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EVERY MOVEMENT which promotes unity and harmony in the world is good, and everything which creates discord and discontent is bad. This is a century of illumination, surpassing all others in its many discoveries, its great inventions, and its vast and varied undertakings. But the greatest achievement of the age in conferring profit and pleasure on mankind is the creation of an auxiliary language for all. Oneness of language engenders peace and harmony. Oneness of language creates oneness of heart. It sweeps away all misunderstandings among peoples. It establishes harmony among the children of men. It gives to the human intellect a broader conception, a more commanding point of view.
Today the greatest need of humanity is to understand and to be understood. With the help of the International language, every individual member of a community can learn of world happenings and become in touch, with the ethical and scientific discoveries of the age. The auxiliary international language gives to us the key–the key of keys—which unlocks the secrets of the past. Once establish this auxiliary language and all will be enabled to understand each other.
--PHOTO--
Dr. Ludovik Zamenhof, creator of Esperanto the universal auxiliary language.
| VOL. 17 | OCTOBER, 1926 | No. 7 |
speech and communication. Through this means misunderstandings will be lessened, fellowship established and unity assured.
NATIONALITY is a matter of psychology, not of race or locality. Many bits of evidence, both in past history and in the present, give proof of this. The modern Greeks, for instance, have a great, if not preponderating admixture, of Slavic blood; yet maintain to an amazing extent the traditions, the temperament, and the character traits of the ancient Greeks. The French, so the anthropologist tells us, is more purely Germanic in race than the Germans themselves; but their culture is Latin, and their sense of nationality is correspondingly and powerfully Latin. The English are a very mixed race—but homogeneous as to their culture, which we term Anglo-Saxon.
Of all such examples the United States is however the most striking, being composed of a great variety of races yet more homogeneous in its outer culture than any other large nationality. What is it that causes English, Irish, German, French, Scandinavian, Italian, Slav, to come together into such an amazingly common culture in the course of a few generations? Is it not because Americans, of whatever previous race, are all possessed by more or less common ideas derived from their schooling, their newspapers, magazines and books, and their environment of modern mechanical progress, efficiency and prosperity?
OF THIS common culture language is one of the strongest factors. Those who can communicate their ideas to each other by speech or by the printed word tend toward a common culture, no matter of what race or blood. So important is the effect of a common language felt to be in building up a strong sense of nationality that conquering nations have always sought to suppress the language of minorities, thus forcing them to the use of the current national language. On the other hand, those minorities who desire strongly to maintain their own culture and sense of race within a heterogeneous empire seek by all means within their power to keep alive their own language, not only orally but also in printed form.
China, which has the least sense of nationality of any modern nation, although extremely homogeneous racially, lacks the common bond of language. Its spoken dialects vary so greatly in the different provinces that pidgeon English has been resorted to as a common means of communication; and its written language, being that of the scholar, is of a terminology and character understood only by a small cultured class. The Chinese patriot of today, wishing to build up in his country a strong sense of nationality, turns first to the endeavor of devising some common
means of communication—and a new written language is being evolved comprehensible to the masses. Otherwise how can any common ideas find currency?
India, a country with no fewer than one hundred and forty-seven distinct languages, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, and almost inumerable dialects, can hardly be spoken of as a nation, but rather as a collection of peoples.
Enough has been said to show that nationality owes its derivation to the widespread interchange of ideas resulting in a common culture; and that for such interchange of ideas a common language is indispensable.
IF, THEN, the effect of a common language in a country like the United States is to weld, through a common school system, a dozen diverse races into one great homogeneous culture and nationality,—what, one wonders, would be the result of the whole world joining in one universal language such as Esperanto? Would this important step toward unity aid powerfully toward the ultimate goal of a supernation whose boundaries were planetary and not continental? Within a few generations of constant use of such a universal language, would not the world grow more homogeneous, more united in its culture? Would not the universal world civilization, which is fast appearing through the pervasive progress of modern science, succeed, by means of a universal language, in dominating the thought-life, as it is already dominating the action-life, of the planet?
‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ gives us the answer in these potent words: “Oneness of language will transform mankind into one world. . . . This auxiliary international language will gather the nations under one standard, as if the five continents of the world had become one, for then mutual interchange of thought will be possible for all. The world of matter will become the expression of the world of mind. Then discoveries will be revealed, inventions will multiply, the sciences advance by leaps and bounds, the scientific culture of the earth will develop along broader lines. In short, with the establishment of this International Language the world of mankind will become another world and extraordinary will be the progress.”
ONLY ONE thing more is needed, in addition to a universal language, and that is a universal religion. For religion is also a very strong factor, undoubtedly the strongest factor, in determining a culture and a civilization. The ideals which permeate and direct a race are traceable to its religion. Not until there is one world-wide religion with its common code of ethics and its common ideals, can there be a real brotherhood of man based upon mutual love and confidence. Religion has in the past,—and can so do in the future,—welded together the most diverse of races into a common brotherhood.
Today the Bahá’í Movement meets this opportunity and need for a world religion. In practice as in theory it is demonstrating its power to unite every race and creed under the uni-colored pavilion of God.
Though self-seeking and aggressive nationalism is still rampant on this planet, the forces that make for unity and world brotherhood are steadily prevailing. Let us help to “serve the cause of democracy and freedom. . . . The bright day is coming. The nucleus of the new race is forming. The harbinger of the new ideals of international justice is appearing.”
DIVERSITY of languages has been a fruitful cause of discord. The function of language is to convey the thought and purpose of one to another. Therefore, it matters not what language man speaks or employs. Nevertheless, Bahá’u’lláh sixty years ago advocated one language as the greatest means of unity and the basis of international conference. Sixty years ago He wrote to the kings of the earth recommending the unification of languages; that one language should be adopted and sanctioned by all governments and promulgated by all nations. By this means, every nation might have its own natal tongue and acquire the universal language. All nations would then be able to communicate and consult with perfect facility and the dissension due to diversity of language would not remain.
A universal language shall be adopted and be taught by all the schools and institutions of the world. A committee appointed by national bodies of learning shall select a suitable language to be used as a medium of international communication. All must acquire it. This is one of the great factors in the unification of man.
Substance of an address delivered to the Congress of the Esperanto Association of North America, at Philadelphia, Pa., July 20, 1926.
It is well known to all Esperantists that the essence of the Esperanto movement consist in strict neutrality on all debatable issues. Its aim is to provide a common means of inter-communication among all peoples, to be used for the expression of any and all opinions. Esperantists who are likewise members of any cult, political party or movement of any kind are free to use Esperanto to propagate their particular views, and "to strive to win adherents to them; but Esperanto must not be held to stand as the advocate of either one side or the other.
While this is true, it is also true that Esperanto had its origin in the spirit of idealism, and that its “internal idea” is that of human brotherhood. It was the love of humanity that prompted the young Zamenhof to struggle against terrific and almost insuperable odds to discover a medium for creating a better understanding, and for breaking down the barriers of miscomprehension which hold the peoples apart. It was this which armed him with the courage and persistence which never wavered to the end of his days. It was this which breathes in his written words, and which animated his entire existence. And it is this spirit, incarnated in the language itself, which distinguishes Esperanto from all its prdecessors and successors, giving it a warmth and color which make it glow with life, and which have justified the proud boast that it is “a living language of a living people.” Whereever the Esperanto movement penetrates, there goes with it an unmistakable trend toward the broadening of views, the increase of tolerance, the growth of a love for peace and harmony, the visible increase of “good will toward men.”
With such an inner principle and with such a history, Esperanto cannot fail to be recognized as closely akin to all other movements having a distinctly ideal basis and seeking to co-ordinate the thoughts and acts of human beings along fraternal lines. This must be especially the case where the movement in question is not combative, but a harmonizer; not a divider but a unifier. The Bahá’í Movement, which is not a “new religion,” but religion renewed with new teachings applicable to the needs and maturity of the age; which holds a creed so broad that it embraces all the truths enunciated by all the Prophets of the ages; which welcomes all in a spirit of oneness and befriends every sincere and earnest effort to help mankind,—must be recognized as accordant with the entire purpose of every zealous Esperantist. Of it an Esperantist once said that it seemed to him to be among the religions of the world what Esperanto is among the languages–a harmonizer and co-ordinator, presenting the underlying truths on which all are founded, and yet not seeking to undermine the useful work which any of the others are doing.
