf and the dumb, raise the dead and give to us life everlasting.
Just as we have a phenomenal heaven with the sun and its satellites, so has God created spiritual heavens with a Sun (of Truth), a Moon (of Guidance) and stars (saints) “which Lights shall be for signs and seasons and for days and years.”
Let us consider: in the heaven of the religion of Judaism the morning-star, the Precursor, shone forth from the heaven of the will of God, calling to the attention of the Jews in Egypt that the Sun (Moses) was about to arise, that a spiritual springtime was about to be ushered in. So the Sun arose at the command of God, and through the power of the rays of that Command, the hardened (frozen) hearts of the Egyptians were melted and the chains of suppression about the Jews were loosed. The seeds sown (by Moses’ contemporaries) in the fertile ground of the hearts grew and blossomed forth into beautiful plants through the bounty of that radiant Sun, so that the world marveled at their beauty. Consider the Jewish nation at the time of Solomon. It was the envy of the world. The wise men of Greece and Rome traveled thither to sit at the feet of the Jews to learn from whence came their knowledge and wisdom, of which they had become so renowned. Without a doubt it was through the power of the rays of that spiritual Sun (Moses) who freed them and led them from the land of darkness into the land of light.
Meditate on the conditions of the Jews before the Sun (of Truth) shed His Rays (teachings. etc.) upon them and reflect how they progressed afterwards. There is not any comparison. They were as dead in the land of Egypt (indeed the dead would be preferred to God than their condition) but He made them alive. They were slaves and He freed them; they were weak, He made them powerful; they were ignorant, He made them wise; they were blind, deaf and dumb and He healed them; they were without hope and He made them the hope of the world. So the power of the rays of that Spiritual Sun are as clear as the power of the rays of the sun in our phenomenal heaven in mid-day. After the setting of this Sun, the Moon (Joshua) arose and reflected (carried on the work) the Light of the Sun. After the light of the Moon was darkened, then the Stars (saints) guided the Jews onward, step by step. Therefore, in the heaven of the religion of Judaism, there were three Lights: the morning star (Precursor), the Sun (the Word of God) and the Moon (the reflector of the Light of the Sun) also the smaller stars (saints, etc.) who guided the faithful during the wintry night.
As the earth has its seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter, so the spiritual world also passes through its seasons of a spiritual springtime, when the rays of the Sun quickens the spirits of men, and the good qualities and divine perfections grow up in the fertile ground of the hearts. The summer time, when all things reach perfection, and praiseworthy deeds and the Love of God is evidenced on all sides. Autumn, when divine characteristics begin to change and virtues are forgotten and the sweetness of spiritual happiness and attractions are changed to earthly attraction. Then comes the season of winter, when the spirits of men become dead, the soil of the hearts is frozen and the minds of men give forth only thoughts of hatred, enmity, prejudice and baseness; and the animal traits run riot. When the world of intelligence and thought
has reached this state, it is as if death and non-existence surround it.
When the season of winter has had its effect, a new Springtime returns. The Sun shines forth and the spirits attain a new life. All the signs and gifts of the past Spring reappear with perhaps even greater splendor in this new springtime.
What was the condition of the Jews at the beginning of the spiritual spring-time of the Christian cycle when the Sun (of Jesus) shone forth from the Heaven of the Will of God? It was practically the counterpart of their life in Egypt. At a time like this that brilliant Morning Star (John the Baptist) arose and cried out, “O, people! repent ye, for the kingdom is at hand! Awake for a new day is here! Arise from your beds of negligence and prepare yourself to receive the Light of the Sun into your hearts.”
Then that Most Brilliant Orb arose, and with great power changed the night of separation into a day of unity for millions of souls. “I am the Light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life,” saith Jesus. We well know the truth of this statement today and the power of His rays (teachings), for do not the most advanced and powerful nations do homage to His Holy Name? In the heaven of the Christian religion, three great Lights have shone forth: the Morning Star (John the Baptist) the Sun of Truth (Jesus Christ) and the Moon (Peter) also the stars; the other disciples and saints being points of guidance during the dark night which again came upon the spiritual horizon of humanity.
Six hundred years after the Sun (of Jesus) set the Sun of Muhammad arose in the deserts of Arabia. With great power he gathered together those wild nomadic tribes who were more ferocious than wolves into a powerful and mighty people who carried the lights of civilization aloft under His Banner for ages. In the heaven of the religion of the Muhammadans He is the Sun and as It has set the people are again wandering in darkness and the coldness of wintry blasts has frozen their hearts and numbed their minds. Their condition again is like unto before,—only prejudices, superstition and hatred showing forth from their temples.
In fact, Spiritual winter time is evident everywhere. The morals and thoughts of all nations and peoples are contrary to the Divine decrees. The Love of God has vanished and the love of self is supreme. For the most part no thought of helping or sacrificing for another, but thoughts only of benefiting self at the expense of others. Suspicion is everywhere, and the people of every nation are ever watchful lest they be overcome. Fear! Fear! O what mockery our faith in God has become!
But glory be unto the Highest, for He has proclaimed that the “knowledge of Him shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.” And “That the light of the Moon shall be as the Light of the Sun, and the Light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people and healeth the stroke of their wound. “For behold, the darkness (spriitual blindness) shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee and His Glory shall be seen,” for God is a Sun, and He is the Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
It is about thirty-five hundred years since the advent of Moses, and all this time the Jews have been praying, beseeching God to send their Messiah unto them. It is nearly two thousand years since the Sun of Jesus arose in the heaven of Christianity, and we, too, have been praying and watching for the return of that Sun. The Sun of Muhammad appeared on the horizon thirteen hundred and fifty years ago and they, too, are ever praying night and day for the return of their Sun of
Truth. So it is with all peoples of every religion, each praying and each expecting the reappearance of their Sun of Truth.
Religious history teaches us that the Spiritual Sun appears on the horizon of the world of humanity every one thousand years more or less, according to the need of the times, and in the interim the minor prophets and sages carry on the work of their Masters.
Come, let us reason together: Isn’t it about time for a new Spiritual Sun to appear in the heaven of the Will of God, to illumine the hearts of men and inspire them to new divine activities? Can this be the day of fulfillment of the Word of God? Can this be the day when the “Lord shall be King over all the earth and the day that there shall be one Lord and His Name One?”
For He has proclaimed that in the “Day of his preparation the chariots (automobiles) shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle (collide) one against another in the broad ways; shall seem like torches (head-lights), they shall run like the lightnings.” This is a clear prophecy of the automobile and is the day when “I will give them a new heart and I will put a new spirit within them, that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances and do them, and they shall be my people and I will be their God.” And in this day Ezekiel saw the “cherubim (airplanes) lift up their wings and mount up from the earth in my sight, the wheels also were beside them, for the spirit of the living creatures (man) was in them, and everyone (all nations and races) stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s House, and the Glory of God was over them.”
The auto and airplane show the progress of knowledge from a material point of view, and they also point to an inner significance: that spiritual knowledge shall run like the lightnings and fly over plains and mountains as the birds of the air. Think of the wonderful phenomena, the printing presses and their auxiliaries! God has not intended that they shall be for commercial purposes only, nay, they shall some day be the mirrors, reflecting the light (teachings) of the Sun. God has allowed the light of His knowledge (inventions) to penetrate into the recesses of our minds more fully than ever before. Likewise the radio, telegraph, cables, wireless have been given unto us to help Him “cover the earth with His knowledge, to establish His statutes and ordinances, and to give us a new heart and a new spirit. For behold! I make all things new.”
