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IF MAN’S LIFE be confined to the elemental, physical world of enjoyment, one lark is nobler, more admirable than all humanity because its livelihood is prepared, its condition complete, its accomplishment perfect and natural.
But; the life of man is not so restricted; it is divine, eternal, not mortal and sensual. For him a spiritual existence and livelihood is prepared and ordained in the divine creative plan. His life is intended to be a life of spiritual enjoyment to which the animal can never attain. This enjoyment depends upon the acquisition of heavenly virtues. The sublimity of man is his attainment of the knowledge of God. The bliss of man is the acquiring of heavenly bestowals which descend upon him in the outflow of the bounty of God. The happiness of man is in the fragrance of the love of God. This is the highest pinnacle of attainment in the human world. How preferable to the animal and its hopeless kingdom!
--PHOTO--
Members of Institute of Pacific Relations, representing nine countries bordering on the Pacific–United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Korea, Hawaiian and Philippine Islands. The tall man in white in the center is Dr. Lyman Wilbur, President of Stanford University and Chairman of the Institute. (See page 569.)
| VOL. 16 | OCTOBER, 1925 | NO. 7 |
food and builded the temple of his everlasting residence in the world of heaven!
THERE IS a steadily growing rapprochement between the world of science and the world-platform of Bahá’u’llah for a perfected humanity. Sociology, the study of social, or human, problems, is giving place to social science, which has for its aim the perfecting of society and of the individual. To listen to a lecture by an earnest exponent of social science is to hear outlined many of the aims of the Bahá’í Movement. It is becoming realized by the scientist as well as by the religionist that we as human beings are full of imperfections which cause disturbances not only in our individual lives but in the life of the greater community of which we are a part. Below the surface are motives working which mar all human associations. How to remove these disbarments to human happiness has become the task which social science is now setting itself.
The true sociologist is a humanitarian. He is not content to speculate, to analyze society, and merely to theorize about it. Seeing the faults, the obstacles in human nature which might be removed, he longs to effect a change in the lives of those about him which will bring greater happiness to the individual and to the mass. It is a beautiful thing to see the scientific thinker become crusader for an exalted humanity; to see him reach down to help; to see him actually lift up the fallen in spirit, by personal ministrations; and to see him preach earnestly his doctrine of human brotherhood and justice. Is not this also the aim, the task of the Bahá’í Movement? Is not this high endeavor, inaugurated by a few of the most advanced souls in the world of sociology, a work to which all Bahá'ís can say, Amen?
A STRANGE STATEMENT is made in the “Forum” for September by an economist, Jules S. Bache, that the motive of profit might be abolished if man could get power without cost. “The history of mankind,” he says, "is the history of man’s attainment of power . . . He may arrive at a period when power will be as free as air and water. After that no man will have to work to keep himself alive. The power will be so free, so universally distributed, that the profit-motive will no longer be necessary.” Thus we see the scientist dreaming of a millennium to be brought about by the discovery of a free power. Bahá’u’lláh has made a significant statement in regard to such a power which man has not yet discovered–a power tremendously great. It is well that this should be concealed until humanity is cured of the war fever. Of what avail the discovery of a power which man in his present psychology would use to blow his fellow creatures, and himself, off the face of the earth? But war, the greatest curse of man, must and will be abolished.
Then a new power would be a tremendous
benefaction to mankind. The blessings that would flow from it are incalculable. The chief motive for war, the struggle for power-resources, would be abolished; transportation at a negligible cost would make all men world travelers and help to make them world brothers; heat for cold days, coolness by artificial refrigeration for hot days; the extraction of nitrogen from the air by processes that would, with free power, become almost costless, and would increase the productivity of the soil and lessen greatly the toil of the farmer; and a lightening of the daily household tasks by the ingenious application of free power to household machinery,—these are only a few of the improvements that would come. The productive power of the human race would be so enormously increased that the ordinary hours of labor would be greatly reduced, and the working man would have the needed leisure for health, culture, and happiness,—provided, of course, that the selfish grasping quality of man had been so mitigated that the powerful and predatory could no longer exploit the advances of science. The world which had at its disposal a free power would become as advanced over the present world, as man today is advanced over the limited man of a century and a half ago, before steam, electricity, and gasolene were in use.
But no! The mellennium cannot come by means of material progress alone, but only when science and religion, when material and spiritual progress, go hand in hand. We need not only greater arts of life. We need a higher type of human being. We need to ennoble life itself and sublimate those anti-social motives that could and would wreck the most perfectly designed world-order which Divine Power might offer man.
HOW IS IT that man can ferret out the secrets of the universe and consciously appropriate them to his own uses? Can it be that man, this being of high intelligence who conquers the earth, is but a creature like other creatures, subject like them to the exigencies of environment, pushed on to progressive development by an evolution in which he plays no conscious part, and at death disintegrating into the chemical constituents of which his body is composed? Is man one of earth’s animals? That is the challenge which materialistic science throws out to the world, and which religion with all its soul combats.
Loeb, the great biochemist, experimenting with amoeba, watching how they turned and moved involuntarily and inevitably toward “sunlight or toward food,” came to the conclusion that man, like the lower forms of life, is subject to desires which move him willy-nilly into corresponding actions.
The mechanistic theory of man’s behavior holds today too great a place in the educational world. “It is to my mind a somewhat disturbing fact,” says Prof. William McDougall of Harvard, “that each year in the universities and colleges of this country, many thousands of young men and women are being put through courses in psychology in which they are dogmatically taught to believe that science has shown man to be merely a complicated penny-in-the-slot machine.”
WHAT IS THE TRUTH about man’s nature? Is he an animal, or is he not? ’Abdu’l-Bahá teaches that man has a dual nature. He has an animal side and he has a spiritual side. On the one hand he is subject, like the rest of the life upon this planet, to the laws of nature, and is moved by desires such as animate the lower kingdoms; on the other hand he can exert his intelligence to override the laws of nature, can consciously perfect the world in which he lives, can conceive of divine things and aspire to them, can perfect his spirit through prayer and God’s aid until his nature no longer is under the dominance of merely animal desires.
This is a puzzling contradiction in man.
a paradox which religion rather than science must solve. To be at the same time a creature of nature and its ruler, to be subject to existence—desires, and yet be able to direct them by the power of the spirit,—here is a being such as exists elsewhere neither on earth nor in heaven.
If man were wholly animal or wholly spiritual, he would be easier to understand. As it is, his real nature cannot be rightly judged by those who deny the one side or the other. Man, until he exerts himself spiritually, is subject to the laws of nature and a slave to carnal desires. He moves upon earth almost as blind and helpless as the mole. He spends his energies in laying up treasure over which he has no more control than a squirrel has over a store of nuts in a forest which is burning. He thinks he is exercising his own will when he is in reality answering unconsciously to the imperious calls which his lower nature, in contact with a material environment, makes to him. He is indeed as little self-directed as the amoeba of Loeb imprisoned in a glass jar in a dark room, which inevitably moved toward a ray of light or a bit of food suddenly admitted within the narrow confines of their prison.
WE CANNOT too much realize the helplessness, the futility, of our life if lived only on the animal plane. The consciousness of this helplessness, this futility, is the means of starting us, perhaps, on a journey which may lead us away from the husks we share with swine to our Father’s home and inheritance.
What a contrast, we find, in spiritual man! We have the power—and this is one of the most pregnant secrets existence holds for us—to combat the desires which before enslaved us; to become the rulers and organizers, in proportion to our spiritual power, not only of the world of nature but also of our own selves. We no longer turn mechanistically, in helpless tropisms, toward stimuli which before were overpowering. All passions, all desires, we have the power to sublimate, when the spiritual man rules in us.
The world of learning is at present subject to a hideous nightmare, in conceiving that man is but a creature of his environment. Nothing but the pure breath of religion can dispel these miasmas of doubt and disbelief, and reveal man as a dual being, capable of progressing to spiritual heights of freedom; but alas, as capable of staying submerged in the mists of materialism—of becoming degenerate, even, instead of regenerate.
HOW GREAT is the call of the Divine Educators, for man to abandon carnal desires and turn toward God! “Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love soar into the heavens of holiness . . . Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the placeless,” said Bahá’u’lláh. The great Prophets issue a call for us not only to become perfect earth beings, but to arise to the stature of spiritual, heavenly beings. The great mystery which religion reveals, is that man can become heavenly while still upon this planet; that his conduct can become angelic, his being so purified that nobility will characterize his every action. It is in this way that the Kingdom of God will come to pass on earth, when man expresses his spiritual rather than his physical essence. We need not, must not, put off immortality as a thing to hope for after death. We must live here as immortals, striving for those things which are eternal, laying up treasures in heaven which are above all exigencies of nature. When we so live, our every action will be as much an expression of immortal life as it will be when we shall have moved from this earthly home to higher realms.
GOD HAS given to man the wonderful gift of scientific knowledge, by which he has discovered that none can escape this law (of nature) except man himself; he alone can control, can, by his knowledge and power, rise above this law . . . It is clear that man alone is able to control the laws of nature. Look at God’s great gift to man, by which he is able to do so much for the advancement of civilization! Then reflect on the terrible misuse of this divine gift . . . He should use his power for good, to bring the fruits of civilization into the possible possession of all men, to encourage harmony and kindness, to produce concord amongst men; for this reason God gave this divine gift. (From Talk in Paris, October, 1911.)
MAN IS the noblest of creatures. He is possessed of the mineral virtues in his body. He is possessed of the vegetable virtues, to-wit: the virtue augmentative, the power of growth. In the animal kingdom he presents certain qualities or functions peculiar to the animal state, because he is possessed of sensibilities plus the human qualities, and that is a sound mind. Considering this great oneness, is it behooving that man should ever think of strife and sedition? . . . Man is endowed by God with mind and intellect. Verily, mind is the noblest gift of God. Verily, it is a faculty which is an effulgence of God. This is manifest and self-evident.