The Bahá’í Cause comes as a blessing to all, with good will to every preceding form of divine worship. It originated in the Orient, the great home of religious movements; and it
has been firmly planted in the Occident, the great center of practical application of accepted convictions. Thus it is a powerful agency in uniting the East and the West. Whereever its mission is in a measure accomplished, the ancient hatreds and intolerances among the followers of different religious faiths gradually melt away. This is not the place in which to enter into the details of the history and specific features of the Bahá’í Movement. An elementary account, with examples of the Bahá’í teaching and the unfoldment of its basic principles, will be found in the pamphlets, both in English and in Esperanto. This much may be said, that its fundamental precepts are of the most practical nature, free from anything in the way of dreamy mysticism. They include freedom from prejudice, the recognition of unity among the religions, a positive averment of the oneness of mankind, an insistence on recognition of the claims of science, abandonment of a superstitious frame of mind, independent investigation of truth, universal peace, universal education, an international tribunal, equality between men and women, a just solution of the economic problem and, what especially concerns us as Esperantists, an international auxiliary language. There can be scarcely one of these principles with which all forward-looking men and women of today will not find themselves in full accord, although their practical realization may seem to many to be far distant; but some sixty years ago, when they were first promulgated by Bahá’u’lláh in Persia, they appeared in his own land as startling and revolutionary; and in fact several of them were little less so to even the more advanced thought of the western world of that day. Yet these are the teachings which were proclaimed in all their fulness at that time, and which ever since have been steadily promulgated as some of the new and important principles of the Bahá’í Movement. In the sixty odd years of its history, there has been no need or tendency to obscure a single one of these original principles; and it has been manifest that the world is moving, however slowly, in the direction of every one of them.
One of the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh may be cited, as an example of many similar expressions. It is published in the “Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh.”
“We have formerly commanded, in the Tablets, that the trustees of the House of Justice must select one tongue out of the present languages, or a new language, and likewise select one among the various writings, and teach them to the children in the schools of the world, so that the whole world may thereby be considered as one native land and one part.
“The most splendid fruit of the Tree of Knowledge is this exalted Word: Ye are all fruits of one tree and leaves of one bough.
“Glory is not his who loves his own country; but glory is his who loves his kind.”
After the passing away of Bahá’u’lláh in 1892, the mantle of guidance fell on his son, ’Abdu’l-Bahá, who as the great Teacher and Interpreter of the Message given by Bahá’u’lláh to the world was revered throughout the world, not only by Bahá’ís but by many thousands of the followers of all faiths. He recognized in Esperanto the carrying out of the instructions of Bahá’u’lláh, and endorsed it in the strongest terms. In a statement made during his American visit in 1912, he said: “All through America I have encouraged the Bahá’ís to study Esperanto; and to the extent of my ability I will strive in its spread and promotion.”
In 1913, he addressed a meeting
under the auspices of the Edinburgh, Scotland, Esperanto Society, in which he used the following words:
“His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh, many years ago, wrote a book called ‘The Most Holy Book,’ one of the fundamental principles of which is the necessity of creating an auxiliary language; and he makes clear the good and profit which will come because of its use. Now let us thank the Lord because this language, Esperanto, is created. We, therefore, have commanded all Bahá’ís in the East to study this language very carefully; and ere long it will become spread through the entire East.”
With equal explicitness, he said at an Esperanto banquet in Paris, in the same year:
“Consequently the strongest means of universal progress towards the union of East and West is this language. It will make the whole world one home, and will become the greatest impulse for human advancement. It will upraise the standard of the oneness of the world of humanity; it will make the earth one universal commonwealth. It will be the cause of love between the children of men. It will cause good fellowship between the various races. Now praise be to God that Dr. Zamenhof has invented the Esperanto language. It has all the potential qualities of becoming the international means of communication. All of us must be grateful and thankful to him for this noble effort; for in this way he has served his fellow-men well. He has invented a language which will bestow the greatest benefits on all people. With untiring effort and self-sacrifice on the part of its devotees it will become universal. Therefore every one of us must study this language and spread it as far as possible, so that day by day it may receive a broader recognition, be accepted by all nations and governments of the world, and become a part of the curriculum in all the public schools. I hope that the language of all the future international conferences and congresses will become Esperanto, so that all people may acquire only two languages—one their own tongue and the other the international auxiliary language. Then perfect union will be established between all the people of the world.’
With these explicit and impressive injunctions, which can by no possibility be evaded or explained away, it is clear that every Bahá’í is of necessity bound to adhere to the Esperanto movement. It is true that this is a counsel of perfection, and that among Bahá’ís as elsewhere not every individual is as active as he should be in carrying out the principles to which he is devoted. Moreover, a number of most earnest followers of the Bahá’í Movement are consuming all their energies in spreading the Teachings which they believe to contain the seeds of healing for the world, and fail of finding time and strength for even so easy a study as that of Esperanto. But they do not fail to throw voice and influence in favor of the Esperanto movement, and to stimulate others to the study of the language. It is hoped that co-operation will increase as time goes on. In fact, there are most interesting and significant signs in this direction. Several Bahá’í works have been translated into Esperanto, besides the pamphlet already mentioned, which it is hoped that all present will take with them. At the Esperanto Congress of last year, held in Geneva, one session was held in the Bahá’í Bureau, with Bahá’ís from America and Germany present. An international Bahá’í magazine now appears each month in Germany, wholly in Esperanto. Its title, “La Nova Tago,” will be understood
by all Esperantists. This magazine will carry news from all the National Spiritual Assemblies of the world as a regular department, the National Spiritual Assembly being the central body of the Bahá’ís of each country.
It is a great privilege to bear to the Esperantists of North America the cordial greetings and earnest good wishes of the National Spiritual Assembly of the American Continent, and to express the hope that the understanding between these two great movements may become more and more perfect, to the greater benefit of mankind and the ultimate supreme triumph of the common ideal.
CONSIDER how ignorant and rapacious is man! Domestic animals live with their kind in peace and harmony. . . . .
Man, who is endowed with intelligence, must not be less than they; for the greatest bounty in the world of existence is the mind which should lead men to love and concord. We must exercise the functions of such a holy power in the path of love and not expend it upon the inventions of Krupp guns, Mauser rifles and Maxim's rapid-firing cannons. Cod has endowed us with intellects, not for the purpose of making instruments of destruction, but that we might become diffusers of light, create love between the hearts, establish communion between the spirits and bring together the people of the east and the west.
Every cherish effort must extend its powers to other souls. ls there anything more cherished than the mind of man? We must expend this faculty in the cause of human union, for we are the children of one father. A delicate spiritual power is ever exercising an influence over the hearts and minds of men Why should we abandon the holy power which binds us together and cleave. to the barbarous traditions which keep us apart?
The greatest problem of this twentieth century is that of establishing universal peace. Thinking men of vision in every walk of life know that a universal auxiliary language is absolutely necessary for world consolidation. In this dawn of a new divine civilization, through the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh we are taught that a universal auxiliary language is one of the principles which will help usher in universal peace.
A universal auxiliary language is certainly not an attempt to replace any existing language or literature. It is a colossal attempt to open the widest fields of thought and action to the greatest number, and to save a tremendous amount of labour and expense. Spiritually, intellectually and economically, this new cycle of human power cannot afford not to conquer this language difficulty.
Eagerly some may interject: “English will be the universal language!” (The Frenchman may claim it will be his language, and so on). A movement to have English or any other national language adopted officially as a universal auxiliary language would bring so much prestige and business to the country whose language is chosen that it woud cause a boycott of the favoured language on the part of a majority of other powerful nations. It would defeat the very aim for world peace for it is upon the universality of adoption that the great use of a universal auxiliary language depends. Every attempt to force English upon a world that does not want it is one more leader towards the fall of all civilizations. Are there no leaders or groups great enough to avert another world war which would be so much more deadly than the last that the cataclysms of 1914 would seem child’s play? Interests of English-speaking peoples are stupendous, but compared to the whole bulk of civilized people, the English speakers are in a minority. The majority includes many high-spirited peoples with a strongly developed sense of nationality and they too will play a very important rôle in the history of the world. Therefore because of political reasons, a national language cannot safely become universal. I studied conditions in almost every land and I perceived that many English-speaking people themselves are becoming broad enough to acquire the knowledge and tact to put themselves at the point of view of others, and they are great workers for a neutral auxiliary language.
Next, some may say: “Oh, there have been many auxiliary languages, I will wait until one is really adopted by the governments of the world.” Yes, there have been more than seventy in the past three hundred years. Their histories show why they were short-lived or are carried on in very negligible numbers. I am an Esperantist because I find that the nations prefer Esperanto to any other auxiliary language. It has stood the test of thirty-nine years, grown phenomenally, and it is the best key to meeting the peoples of Europe and the Orient. There are over eight thousand members of the Universal Esperanto Association alone, and more than two thousand cities in the different continents have Esperanto Societies. Esperanto has become a household word, it is already the synonym for a universal auxiliary language. Whether we believe in it
or not, the fact remains it is steadily sweeping the world, and its inner spirit called “Esperantism,” is making for world brotherhood. This inner idea of Esperanto is something so beautiful that it attracts the idealists of the world. Purely practical persons, on the other hand, find in it the best and most economical method for international business propaganda. As a potential means of international communication, Esperanto is unsurpassed. It has proved itself a long way ahead of any existing national language. The volume of international business increases each year. It is difficult and expensive to carry on this business in many hard languages. It is much sounder to have an international language. The same results can be produced in an easier way. Also, Esperanto has a simplicity, a directness and a perfect lucidity which make it invaluable for the interchange of scientific thought.