For the first time since the day of Adam, the possibility of the fulfillment of God’s promises is now here. Hear, O people, and ponder over this heavenly message!
This is the Day of the Father when He “cometh with ten thousand of His saints.” This is that great and glorious day that all prophets and sages dreamed of and sang about. In this day the Sun of Truth is again shining and the greatest and most glorious light is now manifest to illuminate the hearts of men. In the heaven of the Will of God, He is shining with the intensity of seven Suns and His Rays (teachings) are the healing of the nations. The promulgation of these Rays is for the welfare of humanity, they will destroy the darkness of ignorance, animosity, and hatred, superstitions will disappear and the differences of religions will be annulled.
Come let us awaken from our sleep of negligence, arise from our beds of idleness, for it is not meet that we should be asleep, but let us open our eyes and cultivate the soil of our hearts so that beautiful flowers (deeds) may spring up verdantly therein, through the power of the rays of this Sun.
O people! Do you remember the lesson in the Day of Jesus, how He was rejected, reviled, spat upon and finally
crucified? Do not let history repeat itself unto you, but be of those who remember. Be of those who are awake in the day of resurrection, so that you may sing His praises and glorify God for evermore.
The Morning Star of this new heaven appeared on the horizon of Persia eighty years ago, clearly, brilliantly, and with the utmost eloquence, and in spite of the storm clouds (opposition) that had gathered around Him, testified that the Sun was about to arise. Just as John the Baptist called upon the people to repent for their iniquities, suffered and died, so did this wonderful being, whose name is “The Bab,” proclaim, “O people! Prepare yourselves to receive the Lord for the day of resurrection is nigh,” and, “He whom God shall manifest is about to come forth from the abode of nearness with power and great glory.” The Bab, like his predecessor John the Baptist, suffered and died at the hands of a fanatical people.
Then the Sun of the Bab’s prophecy (Bahá’u’lláh) arose with the brilliancy and the heat of seven Suns. “The heavens (religions) shall pass away with a great noise (amidst argumentative opposition) and the elements (the previous and supposed fundamental principles) shall melt (be overcome) with fervent heat, (i. e., the love of God), the earth also (i. e., as is known with its hatreds, wars, etc.), and the works (man’s notions, ideas and institutions which people have substituted for God’s) that are therein shall be burned up.”
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” That is, the rays (teachings) of this Sun will cause to blossom forth in the world of humanity a new feeling, a divine brotherhood, the love and Fatherhood of God, of peace. Therefore, a new earth will come into being, the old thoughts and ideals having passed away. “And there was no more sea.” That is, no more the causes separating mankind, such as various religious beliefs causing peoples to be submerged in a sea of names,—as I am a Christian, I am a Jew. But the heat of the Sun of Bahá’u’lláh will dry up all those seas of differences and man will stand firmly upon the earth and he shall “see not as through a glass darkly, but face to face.”
The Rays of this Sun are today descending upon us from the “horizon of the Mount” (Carmel), and the regions of the world are being flooded with Its Light. Just as the rays of the phenomenal sun are infinite, so are the rays of the Sun of Truth infinite. These are a few of the Rays from the Sun of Reality:
The Oneness of Mankind, Establishment of Universal Peace, Independent Investigation of Truth, A Universal Auxiliary Language and other well known Bahá’í Principles.
The Moon of this heaven that “shall shine as the Sun” was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh. He reflected the Light of his Father with a power like unto the Sun. He was “the man that shall build the temple of the Lord and the Messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in, behold he shail come, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
“O ye discerning ones of the people! Verily the Words which have descended from the heaven of the Will of God are the source of unity and harmony for the world. Close your eyes to racial differences and welcome all with the light of oneness. Be the cause of comfort and promotion of humanity. This handful of dust, the world, is one home. Let it be in unity. Forsake pride, it is the cause of discord.” In these words did Bahá’u’lláh instruct the people.
THE wistful yearning of mankind for a perfection beyond his ordinary capacity is attested by the pain that often accompanies beauty. In the aesthetic experience there is a lavish out-rushing of the soul’s fine gift of response to and recognition of something from which it cannot derive any possible personal benefit. There is no material advantage to a living being from the colors of a sunset, from the first mild fragrances of moist March earth, from the superb sinuosity of a mighty river, any more than there is any utilitarian benefit in the pigments of Raphael paintings, the tumultuous energy of Michael Angelo’s statues, the leaping, soaring loveliness of the Rouen cathedral, or the poignant probing of the opening bars of Chopin’s Impromptu in F sharp major, with its tender questioning of all life’s deepest meanings.
The very nature of the recognition of beauty requires a complete withdrawal from self, for the first definition of anything beautiful is its freedom from the utilitarian. We can imagine something of the bewildering tempestuous ecstacy that swept through the first soul, who discovered that, though putting some ornamentation on his crude earthen vessel did not in any sense increase its usefulness, or enlarge its content, it did release in him new levels of response, new powers of expression, a new hope, a new sensibility, a new vision. The addition of this element of decoration to his utensil could not feed his body, but it performed the more eternal task of nourishing his soul.
It is beauty upon which the spirit feeds, for spirit is limitless and its nutriment can never come from those sordid restrictions that please the impertinent selfishness of man. This is the haunting summons to perfection that provokes in us such aching aspirations from time to time. We may pursue a dreamless routine for months, and suddenly, with a merciless affront to our self-satisfactions, the sublime and effortless coming of spring, the “far plaint of viols” through chaste moonlight, the reminiscent breath of some long-forgotten odor, the starry eyes of an attentive child, will startle and stab us to a heart-sick yearning for a completion that the mind can never know. For a space we are transported to an exaltation that will brook no interference from personal plans or selfish desires; here we must become merged in a width of comprehension that annuls every narrow wish; or else we must return unassuaged to the little partitions of lifeless things and heartless contacts. The unquenchable thirst of the soul for these fountains of crystalline refreshment marks our kinship to the infinite, and mirrors our inmost pattern to the likeness of God.
In every experience of beauty there is a degree of pain. The panting soul, too soon exhausted with a rapture of joy and wonder that it is not yet robust enough to bear, returns after a brief supernal sojourn on the brink of perfection, bringing with it only the shining memory of an almost unendurable splendor, that shrivels the world and all its strivings to a bare kernel, and makes the vauntings of ambition and vanity the mere echo of a hollow sound.
Beauty belongs to those who appreciate her. There is no vested ownership in her intemperate austerities. Those sentiments that were “graven in the marbles of the Parthenon and broidered with the birds upon the fan of Hokusai at the foot of Fuji-yama,” know no era, no clime, no nationality.
In the divine democracy of beauty those who respond to her appeal enjoy an equal and an unlimited freedom from the tyranny of sordidness and from the enslavement to things. She extends to the King and to the hireling a suffrage equal to their own capacities, sometimes whimsically hiding herself from the one and revealing herself to the other with an audacious carelessness that subverts our human arrogance. Frederick the Great grasped this fact when to the astonishment and secret resentment of the high nobility present at a state function he seated Voltaire on his right and dogmatically announced that genius ranks with royalty.