For instance, consider how all phenomena other than man are subjects or captives of nature. They cannot deviate one hair’s breath from the postulates of nature. For example the sun, although colossal, is a captive of nature. It cannot deviate one hair’s breath from the laws of nature. Likewise all these great orbs in this interminable universe are captives of nature. They cannot deviate one hair’s breadth from the regulations of nature. This earth of ours, this planet, is subject to nature. The animal kingdom is the captive of nature. The elephant, large as it is with all its huge body, cannot deviate one hair’s breadth from the institutes of nature.
But this little man, small as he is, with his weak body, because he is confirmed by the mind, which is an effulgence of the divine effulgences, can break and explode the laws of nature . . . For example, electricity was once one of the hidden or latent mysteries of nature and it would have remained hidden if the human intellect had not discovered it. Man has broken the law of nature and out of that invisible treasury has taken this energy and brought it onto the plane of visibility. Little man takes such a rebellious force as electricity, and arrests it in an incandescent lamp. This is extraordinary! It is beyond the ken of nature. In a few moments the East call communicate with the West. This is a miracle! This is beyond the power of nature. Man takes the voice and arrests it in a phonograph. The voice naturally should be a free agency, for the law of nature thus demands, but man takes it and puts it in a box. This is against nature’s laws. . . . Man in this world is the edifice of God. He is not a human edifice . . . God has created man noble. God has created man a dominant factor in creation. He has specialized man with particular bestowals; he has conferred upon him mind; he has given him perception; he has given him the faculty of memory, the faculty of discrimination, he has endowed him with keen perceptions, the five senses. . . . When we are not captives of nature, when we can control ourselves, shall we allow ourselves to be captives of nature and act in accordance with the exigencies of nature?
In nature there is the law of the survival of the fittest. If humanity be not
educated, then according to the natural institutes, the law of the survival of the fittest will demand of man supremacy.
What is the object of all the schools and colleges? What is the basis for the universities? They are for the purpose of rescuing man from the exigencies of nature, to relieve or rescue him from the defects of nature and to endow him with the capability of controlling the benefits of nature. . . . Therefore the world of humanity should not be left to its naturalism. It has need of education, and according to the divine education, must it be educated. The holy divine Manifestations of God were teachers. They were the gardeners of God, in order that they might transform the jungles into fruitful orchards and make of the thorny places delightful gardens. (Star, Vol. 3, No. 12, p. 11.)
THEN WHAT is the particular function of man? It is that man should rescue himself, save himself, from the defects of nature, and become qualified with the ideal virtues.
Is it behooving for us to sacrifice these ideal virtues and these possibilities of advancement? God has endowed us with a power whereby we can even overcome the laws of nature. Ours is the power to wrest the sword from nature’s hand and then use that sword against nature itself. Is it meet that we should be captives of nature still? That is, shall we allow no difference to exist between us and the ferocious animal, but continue exercising a ferocity like unto it? (Compilation, War and Peace, p. 31.)
ONLY THOSE persons who are in reality believers in God, who have witnessed the signs of God, are attracted to the Kingdom of God, and have turned their faces towards God, they, and they alone, are freed from the bloody claws of nature. Whereas formerly they were the subjects of nature, now they become the rulers. Whereas before they were vanquished by nature, now they become its victors. In brief, while nature invites man to the baser propensities of ego and self, the love of God attracts him to the worlds of sanctity and holiness, justice and generosity, mercy and humanity. (Star, Vol. 5. p. 179.)
CONSEQUENTLY, it is known that in man there is a reality other than this material one which is called body, and that reality which is other than this physical one is called the heavenly body of man; and we call that body the ethereal form which corresponds to this body. It is that reality which discovers the inner meaning of things; otherwise, this body of man does not discover anything. That reality grasps the mystery of existence. It discovers scientific facts. It discovers technical points. It discovers electricity, telegraphy, the telephone, and so on, discovering all the arts—and yet the reality which makes all these discoveries is other than this body, for, were it this body, then the animal would likewise be able to make these scientific and wonderful discoveries, for the animal shares with man all physical limitations and physical powers. What then is that power which discovers the realities of things which is not to be found in the animal? There is no doubt that it is the inner reality of man; and that reality comprehends all things, throws light upon the inner mysteries of existence, discovers the Kingdom, grasps the mysteries of God, and distinguishes man from the brute. That reality penetrates the inner core of beings; and it is evident that man is endowed with that reality and there is no doubt therein.
THIS HUMAN reality stands between two grades, between the world of the animal and the world of Divinity. Were the animal in man to become predominant, man would become even lower than the brute. Were the heavenly powers in man to become predominant, man would become the most superior being in the world of existence. For
instance, consider in man there is rancor, in man there is struggle for existence, in the nature of man there is propensity for warfare, innate in man there is love of self; in him there is jealousy, and so on with all the other imperfections, and thus, in a word, all the imperfections found in the animal are to be found in man. In the animal there is what is called hypocrisy or slyness—like unto that in the fox; and in the animal there is greed, and there is ignorance. So there are all these in man. In the animal there are injustice and tyranny; so likewise are they in man. The reality of man, therefore, is clad, you might say, in its outer form in the garment of the animal, in the garment of the world of nature, of the world of darkness; that is the world of imperfection, that is the world of infinite baseness.
ON THE OTHER hand, we find that there is justice in man, there is sincerity in man, faithfulness, knowledge, wisdom, light, and that there is mercy and pity in man; that there is in him intellect, comprehension, the power to grasp the reality of things, the ability to discover the reality of existence. All these great perfections are to be found in man. Consequently we say that man is a reality which stands between light and darkness, that he has three aspects, three phases: one is the human aspect, one is the divine, heavenly aspect, and one is the natural or animal aspect. The animal or natural aspect is darkness. The heavenly aspect is light in light. . . . The holy Manifestations of God come into the world in order to effect the disappearance of the physical, the animal, dark aspect of man, so that the darkness in him may be dispelled, his imperfections be eradicated, his spiritual, heavenly phase may become manifest, his God-like aspect may become paramount and his perfections may become visible; his innate great power may become known, and that all the virtues of the world of humanity potential within him may come to life.” (B. S., p. 296-7.)
FROM THE time of the creation of Adam to this day there have been two pathways in the world of humanity: one the natural or materialistic, the other the religious or spiritual. The pathway of nature is the pathway of the animal realm. . . . Man is the ruler of nature . . . Nature is inert, man is progressive. Nature has no consciousness, man is endowed with it. Nature is without volition and acts perforce, whereas man possesses a mighty will. Nature is incapable of discovering mysteries or realities, whereas man is especially fitted to do so. Nature is not in touch with the realm of God. man is attuned to its evidences. Nature is uninformed of God, man is conscious of Him. Man acquires divine virtues, nature is denied them. Man can voluntarily discontinue vices, nature has no power to modify the influence of its instincts. Altogether it is evident that man is more noble and superior; that in him there is an ideal power surpassing nature. He has consciousness, volition, memory, intelligent power, divine attributes and virtues of which nature is completely deprived, bereft and minus; therefore man is higher and nobler by reason of the ideal and heavenly force latent and manifest in him.
HOW STRANGE then it seems that man, notwithstanding his endowment with this ideal power, will descend to a level beneath him and declare himself no greater than that which is manifestly inferior to his real station. God has created such a conscious spirit within him that he is the most wonderful of all contingent beings. In ignoring these virtues he descends to the material plane, considers matter the ruler of existence and denies that which lies beyond. (Pro. of U. P., p. 172-3.)
ALTHOUGH in the world of existence the outpourings of the Almighty are
infinite, yet the greatest divine outpouring is the love of God. This is the dominant, transcendental power which rises above all the natural susceptibilities of the world of humanity. Man, like the animal, is captive of the world of nature and the laws of nature exercise full control over his nature. He cannot even be compared to the beasts of prey. For example one of the forces of nature is ferocity. A ferocious, blood-thirsty man goes beyond the ferocious animals. If an animal tears another animal it is only for its daily food, but man destroys a hundred thousand lives in one day. Hence it becomes evident that the power of nature is the unbridled and ungovernable ruler over man. What is written concerning the “ego is always inclined to do evil,” is no other than the fermentation of the passionate desires in the breast of man and the complete, unchecked sway of the carnal and natural forces over him. Therefore, man cannot win victory over these physical forces save through the “power of the love of God.” The fire of the love of God is like unto the lightning which strikes upon the head of nature, emasculating it of its virility and leaving it fallen on the ground, a lifeless body. Consequently the greatest power in the world of existence is the love of God. (Star, Vol. 8, p. 142-3.)
TURNING the face toward God brings healing to the body, the mind and the soul. When this advancement toward God has become complete, one is able to overcome passion and desire, one becomes protected from sin and transgression and is delivered from heedlessness. This will bestow eternal life and will grant the imperishable gift. (Star, Vol. 8, p. 233.)
MAN HAS two powers, and his development two aspects. One power is connected with the material world and by it he is capable of material advancement. The other power is spiritual and through its development his inner, potential nature is awakened. These powers are like two wings. Both must be developed, for flight is impossible with one wing. (Pro. of U. P., p. 57.)
THEREFORE in this world he must prepare himself for the life beyond. That which he needs in the world of the kingdom must be obtained here. Just as he prepared himself in the world of the matrix by acquiring forces necessary in this sphere of existence, so likewise the indispensable forces of the divine existence must be potentially attained in this world.
What is he in need of in the kingdom which transcends the life and limitation of this mortal sphere? That world beyond is a world of sanctity and radiance; therefore it is necessary that in this world he should acquire these divine attributes. In that world there is need of spirituality, faith, assurance, the knowledge and love of God. These he must attain in this world so that after his ascension from the earthly to the heavenly kingdom he shall find all that is needful in that life eternal ready for him.