What is Esperanto? The word “Esperanto” is the present participle of the verb esperi—“to hope,” used substantively. Dr. Ludovik L. Zamenhof, creator of the Esperanto language, used the nom-de-plume “Dr. Esperanto” (one who hopes) when he published his first book in 1887 in Warsaw: the name curiously enough quickly came to be applied to the language. Esperanto is an auxiliary language built on an internationality of roots common to the greatest number of chief languages. It is musical, it is harmonious. It is the easiest language to be learned. Anyone can acquire it without a teacher in a few months. One educator in Shanghai said to the writer: “I learned to speak and write Esperanto more fluently in six months’ time than I learned to write and speak English in six years”—he spoke both excellently. Esperanto serves to express every imaginable idea. Professor Charles Baudouin, one of the great thinkers of Europe told the writer it was as easy to compose poetry directly in Esperanto as in his native tongue.
Count Tolstoy in a letter about Esperanto said: “The learning and spread of Esperanto will help to bring about the Kingdom of God.”
An eminent official of the League of Nations, whose name perhaps I can not use without his official permission as his position is so well known, said after attending a Universal Esperanto Congress: “It is my private opinion that Esperanto will do more to bring about the peace of the world than even the League of Nations itself.”
As a new idea in education the plan is being tried in many schools of teaching this universal language. Prof. R. J. B. Sanderson, Headmaster, Green Lane Council School, Patricroft, where Elementary School children are taught Esperanto every year, in the ordinary curriculum, says this: “From practical experience I can assert that the teaching of Esperanto has the same effect upon the children as the teaching of Latin, it gives them an insight into the full meaning of English, and forms a splendid basis for the acquisition of other languages.”
Boys and girls will be glad to hear that Prof. F. Durieus, Headmaster L’Ecole Montesquieux, Lille, France, writes: “Some of my children correspond in Esperanto with children in the United States, Japan, Austria, Australia and Siberia—a feat of which many a diplomat would be incapable!”
Prof. Gilbert Murray of Oxford said that Esperanto was a delicate and beautiful piece of work. Prof. J. E. B. Mayor of Cambridge affirmed that children should learn Esperanto and then pass on to French, Latin, German and Greek. Dr. A. E. Scougal, Chief-Inspector of Schools
for Scotland recommended Esperanto as the one additional language in cases where language work is given to children who have to leave school at the age of fourteen. Prof. Sir William Ramsay, O. M. of London in his report said that an English child could learn Esperanto in, at most, six months, so as to be able to read, write and speak it.
Certainly the educational benefits from the learning of Esperanto are that it gives one a better knowledge of the mother tongue. It trains one in logical thought and expression. It quickens interest in school work. It is a stimulus in geographical studies. It Widens the mental horizon. It makes other language studies easier and more interesting. The possession of Esperanto is a valuable asset in business life.
Universal education is another of the great principles of Bahá’u’lláh which will be realized in this country. Before the oncoming rush of universal education, the whole tendency of language in the modern world is towards the disappearance even of dialects, and an insistent demand for a universal auxiliary language.
The International Esperanto Congresses are the forerunners of thousands of international congresses of the future. In the Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, more than thirty nationalities had delegates present,–and is it a small thing that people from thirty countries can sit in the same great audience hall and understand every word! Thirty-one international associations using Esperanto had convention sessions as a part of this great *Congress.
*See general report of this Congress in the September Bahá’í magazine. Letters and papers received later from Edinburgh showed there was an oratorical contest before the general Congress delegates and guests the last afternoon. The nine speakers one of whom was Miss Root drew their subjects from a hat and spoke impromptu in Esperanto an hour later.
Esperanto is now used in every country of the world and is the official international language of the International Amateur Radio Union and of the American Radio Relay League. The Kings of Spain, Belgium and Saxony and the Presidents of the German and Austrian Republics, were patrons of the Esperanto Congresses in their respective countries. The Governments of the United States, Belgium, Spain, Czecho-Slovakia and others have been represented at various Esperanto Congresses. The British Association’s Committee on International Language has recommended Esperanto.
The American Philosophical Society, in 1887, when Volapük was nearing its high water mark, appointed a committee to look into its scientific value. Very wisely the Committee rejected Volapük as being too retrograde in tendency, too arbitrary in construction and not international enough in vocabulary. But the report stated that the creation of an international language is in conformity with the general tendency of modern civilization and is not merely desirable, but will certainly be realized! This committee Was so fully convinced of the importance of an international language, that it proposed to the Philosophical Society that it should invite all the learned societies of the world to co-operate in the production of a universal language. A resolution embodying this recommendation was adopted by the society and the invitations were sent out. About twenty societies accepted.
Over sixty years ago, Bahá’u’lláh Wrote to several of the rulers of the world urging them to convene a committee composed of their best linguists to choose one of the existing languages or make a universal auxiliary language, which should be adopted and taught in all the schools
of the earth. Now the “Lingva Komitato,” International Language Committee, elected by the Esperantists of all continents, consists of people appointed for their special competence in linguistic matters. This Lingva Komitato is in no sense a legislative body. It watches the spread and development of the language, maintains its purity and helps with judicial guidance. Any additions are officially made by this body.
Many people have wished to change Esperanto and mix it with other attempts at an international language. The guiders of Esperanto wisely think that the author of Esperanto and men who have given some of the best years of their lives to this language, know best. As an international language is a novelty to most people, many are rushing in thinking that they can make, mend or criticise it. It would be as fair for a bridge builder or other expert who in his odd moments dabbles in Greek to think he is perfectly competent to improve the text of Sophocles.
Dr. Zamenhof never claimed that his work was final. He wrought speech for the people, left it to the people and after Esperanto is firmly established a world committee of linguists will add to, and develop the universal auxiliary language of the coming centuries. But Esperanto has all the potential qualities for this universal auxiliary language. Its success is awakening the world conscience. If it is all torn to pieces now, before it is established, by persons who wish to tack amateur tinkerings to it, then in quarrels and disagreements Esperanto would go on the rocks of destruction and fifty years of world work on a universal auxiliary language would be lost. Why not trust this Lingva Komitato, and work for the governments of the world and great international associations to help develop this language which more than any other, is the choice of the peoples of the world!
Esperanto has a growing literature classical, literary and scientific. More than eighty magazines are published wholly in Esperanto. Esperanto is one of the grand evolutions of this twentieth century. Being a neutral language, it belongs to all, and is the property of none. Its adoption will not in any way upset national susceptibilities. Dr. Zamenhof, the great-souled lingual prophet, earned his living as a modest but very fine oculist, and gave his life to his God-given ideal of a universal auxiliary spoken and written language. He persistently refused to make any profit out of it: he gave it to the world. He. declined absolutely to accept a sum which enthusiasts collected as a testimonial to his disinterested work for humanity. The story of the sacrifices, the poverty, the rugged tenacious honesty of himself and his own family to this language of brotherhood, is one of those heart interest romances of the spirit, that makes not only mortals but the “Choir Invisible” halt to wonder and to admire. From a little boy who caught the vision in his native place, the unhappy warring Bialystok (then Russia, now Poland), and confided his vision to his wonderfully spiritual mother, to the day of his death, when in 1917 even during the War, he was trying to call a World Parliament of Religions to work for peace, Dr. Zamenhof’s life was a labor of love. Always evanescent, he refused to accept the Presidency of the International Esperanto Congress. He was very reluctant to name or influence the selection of members of the body known as the “Lingva Komitato,” the International Language Committee.
Like Tolstoy and other humanitarians of Europe, Dr. Zamenhof emphasized the fact that the twentieth
century will see the coming into line of the peoples of Asia with their pioneer brethren of the west. As I traveled through Japan and China, thence coming through the Balkans, Hungary, Austria and other lands to western Europe I saw how swiftly modern civilization is spreading. It is spreading not only through the externals as the airship, radio, cable, telegraph,—but through the inner ideas of constitutional governments with growth of representative elected authorities and democracy; universal education, a universal auxiliary language; education of women, and equal rights and opportunities for both sexes; the birth of the cheap press so that there is a universal power of reading; more tolerance of religion and the laying aside of traditions.