Before we can bear the unveiled sight of Beauty’s self we must be stripped of all those offenses against joy and peace and love and truth that are our common expression. Beauty caresses with special fervor certain obvious favorites, while others see her magical turrets from afar, glowing perhaps in the sudden sunlight of some alluring day before spring in which there is a first stirring of faint calls and promises. Some dwell in her ante-chamber, responding to the rites and ceremonies of her cult as if they were the high priests of her austere and virginal usage; still others are her welcome familiars, dwelling in incessant and unsullied contact with her, attuned to the harmony, the splendor, the resonance that would destroy the unaccustomed neophyte. Seemingly the divine function of Beauty is to teach us the law of love. Many who involuntarily abandon themselves to the alluring madness of external beauty, are blind to the real beauty of an inner light and lure. The invisible beauty of finely adjusted relations, of the harmonious rythm of sympathy, forbearance, helpfulness and loyalty are sometimes hidden from the impressionable ear and from the adventurous eye. This latter is a mere worship of the outer vestment of Beauty, and a callous neglect of the piercing potency of her soul. Surely in our approach to her hallowed fame we can frame no more appropriate prayer than that of Socrates:—
“Beloved Pan, and all ye gods who haunt this place! Give me beauty in the inward parts, and may the outward and the inward man agree.”
Some know the beauty of delirious sound; some the beauty of undulating contours, suave or bold; of melting, compensating forms; some the irresistible beauty of a universe of color (to these all the wealth of the world is negligible in comparison to the pale gilt of the first narcissus or to the pearly iridescence of a misty morning); some are intoxicated by the searching joy of words wherein the very voice of God speaks to the spirit, and bids it partake of eternal and unceasing bounties; and scarce a soul but is impregnated by the mystery of music. But the final banquet-table of Beauty is spread for the great Lovers of the world.
It is the business of the arts, of education, of religion to efface the crude, ugly things of life and to replace them with loveliness. For what does it profit us if the physical earth become a paradise of sights and sounds, of fragrances and harmonies, so long as human relations remain ugly, warped and maimed? Of what value is Beauty if we deface our friendships, defile our appreciations by suspicion and ridicule, blot our contacts with prejudice and bigotry, and—ugliest of all outrages—mutilate our richest dreams?
This is the final flower of Beauty, the ultimate attainment to her holy of holies; to see the wonder at the heart of man; to credit all the shy unformulated gropings of his soul toward brighter peaks of vision; to sense the timorous pensive pull of his longing for nobler things; never to underestimate his regal capacities for effacement and sacrifice, nor the incalculable redemptions that can be wrought in him through love.
In our day Rodin has shown us cleansing perfections of outline: the
subtle satisfactions of Whistler have enlarged our experience of color; the restless urge of modernity speaks to us in the beautiful troubled music of Pucini. How trivial these achievements in comparison to the great work of the prophets. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá points out the final step in the aesthetic experience. Its primary requirement we have seen as selflessness, a complete oblivion to personal advantage. The expression to which he calls us is the sheer embodiment of Beauty: “a moth loves the light though his wings are burnt; though his wings are singed he throws himself against the flame. He does not love the light because it has conferred some benefit upon him; he hovers around it, though he sacrifice himself. Without this abandonment, this ecstacy, love is imperfect. The lover of God loves Him for Himself not for his own sake.”
This disembodied glory then that we call Love is the final flower of Beauty, for in its attainment we have reached to an expression of her inner essence:—a complete joy and delight in which there is no fragment of self.
WHAT is Might? In what does it consist? In force, power, ability? Let us weigh it out and find its greatest basis.
Everything pertaining to Might, must, in the final analysis, become internationally based. The loom by which the aborigine, the cave man, the nomad wove was very primitive. So far as the human creation then knew, it was satisfactory.
But as Dr. Crane tells us, “The road to ruin is to refuse to grow.” And so, lap after lap of a long journey—not merely of a few thousand years, but of hundreds of thousands of years—has witnessed the development of the world race—the human family.
At this time we face three phases of Might.
One is that of force; the force arising from inequalities of existence, and consequently inequalities of happiness. We are apt to look backward and with interest upon what we term past civilizations and their products. Now and then from excavation and discovery we bring forth hidden proofs that such civilizations to a degree at periods must have existed. For instance, it is quite true that the secret of making malleable glass, known at some early period of the world’s history, has never been rediscovered.
We do not yet possess the alchemic knowledge of turning baser metals into gold, such as it has been claimed was existent in past ages.
Yet all of these scientific matters will be rediscovered for we are living in an age UNIVERSALLY advanced—and advancing. And this is OUR hour. Did it ever occur to you that the title, “the ancients,” well belongs to the human race of today?
So we face Might in three great phases. One as stated is: the might of force. When one human being kills another and it is so proven, that second one is also killed as a “matter of justice.” Yet thousands of men in a group face another group of thousands, and the great perfection of instruments of war causes thousands to be destroyed in a moment. The plains are covered with mangled bodies, and are drenched with blood, and the anguish and torture of half destroyed human beings fill the air. And yet, so warped is our vision that each side of those armies calls it the
battle for right! And ever increase the inventions for wholesale destruction! Is this not an anomaly?
As a woman born a Christain and having quite an extensive clerical connection, I am able to state with a mind unprejudiced, my shame and grief that in these great days it has been and is the Christian nations which have discovered and brought to their deadliest perfection the means for slaughter of humanity. Had we not better turn to the Commands of God and follow peace with all men?
This rule of force is a brute rule. The animal world is innocent in its use of this brute force, for it has no consciousness of God; therefore it has no power of choice of obedience to Him. Consequently it cannot disobey Him. Thus, for the animal kingdom, there is no interruption of divine protection. And so, if animals destroy each other, God does not withdraw that protection!
We find after long ages that humanity is ripening into better ideals than those of the animalistic plane. Humanity has been given an intellect. The animal is a captive of nature. Humanity is making nature its captive through powerful discoveries. It does not create these things, but discovers them by means of its intellect, bringing them out of the Storage House of the Invisible and applying them as a supply to fill human demand.
That a new force is quickening the world, no human thinker denies. How much more expansive is our capacity, how much more vast is our field of adventure!
Different explanations are offered concerning this force. This rapidly evolving intellectual conception is mightier than the conception of the sword and carnage plane of existence.
The nations of the world are entering ths arena of law instead of war. Having traversed the world of animal force, and finding its domain of the senses a pitiful mirage, the human family realizes that such an existence can never produce, but degrade; never construct, but destroy; it sees the light of at least a higher form of Might.
The world is full of the proofs of that intellect; science bringing forth its treasures, philosophies gaining a wider scope, and so on ad infinitum. Most mindful articles appear in good magazines and newspapers, pointing to a stronger state of existence; an existence dominated by law, not war. This is a mighty stride forward.
But it is not enough. World oneness, true fidelity to every member of the human family, will never be established through the intellectual law. I will state why: Certain members of the human family, actuated by the intellectual urge, and possessing a field of influence, even of vast might, making their specialty of output literary, or philosophical, or partisan, can never bring to pass the fullness of Might. And there are many such in the fore ranks of the intellectual battle field.