That divine world is manifestly a world of lights; therefore man has need of illumination here. That is a world of love; the love of God is essential. It is a world of perfections; virtues or perfections must be acquired. That world is vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit; in this world we must seek them. That is the kingdom of life everlasting; it must be attained during this vanishing existence. (Pro. of U. P., p. 221.)
AND RELIGION
III. THE URGE TOWARD IMMORTALITY
GEORGE ORR LATIMERthat a bird in a cage will be destroyed if the cage is broken, though the bird has nothing to fear from the destruction of the cage. Our body is like the cage and the spirit is like the bird. We see that without the cage this bird flies in the world of sleep; therefore if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and exist; its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater, and its happiness increased.
THE recent controversy in Dayton over the legal right to teach the theory of evolution in the State of Tennessee soon lost the character of a trial to establish the validity of a State statute, and became an intellectual battle between the opposing representatives of science and religion concerning man, his creation and evolution, the Bible and its various controversial interpretations. Mr. Bryan and Mr. Darrow were the two outstanding figures in the discussion, each attempting to uphold the standard of truth. The former denied the theory of evolution completely, but affirmed his belief in immortality; while Mr. Darrow expressed with the utmost certainty his belief in evolution, but when asked by Mr. Bryan if he believed in the immortality of the soul, he stated: “I have been searching for the truth of this all my life with the same desire to find it which is incidental to every living thing. I have never found any evidence on the subject.”
There is a curious paradox in the attitude of these two eminent minds. The logical deduction from Mr. Bryan’s belief would be that progress, which is another way of stating evolution, does not commence with man until his body dies and his soul is liberated from the cage in order to receive divine bounties; whereas, on the other hand, Mr. Darrow admits the evolution of man from the beginning of his existence, but denies the logical deduction of the continuity of life after death of the physical body in not accepting the evidences of the eternal spiritual progress of man.
Evolution, in its broadest conception, is no longer a theory, but it is the expression of a universal law of progress working up and through all the kingdoms of existence—the mineral, the vegetable and the animal worlds and reaching its highest development in the trinity of man’s physical, mental and spiritual advancement towards relative perfection. It would seem a valid premise to state that the acknowledgment of a belief, either in evolution or immortality involves the logical acceptance of the other, for development and evolution imply continuity.
However, it is most difficult to produce proofs of immortality to a rational mind when as yet science has not invented terminologies by which certain apparent phenomena concerning the continuity of life after death can be explained. These manifestations in the psychic and spiritual realms of thought, which science has been unable to interpret and classify, at the same time have been confused by the vague abstractions of religious interpretation. Just as too often our religious viewpoint has been colored by inner emotional inspirations or revelations of truth, likewise the vision of science has been handicapped by the too limited perception of the senses; for as Dr. Charles Steinmetz, the late wizard of the electrical world, pointed out: “Science derives its conclusions from the sense perceptions
by the laws of logic. But what proof is there of the correctness of the laws of logic except experience, which, no matter how comprehensive, always must remain limited? Thus the negative answer of science on the question whether there are conceptive entities of infinite character, as infinity in time and space, immortality of the ego, God, etc., is not conclusive.”
We embark, therefore, upon the voyage of exploration in search of the realities of "the undiscover’d country from whose bourn no traveller returns,” fully aware of the difficulties that lie ahead in the half-hidden rocks and shoals of the previous-formed opinions and embedded prejudicial beliefs of both the scientist and the religionist. At the outset we are reminded of a conversation between Robert Ingersoll and Walt Whitman over this point. Ingersoll said: “I cannot argue out immortality,” to which Whitman replied: "Neither can I,” The famous agnostic then remarked: “I cannot see it.” Whitman added: “I can see it,” and Ingersoll instantly caught the distinction. We are hopeful, therefore, that the urge toward understanding, the will to know, by which science, in the last fifty years of experimental physical research, has been able to change so many of the old conceptions of man concerning his relationship to God and the Universe, will also compel the scientist to investigate, classify, and formulate the findings of his investigations in the spiritual and so-called psychical worlds in such a manner, that both the religionist and the scientist can agree upon the terminologies—thus making a further advance toward the rapprochement of the misunderstandings of science and religion:
There are a number of problems still unsolved by science which would greatly aid in a fuller understanding of immortality. Sir E. Ray Lankester has stated: “We cannot know, or even hope to know, whence this physical mechanism has come or whither it goes; these are things that can never be explained by science.” Furthermore, Professor Du Bois Raymond, as Secretary of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, stated that physical science can at present find no solution to the following problems, viz.: First, the nature of matter and force; second, the origin of motion,–we only know man is a tremulous, trembling, transitory, vibratory universe; third, the origin of sensation and consciousness,–these he declares to be transcendental–pertaining to the infinite and therefore insolvable by the finite; fourth, the origin of life; fifth, the apparently designed order in nature; sixth, the origin of rational thought and speech,–these Raymond declares are problems for which physical science has found no solution, but may after diligent search; seventh, freewill, which he says may or may not be transcendental, may be scientifically solvable or insolvable, of the nature of the finite or the infinite. Here is an opportunity for true religion to come into its own and suggest practical and believable explanations that will aid science in understanding and solving these problems.
Science asks what is immortal about man? It is certain that the complex physical body will complete its cycle of existence, die and then decompose into its former simple elements. What becomes of the mind and spirit of man and what is his soul? The modern materialistic philosopher answers that no one has ever seen the spirit in man, the biologist has never been able with his microscope to find the slightest trace of spirit in live or dead tissue, neither has anyone ever seen a thought and dissected it. He cannot imagine a power or faculty that is not sensible or perceivable; therefore, man must be mortal. Yet because the sense faculties of the animal are not found in the vegetable, it would be foolish for the vegetable to deny the existence of this power of sensation in the animal world. Science does not understand the nature of ether, but admits its existence because it recognizes the waves of light, heat and electricity as qualities
of ethereal matter. Science is now urged to recognize the attributes of the soul.
In order to better comprehend the nature of man it is necessary to differentiate and define, as clearly as the complicated misunderstandings will permit, certain of his attributes, such as spirit, mind and soul, the faculties beyond purely physical control. The spirit, according to the teaching of Abdu’l-Bahá (Some Answered Questions, Chap. XXXVI and LV) is universally divided into five categories:
1. The vegetable spirit—the power augmentative, which is in the seed, and which, through the influence of other existences, brings forth the fruit. Within the acorn all the potential characteristics of the mighty oak exist. It is a complete cycle of the power of growth.
2. The animal spirit–the power of sensation, resulting from a combination and co-ordination of elements, which not only has the power of growth, but is able to perceive the realities of the visible world through the organs of sight, taste, smelling, feeling and hearing. This faculty, like that of growth, is subject to decomposition.
3. The human spirit—the power of thought, which embraces the qualities of the vegetable and animal spirit and has the added power of discovery and abstract reasoning. It is the intellectual faculty. From known facts it brings forth unknown realities, and to it we owe all our scientific discoveries, for it transcends the laws of nature and discloses hidden mysteries. This spirit in man has two aspects, however, one divine and one satanic, for it has the choice of free-will in the acquisition of virtues or vices. It is our “ego,” or what the philosophers term the rational soul.
4. The heavenly spirit–the power of faith, which comes as a bounty of God to enable the earthly man to become heavenly, the imperfect to reach out toward perfection. It makes the ignorant wise, and it frees man from carnal desire and confers the vision of eternal life. It is the spirit that transforms man “in His Image.”
5. The Holy Spirit—the mediator between God and man, which renews the world of humanity and gives new life and meaning to the human realities. It establishes a new cycle of existence and brings forth a new springtime in human evolution. It is the embodiment of The Christ in Jesus.
According to Abdu'l’Bahá, “the human spirit is a Divine Trust and it must traverse all conditions; for its passage and movement through the conditions of existence will be the means of its acquiring periections.”
THE MIND is more difficult of definition,
for the scientist, psychologist and
religionist all have different terms to explain
the physical and mental relationships.
Some scientists try to prove that
the superior intelligence of man over the
animal is due to the increase in size of
the cerebrum. Haeckel advanced the
theory of mind-producing atoms whose
mind-sides being in touch, maintained
thought till the solution of these atoms at
death—a purely physical concept,
In his “Psychic Tendencies” (page 141), Mr. Alfred W. Martin [further] points out, “all that science has proved is that material processes’ accompany mental states, not that the latter are caused by the former. Science has proved that the molecular motion of the gray matter in the brain is concomitant with thought, not that it is the cause of thought. The brain is only a machine for making our thoughts and emotions apparent to others. At death the machine breaks; but for all that science knows, the operator may still possess what he had to communicate.“
In contradistinction to the theory of some modern psychologists that mind can mold matter to the image of whatever aspiration of design it determines, Abdu’l-Bahá states that “the mental faculties are in truth of the inherent properties of the soul, even as the radiation of light is the essential property of
the sun. The rays of the sun are renewed, but the sun itself is ever the same and unchanged. . . . For the mind to manifest itself, the human body must be whole; and a sound mind cannot be but in a sound body, whereas, the soul depends not upon the body." He distinguishes between the mind and the soul, or human spirit in man, as follows: “Mind is the power of the human spirit. Spirit is the lamp; mind is the light which shines from the lamp. Spirit is the tree and the mind is the fruit. Mind is the perfection of the spirit and is its essential quality.”
When we consider more minutely the relationship between physical and spiritual man, we must distinguish between the outer or physical powers, such as sight, hearing, feeling, taste and smell, and the inner or spiritual powers, such as imagination, thought, comprehension, memory and the common faculty which communicates between the two powers. For example, with the aid of the power of sight, the eye sees a rose and the nostril inhales its fragrance; this perception is conveyed to the common faculty which in turn transmits it to the imagination, which creates an image of form, color and odor and then passes this image to the faculty of thought, which reflects over the image and conveys it to the power of comprehension, which grasps and comprehends the reality and delivers it to the memory. The outer faculties of this process belong to physical man, the inner faculties are the qualities of his spirit or soul.