The Asiatic world is coming into the comity of nations and approximating the world type of interest and activity. The able men of the Orient see how astonishingly quick the Asiatics are in handling the tools of the west, in grasping western education.
Esperanto is popular in the Orient. The writer found it being taught in the Universities and Y. M. C. A.’s' of Japan, she personally met four thousand Esperantists there in 1923. The great universities, of China, a number of colleges and Higher Normal Schools there have introduced this auxiliary language. It was a beautiful sight to see the Chinese university students teaching the ragged little urchins of the street our dear auxiliary language, and those yountgsters so poor they hardly wore anything but a smile, spoke their devotion to their “big brothers” with Esperanto fluency which emperors might sigh for or kings envy!
During the past year’s constant travel through Europe, I did not enter any city where the Esperantists did not meet me (not as “a duty luncheon”) but with flowers and love; the bond was our common enthusiasm over Esperanto. In one city where owing to revolution the Esperantists some of them had no food that day, they stood smiling at the railway station holding out four tulips! They did not mention their hunger; they arranged a big Esperanto meeting where the Principles of Bahá’u’lláh were explained, particularly Bahá’u’lláh’s solution of the economic problem. Hundreds of times I spoke in Esperanto in cities where I did not speak their language or they mine, any one of the Esperantists in the hall would volunteer to come forward and interpret, and never once did one halt or fail to understand the thought. It was always a proof to the many non-Esperantists present in the audiences of the value of Esperanto. I know of no key to open more wonderful doors in taking a great Message around the world than this universal auxiliary language of Esperanto. I know of nothing which brings greater happiness in world journeys, except to be a Bahá’í and travel, and of course to promote a universal auxiliary language is a part of the life of a Bahá’í!
The ideals of Romain Rolland are my ideals. I take his quotation from “Le Messager Bahá’í de Geneve”—official organ of the International Bahá’í Bureau organized by Mrs. J. Stannard in Geneva, Switzerland, extract from a letter to “the Seven Arts”: “For my part I cry aloud, not merely that the intellectual ideal of a single nation is too narrow for me, I declare that the ideal of a reconciled western world would be too narrow for me, I declare that the ideal of a united Europe would be too narrow for me. The hour has come in which man, truly healthy and truly alive, must deliberately turn his footsteps towards the ideals of a universal
humanity, where the European races of the Old World and of the New will join hands with the representatives of the ancient and now rejuvenated civilizations of Asia, of India, and of China—universal humanity with a common spiritual treasury. The thought of the future must be a synthesis of the great thoughts of the entire universe.”
’Abdu’l-Bahá in his message to the Esperantists in Washington in April, 1912, summed the whole matter when he said: “Today the greatest need of the world of humanity is for the discontinuance of the existent misunderstandings among nations, and that can be brought about through the unity of languages. Unless unity of languages is realized, the Most Great Peace, and the unity of the human world in a binding manner cannot be accomplished and established. For the function of language is to portray the mysteries and secrets of the human hearts. . . . Men can be trained and educated internationally through this language. They can acquire the evidence of past history and ages through language. The spread of the known facts of the human world depends upon language. The explanation of Divine Teachings can only be brought about through language. Because of the diversities of languages and the lack of human comprehension of the languages of each other’s nationalities, these glorious aims cannot be realized. Therefore the very foremost service to the world of man is to establish an auxiliary international language. It will become the cause of the tranquility of the commonwealth of man. It will become the cause of the spread of sciences and arts among the nations of the world. It will be the cause of the progress and development of all the races. We must with all our powers make an effort so that we may establish an international auxiliary language among the nations and races of the world.”
WHEN Bahá’u’lláh in the zenith of His manhood was confined with His companions in prison by despotic governments and religious fanaticism, with the heavy chains of persecution around their necks, for teaching in God’s Name that the “bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religions should cease, and differences of race be annulled; and proclaiming that fruitless strife and ruinous wars should pass away, that all men should live as brothers, and that the Most Great Peace should come,” God was preparing a little child (who listened at his mother’s knee in another part of the world)–to do a mighty work in furthering one of the principles which the Divine Mind through Bahá’u’lláh was promulgating as essential to usher in and secure Universal Peace. That child afterwards became Dr. Zamenhof, who is now renowned for presenting to the world the international auxiliary language known as Esperanto.
“Dr. Zamenhof was born in 1859 at Bielestock, in Poland. The inhabitants there consisted of four different elements: Russians, Poles, Germans, and Jews, all speaking different languages and living at enmity with each other. The young boy was
strongly impressed with the fact that an alien language is a primary cause of international hatred, and at an early age he pondered over the strange difference between the creed his mother taught him—“the brotherhood of man”—and the actual opposite of this which he saw on all sides. Child as he then was, he accutely sorrowed for the world, and gradually became filled with an unfaltering ambition to change all this. From this determination he never swerved, although of course he found as he grew up that the boy’s idea of unlimited power was exaggerated. Nevertheless, while at school and at college he still persevered in his endeavor to unite all men in a common tongue. . . . . In 1879, when he was nineteen years of age, the language was more or less ready, and Zamenhof and his colleagues celebrated its birth in a college festival; but the author was still too young to publish his work and decided to wait five or six years. While attending the university he gave all his spare time in those most precious years of youth to the study and perfection of his invention. After many disappointments, he succeeded in publishing it at his own cost in 1887. Thus we see Esperanto is the outcome of years of patient perseverance on the part of a man of genius. Now, it can be learned at the cost of a few hours pleasant study per week, during a period of six months. Of what national language can this be said?” (Margaret L. Jones, Esperanto Manual).
How good it is to have in the face of such apparently overwhelming difficulties, this practical assurance that there is, as Shakespeare wrote, “A Divinity which shapes our ends.” And without doubt many could point to other events, events which have contributed to “The one far-off divine event,” of which Tennyson sang, and to which “the whole creation” has now moved: for even in the darkness of night which the world has known, it has approached us so nearly as to have taken place in our own day.
Now he, Bahá’u’lláh, the Desire of Nations, has come, of necessity bringing with Him divine laws and principles which will make all men one. Is not this that to which all Ages have aspired. . . . His beloved Son, ’Abdu’l-Bahá, being set free from the bonds of oppression, labored throughout the world to promulgate those principles of salvation. (From “Unity Triumphant.”)
“One of the revealed principles of the Universal Religion is the establishing of a Universal Language.
“In the material world of existence, human undertakings are divided into two kinds—universal and specific. The result of every universal effort is infinite, and the outcome of every specific effort is finite.
“In this age, those human problems which create a general interest are universal; their results are likewise universal, for humanity has become interdependent. The international laws of today are of vast importance since international politics are bringing nations nearer to one another. It is a general axiom that in the world of human endeavor every universal affair commands attention and its results and benefits are limitless. Therefore let us say that every universal cause is divine, and every specific matter is human. . . the activities which endeavor to establish solidarity between nations and to infuse the spirit of universalism in the hearts of the children of men are like unto divine rays from the Sun of Reality, and the brightest ray is the coming of the Universal Language.”
--PHOTO--
The unveiling of the monument to Dr. Ludovik L. Zamenhof. The Bahá'í Cause was represented at the ceremonies by Miss Martha L. Root, who is the first on the immediate left of the monument.
SOLEMN and never to be forgotten was the unveiling of the beautiful monument which has been placed in the Hebrew cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, in honor of Dr. Ludovik L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto. It has been given by the devoted Esperantists of the whole world, a simple, grey, granite art-creation most satisfying in color, form and proportion, designed by a Polish artist, Mr. M. Lubelski, and made in Aberdeen, Scotland. Delegates from many Polish cities and some from other lands attended the ceremony,—a great thoughtful, expectant, silent assemblage of people who loved their teacher and friend and had come to honor his memory.
The writer, as delegate of the Bahá’í Movement, placing white roses similar to those which grew in ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s garden in Haifa, Palestine, spoke to the people the message of love and esteem from Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Cause, and the greeting of the Bahá’ís of the world.
Dr. Zamenhof was not only the creator of a world language which has stood the test of thirty-nine years and has steadily progressed, but he was also a poet and a great humanitarian who tried even during the war, to convene a universal religious congress; his illness and death prevented its fulfillment. . . . No one could realize Dr. Zamenhof’s simple great life, his profound love and consuming desire for world brotherhood without wishing to be like him. One would wish to be like him: very sincere, very modest, very true to the highest spiritual ideals of brotherhood; and like him to follow the mystic upward urge with faithful work through health, through sickness, even to the day of passing on. (M.L.R.)