The third form of Might, and the only one which will ever accomplish the “divine event” so long foretold, is the Divine Breath from Deity, filling each of our lives. The Power of God is descending upon this little world as never before. It is a domain and kingdom invisible. It is the most mighty of the conquering forces. It alone will accomplish that for which all are hungering. The skeptic and cynic will live to outlive skepticism and cynicism. This spiritual illumination is the crown of the intellect. One has stated that, “Man is not called man until he be imbued with the attributes of the Merciful. He is not man because of wealth and adornment, learning and refinement. Blessed is he who is free from the names, seeking the shore of the sea of Purity, and loving the melody of the dove of Virtue.” And again: “Deeds reveal the station of the man.”
ONE morning many years ago, I was sitting upon the deck of a steamer en route to Egypt. The day was beautiful, the sea calm, the air soft, the sun not brilliant as one so often finds it in the East, but just shedding a soft light between the clouds as they drifted across the sky. I remember most distinctly the feeling of quiet stillness in my consciousness, which I did not want to disturb by the exchange of thought with others. There was a feeling of nearness to something, I knew not what. It was lunch hour, and the passengers had all left the deck for the dining saloon; still I remained in my steamer chair, thinking of many things. The deck steward came along and spoke to me, inquiring if I were not going to lunch. “Yes,” I said, “I suppose I had better go.” In a short while I was chatting with a lady who sat at my table. She told me she was going to visit a great personage in the East who had been a prisoner for forty years. “But why forty years?” I thought. She told me the story of this great person, of all he and his father had suffered. I remember saying, “What a very remarkable story; do many people know this great person?” “Oh, yes,” she said, “a great many people know ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”
The next morning we arrived at Alexandria. Before we landed a note was sent to my cabin, saying, “Good-bye; try to love my teacher. I feel some day you will be one with us. Faithfully in His service, Lua Moore Getsinger. January 25, 1910.”
I never saw Mrs. Getsinger again. Enclosed with the note was a photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Well I remember looking at the face, and thinking what a strange story it was. Soon we were busy preparing to land; then came sightseeing and merrymaking. We traveled six months and in all that time I met no one who had ever heard of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, or the story of his life.
Many months passed and one day I opened my writing book and came across the note and the photograph. It was carelessly tossed aside with other papers. I was not in the least interested, thinking it only a little episode in our travels. A short time afterwards I received a New York paper announcing the marriage of my greatest friend. The notice said that Mr. and Mrs. _____ were married in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the great prophet from the East, who was visiting America. It gave a sketch of his life and the principles of his teaching. At once I went to my desk to look for the letter. The moment I opened it and looked at the photograph I realized that this was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the great person of whom Mrs. Getsinger had tried to tell me, and about whom I could not understand at the time.
To make my story short I shall just say that my lifelong friend and her husband were soon found and they became my teachers. So “I became a Bahá’í."’
Last winter, 1924, Mrs. Claudia Coles, of London, England, and I arranged that we should visit Haifa and the Holy Land, I to sail from New York and Mrs. Coles to sail a week later from England. We met at Haifa, March 14th, enjoying every word each had to tell of our long journey across the sea.
I shall never forget our first walk through the Master’s garden, where He had spent so many hours making it beautiful with every flower one could imagine, arbored walks, growing with exquisite
white and yellow roses, trees bearing golden fruit. The beauty of it all is beyond the power of a pen. The garden is steeped with memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and one feels His continued Presence, making it truly a Holy Garden, where prayers, night and day, have been offered to God for the “Brotherhood of the World” and the unity of the nations. We had no desire for sightseeing. Our one desire was to get into harmony with the surroundings, “Festina Lente” absolutely, mentally and physically. Every evening during our visit we walked upon Mount Carmel to the Tomb of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and spent an hour or more in the twilight; the great silence and peace was deeply wonderful. The air was always heavy with the scent of flowers growing in profusion in the gardens of the Tomb.
Of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s beloved family and their great kindness to us no words could possibly begin to express, and to their wonderful charm of personality and the unsurpassed beauty of their daily lives no word of mine could do justice. The memory of these beloved souls sinks deeper and deeper into my heart as the time passes.
In silence we stood upon the deck of the great ship the afternoon we sailed away from Haifa. Soon the twilight came, then the darkness, then the realization we were leaving “The Holy Land.”
“God leaves not His children comfortless, but when the darkness of winter overshadows them, then again He sends His Messengers, the Prophets, with a renewal of the Blessed Spring. The Sun of Truth appears again on the horizon of the world shining into the eyes of those who sleep, awaking them to behold the glory of a New Dawn. Then again will the tree of humanity blossom and bring forth the fruit of righteousness for the healing of the nations. 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 p. 20.)
THE need of an international language has long been felt among the forward-looking men and women of all lands. Both ideal and utilitarian considerations urgently demand the establishment of such a language at the earliest possible moment. The practical handicaps in connection with all international intercourse and especially in all international congresses and similar gatherings, arising from lack of a common tongue, are becoming more manifest each year. The growth of the international spirit makes more glaring the lack of an efficient vehicle through which it may function.
It is obvious that national languages, no matter how widespread, will not serve the turn. The objection to them lies deeper than their complex structure, their abundant irregularities, their numerous idioms. Each of them embodies centuries of the separate history and experience of a race, with the past and present phases of racial psychology that have developed. Into each natural language the spirit of a people has been wrought. Its wonderful power of expressing the thoughts, sentiment and ideals that particularly distinguish its own group, is precisely the impassible barrier against its adequacy to meet the needs of other groups. A national bias is so deeply lodged in it as to be irremovable by any simplification or other scheme of adaptation. Hence it can never be made neutral, in such a way that all people shall feel equally at home in it. Moreover, the adoption of such a language, instead of allaying the causes of misunderstanding and ill will, would in some measure intensify them, since it would arouse the strongest jealousies and suspicions on the part of the greater nations whose tongues had been passed over for the favored one.
The international use, then, of any national language must in the nature of the case be a very limited one. It cannot be assumed that even the foremost men of all nations are skilled linguists, even when they are placed in a position where ability to comprehend one another perfectly would be of the utmost importance to themselves and to the world. No man can tell how serious has been the consequence of the lack of a common language in a single case. When the foremost representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan met at Versailles, to develop principles by which the peace of the world should be established and the course of all future history determined, it was found that there was not one language which all of them could understand; and the precision of the ideas expressed and discussed suffered accordingly, with serious effects from which it is probable that the world is today suffering and must suffer for a long time to come.
It is obvious that no international language can take the place of a natural language for the special purposes of everyday use within a national group. The respective affections, with accompanying obligations, belonging to family, neighborhood, town or city, state and nation, representing an ever-widening circle of interests and duties, are all to be correlated, and in no sense conflict with one another. In the same way, none of these, in a properly ordered world, can ever conflict with the still wider circle of love and duty toward mankind as a whole. The natural languages have grown in accordance with fixed principles planted in the human mind and disposition, and exactly fit the local and national needs of complete expression. Each one of them, even the
least widely used, ought to be perpetuated, and its history and literature preserved as a permanent part of the cultural treasure of the human race, The adoption of an international language will not have the slightest tendency to weaken or destroy any one of them. Its function will be to promote effective intercommunication among men and women of different lands. To do so, it must ignore the separate characteristics of particular races, and possess simply the universal human qualities, which will be recognized by all as held in common by them and their fellows of every land.