There are other obscure or super-normal faculties, according to Sir Oliver Lodge, not yet incorporated into orthodox psychology, which further stress the inherent property of immortality in man’s inner life or soul. He lists among these faculties the phenomenon of hypnotism; clairvoyance, including telepathy—whether through “mind reading” or some still more unintelligible process–the powers of the subconscious, which include lucid trance states, sleep and dreams; the nature of the inspiration which comes to the saint, the mystic, the poet, and, lastly, death. He points out that while the immortality of man has been a prime article of faith in nearly every form of religious belief, yet not until recently has it been an article of scientific knowledge, though still unproved for the generality of mankind.
In summing up his belief in immortality, Lodge says: “The existence of a spiritual world has been established or is in process of being established by the methods of science, and that is the basic foundation of all religion. . . . The reality of mutual aid, both here and hereafter, and the efficacy of prayer have become not articles of faith alone, but things of direct experience. The region of knowledge is in some sort encroaching on the region of faith. But the region of faith is infinite; and knowledge, though very finite, genuinely grows from more to more.”
ONE of the most remarkable contributions to this unending search for immortality is the recent attempt to rationalize a revelation of the spirit by John O'Hara Cosgrave, the Sunday Editor of the New York World in his article, “A Scientific Trail to Immortality.” (Century Magazine.) Mr. Cosgrave, a journalist for more than thirty years, was profoundly convinced that both soul and immortality were “no more than visions of humanity’s conceit in a disorderly and unintelligent world.” Then, two years ago, he had a revelation of the spirit, without visions, ghosts or any physical marvels, which he describes as a “curious mood of elation, as though some uplifting and energizing vital force has possessed itself of his mind.” Then he began to analyze this experience, a complicated procedure for a materialist. He discovered the body was not the ego, rather the abode of the spirit, which was the real “I." Then came the sense of responsibility that he must carry on through eternity, whatever that meant,
followed by the assumption that there was a basis of truth in the psychic experiences which he had formerly discarded, because there was a something retaining memory and personality which survived, and finally a realization that life is spirit. Then his “intuitive interpreter" announced: “Think of an automobile. Well, roughly speaking, spirit is owner and chauffeur, while motor and chassis is body, and they are fused together, but are separate and distinct types of energy. Call spirit content, and body carrier and you'll have a clue. You materialists have lost the agent in the instrument.”
Then in an astounding human and rational way, without the use of physics or metaphysics, he draws a series of vivid illustrations, using as analogies the working principles of the automobile, the watch, the telegraphic system, the phonograph, the radio, of which the body is the biological counterpart–a great electro-chemical system—and even the genesis of the Woolworth Building and the energy cycle of steam, which justified his assumption that man is a dual instrumentality in which a force, higher in its vibrant quality, has been confined in the denser material body. This etheric body (the human spirit or soul of man) has the properties assigned to the subconscious mind by the psychologists, and carries the pictures of the contacts with earth life, its memories, and a dynamic energy not only to retain its consciousness, but to adjust itself to a finer atmospheric vibration when released from the material body.
Mr. Cosgrave concludes that “though I am confined in my body, it is my mask and tool and not my being. I represent an energy principle of higher, finer and more durable nature than its texture. The disintegration of its substance affects neither the stability of my basic structure nor my identity. . . . The real fabric of my being is a mode of force, carries form, and can hold memory. Death cannot affect its true integrity, though I may change its habitat. The faculties with which I am equipped are capable of being exercised on other planes of the universe than the earth’s surface.”
MANY, like myself, have experienced the elevating sensation of spiritual inspiration and have recognized, either in a dream state or otherwise, the swift-moving and unlimited energy of thought in contrast to the slow movement of physical matter. However, I hesitate to attempt an analysis of my own personal experience, which cannot yet be translated into scientific terminologies, and it must remain, for the present, just as Mr. Cosgrave's extremely illumined exposition, a personal testimonial and belief in the survival of the soul.
Thought transference, the operation and stimulation of the ductless glands, the condensation of Professor Geley’s “ectoplasm,” psychic vision, mental healing, mysticism, the influence of the spheres and the mystery of death, may all be solved when the clear lights of scientific investigation are turned in this direction. Until then many of us continue to assert “we know what we know!” The pen may break, but the thoughts still emanate from the writer; the house may burn, but the occupant still lives on.
Abdu'l-Bahá encouraged everyone to believe in immortality. No one possessed such great abundance of faith. His great spirit was less confined by the physical cage than anyone I have ever met. An English journalist said of him: “He leads his followers over what is elsewhere called the mystic way, but wherever they march they tread with practical feet.”
One day, during Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to New York City, in 1912, he paid a visit to Central Park. After spending several hours in the Museum of Natural History he came out to rest under the trees. The little old watchman, a materialist, solicitous about his strength, inquired: “Would you like to go back after you have rested? There are the fossils and birds.” Abdu’l-Bahá smiled and replied: “No, I am tired
of going about looking at the things of this world. I want to go above and travel and see in the spiritual worlds. What do you think about that?” The old watchman looked somewhat puzzled and scratched his head. Abdu’l-Bahá then pursued: “Which would you rather possess, the material or the spiritual world?” The watchman answered seriously: “Well, I guess the material; you know you have that one, anyway.” “But,” continued Abdu'l-Bahá, “you do not lose it when you attain the spiritual. When you go upstairs in a house you do not leave the house. The lower floor is under you.” A light broke over the old man, and, after the manner of Walt Whitman, he answered: “O yes, I see!”
In a recent discussion over this problem of life’s continuity with a friend he said the simile of the candle answered it to his satisfaction. The tallow and wick burn, giving forth heat and light, but when they are completely consumed the light vibrations, already created, continue to travel somewhere in the eternity of time and space. The connection of the human spirit or soul with the body is like the appearance of the sun in a mirror. The qualities of light and heat are apparent and visible in the mirror, "but even when the mirror becomes clouded with dust or is shattered and ceases to reflect the rays of the sun, still that luminous energy continues to exist and send forth its light radiations uninterrupted and continuously.
We have tried to point out a few of the beacon lights that direct the course of the soul’s journey on the more or less uncharted highway of man’s existence. It is impossible to find, at the present time, a universally accepted guide-book that gives an infallible schedule of the various routes and the many stopping places along this journey, yet I believe that more and more we are becoming conscious that already we are en route, perhaps in a spiritual aeroplane, with the unlimited heavens as our destination. The great urge toward immortality, in my opinion, is faith. I think that Abdu’l-Bahá announced an encouraging and great creative principle when he stated: “As your faith is, so shall your powers and blessings be.”
I recall a farewell luncheon, shortly after the world war, with the eminent scientist and astronomer of Pittsburgh, Professor Brashear, who was so loved for his humanitarianism that the people all spoke of him as “Uncle john.” We had been discussing the teachings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá on peace and the subject of immortality naturally arose. His last words voiced my own inner conviction when he said that his belief in immortality was best expressed in the epitaph he had inscribed on his wife’s tombstone:
- “We have loved the stars too fondly,
- to be fearful of the night.”
to the world of Reality, they are brought to a close with extreme speed. From amongst the world of humanity those who lead a heedless life are afflicted with manifest loss, for when the days of their life come to a sudden end there is no trace, no leaves, no blossom, no fruit. They shall remain in the lowest degree and no mention is left behind for them. From king to servant, all walk this fleeting path and live in this circle, but none shall endure save those
who are freed from every tie.
THE special call of today is to an awakened spiritual sense; to an understanding of the reality of the spirit; to a knowledge of the new realms of existence open to man through his spirit; and to a voluntary acceptance of a divine power so infinitely superior to all human powers that man can cheerfully and confidently rest upon that divine omnipotence. Were men not so pathetic in their blindness and helplessness, there would really be an element of the ridiculous in the fact that unlimited spiritual help is so near to them and is so all-sufficient, but still their groping hands cannot find the unwavering support. Even so do children stumble and struggle. This obscured spiritual vision is an outstanding condition of today; but equally pronounced is the conviction that there is a light somewhere and the definite effort to find that light of a spiritual day.
The eagerness of young people to attain this spiritual knowledge equals their desire for material knowledge, just as soon as they realize the magnificent power of the spirit in man’s life. As I write these words there, comes back persistently to my mind an incident of the last days of school. A teacher of sociology in one of our big high schools; a large class of senior pupils, too large to be handled except in group work; a constant, but never strained, effort to show throughout the term the threefold nature of man—physical, mental and spiritual—and the fact that his problems arise largely from physical conditions, that they are studied and systematized by his mental abilities, but that the solutions of the social problems must come from spiritual consciousness and development. The end of the term and an eighteen-year-old boy standing in the quiet of a little office, looking determinedly, but almost timidly, into the eyes of the teacher. He had come to say that last good-by after graduation. With speech that hesitated, but with clear cut thought, he said he knew his work had not always been of his best, not so good as he might have given. "But,” and his lips trembled, “I have learned more spiritually than I had ever dreamed of before, and I shall not forget it.” May we not believe that from such young people there shall come the Kingdom of God on earth?
One never ceases to ask himself how to teach the reality of this spiritual power, its wonderful opportunities, and its relation to the life eternal. It is true that every individual presents his own problem, but much of the instruction can be distributed, nevertheless, as for a group. Even so did ’Abdu’l-Bahá speak to mankind. With world conditions such as they are today; with so much of rottenness in society; with homes neglected and wrecked until children are more lost than the babes in the woods of the old time nursery tales; with men and women sunk into abomination of sexuality and vice; with crime so tempting in its apparently easy gains; with poverty rampant; with wealth the measuring-rod for all success; with government a byword in the mouths of men; with all these and more, humanity might well stagger under its load. But the path of progress has been clearly pointed out to us since the days of Christ, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” That is, seek first the spirit and the problems of humanity will be solved.