Radio may well be said to have opened a new era for mankind—the international age. We see today this wonderful means of communication linking the nations of the world together, and tending to knead humanity gradually into one composite whole. With practically the whole world now an audience to radio, it has become evident that a common medium of expression must be adopted; for of what practical value is a vast audience, if only a few in it understand the speaker; or if he must be followed by a train of interpreters? It is but natural, therefore, that Esperanto, already an important factor in all spheres of international human activity, should have invaded the new field, and presented the common medium of expression so sorely needed.
Beginning with a speech from WJZ, Newark, N. J., June 19, 1922, about Esperanto as the coming world radio language, the number of stations broadcasting about and in Esperanto has grown proportionately with the increase in the number of stations. Five discussions about Esperanto and one song in the language were broadcast in Europe and America in 1922. In 1923, fifty such items were on the program; over two hundred in 1924; and during 1925 approximately twenty stations on both sides of the Atlantic broadcast regularly in Esperanto. Many stations have been teaching Esperanto by radio lessons, the pioneer American station in this respect being WRNY, the Radio News station in New York City.
According to recent reports, all broadcast stations in Germany are using and teaching Esperanto regularly, as well as in other European countries. The large new station just completed in Nagoya, Japan, will use Esperanto in its programs. It is in that Japanese city that the great daily newspaper “Ain-Nichi” is published, which paper contains regularly an Esperanto section.
In Paris, station “Radio-Paris” has just finished, with remarkable success, a forty-lesson Esperanto course, under the guidance of Dr. Pierre Corret. In that city also, the station of the “Supera Lernejo de Poŝtoj, Telegrafoj, kaj Telefonoj” presents each Thursday an Esperanto course, led by that eminent Esperantist, Prof. Cart. In Germany, station “Radio-Munster” from November, 1925, to May, 1926 also presented a course of Esperanto lessons, which course was relayed through stations in Dortmund and Elberfeld. In Spain, station “Radio-Carlton” since the 7th of November last year has been giving Esperanto lessons each Saturday. In Soviet Russia, the radio movement has been closely allied with the Esperanto. The government has recognized Esperanto, and has printed postcards with the Esperanto imprint “Poŝta Karto,” as well as postage stamps with the imprint: “Inventisto de Radio Popov.” One powerful Moscow station broadcasts semi-monthly Esperanto talks, while another station of that city gives a semi-weekly course on lessons in the language. In Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, and Czecho-Slovakia Esperanto courses are broadcast.
In the United States, stations WJZ, WBZ, WNAC, WTAM, WHK, WOR, WIP, and others have used the language. Recent examples of such use were during the International Test
Week, January 24th to 31st of this year when station WTAM (Cleveland), and WCCO (Minneapolis-St. Paul) were on the air with Esperanto talks and programs. The talk from WTAM was especially emphatic, following as it did greetings given by Mr. Damrosch in four languages, and thus showing the need of an international tongue. Beginning April 26, 1926, at 7.35 P. M., the Cleveland Esperanto Society will give a series of 30 lessons in Esperanto (one each Monday) from station WHK of that city.
In the field of radio journals, Esperanto has also made great headway. RADIO NEWS, published in New York City, was the first great radio review in the world to undertake support of Esperanto as the needed world language. In its issue of December, 1924, is told why Esperanto is favored, and is set forth in detail why the language was selected instead of any other of the many international language schemes presented. Radio News’ support of Esperanto was followed soon afterward by the great British review, “Experimental Wireless and The Wireless Engineer.” Now, almost without exception radio magazines of Europe and many in other countries follow the leadership of the above mentioned reviews, forcefully proclaiming and teaching Esperanto.
The various technical societies and radio organizations that have considered and investigated the international language problem have arrived at the conclusion that the only possible solution lies in an artificial language, and it is interesting to note that Esperanto is the only artificial tongue that has gained any important measure of support from scientific, linguistic, and radio commissions.
The American Radio Relay League, perhaps the largest and most Widely known organization of its kind in the world, after a two years survey of the international language situation, decided in favor of Esperanto as its official international language, and recommended the language to its membership. In this investigation the League communicated with all the national amateur radio societies of the world. All of those who expressed an opinion in favor of any artificial language recommended Esperanto.
The International Amateur Radio Union, by an overwhelming majority (12 countries to 3) decided in its first annual congress in Paris last year, to adopt Esperanto as the world radio language. This decision was reached in spite of the strenuous efforts of one Idist and two national language advocates.
In April 1924, a “Preliminary Conference for an International Agreement” was held in Geneva, with the primary object of discussing and arriving at an international understanding on the regulation of wavelengths. In addition to this, the conference dealt with the question of an auxiliary language for international use. This conference was thoroughly representative of world-wide radio interests, having also official representatives from the League of Nations, and the Universal Postal and Telegraphic Union. In view of the convincing demonstration of the suitability of Esperanto, provided by the conference itself, of which the business had been largely conducted in the language, it is not surprising that the decision, expressed in an unanimously accepted resolution, recognized Esperanto as the world radio language. The resolution ended as follows: “The Conference recommends to all broadcast stations that they arrange for regular broadcasting in Esperanto at least once a week at a fixed time on an agreed day, and so far as possible arrange for the transmission
of Esperanto lessons. The language has been shown to be easy to learn, clearly audible, and has already spread to a considerable extent among listeners-in of all countries.”
Under the name “International Radio Association” there was formed early in 1924 an international radio society. This society aims to abolish, by means of Esperanto, the difficulties raised by the language barrier in the path of radio, and to bring radio users of different countries into touch with one another. The association already has members in 30 countries, and national secretaries in Argentine, Australia, Austria, Great Britain , Brazil, Czecho-Slovakia, Denmark, Esthonia, France, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jugo-Slavia, Canada, Latvia, Holland, Poland, Roumania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and the United States. The President of the association is Dr. Pierre Corret, a French amateur of world-wide fame. Shortly after its organization it was honored by M. Edouard Belin, the famous inventor of the Telautograph, becoming its Honorary President. The association publishes in Esperanto only, a monthly radio magazine “Internacia Radio Revuo” which gives world-wide news of interest to all radio users. . . .
In experimental work, Esperanto can be of the greatest assistance in making it possible to discuss the progress of experiments with transmitters abroad. For the “listener” the language holds boundless possibilities, since its utility is already becoming increasingly apparent to those responsible for broadcasting. As the re-broadcasting of foreign programs becomes more general, Esperanto will come into its own and will be a vital necessity to those wishing to pick up transmissions from abroad.
It remains but to urge upon every believer in the future of radio to take immediate steps to acquaint himself with Esperanto for its practical utility. (From “Amerika Esperantisto” August, 1926.)
In Tokyo in September there was held the fourteenth annual Japanese Esperanto Congress which celebrated this year the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Esperanto Association. It was the first time since the great catastrophe of 1923 that the Esperantists have held their Congress in the capital. The monthly publication of the Japanese Esperantists, “La Revuo Orienta,” expressed the hope that in friendliness, taking each others hands with enthusiasm, from every part of their lands the Esperantists would gather again in Tokyo.
En Tokjo okazis en Septembro la dekkvara ĉiujara Japana Esperanto-Kongreso, kiu gloris ĉi-tiujare la dudekan jarfeston de la fondado de la Japana Esperanto-Asocio. Estis la unua fojo depost la granda katastrofo de deknaŭ cent dudek-tri ke la Esperantistoj estos alvokintaj sian kunvenon em la ĉefurbon. La monata gazeto de la japanaj Esperantistoj, “La Revuo Orienta,” esprimis la esperon ke, en amikeco, unuj prenantaj entuziasme la manojn de la aliaj, la Esperantistoj de ĉiu parto de sia lando kunvenos denove en Tokjo.
The Esperanto movement in Japan is at heart a Youth Movement. Throughout that Empire students, fired with love and ardour for this universal auxiliary language, have spread it in schools, colleges and universities. The students themselves form classes and teach their fellow students. In this they have the support of many of their professors and teachers, as well as business men who are enthusiastic promoters of the language
A unique part of the movement in Japan is the Association of Japanese Blind Esperantists organized in 1923. Through the instrumentality of Esperanto the blind are enabled to correspond with blind of other countries and thus broaden their horizons by this intercommunication.
The question may well be asked: What is in this universal auxiliary language that sways the hearts of these oriental youth and compels them with self-sacrifice to go forward?
In the first place their minds are yet young and unfettered with the materialism of the occident; the spark of brotherly love exists in the language; it is neutral and free from racial and national prejudices; in its use all stand on the same footing. These are some of the reasons for its spread. Above all it is the spirit of the New Age these youth have sensed, for Esperanto is a ray of this universal spirit which is drawing together the peoples of the world in mutual love and undrstanding.