For several hundred years, there have been some in every generation who have not been blind to the need of such a medium. First to voice this need in clear accents was the great Bohemian pioneer of sound educational principles, known and honored by the whole world under the name of Comenius. Attempts to put the conception into practice, however, were long unsuccessful. Something like 150 abortive experiments preceded the invention of Esperanto, only one of which, Volapük, seemed for a short time, in spite of its glaring faults, destined to find acceptance on account of the increasing realization of the crying need. The main trouble with all these undertakings was apparently their concentration upon utilitarian aims, and their indifference to the larger ideals of the unity of mankind. Hence the best of them inevitably turned out to be mechanical and lifeless. There was no spiritual instinct in the minds of their creators; and no soul could appear in the languages themselves.
In the mean time, in the middle of the nineteenth century, the divine message of Bahá’u’lláh suddenly brought a sublime radiance to dispel the clouds of ignorance and prejudice by which the minds of men had been darkened. The bigoted mullás of Persia were aghast at the audacity of one who spoke with the consciousness of divinely bestowed authority, and who dared to substitute for their partial vision of theological doctrine the “strange innovation” (actually referred to by one of them in some such term) of the Brotherhood of Man. A new age was opened; and the influence of the God-sent messenger permeated receptive souls everywhere, even among those who lived and died without hearing the name of the divine teacher. Among the clear instructions of Bahá’u’lláh, put forth with the same urgency as any other of his teachings, was that of the selection or creation of an international language for the promotion of unity among mankind. This was no thought of a mere utilitarian project, but a direct command for the service of God by the creation of an instrument for bringing the thoughts of his children into closer harmony. Over and over again in the sacred Tablets, this is insisted on as a duty, “so that the whole world,” as declared in the Tablet of Ishráqát, “may thereby be considered as one native land and one part.”
The ultimate choice of such a universally accepted international language, which is to be taught “to the children in the schools of the world,” must be made by agreement among the nations of the world, either through their present rulers, or, if they fail to do so, by the House of Justice, when, in the divine providence, the duties of universal administration shall be placed upon its shoulders. In the mean time, however, there is an obvious step to be taken, if in any way possible, in the creation and voluntary use by all who recognize the principle of one international language, to be thoroughly tested in every way; that when the time comes for final official choice and universal instruction in the chosen tongue, those who are to decide shall have abundant experience to guide them, whether they are to ratify the language already in wide use, to accept it with modifications or to decide upon a different one.
In the creation of Esperanto, this condition has been fully met. Dr. Zamenhof,
its author, grew up from boyhood with an inborn love of mankind and longing to bring about a reconciliation among its conflicting elements. His life-work was inspired, not like the efforts of his unsuccessful predecessors, by a mere desire to facilitate commercial, scientific or diplomatic activities, or to promote the comfort and pleasure of travelers, desirable and valuable as these and other uses of an international language certainly are, but primarily to destroy the causes of misunderstanding and hate among his fellowmen by furnishing them with a means of coming to a better understanding. The light that reached him, and found him ready to follow its guidance, was, though he knew it not with his intellectual realization, the divine radiance. As a result, his work remains, bringing forth constant fruits for good. It would take many pages to enter into detail regarding Esperanto and its accomplishments. Suffice it to say here that its followers are found in every land, and constitute a cross-section of every branch of human society. It is being used for myriads of purposes by an ever-increasing number of adherents. It breathes in itself a spirit of international fellowship; and the feeling of comradeship among Esperantists everywhere is almost incredible in its intensity.
That the mission of Esperanto is in harmony with the divine teachings, is manifest by a multitude of proofs. Chief of all is the repeated expression by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of his approval of the Esperanto cause and his earnest wish that all followers of the Bahá’í truth shall adhere to it. In his message to Esperantists in 1912, he wrote: “All through America I have encouraged the Bahá’ís to study Esperanto; and to the extent of my ability I will strive in its spread and promotion.” Again, in 1913, He said in Paris: “Now, praise be to God that Dr. Zamenhof has invented the Esperanto language. It has all the potential qualities of becoming the international means of communication. All of us must be grateful and thankful to him for this noble effort; for in this way he has served his fellow-men well. He has invented a language which will bestow the greatest benefits on all people. With untiring effort and self-sacrifice on the part of its devotees it will become universal. Therefore every one of us must study this language, and spread it as far as possible, so that day by day it may receive a wider recognition, be accepted by all nations and governments of the world, and become a part of the curriculum in all the public schools. I hope that the language of all the future international conferences and congresses will become Esperanto, so that all people may acquire only two languages—one their own tongue and the other the international auxiliary language. Then perfect union will be established between all the people of the world.”
The foregoing are not isolated expressions by the great Teacher, but are typical of repeated utterances, which indicate how deeply his heart was concerned on the subject. "In a Tablet addressed to the writer of these lines in 1920, it is written: “As to thy attendance at the Esperanto Conference . . . it is very advisable. Thou shouldst show utmost efficiency thereat, in order to spread the divine teachings, one of which is the oneness of language.”
Incumbent as it is on all intelligent well-wishers of their kind to lend their aid to the furtherance of this vital factor in promoting consciousness of unity among the peoples, there is a special burden laid among the followers of the Bahá’í Teachings, for whom the repeatedly expressed wish of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá should mark the path of a duty not to be shirked under any conceivable pretext. He, no one of whose words was ever lightly or indifferently uttered, declares: “Every one of us must study this language, and spread it as far as possible.” The blessing for faithfulness
rests not in mere acquiescence, but in strict and active obedience. The Esperantists, who are toiling night and day in a cause thus carrying into action the precepts of Bahá’u’lláh, and in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has specifically commanded the professed followers of the Revelation of this age to participate, are looking intently at the actions of those who name themselves Bahá’ís, and are wondering why so few among them have responded to this injunction of the Master.
Universal obedience to this divinely given command will mean the instillation of a deeper spiritual consciousness into the Esperanto movement, and the intensive spread, by this great vehicle, of the divine Teachings throughout the most progressive groups of lovers of their kind in every land on earth. It will also hasten the speedy execution of this one of the original principles enunciated at the very beginning of the great Revelation; and when the world has once adopted and put into action a single one of the precepts of the Manifestation of the age, the way for acceptance of the companion truths will have been made far more easy.
“THIS IS A CENTURY of illumination, surpassing all others in its many discoveries, its great inventions, and its vast and varied undertakings. But the greatest achievement of the age in conferring profit and pleasure on mankind is the creation of an auxiliary language for all. Oneness of language creates oneness of heart. Oneness of language engenders peace and harmony. It sweeps away all misunderstandings among peoples. It establishes harmony among the children of men. It gives to the human intellect a broader conception, a more commanding point of view.
Today the greatest need of humanity is to understand and to be understood. With the help of the International Language, every individual member of a community can learn of world happenings and become in touch with the ethical and scientific discoveries of the age. The auxiliary international language gives to us the key—the key of keys—which unlocks the secrets of the past, By its aid every nation henceforth will be able easily and without difficulty to work out its own scientific discoveries.
The greatest thing in the world is to be able to make yourself understood by your friends and to understand them, and that there is no greater handicap in the world than not to be able to communicate your thoughts to others. But with an auxiliary language all these difficulties disappear.
Now, praise be to God, that language has been created—Esperanto. This is one of the special gifts of this luminous century, one of the most remarkable achievements of this great age.