There is a wonderful exposition of the kind of preparation man needs and of the steps for acquiring it in Bahá’í Scriptures, p. 325 et seq.:
“What is he in need of in the Kingdom after he is transferred from this world to the other world? That world is a world of sanctity, therefore it is necessary that he acquire sanctity in this world. In that world there is need of radiance, therefore radiance must be acquired
in this world. In that world there is need of spirituality. In this world he must acquire spirituality. In that world faith and assurance, the knowledge of God, the love of God, are needed. These he must acquire in this world so that after he ascends from this mortal to that immortal world he shall find all that is needful in that life eternal ready for him.
“It is self-evident that that world is a world of Lights; therefore there is need for illumination. That world is a world of Love! Hence love of God is needed. That world is a world of perfections; virtues or perfections must be acquired. That world is a world of the Breaths of the Holy Spirit and in this world they must be acquired. That world is a world of the Life Eternal. In this world must he acquire it. But how can he? By what means can he acquire these things? How is he to obtain these merciful powers?
“First,—through the knowledge of God. Second,—through the love of God. Third,—through faith. Fourth,—through philanthropic deeds. Fifth,—through self-sacrifice. Sixth,—through severance from this world. Seventh,—through sanctity and holiness. Unless he obtain these forces, unless he attain to these requirements, surely he will be deprived of the Life Eternal. But if he attain the knowledge of God, becomes ignited through the fire of the love of God, witnesses the great and mighty signs, becomes the cause of love among mankind and lives in the state of sanctity and holiness, surely he shall attain to second birth, will be baptized through the Holy Spirit and witness the Life Eternal.”
'Abdu’l-Bahá goes on to express the amazement which must come home to all of us that man is so negligent of spiritual matters and powers although he is most concerned about all kinds of material knowledge and success. Man is highly intelligent, therefore we are led to believe that this indifference to spiritual progress must be due to an ignorance of the importance of the spirit. A first step, therefore, for a Bahá’í teacher may be to explain and clarify the relation of the spiritual power to all other powers. We study the wide spread of crime today, and we come to realize absolutely that it is due to a deficient or unawakened spirit. The criminal may be one of the keenest minds of the times, trained by all that schools and colleges usually give, but he lacks a sense of right and wrong. The sensitive, delicate spirit may never have been awakened in him, or he may have deliberately stifled it when he began to find it inconvenient to his schemes. If it is a slow and difficult process to train a mind up to maturity of reason and action, how much more intricate a process must it be to train a spirit to the point of understanding and control. But as the body can not really function unless its master, the mind, is alive and educated, so also the mind can not be relied upon unless its master, the spirit, is alive and educated.
A home is wrecked; two formerly loving hearts are hardened or lacerated; children become derelicts. Why? Somewhere along the road the spirit died, or else it had never been awakened. A boy or girl is going straight into vice, immorality, crime. Why Because there may not be any knowledge of the reality or even of the existence of the spirit. A youth may conceive of nothing more important than his physical pleasures; these he justifies by all the intellectual powers he possesses; here he stops, for he very often does not even know that he has a higher power than either his body or his mind, or he is ignorant of the reality of the values of his spirit. We all know the struggle in the early, pliant years of life to teach children to use, to train, and to develop their minds; a long course of so-called education shows the child the details of using his mind, and slowly awakens within him a realization of the value of this mental
power in earning his living, in making work easier, in enjoying recreation, in achieving success. But where, outside of God-protected homes, do we find any comparable course of training to develop the far more important spiritual powers! Do we not rather find a too frequent tendency to consider spiritual matters weak and womanish, or even superstitious? Is not spirituality often confounded with weakness?
No need to stop here to trace how this attitude of mind arises. It is the inferior power, the mind, gladly gloating over its superior, the spirit. It is the age-old conflict of physical, material powers and intellectual resources, on the one hand, with the superior dignity, knowledge, and control possessed by the spirit. History is full of this contest. Such was the long struggle of obstinate semi-barbarous Europe against the spirit of Christianity. A most imperative problem of today is how to teach mankind to recognize the existence of the divine spirit and then how to awaken his desire to train his human spirit to function steadily in accordance with the laws of that divine spirit. When the time comes that the eyes of men are opened to the wonderful results gained by a trained, and developed spiritual consciousness, they will be made ready to act for themselves, and the demand for spiritual education will be even more overwhelming than today’s insistence on mental education which is crowding to the doors our high schools and universities. “Ask thou not of Me that which thou desirest not for thyself.” Let this one command of Bahá’u’lláh’s be fully understood by any group of earnest, intelligent people, and who among them would rest content until he knew how to ask of Him that which he truly desired for himself?
’Abdu’l-Bahá says, “The greatest power in the realm and range of human existence is spirit,—the divine breath which animates and pervades all things.” . . . "We must strive unceasingly and without rest to accomplish the development of the spiritual nature in man, and endeavor with tireless energy to advance humanity toward the nobility of its true and intended station. For the body of man is accidental; it is of no importance. The time of its disintegration will inevitably come. But the spirit of man is essential and therefore eternal. It is a divine bounty. It is the effulgence of the Sun of Reality and therefore of greater importance than the physical body.”
If the Bahá’ís of today can convey to man the reality of those words they will awaken such a longing for spiritual knowledge that the near future will find it almost as difficult to gratify the demand for it as our schools and universities of today find in accommodating the rush to acquire intellectual power.
of faith, does not become acquainted with the divine secrets and the heavenly realities. It is like a mirror which, although clear, polished, and brilliant, is still in need of light. Until a ray of the sun reflects upon it, it cannot discover the heavenly secrets.”
HISTORY records in relation to the elevation and progress of man no force so subtle and potent as that of religion. The brightest stars of man’s hope, the signs of his true felicity, are inseparably connected with those periods when true religion has been taught in the world. In a world often shaken by struggle and change, when the passions of warring factions are so often raised to a white heat, the true glory of religion may be for a time concealed. But the spirtually minded may discern even in these violent outward changes the wrecking of ancient barriers and the passing of superstitions that pall. Thus is marked the transition to a new world order in which religion will have full sway. This mystic power must inspire man, mould his ideals, create his inventions, reform his morals, uplift his civilization and guide his destiny before he can really come into his own, the knowledge of himself and of the Author of his being.
The tragedy of the world state is that many have turned away from God. Others, although clinging to forms, have raised the plaintive cry that religion has lost its power. But pessimism has no power over minds directed toward those Holy Ones who from time to time, in each cycle of prophecy, have adorned the earth with their Presence and Voice. Seers, theologians and scientists may point men to the way of truth, but it remains for the Perfect Man to exemplify truth. “Be as I am! Follow Me!" can be uttered only by the Master.
The words of Jesus, uttered cycles ago, have a peculiar significance and application today: “Let the eye be single that the body may be full of light.” When the sun is shining there is no need of other light. The Spiritual Sun is all in all to the eye that is single. The night of absence makes men aware of lesser lights.
The signs of the True One invite all to the Path of Peace today. What can be more important than a journey to find the ultimate goal? If haply the King is found, His largess is in accord with His own exalted station. The King does not bestow beggarly gifts.
As we look the world over it appears that man, whatever his limitations, is a worshipping being. His very nature has implanted within it the longing for something above and beyond himself. The scientist betrays this desire no less than the savage in the jungle. It is an unquenchable thirst for greater knowledge, the urge to find the Supreme. Religion alone satisfies the innate longing of the heart. Can the idols of a fleeting world sate the divinity in man?
The Religion for Today expands to meet the needs of the world’s growing intelligence. Within the memory of the race, man's conception of worship has evolved from the stage of the household gods through the god of the tribe to that of the nation. Despite the beautiful teachings of Jesus Christ and the wonderful vision of brotherhood that he gave, to Peter, the songs of the different nations, especially in times of strife, show a strange reverence for limitations. The old estrangement between Jew and Gentile, Greek and Barbarian, Moslem and infidel, Christian and pagan, still persist in these or other forms after centuries of culture.
The Religion for Today removes these barriers. Its Sun shines upon every horizon. God's gifts are for all his children. Every stream of truth has a divine Source. Every religion is good if its truth is practised. All in so far as interpreted in terms of violence and wrath, must be abandoned if humanity would live.
The Religion for Today conserves all the ethical and moral standards of past
Prophets and honors every Messenger of God. It renews the spirit of humility and self-denial through which divine knowledge is attained. It shatters the idols of caste and creed which men are wont to worship in lieu of Divinity. It reveals the glories of internationalism and world-citizenship. It makes possible the unity of religions in all the world.
The Religion for Today is strong in its social service features. It contemplates that ranks and degrees in the order of the world shall be based upon merit and capacity rather than artificial standards. The sweat of the laborer, the toll of the thinker, the product of the inventor and the prayer of the saint are all acceptable to God as the pure incense of worship.
In The Religion for Today women, after the thralldom of centuries, find their true station as the peers and help-meets of men. Thereby they free men from that arrogance and domination which arrest their own best growth.
The Religion for Today diffuses education, training youth and age in cultural as well as practical knowledge. Common sense and reason are divine gifts, as well as the apprehension of mysteries.
Heaven and hell in The Religion for Today are states of consciousness due to the purity of the heart or the opposite. Hell is ignorance, Heaven the Light and knowledge of God. Hell is spiritual famine, Heaven the Bread of Life. Hell is discord; Heaven is concord. Hell is disintegration; Heaven is unity. Hell is narrowness; Heaven is universality. Hell is license; Heaven is liberty. Hell is bigotry and prejudice; Heaven is tolerance and appreciation. Divine virtues are Heaven; human vices are hell.
The Religion for Today is reconciliation. It is healing to the world in body, mind and spirit. Its evangel is heavenly joy. It makes known the common interest of labor and capital. It removes the friction between all ranks and degrees. It unfolds the significances of the Creative Word. It interprets the atonement in terms of unity between God and man.
Immeasurable are the bounties that flow from God to man through the light of revelation today. The mystic veils of the Temple are again rent. Bahá’u’lláh brings the light of endless day, the gladsome Breezes of the eternal spring, the rhapsodies of the Celestial Spheres.