The late Dr. J. E. Esslemont of England recognized in Esperanto a means towards the unity of mankind and corresponded with some of the ardent young Esperantists of Japan. During the last year of his life he was in correspondence with a student of Keio University, Tokyo, who was preparing for his graduation a thesis on the Bahá’í Teachings. The news of
La Esperanta movado en Japanujo estas, en la koro, movado de junuloj. Tra la imperio, studentoj, flamigitaj per amo kaj fervoreco por tiu-ĉi tutmonda helpanta lingvo, estas dissemintaj ĝin en lernejoj, kolegioj, kaj universitatoj. La studentoj mem formas klasojn, kaj instruas siajn kunstudentojn. En tio, ili havas la subtenon de multe da siaj profesoroj kaj instruistoj, kiel ankaŭ de negocistoj kiuj estas entuziasmaj favorantoj de la lingvo.
Parto unika de la japana movado estas la Asocio de Japanaj Blindaj Esperantistoj, organizita en deknaŭ cent dudek-tri. Pere de Esperanto la blinduloj povas korespondi kun la blinduloj de aliaj landoj, kaj tiel plilarĝigi siajn horizontojn per tiu-ĉi reciproka interkomunikado.
Oni eble demandos: Kio estas en tiu-ĉi tutmonda helpanta lingvo kio incitas la korojn de tiuj-ĉi orientaj junuloj, kaj devigas ilin iri antaŭen?
Unue, iliaj animoj estas ankoraŭ junaj, kaj ne enkatenigitaj per la materialismo de la Okcidento; la flamo defratamo ekzistas en la lingvo; ĝi estas neŭtrala kaj libera de rasaj k. naciaj antaŭjuĝoj; en ĝia uzado, ĉiuj staras sur la sama nivelo. Antaŭ ĉio, estas la spirito de la Nova Epoko kiun tiuj-ĉi junuloj estas sentintaj; ĉar Esperanto estas radio de tiu-ĉi universala spirito kiu kuntiras la popolojn de la mondo en reciproka amo k. kompreno.
La mortinta Doktoro J. E. Esslemont, de Anglolando, konis en Esperanto rimedon por la unuigo de la homaro, kaj korespondis kun kelkaj el la ardaj junaj Esperantistoj de Japanujo. Dur la lasta jaro de sia vivo, li korespondis kun studento de Keio Universitato, en Tokjo, kiu preparis por sia gradatingo tezon pri la Baha’iaj Doktrinoj. La novaĵo pri la
the sudden death of Dr. Esslemont caused great grief to this young man who writes: “Dr. Esslemont no longer lives on this earth! Alas! He was very, very kind to me a Japanese student. About his kindness I wrote in the first pages of my thesis and thanked him. I cannot eternally forget his kindness!”
That the youth of Japan are thinking beyond their own horizon and looking towards the better understanding of the peoples of the world is illustrated by a letter from a Japanese Esperantist published in “Esperanto,” the official organ of the Universal Esperanto Association, March, 1926. The letter describes a meeting held in Tokyo of student groups of the Japanese Association of the League of Nations from thirteen colleges and universities of Tokyo. The students represented all the nations joined in the League of Nations. This meeting unanimously and with great applaud adopted a proposal that Esperanto be used by the members for intercommunication and understanding; that after a stated time Esperanto become the only official language of the League of Nations and be used in all its meetings, publications, etc.; and that the governments represented in the League of Nations give permission, or order, that Esperanto be taught in the schools and thus help in Esperanto education.
The Esperantists are the brightest hopes of Japan today in eliminating prejudice and promoting understanding betwen the nations. Esperantist visitors from other lands are welcomed by the Japanese Esperantists as brothers. In their endeavor they are preparing the way for the future when the governments of the world will decide upon the matter of a universal auxiliary language which will be made part of all the school curriculums. Then the day of understanding will dawn among mankind.
subita morto de Dro. Esslemont kaŭzis grandan malĝojon al tiu-ĉi juna homo, kiu skribis: “Dro. Esslemont ne vivis sur tiu-ĉi tero! Alas! Li estis treege bonkora al mi, japana studento. Pri lia bonkoreco me skribis sur la unuaj paĝoj de mia tezo, kaj dankas por li. Mi ne povas eterne forgesi lian bonkorecon!”
Ke la junularo de Japanujo pensas ekster sia propra horizonto, kaj rigardas antaŭen al la pli bona interkompreno de la popoloj de la mondo, estas ilustrita per letero de japana Esperantisto, publikigita en “Esperanto,” oficiala organo de la Universala Esperanto Asocio, de Marto, deknaŭ cent dudek-ses. La letero priskribas kunvenon alvokitan en Tokjo de studentaj grupoj de la Japana Asocio de la Ligo de Nacioj, el dektri kolegioj kaj universitatoj de Tokjo. La studentoj reprezentis ĉiujn naciojn unuigitajn en la Ligo de Nacioj. Tiu-ĉi kunveno unuanime kaj kun granda aklamo sankciis proponon ke la anoj uzu Esperanton por interkomunikado kaj kompreno; ke, post difinita tempo, Esperanto fariĝu la sola oficiala lingvo de la Ligo de Nacioj, kaj estu uzata en ĉiuj ĝiaj kunvenoj, publikigitoj, kaj tiel plu; kaj ke la nacioj reprezentitaj en la Ligo de Naciojn donu permeson, aŭ ordonon, ke oni instruu Esperanton en la lernejoj, kaj helpu en Esperanta edukado.
La Esperantistoj estas la plej brila espero de Japanujo hodiaŭ, forĵetantaj antaŭjuĝon, kaj helpantaj la komprenon inter la nacioj. Esperantistoj vizitantaj el aliaj landoj estas salutitaj de la japanaj Esperantistoj kvazaŭ gefratoj. En sia klopodo, ili preparas la vojon por la estonto kiam la nacioj de la mondo decidos pri la temo de tutmonda helpanta lingvo kiun oni faros parton de ĉiuj lernejaj studoplanoj. Tiam lumiĝos la tago de interkompreno inter la homaro.
this: Be kind to all people, love humanity, consider all mankind as your relations and servants of the Most High God. Strive day and night that animosity and contention may pass away from the hearts of men; that all religions shall become reconciled and the nations love each other; so that no racial, religious or political prejudice may remain, and the world of humanity behold God as the beginning and end of all existence. God has created all and all return to God. Therefore love humanity with all your heart and soul. If you meet a poor man, assist him; if you see the sick, heal him; reassure the affrighted one; render the cowardly noble and courageous; educate the ignorant; associate with the stranger. Emulate God. Consider how kindly, how lovingly he deals with all and follow His example. You must treat people in accordance with the divine precepts; in other words, treat them as kindly as God treats them, for this is the greatest attainment possible for the world of humanity.
Man by himself does not arrive at peace or contentment of soul in social life.
Man, by himself, cannot comprehend things beyond his reasoning faculty, his rational power.
These problems can be solved only by the divine power–the Holy Spirit,—that divine power which has been manifested many times in the history of mankind. And when this divine power has been focused in a human entity upon this earth, he is the great religious teacher, the mouth-piece of God. He reveals to us the truth, relative to metaphysical, social and moral problems.
We find that this divine power can be revealed to the world of humanity only through these Chosen Instruments. They are the perfect Instruments,–Mirrors reflecting the perfections, the knowledge, and the will of God. Man is not a perfect instrument, therefore his knowledge is not direct from God; his is reflective knowledge. Only when awakened—“born anew”—does he even comprehend that which the Great Teachers bestow upon mankind. It is through this lack of understanding that man has ever wandered from the revealed truths, thinking himself able to arrive at truth without the medium of a divinely appointed center.
The truths given by the Great Divine Teachers are not human ideas merely, ideas gained through study and reflection,—but direct knowledge from God, and an understanding of the divine principles underlying divine law. They know! They reflect as a natural quality of their being the light and knowledge of God. They are in themselves as Perfect Mirrors which reflect in full perfection the light and glory of God just in the same way as the light, heat and prisms of the phenomenal sun are reflected in a clear mirror. Although the sun shines upon the ground and upon all things in general, yet we cannot see in full perfection the light of the sun excepting in the crystal-clear and flawless mirror. Man not being able to know God directly, must know Him through His perfect messengers or Manifestations.
There is but one God, and there is necessarily but one divine Holy Spirit. Therefore it is always the same Light which illumines humanity, the same Light reflected in different Mirrors,–such as Abraham, Moses, Christ, Zoroaster, Buddha, Bahá’u’lláh, and ’Abdu’l-Bahá.
Religious history reveals to us the fact that these divinely appointed religious teachers have ever come at a time when humanity was in its greatest throes and revivification of religion its greatest need. When the Roman Empire had reached its zenith, when Greek and Roman material civilization had ended its cycle of development and multitudes of peoples were agonizing under the Roman yoke, thirsting for spiritual food and for the inspired Word to guide them, God revealed Himself in our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him humanity received new life, a renewed vigor; awakened hearts responded to His spiritual call, and material progress followed in due time.