His Holiness BAHA’O’LLAH many years ago wrote a book called “The Most Holy Book,” one of the fundamental principles of which is the necessity of creating an International Language, and He explains the great good and advantage that will result from its use.
Now let us thank the Lord because the Esperanto language has been created. We have commanded all the Bahá’ís in the Orient to study this language very carefully, and ere long it will spread all over the East. I pray you, Esperantists and non-Esperantists, to work with zeal for the spread of this language, for it will hasten the coming of that day, that millennial day, foretold by prophets and seers, that day when, it is said, the wolf and the lamb shall drink from the same fountain, the lion and the deer shall feed in the same pasture. The meaning of this holy word is that hostile races, warring nations, differing religions, shall become united in the spirit of love.
I repeat, the most important thing in the world is the realization of an auxiliary international language.”—(Star of W., Vol. 4, p. 34.)
IS ONE
HOWARD CARPENTERIN former ages people believed exclusively in the particular prophet to whom they adhered. They accepted the teachings of this one prophet and refused to see any truth in those of other prophets. In fact they believed that followers of other prophets were infidels and were condemned by God to suffer punishment for their belief. There are a great many Christians at the present time who think other prophets are false. This belief in other prophets has been caused by the superstitions and dogmas which people have insisted on connecting with their religion. The people have interpreted literally the word of their prophets and superstitions have resulted. For example: many Christians believe in a hell of actual fire and brimstone. Concerning the second coming of Christ, of which He spoke as follows: “I will come again in the clouds as I go,” they believe He will come floating down to earth on a vaporous mass. Since the description given by other prophets of a heaven and a hell or of the method of manifesting themselves do not coincide with Christ’s, they believe those prophets false.
But now the books of the various prophets have been translated into all the great languages and by the study of comparative religions it is found that the foundation of all religions is one. The obscurity which has surrounded religions in the past has been removed and by investigating, one will find that the teachings of all religions are identical and all the Holy Books contain the Truth.
One of the basic doctrines of every religion is the existence of a Divinity, a Creator, a supreme Force which reigns over the members of humanity. This Divinity is known by different names: God, Jehovah in the time of Moses, Allah to the Muhammadans. The Truth behind the name is not realized and people fight over the name of the Prophet. Some of the greatest wars in history have been “holy wars,” caused by this difference in nornenclature, in which followers of opposing faiths sought to kill each other in order to serve their God.
All religions agree in another principle: the immortality of the soul—an existence after death. The possibility of reward or punishment after death led to a division of divinity into a God of Good and a God of Evil, and to the two regions where immortal life would be spent. The details may differ, but the ideal is the same.
In every Holy Book the historical descriptions are very similar. For example: each one contains a story of a supernatural beginning of the world much the same as that contained in the Book of Genesis.
The moral teachings of the various religions are the same. The Golden Rule has been a part of all religions. An Egyptian law, 3,500 years before Christ, was: “It thou be among people make for thyself love the beginning and end of the heart.” When the Hindu kingdoms were being established, it was written: “The true rule of business is to guard and do by the things of others as they do by their own.” Confucius said: “What you would not wish done to yourself, do not unto others.” The Hebraic, Greek, Buddhistic, Zoroastrian, and Roman laws, all before Christ, contained teachings the same as the Golden Rule which Christ declared “is the law and the prophets.”
Since all the religions of the world contain the Truth why is there dissension and hatred between the followers? Every prophet has been a manifestation of God and has brought a divine message. The human race is constantly advancing, both spiritually and mentally. When a manifestation of God comes to this earth he brings a message that will satisfy the needs of the people at that time and for some time to come. But after a thousand or two thousand years the message of that prophet is no longer sufficient for human needs. It is then that God sends another prophet who proclaims a message for that period in human advancement. In school work the teacher gives a lesson. When the students have learned that lesson does the teacher let them stop there? No. Another lesson is given to them and they continue to advance. So it is with the prophets. These divine manifestations “which are outwardly different have been brought into the world in accord with the exigencies of the time and the need of the people.”
Today the political, economic, and moral conditions of the world show that a manifestation is needed. A few years ago the greatest war in history was fought and war still seems imminent. In spite of strict enforcement of laws and heavy punishments, crime is on the increase. The world is advancing materially, but spiritually it is declining. The world is like a bird. One wing is spiritual progress and the other wing is material progress. If the spiritual wing is weakened the bird cannot fly in a straight course. In recent years the world has made tremendous material progress, but has been retarded spiritually. The religions of the past are not sufficient for the needs of the present day. The world has outgrown the teachings of the old prophets. The message of Moses was not sufficient two thousand years ago, and another manifestation of God came to earth in the form of Christ. And the message of Christ, delivered twenty centuries ago, is not sufficient for our spiritual needs today. The answer is obvious: either the manifestation of God for this time has already come, or is to come soon. It is for us to search until we find the Truth and then we shall know the “owner of the vineyard” when He has come.
ABANDONMENT OF PREJUDICE
BARBARA PROBASCO‘Abdu’l-Bahá once said: “Beware of prejudice; Light is good in whatsoever lamp it is burning. A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom. A star has the same radiance whether it shines from the east or from the west.” To me it seems that the root of all the difficulties in the world is prejudice: a root which gives growth to a weed which flourishes to destroy all that which is good around it. If a gardner finds a weed in his garden, he pulls it up carefully so that not one trace of it remains. And if we find the weed of prejudice in our minds stamping out our better thoughts, we must pull it up so that we may give freedom to those higher thoughts. To say this is easy; to actually do it is hard. Indeed, when we think of the task that confronts us, of all the thousand and one prejudices we have, big and little, every size under the sun, we are sometimes struck with dismay. But, after all, if we look at each one squarely, it takes no great time to realize that not one exists that does not rest on a false basis, on an error of judgment.
Let us take, for example, the four prejudices which the Bahá’í Teachings name as the greatest of all. They are Political, National, Racial and Religious Prejudices.
Political prejudice is petty in its very nature. Each citizen desires that which is best for the country at large. The
harboring, then, of petty political prejudices—such as voting a party ticket time after time, never considering the other candidates, never considering more than one side of a political question—can surely make for this condition. It is the ability to look at both sides of a question, to grasp the other person’s view, that makes a citizen give real service to his country.
To abandon National Prejudice is a slightly larger task. It is hard sometimes to hear the words “national prejudice” used as synonym for "patriotism.” Each country treasures certain lofty ideals which it would most certainly be wrong to tear down. The true patriotism, love and reverence for these ideals is in no way to be destroyed. But false patriotism, the building up of walls around one’s country’s boundaries, by shutting one’s mind to the good existing in other nations, hinders the realization of unity. A citizen of California may love California, but above California is the United States and above the United States is the world! Bahá’u’lláh said: “Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind.”
Harder to overcome than national prejudice is race prejudice. The external, differences of certain people sometimes blinds others to the fact that human beings are the same throughout the world. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, “White doves and purple doves exist, but both kinds are doves,” and they do not fight each other. It is unfortunate that people are classified according to color, when, after all, it is each individual’s intrinsic qualities that make him or her worthy. And when we learn to value people for what they are and not for the color of their skin, race prejudice disappears.
And then we come to religious prejudice, that which holds people apart more than any one thing. How many are there who speak, as a character in “Kim,” with a tone that lumps nine-tenths of all the world in the one term “heathen.” People condemn unknowingly all those who worship under another name. Sect hates sect, adherents of the great religions are ranged in conflict with one another. But when we realize the truth of the unity of Religion, religious prejudice fades away.