THE EXISTENT world needs a uniting power to connect nations. There are various uniting powers in the world. One is patriotism, as in America, where people from different countries have united and made a nation. Another means of union is war, as when two nations unite to make war upon a third. A third uniting power is self-benefit, as is seen in trade and commerce. A fourth means of union is that furnished by ideals, different nations or different peoples having one aim or intention unite. All these uniting powers are ineffective and perishable; the only uniting power which can connect all hearts and last forever is faith in God and love for Him. This is the only enduring power, the one that never perishes.
THE morning of the departure of the American battle fleet from Honolulu harbor, one of the most important gatherings ever held on Pacific affairs began its meetings. It was the Institute of Pacific Relations meeting in Honolulu July 1 to 15. From nine countries bordering the Pacific Ocean the delegates had come by invitation; from Australia, six; from Canada, six; from China, thirteen, from Continental United States, twenty-eight; from Japan, nineteen; from Korea, six; from the Philippines, three; from New Zealand, eleven; from Hawaii, sixteen; Members at large, 3, totaling in all one hundred and eleven active members, besides about forty associate members.
Hawaii, the crossroads of the Pacific, and Honolulu its capital, where Orient and Occident meet, was destined as the place of this first Institute meeting, and a warm welcome was extended the visitors by the Citizens of Honolulu.
The Institute, which was unofficial, was organized and operated on a comparatively new basis. The delegates were individuals responsible to no one, but having a real concern in their hearts for the welfare of the Pacific peoples. From a plan to hold a Y. M. C. A. conference of Pacific countries it had developed until it became international with neither creed nor race limits. Its aims were to get at the issues confronting the Pacific peoples, constructively by a free interchange of thought.
Punahou, now Oahu College, with its beautiful campus and many buildings, was placed at the disposal of the Institute. Punahou, meaning “new spring," occupies sixty acres. The school was founded by the early missionaries for the education of their children and has since grown to include children of all nationalities. Here the delegates lived and associated together during the two weeks on the ground of equality, and many were the friendships made between those from the Orient and Occident.
Dr. T. Harada, professor of Japanese language and history at the University of Hawaii, made the following prayer at the opening of the organization session of the Institute:
“O God, our Heavenly Father, as we gather here from many parts of the globe, in order to consider the problems common to the nations bordering on the Pacific, we look to Thee and pray that Thou wilt bless us with Thy presence and guide us in our deliberations.
“We thank Thee that we meet in the Crossroads of the Pacific where the peoples of various tongues, colors and creeds live together in peace and harmony. Grant us, O Lord, the spirit of equity, of humility, of the desire to learn and to search for truth and justice. Help each and everyone to do his best, to realize the object of this conference, and to promote mutual understanding and better relations between the Pacific nations.
“Bless all the nations represented in this Institute, each with its own history and peculiar problems. Bless especially the rulers and those in responsible positions by helping them faithfully to perform their duties in furtherance of the well-being of the world as well as the Welfare of their own people.
“God grant that the institute shall be a means of extending Thy Kingdom of Love and Truth. May it serve to hasten the day of emancipation and enlightenment for the whole of humanity. Give us strength to make here a beginning of this new day.
“May Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, and unto Thy name be all the praise.”
By unanimous vote of the Institute, Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, president of Leland Stanford University, who had
--PHOTO--
Program committee of the Institute of Pacific Relations which convened in Honolulu, June 30, and adjourned the evening of July 11. Front row, from left to right: Stanley Brent, National Council Secretary of the Y. M. C. A., of Western Canada, Toronto; L. T. Chen, secretary of the city division of the National Committee of Y. M. C. A. for China, Shanghai; Dr. George H. Blakeslee, chairman of Program Conmittee, professor or history and international relations at Clark University, Worcester, Mass.; H. Duncan Hall, department of history, University of Sydney; Yusuke Tsarumi, former counsellor Imperial Government Railways, Japan; Galen R. Weaver, pastor Church of the Cross Roads, Honolulu. Second row: Dr. Romanzo Adams, professor of economics, University of Hawaii; Dr. T. Harada, professor of Japanese language and history, University of Hawaii; Dr. Philip Jaisohn (Korean), Philadelphia; Dr. S. C. Lee, professor of Chinese, University of Hawaii; Jay A. Urice, New York. Back row: Dr. K. C. Leebrick, professor of history and political science, University of Hawaii; Dr. L. N. Chang, attorney and counsellor of law, Hankow, China.
come as chairman of the American group, was elected chairman of the Institute and an executive committee composed of one member from each of the other eight countries, was chosen to act with him in ordering the daily program.
The sessions of the Institute were divided into general forums, "round table" discussions and addresses, the latter only being open to the public. The subjects under discussion were concerning the cultures, religions, education, economic and commercial relations of these Pacific peoples.
At the first session, one member from each of the nine countries represented, presented a paper for his country. From these papers the following extracts have been taken:
“AUSTRALIA‘S interest in the question of peace is a positive one, as proved by her interest in the League of Nations and her encouragement towards schemes for closer contact between Pacific peoples, and her interest in the proposed Labor Peace Conference in 1926. She feels that a knowledge of Pacific facts provides the best way in the eliminating of frictions."–Stephen H. Roberts, lecturer on Modern History, University of Melbourne.
"AS STUDENTS of history we all know that changes in the life of nations and peoples come as the result of the power of ideas and ideals. The Renaissance in China is primarily a movement to create such ideas and ideals. Very
few people realize the fact that the men who are making the New China today are not our political and military chiefs, but the leaders of this Renaissance movement . . . In the old religions of China we are seeing the coming of revivalist movements. This is especially noticeable in Confucianism and Buddhism. The principal aim of these movements is to preserve and restate the spiritual values in Chinese culture and life. . . . The real leaders of China are in the process of maturing and it will be ten or fifteen years before they will make their fullest contribution to the nation.”—T. Z. Koo, secretary World’s Christian Student Federation, Geneva, Switzerland.
"AS WE of America need to understand better the heredity and general background of the peoples of Asia, so the leaders of the peoples of Asia must understand better the problems of our young country organized as a great Democracy, responsive and responsible to a majority which must be educated to an international point of view and to an appreciation of the significance of the great developments and the great forces which will mature on the Pacific in the years ahead.”—Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, president of Leland Stanford University.
"JAPAN is rapidly emerging from the first stage of contact between the cultures of the East and the West, a stage of which the distinctive feature was to lay more stress on what is different than on what is common between them. A more hopeful period is now dawning, a period characterized by a mutual desire for understanding and learning. It may be remarked that there is a growing tendency among the Shintoists, Buddhists and Christians to attach more importance to the practical aspects of their faiths, rather than to dogmas, so that in most of the movements for social regeneration they find common ground for service. . . . The problem which we now face is how to harmonize the traditional idea of nationalism with the new spirit of international co-operation.”—Dr. M. Sawayanagi, member of the Japenese House of Peers, president of the Japan Educational Association.
"OUR problem is to have an educational system that will aim at the development of the individual and racial characteristics which will contribute richly toward the sum total of civilization of mankind and to have our own mother tongue used so as to facilitate the process.”—Hugh Cynn, general secretary of the Y. M. C. A. for Korea.
“IT IS highly desirable to maintain all our advanced outposts and to have constructive international co-operation in health, in scientific research, in social organization and perhaps above all in fundamental religions and philosophical thought, so that we may strive for the fullest development of humanity in every land.”—J. B. Condliffe, Professor of Economics, Canterbury College, New Zealand.
“UNLESS the peoples shall without too great delay come to know each other through association on the basis of wider human interests represented by art, literature, science, philosophy, ethical ideals and religion, their financial and industrial contacts will turn out to be a curse to all nations."–Dr. Romanzo Adams, Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii.
The next two extracts are taken from statements made at the close of the Institute meetings.
“GOOD will and friendly co-operation make for greater security and more lasting peace than do preparedness against aggression or treaties and agreements however well framed. . . . Each race has something to contribute, something of value that should be preserved.”–Mrs. Percival Foster, field secretary Dominion Council, Y. W. C. A., Toronto, Canada.
“Through the influence of the Institute, two educational movements have been initiated. One is a mass education campaign similar to that headed by a Chinese member of the Institute in China and discussed during the first meeting. The other is the organization in Manila of an association for the study of Pacific relations.”—Conrado Benitez, attorney, Manila.
"The Institute has showed,” said one of the members, “that men and women of different races, different cultures, different origins can meet together for two weeks and frankly discuss these questions which affect them in their deepest natures, without heat, without ill feeling and with a sincere desire to really learn of the problems confronting these various countries and with an earnest endeavor to work out a constructive plan for the future."
Congressman Frederick M. Davenport, of New York, in speaking of the mass education movement in China said, “But China is not the only country that needs a mass education movement. America needs it too, not so much to make up literate, as to endow us with understanding and vision.”
“The Institute is but a beginning,” said Chairman Wilbur. "We have started an experiment which will be continued ' throughout the years by a continuation of the efforts of this Institute. We have set up the spirit of the Institute, the spirit of justice and square dealing.”
And here let me quote from the final plea made by Mr. L. T. Chen, secretary of the city division of the National Committee of the Y. W. C. A. for China. “It is my sincere conviction that the world is not lacking in statesmen or scholars. What we need in this age are prophets, men who are willing and who have to look ahead and men who have the power and the strength to follow the lead of their vision. . . . Have we got our eyes fixed on the vision? Do we have the courage to face the consequences, even though it may involve sacrifice? We are living in a new day and political conceptions are beginning to change. Are we prepared to be the pioneers? . . . Unless we are thorough-going, unless we are fearless in following the guidance of the vision that we see ahead of us, there is very little hope for the future. We are coming to a new age and it is up to us to develop a new machinery by which the peoples of the different countries can live more and more as personal friends and as co-workers in the gigantic task of making the world more worth living in. That is our call and there lies the hope for the future of mankind.”