Religion always has two aspects; the spiritual and moral truths are ever the same, but the laws and ordinances for material welfare, or laws for arriving at Truth, change according to the needs of the times. Truth is one. All these Teachers are perfect revealers of the truth, but they do not always reveal it in the same
degree, because they must adapt their revelation to the evolution of each new era. We base our Christian religion upon the revelations of the Jewish prophets and teachers. Why cannot we all be Jews? It would be impossible, throwing aside our belief in the Lord Jesus, to accept as our guide today the Jewish Law as revealed for that time, even should we take it in its purity. The world could not now be guided by those laws. Let us take science for instance: Can we today be entirely guided by the scientific discoveries of two thousand years ago? If we believe in evolution—and we must if we are reasonable—then we recognize the fact that this law likewise prevails regarding religion. Did not Christ say, “I have many things to tell you, but ye cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself. . . . ”
Now again in this new era, at the time when all the world travails, when corruption is without limit, when nations arise to destroy each other, when modern civilization produces inventions which could practically exterminate humankind, when hatred, antogonisms and warring factions are everywhere apparent,–in brief, when the human mind demonstrates its incapacity to solve these and almost all other problems of this time, then it is that a great need for spiritual enlightenment is again realized by dissatisfied humanity.
Therefore in this day, another great Educator has arisen. The Spirit of Truth has manisfested in the pure soul of Bahá’u’lláh. God’s Word has reflected from the pure soul and heart of Bahá’u’lláh. This is not in any way a personality of God; God is transcendental, unknowable, has no rising or setting, no descent or ascent, is eternal in His glory and majesty, One in His being and indivisible, but through this Great World Teacher the perfections of God, His Will, His love, etc., are bestowed upon the world so that humankind may understand and follcw the laws of the New Age.
The truths revealed to us by Bahá’u’lláh contain many new teachings, but there are certain other phases of his teachings which have always been known. To make a correct valuation of the Bahá’í Cause we must not regard the principles singly, but consider them in their synthetic connection as a whole.
It would be quite impossible to enumerate all of the spiritual and esoteric principles; they should be studied and meditated upon with a whole-hearted desire to know the truth, and with mind and heart free from all prejudice. Both Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá have left these instructions in their revealed writings, some of which have been translated into various languages.
According to the declarations of man there are four criterions and standards of human knowledge.
First, sense perception. This is limited—for instance the eye sees a mirage as a lake of water, but there is no reality to it. A whirling torch makes a circle of fire, yet we realize there is but one torch. In brief the senses are continually deceived, and we are unable to separate that which is reality from that which is not.
Second, reason. Among the Greeks and Romans, the criterion of knowledge was reason,—that whatever can be proved and accepted by reason must necessarily be admitted as true. If reason is the perfect standard, why are opinions at variance, and why do philosophers disagree so completely with each other? This is a clear proof that reason is not to be relied upon as an infallible proof. Great discoveries of former centuries are continually upset or discarded by the
wise men of today. Mathematicians, astronomers, chemical scientists, continually disapprove and reject conclusions of the ancients. Nothing is fixed, nothing final.
Third, religious traditions. These are the report and record of understanding and interpreting of the Holy Books. This is done by analysis of human reason. When reading the book of God the faculty of comprehension by which we form conclusions is reason. Reason is mind. In its very nature it is finite and faulty in conclusions. It cannot surround the Reality itself—the infiinite Word. As the source of traditions and interpretations is human reason, and it is fautly, how can man depend upon its findings?
Fourth criterion, inspiration. What is inspiration? It is the influx of the human heart. But what are satanic promptings that afflict man? They are the influx of the heart also. The question is, how shall we differentiate? How shall we know whether we are following inspiration from God or satanic promptings of the human soul?
These are the only existing criterions or avenues of knowledge, and all of them are limited.
What then remains? To obtain knowledge of reality by the breaths of the Holy Spirit, which is life and knowledge itself. Through it the human mind is quickened and fortified and arrives at perfect knowledge and true conclusions.
This then is the proof of the need of the Manifestations or perfect Mirrors. They breathe the Holy Spirit into the world and cause the renewal of all the latent godly qualities within man’s being.
The following series of World Unity Conferences have been arranged under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. They are designed to assist in the focusing of the spiritual forces which alone can bring humanity through its complex problems:
| Rochester, N. Y., | October 21-22. | Washington, D. C., | February 20-22. |
| Buffalo, N. Y., | October 23-24. | New York City, | February 26-28. |
| Cleveland, Ohio, | November 26-28. | Springfield, Mass., | March 27-28. |
| Boston, Mass., | December 10-12. | Montreal, Canada, | April 24-28. |
| Dayton, Ohio, | January 16-17. | Toronto, Canada, and Detroit, Mich., following the Montreal program. Dates to be announced. | |
| Chicago, Ill., January 20-24. |
Dr. Watson, the well known author, philosopher and poet of Toronto, Canada, passed into the eternal life on May 3, 1926. He was best known to the Bahá'í world for his beautiful poem, “The Dream of God.”—Editor.
To be real, to be true, to be just—essentially alive and regenerate.
To be strong! To realize that we are not mere thinking machines draped in cloth. To know that we are divinely made, creators of character, free, eternal. To realize power. To hitch Niagaras to our plow. To enslave the forces of the flood. To harness the winds and ride upon the storm. To exploit the sun’s light and wrap its heat about our hearts.
To cultivate imagination. To have wings and soar. To make new heavens and earths, and people them with glory-robed divinities and not with shades enshrouded with fear and gloom.
To cherish great ideals. To be true to our own souls. To love our friends tenderly. To be just to all. To breathe kindliness, peace and serenity amid the unrest and unhappiness on all sides.
And, oh, to dream of love,—the love of God. To join the music of the universal choir. To love as God loves. To be creative and free. To sweep stalgnant waters into the stream of life. To refuse to shut up the toil and happiness of the poor in our private bank. To decline to make a morass of any human heart. To be poise to the restless, comrade to the lonely, working partner to the weary. To be patient in the face of all discouragements. To rise to altitudes where Love makes vicarious restitution to the dispossessed of all that selfishness has usurped. To make our daily lives—ourselves—sufficient evidence that there is no wealth but love.
To know that the life of all men
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Dr. Albert Durrant Watson
is derived from one Source. To feel the unity of life. To realize humanity as one. To see that diversity should not separate us but should unite us. That other gifts and faiths, customs and views, are not exclusive but supplementary. To see that if we were divested of our prejudices we should hardly know each other apart. To perceive that another’s opinion should not breed impatience, or prejudice or repugnance. To consent to the obvious fact that as diversity enriches nature, so also it should enhance the interest of human nature and suggest our unity in God.
So let our lives be filled with harmony and power. Let love speak from our eyes, may our touch comfort and heal our voices, breathe the music of rest. But this can be only by communion with the Divine Friend, the Eternally Beloved. But looking to the heavens for vision, appealing to the heavens for strength, we shall always receive the uplift of the Father’s power.
We are departing somewhat from our editorial policy to give space to the following interesting news. We do so because the marriage is a significant one from many points of view, especially as it means another union of the East and West. Both ardent Bahá’ís and both cultured earnest students, the union of these two brilliant young people must surely result in an enlarged field of service. Such souls demonstrate the love, unity, kindness, fellowship and divine worship of true Bahá’ís.—Editor.
A marriage of deepest interest to Bahá’ís in general and most unique in its nature in that it manifested the union of “East and West,” the Orient and Occident,—together with the combined Bahá’í and Episcopal marriage service, occured on August 31, at 4.30 p. m. in the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Carpenter, of Santa Paula Calif., when their youngest daughter Marion Bernice Carpenter became the wife of Ali Yazdi,—son of Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Yazdi of Port Said, Egypt and nephew of Ahmad Yazdi, the son-in-law of ’Abdu’l-Bahá.
These two radiant young Bahá’ís were both members of Mrs. Kathryn Frankland’s “Bahá'í Junior Class,” in Berkeley while students at the University of California, and are well known among the Bahá’ís of the West. The bride is a graduate of Stanford University of California, and the groom a graduate of the American College at Beirut, Syria, and has taken post graduate work at the University of Berlin, and the University of California.