This phase of the Bahá’í Teachings is the one which appeals most strongly to me. Its broadness, its liberality, its justice, its Truth drew me irresistibly to this movement which holds as one of its basic principles the necessity for the Abandonment of Prejudice. For until we do this that unity so vital for the world can never be realized. Not by merely saying that it is right, it is good to forsake prejudices, but by actually doing it, can the desired result be achieved. In a talk in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “Do not only SAY that Unity, Love, Brotherhood are good; you must work for their realization.” Take hold of the weed with both hands, not giving it a feeble tug, but with a mighty jerk root it out wholly and entirely.
THE UNITY OF SCIENCE AND RELIGIION
MARION CARPENTERIs not the world beginning to discover that the obstacles in the path to universal peace can be overcome by the divine teachings of Bahá’u’lláh? The age-long fighting between religion and science is an obstacle to world harmony which is fading away with an increasing knowledge of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The materialist and the spiritualist, at sword’s points throughout history, are today fighting as never before to win a decisive battle; Fundamentalist and Modernist grapple to destroy each other. To those who have heard the message of Bahá’u’lláh this conflict, any
conflict, is as unnecessary as it is wrong. Bahá’ís have perfect peace of mind on religious and scientific subjects. The principle on which they base their faith is briefly just this: true religion and real science are in absolute agreement. Religion which denies what science has proved is superstition and bigotry, and, on the other hand, science which does not accept the revealed Word of God is utter materialism—a body without a soul. Not religion or science, but religion and science, the combination of faith and reason, is the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh to the world today.
God has given man two coordinate ways of arriving at knowledge about the universe: the one (science) is interested in the discovery and explanation of fact, and the other (religion) in appreciation and revelation. Thus they complement each other in making up universal truth. Just as the two wings of a bird move together and both are necessary to flight, so humanity needs both the wing of faith and the wing of reason working in unison, or it cannot soar in the bright sky of the higher life.
The Middle Ages, choked as they were by theology, blind belief, and superstition, represent a period when reason was completely out of fashion; to think was heresy. Today the world has gone to the other extreme and faces a materialistic condition no less awful. The scientist Hyslop says, “The religious mind has been too intent in the past on combating science. If it had realized that scientific method is its best friend it might have held the materialistic tendencies of this age in check.” Religion and science must save each other. Just as medievalism was saved by science, so the twentieth century will be saved by religion. We are discovering through the terrible lessons of earthquakes, wars, and pestilences that we can run this world but miserably alone; that God is still necessary to the universe He has created. A watch may run independently of the manufacturer for a time, but if it is dropped and a spring broken it must go back to its maker. The great scientists of all time have believed in God and religion. It is only the scientific neophyte who is apt to be a sceptic. What Bacon said of philosophy, that when a man studies a little philosophy he is apt to become an atheist, but let him delve into the depths and he becomes a confirmed deist, is equally true of scientific study. Even Darwin did not attempt to explain his theories without a First Cause. Biologists, astronomers, chemists do not explain their hypotheses without God. Anyone who looks curiously at the world of nature, with its laws and forces working in perfect coordination, must believe in, and appreciate, religion.
Science and religion must go together; they must grow together. The world will go far on the path to universal peace when it attains the perfect poise, the equilibrium between faith and reason, which Bahá’u’lláh has brought. Then we can “believe with assurance and act with conviction.” It is upon the coming into play of this great new Baháí principle that the integrity of the world of enlightenment and the progress of man depend. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said, “When religion, shorn of its superstitions, traditions and unintelligent dogmas, shows its conformity with science, there will be a great unifying force in the world which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements, discords and struggles."
WE HAVE received a large bundle of clippings from newspapers published in different Cities in Australia, all giving interesting and favorable accounts of the lecture tour of Miss Martha Root, the American Bahá’í teacher.
Who is Miss Root? Friends in all parts of the world are well acquainted with this “Lecture-Journalist” either through her writings or through personal contacts, but for those who have not had this pleasure, we may state that Miss Root is a magazine and newspaper writer who became an ardent follower of the Bahá’í Faith some years ago. It was evident from the beginning that she had remarkable spiritual capacity, that she was free from prejudice, that she was searching for Truth; therefore it was not at all difficult for her, already possessing a universal consciousness, to understand that “the world is one home.” Her intelligent and illumined grasp of the principles of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, soon classified her as a teacher with a vision and she longed to spread the seeds of Truth far and wide.
There are no “paid teachers” in the Bahá’í Cause—that is, in the generally accepted meaning of this term—however, this did not deter Miss Root from planning an extended tour. She set herself the task of encircling the globe to expound the Bahá’í Teachings in every country in the whole world. Has she independent means? Yes, for she is independent of all save God She has a small income of her own, insufficient, however, to finance so large an undertaking as a tour of the world, but as she travels from city to city she adds to this income through her gifted pen which moves swiftly over pages of “copy” for newspapers in different parts of the world.
To what extent has she been successful in translating the vision into a living of the life planned for herself?
First of all she started at home and toured America and the “open door” was the rule every where. She was on the program of all kinds of Club organizations, Societies, schools, colleges and Forums enroute to the Pacific coast. Her interesting trip of nine months through South America was an outstanding and notable event in Bahá’í circles, and a story which has been retold with ever increasing interest. Then there was a hurried trip to India with visits en route at many important Cities. Later on we find she had a signally successful and happy year in China, where she learned to have a real love and admiration for the Chinese and their civilization. We recall her enthusiastic reports from that land, and how she always stressed the kindness of the Chinese, their peace-loving qualities, their brilliant and penetrating intellects, their patience and self-control and that they have absolutely no egotism. In one of her stories about China, she says:
“They have in China what they call a Day of Humiliation. They say, ‘if our country is not what it should be, if the military caste is over-riding it, we do not blame the militarists or the bandits. We blame ourselves, and we ourselves will change China and restore our country through education.’
“One of the most profoundly interesting things in the world,” continued Miss Root, “is the Chinese renaissance, the student movement which is changing the face of China. Essentially it is a renaissance of learning, for it begins with the professors and the universities, and it is restoring all that was best in old China. There are classics in Chinese as
great as Shakespeare, but they have never been translated into English, for we have no Chinese scholars great enough. Some day the Chinese themselves will translate them into Esperanto, and China will make a wonderful contribution to the world’s treasures.
“China today is testing all things. Religion it looks at in the light of science, and religion and science must agree.”
Miss Root has also spent some time in Japan and some of the Islands of the Pacific. Recently she has completed a four months’ speaking and writing trip through Australia and New Zealand. She touched first at Thursday Island, the extreme north, and went to the extreme south, Hobart and Launceston in Tasmania. She spent a month in Perth, the “front door” to Australia, then recrossed the continent via the trans-Australian railway, and gave more than sixty lectures in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Miss Effie Baker, Miss Katherine McLaughlin and Miss Gretta Lamprill, all Bahá’ís, joined Miss Root at times and traveled with her through different parts of Australia.