The Institute closed, passing only one resolution, and that was of thanks to the people who had assisted it.
IT IS GOD'S WILL that the differences between nations should disappear. Those who help on the cause of Unity are doing God’s work. Unity is the Divine Bounty for this luminous century. Praise be to God! There are today many societies and many meetings held for Unity. Enmity is not so much the cause of separation as it used to be; the cause of disunion now is mostly prejudice. . . .
Do not only say that Unity, Love and Brotherhood are good; you must work for their realization. . . .
We do not consider anyone a stranger, for it is said by Bahá’u’lláh, “Ye are all the rays of one sun; the fruits of one tree; and the leaves of one branch.” We desire the true brotherhood of humanity. This shall be so, and it has already begun.
All societies, all organizations, working for the betterment of the human race are good, very good. All who work for their brothers and sisters have Bahá’u’lláh’s blessing. They will surely succeed.
EACH human being is consciously or unconsciously seeking something that will shed a glory on life, that will make life worth living. What is the glory of life? The glory of life is living, finding manifestation for all the potential perfections of one’s nature. Some call it happiness, and they are right, for happiness is only found through living, manifesting, expressing the perfections of the life-force that animates us.
Have you seen a dear one lie cold and motionless in death? How did we recognize that condition called death? How did we know our loved one was gone? By the absence of life! The smile of welcome had left the face; the warmth had left the body; no longer did understanding illumine the eyes. The signs of life were not visible in that cold, still form. Our loved one had left his house. The windows were darkened. The light of life no longer shone forth from that familiar human temple.
I wonder how many of us are dead, asleep, unawakened? Let me tell you this—we are alive just to the extent that we are expressing the highest intelligence within us. We are happy in proportion as we radiate the perfections of life in our thoughts, our speech, our every act.
This is a world of opposites, extremes, apparent contradictions. Throughout all nature we witness a continuous process of tearing down and building up, a construction and a destruction, a union of elements to form an object and a separation of elements to obliterate an object.
A process of life and death is ever at work. The rose, with its beauty and perfume, lives but to wither and die. A human being dwells in this world a short span of years and is then taken away. And the purpose of it all is to produce a more complete, a fuller expression of life.
Through experience in the various forms of composition the simple indestructible elements that make up each phenomenon gain in refinement; their capacity for expressing life increases; the electronic energy that animates them becomes more balanced. Thus the degree of receptivity for life has increased.
From the evolution of the elements we find the secret of progress. And in the process of life and death, construction and destruction, of composition and decomposition, we discover the vehicle of evolution.
Anything that increases our capacity for life expression is constructive. The more perfectly we become attuned to the Giver of Life the more will we be an efficient receiving station for the Supreme Intelligence that seeks but one thing, individualized expression.
Has it ever occurred to you that no one else could do your work in the world? Do you realize that the particular aspect of life intelligence that is seeking expression through you can find it nowhere else?
There have been found in all creation no two objects exactly alike. Did you ever taste two oranges that were exactly alike? Did you ever find two leaves, or two grains of sand identical in size or shape? No! There are no duplicates in creation.
The human body is a mirror that reflects life according to its capacity for attracting life. You have seen how a mirror will attract and reflect the sun’s rays, the amount of reflected light being dependent on the size, the perfection, the cleanliness of the mirror. Just so the human beings attracts and reflects life in proportion to its perfection, its capacity.
As no two beings are alike in creation, no two identical aspects of intelligence are seeking individual expression. The intelligence that is seeking expression through you is different and distinct from the life force that is finding expression in the people about you.
You have a special destiny, a personal duty, an individual contribution that the whole human race is waiting for. Just as we educate, train, and perfect our human reality, will it become a perfect instrument for use by the Supreme Intelligence. And only as we learn to live and express the particular aspect of life that animates us shall we be able to contribute our share to the intelligence of the race.
How many of us have ideals, ideas that we yearn to see in action and have so far failed to express? If we can become so animated by those ideals that they dominate our every thought, word and act, the negative, destructive element in the world will lose its power and our life will become wholly constructive. Our purpose in creation will become fulfilled, and we shall automatically individualize the perfections within us. Our highest ideals will then become manifested. We shall be putting our best thoughts into action. The Divine Nature of man will have awakened to consciousness. The God within us will be finding expression.
Then the words of the prophet will become clear, when He says, “Oneness in its true significance means that God alone is the One Power that animates and dominates all things, which are but manifestations of Its energy.”
But someone says, “What about all the suffering in the world? How can we manifest ideal life while we are in the midst of suffering?”
That, my friend, is what you and I have to learn. The cause of that suffering is always associated with the destructive, disintegrating element in nature. Its purpose is to urge us to a fuller and more complete expression of life.
In reality suffering is a gift. Every trial, every test is an opportunity for real growth. Suffering is a prod that can urge us to the path of real living.
Some people are born with the powers and gifts of life in full activity, while others have to strive with infinite pains to acquire them. The powers of the spirit, of constructive life, will come to that man or woman who accepts his life with radiant acquiescence. In the words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “Freedom is not a matter of place, it is a condition. Release from self is real release, for self is the greater prison. The vicissitudes that come to humanity tend to center the consciousness upon the limitations, and this is a veritable prison. Release comes by making of the will a door through which the confirmations of the spirit come. The confirmations of the spirit are all those powers and gifts which some are born with, but for which others have to strive with infinite pains. These powers and gifts come to that man or woman who accepts his life with radiant acquiescence.”
All sorrow and sadness come from this material world. All joy comes from the spiritual, eternal part of us—our reality that lives in this human temple for a time and then is gone.
By learning to be happy in the midst of trials and suffering we create in ourself the capacity for attracting and reflecting more of the constructive life that is seeking expression through us.
So we see that the Supreme Intelligence uses even the negative forces such as trials and sorrow as stepping-stones for ultimate construction. The dead trees of materiality make good fuel for the flame of life. All suffering, sickness and death are used to make possible a fuller and more complete expression of life. And on the other hand, as the reality of life prevails, error and suffering disappear as the shadow vanishes in the bright sunlight.
Have you ever stopped to consider that the illumination in an electric bulb is produced by the union of the opposing elements, the negative and positive poles of electricity? Just so the human race will attain its brightest illumination through the fusion of the conflicting forces of materiality and spirituality.
The glory of life is to live, to be life—to have each cell of our body so refined,
so perfected that the light of life will radiate through it and from it as if it were clearly polished glass transmitting the light of the lamp.
The Supreme Intelligence through His mouthpiece, Bahá’u’lláh, says, “O Son of Existence! My lamp thou art and my light is in thee. Therefore be illumined by it, and seek no one but Me, for I have created thee rich and upon thee have I showered abundant grace.”
Are you a merchant? Then be the best merchant you know how to be. Are you a teacher? Remember that on you rests the awakening and training of other minds. Are you a lawyer? Remember that justice is loved above all things. Are you a mother? On you depends the future progress of the human race. Are you a physician? On your concept of Life will depend your ability to see health established in your patients. Are you a human being? If so, you are responsible for learning to put into activity the distinct and particular perfections of life that are seeking expression through you. Your reality, the real you is needed in the world.
Anything that stands in the way of that individual expression of life, whether it be ignorance, prejudice or whatnot, will be pushed and pushed, pelted and pelted, knocked and knocked, urged and urged–until finally all barriers are broken and the Glory of Life as individualized by you bursts forth. The Divine Nature of man then finds expression in constructive action.
At such a stage of evolution man is unconscious of self. The self is lost in the joy of service for others. The Divine Reality of man has found expression. That human being is truly living, for he is contributing his best gifts to the race. “Blessed is he who is kind and serves with love.”
For God has wished all good for His servants, and he who wishes the servants of God evil is against God; he has not obeyed the will and emulated the example of God; he has followed satanic leadings and footprints. The attributes of God are love and mercy; the attribute of satan is hate. Therefore, he who is merciful and kind to his fellowmen is manifesting the divine attribute, and he who is hating and hostile toward a fellow creature is satanic. God is absolute love, even as his holiness Jesus Christ has declared, and satan is utter hatred. Wherever love is witnessed, know there is a manifestation of God’s mercy; whenever you meet hatred and enmity, know that these are the evidences and attributes of satan. The prophets have appeared in this world with the mission that human souls may become the expressions of the Merciful, that they may be educated and developed, attain to love and amity and establish peace and agreement.
Mr. Yen’s home is in the western province of Szechuan, where his family for five generations have been great Confucian scholars. As a lad, in order to receive higher education, he walked a twelve days’ journey to Chentu, the capital of the province, and there entered the China Inland Mission school to learn English. During a number of years he made this journey on foot several times to and from his home. At last, overcoming many difficulties, he entered Hong Kong University, and later entered Yale, from which in 1918 he went as a student volunteer overseas to serve as educational secretary among the 200,000 Chinese laborers in France. Here it was he conceived the idea of mass education. China has been divided into four classes, the scholar, farmer, artisan and merchant (the soldier was not even classed). As it required a lifetime of study to master the classics, the scholars were numerically few. The mass education movement in China today has forty thousand volunteer teachers, most of whom are students who realize the only hope of democracy lies in teaching the farmers and laborers to read and write. (A. B. A.)