The Bahá’í wedding service from the words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá was most beautifully and impressively read by Mrs. Kathryn Frankland, who preceeded the bride and her father, with the bride’s maid and best man, as they entered the room, to the strains of Mendelssohn’s wedding march, and joined the groom with the Rev. Lloyd M. Smith, the Episcopal minister, who stood before the embanked fireplace, lighted with yellow candles; Mrs. Frankland taking her place beside the minister where she stood throughout the two services. The words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, which she read, on the sacredness of marriage, the eternality of the spiritual union, through divine love and the nature of the home that the newly married couple should strive to establish dedicated to God and His service, bore with them a confirming power that was felt and realized by all present, many of whom were not of the Bahá’í faith. After the closing prayer from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh, the Episcopal service was read by Dr. Smith. All during the services the Bahá’í Benediction was softly played by the musicians in an adjoining room. It sounded like celestial strains from the Eternal Kingdom.
A musical program preceeded the nuptials, Miss Eleanor Powell of Brookline, Mass., rendered exquisitely Litz’ immortal “Liebestraum”—(Song of Love) which was followed by two cello and piano numbers, after which the wedding march announced the approach of the bridal party.
The spirit of radiant joy and happiness which illumined the faces of these two “children of the kingdom”
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Mr. and Mrs. S. Ali Yazdi, recently married at Santa Paula, California.
was indeed beautiful to see, and this union of the East and West–Persia and America, so truly Bahá’í in its nature may, we all pray be one that will bind together with stronger ties of spiritual oneness, not only these ardent, dedicated Bahá’í hearts, but the two countries, and that the future home of these earnest believers may be, as ’Abdu’l-Bahá has so perfectly expressed it–“A nest and shelter for the birds of the Kingdom and a house and dwelling for the meeting place of the spiritual ones. Know that in every home where God is praised and prayed to and His kingdom proclaimed, that home is a garden of God and the paradise of His happiness.” May they ever dwell in this paradise and continue in service to the Glorious Cause so dear to their hearts.
Regarding the question of matrimony: Know thou that the command of marriage is eternal. It will never be changed or altered. This is divine creation and there is not the slightest possibility that change or alteration affect this divine creation (marriage).
The marriage of Bahá’ís means that the man and woman must become spiritually and physically united, so that they may have eternal unity throughout all the divine worlds, and improve the spiritual life of each other.
May not the marvelous power and success which Esperanto is showing in its appeal both in theory and practice all over the world, be recognized as due to the divine power working in and through this wonderful instrument for intercomonunication and brotherhood? A New Age is dawning for the world in which the power of God is working. Is not this one of its instruments?—Editor.
There Is Obvious Need for An International Language:—Since the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel men have been kept apart by inability to understand one another. In this enlightened age the absence of a common speech is an absurd anachronism.
Esperanto Does Not Propose to Displace the Mother Tongues, But to Supplement Them:—National languages are too deeply rooted in the affections, the traditions and the literature to be displaced, nor is it desirable that they should be.
Esperanto, “the Latin of Democracy,” Is the “Least Common Multiple of European Languages.”:—Three-fourths of the root words are found in the leading European tongues.
From Its Close Relation to the Common Factors of Other Languages It Follows That Esperanto Is Exceedingly Easy to Learn by Any Educated Person:—As at least 70 per cent. of all Esperanto roots are already found in English, the demand upon the memory is far less than in the case of other languages.
Its Grammar Is Almost Incredibly Simple:—Only sixteen rules and no exceptions.
By Means of a Most Ingenious System of Prefixes, Suffixes and Root Combinations, Esperanto Is Capable of Expressing Shades of Meaning With Great Delicacy and Precision:— Its system of word formation gives to the student who has learned merely a few hundred roots a practically unlimited number of instantly understood words.
Esperanto Has Eliminated Nearly All of the Many Difficulties Which Are Found in the Study of Other Languages:—No irregular verbs, no irregular plurals or genders in nouns, and most words show to what part of speech they belong (nouns, adjectives, etc.), by their endings.
It Is More Fitted for International Use Than English, French or Any Other National Tonlgue:—(1) Its precision makes misunderstandings unlikely. (2) It is not tinctured with those peculiarities of idiom, psychology and even prejudice which naturally arouse resentment among foreigners. (3) The adoption of any one of these national tongues for international use would confer such a prestige—political, diplomatic, commercial and cultural—upon one certain group of nations as to be absolutely intolerable to others.
It Helps the Student to a Better Understanding of His Own Language. It Reduces the Study of Grammar to Its Essentials:—An English governmental commission reporting most favorably upon this aspect of Esperanto said that the students study not only a grammar but grammar.
In Contrast to the More Than One
Hundred Attempts at an International Language Esperanto Has Attained a Wide Success and Developed a Literature:—More than 5000 books have appeared and there are at least eighty magazines published wholly or partly in Esperanto.
It Is An Excellent Stepping-Stone to the Study of Foreign Languages:—Dr. D. O. S. Lowell, Master Emeritus of the Roxbury Latin School, (Boston, Mass.), has repeatedly shown that the study of Esperanto is the best preparation for Latin or a modern language. A single example from England: A class of girls who had given three terms to French, preceeded by a term of Esperanto, had a better knowledge of the national language than was had by a parallel class of similar girls who had given all four terms to French.
Already Many of the Best Works of the World’s Literature Have Been Translated Into Esperanto:—Moreover, there is becoming available in Esperanto many literary products of small nations, which are not ordinarily translated into other languages, due partly to the great cost of the many editions necessary. This also explains why books for the blind, all in large raised type and therefore bulky and costly, are being “printed” in Esperanto, for the number of blind people in any country is always relatively small.
It Helps the Traveler:—The “Universala Esperanto-Asocio” and many tourist clubs spread the knowledge and use of the language by bringing one in contact with intelligent people. Instead of restrictinlg his conversation to the “business English” of shop-keepers, waiters and ticket-sellers, or to a more or less imperfect knowledge of a tongue which at best may be unknown across another boundary line, the Esperanto meets the whole world on the basis of a linguistic equality that is unknown and even impossible where a national tongue is the medium. The actual experience of thousands of tourists, students and commercial travelers is unanimous upon this point. “If you speak a foreign language ever so well, you remain a foreigner; but if you speak Esperanto, you are welcome as one of the family.”
It Facilitates Commercial Relations:—A single pamphlet or catalog in Esperanto may replace a half-dozen in other languages. Many of the great European trade fairs have been for several years issuing their circulars in Esperanto. At least twenty Chambers of Commerce in Europe have endorsed the lanlguage.
It Greatly Helps in International Conferences:—With Esperanto in use, interpreters are unnecessary, and, in consequence, misunderstandings and loss of time are avoided. World Congresses in which Esperanto was the sole language used have been held by Red Cross nurses, teachers, railway and post-office employees, physicians, editors, radio amateurs, scientists and commercial men, and by Roman Catholics, Spiritualists, Theosophists, Bahá’ísts, vegetarians, peace workers and socialists. Many of these groups are regularly organized, using Esperanto solely in their communications and at their yearly conferences. At such gatherings it is a common remark that, due, largely to the noticeable uniformity of pronunciation, the sense of nationality completely disappears and is all but forgotten! And sometimes more than forty different nations are represented there.
It Promotes Human Brotherhood and World Peace:—It does this by
making communication easier and understanding more complete, thus developing a sense of world solidarity.
It Is Being Introduced More and More Into Schools and Colleges:—In Boston University, Columbia University, University of Minnesota, Stanford University, Vassar College, and in many schools courses in Esperanto have already been established. In many public school systems in Europe the study of Esperanto is a regular part of the curriculum, even compulsory, as is the case in Geneva.
Through Radio Esperanto Is Being Spread In This Country and Much More Extensively in Europe, Where the Need Is More Acutely Felt:—Owing to the well-defined character of the Esperanto vowels, the language is much more easily understood over the radio than English.
A Regularly Organized Academy Has Charge of the Development of the Language, the Preparation of Technical Vocabularies and the Introduction of New Words. This Prevents Capricious Changes by Individuals:—
Evidence of Its Growing and Widespread Use Is Seen in the Report of the League of Nations (1922) by Which Esperanto Was Estimated as Among the First Half Dozen of the Languages of the World That are in International Use:—It has received the approval of the Red Cross, the International Association of Radio Amateurs, Universal Telegraph Union and almost a score of other associations of an international character.
Esperanto Is More Than an Idealist’s Dream; It Is a Successful Reality of Growing Importance.
reflect upon the favors and blessings which descend upon that family when unity exists among its various members. What incalculable benefits and blessings would descend upon the great human family if unity and brotherhood were established! In this century when the beneficent results of unity and the ill effects of discord are so clearly apparent, the means for the attainment and accomplishment of human fellowship have appeared in the world. His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has proclaimed and provided the way by which hostility and dissension may be removed from the human world. He has left no ground or possibility for strife and disagreement. First he has proclaimed the oneness of mankind and specialized religious teachings for existing human conditions.