Miss Root was broadcasted from every large station in the different Cities of both Australia and New Zealand. Lectures on the universal Principles of the Bahá’í Cause and Esperanto as a universal auxiliary language were broadcasted from Melbourne. Ships in the Indian ocean, three thousands miles away, returned a wireless of congratulation. A woman in Queensland, one thousand miles distant, telegraphed that every Principle was heard distinctly and believed in. It was a telegram of thanks. In Sydney the broadcasting went out five thousand miles to sixty thousand listeners-in. Hobart newspapermen and Esperantists heard it distinctly.
A clipping from “The Saturday Journal” in Adelaide, on Nov. 8, 1924, carries the headlines:
“Miss Root on the Wireless”—and then follows this interesting account:
“Seated in my dining room at Malvern on Thursday night I heard on the wireless, as clearly as if the lady were next to me, Miss Martha L. Root, the American journalist and traveller, speaking from 5 Don N., Mr. E. J. Hume’s broadcasting station, Parkside. We were trying to pick up music at the time, and this fine, carrying voice, of charming accent, broke in surprisingly. So engaging were the tone and style of the visitor that there was no resisting hearing her to the very end.
“‘It is as easy to have universal peace as war,’ were the first words which came through. ‘We must teach universal peace in all the public schools.’ Then Miss Root proceeded to advocate the formation of a world-wide committee of the best linguists, because there could never be universal peace without some kind of universal language. Miss Root pointed out that the English language contained 65,000 root words, French, 55,000; and Esperanto only 2,000. Esperanto was so simple that a child could learn it, and she told of the great progress this auxiliary language had made in 35 years.
“With the universal language, explained Miss Root, they could then work for universal education so that, with similar courses of study in the universities of the world, and in the primary schools, an interchange of students would be easy. This campaign for universal peace was shown to involve many changes—co-equal education of men and women, the abolition of religious and political prejudice, an international, instead of a merely national outlook, the independent investigation of truth, and so forth.”
Lectures were given by Miss Root two, three, and, a few times, five times a day. These were before Rotary Clubs, Women’s Clubs, Women’s Service Guilds, English Speaking Unions, Churches, New Thought Centers, Theosophical Societies, Spiritualists, Esperantist Societies, Universities and Teacher’s Training Colleges. She was joint speaker with Mr. Walter Nash,
national secretary of the New Zealand Labor Party at a large meeting in the Strand Theater at which she proclaimed the Principles of the Bahá’í Cause and closed her talk with the words “The world is rising as one to work for the principles of international peace.”
Another time she spoke before five thousand Socialists in the domain or public park in Sydney on the Bahá’í Principles for a divine civilization. It was a clear, bright Sunday afternoon and she stood on an auto truck, the vista beyond the sea of faces being Sydney harbor, which is so justly famous as being the most beautiful harbor in the world.
From among the numerous clippings, the “Sydney Morning Hearld” of October 11th, states that “Sir Keith Smith (the first aviator to sail from London to Australia) and Lady Smith and Miss Martha Root, American journalist, were guests of honor at the English Speaking Union Musicale. Lady Braddon and Mrs. Lawton, wife of the American Consul, acted as hostesses. Miss Root gave a short address on universal peace, which she says is impossible without a universal auxiliary language and universal education. She spoke of the Asiatic Society in China which corresponds to the English Speaking Union, and says the Bahá’í Societies go still further because they are Universal, they unite all into one world brotherhood.”
Miss Root has now arrived in South Africa where she will join Miss Fanny Knobloch, the Bahá’í teacher who has been in that country for several months, and who has written on many occasions that the people in that land are more interested in Universal Peace than any other subject. All friends eagerly await the joyous news from those who accomplish a new service daily. (M. H.)
If American Bahá’ís wish to study at first hand a natural experiment in the Oneness of Humanity they can scarcely do better than visit Brazil and stay awhile at Bahia, the city in South America which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá named by name, and where Miss Leonora S. Holsapple is now steadfastly teaching, ably supported by Miss Maude M. Mickle.
Neither in theory nor in practice does Brazil recognize a color line, and in Bahia, owing to what may be designated “accidental” blending, a rainbow profusion of tints exists, ranging from a Scandinavian fairness of complexion to a Central African duskiness. As a result, there is extraordinary evidence that all races originally sprang from the same stock, as there are types to be found which, if isolated, could not be distinguished from pure Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, etc., although, so far as can be traced, no actual blood of such peoples runs in their veins.
Amongst this multitude of some 300,000 souls Miss Hosapple works unsparingly in true Bahá’í spirit, toiling many hours per day to gain the wherewithal to enable her to spend most of the remaining hours in service, whilst Miss Mickie, in a brave mood of mutual help, builds up the mission’s material edifice.
In this natural forcing-ground of the essential unity of mankind the garden of the Oneness of GOD is by no means well-tended, the weeds of superstition and prejudice being particularly choking. As is customary, the poor who, as Bahá’u’lláh said, are our trust, though free from prejudice, are steeped in superstition, but, praise be to God! they are peculiarly susceptible to the wondrously
soothing influence of the Bahá’í teachings.
The writer and his wife, who are of English nationality, were strangely and speedily attracted to the two Bahá’í maid-servants through their example and deeds, and have now the privilege of assisting in the most typical of their activities which is a fortnightly Sunday meeting of enlightenment held at the house of an interested Brazilian in one of the very old districts of this ancient town.
To this humble dwelling on meeting-day gather poor souls of all hues, overflowing through lack of space into an adjacent poultry-run and banana-patch. A fresh breeze rustles the cocoanut palms, relieving an otherwise oppressive heat, there is sincere greeting and hand-shaking all round, followed by a peculiar silence during which the Spirit moves one almost to suffocation. Miss Holsapple then offers up a tender Bahá’í prayer in the language of the country, gives an uplifting address which is listened to with rapt interest, utters a closing supplication, and after a few moments’ further silence question time arrives during which one is ever and more astonished at the keen insight underlying the listeners’ rough exterior. Literature in Portuguese is handed round gratis and received with eagerness, a particularly acceptable number being ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Paris Talks which Miss Holsapple translated some time ago in Santos.
A further important translation which is just about finished and which it is hoped to have printed shortly for free distribution is Dr. Esslemont’s book “Baha’u’llah and the New Era.” What hours of effort have been put into this translation work. only the Master knows.
Other regular meetings, held in the Bahá’í maid-servants’ private residence, take place every Wednesday evening in Portuguese and every Sunday evening in English, when those congregate who have the welfare of the Cause at heart.
Delightful Baháí feasts occurred in November to celebrate Bahá’u’lláh’s birthday and the Day of the Covenant, for which invitations were sent out to all known to be in any way interested in the movement and which elicited a large and active response.
The chief need of the Bahá’ís here owing to their comparative isolation, is prayerful communion on their behalf by home friends, especially as the mail service appears to be very defective and written communications are often much delayed in transit.
The writer would like to say in conclusion, that prior to residing in Brazil, his wife and he lived for three years in Egypt where they had the advantage of pleasant business transactions with Mr. Ahmed Yazdi of Port Said. When the Bahá’í Cause first attracted them in Brazil certain persecutions which the Port Said Bahá’ís underwent were remembered and Mr. Yazdi’s unfailing courtesy under all circumstances came to mind bringing with it a delightful thrill when the power behind his manner was realized. Thus, though Mr. Yazdi had never spoken a word about the Bahá’í Cause, did his living of the life work
wonders.
Editor’s Note.—The Persian section of The Bahá’í Magazine has been temporarily discontinued through the suggestion of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’i cause.