CHINA is a democracy. Whether we Chinese people like it or not, or whether the outside world likes it or not. You all know that China today is in a chaotic condition and is having (internal) war from time to time. You may not know the fundamental reason for all that. One of the outstanding reasons is that we are trying to adjust ourselves to modern conditions after 5,000 years of the old order. In 1911 when the political revolution overthrew the Monarchy, it took only a few months to complete that process, but if happened so fast and there was so much to be done that it did not give the Chinese reformers, the Progressive party, an opportunity to get hold of the government; so the old monarchists, the conservative party, took hold, and the young reformers have been trying to overthrow these despots ever since. Being inexperienced and youthful, they were not properly prepared to take over the hold of the new government, and the old conservatives knew this and lost no opportunity of getting hold of the government, and they have been in control of the so-called republic ever since. Any one who knows China at all knows that it is impossible for China to go back to monarchy—that is proved by the defeat of Yuan Shi-kai, one of the strongest men in all China, who was defeated in his attempt to restore the old monarchy because the people were against him. On the other hand you see China today with her teeming millions, over 70% of whom do not know how to read or write. On the one hand, China will not go back to monarchy, and on the other, she is not fit to go on with a democracy. The only thing to do is this–instead of criticizing and passing unpleasant remarks about this form of government, the positive thing for all of us to do is to fit China for democracy—not to stand on the side lines, but jump in and play the game, and help make China fit for democracy.
One of the most essential things in building a democracy is the highest possible level of general intelligence among the masses of the people. In Japan and Great Britain, in France, and the United States, the general intelligence of the masses is above China. There are 200,000,000 people unable to read or write in China. I am ashamed to say it, but it is true. What is the solution? You have this gigantic group of illiterate people and you have the paralyzing poverty hand in hand. What are we going to do? During the World War, it was my privilege to be associated with the 200,000 laborers in France who were digging
trenches and carrying ammunition and helping the Allies, and I had the privilege of working with them, and I realized then as never before the situation, and so I started to experiment to try and find out ways and means that the average man in China could get an education,—that is enough of an education to be a good citizen of China.
The average man in China is a poor man and he cannot afford to pay $50.00 to $1000.00 a year to go to school. We must bring education to the poor man; so, I say first, bring education down to his economic level. Second,—the average man or woman in China is too busy to spend much time in getting an education. They have to work each day to fill the rice bowl. There is that continuous struggle in China for bare existence which you in the prosperous country in which you live do not understand. Even if we had an adequate number of schools, which we have not, this average poor man could not spare the time to attend one. They cannot spare one to six years to go to school, even if you did not charge them anything for tuition.
What is the solution? Some system by which the average man or woman can accumulate a minimum amount of time at a minimum cost. What is that? The Foundation Character System, which consists of l200 of the most frequently used characters in the vernacular–that is the spoken language of three-fourths of the people of China, and in that language we already have a vast amount of literature. We want to bring that knowledge to the mass of the Chinese people. We have taken over five years of experimentation and investigation—many professors and many returned students helping us, and they have co-operated with us in making the final selection of this vocabulary. We have used the empirical method to find out the minimum vocabulary and we have finally determined upon l200 characters. We have prepared four readers, called “The Peoples 1000 Character Readers,” and there are 96 lessons in them. The busy man, the tailor, the foreigner, the cobbler, all of whom work all day, will not have to take any time from his work, but just let him give one hour a day, six days a week, and in four months’ time he will be able to master the whole foundation character course, and he will be able to read the newspapers and play the part of an intelligent citizen.
In China we have 400,000,000 people, and 80% are unable to read or write. I am not speaking of the people who live in the principal cities. I am speaking of the people who live in the villages of China, and there are thousands upon thousands of them. We have already started schools in about 1000 villages. Here are some papers you might be interested in. Here is what is called “The Farmer.” You may be interested in knowing that for the first time in the history of China a newspaper has been published for the farming people of China, and China has been an agricultural country for hundreds of years. Think of it! Never before a paper for the farmers. The great bulk of the population lives in small villages and this is the first time a newspaper has been published for them and they were able to read it.
We have 32 mass education classes in the cities and classes in over 42 provinces which comprise a territory as large as the continent of Europe.
We believe, from past experience, that with financial backing we can teach 100,000,000 adult illiterates in China how to read. You may say,—“Jimmie Yen, you are boasting.” Let me tell you! In the first place, although we have a large percentage of illiterate people, we have enough literate people to teach them, and that is the redeeming factor of our country. We have figured out, taking away the 20,000,000 too old to teach, the 20,000,000 too young to teach, and 20,000,000 who would not do it, even tho able, that we still have enough literate persons to teach the illiterate and each
person would have to teach only 10 pupils. There is in China 4000 years of tradition and civilization, and the people, though illiterate, have an inherent love of learning and a respect for it. This is another important factor.
With this tested program of mass education, if we could provide the supervision of a secretary, and provide literature, in the next decade, my friends, we will be able to revolutionize the politics and democratize the mass of the people. The leaders in China are returned students from America, and their influence is preponderant. The influence of America is Christian influence, and they have come back to fit China for democracy—that first Oriental democracy the world has known. That is a by-word in China. It is against militarism, against autocracy, and the young element in China is backing it. Whether China is going to be a real democracy or is going to be turned toward Bolshevism or something else, depends whether the progressive democratic elements in other countries will cooperate with the progressive democratic element in China. Much depends on this attitude of other countries.
In conclusion, I wish to say that we have met at this Institute and we have realized as we never before realized that we are very much thrown together. As Mr. Rowell said,—“the world has shrunk, and we are thrown together as never before.” In China we have one quarter of the whole human race, that great family; and what concerns a part of the family concerns the whole family. What are we going to do? The great statesman, John Hay, said, “Whoever understands that great empire, socially, politically, economically and religiously, has the key to world politics for the next five centuries.” That seems to be more true today than ever before. I tell you that if your country and my country would work together, I think the whole world would be a different world. Why? Because we have many points in common. You have vast territory, so have we; vast population;—so have we;—wonderful resources, so have we. You are peace loving, so are we. When these two great republics join hands and work together not for world war, but for world peace, then when they say Peace—there will be Peace. (Address given at Pan-Pacific luncheon in Honolulu.)
In China one can teach many souls and train and educate such divine personages, each one of whom may become the bright candle of the world of humanity. Truly I say they are free from any deceit and hypocrisies and are prompted with ideal motives.”
Editor’s Note: The following is one of an interesting series of brief addresses prepared and given by the young people of Green Acre at the morning training classes held during the summer. Miss Cohen is a student at Cornell University.
NO matter where one goes today one finds that the crying need is peace—universal peace,—peace among all the peoples of the world. Especially is this true when one travels over the war-torn fields of Europe. And people are coming to realize more and more that the only way we can bring about peace is by educating the people up to peace just as for years they have been educated up to war. This is true not only in far away countries but right here in America as well. We must begin to teach peace.
One of the most effective instruments for the instilling of the war spirit–although often we do not realize it–is the history textbooks that are used by the children today in the grammar schools. The young children at that impressionable age are being prepared for war. Take up any history textbook in an American grammar school and you will find this to be true. Page after page after page is devoted to telling of this war and that war, this battle and that battle, this skirmish and that skirmish. Many a page is given to describing the exploits of generals and military heroes. Then, at the end of the chapter, a page or sometimes only a paragraph is devoted to telling of the constructive work–of the work of the teacher, the scientist, the historian, and the like. In this way the child gets quite a distorted view of life.
Yet despite the fact that so many pages are devoted to telling of war, does the child really know what war is? Has he any idea of its horrors? How can be, when history seems to hide that which would turn the student from war? A rose-colored mantle is drawn over the story, and it makes a certain appeal to the pupil. The writers of these textbooks let the child hear only the roll of the drums and the shouts of admiring crowds. He does not hear the groans of dying men, and so he, too, longs to be a soldier and gain glory by going forth to kill his fellowmen.
But, do not think that this is true only of past wars. Not at all. The history textbooks that the children of tomorrow will be given will put forth the story in the same old way. Let me give you an example: In the last great war, shortly after the Americans entered the war, the French and the American troops found themselves in a very grave plight. They were just below a cliff upon which were the Germans firing down. The mortality was simply terrible, yet retreat was impossible as there was a marsh behind them. They lay there for several days until they decided that the only way to escape was to blow up the Germans in front of them. So, one man took some dynamite in his arms and started off. But, ere he had gone a few steps he was shot and another man came forward to take his place. But he, too, fell and then another came and he, too, lost his life, and so went on the seemingly endless chain until one man at last succeeded in placing the dynamite at the foot of the cliff. But, before he could light it, he, too, lost his life. Then, once again began that race with Death until the fuse finally was lighted. When the dynamite blew up, fifty thousand Germans were killed. Now, this is being written up in the war records by the different countries of the world and from it will be made the history of tomorrow. All the details of the struggle are given, and page after page is devoted to explaining the bravery of those men who gave their lives that their brothers might live. The child will well understand the tribute that is paid them
and he will know what the medals mean. But will he understand the six simple words that appear at the end—AND FIFTY THOUSAND GERMANS WERE KILLED? How can he know what it means? What effort do we make to explain it to him? So, we see that this is true not only of past wars but will be true of future ones unless we take steps to prevent it.
Today in Europe we can see that the seeds of future wars are being sown. The children are being deliberately prepared for wars to come. Take the textbooks that the French and German children are given, and you will find that in both countries the children are being taught that the mother-country has been wronged and that she must be avenged. The only way that this can be done, of course, is through war—another war and another war until she is victorious. All thoughts are centered on another terrible struggle—one which may be the death throes of our present civilization. None of our present institutions seem to have found a way out.
But why teach these children destructive ways? Why not adopt a constructive policy instead—a policy of live and let live? After all, it is when the child is young that he cherishes ill-will towards none, and that those who help to build his character and mold his views should endeaver to instill in him the principles of co-operation, of the larger social conscience, of the brotherhood of man, and of the oneness of the human race. What a blessing it would be to mankind if the writers of textbooks, the teachers and the mothers would implant the beautiful thought so wonderfully expressed by that great teacher and lover of humanity, Bahá’u’lláh: “We are all leaves of one tree and trees of one arbor,” and tell them “Little children, love one another!”
“THE DUTY of educated men, especially university presidents of the nation, is this: To teach in the universities and schools ideas concerning universal peace, so that the student may be so molded that in after years he may help carry to fruition the most useful and human issue of mankind.”
’Abdu’l-Bahá
